Following the recent resignation of Amber “Specsavers” Rudd MP as Home Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities, the latter non-job has been passed to Penny Mordaunt, Secretary of State for International Development.
Month: May 2018
GP accused of paedophilia by female ‘fantasist’ loses fight for costs, after spending his life savings on lawyers and expert witnesses
Times caption: Stephen Glascoe spent more than £100,000 on lawyers and expert witnesses before the case against him collapsed
At the conference Patrick Graham, a survivor of the ongoing plague of false allegations of rape/historic sex abuse, will be giving a presentation, “Sex offence fantasists, and their police enablers”. He was one of five men who fell victim to a female serial fantasist. We reported on the case in January – here.
Another victim of the same woman was a GP, Stephen Glascoe, 67. A piece by David Brown in last Saturday’s Times:
A retired GP accused by a “serial fantastist” of being part of a paedophile ring was told yesterday he would not be reimbursed for £94,000 in legal costs he incurred before the case collapsed.
Stephen Glascoe, from Cardiff, spent most of his savings preparing his defence. The woman who made unproven allegations against him and others has won £22,000 in “criminal injuries” compensation and has asked for more.
Several cases have collapsed in recent months after the Crown Prosecution Service ordered a review of evidence in all serious sexual offence allegations.
Charges against Dr Glascoe and four other men were dropped in January, two weeks before their trial was due to start, after concerns about the alleged victim’s evidence and her relationship with her therapist and the police officer who had led the investigation.
Dr Glascoe, 67, who was not entitled to legal aid because of his savings, spent more than £100,000 on lawyers and expert witnesses. He will receive only £7,280 from the Legal Aid Board and no contribution to the cost of his barrister.
The complainant received £22,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority after contacting South Wales police in 2012 but later refused to co-operate with the investigation.
She spoke to police again in 2016 with more allegations about being abused at parties between the ages of three and 15. She said she had a pregnancy forcibly aborted and had been made to take part in torturing other children. She has applied for more compensation.
Christopher Clee, QC, applied at Cardiff crown court yesterday for Dr Glascoe to have all his costs reimbursed on the ground that the charges were the result of an “improper act or omission” by the prosecution. The prosecution should have been alerted, he said, to the poor credibility of the alleged victim by notes from 229 counselling sessions, which included “regression work”, and her improperly close relationship with the investigating detective.
Mr Clee said the notes made clear that the therapist “had exceeded any professional boundaries” and given the woman the idea that she had been raped by five men. Prosecutors had demanded to see the therapy notes before deciding whether to charge, but a senior police officer urged them to take a “victim-centric position”, he said.
Catherine Richards, for the prosecution, said the case was dropped over “considerable concern” about the detective, and because a jury might consider that there had been a “mirror of the undue influence” by the alleged victim on the officer and her therapist.
Judge Thomas Crowther attributed the collapse of the case to “dynamite” evidence that the complainant had lied about an Amazon package she claimed had been ordered by her abusers.
The judge dismissed the application for Dr Glascoe’s costs, saying he would have to prove that no reasonable prosecutor could have decided to bring charges. The decision had been “in line with enlightened modern practice”, he said.
Dr Glascoe said he did not regret spending his savings, but added: “I am going to have to change my whole lifestyle.” His wife, Liz, 57, said: “It is not how you expect your retirement savings to be spent. He has been a well loved and popular GP in Cardiff . . . and is at least a free man.”
Nigel Evans, a Conservative MP who was cleared in 2014 of rape and sexual assault charges, said that clearing his name had cost all his £130,000 savings. He called for the CPS to pay the full costs of those “dragged through the courts through no fault of their own”.
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Dr Jeffrey Ketland comments on the change from Men’s Rights Movement (MRM) > Gender Equality Movement (GEM)
Dr Jeffrey Ketland will be giving a presentation at the conference, titled, “A feminist witch hunt at Oxford University”. Brief details on Jeffrey are on the conference speakers’ page.
About two weeks ago we posted a blog piece with the snappy title, The case for “Men’s Rights Movement” (MRM) > “Gender Equality Movement” (GEM), and, in turn, “Men’s Rights Activist” (MRA) > “Gender Equality Activist” (GEA)”. We thank Jeffrey for his comments on the matter:
I agree with this, Mike. It’s similar to what I’ve said for about 4 years, since I first heard of MRM when I was hunted down like a some sort of animal in Oxford, by feminist vigilante zealots, in 2014. I think it’s why MRA/MRM cannot gain social & political traction. For, in a battle between MRM and Feminists (who say they advocate equality, though they don’t), feminists will win: this happened every day, for over thirty years. The reason, I’m sure, is gynocentrism, the natural inclination of men and women towards greater value and protection of girls & women. One cannot invert a biological urge with words. One has to counteract the systemic *politics*, *propaganda* and *policies* of feminist anti-egalitarianism, instead of hoping that something that really does exist (gynocentrism) can be made to go away. The policies and propaganda of feminist anti-egalitarianism can be pushed back, so long as the focus is how feminism attacks equality. And vast numbers of the population openly support equal treatment too, as well as being increasingly annoyed with Identity Politics.
In practice, the constant flow and the endless setbacks and defeats are all in the opposition direction, partly because of the basic gynocentric bias in human society. But while gynocentrism is the fuel that drives the tank forwards, feminists cornered the propaganda market in *equality*, and did so despite being obviously an anti-equality movement, even though they say of themselves that they’re in favour of equality. But they’re opposed to equality.
They’re just lying. Therefore, trying to respond with a “Men’s rights movement” makes it look, to a large number of neutral observers, as if that movement is opposed to equality, or even “misogynist”. It looks like it is an Identity-based movement. And this is the central propaganda technique that feminists used to demonize MRAs; it appears in every single article written by feminists. (Notice how this is exactly how people respond to BLM. They respond, rightly, by saying, “Hang on. All lives matter”.)
But this would not be easy if they were attacking GEAs. It undermines their central propaganda advantage. Think of it this way. What is happening? Two things: (1) Saturation level feminist — we believe in “gender equality” — Identity Politics propaganda/policies. And (2) gynocentrism, the fuel. But (2) cannot be changed. It’s as biological as having two legs. On the other hand, the propaganda is false and can be challenged, and can be defeated.
So I do think moving over to “Gender Equality Activist” is a strategic shift in the right direction.
A connected reason is that it also undermines the Identity Politics of feminism too: for feminism is group-based activism, and not based on universal, equal rights for all. And pointing out, “Men are mistreated, vilified, domestically abused, falsely accused, imprisoned, etc.” has little traction in practice – because, though it is true, the truth here doesn’t strongly impact people’s minds; the primary gynocentric bias works in the opposition direction. So an Identity Politics based on male group identity is doomed never to take off. In fact, feminists make more and more progress on that, every day. On the other hand, there is strong widespread sympathy for equality, as all polls show, whether from the Left, or the centre and conservatives. There is also growing dissatisfaction with Identity Politics.
A video brought to you by The Women Against Tiredness Society (TWATS)
Our thanks to Rod and Tony for pointing us to this gem (video, 1:52). We’ve just posted it on the J4MB Comedy Corner.
Please support Anthony T Corniche III – crowdfunder to help him buy equipment for ICMI18. £740 raised towards £1,000 target.
Anthony T Corniche III is the amazing man responsible for the filming and editing of the presentations at ICMI16 and ICMI17. He kindly agreed to do the same again for ICMI18, and started a crowdfunder for £1,000 towards the £2,450 cost of buying some equipment for the event – here. Donations have reached £740. Please support Anthony if you can. Thanks.
Shauna Cleary, 25, prison officer, had relationship with violent male prisoner. Suspended sentence. Prisoner jailed for a further six months.
Times caption: Shauna Cleary was given a 16-week suspended sentence
A piece in today’s Times:
A prison officer had a relationship with an inmate and sent him messages on a phone hidden in his cell. Shauna Cleary, 25, gave her number to Kurt Jarman, 22, serving ten years for robbing and attacking a 77-year-old man in Powys in 2015. Cardiff crown court heard that Cleary was working at Parc prison, run by G4S in Bridgend, south Wales, from August 2016 to November last year.
Joanna James, for the prosecution, said analysis revealed that Jarman had called Cleary in August 2017 and the relationship “gained momentum”. She was arrested and her phone and laptop were seized. Cleary, from Pontypridd, admitted misconduct in public office. Judge Daniel Williams said that she had been “terribly compromised and vulnerable to being manipulated”. [J4MB emphasis. Incredible. She had compromised HERSELF.] He gave her a 16-week suspended sentence and ordered her to do 15 days of rehabilitation activity. Jarman admitted possessing a phone in prison and was jailed for a further six months.
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Donna Henderson, “carer” who forged dying millionaire’s will, ends up with £85,000 bill
A piece by Frances Gibb, Legal Editor, in today’s Times:
A carer who guided the pen of a dying millionaire as he signed over almost half his fortune to her family has been stripped of the money and ordered to pay legal costs of £85,000.
Donna Henderson helped Marcel Chu, a retired London banker, to make out a will leaving two thirds of his £1 million estate to her and her children. Mr Chu had made a will in 2008 that divided his estate between his family and a friend. That was before the carer “took control of his life and excluded his siblings” in the year before he died.
The deathbed will — dated May 9, 2014, when Mr Chu was seriously ill in hospital and two days before he died at the age of 73 — added Mrs Henderson and her children to his bequests.
However, Judge Nigel Price said that he had “no hesitation” in ruling that the will was invalid. A handwriting expert had concluded that the signature on the will was not Mr Chu’s and the judge ruled that the dying millionaire had lacked mental capacity when the document was signed.
The High Court was told that Mr Chu of South Woodford, northeast London, had “a relatively close relationship” with his brothers, Allen and Stanley Chu, and his sister, Eva Young, for most of his life.
However, he suffered from Morvan’s syndrome, which causes memory loss and confusion, and he could no longer live without assistance. It was at that stage that Mr Chu hired Mrs Henderson, the court was told. “She took control of his life and excluded his siblings,” the judge said.
Giving his ruling, Judge Price said: “It may be that it is permissible for a testator to be helped in signing a document, but the scope of such assistance must be limited. There is a distinction between leading and steadying the hand.”
He also ruled that Mr Chu lacked capacity, and that the 2008 document was his last true will.
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Women quit Labour over transgender row
A piece in today’s Times by Henry Zeffman, Political Reporter:
More than three hundred women are quitting the Labour Party today because it allows transgender women who have not legally changed gender to stand on all-women shortlists.
The revolt comes after a dispute over whether transgender women should be eligible for the shortlists, which encourage female candidates to stand as MPs and councillors. The campaigners say only women who have legally changed gender should be let on the lists.
In a letter to The Times today, ten women, including a former member of the party’s national constitutional committee, accuse Labour of being “disingenuous”, adding that support for self-identification “reeks of male authority and male supremacy”.
They write: “We are dismayed at the Labour Party’s support for sex as a self-identified characteristic for all-women shortlists . . . We now face a situation in which any man can simply claim to be a woman and be included on all- women shortlists.
“Sex is not a self-defined characteristic and it is disingenuous for Labour to pretend that it is. Self-identity — ‘I am what I say I am’ — reeks of male authority and male supremacy. In contrast, women are rarely believed about the sexual violence we face or about harassment on the streets and domestic violence in the home . . . It is for that reason that we — alongside 300 other women — are resigning from the Labour Party today.”
A party spokeswoman said: “All women shortlists are and always have been open to all women, which of course includes trans women.”
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Sexualised violence on TV is what women want, says Germaine Greer
A piece in today’s Times by Matthew Moore, Media Correspondent:
Female viewers’ fascination with the victimisation of women is to blame for the prevalence of sexual violence and rape on television, Germaine Greer has claimed.
Crime dramas criticised for gratuitous depictions of attacks on women are only trying to satisfy the desires of their audiences, according to the feminist writer.
“Female victimisation sells. What should disturb us is that it sells to women,” she said.
Greer’s comments follow a backlash against sexually violent scenes in primetime television dramas, with BBC series The Fall, Luther and Top of the Lake, and the ITV thriller Paranoid all accused of normalising or glamorising brutality against women.
The final series of the Scandinavian crime drama The Bridge, that starts on BBC Two this month, opens with the discovery of a woman who has been buried up to her neck and stoned to death. Producers have been accused of exploiting violence against women as a plot device but Greer, 79, lays the blame on female viewers.
“Who is watching and reading the proliferating imagery of female victimhood? Women, that’s who,” she writes in the Radio Times, claiming that women make up 60 to 80 per cent of crime fiction readers.
“The endless array of female cadavers laid out on slabs and dragged out of the undergrowth in crime drama on TV is designed to reel in a mainly female audience.”
Greer suggests that large numbers of female viewers enjoy fantasising about sexual assault. She cites a small 2008 study by US academics that found that 32 per cent of women had fantasised about being raped by a man, while 52 per cent fantasised about some kind of forced sex. “The fantasy is commoner than these figures suggest,” says Greer. “The man who groans and clenches his teeth as he struggles to resist the heroine’s fatal charms has been a staple of ‘chick-lit’ ever since Jane Eyre. The delusion that rape is the result of overwhelming sexual desire is a female delusion.”
There is evidence to support Greer’s assertion that women are drawn to tales of murder and rape. In 2010 Illinois University researchers found that women were disproportionately likely to review true crime books on Amazon and US police procedural series such as CSI and Law & Order tend to attract largely female audiences.
In a book, On Rape, due out this year, she argues for more awareness of the difference between “sleaze and assault”. In the Radio Times Greer contrasts women who outed themselves as victims of Hollywood predators with what she calls a lower-profile approach taken by men who claim they were abused. Male victims “refrain from exhibiting themselves” because women have no desire to see them, she argues.
“The display of female victimhood in entertainment media is not the result of a conspiracy between wicked men to objectify, reify and sexualise women but a straightforward capitulation to market forces.”
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Justine Greening MP, former Education Secretary and Minister for Women & Equalities, lesbian, urges employers to discriminate against applicants from Eton, a boys’ boarding school
It’s difficult to think of a female Tory MP whose gender politics wouldn’t make them more at home in the Labour Party. I cannot think of one standing female Tory MP who’s publicly made critical comments about feminism or feminists. The Eton College website is here. A piece at the top of the front page in today’s Times, by Rosemary Bennett, Education Editor:
Companies should discriminate against job applicants from Eton because their grades are “not as impressive” as those achieved by candidates from struggling state schools, a former Conservative education secretary has said.
Justine Greening urged employers to take a candidate’s background into account during recruitment to boost social mobility. At a meeting in New York, she said that applying “contextual recruitment” was a far better predictor of potential than grades alone.
“Contextual recruitment [J4MB: A new term for discriminating against males, along with “positive action” in the Equality Act] basically says when you’re looking at someone’s grades who’s applied for a job . . . look at them in the context of the school they went to. You can easily do this, there’s software to help you as a company,” Ms Greening said. “So if you get three Bs from Eton, you’re probably not as impressive as somebody [J4MB: You sense that the “someone” will ideally be a woman] who gets three Bs from the school in a part of the country where the school [wasn’t] doing well.”
She added that contextual recruitment would allow employers to “stop fishing in a talent puddle and start fishing in a talent pool”, according to TES. Eton College, which charges fees of more than £40,000 a year, sends dozens of pupils to top universities and has educated 19 British prime ministers, most recently David Cameron. Ms Greening went to a comprehensive in Yorkshire.
She quit the cabinet in January after clashing with Theresa May over a review into university tuition fees and support for grammar schools. Research showed that disadvantaged applicants were 50 per cent more likely to be hired after contextual recruitment than otherwise, Ms Greening added.
Julie Robinson, general secretary of the Independent Schools Council, pointed out that going to a particular school type was not in itself an indicator of socio-economic advantage.
Eton declined to comment.
You can subscribe to The Times here.
Justice for Men & Boys 