‘Toaster Pastry Gun Freedom Act’ bill revived in Florida

Article here. Excerpt:

'Florida state lawmakers are proposing what has been called the “Toaster Pastry Gun Freedom Act” in an effort to protect schoolchildren from harsh punishment for fashioning their fingers or food objects into toy guns, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

The Florida proposal asserts that “simulating a firearm or weapon while playing or wearing certain clothing or accessories is not grounds for disciplinary action or referral to the criminal justice or juvenile justice system.”

Among the actions that the Florida law aims to protect is “Brandishing a partially consumed pastry or other food item to simulate a firearm or weapon.”'

---

Contrast: School rules against Md. second-grader suspended for gun-shaped Pop-Tart

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UK: Women are now a third more likely than men to opt to go to university

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men will soon become the most disadvantaged group in the country when it comes to going to university, the head of UCAS predicts today.

Figures show that the gap between applications from women and men is rising sharply - while that between rich and poor students is narrowing.

The 15 January deadline for applications for university this autumn showed over 87,000 more women than men had applied, increasing the gap by 7,000 compared to January 2013. Women are now a third more likely than men to opt to go to university.

Meanwhile, applications from would-be students in disadvantaged areas are rising - with those from poorer families twice as likely to apply as a decade ago.
...
Professor Smithers put forward three main reasons why the number of applications from girls is soaring:

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The importance of credibility in domestic violence cases

Story here. Excerpt:

'It has been in all the recent news--New Jersey Assemblyman Reed Gusciora (D-Mercer) has announced a bill that would create a publicly accessible registry containing all the names of individuals who have been found to have committed an act of domestic violence. Gusciora believes that a public registry would reduce the number of instances of domestic violence by repeat offenders. The registry would be similar in nature to the sex offender registry established under Megan's Law.
...
But while not diminishing the seriousness of the issue, false accusations do happen. False accusations of domestic violence can be used as revenge, as a weapon in divorces, child custody, support and visitation battles. The consequences can be devastating, ruining a life, being evicted from one's home, losing custody, heavy fines, attorney's fees, and in some cases, jail. In many cases, the question of whether domestic violence has actually occurred comes down to he said/she said, and that frequently hinges on the credibility of the accused and the accuser. ...'

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UK: False rape allegation led man to assault innocent bystander

Story here. Excerpt:

'AN innocent man was attacked because his clothes matched the description a woman had made-up about her alleged rapist.

Johnathan Smith’s ex-girlfriend told him she had been raped and gave a description of her supposed attacker of the man’s clothes.

Smith then attacked a man he saw in the same clothes but she admitted she had made up the allegation.

Smith left her house around 1am on January 12, went onto Carmarthen Road and Smith, from Penrhiw Road, in Morriston, saw his victim with two friends waiting at a bus stop.

As he approached, his friends ran away, leaving the victim alone and he then also ran off, but Smith used a pedal bike to chase after him.

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Boy-shaming "sex education" planned for UK schools

Article here. Excerpt:

'We need to be careful when we start singling out only one group of people based on their genetic code and demanding that they “respect” another entire group of people. The reasoning is quite simple: it’s mindlessly discriminatory. It also has the potential to turn into a condescending shamefest.

  1. Not everyone in one group needs to be taught to respect others because they already do.
  2. If we single out only one group to respect other groups, no one is teaching the others to respect that group.
  3. Not every individual in any birthgroup is entitled to respect.

Of course, no one should disrespect someone based solely upon their being men, or women, or white, or black, and so forth. But teaching such values doesn’t mean we have to single out any of those groups, either.'

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Australia: Rape charge dropped as "new evidence" introduced

Story here. Excerpt:

'Ben Kooy, 34, was arrested last Wednesday and charged with dragging a 17-year-old girl off a train around 1pm and into a toilet block where he allegedly sexually assaulted her.
...
The Kellyville man was initially refused bail and spent four nights in custody but police found fresh evidence at the weekend and released him ahead of an appearance at Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.

The matter was adjourned for three weeks on Wednesday morning but later in the day the charge of sexual intercourse without consent was dismissed and an AVO* for the victim was withdrawn.

Mr Kooy's legal aid solicitor, Patricia Lyden, said fresh evidence ‘‘changed the situation dramatically’’. It is understood new footage discredited the girl’s story.
...
It is not clear if the girl will be charged with making false representations to police.

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Psychologist: Colleges foster environments ‘actively hostile’ toward men

Article here. Excerpt:

'The college environment is “actively hostile towards men,” psychologist and author Dr. Helen Smith explained in a Tuesday interview with Forbes.

Smith has authored the book “Men on Strike: Why Men Are Boycotting Marriage, Fatherhood, and The American Dream — And Why It Matters,” and discussed the effect that overreaching feminism has on men with reporter Jerry Bowyer.

Bower stated that groups who see themselves as oppressed since the 19th century have blazed past a goal of equality to exact “comeuppance” on their oppressors, and American men bear the brunt of this attack. Smith agreed, recalling how she was taken aback by the modern feminist movement’s animosity toward men.

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Boy who died in fire while saving family members buried with firefighter's honors

Story here. Excerpt:

'Local firefighters have adopted as one of their own a 9-year-old boy who died saving six relatives from a fire that destroyed his grandfather's upstate New York home.

A stream of cars and fire vehicles made its way Wednesday to St. John of Rochester Catholic Church for a funeral service for Tyler Doohan. The boy died trying to rescue his grandfather, who also died, along with another relative.

Tyler's mother, Crystal Vrooman, said her son was a "sweet boy" whose sense of humor made everyone smile.

"I wish you were here for me to hold you one more time," Vrooman said, choking back tears. "Rest in peace my beautiful angel. You're a hero, baby. You made me the proudest mother I could be."'

---

From: Is masculine culture toxic for boys?

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NPO: Give Washington Children Their Real Father: Pass SB5997

Article here. Excerpt:

'Last week, Brandon Jones, Chair, Executive Committee, National Parents Organization of Washington testified in front of the Washington Senate Committee on Law & Justice in support of SB 5997, an act relating to authorizing the termination of all legal responsibilities of a nonparent if genetic testing shows by clear and convincing evidence that a man is not the genetic father of a child. Senator Jan Angel is sponsoring the legislation on behalf of Washington’s children and National Parents Organization of Washington.

Help our Washington affiliate pass this important legislation for children and fathers in Washington. On the Washington State website you may support this legislation, whether or not you live in Washington. Your message will be sent to every state legislator.

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Why Masculinity Is More Than a Mask

Article here. Excerpt:

'I admire Newsom for using her considerable talent to advocate for boys. But I worry that she is less concerned with helping boys than with re-engineering their masculinity according to specifications from some out-of-date gender-studies textbook. The trailer is suffused with males-are-toxic ideology but shows little appreciation for how boys’ nature can be distinctively good. The Mask You Live In is scheduled to be released later this year. Let’s hope there is still time for edits.

Here are a few suggestions:
1. Recognize that masculinity is more than a “mask”
The title and content of the film suggest that masculinity is a cultural creation. That is only marginally true. A lot of typical boy behavior, such as rough-and-tumble play, risk taking and fascination with gadgets rather than dolls, appears to have a basis in biology. ... A recent study on sex differences by researchers from the University of Turin, in Italy, and the University of Manchester, in England, confirms what most of us see with our eyes: with some exceptions, women tend to be more sensitive, esthetic, sentimental, intuitive and tender-minded, while men tend to be more utilitarian, objective, unsentimental and tough-minded. We do not yet fully understand the biological underpinnings of these universal tendencies, but that is no reason to deny they exist.
...

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Star Tribune Calls for Action on Women's Issues

Article here. The Minneapolis Star Tribune never fails when it comes to parroting issues brought forward by women's lobbying groups. No exception here. Missing of course are any issues faced by men in the workplace, such as the fact that 90% of workplace fatalities are males, or a decent explanation of the so-called "wage gap." Excerpt:

'After nearly three dark years, the lights are back on at the Office on the Economic Status of Women in the Minnesota State Office Building. It’s co-convening the first Minnesota Women’s Economic Security Summit in a long while Thursday in St. Paul, and several hundred participants are expected.

Among the presenters will be House Speaker Paul Thissen, armed with an ambitious package of 17 bills comprising the Minnesota Women’s Economic Security Act of 2014. The speaker’s personal stamp on a set of initiatives is rare, and should serve to raise the package’s visibility and chances for enactment.

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Canada: Supposed teen ringleader of Ottawa prostitution ring found guilty on 30 of 33 charges

Story here. Excerpt:

'An Ottawa girl has been found guilty of 30 of 33 charges against her in connection with a prostitution ring involving teenaged girls.

Court heard the girl, identified as the ringleader of the group, used physical violence and verbal threats to force other teenaged girls into prostitution.

She pleaded not guilty in April 2012 to the 33 charges including assault, human trafficking, robbery and making and distributing child pornography.

A sentencing date has yet to be set and the Crown says it will seek an adult sentence.

Two other teens accused in the case pleaded guilty to several charges in September in a surprise about-face after having pleaded not guilty earlier last year.

The three girls, whose identities are protected under a publication ban were arrested in June 2012 in the Ottawa area.'

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Canada: Calgary woman who left three of her infants in a dumpster, killing two, sentenced to 18 months jail

Story here. Excerpt:

'Meredith Borowiec has given birth to four children.

The first was born in a panic and left in a dumpster next to her Calgary home. A second baby a year later was similarly discarded; neither body was ever found.

Her third child was born in October, 2010. Borowiec, again, hid the child in the trash. But this time, the infant was rescued after its cries were overheard by a man named Ian Turnbull — Borowiec’s long-time boyfriend and the baby’s father. He had been unaware of her pregnancy.

On Wednesday, Borowiec was sentenced to 18 months in jail. The judge condemned her actions, but resisted a prosecution recommendation that she be sentenced to as many as 12 years.

“This is a terrible case,” Judge Peter McIntyre told Borowiec. “You’ve shocked the community and you’ve shamed yourself. I have to remind myself to be dispassionate about this case.”'

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Tom Martin video on Youtube at risk of being taken down

Article here. Excerpt:

'Tom Martin, a student at the London School of Economics, filmed a series of interviews with other students, addressing his lawsuit against the school, for teaching a sexist, bigoted ideology. One of those students, who participated in the interview knowing it would be uploaded is now trying to censor this video by having it taken down from Youtube (on Tom Martin’s channel, this is a mirror).

While this is annoying, it also suggests that the student has matured, and now recognizes their own point of view, as expressed during the interview, is in fact ignorant and bigoted. Unfortunately, they’re still evidently immature enough to believe censorship is a good path to pursue to cover up their bigotry.'

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Democrats' ‘Paycheck Fairness Act’ will set women back decades

Article here. Excerpt:

'In an editorial coined by New Hampshire Senator Sylvia Larson (D-Concord) today, she makes the already disproven claim that there is a ‘wage gap’ between men and women in the workforce. Larson is so hell bent on believing the studies that have been proven false, she’s willing to hurt women in the workforce by passing an unnecessary bill. The wage gap that Larson speaks of is a myth. In the past, women indeed were paid less than men but it has been proven over and over again that women earn the same or more than men if all things are equal (experience, education, time on the job etc.). What Larson’s ill-conceived bill (the same bill that failed in Washington D.C. previously with a Democrat controlled Senate) will do is set women back decades despite the great strides they have made since entering the workforce.

How will the Paycheck Fairness Act hurt Granite State women? Simple, it will put employers in a position of either paying women less than they negotiate for when seeking a new job or it will take away women’s flexibility in negotiating for a lower salary for more flexible hours. ...
...

  • If a man is currently working at a job and a woman applies for the same job but is smart and negotiates for a higher salary than the man is currently making, the employer is not going to offer her what she wants (and/or deserves), they are going to have to pay her the lower salary that the man is making. Why? If the man finds out she’s making more than him for the same job (despite the fact she was simply a better negotiator) the man can turn around and sue the employer for discrimination!
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