White House petition aims to end male-only military draft

Article here. Excerpt:

'A petition on the White House’s “We the People” Web page contends that a military draft covering men, but not women, is discriminatory and should be abolished.

“The Selective Service System is discriminatory against the young men of the United States of America,” the petition reads, “and should be considered unfair and unethical.”

“As the law stands young men must sign up for Selective Service for a possible military draft when they turn eighteen,” the petition notes. “If they do not they risk jail sentences, huge fines, or the denial of government services or jobs. Young women do not face the same requirements or penalties.”...

“To require only half of our citizens to register for such a program is not only government-sponsored sexism, but also a breach of their autonomy as human beings.”'

Like0 Dislike0

FDA seeking comments on Draft Guidance for Industry on Vaginal Microbicides (Deadline 21 Feb 2013)

Link here. Excerpt from guidance document (emphasis added):

'Sexual transmission accounts for the majority of HIV infections both in the United States and globally. Behavior change through counseling, male and female condoms, antiretroviral therapy for the infected partner, voluntary male medical circumcision, and treatment of STIs can reduce the risk of HIV acquisition. However, despite these prevention methods, HIV incidence in the United States has not declined and remains stable at 56,300 new infections annually (Hall, Song, et al. 2008). Worldwide, the annual incidence is estimated to be about 2.7 million infections (UNAIDS 2011).'

There is a 2000 character limit in the comment web form, but you can upload larger documents.

Like0 Dislike0

Why Feminists Should Support the Return of Chivalry

Article here. Excerpt:

'Chivalry and feminism appear to be natural enemies: If women want to be treated as equals they can’t also want men to open doors for them or always pick up the check. Carrying a woman’s bag can be taken as implying that she’s too weak to do it herself.
...
Even when it comes from a positive place of wanting to help, the assumption that a woman always needs a man to step in and rescue her is exactly how chivalry came to be referred to as “benevolent sexism.” Chivalrous men may mean well, but it’s easy to see a disconnect between social rules about treating women with delicate respect and the push toward equality.
...
I’m not entirely convinced that a return to chivalry wouldn’t open the door to reinforced ideas of women as weak, but Smith’s proposal is worth considering.'

Like0 Dislike0

Court upholds decision in penis removal case

Story here. Excerpt:

'LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man lost his bid Friday to force a doctor to pay damages for removing a cancer-riddled section of his penis during what was scheduled to be a simple circumcision.

The Kentucky Court of Appeals found that a jury correctly concluded that 66-year-old Phillip Seaton of Waddy consented to allow Dr. John Patterson to perform any procedure deemed necessary during the Oct. 19, 2007, surgery.

Patterson, a Kentucky-based urologist, maintains he found cancer in the man’s penis during surgery and that it had to be removed. The patient claims the surgery was supposed to be a circumcision and he never authorized the amputation, nor was he given a chance to seek a second opinion.'

Like0 Dislike0

Federal investigators bust 'Jane Doe' child sex abuser after nationwide appeal for assistance

Story here. Excerpt:

'Agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) have caught the woman suspected of producing child pornography and appearing to abuse a young child in a sex video she posted on the internet - less than 24 hours after the Feds appealed to the American public for help.

Corrine Danielle Motley of Okaloosa County, Florida was arrested late Wednesday and faces federal charges for the production and distribution of child pornography.

The 25-year-old was apprehended by Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force members and Homeland Security Investigations special agents.

A Facebook page for the suspect shows that the woman is married to Brandon and in photos she poses with various young children.

U.S. Immigration and Customs were alerted after a video appeared on the internet showing the woman engaging in explicit sex with a four to five-year-old victim.

Like0 Dislike0

College student held without bond for explosives, drugs

Story here. Excerpt:

Like0 Dislike0

Olympic athlete discovered 'escorting', gets spun as mid-life crisis

Story here. Excerpt:

'DECEMBER 20---A three-time U.S. Olympian whose illustrious running career has included a Nike TV commercial, a swimsuit calendar, and ongoing promotional work for Disney has spent the last year doubling as a $600-an-hour call girl, an astounding secret life that she now regretfully calls a “huge mistake.”

Beginning last December, Suzy Favor Hamilton, 44, has worked with one of Las Vegas’s premier escort services, booking scores of “dates” in Sin City and other U.S. cities, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

While Favor Hamilton (seen at right) has used an alias, “Kelly Lundy,” when working as an escort, she inexplicably shared her true identity with several male clients, believing that her secret was somehow safe with strangers who paid for her company by leaving envelopes stuffed with cash on bathroom vanities in swanky hotels.
...

Like0 Dislike0

Australia: Results prove education system favours girls, yet we do nothing

Article here. Like the NYT, you'll probably get a login challenge, so to get around it, go to Google and enter "Results prove education system favours girls, yet we do nothing" and click the first link in the results list. Excerpt:

'Australian children have been subject to haphazard experiments in reading and writing for a very long time. And not just reading and writing, but in all aspects of pedagogy and curriculum. The ones who have really suffered from all this are the boys.

It was recognised in 2002 that there was a real crisis in the education of boys. Brendan Nelson had an inquiry which produced an important report on the subject. But despite research confirming that boys are doing worse overall than girls, and despite some attempts by individual schools to rectify the problem, the crisis continues.

Like0 Dislike0

Macy Gray: Women aren't equal to men, they're better

Article here. Excerpt:

'“I am not a feminist because that’s about equality. Women aren’t equal to men. We are better. We are so much bigger, so much more capable, and can do a lot more than men,” she explains in a straightforward manner.

“I think women have a lot more going on than men – so I wouldn’t call us equal. We are just better.”

Right then. Well that clears that one up. And while we are on the topic of women being badass and brilliant, Gray name checks one of her big female idols: Michelle Obama.'

---
Ed. note: I had never heard of her before, so of course went to Wikipedia to find out.

Like0 Dislike0

School worker arrested on domestic violence charges against a child

Article here. Excerpt:

'Escambia County investigators arrested a part-time Escambia County elementary school worker today on several domestic violence charges, including battery, torturing a child, caging a child and cruelty toward a child that could result in physical or mental injury.

Dorothea Vega, 59, of Pensacola is in the Escambia County Jail without bond.
...
Investigators learned that a child was hit by numerous household objects and was made to take prescription medications in an effort to control the child’s behavior.

Deputies went to the home, where they found alarms on the door of the child’s room.

The child was made to stay in the room, unless she was doing chores. If the alarm sounded, Vega beat the child, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office.

The living conditions were found to be deplorable. The child was not always permitted to eat or take a bath and would sometimes use a school restroom as a place to bathe.'

Like0 Dislike0

UK: Female rower responds to criticism over nude calendar double-standard

Article here. (Be advised: Partial nudity in pics shown with the story, so it's NSFW.) Excerpt:

'When the boys of the rowing club stripped off for a charity calendar, it was met with praise, encouragement and the occasional cheeky compliment.

But it seems that it’s one rule for them and another for the club’s girls – who have been accused of being attention-seekers and damaging the feminist cause by posing for their own naked calendar.
...
Hettie's comments came in the wake of a blog on the Huffington Post website, which attacked Hettie and her friends, and said they had put the feminist cause back.'

Like0 Dislike0

'Moving Beyond Men's Killing Fields'

Article here. Excerpt:

Like0 Dislike0

F&F: Detroit Judge Allows Mom to Decide Dad’s Punishment in Child Support Case

Article here. Excerpt:

'Just in case you thought there was even a shred of integrity left in the family court system, let this story lay that misguided notion to rest for good (The Daily Caller, 12/8/12).

Detroit judge Wade McCree was hearing a child support suit involving a mother, Geniene La’Shay Mott and her ex-husband, Robert King. The only problem with that was that McCree and Mott entered into a serious and long-term sexual relationship during the legal case.

“It went from being a summer fling and just something to do to falling in love, promises of marriage, me getting pregnant, us buying a house together, name it,” Mott told WJBK-TV.

Like0 Dislike0

F&F: The Newtown Shooter: The Conversation You Won’t See Anywhere Else

Article here. Excerpt:

'After our tears dry for the twenty little darlings and seven others who were mowed down by Adam Lanza, we begin to ask “Why?”

There is always a dominant narrative to explain the unthinkable. Now it is mostly about the absence of effective gun controls, or about mental illness. Or, we hear about the effects of violence on television and video games.

We don’t hear about the effects of fatherlessness, especially on young men. We don’t hear that the most reliable predictor of crime is neither poverty nor race but growing up fatherless. We don’t hear that a large majority of violent criminals were fatherless. We don’t even hear that young male elephants go on violent rampages unless they are kept in line by the old bulls.
...
The Daily Mail reports quotes several of Adam’s former classmates to the effect that his problems got much worse after the separation. “He was always weird but the divorce affected him. He was arguing with his mother. He was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode.”
...

Like0 Dislike0

F&F: Raise Your Voice with Fathers and Families

Article here. Excerpt:

'Fathers and Families is your voice in family law. Fathers and Families continues to grow and so does the strength of your voice. We want to start our next affiliate in your state.

Fathers and Families believes shared parenting is the single most important social change we must make for our children. Society should support shared parenting and the rights and responsibilities of both parents in the same way it supports other children’s issues, including child support enforcement.'

Like0 Dislike0

Pages

Subscribe to Mensactivism.org RSS