Some background:

The Last Days of the American Male

'Hanna Rosin's 2010 Atlantic cover story, "The End of Men," was one of the most talked-about magazine articles in recent years. "Man has been the dominant sex since, well, the dawn of mankind," wrote Rosin, an award-winning journalist for Slate and the Atlantic. "But for the first time in human history, that is changing—and with shocking speed."

That shift, she says, hasn't showed signs of slowing in the past year. And that's why she'll debate for the motion that "men are finished" during the Sept. 20 live Slate/Intelligence Squared U.S. debate at NYU.

Retort:

Oh, Come On, Men Aren't Finished

Article here. Excerpt:

'Many might be unaware of the boy crisis in America, but Montclair State University alumnus Dr. Warren Farrell is determined to change that. As Chair of the Commission to Create a White House Council on Boys to Men, he is looking to bring the nation’s attention to this quiet crisis.

Last week he returned to his alma mater to discuss the troubling topic as part of the lecture series presented by the College of Education and Human Services.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Wal-Mart appears to be hoping that a new multibillion-dollar initiative will not only help women, but will also aid in changing its image.

Three months ago, Wal-Mart achieved a major legal victory – but incurred public-relations problems – when the US Supreme Court threw out an employee class-action lawsuit against it. Some 1.5 million women were suing for pay and promotion. It was the largest gender-discrimination class-action lawsuit in history.

“The Supreme Court decision in the Wal-Mart sex-discrimination class action has received an incredible amount of media attention, much of it negative and critical of the court’s decision in favor of Wal-Mart,” says Kevin Johnson, dean of the University of California, Davis School of Law. Mr. Johnson made his comments in an e-mail.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Men are increasingly being banned from council events in Melbourne because it's not appropriate for men to mix with Muslim women, a newspaper reports.

The Darebin Council will ban men from a music concert in December, while another female-only event marking the end of Ramadan was recently cancelled, the Herald Sun reports.

Darebin Mayor Diana Asmar said these events were aimed at women who, "due to their cultural and religious backgrounds, cannot attend events where men and women both attend".

The paper reports the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has backed the bans, and declared councils no longer needed to apply to the court for such exemptions.

Darebin Council originally asked the court for an exemption under the Equal Opportunities Act to stage the women-only events, but was told the events did not discriminate and special exemption was unnecessary.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'BUFFALO, N.Y. — An upstate New York woman has admitted to gambling away thousands of dollars raised to help her son fight cancer.

The Buffalo News reports that 46-year-old Sherry Holcomb of Cortland pleaded guilty Wednesday in state Supreme Court to a felony count of scheme to defraud.

The newspaper reports that Holcomb confessed to losing $15,000 of her son's benefit money while gambling at casinos in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Canada.

Prosecutors say the money had been raised for her 21-year-old son, Ryan O'Donnell, who's being treated for leukemia.'

Story here. A man disappeared a year ago, September 2010. His wife never reports him as missing, but eventually the neighbors do. Shortly after he disappears, the wife builds a new barbecue pit in the backyard. The body, of course, is eventually found underneath the barbecue pit. So what charges do they lay against this woman? None at all. Not even improper disposal of human remains. Do you think the same would be true if a man had buried his wife under a barbecue pit? Excerpt:

'A Novato woman won't be charged with a crime after her husband's body was found underneath a barbecue pit she built in their yard, her attorney said Tuesday.

The body of Dale Smith, 74, was found Feb. 23 buried at least 4 feet beneath the patio of the home he shared with his wife, Evelyn Smith, 55, investigators said.

Neighbors had not seen Dale Smith since at least September 2010. It was around that time that his wife and two laborers put in a brick barbecue pit in the backyard of the home on Rebecca Way, neighbors said.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'NEW YORK (AP) — A TV meteorologist admitted Wednesday she'd made up claims of being repeatedly attacked by a stranger on the city streets, allegations that sparked an extensive investigation before police said she told them she'd invented the story to get attention.

Heidi Jones, who has worked for stations in New York and Texas and filled in on ABC's "Good Morning America," pleaded guilty to misdemeanor false-reporting charges.

Her plea deal calls for three years' probation, continuing psychiatric counseling and 350 hours of community service — the amount of time police spent looking into her phony claims, prosecutors said. Jones is due to be sentenced Oct. 26.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Jonathan Dean reacts dismissively to the news that I am suing the Gender Institute of the London School of Economics, where I was a student (Fear not, male readers, 8 September). "Martin claims he had the misfortune of being subject to a torrent of anti-male discrimination," Dean writes, adding: "Martin alleges that the course material he studied … was systematically anti-male, overlooked men's issues, and ignored any research that contested a 'women good, men bad' line of reasoning. Furthermore, [he claims] the Gender Institute drummed into the students … a simplistic view of women as victims and men as perpetrators."

Dean, a former researcher at LSE's Gender Institute, denies everything: "Gender studies programmes encourage students to acknowledge ... the limitations of a victim-centred understanding of womanhood." Fine words, but a close analysis of the core texts shows all the old, male-blaming biases are still there.

This woman was originally charged with two counts of aggravated statutory rape and solicitation of a minor involving a 16-year-old boy. The "aggravated" implies this wasn't merely a horny sixteen year old gladly consenting.

Martin has now been granted a "diversion". If she's a good girl for a couple of years we all have to pretend it never happened. Her slate is wiped completely clean. I'm surprised they didn't order a Bex and a lie-down: Former teacher's aide gets diversion for sex with boy

Putting aside the gender double standard and the "sex with boy" headline it seems that McMinn County in Tennessee is incapable of punishing a female rapist and is even willing to send her back into the environment in which she abused the friend of one of her children.

Story here. Excerpt:

'ORLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) – Police have released video of a woman who is suspected of trying to rob a shopper outside Orland Park Square Mall late last week.

Police say the images are of a woman who followed the shopper to her car in a parking lot outside J.C. Penney on Friday night. Officers say she pulled a gun and said, “Do as I tell you.”

The 67-year-old victim took a bullet in the forearm – a non-life-threatening wound. She was able to tell police what the shooter looked like.

“Wow — you would never think. She looks like anybody’s mom, doesn’t she?” said one shopper when shown surveillance video of the suspect.'

StORY here. Excerpt:

'GARDEN CITY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — Shocking charges were levied Friday against a New York City teacher.

She’s been arrested for allegedly having sex with an underage student at a Long Island motel.

She faced a judge Friday afternoon, reports CBS 2’s John Slattery.

Arrested and charged with both rape and performing a criminal sexual act is 33-year-old Tara Driscoll of Bay Shore. She was a high school English teacher at Campus Magnet Educational Complex in Queens until last May when an investigation started. Administrators reassigned her away from the classroom.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'CLINTON, Conn. (CBSNewYork) — A Connecticut woman, accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy in Clinton, has now been charged with a similar crime in a neighboring town.

Authorities said 20-year-old Loni Bouchard, of Clinton, was charged with second-degree sexual assault for allegedly having sex with a minor in Southington.

Bouchard is already facing charges of sexual assault and risk of injury to a minor in Clinton. The alleged victim was a 14-year-old boy she was hired to babysit, according to police. Those charges came following a 3-month investigation.

It is unclear if the same teen is involved in both cases.'

Article here. Excerpt:

From Malecare.org:

BE THE ANSWER - Be part of our prostate cancer awareness photo shoot at the White House on Sunday, September 18 at 12:15PM. Rain or Shine.

Meet in front of the White House along the fence on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Look for the banner, "Prostate Cancer Pony Express." Be Part of the Blue Bulb Brigade!

• Show the World that you hate prostate cancer.
• Show America that we prostate cancer survivors, fighters, family, friends and doctors, are united and will not sit still until prostate cancer is beaten.
• Show the White House that Prostate Cancer Awareness Month means more than a simple proclaimation.....it's about our lives, fighting cancer, together.

For more information, or if you have questions or comments, email me at darryl-at-malecare.org or, on Sunday, email Robert at robert.hess-at-29000men.org

Article here. Excerpt:

'When I was pregnant with my first child, I just thought that circumcision was what you did, no big deal, and that every man was circumcised. Then one day I saw a picture of a baby being circumcised, and everything changed. Just one tiny, grainy photo was enough to make me want to know more, and the more I knew, the worse it got. It turns out, circumcision really is a big deal.

Part 1 - Circumcision Surgery Myths

Myth 1: They just cut off a flap of skin.

Reality check: Not true. The foreskin is half of the penis's skin, not just a flap. In an adult man, the foreskin is 15 square inches of skin. In babies and children, the foreskin is adhered to the head of the penis with the same type of tissue that adheres fingernails to their nail beds. Removing it requires shoving a blunt probe between the foreskin and the head of the penis and then cutting down and around the whole penis.'