Tony submitted this CNN article and writes "Before anyone gets excited that men might be catching up to women should read this article. Widowers 65+ number about 2 million but widows number 8.5 million. A huge disparity still exists. This article discusses a few reasons why being the surviving spouse is more difficult for men. And it has a heart touching story of a widower."

During the last MANN on-line chat, we discussed starting a group book reading project to help educate activists about the issues and encourage people to buy and read books on or related to men's rights. The first book we decided on reading is Christina Hoff Sommer's book Who Stole Feminism?: How Women Have Betrayed Women. If you received a gift certificate to a book store recently (or even if you didn't), you might want to pick up a copy of this book and join our discussions on it. Click Read More below for details on our reading schedule and what to do to join us.

Wendy McElroy explores the spirit of this holiday in her latest column, "Random Acts of Kindness." She also tells the tale of how she was attacked in a letter by a mainstream feminist after her last column, which advocated good will toward men. And now we see why it is so important for us to let Wendy know we support her, and to speak up against wrongs, even when some might consider it "whining."

Trudy Schuett released her final DesertLight Journal of the year today, this issue focusing on holiday greetings and a review of this year's events. The MANN admin team submitted a short piece for this issue which can also be read in the Read More section below. Merry Christmas everyone!

Here is a special column I wrote for the holiday editions of both MANN and ifeminists.com. Although I do explore the serious issues of stereotypes and bigotry toward men these days, it is my hope that you will read this column and chuckle a bit, too, at my recent holiday shopping escapade. Happy holidays to each and every one of you.

This story details China's first ever sexual harassment lawsuit, filed by a woman who claimed that her boss repeatedly groped her and propositioned her for sex. The court ruled that it was difficult to obtain direct evidence in the case and to confirm independently the alleged victim's story. In addition, it noted that there was no law on sexual harassment in China, the official Xinhua news agency reported. While sexual harassment is wrong, the Chinese court was correct in its decision in this case. And although women's "issues" groups have been pushing for stricter policies and laws which take alleged female victims at their word (much like America), the court recognized that, in the end, it was his word against hers, and not proven.

Neil Steyskal pointed me to this story in the L.A. Times which expounds upon the popular notion that religions throughout history have been based on misogyny and "masculine insecurity." I would claim that religions and historic traditions were based on certain sex role separations for reasons of survival, not hatred, and that these roles weren't always fair or friendly to men, either. Comment to: letters@latimes.com.

James Soucy writes "The following is a letter I sent by both snail and e-mail in reply to Cheddah's submission concerning the boy-bashing products sold at Ames department stores. I strongly urge all those who partake of this website and others like it to do likewise whenever such an injustice occurs for the following reason: IT WORKS. There really is strength in numbers, guys. So SPEAK UP and be heard! It took me a whole of two minutes to compose and send this response, and I'm only getting faster with each one. You can too. Happy Holidays to all!" Click Read More to view James' letter, and feel free to post your own in the comments section of this story and the previous Ames one.

Shawn Larsen writes "The Carnegie Hero Fund Commission presented awards to 24 individuals today for recent acts of heroism. 23 of the 24 recipients are boys and men. More information can be found here."

donaldcameron1 writes "In an article in Canadian newspaper The National Post we are informed of the honored last request of a dying young man for sex with a woman. I'm ambivalent about this and wonder if I (one) would respond differently if this was a female adolescent making the request. Do we as a group have an elucidated opinion?" This is an interesting and unusual dilemma, what do you think?

Ragtime also sent in this article earlier this month about how men's groups in the Toronto area are challenging a "standard reference book" used by domestic violence advocates which is full of the typical feminist myths regarding DV. The challenge has caused quite a stir, and it will be interesting to see what it results in.

Cheddah wrote in to inform everyone that at Ames department stores, (a popular retail chain in the Northeast) the vending machines found in the store or the entryway have recently included stickers that bash boys. See the Read More section below for Cheddah's description of this (including a photo) and where to write in protest. It's bad enough that children see men mocked on TV continually, but to market stickers like this to their peers? It's disturbing to think that these kids are being "trained" early on to accept male bashing as a fact of life.

Mike Geanoulis from the NCFC-NH group wrote an excellent editorial which was printed in Foster's Daily Democrat. Mike's article exposes the bureaucratic inefficiency of the child support collection system, and that despite news reports claiming that the agency is collecting more and more money, the percentage collected per case is actually staying the same, or getting worse. This combined with the fact that child support collection is inextricably linked with a father's access to his children, suggests that the system is doing nothing to help children and families in its current state, and is in need of reform.

Don't forget, tonight there will be an on-line chat at the iFeminists.com chat room where guest Gordon Pusch, a computational biologist, will discuss genetics and reproductive technology. The discussion will also inevitably focus on how this technology will affect men's and women's reproductive rights. The chat starts at 9:30 PM EST on 12/23. See you there!

Ragtime sent in this UK Telegraph article a while ago, which I'm just getting around to posting now. It's about the new book Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News, which claims that all of the major American media outlets have a strongly liberal bias and intentionally make conservatives or liberal cause opponents look bad. This certainly resonates with my observations of the media, but the fact that Goldberg is an "insider" and quotes people directly discussing this bias makes the material all the more interesting.