Essay here. Excerpt:

'Thirty-six years later my son was born. Two days before his planned circumcision, while searching online for recommendations on the doctor-mohel we chose, I stumbled upon the following paragraph from The Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides, the great Jewish philosopher:

“As regards circumcision, I think that one of its objects is to limit sexual intercourse, and to weaken the organ of generation as far as possible, and thus cause man to be moderate. Some people believe that circumcision is to remove a defect in man’s formation; but every one can easily reply: How can products of nature be deficient so as to require external completion, especially as the use of the foreskin to that organ is evident. The bodily injury caused to that organ is exactly that which is desired; This is, as I believe, the best reason for the commandment concerning circumcision.”

I was shocked. I realized that the Jewish motivation for circumcision was diminishing sexual pleasure, the same motivation as the one behind female genital cutting.

Article here. Oh boy, so predictable. Other women are mentioned who "broke barriers" by entering "male dominated" fields. Gosh, us men are just such a bunch of horrid oppressors toward women. Hey, any mention of, say, Warren Farrell or Glenn Sacks, etc.? Excerpt:

'This year marks the 50th anniversary of the highest civilian honor, which was first presented by President John F. Kennedy and has been given to 500 individuals from diverse corners of the country.
...
Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem is a renowned writer and activist for women's equality. She was a leader in the women's liberation movement, co-founded Ms. magazine, and helped launch a wide variety of groups and publications dedicated to advancing civil rights. Ms. Steinem has received dozens of awards over the course of her career, and remains an active voice for women's rights.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'For the first time, Colorado has a clear formula for the calculation of alimony. The new legislation, House Bill 13-1058, goes into effect January of 2014. Governor John Hickenlooper signed it on May 10, 2013.

The alimony legislation, referred to as the Maintenance Act, defines the state’s new guidelines for the determination of spousal maintenance. Maintenance is the amount of court ordered spousal support paid by the higher earning spouse to the lower earning spouse each month for a specified period of time following a divorce or legal separation.

The formula states that the amount of maintenance is equal to forty percent of the higher income party’s monthly adjusted gross income less fifty percent of the lower income party’s monthly adjusted gross income. There are some exceptions, and there is a cap, but this is the first time that Colorado has had a formula.'

Story here. While it it laudable that child slavery related to the production of chocolate is coming to the world's attention more openly, it is notable that the story is billed as "child slaves." The fact is -- if one looks at the videos -- that all the children are male. Yet, nowhere does the story say anything about male child slavery. The gender card seems too hot a button these days... perhaps, if it were to be mentioned openly, feminists would derail the good work that's being done? The fact is that many adult males are financial slaves too, but nobody is talking about that, are they? Another taboo topic? Excerpt:

'Everyone loves chocolate. But for thousands of people, chocolate is the reason for their enslavement.

The chocolate bar you snack on likely starts at a plant in a West African cocoa plantation, and often the people who harvest it are children. Many are slaves to a system that produces something almost all of us consume and enjoy.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The results showed that the 3.7 percentage point increase in male unemployment during the time caused a decline in the incidence of domestic abuse by 12 percent. Meanwhile, the 3 percentage point increase in female unemployment increased domestic violence by 10 percent. The correlation held for all kinds of abuse, but it was stronger for physical violence.

Article here. Excerpt:

'An in-patient hospital program for female active military or veterans with emotional disorders or addiction has been expanded to include men.

Despite an aggressive marketing campaign to attract them, a shortage of women has led administrators at Lady of Lourdes Medical Center of Burlington County to open the Living Springs behavioral program to active-duty males or veterans.

Alexander J. Hatala, Lourdes Health System president and CEO, said the newly opened program has been modified to treat men and women in the 21-bed Willingboro unit. The first male was admitted last week.

“When we originally designed Living Springs, our intention was to create a comfortable, safe environment where servicewomen or the female family members of servicemen could relate to each other during the recovery process,” Hatala said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Utah’s two Job Corps centers announced a campaign Tuesday to recruit a record number of new female students. After a four-month national enrollment freeze that ended in April, the program has 213 openings available to income-qualified prospective students.

The freeze prevented the program from adding new students, explained Issa Arnita, director of corporate communications for Centerville-based Management & Training Corp. — which manages and operates 18 Job Corps centers in 15 states.

Job Corps is a free, federal career training program developed and administered by the U.S. Department of Labor to meet educational and career technical training needs of economically disadvantaged youths. Participants must be between the ages of 16 and 24.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Public statements from the Pentagon since it removed the ban on direct ground combat jobs for women signal that the armed services plan to change their physical standards to ensure integration of the sexes, analysts say.

A review of news conferences and congressional testimony shows that the top brass repeatedly use the word “validate” — not necessarily “retain” — when talking about ongoing studies of tasks to qualify for infantry, armored and special operations jobs.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Stop Abuse for Everyone™ (“SAFE”) is a gender inclusive domestic violence information and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1999. The mission of SAFE is to provide information and education to support and assist all victims of family abuse. SAFE has been endorsed by The National Crime Prevention Council, “Dear Abby” and recognized by the White House as a “National Point of Light.”

A key mission of SAFE is to act as an information source for all victims and concerned friends and relatives to locate non-discriminatory help. Our new and improved website: www.stopabuseforeveryone.org now provides a state-by-state guide.

The new website has state-of- the- art functions and hosts a new forum area for survivors of intimate partner and family violence to share their stories and get help from others with similar experiences. SAFE is also now on Facebook and Twitter.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The gun-toting teen shot by police over the weekend grew up in a gang-infested neighborhood in the Morrisania section of the Bronx where law-abiding families live in constant fear. Even if young boys try to avoid trouble, it comes looking for them.

At first glance, everything looks calm and ordinary in this community. But under the surface, the threat for boys as young as 9 or 10 from gangs and criminal crews pressuring them to join is constant.

One boy, whose identity Fox 5 is protecting, said they have no choice but to join a gang. He said he tries to stay busy and off the streets at night when the gangs are out and hunting for new members. He said most boys don't choose to join a gang, but if they don't, they and their families suffer consequences. He said gangs have ransacked the apartments of reluctant recruits.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'2013 may well be remembered as the year the tide changed decisively in favor of Equally Shared Parenting in the United States. In the month of April two states, Arkansas and Florida, have both passed legislation mandating equal and substantially equal parenting time as the preferred outcome for children experiencing their parents’ divorce. In Arkansas the legislation has already been signed by the governor and is law.

Article here. Excerpt:

'The singular event in the life of Alex Rodriguez is not his imminent suspension, or the career home run record that now will never happen.

The event that makes him so remote, so rudderless, took place when he was 9, when his father disappeared. This is not pop psychology to explain a man who blundered into the airplane propeller of adult reality. This is his own theory.

Back when he was a young major leaguer, Rodriguez would occasionally explain himself in terms of his missing father. His mother was strong and smart, and remains so to this day, but he expressed bewilderment that a father could just take off.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Michael Jordan stayed winning when he was on the basketball court, and it has carried over to the court room, too. A judge has ordered the woman that falsely accused Air Jordan of fathering her now 17-year old struggle rapper son about $10,000, the cost of the NBA legend’s legal bills.

Pamela Smith’s paternity case was dismissed, leaving many to a speculate a financial settlement was made. However, it looks like she was looking for a payday, which has now backfired.
...
The judge called Pamela’s bogus claim one big publicity stunt, pointing out she hired a publicist before even getting a lawyer … and then dragged Michael through the mud.

The judge ordered Pamela to pay Jordan’s legal bills — $9,704.13. Actually, it sounds like she got off cheap.'

Article here. Ah, yes. As predictable as the sun in the east every morning. Indeed, time to update alimony laws-- they need to be updated out the window, really. But instead you can be pretty sure how they'll get "updated"; it'll look like this: men still pay it, women don't. Excerpt:

'"The laws definitely need to be changed. They aren't working anymore," said Michau, 67, who feels she was penalized in court for working and saving for decades while she says her ex-husband quickly exhausted his retirement savings.

To press for reform, Michau joined a new group, Florida Women for Alimony Reform, who are among those trying once again to present Gov. Rick Scott with a bill they say would modernize the state's archaic alimony statutes.
...
"There are second wives, fiancés, girlfriends, mothers, sisters, and, of course, female alimony payers who are all negatively impacted by the current laws," said Israel, who teaches math at Broward College.

From SAVE:

Kentucky Fried Chicken has decided to use violence to sell their new Hot Shot Bites product. Their ad (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRH9NBcd33k) shows a woman trying the snack, then slapping a man across the face.

Others have complained to the company, but KFC's reply leaves much to be desired. We're told that one of KFC's attorneys said that he thought 'the smack in the commercial was a metaphor with the smack of the flavor.' When asked if he'd find it acceptable if the roles were reversed, he remained silent. Then he stated that the commercial will continue to air.

Are we going to take this lying down? Heck no!

Contact KFC!

Phone: (502) 874-8300
Email: johncywinski-at-yumyum.com
Change.org Petition (started by F&F New York): http://www.change.org/petitions/kentucky-fried-chicken-stop-making-light-of-domestic-violence
On behalf of all victims of abuse, thank you,