Someone at Hefty has responded to my complaint about their current commercial trashing men. Among other reasons they give for running this ad is the fact that they ran it through several focus groups, which found it "humorous." She does not tell me what the ratio of women to men in those focus groups were. She does, however, apologize for the offensiveness of the advertisement. Her letter (as well as my original) may be read by clicking Read More below.

Tony writes "You might find this interesting. The educational Statistics Quarterly did a study looking at trends in educational equity of girls and women. The quote I found most interesting is," Data show that in school an in college, females are now doing as well as or better than males in many of the indicators of educational attainment, and that the large gaps in educational attainment that once existed between men and women have significantly decreased or been eliminated altogether." I find it interesting that a study on women and girls mentions this fact."

Tony sent in this article from the Toronto Star which discusses the rising number of women being charged with domestic violence. In one case mentioned, a woman made 320 harassing phone calls to her estranged boyfriend in a span of two weeks. She even continued to call after the police warned her to stop. We reported on a similar situation a while back where a man created a web site called Psychoexgirlfriend.com and documented her calls on his site.

Neil Steyskal submitted this article about some women from Afghanistan who are challenging the U.S. media's portrayal that men are dominating tyrants in Afghan families. It was an excellent, rare article and we should praise the Washington Post for printing this story. Comment to: letters@washpost.com.

Dr. Matrix writes "Liz Claiborne's "love is not abuse" campaign against domestic violence includes a web site. The site suggests that men should be recognized "not only as perpetrators or potential offenders, but as bystanders who can confront abusive males," but directly acknowledges neither that women can be abusers nor the extent to which they are and...promulgates the stereotype that only men are abusers and only women are victims." Dr. Matrix included some quotes from the site that displayed this bias, which can be read in the Read More section of this story.

DaveW writes "Race and sex discrimination finally ends in the admissions process at the University of Georgia after a successful lawsuit by Atlanta attorney Lee Parks over reverse discrimination."

DaveW writes "Amidst all the anti-male hatred in the media, [there is] a story in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution of a man giving his life to save strangers - a woman and a child he didn't even know." Randy Burris pushed a baby stroller out of the way of an oncoming car, and was hit instead. He died two days later and is an example of some of the self-sacrifice we take for granted from men these days.

Vince writes "Here, the intolerance of Tolerance.org is displayed. As usual, they don't mention any data whatsoever on battered men. Contact them through this page. Let's make them aware of their intolerance. Let's make them aware that men make up far more than the "5%" myth." Update: Neil Steyskal had also sent in a similar article from the Washington Times.

The Learning Channel Saturday night featured a documentary about a connection between a man's likelihood of contracting AIDS if he is uncircumcised. Scientists working in Africa found that men who were uncut were more likely get to the disease because of thin keratic cells on the inside of the foreskin. NOCIRC, an anti-circumcision group in the U.S., did not dispute the science, but maintained that a public policy encouraging circumcision is not a wise step. Instead, they said, this research should promote further research. Check tlc.com for their schedule and when this show will run again. WARNING: This documentary is graphic and does show the faces of young African boys as they are being circumcised. It also displays the removed foreskin of an adult man who had donated his foreskin to the AIDS research. Scott's note: Thanks also to nagzi for submitting this.

The UK-based Imperial Cancer Research Fund is a leading British medical charity and leads the world in cancer research. It also discriminates against the male sex,almost as a matter of routine, by organising an annual sporting event from which men are excluded. Douglas Rome, a Scottish writer whose work has already appeared here, protested to the ICRF, only to find that it was insultingly arrogant and unconcerned about its sexism. In this essay on AngryHarry, Douglas suggests how the ICRF can be challenged and addresses a ton of other issues related to men's rights. It's long, but good.

alphamale writes "This article by Mark Steyn describes how feminists have missed the point of what went on in Afghanistan. Steyn cames across articles in the Boston Globe and the Montreal Gazette in which one feminist (or as I like to think of them: female chauvinists) claimed that women in Afghanistan were forced by society to cover up; while the other article stated that in the Western world, society forces women to undress. Neither viewpoint is accurate and as Steyn notes, society has not thrust unreasonable body image expectations on women - just look around. Most women do not look like Kate Moss! I guess the conclusion is that as long as you can make some connection to the lies of feminism, you can get funding and get published."

Don't forget, Sunday night will be the first chat sponsored by both Mensactivism.org and iFeminism.com. The topic, which has caused a lot of interest from both groups is the Boulder Public Library male-bashing art exhibit. The chat will be held in the Mensactivism.org chat room, and will begin at 9:00 PM Eastern time this Sunday, Dec. 2. We'll have a different group that usual, and this would be a great opportunity to meet some of our supporters from the Individualist Feminist movement.

Tom Parker surprised me by sending in an updated version of our logo. He gave it a more beveled/3-D look, and I think it's great! Thank you, Tom! Update: Brad also just sent in new icons for for the following news topics: men's organizations, circumcision, and masculinity. They can be seen here. Thanks Brad!

Neil Steyskal writes "Here's a Baltimore Sun column on Afghan women. Isn't it curious how these media campaigns spread? Comment to: letters@baltsun.com." In addition, Neil sent in this New York Times article, which also fails to mention men. Comment to: letters@nytimes.com. The latest Men's Health America posting is a request for people to catch up with the background reading and to send in some letters over the weekend.

Marc Angelucci writes "To all who wrote the LA Times, thanks! They printed Neil Steyskal's letter responding to the articles that only focus on Afghan women but not men. These editors are of course quite biased. I know a number of people who wrote letters. But the editors printed only one and printed a letter on top of it that attacks men for having a back track record in Afghan leadership. No doubt they did this to send the subtle "but it's men who do it" message. Anyhow, nice job Neil!" Neil also was printed in the Richmond Times-Dispatch and the Baltimore Sun. Way to go, man!