Story here.

'Police said Eryn Allegra, of Port St. Lucie, gave the boy eight Advil pills to put him to sleep, then early Thursday morning suffocated him with a pillow in a hotel room. Allegra then allegedly tried to slit her wrists, but the blade she used was too dull. Police said she dialed 911 and was taken to a local hospital.

Allegra told investigators she had been having financial problems since August 2007.

It was unclear if Allegra had an attorney.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A former Cornwall-area teacher found guilty of sexually assaulting a student has been denied early release from jail.

Jennifer Dorland, 42, recently went before the Ontario Parole and Early Release Board in the hopes of being set free less than two months after she was first sent to jail. The former teacher was sentenced to six months behind bars on Oct. 28. She had been convicted on Dec. 20, 2007, on counts of sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching involving a 13-year-old boy.

In denying Dorland early release, the parole board said the woman would pose a risk to society if she were to be released and that she is at risk to reoffend.

The board said Dorland, who now uses the surname Toews, only recently admitted being responsible for her crimes and had maintained her innocence from the time she was charged until after she was initially incarcerated.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The name Fathers for Good has a double meaning: 1) every man in his heart wants to be a good father, even amid human frailty; and 2) once a man becomes a father, once he generates new life, it is “for good,” for the rest of his life. No matter the circumstances of his life or those of his child, that man will always bear the identity of a father. This is good news of great joy, and we try to help men live out that joy.
...
CAULFIELD: The goal is to be of service to fathers in their often difficult vocation. Men in general and fathers in particular are often portrayed negatively on TV and popular media, and men need to know that their specifically male virtues and character are valued and have a place in the modern world. We also abide by Pope John Paul II’s insight that men learn their fatherhood through the love of their wives, so the relationship with their wives is key.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'HOUSTON — A Maryland woman who fled 10 years ago with her son to Mexico after a custody dispute has been arrested and flown back to the United States, officials said.

Tamara Kennedy, a U.S. citizen and her now 14-year-old son, Joseph Alexander Kennedy, disappeared from Maryland in 1998, shortly before sole custody of the boy was to be given to the child's father, said Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Brandon A. Montgomery.
...
The boy's father, Donald Wiswell, came to Houston on Wednesday in hopes of being reunited with his son.

But Child Protective Services officials will keep the boy in custody until the investigation is completed.

"In cases like this, there have been many years of separation, and there may be allegations by the parent who fled with him that we need to look at before reuniting to make sure the transition is smooth and the child is safe," said Houston CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Meagan McCormic faced television cameras on Christmas Day to plead for the return of her missing 5-month-old son.

"I don't even know if he's dead or alive," she said.

In fact, she knew that the child had never existed, police said.

McCormic was trying to lure an ex-boyfriend back when she invented a missing-child story that triggered a statewide search this week, police said Friday.

Investigators have charged the 22-year-old with filing a false police report. If convicted, they said, she may have to pay authorities for the cost of their search.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'COVINA, Calif. (AP) - A ninth body was found Friday morning at the charred site of a Christmas Eve massacre where a recently divorced man dressed as Santa shot indiscriminately at partygoers and destroyed his former in-laws' house with a homemade blowtorch.

The attacker, Bruce Pardo, reached a Dec. 18 settlement with his ex-wife, who along with her parents was believed to be among the dead. His lawyer and a fellow church usher were among those who said they had never seen anything to indicate he was capable of such a brutal crime.
...

Pardo left the scene of the killings and was found dead Thursday, of a single bullet to the head, at his brother's house.
...
Court documents show Sylvia Pardo got the couple's dog, the wedding ring and $10,000 in the settlement agreement, while he got the house. In June, the court ordered Bruce Pardo to pay $1,785 a month in spousal support and put him on a payment plan of $450 a month for $3,570 that was unpaid.

Article here. Excerpt:

'It is the special child’s time because 2,000 years ago, the story tells us, a woman and a man had a baby together and though the man knew perfectly well he was not the child’s father he nonetheless loved him and his wife and raised him to be strong, independent, brave and loving.

Lucky kid, to have Joseph for a dad. Indeed, were Jesus alive today, to have any dad at all to raise him to be a good man.

For those divorced men with children, Christmas is a travesty, a repulsive contradiction of a family holiday, of a loving celebration, of a special children’s time.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'And while women's wages have soared, wages for men have declined.

'Men are not just getting poorer, they're also getting dumber,' he says. And he's right. Beneath the lip gloss of metrosexual modern male, men are in trouble.

Men of all ages are becoming increasingly 'angry, suspicious, reactionary and isolated' because women have treated the men's natural roles without respect.

Who wouldn't become reactionary when all that you knew had been demeaned, taken from you or chipped away?

Who wouldn't feel isolated when society had institutionalised fatherlessness, thus eradicating the most vital and enhancing role any man can play in his life?

Garcia goes so far as to argue that the roles have flipped so much from the way they were, say, 50 years ago - and that men have become so emasculated and feminised - that 'men are the new women'.

Article here. Excerpt:

'There are nearly 6,000 partners in 131 big law firm offices in Washington, the nation’s second-largest law market. Less than 5 percent of the partners are part-timers, but women make up nearly three-quarters of the part-time ranks, according to a new study published by the National Association for Law Placement, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that examines hiring trends in the legal profession.
...
Lawyers make their money on billable hours, which makes it hard to reward with partnership someone who is working part time.'

Merry Christmas from MANN! Have fun, guys, or, try to anyway.

Article here. Excerpt:

'NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – In a survey of a random sample of U.S. emergency physicians, virtually all said they believed that law enforcement officers use excessive force to arrest and detain suspects.

The sample included 315 respondents. While 99.8 percent believed excessive force is used, almost as many (97.8 percent) reported that they had managed cases that they suspected or that the patient stated had involved excessive use of force by law enforcement officers.

Nearly two thirds (65.3 percent) estimated that they had treated two or more cases of suspected excessive use of force per year among their patients, according to a report of the survey published in the January 2009 issue of the Emergency Medicine Journal.
...
Blunt trauma inflicted by fists or feet was the most common type of injury cited in cases of suspected use of excessive force, followed by "overly tight" handcuffs.

Most emergency physicians (71.2 percent) admitted that they did not report cases of suspected use of excessive force by law enforcement officers.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"In college, Pultorak earned the opportunity to learn more about ob/gyn care at a midwifery clinic along the Texas-Mexico border. He was the fist male nurse to attend Maternidad La Luz in El Paso, TX, and was very well accepted.

'They had never let a male go down to Texas,' Pultorak said, 'because they said the attitudes of the women giving birth were not supportive of having a male in on a birth or in on any examinations.'
...
'I know some male nurses are alienated or outcast, but I've never had that problem,' Pultorak said. 'I plan on staying at this hospital for as long as I can because I'm seeing so much and learning so much. I'm also having a great experience with the people I work with and my managers and educators on the floor. It's been more than I could hope for.'"

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Muslim woman who knifed her husband to death 33 days after their wedding to escape from her arranged marriage has been jailed for life by the Old Bailey.
...
Khatun then tried to cover up the murder, repeatedly lying to police and persuading a friend to give her a false alibi for the night of the killing.

When her alibi was exposed she said her husband had attacked her and she struck out in self-defence.

But the jury found her guilty of murder yesterday by a 10-1 majority and she was sentenced to serve a minimum of 17 years.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"...In the 80 years before the Obama administration, only the Kennedys brought a boy into the White House.
...
So why no modern manlings in the east wing? I have a theory, born of careful historical analysis and solipsism: It's impossible to be elected to the White House if you have young sons, because that would mean you have to campaign with them.
...
The Obama campaign was noted for its discipline, its rigor and its self control: three things most young boys are not noted for."

This is another example of boy-bashing. Having girls are described as an "asset" which means having boys is a liability. The author has only good things to say about girls and nothing good to say about boys. She is obviously irritated that past US presidents ever had boys, and somehow more recent presidents not having male children is somehow an improvement.

Video report here. Details are scarce. Can anyone post more info?