Awwww to have more truthiness!!!!

Olbermann To Bush: "This War Is Not About You...Shut The Hell Up!"

Tonight, Keith Olbermann unleashed what may well have been his angriest, most blistering Special Comment yet, aimed squarely at his favorite target: President Bush. Olbermann was responding to Bush's claim that he had given up golf in honor of the Iraq war — and his assertion that a Democratic president withdrawing from Iraq would "eventually lead to another attack on the United States" — a statement Olbermann called "ludicrous, infuriating, holier-than-thou and most importantly bone-headedly wrong." Olbermann continued in that vein for a full 12 minutes (or 2,000 words), frequently raising his voice and spitting out his words in disgust.

Olbermann turned Bush's reference to "cold-blooded killers who will kill people to achieve their political objectives" around and threw it back at him, saying that such killers were "those in -- or formerly in -- your employ, who may yet be charged some day with war crimes." It didn't get any milder — saying  more here

weeks ago i found out that divacup is no longer refunding cups. i sent them an e-mail and i actually got a response pretty quickly, but i forgot to share it here. *^_^*

here is what i said:

Hello! I've been a DivaCup user for several years now and I just found out about a policy change that's a bit discouraging. Considering that I am only finding out about the change now, I'm aware that it may have changed ages ago and I simply hadn't heard about it. ^_^

Anywho, a new DivaCup user had troubles, and she said that when she contacted you about returning the cup she was told that Diva no longer issues refunds. After looking at your site I saw that you no longer mail out the cups and I understand that's probably why the policy was removed.

However, the main reason why I originally started using the Diva cup was because you had a 1 year money-back guarantee. I thought that was brilliant and amazing, considering that for many women it's a huge amount of money to spend (all at one time) for their periods. That 1 year guarantee gave me the confidence to try your product, and that 1 year guarantee is why I have recommended the DivaCup over all other menstrual cups for the past several years.

Now that I know your refund policy has changed, I'll be researching other brands to recommend to my friends.

Please reconsider your no-returns policy. It was a huge selling point when I purchased my cup, and I'm sure I'm not the only woman who felt that way.

Sincerely,
Mia


their reply:

Dear Mia:

We will continue to exchange any manufacturer defected products. Contact us at info@divacup.com.

We cannot refund because of disappointment with the product. It is impossible for us to determine if a woman has really tried to master the use or has simply changed her mind.

The DivaCup, as all menstrual cups and tampons, are considered medical devices and are regulated by the FDA and Health Canada. We also must adhere to local health regulations.

The amount of energy expended on returns has taken us way from our ultimate goal: to offer The DivaCup to women worldwide, and thereby have a positive effect on women’s lives, as well as reduce the disposable feminine hygiene eco-footprint on the planet. Use of The DivaCup lessens the billions of tampons and pads being dumped into the environment.

The good news is that with patience and careful attention most women learn the knack of using The DivaCup quickly, and they want to keep it! We offer continued assistance on how to use the cup should one need more information.

Warm Regards,
susan@divacup.com



so... if your cup is splitting or defective in some way, you can get a refund. but you can't get a refund if you want to try a different size or it's just not working altogether.

if you purchased a divacup because of the guarantee, please email them and let them know! i still think it was a great marketing tool and i wish they'd kept it.

~mia

Does anyone else find that the condition of their hair affects their mood? I've had times where I was just unreasonably irritable and then after detangling and/or washing my hair just felt a thousand times better. I've had knots in my hair without being in a particularly bad mood, but it just seems like I tend to end up having those "extra special" days after failing to take proper care of my hair for a couple of days. The more tangles, the worse it is and once I get them all out and get my hair clean my mood always improves.

OK so I have looked through the memories, and there isn't much about this topic. (or i just didnt look very well!)

I have been on the pill for twoish years, the same kind. (Orthotricyclen)  Today I noticed a stain on my new white undies. (DAMMIT!)  TMI:  The color is rusty, more a light orangy brown.  I know I don't have a yeastie, I used to get them all the time, and I take my pill almost the same time every night.

I shouldnt start my period until next week, so that means that I have 2 active pills left in my pack for this month.

Should I be worried? I've never spotted before on the pill, but I should mention im sexually active, with the same guy for 2ish years, but we don't use condoms. (I know, bad).

HELPPP please ladies ! (and gents?)

Thank you :-)

Not quite sure I know how to ask my question, so I'll start with the observations I had first. Which I'll cut both because I'm not sure it really belongs here (but I'm not sure where else I'd get a good answer, and
( because I talk about farts, bowel movements and 'that time of the month' )

Hello!
My hair isn't pretty long (mid-back lenght) but I always let it down all flat... and it's boring!
I want to know about nice hairdos for me =) My hair is straight, has a bit of natural wave and is rather thin. I want hairdos that respect my lenght, not buns or such.
Any ideas? pictures are most welcome!

I'm not entirely sure if this is alright to post here... so I'll put it behind a cut.

( Baby :) )

Just out of curiousity, and not that I went vegan for weight issues, but did you guys lose or gain weight when you switched over to vegan? What do I need to eat to keep my weight level?

I just asked my gyno to switch me off of Yasmin because I have NO libido whatsoever when I take it. He prescribed me Cryselle (saying since it has a higher level of estrogen it might help). Does anyone have any experience with this BC? What did you think of it? Any side effects?

ALSO, I finished up my period after taking my last pack of Yasmin, and started taking the Cryselle 2 days ago. Am I safe to have sex tomorrow (going home to my man!) even after switching the brand of pill?



And, why does it say to watch how much grapefruit juice I drink when I'm on HBC?

[EDIT] I just found an article that said that grapefruit juice contains an enzyme that slows the absorption of estrogen, making the pill less effective. Therefore, Progesterone-only pills are not effected.
If you are curious, it also says that with some other medicines it can actually speed up the absorption of the medication into your bloodstream, possibly causing the medicine to become lethal.

So this past week, I've had gross brown discharge all week. I'm assuming it's break through bleeding. Does it seem logical that if on Mon-Fri I took my pill around 7:30 am, and then on Sat-Sun I took it around 12/1 pm, it could cause the bleeding? I quite enjoy my sleep-ins on the weekends, could that be the cause? Sorry if this seems silly, I'd just like reassurance that its a plasuible reason. :)

A friend of mine has moved to Ireland, and I'm need of a present for them. As I refuse to buy wool or non-vegan sweets (darn my vegan sensibilities!), I figured I'd try my luck with an online vegan shop, and hope they have something gift-worthy. I have a small problem, though - searching for "online vegan shopping in Ireland" only landed me restaurants and health shops that don't seem to have web pages, even.

And shipping from the UK doesn't seem very cost or time effective at all.

So, does anyone know any online shops set in Ireland which carry vegan goodies? Or, alternately, online shops and tips on which desert-type goodies in them are vegan? I'd appreciate any help, really.

ETA: Thanks to sugarblue_sunny I've been able to find Evergreen health food stores. However, while their product info includes some food sensitivity information, it doesn't mark products as vegan or not. So, I'm having to ask item by item whether they know what is and isn't vegan.

All this means that if you have any sure bets of online stores (in Ireland, natch!) that do mark things as vegan, I'd still appreciate it very much.

So while I know this isn't strictly "women's health" related, I thought I would post it anyway since justice vs. injustice affects us all, especially minorities (such as women, who have historically been discrimminated against) looking for equality. Also, I'm sure many members of vaginapagina are part of the LGBT community or have close friends who are.

Yesterday, our State Supreme Court overturned the ban on same-sex marriage in Callifornia. This will make us the second state in the U.S. to legalize gay marriage.

In the decision, the Court declared that "in contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual’s sexual orientation, and, more generally, that an individual’s sexual orientation — like a person’s race or gender — does not constitute a legitimate basis upon which to deny or withhold legal rights. We therefore conclude that in view of the substance and significance of the fundamental constitutional right to form a family relationship, the California Constitution properly must be interpreted to guarantee this basic civil right to all Californians, whether gay or heterosexual, and to same-sex couples as well as to opposite-sex couples." (You can read the full text of the decision here: http://www.nbc11.com/download/2008/0515/16274829.pdf )

This is a major step for us, and although certain groups in this state are already planning to try to amend the state constitution and nullify this court decision (which, luckily, the Governator says is a motion he will not support), it is still cause for much celebration. I'm very proud to be a Californian right now. Minorities need to stick together to ensure the rights of us all. As Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."

( Watch a great news clip about it )

I just moved into a house on capitol hill in Washington DC.  I have a couple of questions.

1. They painted our apartment before we moved in with something that must have been super toxic nasty paint, we've been in a week and it still reeks like they painted yesterday, despite having left the windows every day. I'm afraid to burn anything with fear the fumes are going to go up in flames its that strong.  Would bowls full of vineger work, or something else? it is killing me. and my brain cells.

2. Washington DC is famous for among other things the lead content in their water due to stupid pipes.  I have 1 brita filter left from a previous non natural life and was wondering if you could recommend anything to remove the lead from the water.  Bonus points for affordablity and minimal waste.  We have no small children or pets who would be drinking the water just 2 twenty something females.

Hi guys,

I'm not really sure if this is the right place for this, so feel free to delete if it's not on topic, but I'm looking for a good gynecologist in the NYC area that accepts Blue Cross/Blue Shield. I usually find myself feeling pretty uncomfortable at the gyno, so I'm looking for someone friendly, preferably female, who's easy to talk to and not judgmental.

Thanks a bundle.

$5 off Brita system or $1 off filter if you pledge to switch to reusable water bottles.

http://www.brita.com/index_us.html (link in lower right corner to filterforgood.com)

Direct link to pledge:
http://www.filterforgood.com/take_the_pledge.php

I'm not in the market for a Brita filter just yet but I hope this will help someone else out. Natural living sure ain't cheap. :D

*edit* Apparently there is also a campaign underway for filter recycling. http://www.takebackthefilter.org/

I hope this question isn't too basic, but I have been known to kill even the hardiest of plants in the past.

For my birthday, my husband bought me a small cactus and a small aloe plant, and I want to take good care of them. My main question is: Do they need fertilizer, or just water? I'd also like to know how to know when they have outgrown their pots, and whether there is any sort of natural treatment/specific plant food/etc. that I should be looking into.

This has probably been covered loads of times...but i just wanted to make a general nosy-ish post about hair washing...and ask a few questions!

how often do you wash your hair?
do you use shampoo and conditioner, or just one or the other?
if you don't wash your hair often, have you always done that, or have you cut down from washing it loads?
if you have greasy hair, what do you use to stop it getting greasy?

( Read More! )

I know - looks like I disappeared - not quite however.

***

It has been a long painful spring so far in my life, and please don't construe that to mean there is anything wrong in my life, quite the opposite in fact.

Many many good things have come to pass, but seemingly at the expense of 'time' that I had previously.

The problem coworker mentioned on occasion has been effectively neutralized by my Promotion earlier this year at work.  Numerous job related events have seemingly conspired to sap me of any loose time at work.  And for whatever reason, this spring has magically been far busier outside of work than ever anticipated.

Things are not looking to slow down anytime soon, but, hopefully they can be forced into some sort of reasonable flow as opposed to a random onslaught of change.

I have an enormous project at work, which is going to take an extended period of time, and thats all well and good, that for the most part is something that will be able to be planned and managed.

A busy summer vacation schedule, but then again, that is pretty much a known quantity, other that a couple odds and ends days to be taken.

I will have 'people' at my disposal shorty, this obviously will be a complicating factor until I can establish exactly what they are capable of.

And a number of significant efforts to be taken at work, but, then again, no emergencies here, hopefully it will just remain a planning and execution issue to work with.

Short term we have had a relative staying with us at our home until he and his family get relocated to our area, so far, he is finding this a great place to be, and we hope their final move goes slowly for them.

I still spend what little free time I've had contemplating the nature of relationships, but have obviously not had enough free time to make any comments.

And that itself is a very good point.  Given time is not a renewable resource, and the fact that even with yourself you have a relationship.  It is a must do to pay attention to your own needs as well as the needs of those around you.

I have been latent in investing in both myself, and those around me as of late, and even though a result of big changes at work, I need to get my life rebalanced.  Not only am I missing the social interaction (outside of work), I fear many of those around me may feel I have all but disappeared.

I have been pressed on multiple fronts to return to posting, and this is something I NEED to do, but for myself.

I had hoped this past week I would have been able to find some time to write, but, as it turns out it was not meant to be.  I've just returned from a 4 day business trip (should have been some free time) related to the project at work, and well, my time out of town was pretty much, wake up, office/meetings/lunch, late dinners/work discussions, and sleep.

All work and no play is no way to have a life, because, really, life is all about people.

~feeling unplugged~

I know that cup manufacturers say that cups last for around 10 years, but why don't they last forever? 

How could they possibly wear out?  What is it about them once they get to that age that means it's necessary for them to be replaced?  Do they eventually stop holding their shape/seal? 

Is there anyone who has used the same cup long enough for it to need replacing who could let me know what happens?

Is it just that the manufacturers would very much like for us to make another purchase? :D

hey all,
i wore bad shoes, and ended up with a pretty nasty blister on my heel.
i've had bad experiences with blisters, including a pretty bad infection on my leg from roller-blades.
any natural suggestions to help this heal better and not get infected?
thanks so much.