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While I lay in a tent in FIRE's camp in Haiti I remember one of the first popular songs that changed social consciousness regarding violence against women, at a time when the subject was a well-known secret and there was no political, social and cultural acknowledgment of violence against women as a violation of the human rights of women.

When it was introduced, Yasmin (and its sidekick, Yaz) was not just a birth control pill, but a girl's best friend. I mean, other pills have clinical names, like Necon 7/7/7 (my pill) or Lo-Ovral (my former pill) or Ortho TriCyclen (my former former pill) or Alesse (my former former former pill), so it's clear that they are just medicines. I didn't think I was going to hang out and talk about boys with Lo-Ovral, but I might with Yaz. Yaz is a person's name. It's kicky. I can trust my friend Yaz.

Last year, BlogHer hosted its first annual International Activist Blogger scholarship winners. The resulting panel at BlogHer '09 was one of the most inspirational of the event. We knew then that it was the beginning of another fine BlogHer tradition.

By: Maria Suarez ToroThe Global Fund for Women On the grounds next to an epidemiological hospital destroyed by the earthquake, Dr. Jean Pape has set up two laboratories and an emergency medical center for wounded victims. This Haitian doctor received worldwide fame for inventing a method of halting the advancement of HIV/AIDS to help those without the ability to buy expensive medicines continue to live with the infection.

Last year I went to Africa for vacation, in the Zulu region of South Africa. When I returned I didn't really have much to say. I feared any word I uttered would sound patronizing or privileged or pandering, so words failed me. I published 300 pictures online and left it pretty much at that.

You might have seen it on a T-shirt. Or perhaps you've heard a Canadian woman declare it. We now have proof, though -- Canadian women really do kick ass. To date in the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canadian women have won 13.5 of Canada's 17 medals.

Every once in a while, something causes me to take a deep breath and turn down the heat on my boiling cauldron of seething cynicism. The latest campaign by The White House Project, who work to advance women in leadership with the project mission "add women, change everything," is causing me to step back and think. The organization is teaming up with Barbie to inspire girls to aim high - as high as the Oval Office if that interests them.

Happy Freedom To Read Week

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Censorship is a dirty word in my house. There are many things in this world I disagree with, but the same protections that allow people to say or write those things allow me to speak out against them. Something that is sure to push my buttons is any attempt to ban books. Each February during Freedom To Read Week, I am reminded that my freedom to choose what I want to read is something that is frequently threatened and that I must continue to be vocal.

There is perhaps no Olympic event that is more discussed across Canada than Olympic hockey. Can the women bring home gold on our own ice? Can the men redeem themselves after a seventh place finish at the Torino Olympics?

Amongst the ladies of BlogHer, a bout of semi-secret self-flagellation seems to have broken out in regards to enjoying various commercials that ran during the Super Bowl. Sure, the comments are full of self-confident women standing up for their opinions, explaining why they liked an ad or found it offensive. Behind the scenes, though, e-mails have been flying. For example, Mir at Would Coulda Shoulda gave me permission to share her thoughts:

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The real work of recovery is not only saying goodbye to what was destroying your life, but accepting what you may have detroyed that once...

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