Article here. Excerpt:

'As pediatricians gather Saturday at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, they'll be greeted by protesters urging the medical group to rethink its position on an issue that makes most people squirm: the circumcision of newborn boys. Although the American Academy of Pediatrics doesn't recommend routine removal of infants' foreskins -– that has been its stance since 1999 -– its report, released two months ago, does cite literature saying that the procedure can prevent urinary-tract infections, cancer of the penis and sexually transmitted diseases, including AIDS.

Such benefits, the report says, justify its coverage by private insurance and Medicaid. Louisiana is one of 18 states where Medicaid does not pay for the procedure.

Opponents, who call themselves "intactivists," go beyond mere opposition to the circumcision of healthy infants.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Sydney (CNN) -- The Australian Macquarie Dictionary has re-ignited the so-called gender war that shone so brightly after the country's prime minister's blistering attack on sexism and misogyny in parliament earlier this month.

Julia Gillard's tirade, which drew global attention, and at the time of writing had been viewed almost two million times on You Tube, was directed at the Opposition leader, Tony Abbott.

"The leader of the opposition says that people who hold sexist views and who are misogynists are not appropriate for high office. Well, I hope the leader of the opposition has got a piece of paper and he is writing out his resignation," Gillard blared.

Slate has recently published an interactive map purporting to show income inequality by gender down to the county level, based on the US Govt. data from the American Community Survey. You'll immediately notice the ubiquitous pink and red tones screaming that women earn up to 50% less than men.

Lets educate them a bit in the comments shall we?

Article here. Will wonders never cease? I think years of walking a few miles in mens' mocassins has taught her a few lessons. Wonder if she'd recognize that whining panderer she was not too long ago if she met her in the hallway? Now I don't see this as proof of a magical transformation; I have no doubt she still cares diddly about males, much less men's issues-- after all, she's still Mrs. Circumcision-For-All-African-Men, last I knew. But I'm glad to see that after so much time, she's finally grown up some and not only seems to have stopped her endless whining herself but has developed a healthy intolerance for it. Better late than never. Excerpt:

'Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says in a new interview that she can’t stand “whining” by women who are unhappy with the work and family choices they’ve made in life and complain that they have no options.

Unbelievable, but read it here. Excerpt:

'Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky asked a judge on Thursday to overturn his child sexual abuse convictions and grant him a new trial, claiming his lawyers lacked sufficient time to prepare and the statute of limitations for some charges had expired.

Sandusky's lawyers made the filing at the courthouse in Bellefonte where he was sentenced two weeks ago to 30 to 60 years in prison after being convicted of abusing 10 boys, some on Penn State's campus in State College.

''The defendant submits the court's sentence was excessive and tantamount ... to a life sentence, which the defendant submits is in violation of his rights,'' they wrote.

The 31-page set of motions, technically not appeals because they were filed with the trial judge, cover a wide range of assertions, including insufficient evidence, improper use of hearsay testimony and improper rulings from the bench.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The philosopher Iain Brassington has recently expressed a similar concern. On the Journal of Medical Ethics blog, he wrote: “Though I [have] mentioned the [recent] decision of the German court that ritual circumcision constituted assault, I’ve wanted to stay clear of saying more about it [because] it seemed too potentially toxic”[2] (Brassington, 2012, para. 2). To give another example, the bioethicist Dan O’Connor from Johns Hopkins University—in an article entitled “A Piece I Really Didn’t Want to Write on Circumcision”—has recently said that: “when [a reporter] calls my work and ask[s] if there is a bioethicist in the house who will give the anti-circumcision viewpoint, I beg off. … I would be a terrible interviewee anyway, [since I would have to preface] my every argument against circumcision with rambling spiels about what loving and caring parents my [Jewish] friends are” (O’Connor, 2012, para. 10).

Something smells very rotten in Ellsworth, Maine.

Even though you made the calls this week on behalf of falsely accused and persecuted domestic violence victim and single father Vladek Filler, he was incarcerated yesterday. But that's not the worst of it.

Asst. District Attorney Mary N. Kellett is facing a disciplinary hearing next week for procedural misconduct in the Filler case. And now Vladek is in Mary Kellet's jail. He's in her jail without an attorney.

Background: http://www.saveservices.org/camp/intolerable-injustice/

Six weeks ago Vladek filed two motions, including one asking the court to recognize his new attorney. Judge Robert E. Murray waited until the very last minute, then denied both motions. Vladek Filler doesn't have an attorney to make sure he is allowed to testify at Kellett's disciplinary hearing next week.

Do you smell it now?

Please call the Board of Overseers of the Bar. Tell them to bring prosecutor Mary Kellett to justice at 207-623-1121

Article here. Undoubtedly the vast majority of adults in Scouting are NOT child molesters, in the same way that the same can be said for college football coaches and clergymen. The issue here is that once again, boys were the victims of sexual predators (male or female, makes no difference), and instead of other adults standing to defend them, they turned their backs on them. Need I make the point yet again: Would they have done thus if the victims had been girls? No way. Excerpt:

'PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An array of local authorities — police chiefs, prosecutors, pastors and town Boy Scout leaders among them — quietly shielded scoutmasters and others who allegedly molested children, according to a newly opened trove of confidential files compiled from 1959 to1985.

Articles here and here. Excerpt from one:

'More than 20,000 boys left primary school this summer with the reading skills of a seven-year-old or worse, according to official figures.

Seven per cent of 11-year-old boys will be starting secondary education with ability levels no better than those expected of the average infant, it was revealed.

Despite a record rise in results this year, figures showed that boys were almost twice as likely as girls to fail basic reading tests.

In all, some 20,300 boys were at Level 2 or below in reading – the standard normally expected after just two years of compulsory schooling – compared with 10,400 girls.

The disclosure comes amid concerns that a lack of male role models at home and school may be turning boys off reading at a young age.

Article here. Excerpt:

'We hear it over and over again: the myth of the wage gap. In Tuesday’s presidential debate, Katherine Fenton asked President Obama what he intended to do about “women making only 72 percent of what their male counterparts earn.”

Just one problem: Women make about 95 percent of what their male counterparts earn, if the male counterparts are in the same job with the same experience.

Obama’s answer was to brag about the increased regulations he’s put in place through the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which he signed into law in January 2009 — even though women have brought only about 35 lawsuits under the new law.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Only one in seven women describes herself as a "feminist", while one in five said feminism was 'not relevant' to the modern generation, according to a new UK survey.

One in three modern women view traditional radical feminism as "too aggressive" towards men, the survey by a UK-based parenting website found.

Fewer than one in ten women aged 25 to 29 identified with feminism, compared with a quarter of those aged 45 to 50 and just one in seven women describes herself as a "feminist" with younger women even less likely to describe themselves as such.

A third view traditional radical feminism as "too aggressive" towards men, while a quarter no longer view it as a positive label, the Daily Mail reported.'

Article here.  Excerpt:

"And on the campaign trail and on the air, the candidates and their allies argued intensely all day over who would do more to help women. At the same time, the topic of whether the heated encounter Tuesday night had alienated the very female voters they were seeking to connect with became fodder for cable TV discussions.

The level of intensity left little doubt that the election was coming down not only to a state-by-state fight for territory, but also to one for the allegiance of vital demographic groups, chief among them undecided women.
...
Mr. Romney, at a campaign rally in Chesapeake, Va., hit back. “This president has failed America’s women,” he said. “They’ve suffered in terms of getting jobs. They’ve suffered in terms of falling into poverty.”

For Mr. Romney, the imperative, with less than three weeks until Election Day, is cutting into what has been Mr. Obama’s sizable lead among women.

Article here. Excerpt:

'According to the most recent data available from the Illinois Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, the careers associated with the highest number of occupational fatalities were transportation and material moving, management (including farming) and construction. Sales-related occupations were fourth, while protective services rounded out the top five.
...
In Illinois alone, there were 203 injury-related occupational deaths in 2010, up from 158 deaths the year before. The 28 percent increase is attributed to an unusually low number of work-related deaths in 2009.

"That year was an abnormally low number," Wamack said. "There was a downturn in the economy and less construction, which is one of the possible reasons" for fewer workplace deaths in 2009.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Officially sanctioned injustice focuses the victim’s mind wonderfully. When such an injustice befalls someone of high intelligence, iron will and an enormous reservoir of patience, sometimes one person can change a system.

Meet Toronto tax consultant Lucien Khodeir. Khodeir got screwed over years ago through Canada’s recipient-biased 1997 Child Support Guidelines. He tasked himself to analyze them exhaustively, prove their bias and force judicial reform.

Article here. Excerpt:

'On a radio show one morning last year, a female professor at a well-known university tossed off the thought that if men are just going to hang out with their pals at the bar every night, women will take a pass on having kids with them. She didn't cite any studies, and she almost certainly didn't know any men who fit that description. But it didn't matter.