Episode two has been released of the Men's Hour, a streaming audio program which discusses men's rights issues, particularly in the UK. An interview with Len Miskulin, the father who went on a very severe hunger strike for 63 days, is included, as well as a man who was put in prison for giving his child a birthday present. RealAudio and Windows Media formats are available.

This story on Excite News heralds the end of Ford Motor Co's 2000 grading scale policy, which was introduced in an effort by Ford executives to get rid of the older white males populating the majority of management positions at the company. The policy became the target of several age, sex, and race discrimination lawsuits (the story labels the lawsuits "reverse discrimination" lawsuits because the people filing them are white males).

This AP article describes how France has finally ended its military draft, and is releasing all men from service who were conscripted. Like the U.S., any man of 18 years old was eligible to be drafted. Unfortunately, it is not the sexism of the draft which brought about its demise, but France's feeling that it was simply no longer a military necessity (because of volunteerism and the lack of a serious national threat).

This article on Excite News is a bit frightening because, as the scientist quoted in the article states, it opens up an "ethical can of worms." Scientists in Australia believe they've found a way to fertilize eggs from cells from any part of the body, not just from male sperm (in mice). Scientists argue that this means infertile males may now have their own biological offspring (as can lesbian couples). Right now, they're predicting more problems than successes. Australia and other countries currently have a ban on this type of experimentation with human eggs.

Chad sent in this article from the UK Guardian. It's about a 48 year-old man who is suing for a part of his late mother's estate. His mother, who sexually abused him when he was a child, left him completely out of her will. Raymond Marks claims he has experienced disorders including bulimia due to the abuse, and was the only child in his family.

This short article on Excite news describes how Madonna has taken what she started with her "What It Feels Like For a Girl" video and continued it on her "Drowned World" tour. At one point in the show, she shoots a man "who has been harassing her" with a rifle. For those who haven't seen the video, it features Madonna and an elderly woman recklessly driving a stolen car, which they then use to run over, kill, and injure men on the streets.

frank h writes "As a follow-up to the Glenn Sacks item posted July 6, here's a piece from the NY Post on a related topic. When will the judges understand that just because a man CAN beat his wife in a fight doesn't mean he WILL."

The Men's Health America list sent out this interesting message which shows how the United States Department of Defense is sponsoring prostate cancer research. More info can be found on this fact sheet.

Without running the Andrea Yates story in the ground (mother who killed her five children by drowing them in a bathtub), this commentary from the Iowa State Daily in plain-English states what I think many men are probably thinking right now. If the father had been the perpetrator, he would've already been convicted: both in the mind of the public, and especially in the press. The press seems ominously sympathetic to Andrea Yates, though, because of her claims that post-partum depression made her do it. Check the author's stats on that in this piece.

Tim Campbell posted the following to the newsgroup soc.men, which I thought would be relevant to readers here: "The Men's Helpline is organized and run by men in the Guelph, Ontario, Canada area, with various backgrounds and experiences. We share a common interest in helping ourselves and others with problems. Our Mission is: to provide a telephone help line for men, to provide an open support group for all men, to invite discussion among men about the issues that we face, and to provide a Web-based presence, as well as resource links to other sites." Their web site can be found here.

John Waters wrote an important opinion piece for the Irish Times, where he looks into the causes for the ever-increasing rate of male suicides. He expresses frustration about how society doesn't want to understand why young men are killing themselves in such high numbers, and would rather leave the question to "experts" who can come up with biological reasons for depression rather than exposing the anti-male climate we live in today. It's a great article.

Earlier we had reported on the Canadian women's groups that have refused to sit at the table with father's rights advocates to discuss changes to Canada's divorce laws. From this National Post story: "Although the consultations ended last month, the Justice Department and its provincial partners are considering a special session for "women's equality-seeking organizations" that are fighting proposed changes to the federal Divorce Act. Those changes would give separated and divorced parents an equal say in raising their children under a new concept called shared parenting. The women's groups are urging governments "not to cave into a father's rights groups agenda."" Apparently it's okay to cave into the agenda of the women's groups, though.

Calvin Washington, 45, has been released from a Texas prison after 14 years, according to this article on CNN. He was convicted of rape and murder, but DNA evidence has now exonerated him. From the article: "I'm speechless," Washington said after leaving the McLennan County Jail. "It was hard to do time like that knowing you didn't commit the crime."

This article in Christian Science Monitor tells the story of an African American state trooper who was pulled over, essentially, for "Driving While Black." He took it to court, believing he had a case, but the system apparently believes prejudice is OK if one is a police officer. Next, it'll be Spanish speaking people, then it'll be men in general...

I received an excellent article from Glenn Sacks, who had it published in both the Pasadena Star-News and the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. He only sold them market rights to the article, so I'm fortunate that it can be reprinted here (it's not in the web edition of either of the two newspapers). Click Read More to view an insightful essay into the reasons why society wants to make excuses for women, especially mothers, who murder.