Kathryn Joyce of Double X, Slate's feminist-oriented section has this article about MRA's. She discounts a lot of research done, but gives RADAR credit for:

"...blocked passage of four federal domestic-violence bills, among them an expansion of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to international scope and a grant to support lawyers in pro bono domestic-violence work. Members of this coalition have gotten themselves onto drafting committees for VAWA’s 2011 reauthorization. Local groups in West Virginia and California have also had important successes, criminalizing false claims of domestic violence in custody cases, and winning rulings that women-only shelters are discriminatory."

Interesting that the feminists view this as a threat.

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Relatedly, submitted by user "fibtastic":
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I used to read Salon religiously, and I still love Heather Havrilesky, but this online fish wrap became so smug and angry during the Bush years that even I (no fan of Bush) couldn't take it anymore. I still check them out occasionally, when I need the angry lefty party line on anything, which led me to this story on the scary fringe dangers of the MRM. It's from their resident feminist rant organ, Broadsheet.

The Men and Families Health Care Act of 2009 remains in committee with only 5 co-sponsors while a huge overhaul of the US health care system chocked with specific clauses and provisions directly benefiting only women is poised for a House vote by this week-end.

Undoubtedly this bill will die in committee. Maybe someone will reintroduce it next year. We can make sure that happens by contacting our various reps. Whether or not it passes is another matter. Bill summary:

For the first time in the Republic of Moldova, on November 19, 2009, groups of students from the State University of Moldova will be celebrated International Men's Day.

Article here. Excerpt:

I created a Men's Groups community for International Men's Day where everyone is welcome.

Thank you.

They already have it archived. Anyway if you want to listen to it, it can be found here. My segment starts at 31:10.

Article here. Excerpt:

'But Fitzgerald is completely right that climate change is a feminist issue. Everyone stands to suffer if climate change is allowed to spiral out of control, of course, but a gender analysis of both the impacts and causes of climate change shows that globally women contribute less to the problem and yet are likely to be hit especially hard.

Poor people are likely to bear the brunt as the climate changes and 70% of the world's poor are women. According to one estimate, 85% of the victims of climate disasters are women. Another study found 75% of environmental refugees are women. (Statistics from the Women's Manifesto on Climate Change).'

Story here. Excerpt:

'BEIJING – Dubbed the "godmother" of the Chinese underworld, she was notorious for her toughness and a lavish lifestyle that reportedly included luxury villas and a stable of 16 young lovers.

Her criminal reign ended Tuesday when Xie Caiping, 46, was sentenced to 18 years in prison for running illegal casinos and bribing government officials. Her trial was one of a series of gang prosecutions in the southwestern city of Chongqing that have featured lurid testimony about sex, corruption and the violent underworld.

Story here. Excerpt:

'It sounds like the sort of romantic-mystery potboiler that keeps readers on the edge of their summer beach chairs: A strikingly pretty Florida housewife with a handsome husband and two beautiful young daughters is kidnapped, sexually assaulted, and held for $50,000 ransom.

Or was she?

Prosecutors contend the strange case of 37-year-old Quinn Gray, who claims she was abducted and held for four days in hellish captivity, is a cleverly planned ruse. They claim her supposed abductor, a 25-year-old Bosnian immigrant, was actually her lover, and that the pair plotted to extort cash from Quinn’s well-heeled husband, Reid.

Quinn Gray and her alleged lover, Jasmin Osmanovic, are charged with extortion. But two of her lawyers appeared on TODAY Tuesday to say that Gray, who has a history of mental illness, is a terrorized victim, not a scheming co-conspirator. The case has set the community around Jacksonville, Fla., abuzz.'

Video report here. This is some funny stuff! Fox's Greg Gutfeld does a brief monologue on gender studies.

Quote:

"Because gender studies doesn't help you do anything else but teach gender studies, no wonder tenor is so vital."

Story here. Excerpt:

'HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - CBS sportscaster Jim Nantz must pay $916,000 yearly in alimony and child support to his ex-wife and give up their Connecticut home under terms of a newly issued divorce decree.

The ruling, made Monday in Bridgeport Superior Court, dissolves the 26-year marriage of Nantz and Ann-Lorraine "Lorrie" Carlsen Nantz. It comes after both testified about the breakdown of their marriage; Judge Howard Owens concluded neither was at fault.
...
Owens noted that the couple didn't share the same interests in Nantz's television career, which required frequent travel as the network's primary commentator for college football, golf and basketball, as well as appearances at charity events.

"In fairness, for most of the years he prioritized his family obligation and put his wife and daughter Caroline first. As frequently happens in marriages of lengthy duration, the parties do not have the same interest and ardor for their spouses' endeavors," the judge wrote in his decision.

Humbly ;) announcing that yours truly is scheduled to be interviewed on The Jim Engster Show tomorrow, Nov. 4 at 9:40 AM US Central Time.

There is no particular topical agenda for the interview, which will probably be pretty brief, other than mens' and fathers' rights issues in general. But tune in/download the podcast later anyway, it could be fun. :)

Article here. Excerpt:

'A group of 50 mental health experts from 10 countries are part of an effort to add Parental Alienation to the 2012 edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the American Psychiatric Association’s “bible” of diagnoses. According to psychiatrist William Bernet, this “would spur insurance coverage, stimulate more systematic research, lend credence to a charge of parental alienation in court, and raise the odds that children would get timely treatment.”

Few family law cases are as heartbreaking as those involving Parental Alienation. In PA cases, one parent has turned his or her children against the other parent, destroying the loving bonds the children and the target parent once enjoyed.

Numerous misguided feminist groups oppose recognition of Parental Alienation in court or in DSM. Some of these opponents raise legitimate concerns. For example, Janet Johnston, a feminist-oriented clinical sociologist/justice studies professor, fears that PAS could be invoked by an abusive parent to gain rights to a child.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'Tasmania's Legislative Council has voted unanimously to make the legal recognition of lesbian co-mothers retrospective to 2003.

The vote followed the unanimous acceptance to legally recognise two mothers on a birth certificate.

The law was originally rejected in 2003 when gay and lesbian couples were first recognised in Tasmanian law.

Rodney Croome from the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group said it is an important step forward.
...
"Rather than go through the costly process, the drawn-out process of applying for adoption and doing it that way, and going through the Family Court, they will now be able to make the application to the registrar and if they can satisfy the register of their significant relationship, then it will be a fairly easy process for them to be included," he said.'

On October 6th, the New Jersey Supreme Court announced it would hear the Crespo appeal. Crespo is the case that, among other things, challenges the constitutionality of Protective Orders issued under the "Preponderance of the Evidence" standard of proof, which is among the lowest of all legal standards of proof in the U.S. A lower court judge ruled that "Preponderance of the Evidence" is not sufficient to remove a person from their home and deny them access to their children. The appeals court overturned the decision. But New Jersey attorney David Heleniak has convinced the N.J. Supreme Court to review the case. According to Heleniak, a victory in the New Jersey high court could have ripple effects across the country.