Dan Lynch writes "This article from INEWS, which I found on Men's News Daily, must have Clarence Darrow rolling in his grave. The system wants to "fast track" domestic violence cases in order to gain a quick resolve. What's happening is defendants are not gaining the advice they need from their lawyers in what may be their first time in jail. The consequences can be staggering for the uninformed. The article also goes on to show concern for the approx. 24% arrest rate of women in these situations, when (according to women's groups) it should only be about 5%, according to DoJ findings. It also goes on to describe women's advocates who are concerned with women pleading guilty just to get out to their kids. If this isn't looked into, what will eventually happen is men will not receive effective legal counsel but women will. Another budding sign of 'unequal protection under the law'."

Serge sent in an article from the BBC that discusses the fact that in the U.S, there are currently more black men in prison than there are in college. This disturbing trend is one more reason why men's rights issues cut accross racial boundaries, and if anything, are even more critical for minority men to fight for.

Dave in California writes "In the September 2002 issue of Reader's Digest, page 69, there is an article by Julia Child. Her husband Paul is her most unforgettable character! Just think of it guys, here is a woman that has the guts to publicly thank a man for being a great guy, and a lover of good food that guided her into her life's work! Why does this happen so rarely? Why is it so difficult for a woman to acknowledge the goodness in a man and the help rendered? Men thank their wives all the time for help rendered, even if the help does not directly affect what he has done. Unfortunately the Reader's Digest web site does not show this article. You will have to see the magazine to read it."

Many of you will recall Stanford Assoc. Prof. Carol Delaney's short letter in the San Fransisco Chronicle blaming men for child abductions and abuse. While a flurry of letters was sent in after that letter, both to Stanford and to the Chronicle, Keith Thompson wrote an excellent editorial on the subject that was printed today in the SFC. His discussion of how violence is unfairly seen as masculine and all of the evidence that refutes this notion is excellent. Read it here.

Mic hunter sent in an announcement for the 10th International Conference for Male Survivors of Sexual Abuse, which will be held in Minneapolis from Sept. 18-21 this year. Read More below for details. And if you'd like to help organize the conference, be sure to e-mail Mic for more info.

warble writes "This article, A father's role is more than just conceiving a child, presents an interesting and very important variation of the C4M argument. Here a woman is found to have cancer and has some of her eggs harvested. Then she has them fertilized and frozen using the sperm of her lover. In this case the eggs are external to the woman's body so she must share a bilateral choice with the man. Not surprisingly, after the break-up, the man wants the embryos destroyed as a matter of his personal choice. Yet the woman is arguing that she should be considered to be continuously pregnant because she cannot conceive naturally. If this woman wins this legal battle, it will have profound implications in the C4M arena. Clearly, a man must be considered more than a sperm donor in this context and given the right to have a choice over his body. If the woman is granted the right to destroy the man's choice, he may potentially loose his right to be free from burdensome child support obligations. We need to be following this case very closely due to the implications in C4M right. Any ruling from this case will have a major influence on future C4M issues."

frank h writes "According to this story, in April 1996 former U.S. Navy Lt. Carey Dunai Lohrenz was one of the first two women trained to fly the F-14 Tomcat. In 1995, the Center for Military Readiness published a special report entitled "CMR Special Report: Double Standards in Naval Aviation Training." The 20-page report, backed by 104 pages of training records and related documents, exposed a pattern of low scores and major errors in the F-14 training of both women that may have contributed to the tragic death of Kara Hultgreen. Lohrenz was removed from carrier aviation in May 1995, due to flawed flying techniques that her superiors described as "unsafe, undisciplined, and unpredictable." With the help of attorney Susan Barnes, a feminist activist, Lohrenz blamed Elaine Donnelly, former member of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services (DACOWITS), for causing her to wash out by publishing the report. The courts responded by dismissing Lohrenz’s action "with prejudice," which means (as I understand it) that the plaintiff cannot re-file the suit elsewhere."

Though I don't fully share the sanguine mood expressed in this essay, the writer presents an interesting take on the fruits of radical feminism. With technology rendering men and women unnecessary to each other for the purpose of reproduction, radical feminism may ultimately hurt women more than men.

From the seeds of anti-male hate, will men ultimately enjoy a harvest of freedom?

Luek writes "I just got this reminder in my e-mail and thought I would pass it along. Prostate cancer kills as many men per year as breast cancer kills women. But prostate cancer research gets only a small fraction of the funding that breast cancer research gets. This would be a good political point to pass along to your congress person this election year." The web site is www.pcaw.org, which has tons of links about prostate cancer. Please check it out, and consider doing some prostate cancer advocacy this month.

equalitarian62 writes "A commercial for Dish Network shows a man and his wife at a swimming pool. The man reads the newspaper while a woman in a bikini bends over in front of him. The man doesn't see this, and says "Wow," presumably due to a Dish Network ad in the paper. The wife, thinking he's referring to the woman in the bikini, strikes him in the jaw. I'm sure that the ad was meant to be humorous. It wasn't for me." Thanks also to Thundercloud for submitting news of this ad. The web site for Dish Network is here and they have a feedback form on this page. This is certainly deserving of some feedback.

A new bill in the Pennsylvania legislature, Senate Bill 1276, would mandate joint physical and legal custody to divorcing parents by default. A web site has been set up in support of the bill, and if you're a PA resident, you may certainly want to get involved in this effort to help the cause of father's rights.

After catching up on the admin@mensactivism.org messages, I now see that an attempt is being made to flood MANN with bumper sticker requests, many which are obviously bogus. It is clear from the 30+ requests for free stickers each day starting around August 14 that there is a concerted effort being made to have me send stickers at my expense to people who will not be displaying them. It's likely that many of the requests are being made to random addresses, particularly overseas, to incur the greatest expense to me. Due to this problem, which I've been aware of the possibility of for some time, I must now discontinue our policy of sending the stickers at no cost. I will look into a reasonable pricing rate for the stickers, one for domsetic requests and one for international ones, and payment will only be accepted from valid PayPal accounts. I guess it was fun while it lasted... Update: The new bumper sticker prices and requirements have been updated. Click here for more info.

To my complete shock, the admin@mensactivism.org alias was never set up to forward to my account after the system crash in early August. I am just now sorting through those messages, which weren't bounced but sat in a mailbox that I had never bothered to look at. To all the people who have been trying to contact me via that address, I sincerely apologize for not getting back to you. I hope to get through all of the e-mails this weekend.

Robex writes "I was sent a link to a bona fide medical infant
circumcision. It's here. Ignore the rest
of the site - it requires a particular taste for the
macabre/gory/tasteless.

However, you will see that on the listsing dated (2002-08-22), there is a file called circumcision.asf.

I don't want to shock or offend over this topic, but after seeing this video, I'm shocked beyond belief. In fact, I've found it very difficult to concentrate today after seeing it. I would go as
far as to say that I'm actually nauseated each time I
think about it.

I do feel pretty strongly about this mutilation without consent - and I do realise more than ever that it is all about consent after seeing this." Please do NOT watch the video if you are sensitive to this issue. I would recommend it instead to people who have never really felt circumcision was a big deal and don't quite understand the importance of the issue. This video will drive home that point.

Glenn Sacks and Dianna Thompson co-authored an article related to father's rights with regard to adoptions. They discuss a new Florida law that would require mothers to take out newspaper ads to inform absent fathers of the decision to give up their child for adoption, to allow the father the opportunity to raise the child himself. While opponents of the law say that it humiliates mothers, Sacks and Thompson don't deny this fact but instead compare it to the importance of a father's right to raise his child.