An article reviewed here on Glenn Sacks' blog. From the review:

'Loh had been married for 20 years when she decided she wanted a divorce. She and her husband have two elementary-school-aged children. She has nothing bad to say about her husband, but seemingly the magic just wasn't there any longer. Loh's oblique way of letting us know about her extramarital affair is to say that her "commitment to monogamy...came unglued." (Can you hear Mark Sanford or Eliot Spitzer saying that?)

Article here. Excerpt:

'How can we prevent Intimate Partner Violence and injury to women? IPV researcher Deborah Capaldi, Ph.D., a social scientist at the Oregon Social Learning Center, finds that the best way for women to be safe is to not initiate violence against their male partners. According to Dr. Capaldi, "The question of initiation of violence is a crucial one... much IPV is mutual, and initiations -- even that seem minor -- may lead to escalation."

Dr. Capaldi recently presented her work at "From Ideology to Inclusion 2009: New Directions in Domestic Violence Research and Intervention," an IPV conference in Los Angeles June 26-28. While studies have consistently found that women initiate as much violence against their male partners as vice versa, two-thirds of domestic violence injuries are suffered by women.'

Basically, don't pick fights with others if you don't want to get beat up yourself. Oh yeah, that's a rule only for men as it pertains to men.... silly me!

Story here. Excerpt:

'A WOMAN who falsely claimed she had been date-raped by a man she met over the Internet has been jailed.

Natalie Jefferson told officers she had been attacked in a back lane during a night out in Newcastle by a stranger she met in a chatroom.

As a result of her lies, an innocent man who has never been in trouble before was arrested and spent the best part of a day in police custody as a sex suspect.
...
"This was a huge waste of police time, and, more serious than that, is this led to the arrest of an innocent man."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'“Domestic violence against men is seen as a joke in this culture,” he said, adding that male victims are often thought of as “wimpy” or “weak.”

A Sonoma County health department report for 2005 through 2009 listed several gaps in resources and services for domestic abuse victims, including the need for greater attention for male victims and female perpetrators.

The report also said there was a lack of gender-specific support and counseling for male victims. It also recommended a change in thinking to acknowledge that both parties can instigate or contribute to domestic violence.

“Men are today where women were 30 years ago as far as being invisible victims,” said Manthey. “The battered women’s advocates have done a tremendous job in bringing to light this issue with the public. . . . It’s time to turn the light onto battered men. Too bad it’s taken three murders.”'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A 37-year-old Salem woman, who allegedly withheld life-saving cancer treatment from her dying son, was arrested tonight, two days after she was indicted on charges stemming from the death of the autistic child.

Kristen LaBrie, whose 9-year-old son, Jeremy Fraser, died of leukemia in March, was indicted by an Essex County Grand Jury on Friday.

Charged with attempted murder, permitting serious bodily injury to a disabled person, child endangerment, and permitting substantial bodily injury to a child, she is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow in Salem Superior Court.
...
According to court documents, LaBrie's Danvers-based lawyer, Kevin James, might argue LaBrie's mental health was so strained she was unable to make appropriate choices for her son stemming from the death of the autistic child.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A reader pointed out a New York Times editorial lauding the appointment of Lynn Rosenthal as domestic violence czar. While the editorial encompasses some factual errors, it does a quite efficient job of illustrating the breadth and depth of the general misunderstanding regarding the issue of partner abuse.

In this article, I’ll go thru the Times piece point-by-point and explain where the Times, and in fact, most people, have the wrong idea. The Times statements are in bold.

Domestic violence is a serious law enforcement and public health problem affecting as many as one in four women in this country.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Former NFL star quarterback Steve McNair was found dead with multiple gunshot wounds in a Nashville condominium Saturday - and authorities hinted he was murdered by a girlfriend who then turned the gun on herself.
...
A woman McNair was reportedly dating, identified as Sahel Kazemi, 20, was found dead only a few feet away with a single bullet wound to the head. A gun was lying nearby, Nashville police said.
...

McNair, 36, who was married and had four children, had reportedly been dating Kazemi for a few months. They met at a Dave & Buster's restaurant where Kazemi worked, her former boyfriend told the Tennessean newspaper.

Neighbors of Kazemi told the paper they often spotted McNair visiting her apartment. At times, she returned home in a black limousine, and not long ago, she showed up with a brand new Cadillac Escalade she said was a gift from her boyfriend.

Here in the U.S., it's Independence Day: July 4. We usually celebrate by having parades, cook-outs and doing other such stereotypically tame things. However it is important to remember the many brave men who have fought and died in the many wars in which the US has been who really would have rather stayed home and enjoyed cook-outs and nice weather instead of enduring combat.

So MANN pauses to say "THANK-YOU" to the many men who have served and who today continue to serve the country in all manner of occupations involved in our defense. We also say "THANK YOU" to our Founding Fathers who pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the founding of the United States, many of whom gave up those things by the time all was said and done.

And to all these men, we further say: "HUZZAH!"

As a rider to the story from yesterday regarding marriage license fees in New Jersey being mostly paid to DV shelter funds, I noticed this: 37:2-10. Married woman's liability for debts contracted before or after marriage: "A husband shall not be liable for the debts of his wife contracted before their marriage, or contracted by her, in her own name, after their marriage, but she shall be liable to be sued separately therefor in her own name, and any property belonging to her shall be liable to satisfy such debts, in the same manner as if she were a feme sole."

"Some justice," as they say.

Story here. Excerpt:

'CHENNAI: Railway minister Mamata Banerjee's announcement to launch Only Ladies' EMU services on suburban lines at Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata has brought cheer to the city's commuters. Ranging from school students to senior working professionals, daily passengers said the facility would make train journeys more comfortable for women.

"I think it will be very useful. We struggle to get into the ladies' compartments on EMU services right now since we have to run all the way to the front of the train or to the rear end when a train pulls into the station because there are no ladies' compartments in the middle sections of several trains. There is no indication of where the ladies' compartments are placed either," said Chitra Balasubramanian, an employee of the Postal department who travels from Mambalam to Meenambakkam every day. She has been using the EMU service for the last 24 years.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Look through the vast windows at 29 West Hastings St. and you'll see stylish wooden counters, a funky bench created from reclaimed pink and red chairs and chandeliers fashioned from bicycle rims, plastic hangers, water bottles and clear tubing.

Located between Funky Winker Beans and the Army and Navy, it's the site of Lu's: A Pharmacy for Women, and it claims to be the first of its kind in North America.

Vancouver Women's Health Collective will open Lu's July 7. The group has developed the business to sustain the non-profit society that has helped women with healthcare decisions for 38 years.

Caryn Duncan, executive director of the collective, came up with the idea of opening a pharmacy for women in the Downtown Eastside in 2006.

Story here. Excerpt:

'FISHKILL - The Hudson Valley Renegades [ed.: link added] still plan on holding Tuesday's promotional night, an event the team says is a tribute to its female fans.

But don't expect to see any county officials at Dutchess Stadium - inside or outside the ballpark.

Story here. Excerpt:

'PHOENIX – Cynthia Mary Roberson is an unemployed mother who police say led her 12- and 14-year-old sons and their friends to commit at least 20 armed robberies and assaults, including the beating of a teenage boy who had nothing more than an orange lollipop.

Her motivation was purely financial — police said she needed money to pay rent and the loan on her gold Chevrolet. In every case, the mother drove the getaway car and once coached a kid during a robbery because he was having trouble stealing a cell phone from a victim, police said.

The case has outraged authorities and the public and drawn comparisons to "Ma Barker," the infamous mother who led her four young sons on a robbery spree in the early 1900s.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The 1538th sustained no casualties during its almost 10 months in Iraq ferrying supplies and providing security for U.S. military convoys, perhaps in part by obeying its unofficial motto, “Drive it like you stole it.” But the same can’t be said for the jobs its members left behind.

Forty-six soldiers — fully 25 percent of the company — have no work awaiting them, including many whose jobs vanished while they were heeding their nation’s call.

“They pretty much said there’s nothing to come back to, better start looking for another job,” said Pfc. Jonathan Maher, 20, of the Elkhart County community of Bristol, recalling the letter he received from his employer, Keystone RV, shortly after Christmas.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'(CNN) -- A Long Island, New York, social worker is facing two misdemeanor charges after allegedly posting a sexually suggestive ad on Craigslist that gave interested parties the home phone number of a 9-year-old girl.

According to prosecutors, Margery Tannenbaum posted the ad to get revenge after an argument between her daughter and the girl, who attend the same school in Hauppauge, New York.

On Thursday, Tannenbaum was arraigned on charges of aggravated harassment and endangering the welfare of a minor. She pleaded not guilty and will appear in court later this month.
...
When asked about the case, Tannenbaum's attorney, Tad Scharfenberg, said, "I think this has been blown out of proportion to what the actual alleged act was."

He described Tannenbaum as "a well-loved woman by both family and friends," and said she was a classroom mom at her daughter's school.'