Story here. Excerpt:

'A female schoolteacher in the small Western New York town of Canandaigua has been accused of a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old male student, among other misdeeds.

Marla Gurecki-Haskins, a striking brunette that makes it easy to see how young boys would be taken with her, allegedly performed oral sex on the student in a classroom. She's also accused of encouraging two 16-year-old boys -- via cell phone, text, and email -- to engage in sexual conduct, says the Times Union.

She's pleaded not guilty to a felony count of disseminating indecent material to a minor and three misdemeanor counts of official misconduct and endangering the welfare of a child, according to CBS. As if that's not enough, even more charges may be filed.

Article here. Excerpt:

'And now, in keeping with the annals of our rigorously ignored history, we are setting about the business again of orchestrating a future catastrophe. After a bloody revolution for our freedom, the scourge of slavery, an even bloodier civil war, and a civil rights campaign that we handled with police dogs, riot guns and water cannons, we have put ourselves right back on the course of an inescapable social crisis.
...
A recent Wall Street Journal article, Meet the Unemployable Man, predicts that over the next several years, one in six men between 18 and 54 years old, or 18 million, will be unemployed, and unemployable.

That is 18 million men who will look for work and find none; millions of others who once carried briefcases or hammers and nails, but who will, in the days ahead, push brooms make French fries. There will be 18 million men who become the other guy. And that is in addition to the millions of other guys that are already walking among us.
...

Story here. Excerpt:

'VALENCIA COUNTY (KRQE) - A New Mexico father said his son's purple heart is tarnished now that the military is billing him for equipment the wounded soldier left behind on the battlefield when he was airlifted to safety.

Gary Pfleider said it's still hard for him to talk about the day he found out his son was hit by a sniper while serving in Iraq in 2007.
...
Gary’s son, Gary Pfleider II, must now wear a brace and walk with a cane around his home in Oregon. The soldier remembers that incident a little differently.
...
Several months ago, the soldier who now has a purple heart, scars and a brace to show his bravery received a bill in the mail.

It totals over $3,000, which includes interest, for equipment Gary II took to the battlefield and the military said he is still responsible for—items like his canteen and even some grenades.
...
“I mean what do they want, the soldiers to go, get wounded and say not-ah you're not moving me until I get my gear,” Gary Sr. said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The circumcision of boys is reportedly almost always unnecessary and medically risky. The Royal Dutch Medical Society (KNMG) has published recommendations advising doctors to discourage parents from having their sons circumcised. Jewish and Islamic organisations have reacted angrily.
...
More than 46,000 Dutch doctors and trainee doctors are members of the society. They call circumcision for non-medical reasons “an infringement of a child’s right to autonomy and the right to bodily integrity”. And they say there are unnecessary risks.
...
The growing number of circumcisions among boys has not led to any kind of serious discussion in the Netherlands, in marked contrast with the circumcision of the daughters of African immigrants. The excision of girls’ labia minora and/or clitoris is almost universally condemned as genital mutilation.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Far more boys than girls in Snohomish County either barely scrape by or flunk their high school classes, according to a Herald analysis of grade point averages.

Through last June, just under half of the county's girls — 48.8 percent — had a grade point in the solid A to B range of 3.0 or above. A third of boys — 33.4 percent — could make the same claim.

At the same time, nearly a third of boys had a grade point average of 1.99 or less, the C-minus to F range, compared to fewer than 1 in 5 girls.

The data also shows that high school girls tend to earn higher grades in all core subjects, including math, at all grade levels despite the fact that boys scored slightly higher in that discipline on last year's state WASL exams.
...
Gurian makes the case that girls and boys are programmed differently. Girls tend to be more verbal learners; boys, more spatial, mechanical and physical. While most children can learn either way, many others struggle in the traditional classroom.

Story here. Excerpt:

'The boy child education in Central Kenya is the worst hit in the country, according to Gender and Children’s Affairs minister Esther Murugi.

Addressing education stakeholders at Rurii stadium in Kiria-ini where she officiated the second Mathioya district education and prayer day at the weekend, the minister said the province had recorded an enrolment of 10,000 pupils less than that of girls.

The minister attributed the discrepancy to irresponsible fathers who had neglected their role of guiding boys.

She said a recent survey in the province revealed that men spend only 15 minutes per week with their sons leaving parental responsibility entirely to their wives.

Consequently, the minister said, teenage boys had begun emulating what they see their mothers do among them braiding hair and piercing ears.

“That’s why you see young men behaving like females,” said Ms Murugi.'

Here in the US, it's Memorial Day. Like any other holiday, it's too easy to forget the real meaning of it. (Too often it's viewed as just another chance to have a long week-end or enjoy a cook-out.) But by no means is Memorial Day like any other holiday.

Most other holidays commemorate an individual or a very small set of them (Presidents Day, for example, commemorates certain of our past presidents), or they commemorate a single event (religious holidays are often like this). But Memorial Day commemorates a very large group of people and not just for one event but for many. In this case, that group is veterans, most especially those killed or wounded in action.

The fact that the overwhelming number of veterans are men seems to get lost in the language around the event, too, just as with men's occupations replacing the word "men" while referring to them in news reports, a phenomenon discussed here on MANN already.

Actor Dennis Hopper Dies at 74 After Suffering From Prostate Cancer

"Hopper died Saturday at his home in the Los Angeles beach community of Venice, surrounded by family and friends, family friend Alex Hitz said. Hopper's manager announced in October 2009 that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer."

I will miss the offbeat character roles Mr. Hopper took on. While often outrageous, his characterizations were always entertaining. The individuals he created on-screen were as unique as he was. RIP Dennis Hopper.

In British Columbia, the cops issued a warning that high school senior boys were using face book to find young girls to attend parties. The high schoolers it says seek to engage in sexual activity with the girls at these parties. However the story itself states there appears to be no evidence, no investigation, and no proof, only rumours. Based on that, the cops put every high school boy in that area under suspicion of being a sex criminal. Excerpt:

'Chilliwack police are warning parents about a group of high school boys who have been trying to lure pre-teen girls via Facebook to parties where they would get them drunk and sleep with them.
...
Last week, RCMP in Surrey warned parents that Grade 11 and Grade 12 boys at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School in Cloverdale had started a Facebook page to seduce eighth-grade girls.

They called the group the LGS Club the Little Girl Slayers Club.

I cant [sic] tie a definitive connection between whats going on in the (two schools), Wolbeck said.

Article here. Excerpt:

"The problem affects the whole of society because of the striking correlation between male joblessness and single motherhood, particularly in the old industrial cities. In Liverpool, male unemployment rose from 12 per cent in 1971 to 30 per cent in 2001. In 1971 11 per cent of families were headed by a single parent; by 2001, 45 per cent were. Similar patterns can be seen in Birmingham, Strathclyde and Newcastle. The epidemic of male joblessness after the collapse of manufacturing industries coincided with an increase in female employment and welfare support to mothers who found that they could manage alone.

Overlooked by society, irrelevant to employers, unwanted by women who can raise families on benefits without their help, the man who has no work or a series of short-term jobs is a problem. Without steady work, he will struggle to acquire a family: unemployed men are less likely to marry or cohabit than employed ones. Without a stable relationship, he is less likely to grow into a good family man and raise good sons. The taxpayer has become the father: one in four mothers is single and more than half live on welfare. A lot of these women describe the real fathers of their children as “useless” or worse. The men have no role.
...

From an IA email:

"Thanks to you and other intactivists, our message has been heard! Yesterday afternoon, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) officially retracted its recent policy statement, which proposed changes to the Federal law banning any form of FGM in the United States.

In the past few weeks, you've sent more than 14,000 letters demanding that the AAP retract its statement. Thanks to your hard work, America's baby girls remain safe from genital mutilation.

But the AAP's mission is to protect all children.

We've designed a powerful new ad to make sure the AAP gets the message that any form of genital cutting of children is wrong, regardless of gender."

From Abusegate Bob:

Is your elected official a DV Dimwit when it comes to voting for every loony domestic violence bill that comes along?

This coming week, Abusegate, Investigate! will launch a high-profile campaign: “Adopt-a-Politician, Help Clean up Washington.” The campaign will list about 20 Washington incumbent politicians – Senators and Representatives – who just don’t get it when it comes to VAWA reform. The objective is simple: Target them for defeat on November 2, 2010.

We will invite Abusegate supporters to “adopt” one or more of these politicians, and do everything in their power to secure their defeat.

Tired of the DV Dimwits in Washington DC? Ready to bring about true change? Then jump on the “Adopt-a-Politician” bandwagon!

Source: http://abusegate.mensnewsdaily.com/2010/05/27/dimwitted-lawmakers-beware-adopt-a-politician-campaign-to-be-launched-next-week/

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Quebec elementary school gym teacher says he is struggling to rebuild his life after having been falsely accused of sexual touching.

A rumour began circulating at Henri Fournier's school in February 2008 involving 19 girls between the ages of eight and 13 who accused him of inappropriately touching girls, sometimes in front of other students.

Officials at Notre Dame de l'Assomption Elementary School in Chateauguay, south of Montreal, took the allegations seriously and suspended Fournier without pay.

He was eventually arrested on 34 charges of sexual touching and spent a week in custody. The case gained a great deal of media attention.
...

Situations like Fournier's have the effect of discouraging men from a career in teaching younger children, even while elementary schools are desperate for more men to act as role models, said McGill University education professor Jon Bradley, who is doing research on males in the education system.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Gone are the days when bullies merely gave wedgies. The newest fad in schoolyard violence? A quick slap to the testicles.

In the game of "sack tapping" or "ball tapping," as it is called, a boy will try to slap or flick the groin of another boy to inflict discomfort or pain.

The "game" has gotten out of hand, however, according to Dr. Scott Wheeler, a pediatric urologist in Minnesota.

In recent years he's seen an increasing number of young boys coming in with serious damage to the testicles because of a "tap" that hit too hard.

"For some reason, [this game] is popular," Wheeler says. "It's not just bullies, it's kids doing it to their friends. It's rare that bullies target the testicles, they just beat up people."
...
In some cases, trauma sustained by sack tapping can be severe enough to rupture a testicle, an injury that can require surgery or even the amputation of the testicle, says Wheeler.

Story here. He is the stepfather, she the natural mother. She seeks to escape jail time by blaming the manipulative husband. Judge will have none of it. Excerpt:

'A married couple who both admitted guilt to parental incest were each sentenced today in Clark County District Court.

Judge James M. Bixler sentenced Frederick Vonseydewitz to eight to 20 years in prison and his wife, Mary Vonseydewitz, was sentenced to four to 20 years. They each had pleaded guilty to charges stemming from allegations of sexually abusing their children, a boy and a girl, when they were minors.

Crying, Mary Vonseydewitz told the judge she was sorry and said her husband had manipulated her. Her attorney asked for probation for her instead of time in prison, But Bixler had little sympathy for her.