An Anonymous User sent in this link to a Reuters story which briefly mentions that the practice of flogging men in prison will no longer be used, due to a vote by the Egyptian Parliament. The article did mention that women were never flogged in prisons in the first place, which I thought was interesting.

Larry writes "Men's News Daily points to a pair of articles, one at Scotsman.com and one in The Economist, which comment on the rising visibility of the men's movement. Both tend to characterize men's issues as confused whining. Both take heart in what they interpret as "encouraging" signs of self-doubt in men. These writers seem to believe the proper goal of society for the last thirty years has been to break that damnable male quality of autonomy and self-containment. Apparently they think society has finally succeeded." Also thanks to an Anon User who sent in the Scotsman article.

I received an e-mail today from Charles Curie, who is the newly appointed administrator of the
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The e-mail was in regard to my complaint about the treatment of Christina Hoff Sommers when she was invited to speak at a conference discussing the value of the "Girl Power" and "Boy Talk" programs. Hoff Sommers questioned the value of these programs, was shouted off the stage, and told to "shut the fuck up, bitch" by one Dr. Jay Wade, a professor who teaches a class in "listening skills." Mr. Curie was most apologetic, and has apologized to Hoff Sommers as well. Read his message to me by clicking Read More below.

This horrifying article from the Fatherhood Coalition's Web site details Massachusettes efforts to put non-custodial parents (namely fathers) in prison for not paying up to 40 percent of their wages to the custodial parent. The story goes on to describe some of the civil rights violations of due process forced upon non-custodial fathers. For robbery, aggravated assault, homicide -- and perhaps even flying airplanes into buildings -- defendants are assumed innocent until proven guilty, provided legal counsel at taxpayer expense, and given every consideration to guarantee that their civil rights aren’t violated in the process of ascertaining their guilt. Non-custodial fathers should be so lucky.

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.