I was fortunate to have the opportunity to attend A Conference on Male Victims of Domestic Abuse in Portland, Maine on Friday evening. The event was sponsored by the Maine Battered Men's Helpline and the Bangor Daily News, and was superbly done. Speakers included David Burroughs, Mary Cleary, Cathy Young, and Richard Davis. Click "Read More" below to view a summary of the event and see some photos that I took (with a very cheap digital camera, I might add).

Spartacus submitted this ABCNews story and these excerpts: "Hoping for a slice of the competitive, upscale divorce market pie, Brookman Solicitors, a London law firm has released a campaign featuring a poster of a packed designer suitcase with the caption, "Ditch the Bitch."
Another poster, this one aimed at women, showed a woman in her underwear lying face down on a bed. It reads: "All men are Bastards."...for some women's rights groups, the real villain in this case was the ad campaign. "This is offensive terminology and very derogatory to women," "The heart of the problem, some legal experts feared, was that the British legal tradition was going down the "American road," with aggressive, confrontational campaigns virtually encouraging people to get divorced"

frank h and Nightmist both had news to submit about the recent U.S. Census report. frank h sent in this article from the Washington Post and writes "This U.S. Census report says that single-parent families led by fathers are in the increase. Note that it also says that fathers tend not to seek child support for fear of losing custody." Nightmist wrote "The New York Post ran this commentary, which asserts that there is both good news and bad news from the results of the 2000 Census. Good news? Men are catching up to women in numbers. Bad news? Single motherhood is up 21% while two-parent househoulds are up only 7%."

Trudy W Schuett writes "A hint for some of us activists from Sam and Bunny Sewell: Recently we have been sending
the below notice to City Councilmen, County Commissioners, law enforcement agencies,
churches, etc. We access a women's shelter web page in Anytown, USA. If that web page
contains the usual lies, we start bombarding community leaders with this short note. We
are not sure how much good it does, but boy do people respond!" Click "Read More" below for the notice.

Nightmist writes "This article in Australia's "The Age" points out that women are just now discovering what men have known for years about developing a career and maintaining a family at the same time: it ain't easy. The author, in fact, says it can't be done. He points out that the "we can have it all" philosophy of the feminists is backfiring on them, but men are getting the blame for it because we "don't pitch in.""

Rick Neagle from Fathers Are Capable Too (FACT) sent me some more information about the pro-father conference at the University of Toronto which will be happening on June 3. Regardless of whether you're from the Toronto area, this conference will be a major event and is well worth attending. Note that the "early bird" registration fee lasts until May 25, and will go up after that - so register today! More information on this conference can be viewed by clicking "Read More" below, and you can register at this web site.

Spartacus sent in this link from the L.A. Times about the recent news that Japan's princess is pregnant, and writes "This time the you don't have to read between the lines to get the feminist agenda: "No announcement has yet been made on the sex of the child. But recent calls by the prime minister for legal changes allowing women to ascend the throne have fueled speculation that the child will be a girl. Women's groups and social critics say having an empress could help improve women's profile--and give Japan a better monarch. "Men always seem to be starting wars," said Midori Watanabe, a professor at Bunka Women's University and expert on the royal family. "So we definitely need a female ruler as a symbol of peace in the 21st century.""

Insight Magazine reports that the National Organization of Women has been lying about its annual budget and membership levels. A N.O.W. chapter from Virginia requested the IRS non-profit documents of the national group and found that while N.O.W. has claimed it has an annual budget of $10 million, the budget has been under $5 million in the past few years. Furthermore, its claimed membership of over 250,000 is also inaccurate. What I found most interesting is that the salary of Patricia Ireland was disclosed: "The filings suggest that NOW's top leaders enjoy pretty good incomes and lifestyles. The salaries of the top five, including Ireland, are at the level of Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. Ireland receives $143,252 for a 34-hour workweek. All five top officers also receive generous expense accounts and travel allowances."

Nightmist writes "Excite posted this story about a new drug which appears to slow the progress of prostate cancer to the bones. The article explains that the spread of prostate cancer to the bones is usually the most painful stage of the disease, and is a major cause of death among men with the cancer. The drug is no cure (it doesn't kill cancer cells), but it apparently does prevent them from growing."

The organization Human Rights Watch has completed a three-year study on the prison rape of men, resulting in a 378 page report on the topic. You can view the materials here. There are video interviews with some of the 200+ prisoners who took part in the study. This is by far the most comprehensive study I've ever seen on the topic of prison rape, and by including the accounts and recordings of inmate interviews, this site forces you to confront the personal reality of this issue. If you are doing research in this area, this is one report you must see.

frank h writes "I'm not sure how many folks already knew this. I did not, but I had suspected all along the feminist leanings of the YWCA. Hopefully, this will result in decreased funding from private sources, but it probably won't. They must've found a way to get VAWA funding by subscribing to NOW ideals. Look here for more info."

Here's a site all Men's groups and parents in general (even more so if they have sons in school) should read up on, regardless of what they're working towards. Peter Breggin has an excellent resource about informing people of the the undisscussed dangers of stimulants and other drugs (like Ritalin) and is also fronting several lawsuits against Ritalin. I'm sure you've heard the saying "no man is an island?" well he's the exception, so click this link to get going.

Andrew writes "Finally, the definitive answer to Freud's famous question: According to a national poll commissioned by Women.com in honor of Mother's Day, 'Most American women consider high-profile single mothers such as Rosie O'Donnell positive female role models, but 72 percent of women want two-parent households to raise their children.' Whew; it's good to have that cleared up. (Actually, read the article and it becomes clear that what they want is not the man, but the money.)"

The L.A. Times printed this story about a recent California court case which has ruled that biological fathers who have terminated their parental rights cannot be held liable for child support. Previously, even when a child was adopted, the bio dad could still be required to pay child support. "attorney...Patrick Reardon...said it is illogical for a father to have an obligation to support his son but be denied the right to visit him." Finally I see a court case which sees fathers as something other than a wallet! Perhaps this could also set a precedent that fathers paying child support have an intrinsic right to visit their children, and that violation of this right puts child support obligations in jeapordy?

The Bangor Daily News reports that a conference about male victims of domestic violence will be held in Portland, Maine this coming Friday, May 18. Noteworthy speakers will include Cathy Young and Mary Cleary (from AMEN). Myself and a few members of the Massachusetts Coalition for Men will be attending. The conference is one of the first of its kind and has drawn interest from all over the country. Click here for the story and more info on the conference.