Article here. Excerpt:

'When it comes to offering men and women equal opportunities to play sports, close may no longer be good enough.

Judges have typically ruled that universities are in compliance with the federal gender-equity law known as Title IX if the proportion of athletes who are women is within 5 percent of the representation of women in the total enrollment.

But a settlement announced Wednesday between the University of California-Davis and three female athletes holds the university’s athletic officials to a stricter 1.5 percent standard and could influence similar cases around the country, according to lawyers who are knowledgeable about gender-equity cases.
...
Under the settlement, Davis has 10 years to bring female participation in varsity sports to within 1.5 percent of their proportion of the overall student population. According to federal education statistics, female athletes made up about 50 percent of Davis’s athletes in the 2007-8 academic year, but 56 percent of its student population.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Ministry statistics provide ample evidence of the gender gap that has been observed by many during grad ceremonies. One set of statistics — the number of students receiving $1,000 provincial scholarships for excellent Grade 12 exam results — shows that hundreds more girls than boys win every year.

Last year, the tests found that 19 per cent of Grade 4 boys in B.C. and 14 per cent of the girls weren’t meeting expectations in reading. The figures were similar for writing with 23 per cent of boys and 13 per cent of girls not making the grade. In math, 21 per cent of boys and 22 per cent of girls weren’t up to par.

Boys had slipped from the honour roll to the suspension list, and not just in Burnaby. Figures from around the province confirmed that female students were much more likely than male students to be successful in school.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Michelle Farley apologized to her family, friends and "family of teachers" for having an inappropriate relationship with a 17-year-old student last year.

"I want to apologize to (the teen) and his family for the embarrassment and hurt I caused," the former Borah High philosophy teacher said. "It hurts me that I have hurt so many people because what I did was so wrong."

Farley left the courtroom in handcuffs Friday, on her way to the Ada County Jail, where she could spend the next six months after pleading guilty to a charge of felony sexual battery of a minor.

Fourth District Judge Timothy Hansen told Farley she can ask for an early release once she completes a class on "thinking errors" at the jail. But she will spend the next decade on probation, have to undergo sex-offender treatment and pay a $2,000 fine. '

Story here. Excerpt:

'They and their supporters say the current legal system is biased against fathers and that new laws could eliminate the creation of an unnecessarily adversarial relationship between parents.

State Assemblyman Michael Benjamin, D-Morrisania sponsored legislation this year that would create a
The bill will not make it out of committee before the end of the session next week, but Benjamin said he's already speaking with the chair of the Committee on Children and Families about organizing a roundtable discussion on the subject this fall.

The bill will not make it out of committee before the end of the session next week, but Benjamin said he's already speaking with the chair of the Committee on Children and Families about organizing a roundtable discussion on the subject this fall.

“I think it's an issue that's important to fathers and I think fathers should have some consideration when it comes to custody cases,” he said.

Article here. Excerpt:

'As Fathers' Day looms, is it really the case that working dads get a raw deal from employers?

That's the conclusion of a survey from careers website TheLadders.co.uk, released to coincide with (/shamelessly cash in on) Fathers' Day this weekend. It proclaims that 72% of executives think UK companies should review and revise their company policies to help them be better fathers. According to the survey, men think being a father also makes them a better employee - yet they still don't feel comfortable asking for time off for paternity leave and family commitments. But given that some men don't even realise they're entitled to paternity leave, it suggests that employers may not be entirely to blame...

Article here. Excerpt:

'I asked some friends to share their thoughts on gifts they received from their fathers:

A social worker: "My father cared about others and was always doing things for people. He believed in the importance of family, not just in the immediate sense but in the larger sense of all of humanity. My father taught me what is important in life."

A political activist and employment agency founder: "My father's ability to beat the odds in the face of adversity and his zest for life are the things I remember most about him. He suffered congestive heart failure in 1981 and in 1982 ... the doctors told us he wouldn't survive. He changed his diet, lost 30 pounds, stopped smoking and drinking, and lived an additional 11 years. Sometime later I was the Democratic candidate for representative in my state and he became one of my most enthusiastic supporters. He died suddenly at 81 in the midst of my campaign. I miss him every day."

Article here. Excerpt:

'The benefits of having a positive, involved father are well-documented by decades of research.

Now, scholars are focusing their microscopes on an obstacle to fathers' involvement: "gatekeeping" by mothers who control or hamper fathers' interactions with their children.

The findings reveal how women and men alike can trigger gatekeeping, which can cause tension between partners and dissatisfaction with parenting routines. As Father's Day nears, the research also sheds light on how dads can play a bigger role.

"The more we understand these patterns, the more parents will be able to make conscious and deliberate choices" about parenting, says Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, assistant professor of human development at the Ohio State University.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Father's Day 2009 is being celebrated with a renewed sense of vigour and excitement. Fathers and children are appearing in more advertisements. The media are running father-friendly stories. Restaurants are booked out for Father's Day as well as Mother's Day.
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The renovation of fatherhood and the renewal of masculinity have been heralded by writers like Ed Cole, author of Maximised Manhood; Gordon Dalby, Healing the Masculine Soul; Robert Bly, Iron John; and Warren Farrell, Father and Child Reunion and even by feminist authors such as Adrienne Burgess, Fatherhood Reclaimed and Susan Falundi, Stiffed. Australian author Steve Biddulph has been a trailblazer for the Australian fatherhood and men's movement for many years. His books sell very smartly overseas as well.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The role of the father is increasingly problematic in the context of modern American culture. Fatherhood has been marginalized and the rule and authority of fathers has been depreciated, ridiculed, and continuously redefined. From the Berenstain Bears to The Simpsons, fathers are all too often the object of ridicule or this subject of the laugh line.
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The marginalization of fatherhood can be traced to many developments, but one prime source of this marginalization is the intellectual class and its radical commitment to ideological feminism. Fatherhood is now an ideological category that is inescapably linked to everything from patriarchy (considered to be the original sin) to popular culture (where the intellectual elites exert a very significant, if indirect influence).'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Fathers matter more than ever, and anyone who doubts their importance has inevitably endured life without one.

Even feminist Gloria Steinem said, "Most American children suffer too much mother and too little father."

The politically correct modern notion is that as long as a child is healthy and loved, it doesn't matter who they are raised and nurtured by. And of course if there is no father, any loving parent is integral for a child's well being.

But the male influence in a child's life is invaluable, irreplaceable and necessary for most of us. There, I said it.

As politically incorrect as it may sound, fathers are important, and it would do us all good to reflect on where we might be without the great male influence that our fathers have bestowed on our lives.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'As a candidate and now president, he's been telling men what sort of father they should be. It's become his Father's Day ritual and he's not shy about it.
...
'His finger-wagging is most pointed when addressing other black men, reflecting years of worry about the fabric of black families and single mothers, but it applies to everyone.

Father's Day 2007: "Let's admit to ourselves that there are a lot of men out there that need to stop acting like boys; who need to realize that responsibility does not end at conception; who need to know that what makes you a man is not the ability to have a child but the courage to raise a child."

Father's Day 2008: "Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father."'

You have to suspect any woman who wants to work with children. They're almost certainly paedophiles... Oh, sorry! That's the attitude that men have to put up with isn't it? Women, of course, can be trusted to look after children without abusing them in any way... er, wait a minute: Second woman charged over nursery 'child porn' probe. Excerpt:

"A woman arrested as part of an inquiry into child abuse allegedly committed by a female nursery worker has appeared in court.

"Angela Allen, 39, is charged with four counts of sexual assault, four counts of taking indecent photographs, four counts of possessing indecent photographs and four counts of distributing indecent photographs."

Story here. Excerpt:

'BOWMANVILLE -- Gentlemen, it's not too late to don your favourite pair of women's shoes and take to the streets.

The first-ever Walk A Mile in Her Shoes event, to raise awareness about violence against women, is set for Saturday in downtown Bowmanville, as part of the Fabulous Fifties Festival.

The event is organized by Bowmanville's Bethesda House, a women's shelter and outreach centre. The organization paired with a similar group in Northumberland and ordered a number of pairs of ruby-red stilettos, specially sized for men's feet, to be worn during events in both areas.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In commercial after commercial on TV, the image of the modern husband and father is one of the buffoon - trapped in a shed he built without doors, staring blankly at spilled juice, gorging on dog cookies until his ever-capable wife comes to the rescue.

Such ads are a mainstay because they work: They make viewers laugh, and they sell. And, also, critics argue, because such stereotyping remains socially acceptable.

"WASP men are the greatest target in advertising. The reason I say that is they are the only safe target in advertising," said Terry O'Reilly of Pirate Toronto, a leading audio advertising firm, and host of The Age of Persuasion, a CBC radio show.
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"It reinforces for women and men alike the idea that this really isn't men's normal home turf, that they're not able to be good at it, and therefore, why bother?" Prof. Thomas said.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Every so often, she said, her youngster’s mind drifts back to the morning of Oct. 16, 2007 when a 24-year-old city woman — in a fit of supposed rage — forced his tiny hands into a pot of boiling water in the Applewood Drive apartment she shared with her then-boyfriend, Damon's father.

Damon, who was two at the time, sustained serious burns and will require several surgeries, skin grafts and therapy to treat the wounds.
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The first half of Muir’s sentence is being spent under house arrest, while during the remaining nine months she will be allowed out into the community under certain conditions.

Like many others in the community, the boy’s mother remains outraged at the sentence, charging her son was shortchanged by the criminal justice system.
...

To date, more than 8,200 people are members of her group ‘Where is the justice?’ — an element that Reddom hopes to harness into a special event to raise awareness about abused children and the “failings of the justice system” in the hopes of initiating change.