Article here. Excerpt:

'Almost five years ago, he and his longtime girlfriend, Carie Terry, were living in Denver when they found out they were expecting a baby. He says they had talked about getting married.

"It was probably the happiest day of my life, finding out I would be a dad," he said.

Manzanares says at that point they were not even considering adoption.

He says that changed a few weeks later.

"She came back from her church service and stated to me that she would have to adopt this child to a Mormon family," Manzanares said.

He says she wanted the child raised in a two-parent, Mormon home.

The conversation about adoption ended the relationship and began Manzanares's legal fight to be a father.

"I stated from that day on that there was no way I'll allow my daughter to be adopted. I will fight for her no matter what," he said.

He filed a paternity action in Colorado District Court before his daughter's birth. Colorado established him as the father.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'State Senator Constance Johnson of Oklahoma City has served Oklahoma’s 48th Senate District since 2005, but it was yesterday’s introduction of Senate Bill 1433 that really pushed her over the edge. The bill sought to define human life as beginning at the moment of conception, before it’s even implanted in the womb, and offers full legal protection to those tiny multicelled lumps. In the words of the bill, “the unborn child at every stage of development (has) all the rights, privileges, and immunities available to other persons, citizens, and residents of this state.”

Johnson submitted an amendment of her own to the bill, which would have added the language,

However, any action in which a man ejaculates or otherwise deposits semen anywhere but in a woman’s vagina shall be interpreted and construed as an action against an unborn child.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Missouri teenager who had described the slaying of a young neighbor girl as an "ahmazing" thrill made an emotional apology Wednesday to the girl's family and was sentenced to a potential lifetime in prison.

Moments before her sentence was imposed, 18-year-old Alyssa Bustamante rose from her chair — with shackles linking her ankles and holding her hands to her waist — and turned to face the family of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, whom she confessed to killing in October 2009.
...
Cole County Circuit Judge Pat Joyce then sentenced Bustamante to the maximum possible sentence for second-degree murder — life in prison with the possibility of parole. She ordered the teenager to serve a consecutive 30-year term for armed criminal action, a charge resulting from her use of a knife to slit the throat and stab Elizabeth after she had strangled her into unconsciousness.'

In case you missed it, the ad can be seen on YouTube here.

Ways to contact Dannon are here. Feel free to let them know what you think of their sense of "humor" as well as whether or not you are inclined to buy their products now that you see how little respect they have for men's rights to be un-assaulted by wives and sweethearts, even if such men have a predilection for teasing ways to spoon-feed their female companions. Ask them if we would ever see the same thing happen in their ad but with the sexes were reversed? And if so, OK, then when can we expect to see that air and will it air with as great an audience as the Super Bowl had?

Last Thursday the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Sen. Leahy's version of the Violence Against Women Act out of committee with ten votes for and eight against. This was after Sen. Charles Grassley unsuccessfully proposed an amendment that would have added accountability and other improvements.

Your calls are the reason eight senators voted against VAWA last week. High fives all around!!!!!

While the DV industry is drumming up support for the passage of Leahy's VAWA, we can still take steps to stop their mismanagement of funds, insure the distribution of accurate information, end acts of discrimination, and more.

Sen. Grassley's amendment incorporates many of the provisions of SAVE's Partner Violence Reduction Act: http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/legislation/upload/EAS12031-Grassley-Sub.pdf

Link here. Excerpt:

'By Christopher Bates, M.P.A., Executive Director, Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS, and Senior Advisor to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health, Infectious Diseases, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) will convene February 28 and 29 in Washington, DC. Among the many items on the agenda for the 45th meeting of the PACHA, two are of particular note:

* A conversation with Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius on a variety of issues, including the implementation of the National HIV/AIDS Strategy across HHS.
* PACHA will devote much of the first day of this meeting to an examination of the state of HIV/AIDS among women and girls in the U.S. and the nation’s response. A number of speakers have been invited to address PACHA on issues including HIV/AIDS research, prevention, and access to care and treatment.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Some of you may remember the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as a major Biden initiative from before he was cool (and by cool I mean Vice President). The National Organization for Women called it "the greatest breakthrough in civil rights for women in nearly two decades." Phyllis Schlafley called it proof "that the feminists control the Democratic Party." So you can guess where John Cornyn stands.
Last week, VAWA came up in the Senate Judiciary Committee for reauthorization. And while the Democrats on the committee voted it to the floor unanimously, Cornyn joined his Republican brethren in doing just the opposite. Fortunately, despite their best efforts, it's still moving on to a full floor vote.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Fair Work Australia's decision on equal pay for community sector workers is a step forward for all Australian women, the Australian Services Union says.

Some 150,000 community sector workers, mostly women, have been awarded a pay rise by the industrial umpire in a landmark test case.

"We said we wanted to put a dent on the 18 per cent gender pay gap between men and women in Australia," ASU NSW and ACT branch secretary Sally McManus told reporters in Sydney today.'

ArticlE here. Excerpt:

'Last week, the Obama Administration launched the Equal Pay App Challenge. We're inviting software developers to help women ensure that they're being paid fairly -- which in turn will help restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.

Right now, if you're a woman in the workforce, it can be surprisingly difficult to answer basic questions about equal pay: what's the typical salary for someone in your position? Should you be asking for more at the negotiating table? What are your fundamental legal rights?

When the Equal Pay App Challenge is over, you'll have information that helps you answer these questions, available right on your smartphone or computer. We believe that the same types of innovations that help you find movie times or get a great deal at a restaurant can help you protect your rights in the workforce.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'This year marks the 100th anniversary of Japan’s first women-only trains. The idea, back in 1912, was to spare young women the indignity of being ogled by admiring men.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Just in time for Valentine's Day, a Florida judge ruled on Tuesday that a man involved in a scuffle with his wife treat her to an evening at a local bowling alley and a romantic meal at Red Lobster.

Judge John Hurley ordered that Joseph Bray, 47 and his wife Sonja, 39, also visit a marriage counselor.

Hurley handed down this ruling instead of setting bond or slapping Bray with a prison sentence after he deemed domestic violence charges leveled by Bray's wife to be "very, very minor."

According to Bray's arrest affidavit, Bray and his wife got embroiled in a spat after he failed to wish her a happy birthday. Bray's wife claims that her husband shoved her against a sofa and grabbed her neck.

The judge, citing Bray's otherwise clean record and the incident's apparent lack of serious violence, did not consider Bray's behavior a major offense. However, Bray must follow the stipulations of Hurley's ruling very closely if he wants to avoid potential jail time.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'In a period where women are haemorrhaging from the workforce, and when state welfare, elder care and childcare provisions are under attack, the wider social purpose of schooling – and the importance of the feminist lens in public policy and decision-making – are hoving into view.

Linked to from an Office of Adolescent Health mailing-list email. Excerpt:

'Despite the significant progress made in reducing violence against women, there is still a long way to go. Young women still face the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault. In the last year, one in 10 teens have reported being physically hurt on purpose by a boyfriend or girlfriend. One in five young women have been sexually assaulted while they’re in college.

In response to these alarming statistics, Vice President Biden is focusing his longstanding commitment to reducing violence against women specifically on teens and young women ages 16-24. By targeting the importance of changing attitudes that lead to violence and educating the public on the realities of abuse, the Vice President is leading the way in an effort to stop violence against women before it begins.'

From the mailing-list email:

Article here. Excerpt:

'It triggered a police manhunt which resulted in an innocent man being arrested.

Frankcom, 41, mutilated her own hands with a kitchen knife and slapped herself in the face - then wrongly alleged her injuries were caused by a sinister assailant who attacked her three times in 12 weeks at her music shop and farmhouse home.

She also sent herself poison pen text messages and abusive Christmas cards saying: ''It's your last bitch'' and ''You're dead bitch'' and helped officers compile e-fit of the fictitious assailant.

Frankcom's husband Martin, also a musician, was so worried about the terror campaign he went on the internet and bought his wife a stab proof vest and a stun gun for protection.

Police staged a major operation to track down the stalker gave Frankcom police protection when she left work, referred their inquiries onto murder squad detectives and scrambled the force helicopter to search for suspects.

Article here. Excerpt:

AUGUSTA — Gov. Paul LePage on Friday held an event designed to bring awareness to domestic violence.

The gathering in the State House Hall of Flags was a public service event. However, the governor also foreshadowed some upcoming initiatives he says will strengthen the state's domestic violence laws.

The details are expected to be released later this month in a package of bills sponsored by Republicans and Democrats.
...
The governor noted that the majority of abusers were men; therefore, he said, Maine's laws should be focused accordingly.

"We need to shift domestic violence from a women's problem to a men's problem," he said. "We need to speak up, stand up and man up against domestic violence."'

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Follow-up from anthony: CDC Survey Shatters Gender Myths: Reports 1 in 4 Men are Victims of Domestic Violence