USAToday reported here that a New York court has ordered a 7 year-old boy's parents to put their son back on Ritalin, after the parents decided to stop giving it to the boy because of side effects the child was experiencing. The article talks about how it could now be construed as child abuse to refuse to administer drugs like Ritalin to your child. Any parent of a young boy should be very concerned about this. Even though ADD and ADHD do exist, tranquilizers like Ritalin are being prescribed in epidemic proportions. Many psychiatrists and parents believe that what was once "normal" behavior for boys is now being treated as a psychological disorder - the idea of masculinity as toxic taken to the extreme.

Submitted by IHF: A new British law will ban defendants in rape and sex crimes from cross-examining their accusers in court. This will only apply when the accused is defending himself, and will force him to use a lawyer (court appointed or chosen by him) to do the cross-examination. The UK Independent has the story here. It seems every day that we move further away from fairness toward men in court systems around the world.

ABCnews ran this article on youth sports, and what may be the increasing amount of violence and bad sportsmanship among participants (and their parents). Considering the pressure that young men are under today, becoming obsessed with winning in sports is not something that's going to help the way they view themselves. Being active and having a healthy competitiveness in sport is undoubtedly the best lifestyle we should encourage in our young men.

This is a neat story that I thought I'd post here: A father and his wife and three sons went on a flight in a single-engine airplane when suddenly the pilot passed out. Having never flown before, the father took control of the plane, and with assistance from ground control, safely landed the plane at an airport. CNN ran this story of heroism at this link. This was a brave man indeed.

I received an e-mail from Les Farkas who wants to get the word out on a male bashing campaign he'd like to end. A retail store called The Alley in Chicago is posting degrading signs about boys which have said, "BOYS SUCK" and "BOYS CHEAT", among other things. Also included with these anti male signs is a "GIRLS RULE" sign. This is obviously very immature behavior, and on top of that they are promoting male bashing. This is a very busy storefront and thousands of people walk by it each day. Click Read More below to read Les' request for help and what you can do to help put an end to this trash.

The Age printed a very pro-father article on the importance and positive effects fathers have on their children. The active nature of parenting by dads and how fathers influence the child's conception of masculinity and sexual identity is talked about in a positive light. It's definitely a good read.

The Australian Associated Press printed this piece which discusses the 70% increase in suicides over the past twenty years for men aged 20-39. Mention is made of the increasing attacks on masculinity and men's roles in Australian society, as well as the significance of male shame. The article doesn't present much in the way of evidence for this theory, but I have little doubt there is some truth to it, and it is very noteworthy that this idea could get some media attention.

I'm looking for for papers and essays on the topic of men's rights and men's issues to feature on this site. Right now I am particularly interested in receiving people's opinions of the US presidential candidates and where they stand on various men's issues. In order to avoid bias as much as possible, I'm asking my readers to submit their perspectives so I can compile the results and encourage further discussion on the matter. Note: The Men's Activism News Network does not officially endorse any presidential candidates. Read on to find out the type of info I'm looking for and where to send your submissions.

A Virginia man is asking the court to obtain custody of his partner's unborn child, as he believes he would be a much better parent than the mother. Salon ran the story in this article. The main legal confusion right now is how to determine custody of a child that hasn't been born yet. This may be the first child custody case of its kind, and raises some interesting questions.

IHF submitted this link to a UK Times article which talks about men who have killed themselves due to the stress placed on them from the Child Support Agency. This is shocking news: "Mr Brett's suicide brings to 55 the number of deaths linked to the CSA. The agency has
admitted the possibility of potential connections with two deaths. The campaign group NACSA (National Association for Child Support Action) has documented 42 suicides and eight murders that it believes
can be laid at the agency's door." What's it going to take to put some reason into paternity laws?

This ABCnews article discusses how proposed changes in Ireland's abortion laws (which currently outlaw abortion except to save a mother's life) could increase the number of false accusations of rape against men. The reasoning is once women are allowed to have abortions in cases of rape, some women will stoop to making a false accusation in order to get an abortion. This is a significant controversy, but I think it's especially notable that people are at least concerned about false accusations in Ireland and there is a dialogue going on about it.

In an article which turned my stomach, Maclean's is featuring as its cover story in their latest issue a tirade against male violence. Just about every sentence is directed at demonizing males and masculinity, and the word misandrist barely begins to describe it. Please give yourself some time before writing a response to Maclean's - I'm personally going to need about 24 hours before I can compose a reasonable reply.

Now for some men's health news: new research has proven for the first time that men's ability to procreate decreases as they age. This has been postulated for some time but conclusive evidence has been hard to come by. ABCnews has the report here.

ABCnews reported in this story that a Texas man who has already served 10 years of a 99 year sentence for the rape of a sixteen year old girl may be pardoned based on new DNA evidence. His conviction was based primarily on witness testimony, and the prosecution team has changed their views on the case and have submitted a request for pardon to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Ever wonder why when you bring up the high prevalence of domestic violence perpetrated against men, you get shrugged off? The National Post printed this article that exposes the double standards that work against men when trying to get recognition about domestic violence. A superb analogy is made with the issue of suicide, one that I'll remember for quite some time. Read it for some good strategies to show how callous and selfish it is for someone to say, "violence against women is more severe and prevalent, so violence against men isn't as important."