cheddah sent in this story from the National Organization for Women and writes "Can you believe that NOW is promoting the idea that family courts are biased against women!? Here is a quote: "These injustices are commonplace today in the closed-door family court system. These courts often claim to operate in a manner consistent with the "best interests of the child." In practice this often means that a judge, often a male judge, biased and imperious, defines that phrase. These judges decide, time and time again, when a woman raises the allegation of sexual abuse in a custody dispute, that it is she who will lose her children forever.""

Steve writes "The Associated Press has reported that there is speculation that male
passengers on the airplane that crashed in Pennsylvania may have
stopped further terrorist activities by the hijackers. In this news
story, the AP noted that men have prevented the hijackers
from causing further death and destruction. This seems to be
another example of positive male behavior. We [as men] are the protectors
of the world, and we often risk our personal safety--and
sometimes our lives--to protect others." I just found another article which talks about this event in more detail.

Trudy W Schuett sent in her opinion on a television show called "The Other Half," which is being aired on the NBC network. Click "Read More" below to read it. The program is not particularly friendly to men, to say the least.

Tonight's weekly on-line chat is going to be an open discussion. We made this decision since it is probable that people may want to discuss the events surrounding yesterday's tragedies in the United States. There are also a number of men's issues related to this event, including honoring the heroism of the hundreds of firefighters and law enforcement officials who gave their lives yesterday for the sake of saving others. Our on-line chat page can be found here, and we'll be starting the chat at 9:30 PM Eastern Time tonight, 9/12. All friends of the men's movement are welcome to join.

cheddah writes "Although this Boston Globe article does touch on issues relevant to men, it does not explore the reasons why men live on average shorter lives compared to women. Also - referring to men as "males" seems denigrating, and the author points out that men are emotionally dependent on women in order to live a happy life." I feel that the Globe should be applauded for covering such a rarely talked about topic, though - the lonliness of older men is a problem we should care about as a men's issue.

I feel obliged to say something, however unqualified I am to say it, about today's tragedy at the World Trade Center, and offer the condolences of the Mensactivism.org admin team to those who have suffered a personal loss from the attack. Certainly, every U.S. citizen, and most people in the world have felt the sting of this attack on human dignity and freedom. In particular, I hope the best for the folks I met in NYC recently who were organized and promoting men's rights there, and that they are safe at this time.

This column in alternative newsweekly OC Weekly raised the ire of several readers who wrote in to defend a man's right to keep his foreskin. The column writer was called sexist and a bigot for the statements of disgust she makes in her "censorship" column about uncut men.

According to this story on Fox News, the gap between the number of men and number of women in the U.S. has been closing rapidly since 1980, and closed most dramatically in the 1990s. Fortunately, the Fox article takes a newsier approach to this information than the AP and Reuters, which created headlines like this from the story: "Good News For Women! There Are More Men Available."

Bill Kuhl sent in a great essay he wrote about the research he's been doing on domestic violence against men. In it, he discusses two topics that are rarely spoken about in current DV literature: "domestic vandalism" of a person's property, and how the element of surprise is another way that women often gain an upper hand in the domestic abuse of men. See the "Read More" section below for his article.

Wendy McElroy's weekly Fox News column this week tackles the sensitive issue of how feminism has hijacked domestic violence and turned it into advocacy. She spends a great deal of print space, as well, explaining in terms with which we men's issues folks are now very familiar that men can be victims of domestic violence as well as women. Herself a victim of domestic violence, McElroy does a great job of examining how feminism has turned all women into victims and all men into perpetrators. She also mentions our own frequent contributor Marc Angelucci.

This story in Men's Health is particularly appropriate now because September is National Prostate Cancer Awareness Month (you may or may not have read so in the media). The article offers some good advice for men (young and old) about the risks and prevention of prostate cancer.

Fortunately for the men of Texas, a woman who claimed two men had assaulted her has now recanted that claim. She originally said two white males had carved the letters "KKK" into her chest. Law enforcement became suspicious of her story when she failed to retell it the same way. Turns out, she had carved the initials in her chest herself with a pair of scissors. Officials have not yet determined her motive for mutilating herself and then falsely alleging that two men had perpetrated the act. The woman is expected to face criminal charges for lying to police and will be charged the cost of the investigation.

Steve writes "I came across this in the Diversions section of U.S. News & World Report: "The Mind of the Married Man (HBO, debuts September 11, 10:30 p.m. EDT) is all about horrible husbands. That means cheating hearts, body parts, and R-rated fantasies. The leading men are - how to put this delicately - sex-addicted idiots. Still, the comedy series can be wildly funny, even poignant. Real-life partners won't be able to stop talking (and arguing) about it." I realize that HBO airs a few decent movies and shows (as well as mindless drivel), but do we really need a series like this? If you want to contact HBO, click here."

Kingsley Morse sent in another great article from the National Post, this one on "gold diggers" - women who hunt down men with lots of money for financial exploitation. The article interviews some self-professed "gold diggers" and some men who've had experience with this kind of woman, which is really insightful. In the end, though, it seems that there is too much justification of the gold diggers' motives, making it sound like being a gold digger is a demanding job in itself, and worthy of the "fruits" of its labor. I don't think the financial exploitation of men should be condoned any more than the sexual exploitation of women.

Andrew sent in this article from Canada's National Post, which should be very useful for people researching false accusations of sexual assault. The article includes many good stats and quotes from Canadian police departments, and also explains the very touchy issue of why a woman might make a false accusation, including cases where "the system" continues to prosecute a man long after it has been discovered that the accusation is false or unfounded.