Article here. It's subscription only, so the whole article is below.

'Walt Disney Co. is making a push to crack a market that few media companies have been able to conquer -- boys aged 6-14.

Next month, the company will launch a boy-focused entertainment brand called Disney XD, consisting of a new cable television channel, a comprehensive Web site with games, music, videos and social networking.

For Disney, the move marks a new push designed to replicate some of the success it has scored in recent years with its largely girl-targeted entertainment franchises such as Hannah Montana, High School Musical and the Jonas Brothers.

"We looked at the landscape and feel that girls are being served -- if not super-served, and preschoolers are also well served, but boys really haven't been," says Rich Ross, president of Disney Channels Worldwide. "If boys have been served, it's been mostly in animation, which [is] only a narrow portion of what boys are interested in."

Hi All,

I found this list on the Australian 'Employer of Choice for Women' (EOWA) website identifying organisations that 'recognise and advance their female workforce': here (.pdf file)

The EOWA was established by the Australian Government to 'administer the Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Act 1999 (Commonwealth) and through education, assist organisations to achieve equal opportunity for women.'

Unfortunately, most of the organisations on this list are universities, schools and other publicly subsidised entities against whom boycotts will simply mean less work, but some are subsidiaries of large multi-national organisations and big Australian exporters that your readership will recognise.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sites such as these – and believe me, they are legion – are dedicated to "feminist horror stories" around the "divorce industry" which deprives fathers of their children and paycheques. Their other issues include the lack of resources for men who are battered by their wives, false accusations of partner abuse and rape, and last, but far from least, how men have no choice regarding what a woman they've impregnated does. They can't stop her from ending the pregnancy nor can they walk away from 18 years of support payments if she chooses to go to term.
...
So it's easy to conclude that, in many cases, the most vehement of these men's rights types are angry over losing control over their women.

Which might explain why, as much research shows, post-divorce men suffer disproportionately from mental health issues such as depression.

That they need counselling and similar services is evident. That's what they should be lobbying for.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A young driving offender has been told he faces the prospect of a jail shower "with the gorillas in the mist" if he continues to break the law.

Sydney Magistrate Brian Maloney gave 19-year-old Cody Heap a stark warning about jail life in an attempt to scare the youth into good behaviour.

"You'll find big, ugly, hairy, strong men (in jail) who've got faces only a mother could love that will pay a lot of attention to you - and your anatomy," the magistrate said.'

My question: Because of traffic violations, the judge threatened this guy, saying he could being raped in prison. Would a judge say that to a woman?

Article here. Excerpt:

'In 2009, for the first time in U.S. history, the parent in charge of the Parent Teacher Association will be a dad.

Charles J. Saylors will take office as president of the 5.5 million member organization in June, putting a further dent in the stereotype that has taken hold in recent years of moms who leave the workforce and devote their impressive — and sometimes excessive — energies to the PTA.

Men make up just 10 percent of the membership of the national PTA — which was founded 112 years ago as the “National Congress of Mothers.” While that number is small, it is larger than it has ever been, and reflects a steady increase of about 1 percent in each of the past five years.'

Story here. Excerpt:

"A single father was left stunned after he was turned away from a swimming pool when staff told him he could not provide proper supervision for his two sons.

Phillip Smith and sons Jake, aged five, and Aiden, three, were not allowed to enjoy a swim at the leisure centre because under-eights must be accompanied on a one-to-one basis by adults.
...
Mr Smith, 37, from Killamarsh in Sheffield, who is separated from his sons' mother, accused the leisure centre of 'discriminating against single parents'.

He said: 'As a fireman, I'm highly trained and expected to be able to provide first aid at emergencies.

'To say I cannot cope with looking after my two sons at a swimming pool is just mad.'"

Story here. Excerpt:

The mother of a toddler crushed to death against school gates by the 4x4 of a drink driver said today: 'Every day is a living hell.'

Tina Woods, 31, was speaking after a woman was jailed for seven years for causing the death of her 15-month-old son Finlay.

The boy was in his pushchair with his mother when a Toyota Hilux veered towards them outside Selwyn primary school in Chingford last September.

At the wheel was Katie Gutierrez-Perez, 40, who was driving to hospital after a failed suicide attempt and had binged on drink and sleeping pills.

Witnesses said that after the initial impact the 4x4 repeatedly rammed into the gates, each time crushing the pushchair, Snaresbrook Crown Court in London heard.

Twenty parents and passers-by tried to lift the car off him but he died of severe head injuries.'

This story may indicate we've moved to a new stage in our treatment of women who kill their husbands: if she alleges abuse, don't bother filing charges. Kill your husband, claim abuse, walk away. There's no indication the wife was in immediate danger nor are details provided about the man's alleged "pattern of violence."

Excerpt:

"More than a year after the shooting death of Trinidad attorney Jim Tatum by his wife Ann, a court-appointed prosecutor has decided not to file criminal charges.

The shooting in the Tatum home just outside Trinidad ended a stormy marriage. Although Ann Tatum never denied shooting her husband multiple times in their kitchen — the event was witnessed by a deputy sheriff — Jim Tatum's pattern of violence against her surfaced early on as a possible legal defense."

Story here. Excerpt:

'Chaim Kimel, 55, died on the operating table at St Vincent's Hospital, just hours after an argument about the couple's catering business turned violent.

A jury earlier this year found Stewart, 32, not guilty of his murder but guilty of manslaughter.

In court yesterday, Stewart was sentenced to four years and six months in jail, with a non-parole period of four years.

She will be eligible for release in June 2011.

Stewart sobbed as Justice Jane Mathews spoke of her history of drug and alcohol abuse, anorexia and self-harm; she had suffered the childhood traumas of her mother dying of breast cancer and of sexual abuse by three different people.
...
Stewart had told psychiatrists she believed Mr Kimel to be dominating her in the relationship. But Justice Mathews said whatever perception Stewart had of her husband's behaviour, it was probably "designed to shield her from her own excesses.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Saying she wanted to avoid putting her children through another ordeal, a Colorado Springs woman accepted a plea deal Friday and admitted she poured gasoline on her five children and lit them on fire, killing one.

Maria Darlene Gardner, who also uses the last name Joseph, pleaded guilty to child abuse causing death and four counts of child abuse causing serious bodily injury. The deal was mediated Friday before Senior 4th Judicial District Judge Richard Toth.

In exchange for her pleas, prosecutors Jeff Lindsey and Debbie Pearson dropped charges of first-degree murder and 11 other charges.

Gardner, 26, will be sentenced to between 75 and 85 years in prison Feb. 20.
...
"I thought we could win with the insanity defense," McHenry said. "An expert psychologist examined her within four days of the fire and decided she was completely psychotic at the time. She chose to do this so her kids would not have to be put through the trauma of testifying in open court."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Authorities say an Allen woman accused of killing her husband was determined to finish the job but made no attempt to flee the bloody scene.

Charles Shanks, 49, was stabbed, beaten with a stone and had his wrists cut in the couple's home Sunday, police said.

His wife, 51-year-old Kimberly Shanks, was being held Tuesday in the Collin County Jail, charged with murder. Unlike most people in her situation, she smiled for her mug shot.
...
She was being held in lieu of $100,000 bail. No attorney had been named to represent her, according to jail records.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Domestic abuse against men — yes, it happens. You’re going to have a hard time finding statistics, because reluctant as many women are to report abusive husbands or boyfriends to the authorities out of fear of his retaliation or because they’ve been conditioned to accept the abuse, men are even less likely to pick up the phone, dial 911 and say their wife or girlfriend just went upside their head or threw a pot at them.

If a man has a hot-headed, heavy-handed woman to deal with, there are reasons he doesn’t say or do anything about it except hope she doesn’t wind up maiming or killing him. For one, it’s embarrassing to have it look like she can whoop his butt. For another, in certain states, all she has to do is claim she was defending herself and that she is in fear of him when the cops show up. Whether it’s true or not, he promptly finds himself treated to a free ride downtown where he’s accorded an insider’s view of the county jail — from the wrong side of the bars.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A woman was sentenced Tuesday to time served for her role in the confinement of her son, then 9, who authorities say was kept locked in his bedroom for almost three years and monitored by a video camera.

Earlier in the day, Michelle Piercy pleaded guilty to child neglect and told prosecutors that the 809 days she had spent in jail were less stressful than living in the home her husband turned into a prison for their son.

Circuit Judge Mallory Cooper accepted a prosecutor's recommendation that she be sentenced to the more than two years she's already spent behind bars, and she was released from custody.

Her husband, Randall Piercy, was sentenced earlier this month to nine years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated child abuse. Michelle Piercy is seeking a divorce.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A woman who pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing her husband after a night of drinking in West Utica last April, was sentenced in County Court today.

Jady Voce, 43, of Saratoga Street, Utica, pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter before Judge Barry M. Donalty in November.

She was sentenced to 10 years in state prison today, plus five years post-release supervision, court clerks said.
...
Voce used a pocket knife that she carried for protection to stab her husband in the liver while at the corner of Lenox Avenue and Court Street, police said. Joseph Voce bled to death as a result of his injuries.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'MANITOWOC — A 22-year-old Manitowoc woman faces several criminal charges following a violent argument with her husband Friday that endangered the couple’s two young children, according to Manitowoc Police Department reports.

Ashley R. Fonda faces charges of domestic violence-related damage to property, domestic violence-related disorderly conduct and second-degree reckless endangerment. The incident occurred at 4:45 a.m. in the 300 block of Riverview Drive.

According to police:

Fonda and her husband got into an argument Friday while a babysitter was watching their 1½-year-old daughter and 5-month-old son in the same apartment. Fonda allegedly began throwing things, tipped a garbage can over, knocked over furniture and threw a pot of food at her husband, smashing into the door of her child’s room and putting a hole through it.