The Portland Press Herald printed a story about controversy stirring over a registry of people who have been investigated for child abuse cases, which is routinely used for background checks by employers. Just recently the people who were in the registry no longer have to be contacted about it, and there are many people in it who have been wrongly accused for child abuse or neglect. The article can be read here.

This report on Excite News claims that prison inmates who are mentally ill often go untreated, and that the number of mentally ill people in prison is underestimated. It also says that female prisoners are treated at a higher rate for mental illness than their male counterparts. Anyone surprised?

cheddah sent in this AP article, which as the title states is about a woman who received 45 days in prison and must stop teaching for having sexual contact with two 17 year-old male students of hers. The teacher's lawyer was quoted as saying "[his client] was worried about being treated fairly by the courts because of her gender and the publicity surrounding the charges, but was satisfied with the outcome."

Kathleen Parker wrote a great article for TownHall.com in which she discusses the recent WI court decision barring a "deadbeat dad" from having any more children. While the idea makes sense on the surface, there is a lot more at stake when it comes to our civil rights, as Parker clearly points out. The ruling also reinforces a gender double standard, "This court ruling is just one more message that men are no-count predators while women are hapless victims. Women choose; men lose." And this is how it's been so far in the history of men's reproductive rights.

Ken sent me a few articles about a boy who died while attending a reform school/camp for troubled youths. These camps are often harshly physically abusive to children in an attempt to scare them out of their antisocial behavior. And of course, these camps are populated almost exclusively by boys, something not pointed out in any of these articles. A story from the New York Times (free registration required to read) can be read here, and there are two other articles from the Arizona Republic, article1 and article2.

Alan Carr has created a site and a movement idea called the International Men's Network. The idea is that the network grows by each participant finding two other men to join, and each "cell" of three men writes in protest or support of a particular cause each month. I think it's a neat idea. His web site was pretty hard for me to read, and I've been told he's had problems with some people's browsers but not others, so check it out and if you are having trouble reading it just e-mail Alan at pc006a0002@blueyonder.co.uk and I'm sure he'd be glad to explain.

As posted to the Men's Health America list, "This recent report from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reveals that even though occupational death rates are falling, men account for 93% of all occupational deaths." The CDC report updates the information covered by Warren Farrell in his groundbreaking book The Myth of Male Power, where I first learned about this enormous gender disparity.

Douglas Rome, a Scottish poet and professional journalist, sent in an engaging essay about the current happenings of the men's movement in Scotland, and the struggles it is facing. Of the many things one might call Douglas Rome, complacent isn't one of them - his writing style mixes news journalism with confrontational editorial commentary that makes no apologies. Douglas covers the status of several key men's rights issues, including father's legal rights, male suicide, false rape accusations, and more. Click Read More below for the essay.

Anonymous User writes "A former teacher in Canada has been awarded some money after a parent falsely accused him of sexual misconduct. The story can be read here." The teacher received $70,000, after having proved that the parent intended to cause "destruction through a gratuitous, malicious and a vicious attack."

This report on Excite News indicates that British men are now three times as likely as women to take their own lives. In 1971, men were 1.5 times more likely. Researchers for this study claim they have not yet found a cause for the increase in suicide among men, while women's suicide rates have remained relatively stable.

Peter Allemano writes "The Greater New York Chapter of the National Coalition of Free Men is considering undertaking a research project involving issues surrounding divorce in New York State. Initially, information is sought about New York attorney JoAnn Douglas and New York Supreme Court Justice Judith J. Gische. Anyone with knowledge about, or personal experience with, either of these individuals is
kindly requested to contact Joseph R. Sahid, Esq." I've moved Sahid's other contact info into the Read More section, but his e-mail is sahid@att.net.

Although articles like this one on AskMen.com leave a lot to be desired in terms of depth, I do think it brings up a good point. The author points out that society pressures men to be obsessed with what women want--what makes women happy--in a relationship. Why not turn the tables? Here are 10 things that men might want in order to be happy in a relationship.

An Anonymous User sent me an article from the Sydney Morning Herald. It describes how young men surveyed showed a dramatic difference in the satisfaction with their lives, depending on whether they had a girlfriend or not. Furthermore, only 18 percent of fathers feel satisfied with their relationship with their teenage sons. Perhaps the two could be related? It's probable that when men are trained to depend on women for emotional support, that this kind of scenario is bound to happen. You can read the article here.

Igor writes "I was channel surfing late last night (7/11/01), and I stopped on "Politically Incorrect," a show on ABC that tackles abrasive issues with comedy (always a good approach). Last night, the focus was on feminism and its flaws. One of the guests was (hooray!!!) Christina Hoff Sommers. She did an amazing job fending off the most anti-male guest (ironically, a man), a film director whose name escapes me. He reminded me of the way I (and, I suspect, a few of you) used to be, and I pitied him. Bill Maher (the host) and CHS made some great points during the show, and a transcript should be up any time now at the "Politically Incorrect" website."

Not PC sent me this article from the UK Telegraph about a male contraceptive pill. The drug would be a pill which hormonally stops sperm production and would be effective for three years. Testosterone injections would have to be given to maintain normal sex drive, but according to the article, "The results to date show completely reversible blockage of sperm production without major side effects."