A new study done by Statistics Canada was released yesterday, showing that men and women were abused at about equal rates for several kinds of violence. Canadian women's groups are up in arms about this, of course, and The Toronto Star printed this article which outlines the study's findings and the complaints of many feminists who obviously feel threatened to let go of any part of their "victim status". The report shows violence against women has been declining significantly, at a much higher rate than violence against men has been declining. Peter Dudley submitted the primary source for the study here.

Imo Bethere submitted this link to John Leo's latest Town Hall column, and writes, "Please read this entire article. The anti male stuff is such an ingrained part of our culture that few seem to question it. Good to see a conservative columnist exposing this travesty." I agree. Leo's a great asset to the men's movement, despite the fact that he doesn't seem keen on men's rights groups. He introduces a lot of people to the issues we work on, many who might not receive exposure to them otherwise. Update: an anonymous user sent in this link, from a 1998 issue of USNews. It's the exact same article. Interesting...

Fred comes out with guns blazing in his recent column from FredOnEverything. He gives a pretty scathing critique of feminism and the notion that boys are "dumber" than girls. To do the latter, he looks at the highest acheivers on standardized tests and finds that they are overwhelmingly male. This is indeed true, but I hope it won't overshadow the fact that the average boy (that is, most of them) is in need of a lot of help in school. His writing is pretty brazen, and I was a bit hesitant to post it to this site. However, I'm sure it will be of interest to some readers, but be warned: Fred is very conservative philosophically and politically.

Yet another round of Ed Bartlett's "Men Deserve to Live" action alerts has been released from Men's Health America. Please join us in promoting men's health by working to get the Men's Health Act of 2000 passed. Click "Read More..." to learn more.

The Toronto Star printed a fairly pro-male story recently, redefining fatherhood. It talks about how fathers want to and are getting more involved in their children's lives, and how little support there is for fathers, particularly in social services. Mention is made of the positive effects that involved dads have on their children's lives, and quotes are included from father's groups in Canada and the U.S. It's a good read.

Two men have been cleared of rape charges in a Massachusetts trial where it was discovered that tape recordings presented during the trial were fabricated. One of the 'vindicated' men was quoted as saying, "These allegations cost me my job and damaged my reputation. I have no faith in the legal system when an innocent guy can be put through all this." Welcome to the United States, where one is guilty until proven innocent, especially in cases such as this. The Taunton Daily Gazette printed the story here.

The Boston Globe printed this article about the rise in DNA paternity testing and its social effects. The tone of the article is almost alarmist, suggesting that thousands of children are going to end up in poverty if men are given the choice to decline parenthood to children that aren't theirs. I think most women know who the real father of their child is or could be, so what's the problem? If mothers are dishonest about naming the father of the child, it should be they who are seen as responsible for ruining support for the child.

Some more Aussie news: The Sydney Morning Herald reports in this article that New South Wales women's prisons are overflowing with women, and some Parliament members are calling for measures to be taken to stop women from being sent to prison. Fortunately, the government is not looking favorably on these suggestions, and is opposed to compromising justice standards. With a forty percent increase in female prisoners over the past six years, something's got to be done, but siphoning female criminals through hostel programs is certainly not fair to society. It's surprising to see how sympathetic the plight of women in this situation is portrayed, and contrast it to, for example, the situation of black men in American prisons.

More news on the male birth control pill: it could be here in 5 years, according to this article, by The New Zealand Herald. The article gives more info about the pill and the researchers working on it, and takes a few jabs at men as liars. Apparently it's believed that most women won't trust a man who says he's "on the pill". Perhaps it's because deep down they know how often women have defrauded men into paternity by lying about birth control usage?

A female professor from Florida A&M University is suing the school for discrimination, saying that black men are favored in faculty promotions. You can read the MSNBC article here. I found this interesting because affirmative action programs were originally intended to help minorities, and women were more or less added to the programs at the last minute. And it is women (typically white, middle-upper class women) who have benefited the most from AA programs, not minority men.

Robert submitted this story from The Age, an Australian media outlet. It discusses the recent statutory rape of a 15 year-old boy in a detention center by his 46 year-old female social worker. The verdict in the trail has been released: the woman was found not guilty. The author of the article talks about the "cult of the moral mother", and the myths about women as morally superior to men which probably influenced the judge's decision. She throws out some misleading DV statistics, but confronts the sexual abuse of children by women, even though she downplays the effects that female abuse of children have vs. men's abuse of children. Definitely not a pro-male article, but this is also a topic that few feminists would touch.

In an article which is pretty demeaning to young men, Maggie Gallagher criticizes teen boys for not being eager to join the rat race, er, get summer jobs when they're young. She seems to think that educational summer camps and getting involved in the Arts is inappropriate for young men, and that they should all be slaving away at summer jobs instead. Why?: "Boys who can't be bothered to earn enough money for movies and some hot dogs haven't shown enough oomph to deserve your [daughter's] company." This is another of those not-so-subtle ways in which men are reduced to wallets and providers, starting from an early age.

Anonymous Hero submitted this link. It's an excellent WorldNetDaily article by J.R. Nyquist which challenges the notion of patriarchy and male dominance that feminists often use to silence men. He discusses this in the context of the common "men are pigs" comment which few people bother to object to, but should. This is one of those topics that hits close to the center of the men's movement, and should be read by all.

John O'Sullivan recently wrote an article for Canada's National Post, Lament for the Days of Manly Men. In it, he criticizes the way men's roles have changed, their current lack of authority, and the decline of courage, duty, and chivalry. He also believes that men are by nature immoral and irresponsible, and that they need to be socialized for these qualities, which the traditional male role did quite well. I have some mixed feelings on this article, but I thought it would be of interest to the readership because of its somewhat controversial nature. Feel free to share your thoughts on it through our comment boards!

The Washington Times printed this piece on the existence of bias against men in sexual harassment investigations in the U.S. Army. It discusses how a military career can be destroyed with a simple accusation in which men are generally assumed guilty until proven innocent, and in particular examines the 1996 incident involving Lt. General Claudia Kennedy. As bad as real sexual harassment is, the sensationalism and hypersensitivity surrounding it without regard to physical or verifiable evidence is undoubtedly doing an equal amount of damage.