Article here. Excerpt:

'In terms of dollars and cents, it makes sense to try and prevent prison rape.

That's the conclusion of a recent report from the Department of Justice, which examines the costs and savings associated with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) -- a law that was passed in 2003, but with specific rules that weren't finalized until last month.
...
Full compliance with the standards set out in the PREA would cost penal facilities about $468.5 million a year, according to the report. By contrast, the financial benefits to society from eliminating prison rape would come to almost $52 billion a year.

The real horror of prison rape, of course, has nothing to do with money, and everything to do with the physical and emotional trauma that prisoners experience -- especially when those prisoners are juveniles suffering abuse at the hands of staff.

It all points to a problem that seems to cost more to ignore than it would to treat.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama says his wife told him to knock it off for calling Father's Day a "forgotten holiday."

Obama ate lunch with four campaign supporters in downtown Washington on Friday and observed that people make a bigger deal out of Mother's Day. He said he had shared his observation with Michelle Obama and that she told him to knock it off.

The president said the first lady told him Mother's Day should be a bigger day because "every day is Father's Day" and he is "always getting a treat."

Obama's comments came as he chatted with his lunch mates in view of the media. Later Friday, he and his family were flying home to Chicago, where they planned to spend Father's Day weekend.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In its broad outlines, the story is familiar by now. In 1965, 93% of all American births were to women with marriage licenses. Over the next few decades, the percentage of babies with no father around rose steadily. As of 1970, 11% of births were to unmarried mothers; by 1990, that number had risen to 28%. Today, 41% of all births are to unmarried women. And for mothers under 30, the rate is 53%.

Article here. Excerpt:

'There's a movement under way among dads in America that's changing what you see on TV.

Across the country, more and more are fed up -- and rising up against the stereotype of the inept, clueless father.

"We're not the Peter Griffin or the Homer Simpson that we're often portrayed as," said Kevin Metzger, who runs the Dadvocate blog.

It's often the chief gripe among the dads I interview about modern fatherhood.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Three questions drawn from parental acceptance–rejection theory were addressed: (a) Are children’s perceptions of parental acceptance transnationally associated with specific personality dispositions? (b) Are adults’ remembrances of parental acceptance in childhood transnationally associated with these personality dispositions? and (c) Do relations between parental acceptance and offspring’s personality dispositions vary by gender of parents? All studies used the child and adult versions of the Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaires (PARQ) for Mothers and for Fathers, as well as the child and adult versions of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire (PAQ). Results showed that both maternal and paternal acceptance in childhood correlated significantly in all countries with all seven personality dispositions of adult offspring. Adults’ remembrance of paternal acceptance in childhood correlated significantly with all adult personality dispositions except dependence.'

Link here. Excerpt:

'The Minister responsible for male health, Warren Snowdon, today launched the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s (AIHW) second male health bulletin, Health of Australia’s males: a focus on five population groups, during a visit to the Murrumbateman Men’s Shed.

The bulletin examines five male population groups at risk of poor health: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander males; those living in regional and remote areas; males living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas; males born overseas; and older males.

“This bulletin shows just being a part of these groups can have a very mixed impact on health, but often preventable risk factors play a role,” Mr Snowdon said.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'SAN DIEGO – Mandating circumcision in the United States would prevent 24 more cases of HIV than does the traditional optional approach to circumcision, but would increase costs by approximately $389 million, making it far less cost effective, an analysis of published data suggests.

The investigators assumed that the overall incidence of HIV in the United States is 27 cases/100,000 people and the lifetime cost of care for someone with HIV is $119,000, based on published data from government statistics and peer-reviewed studies. Using the $392 cost of a circumcision at their institution, they developed computer-generated estimates of the cost-effectiveness of mandatory or traditional circumcision strategies for various populations, said Dr. Sarah E. Drennan, a third-year resident in ob.gyn. at Ochsner Medical Center, New Orleans.

Article here. Excerpt:

'We are just a few days away from Father's Day 2012. On Sunday, June 17, Americans will celebrate the value of fatherhood.

Yet, without seemingly having given it much thought to it at all, our society now allows millions of men and women to create children who will never know their biological fathers. That's because we sanction allowing men and women to purchase sperm from anonymous donors. These donors will forever be shielded from having their identities discovered by their sons and daughters.

This policy inherently presupposes that bearing children who have no opportunity to know their biological fathers does not deprive them of anything that is inherently theirs--as a fundamental human right.'

So rare to see that it is worth noting. Some of what was said in their email:

'Why lend to men?

As the nonprofit world focuses on empowering women, men's contributions to their families and communities are too often overlooked. On Kiva, men make up only 19% of all borrowers but account for 65% of loans that don't get funded. True equality means expanding opportunity and financial independence to everyone. Consider the incredible ripple effect of lending to men:

Article here. Excerpt:

'It seems inconsistent that the group that says its purpose is “sharing equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities with men,” opposes shared parenting. On its website, NOW states:

NOW is the largest, most comprehensive feminist advocacy group in the United States. Our purpose is to take action to bring women into full participation in society — sharing equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities with men, while living free from discrimination.

Gloria Woods, President of Michigan NOW, wrote this about shared parenting:

"Shared Parental Responsibility." In our work as women's advocates, how often have we heard custodial moms wish that their children's father would share the parental responsibility? Unfortunately, "shared parental responsibility" is the new doublespeak for joint physical custody by so-called "father's rights" groups.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Hundreds of thousands of poor children are growing up with little hope of a good education or career after being raised by families that fail to set proper boundaries or fully understand the difference between right and wrong, Sir Michael Wilshaw warned.

He said problems were particularly acute among disadvantaged white boys who perform worse than almost every other group at the age of 16.

In an interview with the Telegraph, Sir Michael said that old-fashioned values such as “self-help” and support for education had been eroded in many communities, particularly those in post-industrial cities with high levels of unemployment.

He said teachers from the best schools in these areas were now expected to act as “surrogate parents” – escorting pupils to bus stops, helping with homework, providing meals and giving them advice – in place of families “who can’t or won’t support their children”.'

Article here. Excerpt:

Helen Fraser, 63, the chief executive of the Girls' Day School Trust, told its annual conference that girls should learn to be just as "ambitious" in their relationships as they are in their careers.
...
The former managing director of Penguin Books said that girls can have it all - career, marriage and motherhood - but they must learn to pick the right partner to accomplish it.
...
"Just as I believe we should always encourage our girls to aspire to the best universities, I believe we should encourage our girls to be ambitious in their relationships," she said.
...

"That what too many women face nowadays isn’t a 'glass ceiling' because of their sex but a 'nappy wall' if they choose to have a child as well as a career?

"That if you want children and a career, a partner who shares the load at home really, really matters?

Article here. Excerpt:

'Jennifer Gonzalez, the Malibu High School teacher accused of slapping a student six times as she cited the movie "Bridesmaids," is being backed by school officials and will not be placed on administrative leave, TMZ reports.

The news comes after the NAACP urged the school to further investigate the incident.

“Where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” NAACP Santa Monica Branch President Darrell Goode told CBS Los Angeles last week. “So we’re pushing the district to do a full-blown administrative investigation.”

According to TMZ, the school's "full-blown" investigation revealed Gonzalez only "pat" the student, and that she didn't mean to hurt her.'

Article here. Except:

'London - Findings from Western University have led researchers to ask questions about adolescent body image issues that are increasingly being traced to unhealthy behaviors and ultimately affecting adolescent male youth’s desire to participate or avoid exercise.

Experts in gender studies and physical education will meet with the London community at Palasad (777 Adelaide Street North) at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 13 to address how adolescent boys struggle with body image issues. Parents, students, teachers, school board members and friends are welcome to explore how some boys manage physical education classes that discourage participation.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'New York City health officials proposed on Tuesday that Orthodox Jewish parents be required to sign a consent waiver before they can take part in a circumcision ritual that is believed to have led to the deaths of at least two babies in the city over the past decade.

The proposal, introduced at a Board of Health meeting, represents an escalation of the city’s efforts to curtail the ancient Jewish procedure of metzitzah b’peh, in which an adult male, usually the circumciser, places his mouth directly on the wound created by the removal of the infant’s foreskin to suck away the blood.'