Accused T Groper: 'I Did It, And I Liked It'

Unfortunately, some people don't get it until it happens to their wife , mother, daughter or sister

clipped from wbztv.com When a female rider on the T was eastbound from Copley Station on Monday, someone from behind grabbed her buttocks. She turned to her female friend, and said incredulously, "Did you grab my a**?" But when her friend said "no," a male's voice from behind said, "I did it! And I liked it! But you'll never see me again." Well, the groper was wrong. The victim found T police, and when she spotted the man, she pointed him out. Now, 52-year-old William Carlisle of Boston is under arrest, charged with indecent assault and battery -- a 5-year felony. In the past 18 months, the T Police have stepped up their program against riders who grope female riders. So far, they've had nearly 100 reports of riders being groped William Carlisle is the latest to be arrested. "This is a serious issue," said T Police Chief Paul MacMillan. "It's sexual assault, pure and simple. How would you like it if it was your wife, or sister, or mother? We want to make the T safe and comfortable for everyone."

Cops To Citizens: Don't Like The Crime- Then Move

clipped from news.yahoo.com Residents of Ohio's capital city are complaining that police officers are telling them to move out if they're fed up with neighborhood crime. At least two Columbus city council members have heard the complaint An aide to Councilwoman Charleta Tavares says she has received more than 20 calls. Councilman Andrew Ginther says if police are making the comments, they're neither acceptable nor appropriate, though he says he believes most officers want to be helpful. A police spokesman says the department addresses the complaints when it's given the name of an officer A police union official says he understands if officers are frustrated with crime. Fraternal Order of Police President Jim Gilbert says: "It's like the OK Corral out there." Information from: The Columbus Dispatch, http://www.dispatch.com

Evicted for Reporting Domestic Abuse

To add insult to injury, this past July Cleaves-Milan received a call from a collection agency seeking nearly $3,800 they claimed she owed for the early termination of her lease. She returned home a day after telling police her boyfriend threatened to kill her to find a 10-day eviction notice taped to her door. She didn't terminate her lease early – she was given no choice in the matter. Luckily Aimco dropped this fee, but only after the Chicago Tribune inquired.

This story is horrific and unfortunately not uncommon. While the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 protects domestic abuse victims who live in public or subsidized housing from eviction, the law concerning private landlords is unclear. This lack of protection for women who rent in the private market creates a disincentive for women to report abuse, trapping women, and often their children, in violent relationships with no legal recourse.

clipped from www.care2.com When Kathy Cleaves-Milan's boyfriend brandished a gun and promised to end both of their lives is she left him she knew it was time to involve the police, if not for herself for the sake of her daughter. She made the call to police and got help, but a day later she received some surprising news: She was being evicted. Why? According to the managers of the complex, she had violated the terms of her lease by reporting criminal activity to the police – that is for reporting her boyfriend's death threats. "I was punished for protecting myself and my daughter," Cleaves-Milan, 36, said. Did they expect her to choose between staying with her abusive boyfriend or keeping a roof over her families head? So while the company admits that Cleaves-Milan's status as a domestic violence victim certainly influenced their decision to serve her with eviction papers, they also assumed that a single woman would be unable to make rent without a man by her side.

"Fat Talk" Not Spoken Here

Fat Talk Free Week encourages women to strive for a healthy ideal and take care of their bodies by focusing on health – not weight or size. The campaign encourages women to let go of the fat talk that plagues our every day conversations and promotes a celebration of things about ourselves that have nothing to do with the way we look.

Breaking free from the unrealistic thin ideal of beauty has never been more urgent.

Did you know that:

* 1 out of 8 adolescent girls reported starving themselves to lose weight
* 40% of moms tell their adolescent daughters to diet and 45% of these girls are of average weight
* 81% of 10 year old girls are afraid of being fat
* 51% of 9 and 10 year old girls feel better about themselves if they are on a diet
* More than 2/3 of women ages 18-25 would rather be mean or stupid than be fat
* Over 50% of women ages 18-25 would rather be hit by a truck than be fat
* 70 million people worldwide struggle with eating disord

clipped from www.care2.com We hear women in dressing rooms, locker rooms, and bedrooms around the world complain about one thing over and over again – their bodies. To many she never seems thin enough, not like the ultra slender women that strut down fashion runways, are splashed across glossy magazine pages, and star in today's biggest blockbusters. We are told these women are beautiful. We are told that if we are thin we will be beautiful too. So we strive to attain this thin ideal and along the way destroy our self-esteem and berate ourselves for not measuring up to these unrealistic, not to mention unhealthy, bodies. Well, it's high time that women break the thin ideal and start embracing a wider (no pun intended) definition of what it means to be beautiful. We can start by celebrating Fat Talk Free Week, an international 5-day body activism campaign that raises awareness of body image issues and the damaging impact of the thin ideal on women in society. by focusing on health – not weight or size

Pretty Pink Taxis-Avoiding "Leering Drivers"

safe ride or avoiding the real problem?

clipped from www.care2.com Following what seems to be something of an international trend, the Mexican city of Puebla has offered a new service to women plagued by "leering drivers": a fleet of taxis, driven by women and catering exclusively to women.  This comes on the heels of women-only train cars in Japan and Brazil, all-female transportation in Tehran, and "ladies' specials" in India, all designed to free women from the sexual harassment that public transportation seems inevitably to bring The planners of the taxi project in Puebla also tout the benefits for female drivers, saying that having women-only taxis opens up a traditionally male-dominated profession.  Many point out that simply providing women with a way to avoid harassment does not address the root of the problem shouldn't we be targeting the gropers and the harassers, not just getting women away from them?  Why do women have to change their routines - and find special taxis - because these men refuse to respect them?

ZoomSafer-App to stop Texting And Driving

Don't Text And Drive

clipped from wbztv.com For some, looking down at their phone was the last thing they did. The federal government says last year, 6,000 people were killed and 500,000 were injured using their phones. "A little bit over a year ago, I was heading into work and got a text. I looked down, then up and hit a 9-year-old boy on his bike." The boy lived, but for Matt Howard, it changed everything. "I thought to myself there has to be a better way for me to make decisions while I was driving. So the software entrepreneur came up with "ZoomSafer." The program is free and works on smart phones that have GPS. Here's how it works: When your phone is traveling 10 mph, the keyboard shuts down so you can't text If someone were to send you an e-mail or test, the service will send a reply on your behalf letting the person know that you are driving and focused on the road and you'll get back to them when you get to your destination safely Sen. Mark Montigny has tried making texting behind the wheel illegal. Fellow lawmakers have resist

Prosthetic That Can Sense Touch

clipped from wbztv.com There is a breakthrough for people who've lost limbs. Swedish scientists say they've developed a robotic hand that can actually sense touch Amputee Robin af Ekenstam can pick up a water bottle without dropping or crushing it. He gives it just the right amount of pressure because for the first time in years, he can actually FEEL the bottle. "It's a feeling I have not had for a long time," he says. Robin is the first to try out what's called the Smarthand, a new prosthetic limb dotted with 40 sensors that stimulate nerves in the arm and shoot touch signals back into the brain instantaneously. The prosthetic hands available now allow patients to perform many tasks but the Smarthand is the first to offer movement control that only comes through feeling. "It could allow a patient who's married who'd like to hold their spouse's hand again," explains Dr. Heckman. "It could allow someone who could pick up their son and feel that they are holding on." hope to have it on the market within two years.