[Note: This blog piece originally stated that the mother was just 14 when she had the baby, because of a paragraph in the newspaper report of 2.12.16 which read:

Courtney Saul, 19, was sentenced to two years’ probation in provincial court in Kamloops.

Saul was a student at Thompson Rivers University when her baby, George Carlos, was born on Dec. 15, 2011.

We now believe the paragraph should have started, ‘Courtney Saul, 24, …’ and will seek clarification from the journalist who wrote the piece.

We mention this because of some comments which reflected our earlier belief that the mother had been just 14 when she gave birth. We apologise for any misunderstanding.]

Our thanks to Norm for this. Excerpts below, my commentary in square brackets:

A mother who drowned her newborn son in a sink before leaving her home to write a university exam has avoided time behind bars, though a judge described her actions as “abhorrent.”

Courtney Saul, 19, was sentenced to two years’ probation in provincial court in Kamloops.

Saul was a student at Thompson Rivers University when her baby, George Carlos, was born on Dec. 15, 2011.

Court heard Saul gave birth alone in the bathroom of a basement suite where she was living.

She held the baby for some time, but she had an exam that day, Crown lawyer Will Burrows said. Because she had the exam, she didn’t know what to do. She finally decided she should drown the baby. She did that in the sink and then she went to her exam….

Saul confessed to police [the baby’s corpse was found in the boot of her car three weeks later, by firefighters, following an accident] and was charged with infanticide. Court heard the charge was stayed a short time later and, in 2015, Saul was charged with second-degree murder.

In August, following a decision from the Supreme Court of Canada earlier this year, Saul’s charges were downgraded back to infanticide.

She told police the pregnancy was the result of a sexual assault. She said she’d passed out at a party and woke up without her clothes on.

She believed someone had sexual intercourse with her while she was unconscious, Burrows said…

[There is no account in the article of any corroboration for her allegation. It could be a pure invention, possibly an invention of her lawyer. How often do we read in cases of women who’ve committed vile crimes, that they’d been abused by men – no evidence being presented for the allegation – thereby receiving leniency? Often, and the alleged abuse – unlike in this case – need not even relate directly to the case in question. How often do we find males receiving leniency for similar reasons? Very rarely.]

Defence lawyer Murray Armstrong noted the circumstances. [Alleged circumstances.]

This is certainly a tragedy in all senses of the word, he said, adding Saul remains troubled by the events but is moving forward.

Nothing is going to change what happened, but certainly now Ms. Saul is not a risk to anybody, he said. [‘certainly’? Five years after the event?] In terms of punishment, there’s no punishment greater than the guilt and remorse she feels. [Would the same extraordinary claim be made for a 19-year-old man who’d killed a newborn baby in cold blood? Certainly not.]

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Our thanks to Mike H for this. Sarah Olney, a Lib Dem candidate, beat Zac Goldsmith and others to win the Richmond Park by-election. She was interviewed by Julia Hartley-Brewer on talkradio earlier today. Enjoy (4:06).

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This press release was published yesterday. An extract:

Home Secretary Amber Rudd said:

FGM is a devastating act of violence that no woman or girl should ever have to suffer. I am proud that this government is taking world-leading action to tackle this horrendous crime, but there is more to do.

We are still yet to see a perpetrator brought to justice and I am determined to see the first successful prosecution for FGM. And most importantly, we need to protect women and girls by preventing acts of FGM before they happen.

The clear commitment shown by the people gathered here today makes me confident that we can wipe out FGM within a generation.

Along with my colleagues, and all those involved in this initiative, I don’t give a rat’s arse about MGM.

I may have added a sentence there, but it was implied, I think.

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Our thanks to Martin for this. A sad end to a sad tale of sexual abuse of a male minor:

Of course, Vera, who is already a mother to a 4-year-old daughter, had an abortion after Children’s Protective Services questioned her about the relationship.

“Of course”? Surely the baby could have been adopted, at least?

Regular followers of this blog may recall FOI requests we’ve sent to numerous goovernment departments on the issue of MGM, mostly focusing on the demonstrable illegality of it. The responses were invariably full of weasel words and obfuscation, and when Theresa May MP was Home Secretary we had one or two such FOI responses.

We thought it was time for another FOI request, so on 2 November we emailed a letter to her appointed successor, Amber Rudd – here. After spelling out the evidence that MGM is clearly illegal in the UK, the letter ended with this:

My Freedom of Information request consists of the following:

1. Do you accept that MGM is illegal in the UK? If not, what makes it legal?

2. If you accept MGM is illegal, why are the police not bringing prosecutions?

The deadline for the Home Office to respond to my FOI request was two days ago. In the absence of a response, I emailed them yesterday. This morning I received their response:

Mr Buchanan

Thank you for your enquiry of 1 December about your Freedom of Information request.

Section 8(1)(c) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 requires that a request for information must describe the information requested. As it stands, your letter does not do this as you are asking for opinion rather than information held by the Home Office. [my emphasis] We are therefore refusing your request because it does not meet the requirements for a request for information under the Act.

The Department of Health leads on the issue of male circumcision. Your letter has been transferred there for an official reply.

Yours sincerely

Crime, Policing and Fire Group

Home Office

2 Marsham Street, London, SW1P 4DF

www.gov.uk/home-office

Once again, and in common with other government departments, the Home Office – with its responsibility for the police – is not claiming that performing MGM is legal. This evening we’ll send another FOI to the Home Office, and one to the Department of Health.

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Our thanks to Jeff for this piece in today’s Daily Mail, by one of the paper’s best columnists. Is it just me, or is the paper finally being more truthful about gender-related matters, which implies further criticism of feminism and feminists over time? We can but hope so. Feminists and most other Lefties despise the paper anyway, the owners have nothing to lose, and much to gain in terms of higher circulation.

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Predictable.

I’m sick to death of mainstream media reports – the BBC is the worst, but it’s far from alone – purport to show that a significant proportion of military personnel killed or injured in armed conflicts are women. The vast majority, of course, are men. That’s not going to change.

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AVfM have just published this, be sure to catch Paul Elam’s video (4:13).

ICMI17 will be held in Gold Coast City, Australia, 9-11 June. I hope many of you can join us. I shall again be sharing MC duties with Paul Elam, and giving a talk on the final day.

Our thanks to Jeff for this, in the Femail section of today’s Daily Mail. It occupies three full pages (pp.41-3).

Linda Kelsey, former editor of Cosmopolitan, was in the audience at the first London screening of The Red Pill recently, with myself and others. I introduced myself to her, and to say she was frosty would be an understatement. In her lengthy article, although well worth reading, she makes it clear she remains a feminist. That would explain her reference to the Men and Boys Coalition.

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Our thanks to Jeff for this, Cherie Blair’s reflections on BBC Newsnight – a particularly feminist-compliant programme, the anchor man being the supine Evan Davies. An extract:

“I think we can’t just focus on the individual personalities. It’s about what is it that enables women to get to the top? And there does appear to be some kind of backlash.

“And what I fear is that we’ve rather given permission for people to say things which I thought that we’d stopped giving that permission…

“What seems to be a shame at the moment is we are getting things which are unacceptable which are being said, and being said by people who frankly should know better. And I think that’s a bad thing.”

“… we’ve rather given permission for people to say things which I thought that we’d stopped giving that permission.”?!!! Who the hell does this damnable woman think she is, speaking in such an imperious way? Big Sister, a sibling of Big Brother, denounding people for thoughtcrime? The harridan has become a compelling candidate for this month’s Toxic Feminist of the Month award.

The BBC piece mentions the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women. We recently posted a piece about why we could not support the feminist-compliant Men and Boys Coalition. An extract:

So, who is behind the ‘coalition’? Nobody is claiming leadership – what does that tell you? – but the ideological direction is clear from many of the organizations and individual members. They include feminist bloggers such as Ally Fogg and Glen Poole, and radical feminists including Jane Powell (CALM Initiative) and Jenny Garrett. From Garrett’s website:

Jenny’s mission is to transform the world for everyone, one empowered woman at a time. She use’s (sic) her years of experience in coaching and leadership to inspire and motivate people, working with them to deliver career and life changing results beyond expectation.

Women’s Coach of the Year 2014, APCTC award winner Jenny is a sought after executive coach and trainer, author of Rocking Your Role, the how to guide to success for female breadwinners, speaker, founder of Reflexion Associates leadership consultancy and Co-Founder of Rocking Ur Teens CIC.

Jenny mentors women entrepreneurs and executives internationally for the Cherie Blair Foundation and was a finalist for the PRECIOUS Mentor of the Year 2012. She is a selected Sage Business Expert.

The ‘coalition’ considers Garrett a qualified commentator on issues affecting men and boys. On International Women’s Day this year, I debated with her on Sky News – here (video, 14:49).

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