This article from Australia's The Age is about an American man who is suing his employer, Verizon, and his health insurance company for not covering expensive treatment for breast cancer. "An American man with breast cancer sued his employer and health insurers for $US 2 million, saying he was denied adequate treatment because he is a man...[the insurance company] has allowed the same procedure for women...About 1600 men are diagnosed with breast cancer each year, and about one-quarter of them will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Society.

In another positive false accusations story - AngryHarry submitted this story from the UK Telegraph about the Scottish Parliament Justice Committee's support of creating anonymity for those accused of rape. "The reforms were proposed by George McAulay, the Scottish chairman of the UK Men's Movement. His petition to parliament had sought for men accused of rape to have the same courtroom anonymity as their alleged victims to protect them from 'unjust stigma.'" These two stories should help to renew hope that progress can be made to prevent false accusations and protect those falsely accused.

The Winnipeg, Canada Child and Family Services office has undergone dramatic changes in the way child abuse accusations are investigated, with most of the changes helping to reveal those who were falsely accused. The National Post story can be read here. Most importantly, the accused person is now interviewed by the social workers, where previously he could not even tell his own side of the story. "The policy of interviewing accused persons is one 'every father and grandparent who has ever been accused has prayed for,' says Ms. Malenfant. 'These changes are fantastic. I used to be the most vocal critic of Winnipeg's child welfare system, but I believe it's the best in the country right now.'"

I received a message from Peter Allemano about a special event involving Warren Farrell. He is going to be on a radio program tonight (1/31) and will be debating men's issues with a "gender relations expert" on a show that has a host notorious for being anti-male. You can participate in the program even if you're not within range of the radio station - you can listen on-line and still call in to show your support of Warren. Click "Read More" below for further instructions.

Ed Bartlett from Men's Health America submitted a great article from the L.A. Times about male grieving and dealing with the death of a father. It is in line with the past feature article we had by Tom Golden, stating "Men...are not the emotional cripples society has stereotyped them as. They deeply feel the loss of their fathers. Some cry, some don't. Some talk, many won't. But they do grieve, albeit very differently from women."

Marc Angelucci sent me an informational flyer for the Barnes & Noble petition campaign which you can download by clicking here (it's in MS Word format). Feel free to distribute and tell others about it! Barnes & Noble has gone without a book section on Men's Studies for too long, and needs customer feedback for this to change.

An Anonymous User submitted a link to Cathy Young's article in Reason magazine about boys and the education gap. There is an interesting contrast of the views of Christina Hoff-Sommers vs. William Pollack, and the article is typical of Young's consider-both-sides-of-the-story approach, which always sounds reasonable and lets the reader decide on the outcome. It's a very good essay, and includes many relevant statistics. Check it out.

BusterB writes "Well, finally - justice is also starting to apply to women, after the Mary Kay LeTourneau fiasco and a couple of similar cases in Canada in which the teachers in question weren't even charged with a crime (although they did lose their jobs). This is a different jurisdiction, of course, but perhaps the justice system is slowly waking up to the idea that there is no excuse for female teachers having sex with their students, and that the students weren't "asking for it" simply because they were male. Now if only we can get judges to realize that rape victims shouldn't have to pay child support...then we'd be seeing some real progress."

Jon Mollison submitted this CBSNews story and writes, "The article offers a few thin excuses for the increased suicide rate of divorced men but fails to mention the high rates of men who are denied access to their children. It does mention that women do better after divorce, emotionally, and that they initiate divorce more often than men. However, it fails to come to the clear conclusion that most men are genuinely happy being good husbands and fathers."

James Castelli sent in another article from the Boston Globe, this one on the topic of male reproductive rights. Jim writes "After paying child support totaling $28,000 for 7 years Andrew suspected that the child he had supported was not his. DNA tests confirmed his suspicions and now the Massachusetts Supreme Court must decide if he can be forced to continue child support payments despite the fact that the child he is being forced to support is not his biological child. Men, like women, should have a 'choice' about their reproductive and financial destiny..."

James Castelli submitted this article from the Boston Globe and writes, "With women making up 14% of the total of the armed forces, isn't it time that the responsibility to register for the draft be shared equally? Since all 18 year old males must register for the draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday isn't it time that the call for equal rights for women be broadened to include equal responsibilities? John Solomon and Thomas Mc Guire write that the rationale for excluding women from the draft is quickly eroding while reasons to include them - from military preparedness to gender equality - multiply."

Salon.com posted part one of a two part article series about a new domestic violence awareness campaign which is being advertised in New York City subway trains. The ads show yearbook portraits of young women with the subtitles, "Most likely to be forced into sex," "Most 911 calls," "Most excuses for a black eye," etc. "This year's campaign...tells us that high school and college girls are at risk; that partner abuse is so pervasive, many girls won't be able to avoid it; that if they find themselves in an abusive relationship, these women need to get themselves out of it; that they can start by calling the mayor's hot line." All of the ads ignore the existence of violence against men, and the author of the article, while thoroughly entrenched in DV politics, at least criticizes the campaign for stressing the victimhood of women and not addressing DV in homosexual relationships.

Not PC submitted some excerpts from an article stating that politically correct thinking has now hit the production of gingerbread men: "Political correctness hits gingerbread man...the gingerbread man has become a gingerbread person.
The supermarket chain Safeway announced that it would be producing an equal number of gingerbread men and gingerbread women in response to consumer demand...The move provoked mockery in the town of Grantham where the biscuit originated in 1740...'It's political correctness gone way beyond the pale. The gingerbread man has always been an innocuous little fellow. It's not as if he has all his naughty bits showing.'"

The Globe and Mail printed this science article about the roots of "male violence." A species of freshwater fish and fig wasps were studied, and testosterone levels of the males were monitored in various behavior situations. But is it reasonable to compare the behavior of simple organisms such as insects with conscious men? As Mark Lesmeister put it, "This article's headline makes the mistaken substitution of 'men' for 'males.' Human beings aren't cichlid fish or fig wasps."

Trudy Schuett, author of the novel Friends to the End which delves into the taboo subject of domestic violence against men, wrote an essay about the state of gender relations today, and how far we (haven't) come. Trudy outlines the history of the anti-male women's movement, and is not afraid to offer criticism where it is due. As a woman, Trudy's views further validate the need for a restoration of men's rights and dignity. She concludes that trust is the vital aspect missing in most male/female relationships today, and we must change the portrayal of men and divorce on television and the media to restore hope. Click "Read More" below to view her bold and unapologetic essay...