Change is in the air!

In the past month and a half, RADAR has
orchestrated a campaign to inform legislators about civil rights
abuses under VAWA that Congress surely did not intend.

Twenty-seven organizations across the country co-signed a
Resolution Regarding the Violence Against Women Act.
(See http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/VAWA-Resolution.pdf)

Click "Read more..." for more.

Anonymous User writes "Perhaps these two stories should be read in conjunction.

One is about the effects of pesticides containing estrogen like compounds on male fetal development, how overexposure can result in decreased penis size and abnormalities and potentially effect fertility.

The other is about a teenager driven to suicide over his belief his penis was too small.

I'm sure we have all heard about the increasing concern over chemical compounds containing pthalates which have an estrogen like effect. The EU has gone so far as to begin considering restrictions if not bans on the plastic softeners, but the US does nothing."

If you are past a certain age and don't find what this article reports as even a wee disturbing, then perhaps you are not past that "certain age" just yet. Excerpt:

To her, the tension-and-release cycle that accompanies cinematic terror brings about something like a gambler's high. "It's not that I'm a self-mutilator," she said, "but it's just a powerful rush when you can overcome some pain."

...

Of the 25 top-grossing movies released so far this year, almost a quarter are horror films. David Edelstein, a critic for New York Magazine, equated some with "torture porn."

...

"I loved how the women used their bodies to deceive," Ms. Zelez said, referring to the women in "Hostel," who appear to be sexual playthings for the victims but actually lure the men to their deaths. As women, she asserted, "We use our bodies and get what we want. And they definitely got what they wanted."

I wonder how popular these movies would be among teenage girls and young women if both the slashers and slashees were female.

MANN Admins received the following from the author of the MANN submission found here.

"I recently submitted a story to the site about Twyana Davis.

This is a woman who recently confessed to raping her 12 yr old male cousin some 10 yrs ago. The rape resulted in a pregnancy, she then hid the pregnancy, threw the baby out, lied and said the child was the result of her being raped, and recieved leniency from the court, getting no jail time and eventually regaining custody of her child. She then wrote a book about her tragedy, continuing her lie about the rape and was featured on 20/20 and Oprah."

Click "Read more..." for more.

Some good news here. Of course there has to be the ding on men with this thrown in there:

However, far fewer women said they would trust men in general to use the contraceptive.

Still, it's good news, and the Pill-4-Men can't come too soon.

Another story of an intoxicated mother passing out onto her baby during breastfeeding only to wake up to find she had smothered the child to death. How much time does she get? Not that much. Would a dad who drunkenly passed out while cradling a baby and smothering the child to death as a result also just get "some time"? Doubt it. Excerpt:

Prosecutor John Jorgensen said he would recommend that she receive at least some prison time.

"We just believe she should be held accountable for the neglect," he said.

Hawkins had been drinking at a bowling alley in February 2005, and after her husband dropped her and the child off at home, she started breast-feeding the baby but fell asleep, a criminal complaint said.

Apparently the fact that circumcision doesn't prevent HIV transmission is irrelevant to the Zambian government. Story here.

Anonymous User writes "See this story.

This woman had a child and placed it in a trash bag and then into a dumpster to abandon it to die. Luckily a passer by found it. She lied and said the child was the product of a rape at a party. I wonder how many men were harassed on these false charges. The charges against her for trying to kill her child were dropped. Turns out the father of the child was her cousin, who at the time was 12, I believe she was about 20 when she raped him. Currently rape of a child under 13 carries a life sentence, but did not at the time, so she faces 5-25 yrs, and is expected to serve at least three. We know all this becuase she admitted it, trying to make things right."

Click "Read more..." for more.

Read it and weep... hard to even come close to believing the excuses she is coming up with, and of course, guess who is really responsible... her husband!

I find it hard to believe that either of them were this stupid/ignorant. Something really evil and/or nuts was going on here.

Steven Brown writes "A good thing he only sneered at her, otherwise who knows what she'll have been forced to do to him! Story here. Excerpt:

'Mr Hamilton believes had he not sneered at his wife, she wouldn't have carried out these actions.'

These 'actions' being lunging at him with two knives! Also note the headline and general tone of the story. She's referred to as 'mum' and he's referred to as 'husband' not 'dad'!

No need to say of course, that if the genders had been reversed he'd be in prison and she'd be hailed as survivor of domestic violence.

The silly man has decided to stay with her..."

Ragtime writes "From the story:

'A veteran Chatham police officer who headed the force's domestic-violence unit has been charged with assault following a domestic dispute.'

I suspect this violent police woman fully expected to be treated like the "victim" after she slapped and kicked a man, just like so many other violent women before her, "but police were called by a witness, Chief Carl Herder said yesterday." "We have an obligation to the community," Herder said. "We're there to protect the victims, regardless of who the accused is." Nice to see a police chief who's grown a pair!."

Dittohd writes "It appears in this story that in the photo line-up of pictures that the stripper had to choose her three alleged rapists from, there were no wrong answers! All the pictures presented were of lacrosse players so whomever she chose, she couldn't miss. Now if the lacrosse players go free based on the disqualification of the line-up evidence, will they always be considered to have been guilty because they 'got off on a technicality'?"

Anonymous User writes "Story here. Excerpt:

'A nationwide grass roots campaign has aligned with lawmakers to push passage of two laws designed to close the wage gap between men and women.

The campaign is working with four lawmakers, including New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, in moving forward the Fair Pay Act and the Paycheck Fairness Act.'"

One Herbert L. Chalmers of St. Louis, MO, finally lost it and did what some other men driven to the brink do. All very sad.... story here.

Anonymous User writes "News & Observer columnist Ruth Sheehan claims she was raped two decades ago with zero evidence. (Sidebar to the Duke LaCrosse Case). Sheehan's column is here."