This story in Ireland's Longford Leader reports that an unnamed Irish man who chained himself to a seat in Carrick-on-Shannon court house in protest against Ireland's discriminatory family law system was cleared of public disorder charges. The man who cannot be named for legal reasons and in order to protect the identity of his spouse and children was charged with a breach of the peace at Carrick court house when he refused to leave the court room when requested by Judge Deery. The man chained himself to a seat and attempted to read out a statement outlining alleged discrimination against men within the Family Law court. The gentleman was also supported by a throng of other protestors outside court.

This story on CNN.com details the jury's sentence handed down on Andrea Yates today. Yates was convicted earlier this week of capital murder in the June drowning deaths of her children. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty. "This crime is of horrific proportions," prosecutor Kaylynn Williford said during closing arguments Friday morning. "This crime is a crime of the ultimate betrayal -- the betrayal of a mother to her children."

Glenn Sacks submitted his most recent column, which also ran in the LA Daily News. In it, Sacks examines California's recent Paternity Justice Act and notes: Paternity fraud victims' stories often provoke disbelief.  For example, four years ago Air Force Master Sergeant Ray Jackson was divorced by his wife.  Soon afterwards, he discovered that the three children born during their marriage had, in fact, been the product of three different extramarital affairs.  Jackson's ex-wife has disappeared with the children, and Jackson is still paying half his income to support children who aren't his and whom he'll probably never be allowed to see.

AFG writes "This article from the L.A. Times discusses a recent Bill in California that threatens young men with the refusal of a driver's permit if they do not register for the draft. One critic of the Bill argued the following: "Young people have the right to make a choice,"..."our Constitution allows for dissent and protest.... This bill fundamentally attacks the premise upon which this nation was founded." Personally, I cannot believe that young men are still discriminated against in this manner." They're doing the same thing in New Hampshire, too. Ungh.

Peter submitted this column from the Ottawa Citizen. In it, a couple takes the unusual step of asking the columnist (Dave Brown) to be their go-between for communication because government-forced restraining orders prevent them from communicating directly. They say they have been forcibly separated by "warriors in the war against violence towards women." I also found this report linked to from ifeminists.com about the ongoing silence on male victims of domestic violence.

There comes a time every so often in an activist's career to take things easy for a while. Such is the case here at MANN. It has been decided that we will be running this site in "degraded mode" for the next two weeks, so I can get a handle on academics and enjoy my Spring Break, and the other admins can take it easy for a while and recharge our batteries. Expect updates to this site to be less frequent than usual (probably no more than 2 new stories posted per day) and e-mail responses to be delayed more than usual until Monday, March 25. This kind of downtime is sorely needed for us to catch our breath and prevent the onset of burnout, which would definitely not be cool. I'm certain that we'll be back in form better than before after this break. I'd encourage everyone to do the same on a regular basis to keep our motivation and insight maintained for the long haul.

Stuart Miller, a father's advocate, has written a controversial article on marital rape discussing some problems with the entire concept. As he says, "Contrary to popular propaganda, we do not live in a patriarchal society. Rather, we live in a paternalistic society where we bend over backwards to protect women and children to such an extent that it overshadows our own common sense." Throughout the article he points out this kind of thinking for the problem it is, and how it's not good for society in general.

Glenn Sacks has informed us that he will be appearing on the Al Rantel show tonight to discuss his most recent column "In Defense of Russell Yates." The show may be heard on KABC-AM 790 in Los Angeles and starts at 7 p.m. PST. Sacks will also appear on the Sterling Show on 610 WTVN-AM in Columbus, Ohio, on Monday, March 18 at 9 p.m. EST to discuss the same column. Update: Glenn is also appearing on KLBJ-AM 590 in Austin, Texas today (3/13) at 1:20 p.m. CST.

Luek writes "This is another article about the infamous sex abuse case of Gerald Amirault who was refused parole by the unelected Governor Jane Swift. The usually stern parole board recommended that Amirault be paroled, and his two female codefendants had already been released from prison some time ago. What makes this story uniquely bizarre is that the same Governor Swift who went against the recommendation of her own parole board for the release of Gerald Amirault, just last year issued a full pardon to five women who were convicted and executed during the Salem witch trials in 1692! For an even more in-depth insight on just how toxically misandric Massachusetts has become under the MS-rule of Governor Swift, check out the web site of The Father's Coalition of Massachusetts. It is not for the faint hearted."

This story from Yahoo! News reports that the Texas jury in the trial of Andrea Yates has found her guilty of capital murder. Now that the guilty verdict has been returned, the jurors face the task of deciding Yates' sentence, whether it be the death penalty (what the prosecutors are fighting for) or life in prison.

My latest column, which will also appear today on Wendy McElroy's ifeminists.com, examines the recent cases of Chante Mallard (who allowed a homeless man to die while trapped in her broken windshield), Andrea Yates (who drowned her five children), and Jaymie Hutchins (who shot an alleged child abuser in the groin). Apparently, the justice systems of the United States consider these women less culpable for their criminal acts than Tommy Davis, an 8-year-old Ann Arbor boy, who pulled a toy gun on three of his peers.

Wendy McElroy's latest Fox News column explores some of the most-often-asked questions she encounters about individualist feminism, like what is it? And how can a feminist movement not be anti-male? Here are Wendy's answers. Wendy has consistently demonstrated to mensactivism.org that she firmly believes in men's equal rights. A "welcome" sign for men must be posted on the door of feminism. They are fathers, mates, sons, friends and neighbors. It is folly to "solve" a human problem without consulting and co-operating with one-half of the species.

The Ox
sent us this article from Law.com regarding paternity fraud, where men are still forced to pay child support for children that have been proven not their own via DNA testing. The article includes a fairly technical legal background of the common law which has led to this situation, and is a good read to understand why things have become so messed up in the legal system with regard to paternity these days.

Glenn Sacks submitted his latest column, which also today ran in the Houston Chronicle. Sacks points out that the harsh criticisms mainstream (largely female) press have heaped upon Mr. Yates may be unwarranted. What these and others forget is that it's hard to make the right decision when you don't have a lot of options. According to Andrea Yates' brother, Andrew Kennedy, Russell Yates "did his best....He trusted the doctors and he did everything they said to do. He made sure she took her medication."

I have set up an e-mail list for people who would like to write movie reviews for Mensactivism.org. A few people e-mailed me personally stating that they wanted to join the list, and I have subscribed them. But if you haven't received the mailing list welcome message and still want to join up, click here and enter your e-mail address in the subscription form.