Sydney Morning Herald reports here. Excerpt:

'A Queensland woman is to be sentenced today for gassing her two children to death in the family car - so her ex-husband couldn't have custody of them on Christmas Day. The Queensland Supreme Court trial heard the mother, who can't be identified, started planning her children's deaths in October 2002.
...
She had been issued with a Family Court order stating the children should spend Christmas Day with their father.

One month later, the bodies of her eight-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter were found in the garage of their home near Bribie Island.

A Supreme Court jury found the woman guilty last week.'

No comments on the story have been allowed.

Story here. Excerpt:

'VILLE PLATTE, La. - A Louisiana woman has pleaded guilty to selling two children for a cockatoo and $175 in what her attorney called an attempt to do a good thing that went wrong.

"It was a really clumsy attempt at an adoption proceeding," said Steve Sikich, attorney for Donna Louise Greenwell of Pitkin. "She was trying to help the children and get them situated."

Greenwell, 53, was sentenced Monday to 15 months of hard labor on each of two criminal counts: sale of a minor. The sentences are to run concurrently.
...
Greenwell had custody of the children for more than a year before meeting the Romeros, Sikich said. Her lawyers have maintained she was just trying to find a better home for them.

"They were undernourished and not well taken care of," Sikich said. "It's my understanding that the mother had requested that she take care of the kids."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'As I read “Too Few Good Men” (Feb. 22) by Blair Sullivan ’10, I came upon the statement, “males have never been the victims of systematic discrimination.” Such a boldly stated assertion must be true, even if it invalidates the gross injustice that men have faced historically and continue to face today. Never mind the massive inequities in our country’s system that challenge the male gender — according to Sullivan, men have never suffered the brunt of institutionalized inequity.

Forget that the United States only forces men to risk their lives in conscripted military service. Or that males must sign up for their Selective Service numbers if they ever intend to see a drop of federal educational assistance. That’s not systematic discrimination — forced military service is clearly a privilege extended only to males.

Story here. "It was actually HIS FAULT! Let that POOR WOMAN go!"

I still bet she does less than 15 years for all three murders. Excerpt:

'BOSTON – The husband of the Alabama professor accused of gunning down three colleagues once said he wanted violent revenge on a doctor who gave his wife a bad job review, according to federal documents released Tuesday to The Associated Press.

Amy Bishop is charged with killing three colleagues at the University of Alabama-Huntsville on Feb. 12. Investigative files from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives show that Bishop and her husband, James Anderson, were questioned in 1993 in the attempted mail bombing of Dr. Paul Rosenberg of Boston's Children's Hospital.

Rosenberg has said he played a role in Bishop's resignation as a research fellow. A pipe bomb package was sent to his home weeks later.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Well we didn't see this one coming: The wife of professional wrestling legend Ric Flair (link added) has been arrested for domestic violence, TV Guide is reporting, claiming Flair suffered minor injuries at the hands of Jacqueline Bains Beems after the two had "an unfortunate disagreement." While we'd certainly never make light of a domestic violence situation, we will note that Flair's catch phrase was "to be the man, you've got to beat the man." Apparently, it seems Bains Beems took that a bit too literally.

According to Flair's agent, Melinda Morris Zanoni, "Ric and his wife had an unfortunate disagreement [Sunday], which led to his wife being arrested and charged with assault."
...
Morris Zanoni went on to say that "Ric has done nothing wrong,' and that the wrestling pro "finds this incident unsettling and is committed to correcting any issues in his personal life."

Article here Ho hum. It's a 'jokey' headline of course, but (as usual) reverse the genders and see how it looks. Excerpt:

'And then there were five. At the last oiled body count, that was the number of young women claiming to have had sex with serial cheater Ashley Cole (link added).

No wonder his poor wife Cheryl has finally dumped him - by long-distance text, a nicely brutal touch.
...
Despite Cheryl's neck tattoo - a large 'Mrs Cole' in pretty, cursive script - her assertion that 'this is the man I am going to have my babies with' and her promise that 'he's learning, he has a beautiful soul, he's a really nice guy', the curtain has come down on their goldfish bowl marriage.

Apparently, Cheryl is returning home shortly to consult lawyers and chop their assets in half. If that is the only thing chopped in half, then Ashley Cole remains a lucky man. For the time being. This soap opera isn't over until the small lady sings.'

Blog entry here. Excerpt:

'Another cultural belief I want explore, in dating and romance, is a sense of male entitlement. This entitlement render women choiceless - that if given enough attention, or gifts, or emotional support, that no woman could ever say no, and if she does, it's of course, her fault. This mentality, in turn, hurts women because they are never truly given a choice, in love or lust, because it is believed women could be bought - if not with money then with attention.

From MANN reader Ed:

Yesterday, Sen. Reid stated on the Senate floor, “Men don't have jobs. Women don't have jobs either, but women aren't abusive, most of the time. Men when they're out of work tend to become abusive."

So today, we are calling for a BLIZZARD of complaints to Sen. Reid’s office, demanding he apologize for his sexist remark. Here’s the contact info:

Telephone: 1-202-224-3542
Internet: http://reid.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
Fax: 1-202-224-7327

Ed

PRESS RELEASE:

Contact: Trudy Schuett
Groups Demand Sen. Harry Reid Apologize for Sexist Remarks

WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 / U.S. Newswire / -- Groups are calling for Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada to apologize for sexist remarks made yesterday, according to Men’s News Daily. Reid’s comments served to stereotype men as “abusive,” while ignoring the well-established scientific fact that men and women in partner relationships are equally likely to be violent.

Yesterday Senator Harry Reid made the following comments in support of a supposed jobs bill.

"I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand," Reid said on the Senate floor. "Why? Men don't have jobs."

Reid said that the effects of joblessness on domestic violence were especially pronounced among men, because, Reid said, women tend to be less abusive. "Women don't have jobs either, but women aren’t abusive, most of the time," he said. "Men, when they're out of work, tend to become abusive," the majority leader added.

Contrary to Reid's politically-convenient claims, reputable researchers have found time and time again that women perpetrate domestic violence at rates comparable to that of men.

Researchers from the CDC have found that in half of all relationships in which violence occurs, the violence is reciprocal. And surprisingly, "in nonreciprocally violent relationships, women were the perpetrators in more than 70% of the cases."

Article here. As one commenter posted at the thehill.com site, Mr. Reid, it seems is likely to become 'more abusive' soon enough, as he too shall soon be out of a job. Good riddance. Excerpt:

'Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) suggested Monday that domestic violence by men has increased due to U.S. joblessness.

Reid, speaking in the midst of a Senate debate over whether to pass a $15 billion package meant to spur job creation, appeared to argue that joblessness would lead to more domestic violence.

"I met with some people while I was home dealing with domestic abuse. It has gotten out of hand," Reid said on the Senate floor. "Why? Men don't have jobs."

Reid said that the effects of joblessness on domestic violence were especially pronounced among men, because, Reid said, women tend to be less abusive.

"Women don't have jobs either, but women aren’t abusive, most of the time," he said.

This is a very rare event for this type of article to be posted at cbc.ca This is a positive signal of change in the mainstream media that has largely ignored this issue. Excerpt:

"In the almost 40 years since the first shelter for battered women opened its doors, we have made noticeable progress in dealing with and denouncing domestic violence.

Nevertheless, much still needs to be done and the biggest challenge, in my view, is what to do about men.

Not men as perpetrators — there we seem to have a handle on things. Rather, I'm talking about the hundred thousand or so confirmed male victims who are, often violently, abused by their female partners every year."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Because despite the indisputable gains over the years, women are still being raped, trafficked, violated and discriminated against -- not just in the rest of the world, but here in the United States. And though feminists continue to fight gender injustices, most people seem to think that outside of a few lingering battles, the work of the women's movement is done.

It's time to stop fooling ourselves. For all our "empowered" rhetoric, women in this country aren't doing nearly as well as we'd like to think.
...
The distressing statistics don't stop with violence: Women hold 17 percent of the seats in Congress; abortion is legal, but more than 85 percent of counties in the United States have no provider; women work outside the home, but they make about 76 cents to a man's dollar and make up the majority of Americans living in poverty.

Love him or hate him, controversial talk show host Rush Limbaugh has it right when it comes to the expanding definition of domestic violence.

During the Superbowl, University of Florida quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother ran an issue ad opposing abortion. In the ad, Tebow's mother talks about how difficult her pregnancy was and how she had to be tough when Tebow suddenly tackles her. Only then do you realize the difficult pregnancy was that of her son, Tim Tebow.

The ad attempts to be goofy and funny, in sharp contrast to the expectations of those who knew the ad was coming. The reaction of NOW president Terry O'Neill, however, was even more startling: "I am blown away at the celebration of the violence against women in it. That's what comes across to me even more strongly than the anti-abortion message. I myself am a survivor of domestic violence, and I don't find it charming. I think CBS should be ashamed of itself."

The Monday following the Superbowl, Limbaugh riffed:

"Did you see the ad, Snerdley? What happened, if you didn't see the sound effect there, Tim Tebow tackled his own mom, looked like bam, she got tackled and then she pops back up. The ad then directed everybody to the Focus on the Family website where the story would be explained. So what do you think the reaction to this ad is today by the NAGs? (interruption) No. No. They are so livid because it glorified violence against women. NAG President Terry O'Neill said it glorified violence against women when Tim Tebow ostensibly tackled his own mother."

Blog entry here. Excerpt:

'Washington (CNN) – Disenchanted Democratic Sen. Evan Bayh on Sunday blamed "tribal" politics for the gridlock that is paralyzing Capitol Hill.

"Our politics in Congress has become tribal in some ways. We have the tribe of the Democrats and tribe of the Republicans," Bayh said, appearing on CNN's State of the Union with Democrat Jon Corzine, a former New Jersey governor and senator, and Republican Susan Molinari, a former House member from New York.

In discussing partisanship, Molinari said that "women have a tendency to band together a little bit more than the men."

Bayh interjected: "It's testosterone poisoning; it's not our fault."

"You said it. I didn't," Molinari joked in response.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'New Delhi: Family problems, illness, love affairs, bankruptcy identified as top causes

Is the mounting burden of responsibilities driving men to the end of their tether? Numbers suggest so.

In India, one married man commits suicide every nine minutes. Of the total 1,25,017 cases of suicide in 2008, married men alone accounted for 57,639. While the number of women taking the extreme step did not lag far behind, men appeared more vulnerable to mounting social and economic pressures. In the case of women, the trigger was more emotional and personal.

The overall male-female ratio of suicide victims for the year 2008 was 64:36, according to the latest data of the National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB). The general scene is much grimmer. Suicides in 2008 registered a decadal growth of 19.4% compared to 1998, the figures say. They also reveal a year-on-year rise of 1.9% compared to the 2007 numbers — 1,22,637.