Article here.

'9 to 5 [link added] actress, author and marriage equality advocate Jane Fonda posed some thought provoking questions about American masculinity in a speech to a women's organization in New York City on Tuesday, reports the Advocate.

The fitness guru, who recently starred on Broadway in the Tony Award-nominated 33 Variations, was presented with a lifetime achievement award by the New York Women's Agenda.

Long-time feminist Gloria Steinem introduced the actress and in her acceptance speech, Fonda made sure to relate her thoughts about society and the masculine-based theories that are keeping violence with children at an all time high.

Fonda suggested that violent behavior could be reduced by examining the hyper-masculinity at the core of acts such as the school shooting at Columbine and other massacres committed by young men.

Story here.

'Never let it be said that Brooklyn doesn’t know how to party.

The Brooklyn high school that found itself at the center of widespread attention yesterday after reports surfaced that two female teachers were allegedly discovered in flagrante delicto by a janitor who tattled is again getting unwanted press for the sexy shenanigans of its educators. More scandalous reports surfaced today, this time regarding instances of “sexting” an a potentially inappropriate relationship between teacher Allison Musacchio, 31, (above, left) and a one-time male student.

The New York Post reports that Musacchio is under investigation because a female student spotted her ex-boyfriend’s number on the woman’s cell phone. Officials allegedly uncovered more than 200 text messages and calls between the two and removed Musacchio from the classroom. (Although how the messages and call records were obtained is unclear.) Prior to that alleged incident of impropriety, Musacchio was investigated for a “fling” with a former student- but the incident was not further probed because the boy was of legal age to consent and no longer a student at James Madison.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Thousands of women appear to be using the internet to share sexual fantasies of abuse involving children.

An investigation by The Independent on Sunday found a series of websites that depict female-perpetrated child abuse as "natural, educational and enjoyable" for children.

Users log into online forums to meet other "like-minded" web users and to share personal childhood experiences about sexual acts with adults that they say include mothers, teachers and babysitters. User profiles on one website monitored by the IoS claimed to be those of teachers, doctors and retired grandmothers with an interest in "young girls" and "lesbian incest".

The postings on such sites – assuming they are not posted by men – run counter to the widely held belief that female abusers are either anomalies or feel forced into such depravity by abusive men. Many of the users appear to have easy access to children and describe deriving sexual gratification from sharing their fantasises.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'Boys from white working class homes are falling further behind their classmates when it comes to GCSE passes, according to a breakdown of this summer’s results.

A breakdown of the pass rate shows that fewer than one in five white British boys on free school meals obtained five A* to C grade passes including maths and English – the yardstick by which success is traditionally measured.

That put them 31.5 percentage points behind the national average – a rise of 1.3 percentage points in the gap in the past three years.

Separate research also published by the Government today underlined their poor performance.

The research, by Andy Ross from the National Centre for Social Research , showed youngsters who were “disengaged” with education by the time they were 13 were “more likely to be white males”.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Over the years, radical feminism has been attempting to demonize any display of testosterone. The slightest aggressive behavior is taken to the ultimate extreme portraying males as abusers. Their goal clearly is to wimpify maleness.
...
Whether feminists like it or not, boys are designed to display strength, power and bond with other males. This is why so many fatherless boys join gangs. While I assume some kids truly are hyperactive, I wonder how many boys are being drugged simply for acting like boys?
...
Even fatherhood is no longer honored and respected. I find it difficult to enjoy sitcoms and movies where the kids totally disrespect the father. They chastise and say whatever they want to him. The message is clear, "Dad is an idiot" -- a far cry from the classic TV show, "Father Knows Best".

Article here. Excerpt:

'Is it possible we are seeing the beginnings of a top-down campaign to end the 1994 policy that has excluded women from assignment to direct, sustained ground combat?

If so, we are likely to hear much chatter soon about sex on submarines and alternate use of limited bathroom and berthing space on notoriously cramped vessels. Common sense and courtesy should go a long way toward resolving such issues. And why should anyone object that those are unreasonable expectations of sailors? No one who cannot deal in a civilized manner with female comrades-in-arms and shipmates needs access to a rifle, much less torpedoes or nuclear weapons.
...
"Servicewomen long ago earned the right to be treated as our sisters-in-arms. To that end, we urgently petition Congress to drop all remaining restrictions against them. As for the men within our ranks who disapprove of this: The man who hurts or disrespects our sisters-in-arms, excuses their rapes and harassers or collaborates with their assailants is not our brother."

Article here. Excerpt:

'Prostate cancer may not be as deadly as it once was, likely because of advances in screening and treatment, but a new study suggests that even a diagnosis of the disease carries some risks.

A collaboration including researchers from Harvard University and the Karolinska Institute in Sweden looked at data for more than 4 million men in Sweden above the age of 30 and found that the diagnosis of prostate cancer -- something that occurred in over 160,000 of those men -- increased the relative risks for fatal heart problems 11 times and suicide by eight times in the week after diagnosis.

"Stress can be an important trigger for physiologic reactions, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease," said Dr. Meir Stampfer, chair of the department of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. "The diagnosis of cancer also can cause high enough stress to see a noticeable increase in both heart disease and suicide."'

Yesterday a story appeared at East Valley Living, a Phoenix-area website, bemoaning the budget cuts by the State of Arizona to the women-only DV shelters across the state. The story included some stunning numbers on the millions of dollars per year the largest shelter in AZ spends on little more than housing and feminist education for a shrinking number of clients.

In response I wrote "Funding cuts to women-only shelters could be a positive event for communities" detailing how shelters could better serve their communities by eliminating most of that housing, emphasizing instead things like counseling and expanding the numbers of qualified clients.

---
Ed. note: Trudy Schuett has been an advocate for sane public policy around DV programs and laws for a long time. Some on her can be found here.

Story here. Excerpt:

'When Associated Press reporter Patricia Thomas was in Capanne prison outside Perugia, Italy, Sunday and saw Knox, "They were passing food through the bars so the inmates could eat inside their cell, which seemed sort of sad to me."

Thomas provided a description of Knox to "Good Morning America" today of a young, timid woman who was so scared after her murder conviction that the female prison guards physically held her during the night to comfort her.
...
"She said one of her big problems now is passing the time in prison... she is trying to work it out with her professors back in the states so she can finish her university degree," Thomas said.
...

'The reporter said the prison is "extremely clean." Knox's cell, which she shares with another American who has been sentenced on drug charges, is small. "It had a little bathroom with a door, a bidet, a sink, a shower.... better than some of the things I've seen at summer camp or boarding school."

Article here. Excerpt:

'THERE is an angry core of Australian men who use cyberspace as the latest forum to unload on how women have done them wrong

A few weeks ago we ran a column on The Punch website, examining their emergence. The piece documented how even those columns with the most innocent subject matter, such as breast cancer, maternity leave, child care or body image become a vehicle whereby crotchety men can bemoan the apparent neglect of men's health issues, the economic pressures faced by single dads and the raw deal they get from the courts.

The article had the unsurprising effect of attracting, well, an angry core of Australian men who use cyberspace as a forum to unload on how women have done them wrong.

There was a depressingly pertinent example of this mindset this week and it's worth pinging the perpetrators over it, as it demonstrated all the nonsensical self-pity of the men-are-victims-too brigade.
...

Article here. Excerpt:

'"It's not the old guys group anymore," said Ann Brown, the medical center director, from her office inside the brown brick hospital not far from Harpers Ferry. "It's women and it's younger, and the younger folks, they need more than just medical care. They've got family issues. They need help reintegrating in how to get back into their jobs."'

A couple of observations:

1) The headline 'more often women' turns out to apply to a clinic in some small town.
2) You know those (old) guys - no family issues to worry about, and no reintegration necessary!
3) War is affecting women soldiers - now we really better do something!!

Article here. Excerpt:

'A few days ago I found it necessary to restate my position, calmly and quietly, that my sons – two so far – should under no circumstances be circumcised. Two very simple and I am persuaded, logical reasons.

First, while I respect the standpoint of those who argue for circumcision, I personally do not believe in it. Circumcision is such a personal affair; nobody has the right to decide for anybody else whether or not they should undergo it. And since kids are too young to appreciate the merits (probably lack of them) of a matter as personal and important as losing their foreskin, I argue that it is improper for somebody else (parent though they be) to make that decision for them, unless it is a medical emergency that has implications on their immediate survival or potency.
If as adults they decide to submit to the knife, that is their responsibility.

Story here.

'KEPALA BATAS, MALAYSIA - Nearly 300 boys from the Kepala Batas parliamentary constituency were circumcised in a mass ceremony yesterday.

The event was jointly organised by the parliamentary constituency and Penaga, Bertam and Pinang Tunggal state constituencies with cooperation from the Kepala Batas Hospital Visitors' Board, as part of the 1Malaysia community health programme.

Of the 275 boys, 108 were circumcised by the traditional method. The rest were circumcised using a modern technique.

Before the circumcision, the boys took part in a bicycle procession and were sprayed with water in a symbolic start to the ceremony.

Kepala Batas Umno division vice-chief Mohamad Naser Talib launched the ceremony. He represented former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'We’ve all heard about false accusations of sexual criminality, incidents such as the 2006 Duke University rape frame-up case. They are a form of psychological molestation and can destroy a person’s life just as being physically molested can. Well, now such an accusation might have ended a man’s life.

The hapless victim, 63-year-old British citizen Bryan Davies, died of a massive heart attack last Friday after months of community harassment resulting from a false accusation of pedophilia. And what was the reason for the accusation?

Two girls leveled it after the man and his wife, Debbie Davies, 43, refused to allow a “sleepover” at their home or the girls to walk their dog.

Story here. Excerpt:

'An 18-year-old student at Sacred Heart University claims that three lacrosse players at the Connecticut school — one of them a Long Island native — sexually assaulted her in a dorm room last weekend. The victim was having consensual sex with 19-year-old freshman Timothy Sanders, when the suspect allegedly held her down and shouted for his two teammates, freshmen Nicholas Travers and Zachari Triner, to join in, according to police. The two men then purportedly ran naked into the dorm room and touched the woman inappropriately. After she screamed and struggled, Travers and Triner fled.