In this story we clearly see what happens to young women when they are not provided with proper boundaries by those who are supposedly in authority over them. This is an excellent microcosm of what is happening in society at large:

...according to the report. When one teacher told a squad member to quit chatting on her cell phone in class, the girl replied, "Shut up, I'm talking to my Mom." On a separate occasion, she offered this response to the teacher's reprimand: "Pull your panties out of a wad." "Gang members were nothing compared to these girls," the teacher told Jones. "They believe they cannot be touched."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Drivers swerved their cars and trucks into other lanes to avoid a 3-year-old boy, wearing only a diaper and T-shirt, who was playing along a busy highway after wandering away from home while his mother slept, police said."

"Police said they traced the boy to an apartment at a nearby complex, where they found his mother, Nancy Dyer, asleep in a filthy apartment and his 2-year-old sister eating spaghetti off the floor. Dyer, 33, was arrested on two counts of child neglect and remained in custody Sunday, officials said."

Essay here. Excerpt:

"The fourth victim is unlikely to be so lucky; she will not be exonerated at trial, and she will not be able to move on with her life. She will be destroyed by this case, and while she is partly to blame for that herself, the other part of the blame rests squarely on Mike Nifong’s shoulders."

"The defense attorneys will obliterate her, permanently painting her as the worst sort of nut and slut. We will not hate the boys, we will hate her."

Story here. Excerpt:

"In a bizarre incident, a woman killed her five-year-old daughter by sliting her throat with a sharp weapon, in the Kuli Bazar locality of Kanpur early on Sunday morning, all out of pique."

"Her daughter, Al Shifa's fault: She informed her grandparents that her mother, Bismillah Jahan, pushed her cousin from the roof of the house in order to kill him. However, the kid got entangled in ropes and fell on a dog, thus escaping critical injuries."

Story here.

I'm not certain Oprah is a true humanitarian. While this school is certainly beneficial for girls, she has seemingly ignored the educational needs of boys. While the girls attend schools in an ultra modern facility, the boys will continue their education under third world conditions. I believe Oprah deserves much critisim for her decision to blatantly ignore boys, yet she is such a powerfull media figure, I fear her neglecting young boys will go virtually un-noticed. The woman she be exposed as a hypocrite. Excerpt:

'The tough talk comes as the famously philanthropic Winfrey unveils her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa - a sprawling, 28-building complex for impoverished teens that features a yoga studio and beauty salon, among other luxuries.
...
Winfrey handpicked the 152 girls who will attend out of an application pool of more than 3,500. Winfrey has also supplied millions of dollars to educate needy children in the U.S. through the Oprah Winfrey Scholars program.'

--

Article here. Excerpt:

"Circumcision practices are largely culturally determined and as a result there are strong beliefs and opinions surrounding its practice. It is important to acknowledge that researchers' personal biases and the dominant circumcision practices of their respective countries may influence their interpretation of findings."

Story here. Excerpt:

'A woman was charged with malicious castration for allegedly attacking a man during a Christmas party, police said. Rebecca Arnold Dawson, 34, is accused of grabbing the genitals of a 38-year-old man during a fight that erupted early Tuesday morning at a party hosted by the man's girlfriend. All three were heavily intoxicated, Lillington Police Chief Frank Powers said.

Dawson, who was released from jail Wednesday on $50,000 bond, also was charged with assault causing serious bodily injury, malicious conduct by a prisoner, and damage to government property for damaging a police cruiser. She also allegedly spit on an officer, Stevens said.'

YOU HAVE TO LOVE THIS: I WAS JAILED FOR FOUR DAYS AND A $200,000 BOND FOR A FALSE RAPE ACCUSATION. BUT I GUESS WE SHOULD BE HAPPY THIS DIDN'T TAKE PLACE IN THE UK, AS SHE PROBABLY WOULD HAVE GOTTEN OFF BECAUSE SHE WAS DRUNK AND WAS UNABLE TO TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE CRIME...

Well, well, well, chickens finally home to roost in an official way for ol' Mikey. Guess he figured this case would be an easy way to win hearts and minds, get an easy sweep back into office, and maybe, who knows, on to bigger and better!

Guess he was wrong.

Story here. Excerpt:

'RALEIGH, North Carolina (CNN) -- The prosecutor in the Duke University lacrosse rape case violated ethics standards in statements to the media about the case, North Carolina's bar complained Thursday.

...

A 17-page complaint to the bar's Disciplinary Hearing Commission accuses Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong of telling reporters that the Duke players were refusing to cooperate with the investigation and that the players were refusing to make statements to local law enforcement authorities. It also says he improperly commented on tests involved in the investigation.'

Story here. Excerpt:

"Lawyers for a Trimble High School teacher fired for alleged sexual misconduct have filed a lengthy defense of the woman, in an appeal that's pending in Athens County Common Pleas Court."

"Stephanie Evans, 25, has asked the court to order the Trimble Local School Board to reinstate her with back pay, and to expunge records of a disciplinary hearing."

"In a motion earlier this month, Evans' attorneys repeated her denials that she had sex with a male high-school student, and pointed out that Evans got "glowing" evaluations during her one year of teaching."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Freeman and a defense attorney told the judge Branin suffered a syndrome, called Munchausen by proxy, which causes parents to manufacture illnesses for their children to win sympathy and attention"

"Amber Branin was sentenced to nearly eight years in prison for her daughter Reagan's death. The girl was suffocated last year, Assistant District Attorney Beth Freeman said."

Story here. Excerpt:

"On Monday, the morning following the confrontation, Kathy Ward got a gun out of her car, went back inside and shot her husband while he slept, the documents allege."

"Kathy Jo Ward, 36, was being held without bond today in the Madison County Jail. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf Friday by a county magistrate."

UK: Men face being charged with rape if they have sex with women who are drunk.

The proposal, contained in a Home Office report, is being considered by ministers in a bid to boost conviction rates for sex offences and bring more “date rapists” to justice.

The new law would mean a woman judged to be drunk at the time of having sex would be deemed incapable of giving her consent. That would potentially open the way for the prosecution of thousands of men for having sex with drunk women — regardless of whether agreement had been given at the time.

Time to emigrate, guys.

In 2006, RADAR greatly expanded its activities over the previous year, continuing to monitor for media bias and promoting advocacy efforts from the local level all the way to the United Nations. RADAR also maintained an active presence in the U.S House of Representatives and Senate.

During the year, RADAR issued 44 Alerts, 15 press releases, 8 Special Reports, and organized 3 major campaigns. In the process, an estimated 20 million learned the truth of domestic violence and how the Violence Against Women Act violates civil liberties.

RADAR also spearheaded a national consortium of concerned groups, the VAWA Reform Coalition, which grew to 62 affiliates by year end.

Passage of the Violence Against Women Act

On January 5, President Bush signed into law the 2005 Violence Against Women Act. The law contained the following non-exclusionary wording in Section 40002(b)(8):

"Nothing in this title shall be construed to prohibit male victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking from receiving benefits and services under this title."

The wording in this article is very vague -- probably because of the media ban that has been put into effect.

Was Elaine Campione charged with murdering another one of her children before the two more recent murders that landed her in jail? Excerpt:

'A woman charged with murdering her newborn baby has regained the right to spend time with the child's surviving twin.

"The baby's father is devastated," the man's Toronto lawyer, Irving Solnik, said yesterday.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A 21-year-old German woman who did not feel like going to work at a fast food restaurant sent her parents a text message saying she had been kidnapped.

Police in the Bavarian town of Straubing said Wednesday they had launched a massive search throughout the region for the woman who disappeared on December 23 but turned up unscathed the following morning, saying the kidnapper had set her free.'