'MARRIAGE' In The NEWS- January 2008: The REAL Proposal For Marriage magazine

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick apologizes, vows not to resign (Click for Related Video)

Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick apologizes, vows not to resign The Detroit News, By Mike Wilkinson, January 30, 2008
DETROIT -- In a city waiting for answers and at a church where he prays, Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick sat with his wife Carlita on Wednesday night before a single camera and apologized -- to his sons, his wife and to the city he's led since 2002. His famed bravado absent, a somber and contrite Kilpatrick said he alone was responsible for the turmoil that has roiled his administration and his city for a week, since romantic text messages between him and his chief of staff surfaced. "Let me start by saying to the citizens of this great city: I'm sorry," Kilpatrick said during a 10-minute address televised across the region from the Greater Emmanuel Institutional Church of God in Christ, a northwest Detroit church where he worships. . . . But the speech did not address daunting questions: Did the revelations of intimate text messages between Kilpatrick and long-time chief of staff Christine Beatty -- who last summer denied under oath that they had an affair -- constitute perjury? And did the city shell out more than $9 million for a legal settlement in an attempt to keep those messages secret? The mayor said legal considerations prevented him from speaking in further detail. His wife, Carlita, also spoke, asking Detroiters to "remain committed to him," as she is. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: In tough times Carlita Kilpatrick stands by her husband The Detroit Free Press, By Suzette Hackney, January 30, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Even in a Burned-Out Marriage, The Spark Can Be Rekindled The Washington Post, By Abigail Trafford, January 29, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Most text messages just vanish: The ones transmitted by most cell phone services expire when deleted The Detroit Free Press, By Mike Wendland, January 25, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: FREE PRESS SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Mayor Kilpatrick, chief of staff lied under oath, text messages show-- Romantic exchanges undercut denials The Detroit Free Press, By Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick, January 24, 2008

RELATED VIDEO: Private exchanges contradict public statements The Detroit Free Press, Reporting by Jim Schaefer and M.L. Elrick

FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE: Kwame Kilpatrick: A mayor in crisis The Detroit Free Press

Cover Story: Angelina Jolie Pregnant! OK magazine, January 30, 2008
Of all the A-list names on the red carpet at Sunday night's Screen Actors Guild Awards, Angelina Jolie was the one on everyone's lips as they wondered what the Oscar winner might be hiding beneath that long, billowing Hermes gown — an unusual style pick for an actress known for tight, body-hugging outfits. And now OK! has learned that Angelina is indeed expecting baby no. 2 with boyfriend Brad Pitt and that the actress is over the moon about bringing another child into the world. "Angie has wanted a second biological baby for some time now," a friend of the star tells OK!. "And the minute she's pregnant, she just glows. She's the type that doesn't want to scream it to everyone, but she has the quiet, expectant mother glow. Her smile says she's the luckiest woman in the world.". . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Jolie-Pitts 'Thrilled To Be Adding to Their Brood' People magazine, By Mary Green, February 23, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Angelina Jolie looks blissfully happy. But are health fears troubling her paradise? The Daily Mail- UK, By Paul Scott, January 31, 2008

Francesca Edwards: 'I gave Â£100,000 to my Jamaican toyboy but now he's gone back to his wife - taking my money with him' (Click for Related Video)

I gave £100,000 to my Jamaican toyboy but now he's gone back to his wife – taking my money with him The Daily Mail- UK, By Diana Appleyard, January 28, 2008
A group of attractive, well-dressed sixty-something couples were sipping wine around a polished mahogany table in a smart South London flat. Only one man was not joining in the conversation and, when he did, the other guests had to lean forward to catch what he was saying. Hardly surprising, given that he was speaking in a broad Jamaican patois. Dressed in cargo trousers, a gaudy silk shirt with a beanie hat on his Rastafarian dreadlocks, he certainly looked out of place. "My friends were always terribly polite to him," says 63-year-old Francesca Edwards, a slim, good-looking woman who works as a recruitment consultant in central London and lives in Dulwich. "But privately they would say to me, 'Be careful. You can only get hurt by this. What do you have in common? How do you know that he loves you for yourself?' The undercurrent was that he was after my money and my beautiful London flat but I was blinded by love and passion." The 48-year-old Jamaican, Winston, was Francesca's lover. For six years, she'd had a rollercoaster romance with a man 12 years her junior. "The sex was phenomenal," she sighs. "The first time I went to bed with him, I could not believe what it was like to be loved by such an amazingly energetic man with his slim, strong body." . . . .

RELATED VIDEO: Rent a Dread Link International Productions
Sex TV s Field Producers Timothy Speaks Fishleigh and Jessica Canham explore the many levels of male prostitution or romance and tourism in the Caribbean islands of Jamaica and Dominica.

What men REALLY think about women and tattoos The Daily Mail-UK, By Alex Blimes, features director of GQ, January 28, 2008
A salutary tale for young women in the papers the other day: Melanie Chisholm, better known as Sporty Spice, is reportedly ready to spend £10,000 and endure two and a half years of intermittent physical torment to erase her numerous tattoos. Mel C, 34, is said to have grown increasingly unhappy with her ten separate examples of 'body art', which include a Celtic cross on her left arm, a phoenix across her shoulders and the word 'Angel' above her navel. "They look nice when you're toned and tanned," she is said to have said, "but when I put on weight they looked awful." Without wishing to compound the poor woman's misery, I beg to differ: doubtless Mel C's tattoos do look awful when she puts on weight, but they don't look much better when she's toned and tanned. They certainly don't look 'nice'. At the risk of coming across like a retired church warden, multiple tattoos on young women seldom do. . . . . The thing is, tattoos used to mean something. They used to come with a dangerous frisson of outsiderdom. They said, "You can keep your straight lives and your straight jobs, your domestic appliances and your three-up, two-downs, your stiff collars and your Bible studies. I'm off to join the circus and see the world." Well, they didn't literally say that. They said, 'Mum'. But that's what they implied. Tattoos were for sticking it to The Man. People with tattoos were scary, and to be avoided. And women with tattoos were like women with moustaches: feared and ridiculed in equal measure. There are, of course, still those who live as dangerously as they look. Pipe smoker of the year Amy Winehouse has the spirited disregard for convention necessary to carry off her many and varied – and, it must be admitted, highly original – designs. But that doesn't mean the average twentysomething British female would look good with an anchor on her stomach, pneumatic pin-ups on her arms and a jeans pocket above her breast, as if her skin were made of denim. . . .

What men REALLY think about women and tattoos

Marriage’s little secret: it works The Sunday Times, By Imogen Stubbs, January 27, 2008
When I saw the results of the British Social Attitudes report last week, it occurred to me how difficult it is to keep a long-term relationship going in these turbulent times. The report, which has been running since 1983, is significant because it has proved to be a good barometer of social changes and informs social policy. This year it tells us that married couples are no longer seen as the “norm” and that two-thirds of people see marriage and cohabitation as indistinguishable. Most people now see a wedding as an excuse for a party rather than as a declaration of lifelong commitment. I must admit that I have some sympathy with this view. Although married myself, I have always felt somewhat ambivalent about a legal document sealing an emotional commitment - and positively repelled by the money made by lawyers undoing that legal commitment when couples divorce, feeding on people’s personal tragedy. However, it appears true that couples who choose to live together rather than marry are far more likely to break up before their children are five than their staid, married contemporaries. And in my experience, marriage makes a difference for children. They like being part of a solid family unit where everyone has the same name. . . . . I am from an older generation with one foot in the past. I remember my parents’ generation where monogamy and unrelenting stability - yes, maybe tedium - were applauded. Now nobody gives you a gold star for monogamy. We live in a world where young girls have “f***-buddies” and moral values are tumbling. People are still shocked when a marriage breaks up but - given how difficult it can be to sustain a long-term relationship - instead of being disappointed with those who fail, we should celebrate those who make it work. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: Paul Newman and wife Joanne celebrate 50 years of marriage Hello! magazine, January 29, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Experts say marriage isn't so important now The Times Online, By Carol Midgley, January 29, 2008
As a survey suggests that we no longer think marriage matters, experts say it is a stable relationship that’s important.

RELATED ARTICLE: Divorce doesn’t have to be a disaster The Times Online, By Jane Cassidy, January 24, 2008
Huge changes in family life are taking place, says a new report. But our psychotherapist argues that for children conflict is often worse than divorce

RELATED ARTICLE: Love and marriage don’t have to go together, say modern couples The Times Online-UK, By Rosemary Bennett- Social Affairs Correspondent, January 23, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Five non-religious arguments for marriage over living together TownHall.com, By Dennis Prager, Oct 3, 2006

SURVEY RESULTS

66% say there is little difference socially between being married and living together

53% say a wedding is more about a celebration than a lifelong commitment

48% say living with a partner shows just as much commitment as getting married

28% say married couples make better parents than unmarried ones

63% say divorce can be a positive first step towards a new life

78% say that it is not divorce that harms children, but conflict between their parents

Source: British Social Attitudes Survey, 2008

Skater John Baldwin, Jr. proposes to partner Rena Inoue at the 2008 National Championships

Skater Proposes to Partner on Ice AOL Sports- AP, By Nancy Armour, January 27, 2008
- Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker got the title, John Baldwin Jr. got the girl. McLaughlin and Brubaker, last year's junior world champions, served notice they're going to be a threat on the senior stage as well, winning the pairs title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday. Their overall score of 190.74 was more than seven points ahead of Baldwin and Rena Inoue, two-time U.S. champions. Brooke Castile and Ben Okolski, last year's champions, were third. "I can't believe we're national champions," McLaughlin said, her eyes wide. Inoue and Baldwin have plenty to celebrate, too. As they took their bows, Baldwin dropped to his knees and asked his longtime girlfriend to marry him. Stunned, she could only stare at him at first. . . .

RELATED SITE: Rena Inoue and John Baldwin

Kay Hymowitz: The child-man in the Promised Land
Today's single young men hang out in a hormonal limbo between adolescence and adulthood City Journal, By Kay Hymowitz, Winter 2008- Vol. 18, no.1
It's 1965, and you're a 26-year-old white guy. You have a factory job, or maybe you work for an insurance broker. Either way, you're married, probably have been for a few years now; you met your wife in high school, where she was in your sister's class. You've already got one kid, with another on the way. For now, you're renting an apartment in your parents' two-family house, but you're saving up for a three-bedroom ranch house in the next town. Yup, you're an adult! Now meet the 21st-century you, also 26. You've finished college and work in a cubicle in a large Chicago financial-services firm. You live in an apartment with a few single guy friends. In your spare time, you play basketball with your buddies, download the latest indie songs from iTunes, have some fun with the Xbox 360, take a leisurely shower, massage some product into your hair and face – and then it's off to bars and parties, where you meet, and often bed, girls of widely varied hues and sizes. Wife? Kids? House? Are you kidding?. . . . It's time to state what is now obvious to legions of frustrated young women: The limbo doesn't bring out the best in young men. . . .Young men especially need a culture that can help them define worthy aspirations. Adults don't emerge. They're made. . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The Myth About Boys Time magazine, By David Von Drehle, July 26, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The War on Fathers: How the 'feminization of America' destroys boys, men – and women WorldNetDaily- Whistleblowers magazine, June 2006 Edition
Rod Dreher: What child-men need is some tradition The Dallas Morning News, By Rod Dreher, January 27, 2008
. . . . . This unhappy student rightly recognized that the preceding generation – the baby boomers – had failed in its responsibility to pass on to him a tradition. Had his art teachers only drilled him in tradition, they likely would have bludgeoned his creativity with mannerism. Instead, they declared tradition irrelevant and made each student's individual desire the only necessary standard. Without a tradition against which to measure oneself as an artist, there is nothing to learn, no impetus to learn it and no penalty for not learning it. The student asked a question – What is an artist? – for which his culture no longer provided an authoritative answer. But if you ask a far more important question – What is a man? – the culture comes up equally short, and for the same reason. To be sure, the definition of manhood is culture-bound and has been talked about since time immemorial. . . . . . Today's child-men have been formed by a culture that has lost – or, rather, thrown away – a relatively fixed standard of manhood. It used to be that virtue was the measure of a man. Was a man just? Was he brave (and not necessarily in terms of physical courage)? Was he honorable in his dealings with those weaker than he? Did he respect women? Did he believe in something higher than himself? Did he submit to the concepts of duty and respect? It's not that all men, or even most, lived by this general code. It's that they recognized that they would be judged by it, and judged themselves by it. That's mostly gone, replaced by a therapeutic model in which the autonomous self is its own judge, and personal satisfaction is the measure of a life well lived. . . .

RELATED ARTICLE: The Way We Were…And Now The Real Truth magazine, BY M. Wayne Icenhower, Republished December 7, 2006

Girly Men in the NFL? Tampa Bay Bucs Defensive Tackle Anthony McFarland and Friend Jason Kimbler--Just 2 Girls Getting Their Nails Done (Per Debbie Schlussel.com)

Girly Men: The Media's Attack on Masculinity Salvo Magazine 4, By S. T. Karnick
The tendency of the nation’s schools to suppress boys’ natural way of seeing and doing things, brilliantly documented by Christina Hoff-Sommers in her 2001 book The War Against Boys: How Misguided Feminism Is Harming Our Young Men, is becoming increasingly evident in the culture. According to Hoff-Sommers, programs in America’s public schools are set up to obliterate all that is masculine and establish femininity as the human norm:. . . .The central characters of the new ABC show Big Shots exemplify this elevation of emotions over achievements. These men are the heads of four big corporations, and the hook is that although their businesses are doing well, their personal lives are a mess. One is enormously henpecked, another is divorced and has a young-adult daughter who openly hates him (or seems to), another is distressed by the close friendship between his wife and his mistress, and the other’s wife has been cheating on him with his boss. Get the irony? At work they’re Masters of the Universe, but in the social realm they’re ineffectual schlubs. . . . . Thus, the war against boys seems to have created three main character patterns for the adult male of our time: sensitive guys who want to please women; weenies and dorks who want only to be left alone to drink beer and play video games with their dork buddies; and thugs who, in rebellion against their unnatural education, are perpetually concerned with proving their toughness through increasingly loutish behavior. There are, of course, examples of decent, positively masculine males in the culture, but they are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the products of educational and cultural feminization. . .

RELATED BLOG: Men "The New Women" Alert: Guyliner & Man Blouses? Debbie Schussel.com August 29, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part 6 Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, April 8, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part 5 Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, April 1, 2006
RELATED ARTICLE: Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part 4 Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, March 25, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part 3 Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, March 18, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Raising boys that feminists will hate: Part 2 Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, March 11, 2006

RELATED ARTICLE: Raising Boys That Feminists Will Hate Townhall.com, By Doug Giles, March 4, 2006

The hell of having Mum live with us
An honest account from a loving son The Daily Mail- UK, By Peter White, January 24, 2008
This is a memory I've almost succeeded in burying. I like to think it's so out of character, that it must have been someone else. And yet there we sat, my wife Jo and I, housing association and sheltered accommodation pamphlets on the table, discussing with my octogenarian mum, Joan, alternatives to her living under our roof. Three years after she moved in with us, we were asking her to leave. No one wanted to be in this situation and yet we felt we had exhausted every other possibility. Finding her a new home seemed the only way to avoid a family implosion. How had we got ourselves into this mess in the first place? . . . . . At this stage, there was no question of residential care - she was becoming frailer, sometimes a little forgetful, but was in no way unable to look after herself. And as she didn't think of herself as old, sheltered or warden-controlled accommodation - a ghetto for the old - seemed equally unthinkable. So, I guess, the idea grew that she should come to live with us; it was logical, as our two sons and two daughters had grown up and left home; and we had the space (or so we thought), whereas my brother and sister-in-law did not. We still lived in Winchester, where Mum had spent the whole of her married life my brother and sister-in-law lived some way out of town. It would be easier to keep an eye on her living with us, than it would be for us to continually dash backwards and forwards between the two houses. But most of all, I wanted to think that towards the end of her life, I could pay back some of the debt I owed her - a decent way of returning security freely and lovingly given. Set down like that in cold print, it all looks very reasonable. . . . .

The hell of having Mum live with us: An honest account from a loving son

RELATED ARTICLE: In-Law relationships Focus on the Family.org
Many couples talk about important issues before they marry: how many children they want, where they'll live and how they'll handle their finances. But there's one problem that couples rarely address — in-laws. Hollywood has made a joke out of in-law problems by poking fun at the havoc negative parental relations can wreak on a relationship. But it's no laughing matter when it's part of your story. It can create marital problems that you didn't anticipate and negative patterns of relating with your new parents that can last for years. If this describes you, you may have tried many tactics that have proved ineffective, such as yelling, screaming , manipulating or remaining silent. Perhaps you are now at the end of your rope and want to hang someone with it. We have suggestions that we think you'll find to be a little more positive. You can't change your in-laws, but you are able to change yourself, and that will make a world of difference. It can enhance your marriage and ease the frustration that has been eating at you for long enough. . .

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Noah and the Flood Townhall.com, By Chuck Colson, January 24, 2008
Little Noah Markham was one of the tiniest victims of Hurricane Katrina. When the levees broke, Noah was trapped in a flooded New Orleans hospital. It took 10 police officers using flat-bottomed boats to rescue him. It is an amazing story, but what makes it even more incredible is the fact that—on the day Noah was rescued—he had not yet been born. And no, he was not living in his mother’s womb. Instead, young Noah was living in a canister of liquid nitrogen. He was, in fact, a frozen embryo—a human being at the embryonic stage of life. On January 16, 2007, 16 months after a policeman grabbed Noah’s home away from home—the canister—he was born. As Robert George and Christopher Tollefsen observe in their new book, Embryo, if the police had abandoned that canister of liquid nitrogen, “Noah, sadly, would have perished before having the opportunity to meet his loving family.” And so would more than 1,400 other embryos. Noah, whose parents named him after another flood survivor, is a joyful reminder that embryos are members of the human family—members who are fully human at a very early age. . . . Read Robert George’s and Chris Tollefsen’s new book, Embryo, to learn about why we have a moral obligation to protect humans at every stage of life—even the lives of the smallest people among us. People like Noah. . .

Alison: Your Aim Is True Townhall.com, By Mike S. Adams, January 23, 2008
A recent essay by Alison Piepmeier of the College of Charleston provides some of the best examples of the cruelty, heartlessness, and utter self-absorption embodied in the modern feminist movement. Aptly titled, “Choosing Us,” the essay shows that, for feminists, abortion is a device to prevent one thing: Feminist inconvenience. . . . . What is odd about her quick decision to abort is that she was no teenager. She was 31 years old when she got pregnant and was in a “stable relationship.” In fact, the man who got her pregnant was “Walter,” her husband of five years. She had kept several hundred dollars tucked away in case she ever needed to terminate an unplanned pregnancy - a habit she did not terminate even after years of marriage. Alison confessed in her essay that she was part of a happily married couple, that she and her husband were in good physical health, and that they both had jobs and health insurance. She even said, “Walter and I were pretty good candidates for parenthood.” Midway through her essay she almost sounded as if she knew the decision to abort was wrong for a woman in her circumstances: . . . . And so I wonder what Alison Piepmeier – director of Women’s and Gender Studies at The College of Charleston – will say to the next co-ed who asks her advice on the issue of abortion. . . .

A recent essay by Alison Piepmeier of the College of Charleston provides some of the best examples of the cruelty, heartlessness, and utter self-absorption embodied in the modern feminist movement.

RELATED ESSAY: Choosing Us Skirt magazine, Alison Piepmeier

RELATED BIO: Alison Piepmeier Director, Women's & Gender Studies/Department of English- College of Charleston

RELATED ARTICLE: Dutch woman charged with murder after having abortion in Spain when 27 weeks pregnant The Daily Mail- UK, January 31, 2008

RELATED BLOG: Abortion: An "inconvenient truth" within Marriage The Real Proposal Magazine, January 26, 2008

RELATED BLOG: Abortion as a “love story” PhillyBurbs.com, By J.D. Mullane, January 24, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Abortion: Meet the mother and daughter who have both had terminations The Daily Mail-UK, By Natasha Courtenay-Smith, June 6, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE: The SLED Test – Four Top Arguments Heartlink.org, By Steve Wagner
We all agree that toddlers are valuable human beings with rights. Yet the unborn differ from toddlers in only four ways, and the first letters of each of these differences spell an easy-to-remember acronym, SLED (Size, Level of Development, Environment, Degree of Dependency).

RELATED SITE: THE CASE FOR LIFE: Like You Have Never Heard It Before
Only One Issue: The abortion controversy is not a debate between those who are pro-choice and those who are anti-choice. It’s not about privacy or trusting women. To the contrary, the debate turns on one key question. What is the Unborn?

RELATED ARTICLE: What Do You Know About Roe v. Wade? Family.org, By Shana Schutte
Like many Americans, you know Roe v. Wade legalized abortion, but you may know little else

RELATED SITE: Abort73.com: The Case Against Abortion

RELATED VIDEO: This is Abortion RATED: MA (Mature Audiences Only)
WARNING: Contains graphic post-abortion pictures. Be Warned! The Visual Evidence is Disturbing.

Experts on the future of marriage: It's no longer about producing together, but consuming together

ODD NUMBERS: The Future of Marriage
It's no longer about producing together, but consuming together. CondÉ Nast Portfolio.com, By Zubin Jelveh, January 23, 2008
It's no longer about producing together, but consuming together. That's the argument in a brilliantly presented essay by Betsey Stevenson and her husband Justin Wolfers -- both of Wharton. Here is their call for a new economic model of the family: So what drives modern marriage? We believe that the answer lies in a shift from the family as a forum for shared production, to shared consumption. In case the language of economic lacks romance, let's be clearer: modern marriage is about love and companionship. Most things in life are simply better shared with another person: this ranges from the simple pleasures such as enjoying a movie or a hobby together, to shared social ties such as attending the same church, and finally, to the joint project of bringing up children. . . .While the romantic in me really hopes this is true, the cynic has a question. The last child is usually finished and shipped out of the house when parents are in their mid-50's. That means there are about 20 years of healthy living left. Let's assume there was no benefit from shared consumption, then it might make sense for couples to get divorced, have their fun with new people, and then die. So why is this not happening?. . .

Social Networking sites link to town's seven suicides, including Liam Clarke and Natasha Randall

Parenting Issues: Social network sites link to town's seven suicides The Times Online- UK, By Simon de Bruxelles and Jack Malvern, January 23, 2008
Natasha Randall was 17, had a large circle of friends and was studying childcare when, without any indication that she was unhappy, she hanged herself in her bedroom. Her death last Thursday was the latest in at least seven apparent copycat suicides in Bridgend, South Wales, that have alarmed parents, health authorities and police, who believe that they may be prompted by messages on social networking websites such as Bebo. Within days two 15-year-old girls, both of whom had known Tasha, as she called herself, had also tried to take their lives. One cut her wrists and was later discharged from hospital into the care of her parents. The other tried to hang herself and spent two days on life support before showing signs of recovery. Police have since visited the families of 20 of Tasha’s friends, urging them to keep an eye on their daughters. In the 12 months before Tasha’s death, six young men from Bridgend and the surrounding area had killed themselves. Most were known to each other. This month Tasha attended the funeral of 20-year-old Liam Clarke, who was found hanged in a local park the day after Boxing Day. . . . South Wales already had one of the worst suicide rates for young people. Tasha, who called herself “Wildchild”, was not the only one to spend hours each day on the internet in a world about which their parents knew little. . . .

RELATED VIDEO: Is there a new e-suicide cult sweeping through Britain? The Times Online- UK

RELATED ARTICLE:   Does the internet cause copycat suicides?   The Times Online-UK- Comment Central, By Daniel Finkelstein, January 23, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Girl is second pupil found hanged after suffering taunts by bullies   The Times Online, By Murad Ahmed, January 10, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: Parents of MySpace hoax victim seek justice: ‘No apologies’ over teen who hanged herself over failed romance, kin say MSNBC.com- Today Show, By Mike Celizic, November 19, 2007

RELATED ARTICLE:   My Friend is Talking About Suicide. What Should I do? KidsHealth.org, Reviewed By Matthew K. Nock, PhD, June 2005 (Originally reviewed by: D'Arcy Lyness, PhD)

RELATED ARTICLE: Suicide KidsHealth.org, Reviewed By Matthew K. Nock, PhD, March 2006

RELATED ARTICLES: About Teen Suicide KidsHealth.org

RELATED INFO & STATISTICS: About Teen Suicide KidsHealth for Parents, Reviewed By Matthew K. Nock, PhD, June 2005, (Originally Reviewed By David V. Sheslow, PhD, and Steven Dowshen, MD)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES: Prevent Teen Suicide

RELATED RESOURCE: Teen Suicide Emergency Hotline: (800) SUICIDE or (800)999-9999

Parenting Issues: Va. Student's Snow-Day Plea Triggers an Online Storm Washington Post, By Michael Alison Chandler, January 23, 2008
Snow days, kids and school officials have always been a delicate mix. But a phone call to a Fairfax County public school administrator's home last week about a snow day -- or lack of one -- has taken on a life of its own. Through the ubiquity of Facebook and YouTube, the call has become a rallying cry for students' First Amendment rights, and it shows that the generation gap has become a technological chasm. It started with Thursday's snowfall, estimated at about three inches near Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke. On his lunch break, Lake Braddock senior Devraj "Dave" S. Kori, 17, used a listed home phone number to call Dean Tistadt, chief operating officer for the county system, to ask why he had not closed the schools. Kori left his name and phone number and got a message later in the day from Tistadt's wife. "How dare you call us at home! If you have a problem with going to school, you do not call somebody's house and complain about it," Candy Tistadt's minute-long message began. At one point, she uttered the phrase "snotty-nosed little brats," and near the end, she said, "Get over it, kid, and go to school!". . . . . Not so long ago, that might have been the end of it -- a few choice words by an agitated administrator (or spouse). But with the frenetic pace of students' online networking, it's harder for grown-ups to have the last word. Kori's call and Tistadt's response sparked online debate among area students about whether the student's actions constituted harassment. . .

Va. Student's Snow-Day Plea Triggers an Online Storm. (Click to listen to the call)

'I'm a human pet': Goth teenager Tasha Maltby, whose fiance, Dani Graves, walks her around on a dog lead

Parenting Issues: 'I'm a human pet': The Goth teenager whose fiance walks her around on a dog lead The Daily Mail- UK, By Chris Brooke, January 23, 2008
Given that she describes herself as a human pet – and is happy to walk around on a lead – Tasha Maltby is used to odd looks and even odder remarks. But nothing had prepared her for the reaction of the bus driver who allegedly told the self-styled Goth and her boyfriend: "We don't let freaks and dogs like you on." Miss Maltby and her fiance Dani Graves were so angered they have complained to the bus company of being "victimised". "It is definitely discrimination, almost like a hate crime," 19-year-old Miss Maltby said yesterday. The music technology student had this defence of her lifestyle. "I am a pet, I generally act animal like and I lead a really easy life," she said. "I don't cook or clean and I don't go anywhere without Dani. It might seem strange but it makes us both happy. It's my culture and my choice. It isn't hurting anyone." The bus driver, however, has obviously not been listening. . . . Paul Adcock, of bus company Arriva Yorkshire, said: "We take any allegations of discrimination seriously. "Mr Graves has already contacted us directly and as soon as our investigation has concluded we will inform him of the outcome.". . . .

Death-leap father cleared of murdering son The Times Online, By Steve Bird of The Times in Chania, Crete, January 23, 2008
The man who hurled himself and his children off a hotel balcony in Crete, killing his son Liam, was today found not guilty of murder because he was deemed too psychologically unwell. John Hogan, who remains on medication for his mental health problems, was sent to a psychiatric unit after his crime was found under local law to be "unpunishable" due to his mental state. The jury of three men and a woman deliberated for just 40 minutes before reaching their verdict. Mr Hogan had denied charges of murder and attempted murder. "His responsibility was diminished. He was incapable of murdering his son and he needs to be in a psychiatric unit for therapy," said President Paraskeri Kiraleou, who led the panel of three judges. . . . Meanwhile, at the other end of the court in the public gallery, his ex-wife Natasha wept and was comforted by Avon and Somerset Police liaison officers who had accompanied her on her trip to Crete. . . In a statement read out on her behalf, Mrs Hogan, 35, a nurse who now lives in Newport, Gwent, said: "I have done my best to provide a balanced view of John and our life together so that the Greek court is aware of the troubled times in both John’s life and our relationship together. "This result, albeit somewhat unexpected, has left me feeling that Liam lost his young life for nothing." . . . .

Death-leap father John Hogan cleared of murdering son

Lovewise: Has marriage made you boring? CANOE.com, By Lisa Daily January 23, 2008
On a plane from New York, I gave some dating advice to the attractive single woman sitting next to me. I had mentioned that I was a dating expert, and she confessed how much she wanted to be married and settled, and how hard it was to date sometimes. I sympathized with her and offered some pointers on what she might do to have more success. Then we both got comfortable and read for the rest of the flight. As it so happens, I was reading a very funny novel called Sleeping with Ward Cleaver, about a woman who wakes up one day and realizes her husband has become the most boring man on the planet. I'm guessing she's not the only one. . . . . Sure, couplehood has its appeal. For some, it's the idea of having one special person to spend your life with, a person who knows everything about you, someone to share the mortgage payments with, build a home with, maybe start a family. But why do once-interesting single people become uninteresting partnered people?. . . .

The Infidelity Files Day 3: 'Adultery isn't the end - it's a wake-up call' The Telegraph-UK, By Angela Levin, January 23, 2008
In the final part of her investigation into Britain's infidelity epidemic, Angela Levin reveals how wronged partners deal with being cheated on - and how the crisis can improve their relationship. . . 'Sex is really important. It's the glue in any relationship, and if you've been together for a long time you've got to make more effort to keep it interesting." It's the sort of remark that not so long ago would almost certainly have been made by a man. But, in fact, it was spoken by Rebecca, a thirtysomething married woman with two children - and it is further proof that in today's world, women are calling the sexual shots as much as men. She speaks from experience. Five years ago, she became so fed up with her husband's lack of interest in her that she decided to do something practical about it and take a lover. . . . The happiness is relative. The partner who chooses to have a fling has to live a life of subterfuge and always be on the alert in case he or she is found out. They also have to deal with their conscience. Even if they manage to reason with themselves that what they get up to has a positive effect on their core relationship, the truth is that most people don't rely on their brain to tell them it's OK to play away. As well as the obvious health hazards, what you gain from an affair is small compared to what you risk losing - except perhaps if an affair is used as a deliberate exit strategy from the marriage. It also only takes a second's carelessness for your infidelity to be discovered. . . .

The Infidelity Files Day 3: Adultery isn't the end - it's a wake-up call

RELATED COMMENTS: Have your say: Share your experience of marital infidelity The Telegraph- UK, January 23, 2008

RELATED ARTICLE: The Infidelity files: Day 2 -'Being unfaithful keeps me happy' The Telegraph- UK, By Angela Levin, January 22, 2008
Continuing her investigation into Britain's adultery epidemic, Angela Levin talks to professional women who have affairs to bolster their marriages - and revitalise flagging sex lives.

RELATED ARTICLE: The Infidelity files: Day 1 - Desperately seeking someone The Telegraph, By Angela Levin, January 21, 2008
In the digital age, having an affair has never been easier. Author Angela Levin spent five months interviewing middle-class professionals for an extensive study that charts the rise of the no-strings-attached* relationship. In the first of a three-part investigation, she reveals why the UK is in the grip of an infidelity epidemic.

Cosmo-Not-For-Me Indiana Daily Student (ids.com), By Stefania Marghitu, January 22, 2008
I’m not exactly the world’s biggest feminist. It’s not that I don’t condone some forms of feminism; it’s just never been my bag. But when I picked up the February issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine, the self-proclaimed “#1 Women’s Magazine,” I became quite disappointed. My disappointment started as early as the cover. I was initially interested in reading about this month’s cover girl Katherine Heigl. Then I saw that three of the headlines mentioned “him”: “Arouse Him Like Crazy!” “45 Ways to Get Even Closer to Him” and “The Most Satisfying Sex Position: It Turns Him On ... and It Feels Awesome for You!” I did some research on the history of Cosmopolitan Magazine. According to its Web site, Cosmo started as a general interest magazine in the late 1800s, but it became a publication for independent, sexually-liberated women in the 1960s. Part of the reason for its popularity was the way it made women not feel guilty for having pre-marital sex. . . . . I’ll admit, there were a few good things I got from this issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine. I found a quick and easy recipe for potato gratin, one of my favorite dishes ever. Sadly, this was under a feature titled “Dinner He’ll Love You For.” I also learned that Tommy Lee Jones was Al Gore’s roommate at Harvard and that Anne Hatthaway originally turned down Heigl’s role in “Knocked Up” because “the birthing scene was too graphic.” But if those are the only perks of Cosmo, I’d like a refund. . . .

"Marriage In The News" is not a representation of The Real Proposal magazine...