Story here. Excerpt:

'When Elizabeth Robichaux Brown got married nine years ago, she made a vow to love her husband, for better or for worse, until their dying days.

She did not make that same kind of commitment to her ring.

So, a few months ago, she did what more and more women are doing: She gave her original engagement ring an upgrade, placing two stones which she calls "the twins" on each side of her solitaire diamond.

"When I first got my ring, it was like, 'OK, I like this ring.' But I knew that eventually I would make it a different type of ring," she said. "I got a carat-and-a-half pear when I got married, but I always knew I wanted two pears on the side."

While Brown added on, some women are trading in their original engagement rings and wedding bands for something else. No longer seen as a symbol to be worn for an eternity, rings are being upgraded like some people trade in cars or remodel an aging kitchen.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In the 1990s, it became popular to talk about “engendering development.” The stated goal was to include more women in the development process, to right historical gender inequalities and make sure that aid money flowed equally to both sexes.

These are laudable goals. But what often goes unspoken in the practice of engendered development is that aid agencies want to work with women not just because they have traditionally been excluded, but also because men are harder to work with.

Indeed, in many ways, and in striking contrast to women, men often represent something of an impediment to development. As Jerald Moris, who has been working in rural development for more than 20 years, said to me: “Working with women’s groups is more efficient.” He added that a rupee spent on women goes further than on men.
...
He laughed when he told me all this; the irony wasn’t lost on him. Still, he said that in his view development was a “holistic” process. You couldn’t have real progress without including men.

Today, Abusegate is releasing a list of 20 politicians targeted for defeat on November 2. The lawmakers are being targeted as part of the “Adopt-a-Politician, Clean up Washington!” campaign.

These lawmakers – Democrats and Republicans – have a record of promoting biased and harmful domestic violence legislation in Congress, such as the International Violence Against Women Act. These Senators and Representatives have turned a cold shoulder on our repeated requests to reform VAWA.

The list of 20 incumbents targeted for defeat is shown below. We invite persons to “adopt” any of the targeted politicians and work to elect their opponents: http://abusegate.mensnewsdaily.com/2010/05/27/adopt-a-politician-heres-how-to-get-your-candidate-elected/

Complete information about the “Adopt-a-Politician, Clean up Washington!” campaign can be seen here.

Poem here. A total keeper.

For Justin

Remember that I love you,
know I'll always care,
whatever path your life may take,
feel that I am there.

As we rock, my little man,
soothe your tears away,
the little fingers on your hand,
are only small today.

A day may come when dark skies,
make you feel all hope has gone,
so in time, the sun will shine,
to cast your shadow long,

Look to see that shadow,
look, learn and find,
behold, your silhouette is first,
with mine, a step behind.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Amid the media frenzy over Tiger Woods and Bengals receiver Chris Henry, a key aspect of both stories slipped through the cracks: Like millions of other men, Woods and Henry were -- allegedly at least -- the victims of domestic violence perpetrated by their wives or girlfriends. Beyond its brutal physical and psychological costs, domestic violence against men exacts a cruel economic toll at the personal, societal and national levels.

Article here. Excerpt:

'THE acquittal of a woman who shot and killed her violent husband should not signify "open season" on abusive partners, a lawyer who heads a women's prisoner support group said yesterday.

The comment came after a jury took only 90 minutes to find Susan Falls, 42, not guilty of murdering her husband Rodney, 41, at their Caloundra home in May 2006.

Ms Falls was also cleared of manslaughter.

The former Sunshine Coast woman admitted killing her husband but claimed she did so in self-defence after suffering more than 20 years of violent abuse.

Lawyer Debbie Kilroy, founder of women prisoner support group Sisters Inside, said the verdicts should not encourage the public to take the law into their own hands.

"This does not mean 'open season'," Ms Kilroy said.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Sunshine Coast mother has been found not guilty of murdering her husband.

It took the jury less than two hours to decide Susan Falls had not murdered her husband, Rodney Falls.
...
Mr Falls' sister, Kim Page, stormed out of court swearing.

"You'll get yours," she said.

Another man also left the court saying "she got away with it" and slammed the door behind him.

The jury accepted Mrs Falls' argument that she was a victim of years of sustained abuse.

Justice Applegarth took several hours to sum up the case to the jury, beginning his address to them yesterday afternoon and continuing from 10am today.
...
He told jurors Mrs Falls' defence lawyers did not have to prove she was acting in self defence when she shot and killed Rodney Falls, but rather the prosecution must prove she wasn't acting in self defence at the time.

The onus of proof was on the Crown, he reminded them.

He also told jurors they must consider Mrs Falls state of mind at the time.

Via email from The Alliance For Freedom From Alimony, Inc.:

Alimony Statutes’ Background

There is no common law right to alimony. It is merely a statute that must conform to state and federal constitutional provisions.

Alimony originated because of coverture, i.e. a wife was viewed as property of the husband and herself was not entitled to own property., thus the idea that if the couple separated the husband was responsible for the cost of living of the wife.

Coverture was abolished by most states in their constitutions and statutes to guarantee wives the right to buy, own and sell property. It created opportunities of economic equality for wives.

The doctrine of necessaries, the idea that a husband was responsible to third parties for the debts of their wives, was abolished in many states based on equal protection grounds. The law in many states is that neither party in a marriage is responsible for the debts of the spouse to third parties. This effectively makes the parties in marriage economic independents. Some states have made both parties in a marriage responsible for the debts of the spouse to third parties thereby solving the equal protection issue by keeping the doctrine but making it gender neutral.

Story here. Excerpt:

'BEIJING (AFP) - – A woman armed with a knife went on the rampage on an overnight passenger train in northeastern China, stabbing and wounding nine people as they slept, state media reported on Wednesday.

The attack, which occurred in the early morning Tuesday on a train in Heilongjiang province, is the latest in a wave of violent attacks by lone assailants that has shocked the country.

The woman, who was not identified, went from berth to berth stabbing sleeping passengers until she was wrestled to the ground and restrained by other travellers, said Dongbei, a news website covering China's northeast.

The woman was estimated by witnesses to be about 40 years old, but no other details about her were provided.

The train had been travelling from the provincial capital of Harbin to the city of Hebei. The victims received treatment when the train stopped in the city of Jiamusi, but the report did not say how serious their injuries were.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A TV advert shows "abusive" behaviour towards a woman, including being leered at and enduring sexist comments.

Social Justice Minister Carl Sargeant said while that could seem harmless to men, women can feel threatened.

Welsh Women's Aid said tackling "widespread social attitudes" was crucial.
...
"Any behaviour that intimidates a woman should not be tolerated. If the campaign makes people stop and think then it will have served its purpose."
...

Adele Baumgardt, Wales commissioner for the Women's National Commission, said: "Gender discrimination affects women in Wales daily and can leave them feeling intimidated and even frightened.

"We need to change how men perceive women, challenge inappropriate attitudes and show men how damaging these can be. I hope that this campaign will give victims the confidence to come forward and ask for help."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'To inaugurate a Domestic Violence Awareness Day conference in London, Ont., this coming Sunday, a vigil and commemorative ceremony will be held for Dave Lucio.

Dave Lucio’s life was cut tragically short three years ago this Sunday by a .40-calibre Glock pistol bullet to his head. The lethal shot was fired by Kelly Johnson, a woman he had broken up with the previous day after a three-year intimate relationship. When she pulled the trigger, Lucio was driving a van with Johnson sitting beside him. Johnson then turned the gun on herself. The circumstances therefore left no room for doubt about who perpetrated the crime.

Although by no means the first time a Canadian man had been killed by a present or former intimate partner — one-third of Canada’s approximately 70 annual intimate partner homicides are men killed by women — the case made waves because both the killer and the victim were police officers (Lucio a retired superintendent).

Article here. Excerpt:

'A B.C. panel has issued 19 recommendations for preventing domestic violence deaths, including fast-tracking cases through the courts and flagging those at high risk of resulting in serious harm or death.
...
The panel also called for more consistency and better sharing of information between government agencies when dealing with domestic violence.
...

The recommendations come from a study of 11 deaths resulting from domestic violence in B.C. between 1995 and 2009.
...
Many of the recommendations are similar to those made at a 2009 coroner's inquest into a Victoria-area murder-suicide that resulted in the deaths of five people.

The inquest was examining the case of Peter Lee, who in September 2007 killed his estranged wife, Sunny Park, their six-year-old son and Park's parents, before committing suicide at the family home in Oak Bay east of Victoria.

Article here. Excerpt:

'With the surfacing of yet another falsified rape allegation, this time by UC nursing student Kristen Lamb of Lebanon, Ohio, many are left questioning just how many rape claims are fabricated. Statistics show that such fake claims happen at an unfathomable rate.

The false allegations of Lamb's are not unusual, unfortunately. A 1994 study conducted by Purdue University professor Eugene Kanin, Ph.D. found that 41% of forcible rape allegations made during a multi-year period were false. While the Kanin Study has its critics, the findings of falsehood in the report were all based upon confessions by the alleged victims that their claims were fabricated.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Four years later, the moment that ripped his world apart has given him direction to help others.

Four years later, the scared kid from Essex Fells who was falsely charged in the notorious Duke lacrosse rape case is gone, replaced with a confident young man already working to change the legal system.

Remember Reade Seligmann?

His mug shot was plastered on the cover of Newsweek four springs ago with the headline: “Sex, Lies and Duke.” He was facing 30 years in prison for a crime he did not commit — a crime, it was later proven, that never took place.

He will graduate from Brown University today. Seligmann, now 24, will leave the Ivy League school with a joint degree in history and public policy and attend law school in the fall, where he will pursue a career focused on reducing the number of innocent people behind bars.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The AAP makes a valid point on the comparison of FGM/C to male circumcision: "Health educators must also be prepared to explain to parents from outside North America why male genital alteration is routinely practiced here but female genital alteration is routinely condemned." Male circumcision is more invasive than the "ritual nick" proposed by the AAP, yet most Americans don't bat an eye at the procedure. In fact, after my son was born (and not circumcised), a nurse expressed surprise that he wasn't cut. Meanwhile, Jewish families celebrate the ritual with a gathering at home eight days after the birth.

Male circumcisions have been performed under similarly brutal circumstances as FGM/C, and like FGM/C, historical reasons cited for circumcision have included cleanliness and control over sexuality. Religious observance plays a part in both procedures as well. Those defending the AAP's revised stance have cited these points as reasons to legalize FGM/C. What's good for the gander ought to be good for the goose too.