Story here. Excerpt:

'Imagine that you are a male police officer walking down a dark alley. Two drunken men surprise you, take your gun, and then sexually assault you.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Those problems, as I have often noted in my harangues on the need for fathers in children’s lives, include an increased risk of behavioural difficulties, school dropout, criminal activity, future intimacy issues, unemployment, lost contact with families – and of course poverty.

This report (link added) will go far in dispelling the ideology-driven myth that children of divorce or growing up in single-parent households are no worse off than if they were living with married, biological parents.

So the bottom line is that for children, married is better. If not married, then equal parenting is best. Divorce does not always bring happiness. Marriage is a sign of commitment in a way that cohabitation is not. If you stick with a marriage long enough, you find that it’s really not as bad as you thought.'

----

Report here. Caption:

"Georganne Chapin appeared on The Today Show to speak about the risks, harms, and ethics of infant circumcision – and why the AAP and AAFP should NOT recommend it.

Watch the segment, and send a letter to the AAP and AAFP opposing circumcision!"

The last 40 secs. includes a brief commentary between the hosts (both women). That piece of this segment was reported previously here on MANN. Note the seeming frivolity with which this question is spoken about by one woman. The charged moment of silence between the two as the other sought to formulate a reply that was something other than "God, what a stupid comment!" was heartening to see, though.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A former soldier who handed a discarded shotgun in to police faces at least five years imprisonment for "doing his duty".

Paul Clarke, 27, was found guilty of possessing a firearm at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday – after finding the gun and handing it personally to police officers on March 20 this year.

The jury took 20 minutes to make its conviction, and Mr Clarke now faces a minimum of five year's imprisonment for handing in the weapon.

In a statement read out in court, Mr Clarke said: "I didn't think for one moment I would be arrested.

"I thought it was my duty to hand it in and get it off the streets."
...
Prosecuting, Brian Stalk, explained to the jury that possession of a firearm was a "strict liability" charge – therefore Mr Clarke's allegedly honest intent was irrelevant.

Just by having the gun in his possession he was guilty of the charge, and has no defence in law against it, he added.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'In a report released on Wednesday, UNFPA warns that it is women in the developing world such as Quispe who are bearing the brunt of the worsening and accelerating impact of climate change.
...
According to the report, women in poorer societies are most at risk because they make up a larger share of the agricultural workforce and have fewer income-earning opportunities. They also shoulder the burden of caring for other family members and household management, limiting their mobility and trapping them in a cycle of deprivation, poverty and inequality.

Story here. Excerpt:

'JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Blessed with a Friday off school, 15-year-old Alyssa Bustamante dug two holes in the ground to be used as a grave, authorities said. For the next week, she attended classes, all the while plotting the right time for a murder, they said.

That time arrived the evening of Oct. 21, when Bustamante strangled 9-year-old neighbor Elizabeth Olten without provocation, cut the girl's throat and stabbed her, prosecutors said. Why?

"Ultimately, she stated she wanted to know what it felt like," Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. David Rice testified Wednesday during a court hearing over the slaying.
...
Cook recommended Bustamante be tied as an adult. Cole County Circuit Judge Jon Beetem agreed, saying the killing was vicious and that the state had no adequate facilities or services to treat Bustamante if she remained in the juvenile system.

Like clockwork: I'm a girl so it's harder for me. Same old story, here. Excerpt:

'Lambert said she does not recognize herself pulling down Kassidy Shumway by the BYU player's ponytail during a Nov. 5 game in the Mountain West Conference semifinals.

"I look at it and I'm like, 'That is not me,' " Lambert told The New York Times. "I have so much regret. I can't believe I did that."

However, Lambert contends other aggressive play, including elbowing an opponent in the back, trips and hard tackles, and an episode in which she seemed to throw a punch at an opponent's head, were to some degree misunderstood by casual fans.

Lambert, who called the apparent punch inadvertent, said her actions were blown out of proportion because they occurred in a women's game.

"I definitely feel because I am a female it did bring about a lot more attention than if a male were to do it," Lambert said. "It's more expected for men to go out there and be rough..."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Of the world's 15 most competitive nations, 14 mandate paid sick leave, 13 guarantee paid maternal leave and 12 provide paid paternal leave by law, they said. Eleven provide paid leave to care for children's health and eight provide paid leave for adult family care.

The United States legally guarantees none of these policies to workers, the authors note....

Advocates for women's rights argue paid family leave is essential for women, who tend to care more for family members than do men, to compete and advance in the job market.
...
"One of the questions that's consistently asked in the United States is ... will we be able to compete if we have paid sick leave, paid maternity leave?" said author Jody Heymann of McGill's Institute for Health and Social Policy. "Will there be more unemployment? Will we lose jobs?'

Story here. Excerpt:

"We met these three homeless men at the Urban Ministry Center where they had turned up for a meal at the soup kitchen, and they agreed to let us follow them around for the day.
...
As we walk, Corbett and Everhart tell us about the day laboring work they do for an agency, which sends people out to work as unskilled and semi-skilled laborers — usually construction or demolition work. If they get a day’s work, they get $40 after taxes.

This involves walking two hours from their camp to be at the agency by 5:30am; otherwise there is no chance they will find any work.

“If we’re lucky, we get one or two days of work a week,” Everhart said. “Sometimes there are 50 or more guys out there and maybe 10 of them get work.”
...

Story here. Excerpt:

'Desperate times call for disparate thinking. High school sports budgets are being squeezed even tighter this year and students are finding that they’ll have to come up with creative funding, if they want extra travel or new uniforms.

Last week, the senior boys basketball team kicked off their fall fundraiser with a bottle drive, firewood delivery and leaf raking service. If the weather goes cold, they’ll also be available for snow shovelling.
...
“We’ve had to cut back the amount we can charge each student for each sport they take part in,” said Fisher. “Last year, it was $75 per sport for the major senior sports... soccer, basketball and volleyball. This year, we can only charge $50.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Across the Juneau School District, 75 percent of all principal-level discipline occurred with a male student in the 2008-09 school year, according to data from district Director of Student Services Dave Newton.

Juneau-Douglas High School guidance counselor Frank Coenraad said one reason may be differing levels of school connectedness.

"I don't want to just say 'Boys will be boys,'" he said. "I feel that the more connected the student is at the high school, less in terms of behavioral issues will arise."
...
In the district's recent 2008-2009 student achievement report, girls outperformed boys in reading, writing and math. Boys outperformed girls in science.

While nationwide reports in recent years point to a changing gender achievement gap between boys and girls, the independent think tank Education Sector says the hype is overrated in its report, "The Evidence Suggests Otherwise: The Truth about Boys and Girls."

Article here. Excerpt:

'As Michelle Obama touched down in Denver today to promote her efforts to connect America's public school students with professional mentors, she declined to send an invitation to one population who could most benefit: our city's neglected boys.
...
Over the years, I've written frequently about sexism against our boys. Perhaps it seems ironic given that I'm the mother of two girls. I do so, however, knowing that today's girl-power hype sends the wrong message to my own girls. Like professional working moms across the country, I provide my daughters an imperfect but devoted mentor right inside their own home. And gender has nothing to do with it, as they'll also see their father balance life's responsibilities and his own professional ambitions.
...
In an already overly complicated world, I don't need to explain why the First Lady believes that picking winners or losers based on gender is okay. It's not -- never has been and never will be.'

Article here.

'SANDIA PUEBLO, N.M. (AP) - Educators and community members from across New Mexico will meet Tuesday to find out why education is failing boys.

'The New Mexico Men's Council for Boys and Young Men (ed.: link added) will hold its second annual conference at Sandia Resort and Casino. The gathering will focus on closing the achievement gap for boys in education.

Conference organizers say dropout data from 2008 show that fewer than half the boys in New Mexico graduate from high school and only about 42 percent of students in colleges and universities are male.

They say as boys leave school, many turn to drugs and alcohol and violence which then drives up rates of addiction and domestic violence.

The organizers hope the conference will help mobilize parents, teachers, administrators and students to address the problem.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A judge ruled that former tour guide Erin Maitland cannot advertise women-only holidays because it could breach the human rights of men.

Judge Marilyn Harbison refused to grant Ms Maitland an exemption to the Equal Opportunity Act, ruling that she had not proved it was reasonable or necessary.

"The exemption may well be convenient and practical in the establishment of her business, but it cannot be justified on human rights principles," said the vice-president of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal.
...
The judge said Ms Maitland believed Travel Sisters would provide security for women, re-assure male partners who could not travel and be used by women who did not want to mix with men for cultural or religious reasons or because they were victims of domestic violence or sexual assault.

Her application was opposed by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, which said it would conflict with Victoria's Charter of Human Rights.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'You have to give the Toronto Leaside Girls Hockey Association credit for political smarts. Finding itself fighting for ice time on the city's overbooked rinks, it pulled out that ace of aces, the sexism card.

The 900-member association wrote a letter to Mayor David Miller threatening to launch a human-rights complaint for sex discrimination unless the city makes sure the girls get their share of ice. The mayor rushed to the mikes to promise that he would correct this monstrous injustice, even if it meant taking the issue to a vote at city council.

A Toronto Star editorial called it a clear case of “discrimination on ice.” But where is the evidence that the Leaside girls were discriminated against because of their sex – a serious charge indeed in the year 2009? Were they told they didn't rate ice time because they were girls?