Dr. Linda G Mills, a member of SAFE's Speaker's Bureau releases her new book "Violent Partners". From the book site:

'A radical new take on the crisis of intimate abuse, Violent Partners argues that as a culture we misunderstand the root causes and basic effects of abuse, and until that changes there is no hope of fixing the problem. Dr. Linda Mills challenges assumptions, tears down myths, and offer solutions, all the while telling riveting stories of couples who have conquered violence in their relationships. In Violent Partners, she describes several programs that hold promise for addressing intimate abuse, including two nationally known and groundbreaking treatment programs- Peacemaking Circles and Healing Circles.
...
Linda G. Mills, J.D., Ph.D., is Founder of the Center on Violence and Recovery at New York University, where she is also a Professor and Senior Vice Provost.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'SYDNEY (Reuters Life!) - Bachelor Carl Weisman got fed up of being classified as a playboy, a loser or a commitment-phobe so he set out to find out exactly why he and a growing number of eligible men were steering clear of marriage.

Weisman, 49, conducted a survey of 1,533 heterosexual men to research a book aiming to give women an insight into why some smart, successful men opted to stay single -- and help lifelong bachelors understand why they are still the solo man at parties.

...
Weisman also found that financial issues, both positive and negative, played a large part in men's fear of commitment.

"Those with little money said they would have nothing to offer a partner, with some suffering self-esteem issues and withdrawing from the dating pool," said Weisman, an engineer-turned-author with two books now published.

"While those who are financially sound were terrified what a bad divorce could do to them."

Weisman said his research blew away any idea that single men were unhappy.

Story here. The woman who started the Hayman fire spent six years in prison and must now pay restitution in the millions of dollars.

Here's what the fire did:

"The June 2002 blaze torched 138,000 acres, destroyed 133 homes and 466 outbuildings, and forced the evacuation of 8,000 people. Five firefighters were killed as they traveled to Colorado to fight the blaze."

Most are saying the sentence was not long enough. I suspect the "female sentencing discount" myself.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A boy of two was left on his own for the weekend, imprisoned in a flooded kitchen, after a woman went out 'to party', a court heard yesterday.

It was only when water from a running tap seeped into the flat downstairs that the sobbing toddler was discovered, shaking with cold and covered in filth.

Police, called in by concerned neighbours, arrived to find a horrifying scene.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'West Virginia legislators violated state and national constitutions when they forced fathers facing felony child support charges to prove they couldn't pay, the Supreme Court of Appeals decided May 23.

The Justices unanimously erased a law stating that in child support prosecutions "the defendant's alleged inability to reasonably provide the required support may be raised only as an affirmative defense, after reasonable notice to the State."

The law "unconstitutionally shifts to a defendant the burden of disproving an element of the offense," Justice Robin Davis wrote. "We have previously observed that it is a foundation of criminal law that the State must prove all the elements of a crime beyond a reasonable doubt.'

This piece of work claimed to be 19 and divorced on her MySpace page. She was, in fact, 13. Two guys were sentenced believing her to be legal. Her family admitted that she is promiscuous and did not yet change her MySpace profile. Excerpt:

'ORANGE COUNTy, Fla. -- A 13-year-old girl's sexual shenanigans have put a second man behind bars. Morris Williams, 22, told the judge he thought the girl was 18-years-old, but he found out Tuesday that ignorance is not a defense.
...
Williams said Dean picked him up on the street and after a few conversations they had sex. When he heard she was not 18, he went to her father.

"He was like 'well, she's 13,'" Williams said of a conversation with Dean's father.
...
Dean's family admits Alisha still stays out late and has yet to delete her misleading MySpace page.

Williams will serve six years probation with the first year in jail. The other five years he will have to wear an ankle monitor. His attorney says he will come back to court to ask again for a shorter sentence.'

Did you read the story about Alice in Wonderland? Remember when the Queen of Hearts issued her verdict?

"Sentence first! Verdict afterwards."

This Mad Hatter concept of justice is not just a child’s fantasy tale – it’s also found at the Commission on Domestic Violence (CODV) of the American Bar Association. Comb through its website – and read its publications. You will never find the words, "due process for the accused," "false allegation" or "innocent until proven guilty."

The CODV has published a two-page flyer (.pdf file) called "10 Myths about Custody and Domestic Violence and How to Counter Them." The flyer consists of a series of 19 claims about DV and child custody.

Scan the CODV claims and then compare them with the actual research. Folks, get ready for an Alice-in-Wonderland experience.

For example:

Story here. Excerpt:

'A FEMALE teacher who allegedly told a 15-year-old male student to treat her like a sex slave has been charged with sexually penetrating a child.

Nazira Rafei, 25, a Melbourne high school teacher, is charged with one count of sexually penetrating a child under 16 and four counts of an indecent act with a child under 16.'

This is happening more and more isn't it? Yet, these women are being portrayed as victims. There is no such thing as taking responsibility for their actions. No one holds these women accountable.

I don't care about the people that say "good for the boy!" or "where were these teachers when I was a boy?" That is NOT the
point! The point is this: SO CALLED EQUALITY. If YOU (women) want to be treated as equal, then make it so on everything.

True, maybe some boys won't be traumatized and some will. The point is legal age of consent. If a man must adhere to the legal age of consent, then women wanting to be like man must adhere to the same laws.

www.move-off.org

Article here. Excerpt:

'NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - How much a father is involved in the daily care of his children is largely up to his wife or partner, according to new research.

Scientists from Ohio State University and the University of Illinois, who studied 97 couples, said mothers are play an important role in determining how active a role the father plays.

"Mothers can be very encouraging to fathers and open the gate to their involvement in child care, or be very critical and close the gate," said Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan, a professor of human development and family science at Ohio State University and a co-author of the study.'

"A Cape Coral, Florida, lawn care company is mowing the lawns of single mothers for free. WBBH reports."

Video here.

Article here. Excerpt:

"Are women really discriminated against in politics? Sen. Hillary Clinton surely thinks so.

Indeed, she believes this year's presidential campaign has shown that sexism limits women's influence in politics. She claimed last week that "every poll I've seen shows more people would be reluctant to vote for a woman [than] to vote for an African American."

It's possible that Democrats are particularly sexist, but with women making up the majority of voters, one would think that politicians were ignoring women at their own peril.

In 2004, women made up 54 percent of voters. At least through early February of this year, women made up a much greater share of Democrat primary voters — accounting for between 57 and 61 percent of the vote in primaries and caucuses.

But whatever difficulties Clinton might be having, it seems that the policies adopted are much more important than who puts them into action, and the evidence indicates that women have long gotten their way."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Muslim extremist women are challenging al Qaeda's refusal to include - or at least acknowledge - women in its ranks, in an emotional debate that gives rare insight into the gender conflicts lurking beneath one of the strictest strains of Islam.

In response to a female questioner, al Qaeda No. 2 leader Ayman Al-Zawahri said in April that the terrorist group does not have women. A woman's role, he said on the Internet audio recording, is limited to caring for the homes and children of al Qaeda fighters.

His remarks have since prompted an outcry from fundamentalist women, who are fighting or pleading for the right to be terrorists. The statements have also created some confusion, because in fact suicide bombings by women seem to be on the rise, at least within the Iraq branch of al Qaeda."

Article here. Excerpt:

"A few short observations of my own from soul searching:

---I doubted myself and the events, afraid that I'd be laughed at or worse, accused of making a false allegation.
--I knew my masculinity would be called into question and that I'd be ridiculed.
--I doubted myself and thought maybe I misunderstood the nature of rape and that men really can't be raped.
--I was afraid she'd make good on her implied threat and accuse me of rape or claim it was consensual. Then I could possibly be charged with both rape and child endangerment (or a related charge) due to her pregnancy. I wasn't going to go to prison for a rapist.
--I knew that such an allegation would endanger my status in the Marine Corps.
--I knew that my consumption of alcohol (underage) would be used against me as well."

Story here. Excerpt:

'A kindergarten teacher told police she wanted a 5-year-old boy to hear how his behavior was affecting his classmates.

After students shared their view, Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo had them vote, but said the vote was only to keep Alex Barton out of class for the day, not for good.

"Portillo said she did this as she felt that if (Alex) heard from his classmates how his behavior affected them that it would make a bigger difference to him, rather than just hearing it from adults," according to a report released Thursday morning by the Port St. Lucie Police Department.'

Article here. Excerpt:

"The Boy Crisis in education, if there ever was one, is over. Or so says a report issued last week by the powerful and influential American Association of University Women. For the last 18 months, I've criss-crossed the country, talking to parents, teachers, and policymakers for a book I'm writing about boys and schools. What is abundantly clear is that there's large and growing group of people who just aren't buying the AAUW's position and that they're not who you might think they'd be. Some of the very same (mostly female) teachers and librarians who helped raise up the achievement of girls over the last fifteen years are now struggling to find ways to get boys re-engaged with learning. And there's a growing constituency of smart, empowered, and increasingly vocal women -- mothers of school-aged boys -- who are intensely concerned about what's happening to their sons in school."