This story on azcentral.com reports that contraceptive use by men in India is extremely low, largely because of the high rate of failure of condoms. With that in mind, the India Council of Medical Research is measuring a variety of Indian men in order to create a variety of condom sizes, which they hope will reduce the failure rate. The ICMR officials said only three percent of Indians use condoms while 52 percent don't use any contraceptive method. " These measures could help protect men against unwanted children and disease.

Getting pampered in a spa used to be a mainly female pasttime, according to this short article, but now many men are starting to look for places of their own to improve their health and appearances. Enter a Parisian spa for men, which this fall is opening a spa for men in New York. It's a response to the growing numbers of guys sheepishly seeking help at traditional spas and cosmetic counters. "The idea is that men are too intimidated or embarrassed to ask the saleslady at Nordstrom about the bags under their eyes," says Sarah Anderson of the Grooming Lounge.

This column from jsonline.com claims that terrorism is "gendered male," and points to the fact that all 19 terrorists in the recent attacks on America were male. The author goes to great lengths to suggest that "not all men are terrorists," and even suggests that terrorism, like being a doctor and smoking, may be things that are male-dominated only for a time. From a women's studies source in the article: She would have been surprised, Ferree said, if it had been women who were flying planeloads of innocent people into buildings filled with more innocent people. We know females are capable of violence, but in most parts of the world women are far better known for raising children and nurturing family and community relationships, she said. The question in my mind is: why did the author choose this subject to write about at this time?

Today's Dear Abby column includes a heart-wrenching letter from the parents of a man who lived with an abusive woman for years. Fortunately for him, he's broken free of that relationship, and still maintains contact with his children. The most important part of this column, however, is that Dear Abby acknowledges that women can be perpetrators as well as victims. Scott's update: We'd like to give credit to Neil Steyskal for submitting this too.

nagzi writes "I was just finishing watching Star Trek: TNG (late night) and before I had a chance to turn the TV off, an infomercial came on about a product that's supposed to help with prostate cancer. They gave some pretty scary stats: 10 million men are walking around and do not even know that they have a problem. They talked about some of the operations that men have to go through to treat the cancer -- very scary. Also, Dirk Benedick (StarBuck from Battlestar Galactica) was helping to promote the product. He talked about his experiences when he tried to talk about prostate cancer on national TV, and he basically was told to stop talking about it. Maybe someone in a men's issues group could get a hold of Mr. Benedick to promote prostate cancer. The product is called Beta Prostate, and no, I don't have anything to do with it. I just found it interesting that so much information was given, and that there was actually something about prostate cancer on TV."

Vic writes "This is one of several articles in British Newspapers today that announce Labour's plans to introduce female-only shortlists in choosing MPs to feature in British Parliament as a means of "positive discrimination" against men to bump up the numbers of women in parliament. Is there any such thing as "positive discrimination"? - I'd like to know what others think, and would it lead to less able MPs standing in parliament? Is this cynical Blairite vote-catching in the same way Labour has a Minister for Women but not for men?"

Tonight's Mensactivism.org chat will be a continuation of last week's discussion on the male-only military draft. Based on the great turnout we had last week and the depth of the discussions, this topic is worthy of another chat session. To participate, click here for our on-line chat page and log in tonight, 10/3 at 9:30 PM Eastern Time.

Cheddah submitted this Boston Globe article and writes "A prenuptial agreement might not be upheld because the woman may have been under "unfair" circumstances when she signed it - MA Probate and Family Court Judge Catherine Sabaitis ruled that the agreement was not fair and reasonable, noting that Susan DeMatteo did not fully explore her options. ''I think this is a pivotal case for prenuptial agreements,'' said Mark T. Smith, one of Marty DeMatteo's lawyers. ''If this decision is upheld, then it is essentially going to make prenuptial agreements unenforceable.''" The ex-wife is complaining that her $35k/year alimony, house, car, and other benefits aren't satisfactory. The ex-husband also didn't earn his wealth - it was inherited. I think this is an obvious case of greed to the extreme.

Trudy Schuett's excellent DesertLight Journal e-zine has reached issue 13, and can be read at this link. As October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, the focus is on the domestic abuse of men, with several interesting essays. Trudy's also been heading a campaign to get the media to cover battered men - click here for a letter template and how you can participate.

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and, as many of us suspected, male victims are being ignored. This Web site focuses on Domestic Violence Awareness month as a time to acknowledge only female victims. This organization may benefit from a little enlightenment by some of our folks who are familiar with domestic violence against men.

This press release documents Australia's first 24-hour helpline for men. The helpline has been established to help men cope with stress, depression, and other problems. "If this service saves one life, connects one child with its father or better, helps families deal with separation, it will be extremely worthwhile," Mr Anthony said.

This article in the Moscow Times reports that DNA paternity testing is becoming a common solution for everything from visa applications to custody battles. The article also hints at how common paternity fraud may be in Russia. As strange as it may seem, some Western studies suggest that one out of every 10 children is not the biological offspring of the man officially recognized as the father.

Scott Haltzman, MD writes "Felice J. Freyer, medical journalist for the Providence Journal, interviewed me about my perspective on men's role in relationships. As a psychiatrist specializing in husbands, I have long felt that men are held to a female standard in marriage. Freyer states: "As Haltzman sees it, men are naturally--indeed biologically--inclinded to express themselves in action rather than words." The journalist, on the other hand, reports the men she knows "have trouble shutting up.""

This surprising article on Excite News claims that men who snack heavily on calcium foods like cheese, ice cream, and milk, may be at greater risk of developing prostate cancer. A high calcium intake, particularly from dairy products, may suppress blood levels of vitamin D. Besides serving as an important nutrient, vitamin D is a hormone that may protect against prostate cancer by preventing the proliferation of prostate cancer cells, Dr. June M. Chan, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. Other researchers say evidence for the link between calcium and prostate health is debatable.

This men's health article on Excite News claims that Tai Chi Chuan may be helpful in boosing older men's circulatory systems. "From the perspective of health promotion, Tai Chi is a suitable exercise for the elderly," Wang said. "It is a low-technology approach to conditioning that can be implemented with minimal cost and can be promoted easily in the elderly population owing to its slow and structured movements."