Cotton-Pickin’ Days

Ken Schram of Komo 4 News in Seattle, Washington is uncomfortable when he sees mothers breastfeeding their children in public.

He’s funny in a “look at the foolish court jester” kind of way (June 7, 2005):

Now, I know we’re supposed to be living in an enlightened society and all, but I’ll tell you what: When some woman sitting next to you pops it out and starts suckling little Johnny or Suzie, I think it makes MOST people uncomfortable!

Yeah, I know.

It’s natural.

Well, so is urinating, but most folks don’t up and pee in a glass jar in the middle of the mall.

Maybe women in general are more OK with breastfeeding in public (though many women tell me no they are not).

But for guys, it is nigh on impossible to switch from breasts as something sexual to breasts as take-out-food.

What’s even funnier is that his co-worker, anchor Kathi Goertzen, thinks he’s an idiot* (see her retort at the end of this short video clip).

Here’s the e-mail I wrote to the station:

Dear Ms. Goertzen, Mr. Schram, and Komo 4 News,

I am in full agreement with Kathi Goertzen when she called Ken Schram an “idiot” for his insensitive and ignorant piece on breastfeeding. Maybe he should cover himself up when he goes out on the town next time. Just seeing him might make some people uncomfortable as well.

*Turns out that “idiot” is a favorite word of Ken Schram. So I guess it was kind of an inside joke.

Pointer from .

ETA (June 10, 2005): An interesting Seattle radio talk show, The Bob Rivers Show, discusses Ken Schram’s commentary (Audio podcast. Right click and “save target as”).

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Operating in the spirit of its “Most Wanted” posters, the FBI–which has just assembled a new task force on art theft–posts pictures of stolen items on its Web site.

Weirdest story out of the top ten most valuable stolen goods:

6. Breitwieser’s European spree (1995-2001). Stephane Breitwieser, a waiter, was arrested in Switzerland after pinching hundreds of pieces across Europe (with a total value of $14 million to $20 million) over the course of seven years. In an attempt to cover her son’s tracks, Breitwieser’s mother took a hammer and scissors to stolen paintings, and tossed vases and statues into a local canal; more than 100 items were later removed from the mud and restored.

From The Atlantic, April 2005 (subscription only).

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My experience this past year living in Vietnam tells me this is bad news.

WHO researchers expressed concerns that material used to produce the vaccine strain could be contaminated by other viruses and that a breach of security in the laboratory could allow a more dangerous version of the bird flu virus to escape.

In an interview last month at her institute, National Institute for Hygiene and Epidemiology, Prof. Nguyen Thu Van said she did not share these worries about the safety of her program. “I believe in our procedures and all the laboratory testing. I’m sure our vaccine is safe, so I’m not concerned,” she said.

~Washington Post, May 28, 2005

Maybe I would have a smidgeon of confidence in Dr. Van and her colleagues if quality and consistency were hallmarks of everyday life here in Vietnam. They’re not.

xposted

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Kuala Lumpur

Women factory workers were shocked when a man in a full Darth Vader costume paraded menacingly in front of them and then flashed his genitals, Malaysian media reported on Thursday.

The women were waiting for their bus after work in Seremban south of the capital on Tuesday when the man got out of his car and strutted in front of them in the costume of the evil character from the Hollywood blockbuster Star Wars.

Suddenly, he flung back his outfit to reveal his genitals. When some of the women screamed, he jumped into his car and sped off.

“At first, I thought he was a die-hard Star Wars fan trying to impress us with his costume. But we were shocked when he showed us his private parts,” one of the women, identified only as Priscilla, told The Star.

“Next time it will not be Revenge of the Sith but revenge on a sick man if we catch him doing his act again,” she added.

Singapore Straits Times, May 27, 2005

I can vouch for Marv’s whereabouts. Can you provide an alibi for your Star Wars fan?

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“Hla Htay, 40, a relative of a Yangon Zoological Gardens staffer, breastfeeds a tiger cub in Yangon, Myanmar. The lactating woman (mother of a 7-month-old) volunteered to breastfeed the pair of endangered Bengal tiger cubs recently born at the Yangon zoo who were separated from their aggressive mother. Veterinarian Kyaw Myo Hlaing said they were being bottle-fed along with Hla Htay’s half-hour breastfeeding sessions four times a day, the report said.” (AFP/Myanmar Times)

Thank goodness the cubs are only two weeks old and don’t have teeth yet.

First seen at Blogging Baby.

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A University of Washington study* followed 1,266 four-year-olds through age 11 and found that bullies watched about five hours of TV per day, almost two hours more than children who were not bullies. The researchers found that children were less likely to be bullies if their parents took them on outings as well as read to, played with, taught, and ate with them.

Bullying or being bullied is part of a child’s world. It seems that bullying is treated much more seriously than before for a number of reasons: fewer children per family means parents have more time to pay attention to what’s going on, society is less tolerant of bullying because of school shootings and other school violence, and kids are perhaps more malicious than before.

I’ve been both bully and victim. In grade school, I led a group of kids that chased other kids around the playground then pummeled them for no reason I can remember. In high school, we emotionally bullied another girl by deliberately excluding her from our group despite her desire to belong. I was on the receiving end of teasing in junior high when one girl made fun of my studious nature and appearance. (It didn’t bother me much, though, because I knew she was stupid.)

If I had to choose, I’d rather be a bully than a victim. At least bullies can defend themselves whereas victims seem cowardly and ineffectual. If Stephen turns out to be a bully, we would have a heart-to-heart talk about why he bullied and the importance of being kind. But, I wouldn’t be worried sick wondering if he’s going to come home bruised emotionally and/or physically. If he were a victim, however, I think it would be much more difficult to address the issue without either pushing him to be more aggressive than his natural temperament or confronting the bully’s parents.

Excuse me while I go turn on the TV.

*One of the major flaws of the study seems to be that the children’s own mothers were the ones who reported them as bullies. And the number of TV viewing hours is also self-reported, so I’m not sure how much faith I place in the study’s results.

ETA: Bullies may not suffer from low self-esteem and depression as previously thought. One study showed that sixth-grade bullies were actually popular and psychologically strong while their victims were lonely, unstable, and socially marginalized. (Pediatrics, December 2003 via The Atlantic)

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Despite the historical significance of Pope John Paul II’s death, I have to admit that he had no direct effect on my life. Certainly, the global chain of events stemming from his actions as Pope affected me to some degree, but in response to ’s question, he was not someone who inspired me.

For our eighth grade speech contest, we were asked to give a speech about someone we admired. Although I can’t remember who I focused on in my speech back then, I would have no shortage of people to talk about now.

I admire…

• My father who had the courage to leave Taiwan, the country where he spent over 30 years of his life, to strive for a better life for himself and his young family in the U.S.
• My mother whose resourcefulness helped guarantee our success even though she had to speak a foreign language, live in the Midwest for a while, and learn how to drive.
• My sister who was a dedicated high school teacher and assistant principal and now tries to make our world a better place by policing the Internet.
• My husband who supports our family through dedication, honesty, and hard work – rare traits in this selfish world.
• My mother-in-law who has maintained her love of life despite many bumps along the way and who is more kind and generous to me than I deserve.
• My domestic helper who lived through the Vietnam War and yet remains cheerful and kind hearted.
• My aunt who cares for an invalid husband without complaint.
• My friends around the world who are doing important work in public health and medicine.
• My housekeepers who clean my apartment and over ten others six days out of the week, and allow Stephen to jump on the beds while they attempt to tidy up.
• Every single one of you who take the time to reach out to me and make me feel interconnected.

Inspiration is all around me; just an arm’s length away.

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Marking this day in history.

On May 13, 1981, when I was eight years old, Pope John Paul II was shot in Rome. This happened just a couple of months after President Reagan was shot in March. I came home and asked my parents who was more important, the Pope or the President (of the United States).

As I get older, I’m less inclined to make comparisons like this. Each person has his/her own place in time; the George Bailey Effect. Some just make bigger ripples than others.

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The San Francisco Chronicle reports that 15 people who visited agricultural fairs in Florida may be infected with E. coli O157:H7. While some developed bloody diarrhea, nine children developed life-threatening kidney disease known as hemolytic uremic syndrome. Petting zoos are suspected to be the source of the E. coli infection, but this connection has not been confirmed.

A Japanese friend once told me that it was not wise to take toddlers to the zoo. Maybe this is what she was referring to. On top of bird flu, we’re not going anywhere near the Ho Chi Minh City zoo for the time being.

The virulent bacteria strain, known as E. coli 0157:H7, lives in the gut of cattle, sheep, goats and other ruminants and can be picked up by petting or nuzzling them, or simply touching one’s shoes after walking through manure.
…..
There have been previous outbreaks associated with petting zoos, notably one at the North Carolina State Fair last year, in which 180 people were reported sick and 15 developed hemolytic uremic syndrome.
…..
Many petting zoos have hand-washing stations or staff members who squirt liquid sanitizer on visitors’ hands. However, those measures were used in North Carolina, and some children became infected anyway, the state Health Department said. Children who sat or fell on the ground were five times more likely to have been infected.

The disease is most dangerous to children under 5 and the elderly and can be transmitted in many settings, Agwunobi said, including pony rides, rodeos, livestock displays, milking demonstrations, hayrides and pig races.

Bloody diarrhea is the most common first sign, followed by lethargy and failure to produce normal amounts of urine.
…..
Many other dangerous bacteria are found on petting animals and poultry. Snakes, for example, often have salmonella on their skins, and animal feces may contain campylobacter, shigella, giardia and cryptosporidium.

Young animals and birds — often handed to children because they are cute — are the most likely to transmit infections, according to CDC guidelines.

xposted

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London Underground is to give special badges to pregnant women
in a drive to encourage people to give up their seats for mums-to-be.
BBC News, March 7, 2005

When I got pregnant with Stephen, we were living in Japan and I took the subway at least three times a week. Most of the time, I would be able to avoid rush hour so there were plenty of seats, but sometimes all the seats were taken and nobody ever offered me a seat. Marv rode the subway with me once when I was about seven months pregnant and was outraged that I couldn’t sit down. He threatened to beat somebody up just to get a seat.

Even after Stephen was born and I used a sling to bring him out with me everywhere, I was offered a seat less than five times. And each time, the person who offered me the seat was an elderly woman who needed the seat almost as much as me (although older Japanese women are generally full of vim and vigor).

These “baby on board” buttons are obviously meant for women who aren’t showing yet when, as one rider put it,

In the early stages of pregnancy when no-one can tell you’re pregnant a lot of women feel sick and faint and it can be dangerous if they have to stand up in a crowded carriage.

Fortunately, I am big and strong and have never been considered fragile. Even during pregnancy, I experienced very few discomforts. But does that make me less deserving of a seat?

Personally, I would avoid announcing my pregnancy before it became obvious. There are psychos out there who target pregnant women. And, even though I am generally not superstitious, I’d also be a little afraid of jinxing myself.

In any case, if people pay as much attention to the badges as they do to the “baby on board” signs suctioned to car windows, pregnant women won’t be able to sit down anytime soon.

First seen at Blogging Baby.

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