Cecil Adams, the pseudonym for the columnist who writes the Chicago Reader's "Straight Dope" column every week, apparently isn't really "The World's Smartest Human" after all. In this column about Kegel exercises, Cecil essentially apologizes to women for being male. All these years men have worried about how long it is, and now they have to worry about how strong it is. I'm not saying that makes up for labor pains, menstruation, and breast cancer, but at least guys don't have it all their way. Make up for breast cancer? Apparently, Cecil hasn't heard of prostate cancer. As for the rest, why should men be punished for woman's biology?

Bill Kuhl sent in an original article he wrote about the "lost boys of Sudan," a group of refugee boys and men who fled chaos and forced military service in their home country and who are now struggling to integrate into a new culture while trying to protect what is left of their own. It's an interesting read. You know the deal - click "Read More" below for the essay.

In Wendy McElroy's latest column, she explains the differences between mainstream feminism and "individualist" feminism, which focuses on women's issues but seeks equal treatment of men and women under just law (women are neither discriminated against nor given special privleges compared to men). Although the column does not specifically address the men's movement, it does address some of the issues crucial therein. Mainstream feminism says, "Reform divorce laws to make them just." Individualist feminism says, "the very existence of marriage/divorce laws is an injustice because the State has no proper authority over what should be a private contract between individuals."

Neil Steyskal submitted this article from the Houston Chronicle. Apparently, the number of divorce case dismissals has skyrocketed since the Sept. 11 attack. "Family-law attorneys have found that clients contemplating divorce, as well as those in the middle of one, now say they will try to patch things up. Family-law cases, the vast majority of which are divorces, have been dismissed in nearly three times the volume in the days after the tragedy as in the days before it." I guess the event really put people's problems in perspective.

New Zealand's Stuff reports on a female educator who believes that boys currently have little direction and no true sense of what it means to be male, and for too many young men, prison is their only "male right of passage." She advocates for a men's movement, similar to feminism, that will give boys a strong identity and empower them to lead strong and healthy lives. "[Ms Lashlie] said the excitement of being truly male had been vaporised and washed away by feminism...She called for the boys' schools to publicly promote the place of men in society and celebrate their differences from women." You can read the story here.

This column in Playboy asserts that men are stupid. It backs up this assumption with statistics comparing the number of men in college versus the number of women. Further, it attempts to "guide" men in our efforts to date women "smarter" than we are. Obviously, Playboy's editors decided to trash their famous journalistic endeavors of the past in favor of taking feminist numbers at face value, without exploring the real reasons fewer men are in college or show any ambition these days. Namely, college campuses are politically correct and not male friendly places. Neither is the classroom.

This story in the Salt Lake Tribune quotes a female "academic" who claims that the sports world (which she admits was created by men for men), particularly the Olympics, is discriminatory against women. Nevermind that every year the Olympic committee is adding more sports and medals for women athletes, she says. That's only a reminder that women have a long way to go.

This short column on the New York Times Web site (free registration required) points out the well-known fact that females fetuses are less likely to be still-born or spontaneously aborted, but the last line struck me as an extension of the "men's shorter lifespans are a women's issue" argument: The W.H.O. warns, "When this female potential for greater longevity is not realized it is an indication of serious health hazards in their immediate environment," like malnutrition or neglect.

According to this article from CourierPress.com, scientists may have discovered that a certain type of Y-chromosome (which starts the process of a fetus becoming male) may contribute to the fact that men are twice as likely as women to have high blood pressure until age 55.

Missingsomething.com has a list of 8 recommendations to solve the problem of child support, mainly by getting rid of the bureaucracy involved and maintaining the parent/child relationship by keeping it the way it was before divorce. One final recommendation I would add is joint physical custody, so that regardless of whom the NCP is, they can look after their kids directly, without compromising their relationship. Here's the link to it.

I've a found an interesting article where "Doc Love" advises men to be more conniving so they can stand on an equal level with women. Perhaps this quote sums up the article better than I could: "You and your girlfriends say that I'm teaching men to be conniving women. Well, I couldn't have said it better myself. If fathers would teach their sons to be a little more conniving, then the war of the sexes might be a bit more of a fair fight instead of manslaughter." Heresy or honesty? Don't ask me, I just post articles around here :)

Tonight's on-line chat will be about the male-only military draft. Is it sexist? If so, what should be done about it? Should women be drafted, or should the draft be abolished? Or is there some other solution? Join us tonight to discuss these and other questions related to the draft and men's issues. I've begun to wonder if the draft could now become a common cause for young men that would bring them into the men's movement. If so, how should this be done? Click here for our on-line chat page and join us at 9:30 PM Eastern Time tonight!

Frank Hujber submitted his own essay about the value of masculinity in society, particularly to deal with massive disasters such as what the United States has recently experienced. His essay, A Comment on Heroes, can be read by clicking Read More below.

Ragtime wrote in a short article about the state of affairs in Ontario, Canada, these days with regard to domestic violence. If you're a long time visitor of this web site, you'll recall that we reported on a law passed in Ontario called Bill 117 - which is the most extreme form of punishment on someone accused of domestic violence that I've heard of to date. The worst part is that the consequences occur not after a conviction, but upon a simple accusation, which need not be verified by the police in any form. Click Read More below for Ragtime's discussion of the matter.

rparent32 writes "This link is to the original story, and the second is a follow up. What I found interesting is that this piece doesn't deal with injured genitals in the familiar humorous genre. Also I found it interesting that the cop didn't want to press charges, because the women had enough problems already. It seems she, and others, lost their jobs, and this was the reason for the protest. Why do so many men refuse to press charges against women? Is it just an extension of the old concept of chivalry?"