This piece offers pro/con views about whether employers should be able to consider a woman's plans to have babies when hiring her:

(Pro) - "From a position of no equality at all, women are now granted absolute privilege. ... because an employer is forbidden from asking if a woman plans to have children, experience tells them she'll sign up then rush off and start a family, brandishing her contract as a declaration of human rights."

(Con) - "Women have different skill sets from men, not least the ability to multi-task - a skill which defeats most men. If we weren't such good multi-taskers, the human race would not have survived. A woman should be given a job on ability... nothing else matters."

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Ed. note: Before our North American readers post that "the article is dated Nov. 2, 2008, how can that be?" remember that date formats in most non-North American publications are "day-month-year" instead of "month-day-year".

An excerpt from Compelled to Give:

"It's February again. This can mean only one thing: the dreaded, compulsory Valentine's Day is just around the corner. If you forgot, fear not: the onslaught of TV and radio commercials will remind you and remind you and remind you. There is no escaping them, and they all share a common theme: women are entitled to receive; men are compelled to give. Nothing quite captures the essence of love like female entitlement.

Ask the typical woman to define romance. I'll lay odds that she'll describe a man buying and/or doing something for her, without a word about spoiling him. Why such narcissism? Simple. Most women are raised to be self-absorbed takers, and insecure men continue to tolerate and enable them.

Are men worthless? Only if they never demand fairness and reciprocity from women — and many men don't. Valentine's Day, and all of its pathetic rituals, represents the failure of men to stand up to women — who, ironically, don't respect these eunuchs and don't sexually crave them, either."

Story here. Excerpt:

"Police arrested a 13-year-old boy on a battery charge after he threw a broken pencil in class that hit another boy in the back of the head, according to a report released Thursday.
...
Two witnesses in class said the suspect, also a seventh grade student, threw the pencil piece.
...
When he threw the pencil at one of the witnesses, the witness ducked and the pencil hit the victim.”

Story here. Excerpt:

'NOW-NYS President Marcia Pappas, who denounced Sen. Ted Kennedy for picking Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton, calling it the "ultimate betrayal" of women, just issued a statement slamming MSNBC's David Shuster for suggesting the Clinton campaign "pimped out" Chelsea Clinton by having her make calls to superdelegates, saying: "This awful name-calling is nothing short of abusive."

"When male abusers feel they are failing to reach their spouses, they often go after their children," Pappas wrote. "Every day across the country battered women and their children suffer at the hands of abusers."'

Now the media itself is adopting this batterers' technique. This Schuster remark speaks volumes about the larger picture for mothers and their children. It's not just about hate speech; it's about power and control."

(PS - Shuster has been suspended and may likely be fired for his remark.)

In a little while I will be taking down the Mensactivism.org wiki. It's a project that I haven't had the time or energy to properly nourish, and it requires frequent attention to maintain due to its open nature.

I would not even consider taking it down if it weren't for the fact that some of the participants in that wiki have mirrored its contents at another site. So don't worry - no information will be lost. Instead, I encourage you to bookmark the Equalism Wiki and get involved there.

In particular, I'm really grateful to the folks who participated in compiling a comprehensive list of which colleges and universities have Women's Studies departments but not Men's Studies departments (or classes). That's going to be an important resource when someone finally files a lawsuit to establish Men's Studies as a legitimate academic department and major.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Chicago teacher faces dismissal after allegedly wrapping masking tape around a special education student to keep him in his chair when he wouldn't sit down, authorities said.
...
The teacher was in a classroom of four or five students on Tuesday when one 9-year-old boy would not sit down. The teacher restrained him with the tape, Vaughn said.
...
"It appears the allegations will be substantiated and we will fire her," Vaughn said.

The unnamed teacher obtained her credentials last June, Vaughn said.'

Hillary & Obama met Hollywood this past week at the Kodak Theater (home of the Academy Awards), while Fathers 4 Justice stood outside.

Story here. Imagine if this were a cadre of "flirty men vicimizing well-dressed women" how that would be presented. Excerpt:

'DALLAS - Well-dressed men at posh Dallas hotels and bars are being targeted by a ring of flirtatious women who may be drugging them before swiping their watches and other expensive items, police said.
...
About a half-dozen men have reported falling victim to the scheme, Dallas police detective Mark Jenkins said. Many were business travelers, and Jenkins suspects there are others too embarrassed to file police reports.
...
"I don't know if so much it's that the men are being attracted to them, as that (the suspects) are more or less forcing themselves on the men," Jenkins said.
...
The women have histories as prostitutes, Jenkins said.
...
The women may be slipping drugs into the drinks of their victims, police said.'

Hi fellow MRAs. I recently posted a story about a Bud Light commercial, in which a man is viciously assaulted where it hurts most by a dog. I'm happy to say that the only place this ad can now be viewed is YouTube. Here's what Budweiser had to say:

"Dear Evan,

Thank you for responding to Anheuser-Busch. We apologize if your question was not answered, and also because there seems to be some confusion surrounding the ad.

For starters – no, the ad is no longer being aired. It actually has not appeared on television for a few years now, and the YouTube version was posted online without our company’s permission. This is typical of most videos on sharing sites, an in addition to not being able to control posters’ actions, we also cannot control the information they provide along with the spot.

If you have concerns about this ad appearing on YouTube, we encourage you to contact the poster directly.

Again, Evan, thank you for contacting us. Please let us know if you have additional comments or questions.

Your Friends at Anheuser-Busch

1-800-DIAL-BUD (1-800-342-5283)"

Story here. Older rich women (must be at least 35 years old and earn at least $500,000.00), are now being provided with young men as boy toys. The only criterion for men is that they be good-looking. I guess "This is Only Bad If Men Do It". Excerpt:

'Women who pursue men more than seven years their junior are sometimes derogatorily referred to as “cougars,” because of the perception that they’re on the hunt. But times are changing.
...
“At a certain age, the trophy wife syndrome is so prevalent," says Vivian Cha, a 47-year-old physician and speed-dating contestant. "The older man, in his 40s or 50s, goes for the younger blond bimbo, who’s 20 or 30 years old. We older women sort of get thrown to the dust, so I think this is a great idea.”

Attractive young men seeking their own Mrs. Robinson jumped at the chance to meet a woman with more “experience.”

“I’m definitely interested in being surprised or wowed," says Paul Janka, a 32-year-old writer who authored an online guidebook for men called "Getting Laid in NYC."

Story here. Italy is up in arms because a 34-year-old Italian man who had sex with a 13-year-old girl has had his sentence cut by a two-thirds because a court decided there was "real love" between the pair. Excerpt:

'However, Simonetta Matone, a judge in Rome, said the law must "always look to be reasonable in these cases".

She added: "Every relationship is a relationship and the real maturity, whether physical or psychological, of the minor must be weighed, with the help of experts."

The court decision has unleashed a wave of condemnation in Italy, and even authors of teen novels stepped forward to caution their readers against early sexual encounters.'

OK EVERYONE, LET'S PLAY REVERSE THE GENDERS... AND SO IT GOES...

Story here. Excerpt:

'Duke University has come under fire from some students and conservative commentators this week for hosting a performance that involved strippers and burlesque dancers, two years after an infamous case in which lacrosse players at the school were falsely accused of raping a stripper at a team party.

The Sex Workers' Art Show, a traveling act that features discussions about the sex industry as well as performances by strippers and burlesque dancers, performed on campus on Sunday. The event was sponsored and paid for in part by the Student Health Center, the Duke women's center, the Women's Studies department and the sexual assault support services, among other groups.
...
Larry Moneta, Duke's vice president for student affairs, said the performance "raised issues for discussion." Asked about the difference between the art show and the lacrosse team's hosting strippers, he said, "one served the purpose of personal gratification and the other had educational value."'

Story here. So I suppose when a man does something like this it's another example of patriarchal oppression and when a woman does it, it is her natural instincts at work and she shouldn't be blamed for it. Or maybe it was really just payback for years of abuse? No matter, she has a vagina, and therefore, can't possibly be guilty of anything. Notice it's a murder-by-proxy case too; she got someone else to actually do the deed. Excerpt:

'The ex-wife of slain dentist Daniel Malakov was arrested Thursday on charges of plotting to kill him on a playground in front of their 4-year-old daughter.
...
Borukhova exchanged 65 calls with suspected triggerman Mikhail Mallayev, 50, in the days before the Oct. 28 slaying - one of them placed from near the crime scene, prosecutors have said.

Any excuse, the more sensational, the better, to introduce the unending documenting and tracking of men. I think when Patrick McGoohan produced the TV series The Prisoner back in the late 1960s, he may not have been thinking it could get this bad this fast. But here it comes, even faster than Orwell would have thought. Read it here. Excerpt:

"DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Police officers in Daytona Beach are swabbing the mouths of persons of interests during traffic stops with special DNA kits in the hunt for an elusive serial killer, sources close to the investigation told Local 6.

Investigators said they believe the same man has killed four women execution style in the Daytona Beach area.

A profiler said the serial killer is likely clean cut and probably has a wife or girlfriend.

And, the Daytona Beach police Chief, Mike Chitwood, said detectives have the killer's DNA.
...
The DNA kits are also being used in prostitution stings in the area.

Story here. This guy is quite a piece of work on many levels, but the significance of this story is the reason for his facing of charges. It's good news that that is what he is being charged with and why; it's bad that he did it at all. Now if we could only get the same attitude about it in other contexts. Excerpt:

"Detective Shelly Hartley said Marlowe doesn't like hospitals and denied the women prenatal care in both cases, then circumcised the boys when they were 8 days old.

Marlowe later moved to Gaston County and is serving a 150-day jail sentence there on charges of resisting a public officer, assault on a female and multiple counts of child neglect."