Story here. Excerpt:

'An Edmonton woman who fatally stabbed her common-law husband in the back while drunk and then blamed others – including her daughter – has now owned up to it.

Norma Elaine Janvier, 40, pleaded guilty Friday in Court of Queen’s Bench to a reduced charge of manslaughter for the Sept. 25, 2008, killing of David Owen O’Donnell, 57.

Janvier had been charged with second-degree murder, however the Crown consented to accepting a guilty plea to the lesser and included offence.

According to agreed facts, Janvier and O’Donnell had been together for about three years and were living at an apartment in north Edmonton at the time of the stabbing.'

Story here. Perhaps she was mentally deficient at the time, but given the description of her actions, I am finding it hard to believe she didn't know what she was doing is wrong. It's not like she made one mistake. She made many over a long period of time. Excerpt:

'SASKATOON — Family and supporters of a teacher from Shell Lake, Sask., sighed with relief in a Saskatoon courtroom Friday after a judge declared her not criminally responsible, due to mental illness, for a sexual relationship with a 15-year-old former student.

Michelle Francoeur was in an extreme “manic state” and lacked the capacity to make rational decisions when she agreed to have sex with the teen boy on several occasions between Sept. 1 and Nov. 20, 2008, Queen’s Bench Justice Duane Koch found.

“The criminal law does not want to punish people who were suffering a mental disorder at the time of the act,” Crown prosecutor Mitch Piche said outside court.'

Video report here. There is no significant text associated with this story. I will mention that the reason (ostensibly) he remained in prison was not due to a false or wrong conviction but because paperwork was mislaid and he could not get a new trial. For this he was kept in jail for 38 years despite being acquitted. What had he been acquitted of? Rape. Did anyone care to get him a new trial or really try too hard to get him out of jail? Apparently not.

Personally, I think the real reason he was kept there was that he was a man charged with rape, and a black one to boot. That's about it.

Read the whole article, by Christina Hoff Sommers, at USAToday. Excerpt:

'"The facts are clear," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "Intimate partner homicide is the leading cause of death for African-American women ages 15 to 45."

That's a horrifying statistic, and it would be a shocking reflection of the state of the black family, and American society generally, if it were true. But it isn't true."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Justice Department's own Bureau of Justice Statistics, the leading causes of death for African-American women between the ages 15–45 are cancer, heart disease, unintentional injuries such as car accidents, and HIV disease. Homicide comes in fifth — and includes murders by strangers. In 2006 (the latest year for which full statistics are available), several hundred African-American women died from intimate partner homicide — each one a tragedy and an outrage, but far fewer than the approximately 6,800 women who died of the other leading causes.'

Press release here. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has recently joined the 15th anniversary team of the National Domestic Violence Hotline, along with other sports figures. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A victim rights group is calling on the National Football League to denounce the myth that Super Bowl Sunday is a "day of dread" for victims of abuse. Stop Abusive and Violent Environments – SAVE – believes such claims foster hysteria and trivialize the problem of domestic violence.

The myth dates back to 1993 when a group of activists charged Super Bowl Sunday was "biggest day of the year for violence against women." The myth was later refuted by the Washington Post: http://www.snopes.com/crime/statistics/superbowl.asp

Story here. Excerpt:

'(CBS) A mother in Alaska has sparked outrage for allegedly punishing her son with hot sauce and cold showers. Now, she's the one facing punishment: charges of child abuse.

CBS News Correspondent Betty Nguyen reported on "The Early Show" Thursday a disturbing home video started it all.

Jessica Beagley, a 36-year-old mother of six, is seen disciplining her adopted son by making him hold hot sauce in his mouth. The reason for the severe punishment? He'd lied.

In the video, Beagley can be heard saying, "What happens when you lie to me?" The boy answers, "I get hot sauce. You get hot sauce."'

F&F reports here. Excerpt:

'Fathers and Families has for many years publicized the terrible child support problems often faced by low income obligors, and we've had some legislative success on the issue. Nevertheless, the problem remains acute, particularly due to the recession.

The injustice is typified by the case of Jeremy Lavine, one of three Fathers and Families supporters quoted in a national Associated Press article on the issue.

Lavine worked in the real estate industry and had a $1,100 a month child support obligation based on a $4,500 a month income. Like so many in the real estate industry, his income dropped precipitously, yet the Florida Department of Children and Families told him his industry was going to bounce back and refused to give him a downward modification. The kicker? Lavine's kids live with him 50% of the time.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'There was no doubt a great deal of relief in Barrhaven, as well as head-scratching, this week when that January attack was revealed to have been a hoax. Ottawa police, who canvassed the neighbourhood and viewed video footage from the OC Transpo park-and-ride where the girl said she was dumped after the attack, say they have closed the case and that the claims made by the girl are unfounded. They have not charged the 16-year-old, who had described the man she said forced her at gunpoint into his vehicle in detail.

Some in the neighbourhood are now calling on the girl to apologize for the effect the hoax had on the community, especially the heightened sense fear that the streets were no longer safe because a rapist was on the loose. The incident must have shaken the community.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"For decades it has enjoyed a reputation as the respectable department store of choice for the middle classes.

But John Lewis was yesterday revealed as the unlikely setting for a rumpus that could have come straight from a script for Are You Being Served?

A male shop assistant, Konstantinos Kalomoiris, 40, has accused a female colleague of repeatedly slapping him on the bottom.

And when he told her to stop he said she replied: 'I do that to all the boys.'"

Article here. Excerpt:

'The alarm bells reached peak decibel in November, when Dallas Police Sergeant Louis Felini told the The Dallas Morning News that between 50,000 and 100,000 prostitutes could descend on the metroplex for the Super Bowl. The call to outrage had sounded.

His estimate was astonishing. At the higher figure, it meant that every man, woman and child holding a ticket would have their own personal hooker, from the vice presidential wing of FedEx to Little Timmy from Green Bay.
...
That leaves the outside world to speculate—usually with stats only appreciated after eight beers near closing time. Professors pitch junk studies whereby every runaway girl is a potential prostitute.

Advocacy groups take those numbers and fan them by the thousands, buffing them with lurid anecdotes of "sex slaves" and "victims of human trafficking." The fervent simply can't believe that isolated cases are just that: isolated.

Commentary here.. Excerpt:

'No, I wasn’t surprised at what a citizen of Adler Nation posted on my Facebook page.

And if you knew what Bill was posting about, neither would you. Here’s the post:

“This is great. Let’s all get drunk, take some prescription medication and take my beater and plow into everyone on the street. The courts will set me free and maybe I can claim damages too.

“Thank you Manitoba justice for protecting the criminals as usual. She must just be laughing at home right now and having a toast to the judge. This would never happen to a male.”

Bill was reacting to the story covered in Sun newspapers this week about a Winnipeg woman, 52-year-old Joan Henderson, who consumed six double rum and Cokes while playing VLTs at a local restaurant.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A 45-year-old Denver woman was arrested Tuesday and accused of knowingly spreading HIV while allegedly working as a prostitute, Fox 31 reports.

Prosecutors say Frances Woodke -- who has known for years that she is HIV positive -- offered sex to an undercover police officer for $23.

Woodke is being charged with two misdemeanors -- prostitution and solicitation for prostitution -- and a felony count of prostitution with knowledge of AIDS, according to the station.

The woman has pleaded guilty twice before to attempted prostitution with knowledge of AIDS -- spending time in prison for the charges in 2000 and again in 2008, according to the Denver district attorney's office.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Football fans across the nation are patiently waiting for that historical day in American history when their football champion is finally named. While the beloved commercials are playing on the television and the dogs are out grilling at half-time, the local Crisis Control Center in Durant will be tackling domestic violence in their first ever “Tackle Domestic Violence” fundraiser.

Announcement here. Excerpt:

'Distinguished experts will discuss the problems, challenges and solutions to the rapidly deteriorating status of men and boys in education, employment, mental and physical health, family structure and related areas. The conference will cover the impact of males’ problems in the post-modern era, as well as their effect on both genders, and the presenters’ views on steps to reverse current trends.

The conference will deal with virtually all areas defining contemporary life from advertising and education – to medicine, psychology and sociology – and represent a range of academic disciplines from anthropology, education and history – to medicine, government and psychology.
...
The conference moderator is Guy Garcia, author of The Decline of Men, a former vice-president of AOL, and the winner of awards for journalism.

In addition to this conference’s global webinar audience (early registration is $25.00 per person), we also have a limited number of seats at the conference site, with an early registration fee of $200 per person.

Story here. Excerpt:

'WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) -- A woman who said she strangled her 18-year-old daughter because she "pushed my last button" pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree manslaughter.

Her husband, who discovered the body, wept during the court session.

Stacy Pagli, 38, had been charged with murder in the Feb. 22 killing of her daughter Marissa at Manhattanville College in Purchase.

But her lawyer, Allan Focarile, claimed Pagli was under "extreme emotional duress" at the time of the killing. Her mental state was the focus of pretrial hearings, and psychiatrists for both sides eventually agreed.

In exchange for her guilty plea, Pagli is to be sentenced to 20 years in prison. Sentencing was set for April 5.'