Article here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON – Sonia Sotomayor told the Senate on Thursday that the White House never questioned her about cases or issues she might have to decide as a Supreme Court justice, a disclosure gleaned from reams of documents that reveal she has spoken repeatedly about how her gender and Latina heritage affect her judging.

The federal appeals court judge divulged new details about her finances and provided three decades of writings, speeches and rulings that give both supporters and critics fresh fodder for the coming debate on her confirmation. They include more instances in which she said she hopes a "wise Latina" would reach a better decision than a man without that experience.

The comments in 2002 and 2003 echo a much-criticized remark she made in 2001 at the University of California-Berkeley law school that has prompted a furor among conservatives who say they suggest President Barack Obama's first Supreme Court nominee brings a personal bias to her legal decisions.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sadly, Democrats have become sold on the use of anti-male clichés as their short-sighted strategy to ballot-box success.

Here's Hillary Clinton in 2005: "Research shows the presence of women raises the standards of ethical behavior and lowers corruption." Remember the quip she made about "evil and bad men" made at an Iowa campaign stop? And in New Hampshire, she commented, "I don't know about you, but I like seeing women in charge." (Just imagine the ruckus if candidate John McCain had proclaimed, "I don't know about you, but I like seeing white men in charge.")

Story here. Excerpt:

'A former Williston Middle School teacher already facing a criminal charge for alleged sexual contact with a 15-year-old boy was arrested again Thursday and charged with statutory rape and dissemination of harmful materials.

The new charges against Jessica Bailey Wishnask, 27, of Oak City in Martin County, stem from alleged conduct with the same boy on or before her initial arrest on May 23, said District Attorney Ben David.

Wishnask was re-arrested Thursday morning in Martin County, where she had been living, said Wilmington Police Chief Ralph Evangelous. After the arrest, Wishnask was transported to New Hanover County, where she made a first appearance in court Thursday on the new charges via teleconference from the county jail.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'An I.S. 8 teacher accused of having sex with a 14-year-old student at the Jamaica middle school now waits in jail as she faces charges of statutory rape.

Melissa Weber, a social studies teacher, allegedly engaged in sexual intercourse in a second-floor classroom with the boy — the son of a PTA member — on seven separate occasions between April 13 and May 14. She was arraigned Friday on seven counts of second-degree rape, 14 counts of third-degree sexual abuse and one count of endangering the welfare of a child.
...
Bail was set at $100,000, and the judge ordered Weber to stay away from the boy if bail were to be posted. If convicted, Weber could face up to seven years in prison.

“The charges are very disturbing,” Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said in a statement. “A teacher is accused of preying on a young student who she is entrusted to teach. A classroom should always be a safe place for a child. The defendant is alleged to have destroyed her students’ trust.”'

Story here.

'Charges were dropped Thursday against a Tinley Park teenager who allegedly lied about being raped after a St. Patrick's Day parade, authorities said.

Heather Krueger, 19, was accused of filing a false police report, which claimed she had been raped March 15 - the evening of the South Side Irish St. Patrick's Day Parade - in the parking lot of the 80th Avenue Tinley Park Metra station.

But she later retracted the allegation, police say.

It was a story she made up so her parents wouldn't be angry she'd got drunk at the parade, police said.

Tinley Park Police Chief Michael O'Connell said the Cook County state's attorney's office contacted him earlier this week because the case against Krueger was "unwinnable," he said.

"I'm not happy that we couldn't win the case," O'Connell said.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A woman has admitted falsely accusing three men of raping her after video footage on a mobile phone disproved her claims.

Victoria Salter pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice at Preston Crown Court on Wednesday.

The 26-year-old's false allegations of rape led to three men being arrested. But one of the men filmed the incident and provided mobile phone evidence.
...
She made false report in September, when she said she had been followed home by four men, three raped her while the fourth watched.

The court heard that Salter had been filmed by one of the men during the sexual encounter and she had been partaking "enthusiastically".'

Story here.

'HOUGHTON -- The Michigan Tech student accused of filing a false rape report appeared in court Wednesday for her arraignment. A not guilty plea was entered on her behalf.

Jennifer Renee Stigers, 19, is charged with one felony count of filing a false police report which carries a maximum four-year prison sentence.

Police say they can't find Stigers in surveillance video from the date she says she was attacked in March outside the library at Michigan Tech.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In 2009 women are clearly full contributors to society. Ms.Wiberg, even, acknowledged substantial progress since 1965, noting that more than half of law students are now women. Would there ever come a time, however, when the Commission itself might be unnecessary?

“I would like to hope that at some time there would not be a need for this commission,” Ms. Wiberg said. Alas, that would not be any time soon because there is still a need to see issues “through a gender lens,” and the Commission, in her view, serves “a valuable function.”

To adapt a feminist slogan, California needs a Commission on the Status of Women like a fish needs a bicycle. I fail to understand how it’s a valuable function to portray women as a caste of permanent victims and essentially helpless without a government bureaucracy to speak for them. I don’t see much value in linking women’s achievements to the helping hand of Big Brother. Further, I know from experience that the kind of government health care the Commission wants will not help women.'

Story here.

'ADELANTO, Calif. — Authorities arrested a woman for allegedly trying to kidnap her daughter's boyfriend and haul him away to Northern California. A sheriff's spokeswoman said Tuesday that two women went to the young man's home on Saturday afternoon and tried to tie him up with duct tape.

The victim told authorities the women said they were taking him to get him away from one of the women's 21-year-old daughter. Authorities said both women were arrested on suspicion of attempted kidnapping.

Officials said the girlfriend was later arrested for investigation of dissuading a witness and extortion for allegedly trying to get her boyfriend to recant his statements on the kidnapping to authorities.'

Story here. Bet she cops the old Munchausen-by-Proxy Defense. We'll see if it works for her. Excerpt:

'AUSTIN, Texas — A woman in Texas has been accused of repeatedly smearing human waste on her 3-year-old daughter's intravenous feeding line, potentially causing life-threatening infections.

Emily Beth McDonald, 23, of Austin, was charged with felony injury to a child. She faces up to life in prison if convicted.

According to an arrest affidavit, a surveillance video at Dell Children's Medical Center captured McDonald on Sunday placing feces from a soiled diaper on the cap of a tube with a direct link to her child's bloodstream.

According to the affidavit, police interviewed McDonald, who allegedly confessed and said she knew that her actions could make the child severely ill and possibly even kill her. No motive was disclosed.

McDonald was released on a $100,000 bond Wednesday.

Story here. Excerpt:

Personally, I by no means condone rape, especially of a child. However, at the time of the beating, he was only labeled a "person of interest." He is now in hospital suffering from head injuries. Why is the mob not being charged? What precedent does this set? If I'm falsely accused of rape, does that mean my entire neighborhood can swing at me with baseball bats and get off? Excerpt:

'A mob of furious neighbors of an 11-year-old girl raped on her way to school in Philadelphia won't be charged for beating a man wanted for questioning in the case.

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said Thursday that no charges will be filed against the group of about a dozen residents of the city's West Kensington section who attacked 26-year-old Jose Carrasquillo.

Carrasquillo hasn't been charged with rape but was arrested on an unrelated warrant. Ramsey said investigators have forensic evidence and witness identification placing him at the scene of Monday's attack.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Leading academics and policymakers have pondered long and hard about the problem of how to overcome the poor performance of boys at school.

Now it seems, according to new research published today, the answer may be quite simple – just get them to play more games and the exam passes could take care of themselves.

A study of 508 independent schools by the Independent Schools Council (ISC) reveals for the first time that there is a strong link between the amount of voluntary activities such as chess and cricket undertaken by children and their exam performance. Pupils in the top-performing schools for GCSE results took part, on average, in 50 per cent more activities than those schools at the bottom of the performance ladder. In addition, the research found, the difference in performance was more marked in boys-only schools.'

I wasn't expecting to see it at thinkgeek.com, but here it is. Trying to get the disaffected female market? No excuse. I'll be ordering my novelty Star Trek phasers and Dr. Who sonic screwdrivers from some other merchant. You can contact them at webmonster-at-thinkgeek.com or here.

Story here. Excerpt:

'RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A Brazilian supreme court judge on Tuesday suspended a lower court's order that would have given custody of a 9-year-old boy to the U.S. Consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he was to be reunited with his American father.

Judge Marco Aurelio argued against taking Sean Richard Goldman from what has been his home for almost five years to the United States "in an abrupt manner."

Doing so, he wrote in his order published on the court's Web site, could subject the boy to psychological harm.'

Letter here. Excerpt:

'I was so happy to read about the student group “Men in Power” in the Chicago Tribune. Groups like this are part of a growing, global men’s rights movement that advocates for equal treatment of men in areas such as child custody, domestic violence policies, reproductive rights, criminal sentencing, public health policies, paternity laws, the draft, dating expectations, and more.

Opponents of this movement tend to reactively look only at gender disparities at the top of society (government, CEOs) while overlooking the bottom, where men account for 80 to 90 percent of homeless adults, work-related deaths, prisoners, and suicide deaths, as well as 99 percent of combat deaths and the majority of dropouts and special education students. Men also die younger and more often than women for the 10 leading causes of death.'