See this story here on the Sydney Morning Herald, and further footage for anyone not following this story.

This is an interesting story, mostly for the way the worm has turned. A couple of days ago a story blew up that seemed relatively normal (for Australia, at least) - nude photos turn up of a pro footballer, in this case released by a teenager. At first the stories were what you'd normally expect here - gee, another footballer messing up, why can't they keep it in their pants, etc.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Single fathers lose more than the stereotypical house, car and bank account.

They lose their families, their confidence, and in some cases, even their means of making a living. What's more, any success they have is garnished without prejudice.

The stigma of the deadbeat dad, the father that is never there for his kids, still remains as strong as ever, though a large part of what perpetuates it is a social justice system that assumes fathers as providers, breadwinners and supporters, without needing support themselves.

But what happens when, in order to meet those obligations, the father's standard of living suffers greatly? What happens when failing to meet those obligations results in not only punitive family law measures, but the degradation of the individual who is suffering to make ends meet?'

Story here.

'UTICA — Suspended Utica attorney Leon Koziol filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday asking it to hear his case challenging New York’s custody and support laws.

The case, if heard, will address the constitutional limits affecting domestic relations litigation, whether the state promotes “institutional discrimination on account of gender” in custody cases, and whether the state has retaliated against Koziol for his criticism of the custody system, a news release stated.

Koziol, an outspoken advocate for fathers’ rights, had his law license suspended indefinitely earlier this year for failure to pay child support. He also recently filed a civil lawsuit against the New York State Unified Court System and more than 20 other defendants relating to his ongoing custody battle.

The Supreme Court is the highest court in the country and hears only a fraction of the cases submitted each year.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'The European Court of Human Rights granted a Nigerian man access to his children on Tuesday, overturning a series of German court rulings and potentially strengthening unmarried fathers’ rights.

The court, based in Strasbourg, France, was ruling on a case in which successive German courts had denied the man the right to see his twin daughters, who were born after the man had a relationship with a married German woman.

It found that the decisions by the courts had breached the man’s rights. Germany must now pay the man €5,000 for damages and a further €4,000 in legal costs. The ruling also establishes a precedent that unmarried fathers in Germany have a right to see their children even after a relationship breaks down.

While the father had not established a relationship with the girls, he had nevertheless shown a “serious interest” in them, the court decided.'

Article here.

'Durban, Dec 22 (IANS) Believe it or not, men are allowed to take part in a South Africa harvest festival only if they are circumcised. This is an effort to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

The annual 'first fruit ceremony' involves a bull that is beaten to death in a sacrificial ritual. This year some 10,000 males participated and all of them were circumcised. The men came from the KwaZulu-Natal region.

This year's event marks 20 years since the ceremony was revived by King Goodwill Zwelithini and one year since male medical circumcision was introduced in the province, government news agency BuaNews reported.

The king lays stress on medical circumcision as part of efforts to address the HIV/AIDS cases. Zwelithini again urged young men to live responsibly and continue the fight against HIV, poverty, drugs and alcoholism.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Conventional wisdom holds that boys excel in math and girls in reading. Truth be told, boys excel in neither, according to a report released this month by the Center for Education Policy. The report, which analyzes test results from 40 states, reveals that boys lag well behind girls in literacy skills - while only tying them in math.

That gap is why many colleges are overflowing with women, while guys are becoming scarcer and scarcer on campus.

American boys, we tell ourselves, must be falling victim to anti-academic influences: hip hop, mind-numbing video games and too much time watching SportsCenter.

But the issue is far more complicated. Earlier this month, results of 65-country comparison called the Program for International Student Assessment revealed that girls tie boys in math while soaring ahead of them by an astounding 39 points on reading skills. SportsCenter, last time we checked, has a limited audience in Albania, the country with the largest gender gap in reading.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The public watches the weather forecast everyday to see if we need a coat or an umbrella and we tend to believe what the forecaster tell us. But WABC weather girl, Heidi Jones, told police that she was a victim of rape as she was jogging in Central Park in September. Jones reported the rape because the same Hispanic man reappeared in November and sexually assaulted her. The police think that this weather forecaster should not be believed.

When she reported the two attacks the police found discrepancies in her accounts. Eventually, the 37-year-old Good Morning America weather girl allegedly admitted that she made the stories up.
...
A false rape claim is very serious and anyone who falsely accuses someone of this deserves whatever the law feels they should get.'

Report here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON -- Employers are looking for more highly educated workers, and the bulk of available jobs are in nursing and retail. One American demographic fits that bill.

Women will drive economic recovery in the U.S., according to a new Bank of America Merrill Lynch report. They tend to be better educated than men, and women tend to dominate the industries that are hiring the most workers.

Unemployment rates for last month show there are more out of work men, at 10.6 percent, than women, at 8.9 percent. However, the employment gender gap should disappear once the economy revs up, according to other economists.

"Men saw disproportionate job loss, so it makes sense they would have disproportionate gain," Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute tells the Huffington Post.

Shierholz says men dominate jobs related to construction and manufacturing, which took a hard hit during the recession.'

More from the it's-illegal-to-be-a-boy dept, here. Excerpt:

'DECEMBER 22--A 13-year-old boy was arrested Friday for using a permanent marker while in class at his Oklahoma City middle school, a violation of an obscure city ordinance.

According to an Oklahoma City Police Department report, the boy was spotted “in possession of a permanent marker” by Roosevelt Middle School teacher DeLynn Woodside. The 50-year-old educator told cop Miguel Campos that the student was “writing on a piece of paper, which caused it to bleed over onto the desk.”
...
Campos reported that he allowed Woodside, a seventh grade math teacher, to “sign a citation” against the boy, who was then transported to the Community Intervention Center, a juvenile holding facility. A police sergeant subsequently “booked the marker into the property room.”

A police spokesman referred to the student’s bust as a “citizen’s arrest” effectuated by Woodside.'

From SAVE:

Below is SAVE’s annual report for 2010 - WOW! Is everyone ready for 2011? VAWA is up for reauthorization!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A. WEBSITE/SOCIAL MEDIA:
Website Development:
Did extensive upgrades and enhancements to the SAVE website: http://www.saveservices.org/

Social Media:
Established Landing Pages, detailed content, and Facebook/Yahoo pages for
1. Victims/Survivors
2. DV Service Providers
3. Policymakers
4. Persons Falsely-Accused
Website traffic averages close to 100 persons per day. Falsely-accused Facebook page has 3,000-5,000 Post Views per day.

B. PUBLICITY:
Campaigns:
April: Turning the Tide
October: Domestic Violence Awareness Month
November: Protect Victims: Stop Mandatory Arrest

Radio Interviews:
Held 40 interviews around the country – estimated listenership: 2 million persons

Press Releases:
Issued 4 press releases

Established the SAVE Award for DV Prevention – awarded to Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council

Link to article here. Excerpt:

'A gun-wielding woman burst into a North Carolina television station Tuesday forcing the evening newscast off the air, though no one was injured, the station said.

After a brief standoff with a police SWAT team that surrounded the building of ABC Charlotte affiliate WSOC-TV, the woman was taken into custody. ABC News said she had pulled out a gun and put it to her head, though police later learned the gun was not loaded.

A CBS affiliate in Charlotte, WBTV, identified the woman as Wendy Naidas.'

Ed. note: Also covered here.

A blog entry "Gather News Pokes Fun at Abused Man" is here and takes the reader through looking at a blogger's jocular approach to a news story of a woman setting fire to her boyfriend's crotch, and a few other examples from a different perspective. What if the target were a woman? Would it still be funny? The conclusion is that, of course, whatever is abuse when done to a woman or child, is also abuse when done to a man. Excerpt:

Transcript here. Excerpt:

'But let me just call woman number one. She met Assange at a seminar hosted by the Swedish Brotherhood Movement.

She is well-known in radical circles, and in college, was protege of the militant feminist academic holding the post on-campus of campus sexual equity officer - whatever that is.

In the past, woman number one has also had a blog posting that has since been removed called "The Seven Steps to Legal Revenge." That explained how a woman can use courts to get their - to get back on unfaithful lovers. "Step Seven" says go to it and keep your victim in sight. Make sure your victim suffers just as you did.

OK. So, here she is. We know who she is. She is a radical, uber leftist. She is at this panel where he has been invited to speak. Now, remember, this is in August. He was invited to be the key speaker at the seminar on war and the role of the media. This is about the time when Assange was threatening to release more confidential documents.

From A Voice for Men, here:

'In her 1989 book, Defining Rape, feminist author Linda Brookover Bourque argued for a shift in the burden of proof in rape cases to the defense, which would entail that the defense establish, with a preponderance of evidence, that it was most likely that a woman alleging rape against her gave clear assent to engage in sex. This argument is made on page 178 of her book.

This is not an argument in favor of men obtaining consent before having sex. No, she means to alter the principal of western jurisprudence in which the accused is innocent until proven guilty through evidentiary proceedings. Bourque proposes a new, improved system in which for accusations of rape, guilt is assumed by the court, and the accused must present overwhelming evidence of innocence.

Article 11 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which was adopted in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly by unanimity, describes the principle of presumption of innocence as follows:

Full summary here. Considering that Fathers & Families had a 100% success record for the year of 2010 (with 5 out of 5 legislative goals accomplished), I eagerly anticipated their forthcoming announcement for their legislative priorities for 2011. Well, they just announced them, and it's an ambitious list. If you want to help them, you can either register as an activist and/or donate.

Here's a shortened overview of their 2011 legislative agenda:

1. Combating Parenting Time Interference [more]

2. Curbing Alimony Abuses [more]