Article here. Excerpt:

'Middlesex County Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez and U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) held a roundtable discussion Monday with criminal justice reform advocates and formally incarcerated women to discuss legislation Lopez and Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle are introducing, modeled after legislation Booker introduced in the Senate, to reform the way women are treated behind bars.
...
During the roundtable, Lopez unveiled the "Dignity for Incarcerated Primary Caregivers Parents Act," which she will sponsor along with Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle and will introduce in the Assembly in the coming weeks.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Amidst cases of men riding in designated women-only train cars, decrying discrimination and arguing with female passengers in videos posted online, a citizens group on April 24 submitted a request to Tokyo Metro Co. to clearly prohibit men from riding in the cars.
...
Roughly around the same period in February, several men rode a women-only car on Hankyu Railway Co.'s Kyoto Line, shouting that "anyone can ride in a women-only car." The railway called the police, and officers boarded the train at Katsura Station in Kyoto. While the police officers tried to persuade the men to get off the train, they resisted, and the train was delayed roughly 10 minutes.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard is being hotly criticized for comments he made Monday about parity between men and women in politics.

This was underscored by an uncomfortable exchange Tuesday in a National Assembly budget credits commission between the premier and Parti Québécois (PQ) MNA Catherine Fournier.

She asked the premier why young people appointed to sit on the board of directors for crown corporations were often affiliated with the Liberal Party.

Some are calling the premier’s reply condescending and paternalistic.
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When asked about his tone, Couillard told reporters Wednesday, “It wasn’t paternalistic. I was responding to a partisan attack.”'

Article here. I can't help but think that if Alfie were a girl, the UK wouldn't dare proceed as they have. Personally, I'm fine with someone smuggling them out, then facilitate their permanent departure. Excerpt:

'Even after Alfie surprised doctors with his will to live he was denied water for nearly six hours. He continued to be denied nourishment. With the denial of his exit from England altogether it was clear that the British courts and the NHS had no intention of letting Alfie live.

But why?

Article here. Excerpt:

'Although born less than five years after his brother Prince George, this little boy has, little though he knows about it yet, arrived in a different world in which to be male.

Since 2013 many of our perceptions of masculinity have changed radically. The fact that, just before his brother’s birth, Parliament scrambled to abolish centuries of male primogeniture in the Succession to the Crown Act of that year — so putting little Jimmy or Timmy fifth in line to his sis, rather than fourth to his bro — is the very least of it.

In 2018 boys are in trouble. Boys are trouble. After Harvey Weinstein’s exposure, the triumph of pussy-grabber President Trump and the whole #MeToo tidal wave, remarkably few positive associations with being a man and a boy remain any more. The word now almost automatically paired with “masculinity” is “toxic”.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'If ave a son, you have a one-in-seven chance that he has been diagnosed with ADHD. If you have a son who has been diagnosed, it's more than likely that he has been prescribed a stimulant—the most famous brand names are Ritalin and Adderall; newer ones include Vyvanse and Concerta—to deal with the symptoms of that psychiatric condition.

The Drug Enforcement Administration classifies stimulants as Schedule II drugs, defined as having a "high potential for abuse" and "with use potentially leading to severe psychological or physical dependence." (According to a University of Michigan study, Adderall is the most abused brand-name drug among high school seniors.) In addition to stimulants like Ritalin, Adderall, Vyvanse, and Concerta, Schedule II drugs include cocaine, methamphetamine, Demerol, and OxyContin.

Article here. Surprised it wasn't already illegal. Well to be fair - if Maine allows boys to be genitally mutilated, why not girls? Excerpt:

'However, the bill passed in the House was nothing more than political theater — a show bill.

On Wednesday, the State Senate unanimously passed LD 1904, the strict FGM ban holding the mutilator, consenting parents/guardians and the transporters accountable for this barbaric form of child abuse.

That is not the bill the House passed.

First, the House brought forward one of the two minority reports from the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee — that the bill ‘ought not to pass.’ And the motion almost prevailed.

In fact, 65 swamp creatures — entirely made up of Democrats and independents — voted AGAINST banning FGM.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Quotas to get more women into key positions in politics, business and the arts must be introduced to address a massive imbalance of power in Britain, according to equality campaigners.

With a statue of suffragist Millicent Fawcett set to become the first of a woman in London’s Parliament Square on Tuesday, analysis from the Fawcett Society Sex and Power Index has shown that men still overwhelmingly dominate positions of power in every sector of society.

The figures show that women make up only 6% of FTSE 100 chief executives, 16.7% of supreme court justices, 17.6% of national newspaper editors, 26% of cabinet ministers and 32% of MPs.

“When we see this data brought together it is both shocking and stark – despite some prominent women leaders, men haven’t let go of the reins of power and progress is painfully slow,” said Sam Smethers, chief executive of the Fawcett Society.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A woman who answered the door Friday at the home of Hernando County Commissioner Nick Nicholson said she served for months as a “sex slave” to the elected official.

Valerie Surette, who called herself a 30-year-old stripper with an on-and-off drug problem, was one of two women named in charging documents when Nicholson was arrested Thursday on prostitution-related charges.

Nicholson, 71, preyed on her “vulnerability” and that of other women like her, Surette said. She had sex with Nicholson in exchange for a place to live and cash for groceries, drugs and drug rehabilitation, she said.

“I had originally agreed to the arrangement,” Surette said. “I did work at a strip club, but that’s different. Here, I was a sex slave. … Whatever he wanted, I had to do."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Scientists have edged one step closer to creating a male pill, new research suggests.

Thirty hours after infusing male macaques with a compound known as EP055, their sperm were unable to move, a study found.

Lead author Dr Michael O'Rand, from the University of North Carolina, said: 'Simply put, the compound turns-off the sperm's ability to swim, significantly limiting fertilization capabilities.' 

None of the monkeys suffered side effects, which is thought to be due to EP055 having no effect on male hormones, according to the researchers.  

Most female birth-control pills contain a mix of the hormones oestrogen and progesterone, which can cause weight gain, erratic moods and nausea.

In addition, all of the monkeys' sperm were moving as normal within three weeks, suggesting the treatment is reversible, the research adds.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last month, two gay men were refused entry to a bar in Leeds, with bouncers saying it was for "mixed couples only". Hundreds of people contacted the BBC to say it was normal for groups of men - gay or straight - to be turned away from bars. So is it fair - or legal?
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At 11pm, they got a taxi into the city centre and tried getting into a bar. They weren't drunk, they weren't rowdy, and - says Matt - "we don't look the roughest".

Despite that, they weren't allowed in. Why? Because they were men.

"The bouncer just said: 'Not tonight lads,'" says Matt, an IT apprentice. "We were like: 'What?' And he said: 'There's too many lads. You're not coming in.'"

They tried a second bar, and were told the same. A third bar repeated the message: no girls, no entry. Matt was disappointed, but not surprised.

"We are lucky if we go out in town and don't get turned away from somewhere," says Matt. So he is used to being barred from bars - but he doesn't think it's right.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'This puzzles me. It is routine for many colleges and universities, particularly mid-level liberal arts schools, to discriminate against women in admissions. Believing that they have "too many women," these schools refuse admission to female applicants whose academic credentials would have been more than sufficient for a male applicant. Why don't we hear more complaints from feminist organizations?
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Maybe feminist organizations don't want to draw too much attention to how well females are doing these days in school, because it hurts the narrative that women are the underdogs. But women form a 56% majority of college students. And they are a majority of those in law, medical, and dental school.

Alternatively, maybe the leaders of feminist groups are reluctant to speak out for fear of undermining the case for affirmative action for racial and ethnic minorities. They may perceive themselves as part of a broad coalition of left-leaning activists first and advocates for women in particular only second.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Our state’s flagship public university can no longer hide behind federal student privacy laws when it comes to shielding the people it’s disciplined for sexual misconduct from scrutiny.

A unanimous three-judge N.C. Court of Appeals panel ruled Monday that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill must disclose the identities of students and faculty members it has judged responsible for sexual assault and sexual harassment.

The ruling is a win for open government advocates — The Daily Tar Heel student newspaper, WRAL-TV owner Capital Broadcasting Co., The Charlotte Observer and The Herald-Sun of Durham are the plaintiffs — and it will subject both the accused and the system that judges them to necessary public scrutiny.

Article here. Excerpt:

'federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against Duke University filed by a former student who claimed Duke's response to an alleged sexual assault was inadequate and created a hostile educational environment.

The former student, Arianna Qayumi, sued Duke, claiming that the university violated her rights under the federal Title IX law. She claimed that she was drugged and raped by two students in 2011 and that one of them videotaped her being assaulted. Qayumi contended the university was deliberately indifferent and negligent in its response, ultimately leading her to transfer to another school.
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"However, given Ms. Qayumi's clear statements in 2011 to Duke administrators that she did not want to participate in any disciplinary proceedings and recurring statements of hesitation thereafter, no rational jury could find that Duke's response was clearly unreasonable," Eagles wrote in the ruling.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A woman jailed for falsely accusing her boyfriend of rape has now been sent back to prison for killing a man in a drink-drive crash.

Kate Woodhead, 39, climbed behind the wheel of her car while drunk and careered down a 40mph road at around 75mph.

Trevor Smith, 53, who was a front seat passenger, died instantly when Woodhead lost control of the blue Audi A3 and smashed into a tree.

Woodhead was today jailed for nine years for causing death by dangerous driving.

She was previously handed a three-year term for falsely accusing a boyfriend of rape.'