Story here.

'Thirteen-year-old Ethan Chaplin, who attends school in Vernon, New Jersey, was suspended for two days and will undergo a psychological evaluation after another student complained that he was "twirling a pencil" like a gun.

According to News 12 New Jersey, Chaplin said he was "just twisting around a pencil with a pen cap on it when a student behind him yelled, 'He's making gun motions, send him to juvie.'"

Chaplin told officials he had repeatedly been bullied by the student who complained and that the complaint about the pencil was just an extension of that. But the school suspended him anyway, "pending the outcome of a psychological evaluation."

Story here. Excerpt:

'Police appealed for the public's help to find her attacker after she said a man raped her on Saturday afternoon.

But after interviewing the girl, officers now say "no offence was found to have taken place".

Det Ch Insp Rebecca Mears said the girl had been spoken to by officers and regretted making the claim.

She added: "It is essential that victims of rape feel confident that police will support and encourage them to come forward and report the crime.

"In this instance, the girl making the false report has been spoken to by officers and understands and regrets the gravity of what she has done.

"Due to the circumstances of this particular case, the matter will not be taken any further."'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Onondaga Nation Territory -- Onondaga Nation men marched to the Onondaga Nation School this morning to take a stand against domestic violence and child abuse.

The goal of the walk was to show the children of the Onondaga Nation that these men will not commit, condone or stay silent about abuse against women or children.

"We want the children to know that they can trust these men and that they will listen and believe them," said Nicky Calf Robe, the leader of the Onondaga Nation Alliance to End Abuse.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'You gotta get ‘em while they’re young.

A rumbling is beginning among feminists to try to get their ideology put to use in the classroom. In an article on Pandagon, the liberal blog that gave rise to Ezra Klein, a feminist mom calling herself “Glosswitch” brought up the issue:

“When I think of the blind faith in gender that surrounds [her son], I’m not feeling so comfortable. It’s not just that the stereotypes are limiting on an individual basis. They are everywhere and they embed, ever so gradually, the sense that is natural for women and girls to be decorative, whereas men and boys are the active ones. This isn’t what I want my son to learn at school, a place that should be opening his mind, not closing it.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'While the U.S. Supreme Court weighs the constitutionality of the Obamacare contraception mandate, the real goal of the provision appears to have very little to do with providing affordable birth control.

After combing through Obama administration documents in the Federal Register, National Center for Public Policy Research Chairwoman Amy Ridenour said the administration’s official justification for the policy is very different than the reasons often stated publicly.

“While the president went out in the East Room and gave a speech saying that the purpose of the HHS mandate is to help lower-income women afford birth control, in the HHS documents themselves, they talk about something else entirely and that is that the purpose of the mandate is to reduce economic and social disparities between men and women,” Ridenour said.

Link here. Excerpt:

'The recent burning and beheading of female victims in Thailand’s southern Muslim provinces marks a renewed campaign of terror by insurgent groups, according to a Human Rights Watch statement released today.

At least three Thai Buddhist women have been killed and mutilated by insurgents since February, according to HRW.

“Southern insurgents are killing Buddhist women and spreading terror by beheading and burning their bodies,” Brad Adams, Asia director at HRW, said in the statement.
...
Male victims have been decapitated numerous times in the past, but this marked the first case in the past 10 years when a female victim was beheaded, said Sunai.
...
At least 5,488 people have been killed in the southern border provinces since the conflict intensified in January 2004.'

This Nivea Stress Protect ad being aired in Australia is demeaning to men.

I posted the following over there under "Male Positive Media":

"This is definitely not male positive media; it's demeaning and sexist toward men, as many other commenters have already pointed out. I'm going to post this over at Mensactivism.org so men know not to buy Nivea products, unless and until this ad is removed and Nivea starts to produce more positive media depictions of men."

Many other commenters at YouTube have had similar comments and Nivea's public relations YouTube account has been posting platitudes already, but at least they've noticed.

Link here. Excerpt:

'Consumers have filed a proposed class-action lawsuit against Allergan Inc. (NYSE: AGN) and its pharmaceutical company subsidiary, SkinMedica, claiming that the companies have misbranded and unlawfully marketed Tissue Nutrient Solution (TNS), a skin-care product line containing human growth factors obtained from human foreskin tissue which could increase the risk of cancer and pose other health risks, according to the complaint.

The lawsuit, filed by consumer-rights law firm Hagens Berman in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, claims that for at least the past four years, SkinMedica has failed to disclose significant safety concerns associated with TNS products while marketing the products without appropriate government approval, proper labeling, or adequate safety studies.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A jilted doctor who paid a gang to chop off her fiance's penis has been jailed for six years, it has been reported.

Brazilian Myriam Priscilla Castro, 34, ordered the gruesome attack after her boyfriend, Wendel Souza, ended their relationship three days before their wedding.

Ms Castro, a respected doctor from a wealthy family in Juiz de Fora, southeast Brazil, is also believed to have paid for Mr Souza's house to be burned down and his car wrecked.

A court heard how three men, who claimed they were carrying out Ms Castro's orders, snatched Mr Souza the week after the planned wedding and used a knife to slice off his manhood.

Ms Castro's 76-year-old father is also accused of helping his daughter find and contract the men, who were all ex-convicts.'

In a MAJOR VICTORY for us, the Dept. Of Education has backed off their Affirmative Consent proposal.

The proposal (partners would be expected to give their explicit consent to sex every step along the way) is silly, yet potentially dangerous. We asked you to oppose it, and you did. Thank you.

Together, we made a difference. On April 2, the DED released its new proposal, and guess what is missing! That's right: Affirmative Consent.

Congratulations!

But we're not done yet.

Even though the committee didn't recommend including the "Dear Colleague" letter's preponderance of evidence standard as part of the rule, it's still a concern. Please ask DED Secretary Arne Duncan to replace the "preponderance of evidence" standard (51%) with "clear and convincing" (70-80%) level of proof.

Email Arne Duncan: arne.duncan-at-ed.gov

Thanks!

Teri Stoddard, Program Director
Stop Abusive and Violent Environments
www.saveservices.org

P.S. If you live in California, contact your lawmakers to oppose SB 967. It's an Affirmative Consent bill!

Story here. Excerpt:

'Belfast Crown Court heard that Lisha Tait cried rape after being given the “cold shoulder” in a Belfast nightclub by a man she had a previous liaison with.

The 22-year-old, from Laurel Lodge in the Flush Gardens area of Lisburn, pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

The charge relates to making a false report and two false written statements to police on dates between July 6 and August 15, 2013 claiming she had been raped.

Crown prosecutor Simon Jenkins said the series of events began in the early hours of July 7 when police received a call from the Ambulance Service in relation to a distressed woman who claimed she had been raped outside the Odyssey complex in Belfast.

After making the claim, Tait was taken to the Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Antrim, where she was examined.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'A trainee barrister falsely accused her boyfriend of raping her 11 times in an attempt to get out of taking her law exams, a court heard.

Rhiannon Brooker, 30, alleged Paul Fensome had repeatedly assaulted her, leading to the 46-year-old being arrested, charged and held in custody for 30 days.

But detectives could not find any evidence he had carried out the attacks. It emerged that Brooker had used the allegations as ‘extenuating circumstances’ in a failed attempt to dodge her bar exams, a jury was told.

She is accused of making 11 false claims of rape and nine of assault, two of which alleged false imprisonment.

Prosecutor David Bartlett told Bristol Crown Court: ‘One of the reasons for her false allegations was that she was living an active social life and not doing the work required to pass.’

Story here. Excerpt:

'COOKEVILLE — What turned out to be a false claim from a woman saying she had been raped, tied up and left lying in a ditch prompted the lock down of an area elementary school Thursday afternoon.

Police responded to the 1200 block of West Broad Street around 1:20 p.m. Thursday after a woman called in stating “that she had been raped and was lying in a ditch,” according to a report by Sgt. Jeff Johnson.

A woman was located, partially clothed, stating that “a male subject dressed in full camouflage with a black mask over his face had pulled her down the embankment, over a five-foot fence and raped her,” the report states.
...
Detectives investigating the incident determined that the woman’s story “did not appear to be possible due to her physical condition,” the police report states. The woman, police say, suffers from mental illness and they ultimately determined that the rape did not occur and that there was no further threat to the community.

Story here. Excerpt:

Welsh Labour says it wants half its candidates for winnable seats to be women at the 2017 council elections.

The aspiration could mean the introduction of all-women shortlists to select candidates in some places.

The party stressed it would not impose an all-women shortlist where a sitting male councillor wanted to stand again.

Labour members voted unanimously to aim to achieve the 50% target at the party's Welsh conference in Llandudno last weekend.

Labour said it was wrong to say male candidates would be deselected because there is no preferential treatment for sitting councillors when choosing local election candidates.

Before assembly and general elections, party members are asked whether they want to nominate the sitting AM or MP again.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last week someone asked me a thought-provoking question about the dwindling engagement of young men in our educational system: did I believe that there is a correlation between the rise of women's access to education and the alarming increase in drop-out rates amongst young men versus young women today? [1]

My initial reaction was as you might expect: moderately incensed. After waiting centuries for access to the "hallowed halls of education," girls are now being blamed for the boys running away? I caught myself however, mid-outrage, as the word "competition" popped to mind. At first I thought, "Well maybe the boys just can't compete with the girls?" Then my more mature self kicked in, and I had to wonder if today's schools are in fact simply more "competitive" for all students. If so, in what ways might such changes be particularly impactful for boys?
...
In considering these added competitive burdens we have placed upon our girls and not our boys, is it possible that, in fact, it is our boys we have been failing all along?