Story here. Excerpt:

'A boilermaker by profession, Parker said his experience with VAWA came in April 2003 when his now ex-wife accused him of not only domestic violence, but also kidnapping their then-2-year-old son while they were living in St. Louis. Though Parker says he was the actual victim when his wife attacked him, he chose to de-escalate the situation by leaving the house and returning to a job assignment in Illinois.

The reason he took his son, Parker said, was for fear his wife would either abuse or neglect him.

According to Parker, he was arrested when he returned to St. Louis the following week. Along with contesting a protective order his wife filed against him, Parker said he had to fight assault and parental kidnapping charges.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Everybody knows who she is.

Nobody wants to say her name out loud.

That, more or less, is the situation the 17-year-old girl who cried rape in Palos Heights Sept. 16 finds herself in today, five days after she admitted she made the whole thing up.

The media has a longstanding policy of not naming rape victims in all but the most exceptional circumstances.
...
But when it turns out there wasn't a rape in the first place, the question gets more complicated, media ethics experts say.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'BOYS will be boys and single-sex schools can help break down sexism.

This will be the message delivered by visiting US education expert Dr Leonard Sax in his keynote address when the National Boys' Education Conference starts at The King's School in Parramatta today.

Dr Sax, executive director of the National Association for Single Sex Public Education in the US, is in no doubt "we live in a sexist society".

He said some teachers at all-boys' schools were able to use the "all-boys format to break down the gender stereotypes".'

Story here. Excerpt:

'STOCKHOLM, Sweden - A Swedish court on Tuesday sentenced a German woman to life in prison for bludgeoning two toddlers to death and trying to kill their mother in a fit of jealousy.

The court said it was beyond reasonable doubt that Christine Schurrer, 32, had attacked the family with a "hammer-like object" in March inside their home in Arboga, central Sweden.

The Vastmland district court said the rampage was triggered by jealousy after Schurrer's ex-boyfriend ended their relationship and started a new one with the children's mother. The children were aged 1 and 3.'

Story here. Excerpt:

Methodist minister Rev Janet Magee, 62, falsely claimed to police that she had been receiving threatening telephone calls and abusive letters, it was alleged.

On the strength of the minister's complaints police arrested church steward Roger Chessell who had wanted to force her out of her job.

But he was released without charge and detectives focused their inquiries on the clergywoman, believing she may have been lying about the hate campaign.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'HOUSTON (AP) — A jury has convicted a woman of capital murder for the shooting and beating deaths of four people in suburban Houston in 2003.

Christina Paolilla received an automatic life prison term Monday. She was not eligible for the death penalty because she was 17 at the time of the crime.'

Story here. Excerpt:

"A judge caused outrage yesterday after he refused to jail a woman who had sex with a 14-year-old boy and instead told her: 'He seduced you.'

Sharon Edwards, 40, bombarded the boy with as many as 50 text messages and emails a day, offered to buy him cocaine and regularly lured him into her bed.

Yet she walked free from court yesterday after Judge Peter Fox QC said the married housewife was an unhappy woman who was unable to resist the advances of a child.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Even as the U.S. confronts two long wars, neither Sen. John McCain nor Sen. Barack Obama believes the country should take the politically perilous step of reviving the military draft.

But the two presidential candidates disagree on a key foundation of any future draft: Mr. Obama supports a requirement for both men and women to register with the Selective Service, while Mr. McCain doesn't think women should have to register.

Also, Mr. Obama would consider officially opening combat positions to women. Mr. McCain would not.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A woman jailed for life for stabbing her de facto husband 37 times, skinning him and cooking his body parts as a meal for his children has lost an appeal against the severity of her sentence.
...
She then decapitated him and put his head in a pot on the stove, baked flesh from his buttocks and cooked vegetables and gravy as side dishes to serve to Mr Price's children.'

This story is a classic example of the double standard. This woman brutally stabbed her sister in the neck, killing her, allegedly in an argument over a hair straightener. And yet, the article lists just about every excuse you can imagine - here is a collection of quotes, pulled out:

'Friends...said she was extremely close to Susan but had recently lost her job and was struggling at university. Friend Sarah Allender said Kathleen was the victim of bullies and had felt as though she lived in Susan's shadow.
...
"Her entire (life) Kathleen was bullied about being obese and later lost weight at the gym," Ms Allender said. "Her sister was considered to be the perfect one and that often upset (her) that she was always getting the attention."

This story from Australia explains how a woman "had sex with" two underage girls (14), and filmed them to make a porn DVD.

First shock (not) is that she got a two year good behaviour bond, no jail time. Of course - she's a woman, after all, she shouldn't actually be PUNISHED.

Second shock (not) is that she feels she should have her conviction quashed - to allow her to work with children! Excerpt:

"A NEW South Wales woman, who made lesbian pornography with teenagers, will ask the High Court to clear her name so she can work with disadvantaged children. Rebecca Jane Clarke will seek to have her conviction erased, based on a controversial ruling that sex offenders can be acquitted if they "honestly believe" their victims are more than the age of consent.

...
Clarke, 23, who stars in a pornographic DVD she made with two girls, both 14, will argue her name should not appear on the national sex-offender register. If the High Court does not quash her conviction, she will be banned from working as a counsellor."

This video seems to me to be a good instruction on what to say and what not to say when a point one makes about differences between the sexes gets challenged. At once Hitchens stays calm and centered and sticks to his points with no digression. That is the up side. The down side is his use of offensive slang to describe lesbians ("butch/bull dyke"). That isn't something to be condoned. He also mentions religious affiliation at one point ("...female comedians are either... or Jews..."). That also wasn't necessary nor is it even true, and even if it was, it wouldn't be a relevant distinction (as it also isn't relevant to mention sexuality). So this clip of Hitchens has its value in both regards. His primary point that a woman need not be funny to get attention though is true. Men do have to work harder to attract mates or even get consideration in some cases. How much of that is human biology in action vs. social construction is a fair topic for debate.

Story here. Excerpt:

'Michele Mallin said she was "100 percent sure" when she identified Timothy Brian Cole as the man who raped her.

Story here. Excerpt:

'LOS ANGELES -- A plea deal was accepted today by a woman accused of stalking actor John Cusack.

33 year-old Emily Leatherman pleaded no contest to a felony count of stalking Cusack which will keep her out of state prison. The Judge immediately sentenced her to five years' probation and mandatory psychiatric counseling. Leatherman was also ordered to stay away from the 42-year-old actor for the next 10 years.
...
In a rambling statement Friday morning, Leatherman claimed she was the victim of sex crimes and thought Cusack could help her.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'FULLERTON -- The estranged wife of an Orange County teacher and her boyfriend will stand trial for allegedly trying to frame the woman's husband on drugs and weapons charges.

Devon Eileen Abbott, 33, of Mira Loma, and Soloman Brian Silver, 42, of Portland, Maine, are charged with conspiracy to falsely charge a crime, false imprisonment by fraud, conspiracy to falsely report a crime, and transportation of marijuana, said Deputy District Attorney Keith Bogardus.

Abbot and Silver are accused of planting a shotgun and drugs in a vehicle parked on a high school campus to get the woman's estranged husband arrested.'