Article here. Excerpt:

'But the sheer weight of numbers suggests that it must be only a matter of time before hierarchical professions such as medicine and law are "feminised" – and hopefully for the better. Could it be that the downturn in the economy places an even higher premium on good degrees in the jobs marketplace, enabling more women to launch careers that go all the way to the top? Could it be that future female leaders smash the male-dominated networks that cling onto power so successfully, limiting social mobility in the UK? It will certainly take more than a decade for this to happen.

However, we must not lose sight of the stark underperformance of boys – particularly those from the poorest backgrounds. There are deep-rooted cultural forces at play – a "macho anti-intellectualism" that surfaces particularly during early secondary school. The need for role models is absolutely key. More dads in the primary school classroom would help to combat negative stereotypes of those who do well at school – early in children's lives.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'FRANKFORD -- The state is awaiting the results of DNA tests as it proceeds with charges against a former elementary school teacher accused of sexual encounters with one of her students, an assistant county attorney said today.
During a brief pre-indictment conference in Superior Court in Newton, Sussex County Assistant Prosecutor Francis Koch also told Judge N. Peter Conforti that the defendant, Lindsay Massaro, has applied early for entry into the pretrial intervention program.
...
Entry into the PTI program, a probationary program for nonviolent, first-time offenders that's a part of many plea agreements, requires approval from the prosecutor's office.
...
Massaro was charged with second-degree sexual assault, third-degree endangering the welfare of a minor and fourth-degree criminal sexual contact. The second-degree charge carries a possible 10-year prison sentence.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Tippah County woman could face jail time for crying rape when it never really happened.

The initial report put law officers in at least two counties on alert and ran up huge investigative bills, until the victim recanted.

Investigators won't identify the woman but they have a lot to say about the seriousness of the false claim.

The rape report, a few weeks ago, put every law officer in Tippah County, and a few from out out of town on the streets to look for suspects.

Crimestoppers offered a $6,000 reward.

Investigators had just one problem, the report was a lie.

"Just a classic case of the shepherd boy crying wolf. Everybody came to the rescue," said District Attorney Ben Creekmore.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'LOS ANGELES – A veteran police officer accused of killing her ex-boyfriend's wife in 1986 rose through the ranks of the Police Department for two decades, even as the victim's father pleaded with police to investigate her.

On Tuesday, Stephanie Lazarus will face a judge on charges that she bit, beat and shot Sherri Rasmussen after breaking into her condominium 23 years ago.

Lazarus, 49, could be sentenced to death if convicted of Rasmussen's murder.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'The case against a 30-year-old Salt Lake County woman accused of raping a 13-year-old neighbor boy came to an abrupt halt Monday after a witness gave prosecutors additional information that did not support the boy's story.

The dismissal came after attorneys and 3rd District Judge Vernice Trease spent the morning selecting a jury to hear the evidence against Catherine Cates, who was charged with four counts of first-degree felony rape of a child and one count of second-degree felony sexual abuse of a child.
...
The boy's mother said she does not understand why prosecutors had not presented the case to a jury, despite changes in the roommate's testimony.

"[The roommate] actually walked in and caught the two of them [having sex]," the woman said.

Alicia Cook, spokeswoman for the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office, called the roommate "a neutral witness" who provided last-minute details that were "contradictory to what victim was saying."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Happy June! More importantly, happy Ryan's-Dating-Sabbatical-Is-Over! I don't have any dates lined up yet, but that's OK because one of my romantic resolutions is to go with the flow. The only real prospect on my horizon is an attractive young lady who messaged me on Nerve a few days ago. I would probably reply if it weren't for one crucial detail:

She's 21. To put that in perspective, when I was a senior in high school she was a sixth grader (which is the official yard stick for measuring age differences in the dating world). To be honest, I don't think I could get over such a significant age gap, which definitely puts me in the male minority. I know tons of guys who only have eyes for significantly younger women. What is it they like so much about younger women? Here are a few ideas:
...
4. Men Are Pigs. You already know I find older women extremely attractive, and I'm certainly not the only one. But it's simply a fact of nature that there are certain physical, um, perks to dating younger women.

Alert here. Excerpt:

'Fathers & Families is often critical of family law judges. Given the anti-father bias in the system and the lack of respect many judges display towards fathers’ loving bonds with their children, this criticism is appropriate. However, we also feel it is important to comment judges when they do the right thing, and we’ve done so on countless occasions.

One of the many judges Fathers & Families has defended is conscientious Virginia judge James Michael Shull. It’s a long story, but it’s an instructive one, and we’d like your action on the matter.

n December, 2006 Shull smoked out a woman who sought to extend a restraining order based on false charges of domestic violence, and was removed from the bench for his actions in the case in 2007.

I have examined the evidence in this case and it is clear to me that Shull was railroaded. He was also the victim of widely-disseminated misleading reporting.'

The Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994 with the laudable intention of solving the problem of domestic violence. Unfortunately the law has numerous flaws, including¹:

1. VAWA programs have been ineffective in reducing partner abuse, and in some ways have placed victims at greater risk of violence.
2. VAWA undermines basic notions of civil liberties and the presumption of innocence.
3. VAWA programs have had a disproportionate negative effect on minority and low-income populations.
4. VAWA undermines the family, escalates partner conflict, and discourages reconciliation.
5. VAWA fosters sex-based discrimination.
6. VAWA promotes half-truths, myths, and falsehoods about domestic violence.
7. VAWA encourages immigration fraud.
8. VAWA programs lack accountability and allow wasteful use of taxpayer dollars.

Story here.

'A Michigan sheriff says a Lansing-area woman apparently killed her two young sons before committing suicide.

Eaton County Sheriff Mike Raines says the woman's husband called 911 and said he returned to the family's home at Plum Tree Apartments Monday afternoon and found the three bodies. He says detectives were questioning the husband.

Raines didn't release the names or ages of the woman and her children or say how they died. He says the three were taken to Sparrow Hospital for autopsies.

The sheriff says the deaths appear to be a murder-suicide, but that the case is still under investigation.'

Exchange here. Excerpt:

'Dear Miriam,

I'm a 27-year-old married woman and a teacher. Last month, I had a one-night stand with a pupil. He's 18 and very mature for his age.
...
Now I hear there are rumours circulating around the school about us and I'm having kittens the head teacher will get wind of it. What can I do?
Erin

Dear Erin,
This is a serious breach of professional ethics as well as a betrayal of your husband, which is likely to have serious consequences for you.

Your drunken sex romp may well have sabotaged your professional future and your marriage. It seems likely you're living on borrowed time. Clearly, the boy has bragged to someone and it may only be a matter of time before the gossip spreads uncontrollably.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Springfield area has seen its share of high-profile police manhunts triggered by lies. Sadly, some of the false statements have also included claims of brutal sexual assault. Neighbors fret, innocent people get questioned, and police waste expensive time.

Yet, when the fraud is exposed, little or no penalty seems to come to the liar.

More should be done to try to combat this problem.

Obviously, it cannot be eradicated. But we encourage local criminal justice officials to discuss the possibility of advocating an increase in the penalty for false reports -- at least the kind that trigger a great expense or result in wrongful arrests.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'According to Judith Kleinfeld, boys get the raw deal. Compared with girls, American boys have lower rates of literacy, lower grades and engagement in school, higher drop-out from school, and dramatically higher rates of suicide, premature death, injuries, and arrests. Boys are also placed more often in special education. Girls on the other hand are more likely to have different problems including depression, suicidal thoughts and eating disorders.

The researcher argues that although there have been numerous federal, state, school district, and foundation programs aimed at addressing issues faced by girls, led in part by the strong feminist movement, the same cannot be said for the problems encountered by boys. In her view, they have been largely neglected.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'So is it good news or bad news that more women than men are going to university? The feminist approach is obvious: if it wasn't a problem when men outnumbered women in higher education, why should it be when it's the other way round?
...
Of course, you can have too much of a good thing, but I just don't believe people like Caroline Flint when they talk, as she did in a Sunday newspaper, about what a burden it is being female – and, sotto voce, good-looking – in the male-dominated world of politics. I bet she would not like it if we didn't look twice at her because she was in a majority of females, among commentators as well as MPs.
...
By rights this should put feminism out of business. But it won't. It would take too much of a shift in our prejudices to see boys as the problem, disadvantaged sex. Perhaps that's because it doesn't suit either men or women to do so.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'(CNN) -- A 28-year-old Oregon woman has been charged with murder after the body of a new mother was found in the crawl space of her home.

Rescue crews first went to Korena Roberts' home in Washington County on Friday in response to a call of a newborn in distress. They found Roberts' boyfriend unsuccessfully trying to revive the baby using first-aid techniques.

Roberts told deputies the baby was hers, the county sheriff's office said. Medics noticed a lot of blood at the home, and sent Roberts and the baby to a hospital.

"Doctors at the hospital were not able to revive the baby," said Sgt. David Thompson of the Washington County Sheriff's Office in a news release. "They also discovered that Ms. Roberts had not delivered a child at anytime in the recent past."
...
An autopsy will now determine how the baby was delivered, and whether he died before or after birth, Thompson said.

The outcome could result in another murder charge for Roberts, deputies said.'

Read this for your daily dose of bizarre-o-writings from the Land of Feminist Bloggers. Excerpt:

'Feminism, real or imagined, has long been praised and blamed for a whole pile of societal developments, crises and trends. But it has emerged recently in unlikely quarters: as a major factor in the "intimate" murders of women and as a saving grace in the lives of abusive men. In a devastating twist, feminism, while improving women’s lives in many obvious ways, may also have made their lives more dangerous. At the same time, by offering escape and support to battered women, it has saved the lives of abusive men.