There is an article in the Orlando Sentinel by Kathleen Parker about the recent attacks on women in Central Park. Parker tries to defuse the gender blame-game that's going on right now, and look at it not as any norm of male behavior but as the despicable event that it is, independent of gender.

As you may know, Elian Gonzalez has permanently returned to Cuba with his father. The saga has come to and end. Here are several news reports on the event and the Supreme Court decision: CNN, ABCnews, Reuters, and Associated Press. Rather than write my own comments on this story, I've received permission to re-print Ed Bartlett's e-mail, The Mirror of Elian Gonzalez, which I feel sums up this ordeal very well.

Joe submitted this interesting article from The Boston Globe in which a unique compromise was made for child custody between two divorcing parents: one parent will have the child on weekdays, the other on weekends, and this arrangement will be reversed every year for each parent. Could this be a reasonable compromise for child custody disputes?

WorldNetDaily featured a story today that outlined information on proposed "baby abandonment" laws presented to the North Carolina General Assembly, House Bill 1616 and Senate Bill 1257. From the article, it seems that the wording of the bills is gender neutral, and there is also a brief mention of father's rights in regard to women abandoning babies without informing them. Whether you agree with the idea of voluntary baby abandonment or not, it would be wrong to make these laws only applicable to the mother, as it would end up pushing men's reproductive rights even further behind than they already are.

You can find an excellent review of Christina Hoff Sommer's new book The War Against Boys here. Cathy Young, another great campaigner of equity feminism, gives an in depth and insightful review of the book in Salon magazine. She is sometimes critical of Sommer's claims, but that's what makes a good review - to hear the good and the bad about the work (and certainly there is always both).

USA Today had an article urging men to visit their doctor on a regular basis, with several anecdotes about men who had close calls because of their distant relationships with their doctors. There are a couple of annoying lines in the article (such as, "Most men are more powerful than women at every level of social and economic class"), but nevertheless the article still gives some very good and pertinent advice for men.

Phil Penningroth has been commissioned by the USA cable TV channel to write a movie on the topic of domestic violence against men by women. He is looking for people to contact him and tell him their stories, so he can base the movie on a composite of men's true stories. If you are a man who is willing to tell your story of domestic violence, please contact Dr. Charles E. Corry and he will give you more information. You can remain an anonymous contributer if you wish. And be sure to keep an eye out for this movie - I will look for more info and post it when it nears completion. Dr. Corry's phone number and snail mail address can be found below by clicking on "Read More..."

Today is official "Career Day for Our Sons", a day dedicated to helping young men think about careers. It's the male counterpart to "Take Our Daughters to Work Day", and in many places, girls are not excluded from Career Day for Our Sons. CDFOS was started by The National Coalition of Free Men, and is supported by many men's organizations.

I'm happy to announce that I've found a permanent location to host the Men's Activism News Network, and I'm planning on moving the site to the new server late next week. Click below to read more...

There is a political group in England pushing for a child access ban for parents accused of domestic violence. Look here for the BBC news report. Of course, it's obvious on the surface that this is a good idea, and that children shouldn't be put in the hands of violent parents. But the sad truth is that, at least in the U.S, false allegations of domestic and sexual violence often arise in divorce settlements, and this could be used to leverage more control from women who are willing to make false accusations. Where should the balance lie?

More news on men's health: there was a special insert in last Sunday's New York Times which had the cover story: Men and Cancer. You can read it on-line. It has lots of information about cancer, cancer testing methods, and resources for those who want to learn more. How much to you know about cancer? What is a PSA test? Read it and find out.

Congressman Duke Cunningham of California has introduced new legislation that would establish an Office of Men's Health at the Department of Health and Human Services. The bill is H.R. 4653, and you can download the bill in Adobe .PDF format here. Cunningham's press release can be found here. If you're from California, or even if not, please send Cunningham a note of support!

The Ottawa Citizen printed this story that the Alberta Human Rights Commission has publicly decried a domestic violence brochure printed by a counselling center which ignores family violence against men. It's uplifting to see this issue get some much-deserved attention and action; the brochures being attacked were retracted by the counselling center.

The Britain Sunday Times printed some excerpts from Christina Hoff-Sommers' new book, The War Against Boys. It is followed by a short article by someone who is apparently trying to downplay the importance of the book. Nevertheless, the book excerpts make a much stronger statement.

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy Father's Day from the Men's Activism News Network. Fathers Day 2000 has its own web site, with information about a march in Washington, D.C. in support of fathers and father's rights. I wish all fathers the best and I hope the march gets some attention from the mainstream press.