This article from New Hampshire's Union Leader shocked me. It's about a woman who emptied a revolver at her boyfriend, hitting him once in the leg, and who in the end received a suspended sentence. The defense's main strategy was to claim that her condition of bulimia caused mental instability. I don't think that changes the fact she would have killed this guy if she had experience with aiming handguns. But we definitely have to blame the man in this case too, who pleaded, "That woman has been punished enough. . .Let her go free" to the judge. Sheesh.

bernee writes "In the Australian State of Victoria, men who have had the not uncommon run in with the family Court and have lost access to their children, homes etc and have their very livelihood threatened by Child Support Agencies have formed a group called "Blackshirts." This group engages in 'guerilla' tactics to get their message across. They have been threatened with prosecution by the government if they don't desist in their protests. The full story and other links are here. There is also a facility for feedback on the articles and topic."

This one sure bugged me.

More than one woman-journalist thinks statutory rape is acceptable or even wonderful, when women commit it against boys. In this review of Tadpole, entertainment writer, Christy Lemire, pays lips service to equality and opposition to the sexual abuse of male children by saying, "Somehow — and admittedly, this sounds hypocritical — it's OK when Diane's flirty friends slip their business cards to Oscar over afternoon tea." After that, though, she goes on to say, "two old friends have a brief heart-to-heart in Central Park about the morality of the affair — then the movie returns to laughing about it." She also says, "Diane (Bebe Neuwirth), recognizes something intriguing about this young man, and has no qualms about seducing him when he's had too much to drink." And Ms. Lemire describes the movie as, "a pleasant surprise — it's funny and sharp, sweet and poignant."

Perhaps we should contact Bebe Neuwirth to let her know how cute and wonderful it is when she rapes drunk boys. We might also contact the article's author, Christy Lemire, to let her know that, as long as she pays lip service to recognizing the hypocrisy, the raping of boys by women really is "funny and sharp, sweet and poignant."

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the authorities in Nazi Germany often turned their backs, when German gentiles raped Jews.

I thought I would give everyone an update on the "status" of the New Hampshire Commission on the Status of Men. While the commission will consist of seven members, with one spot reserved for a member from the NH University system, there have been a lot of applicants for the commission (possibly two dozen or so). The names of those nominated by Governor Shaheen will be released on August 14, at which time the governor's council will invite feedback from the public on the nominees. The final approval of the commission nominees will take place two or more weeks later. The public feedback period will be a critical time when NH residents can show support for candidates they believe are pro-male, and discourage the appointment of those who may be applying in order to sabotage the commission's goals.

The Child Support Enforcement Act, introduced last week by House Policy Chairman Christopher Cox (R-CA) and Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), is the latest salvo in the war against "deadbeat dads." Thompson and Sacks will explain how the bill lies upon a foundation of illusions, and will discuss their upcoming column "Child Support Enforcement Act Substitutes Political Grandstanding for Leadership" on their MND radio show. The show will air tonight (7/23/02) at 6PM PST and repeat hourly for 24 hours. Previous shows are archived and available. To listen, or for more information, click here.

bledso submitted this ESPN story and writes "Why is this man being arrested? Why is his girlfriend going free? If the roles had been reversed and he was throwing things in the apartment and refusing to leave, he would likely be arrested on some sort of "presenting a physical threat" charge. What if she were a large woman or trained in the martial arts and was able to remove him from the apartment as he bit her, then drag him to the elevator, and send him to the lobby? Would she not be cheered as a "strong woman"? Yet the man is arrested and virtually convicted in the press, and therefore, by much of the public. Men deserve the right to defend themselves and their environment just as much as women do, it's time we actually see that reflected in both law enforcement and the media."

The web site for Matthew Fitzgerald's book Sex-Ploytation has changed, and the new site can be found here. The book is an interesting continuation/variation of Esther Vilar's The Manipulated Man, so if you enjoyed that book, be sure to check out this one.

Bad News for fathers in Australia - it appears that secret paternity testing is to become a
criminal offence. Yep, that's right: if you're a man who wants to know, you'll soon be a
criminal unless you do it "their way". What is their way? According to
this article,
the rumored recommendations are: "FORCE fathers to get the mother's consent to do a test. MAKE it illegal to
steal DNA for a test. ORDER mandatory counselling for families seeking a test. IMPOSE a code
of practice for private testing laboratories." I guess it's like the old saying, the
truth will set you free, I imagine that's why they want to keep the nearest man ignorant?

Mark writes "According to a Vancouver Sun article, a book club specifically for men is now being established at the Vancouver Public Library. The title, "Reading group closes the book on allowing women" is unfortunate as it appears to place a negative spin on the subject, but given mens' typically lower academic performances than women these days this club is both welcome and needed."

Mark Thundercloud writes "Everyone should keep an eye on a new TV show that is about to debut, called "SHE-SPIES". Though I've only seen the previews, this thing looks like yet another "women being sadistically violent towards men" shows. If it's anything like it's predecessors, you can be sure it will feature tons of women beating up men, grabbing and kicking testicles, as well as the "men put in S&M type bondage by the women", scenarios, that is becomeing more and more frequent in TV and movies these days. It premires saturday July, 20 2002, on NBC. I'm not sure of the exact time. Be forewarned, they are cloaking this with the lable that it is a "spoof," so any criticism will be hard pressed to stick."

Ray sent in an interesting essay for men's activists to consider: "I have been surfing the net for some time searching for the reasons for the unprovoked physical batterings, the sexual discrimination, the false police report(s), the hatred that I and other men have experienced. The decade of the 90's saw a great escalation of all of the above for many men, not only in America, but throughout the world. I have seen with my own eyes the change from a time when a query on the subject of domestic violence brought only responses from the virulent radical feminists to a time when the truth about the actual statistical dimensions of domestic violence are begining to be known (we're still not seeing the complete/real story). I am witnessing a time when slowly, more and more web sites are popping up like hunted animals, cautiously sticking their heads out of their holes lest some savage predator seize on them and rip ther entrails out. Such is the nature of the territory surrounding the truth about the issues the "MEN'S MOVEMENT" struggles just to cope with day by day." Read More to continue...

Equalitarian62 sent us a link to this message on the Men's Health America mailing list, which announces that the Men's Health Act has been introduced in the Senate. "This exciting development means that a bill to establish an Office of Men's Health has been introduced in both chambers of Congress. The Senate version of the Men's Health Act was assigned bill number S. 2616, and has now been referred to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ("HELP") for further consideration. The Senate bill matches H.R. 632, which was introduced in the House of Representatives last year. If you never got the chance to write to your legislators in support of the MHA, now's a great time to do so!

Tom Parker's extensive resource of men's issues information, known as the ManRights Reference Desk, has moved to a new address. Check it out here and I'd recommend bookmarking it - there's a lot of stuff to keep one reading!

In my latest order for a batch of Mensactivism.org bumper stickers, I also purchased a very small quantity (20) of a different sticker, which has a message that I feel is important and related to men's rights (esp. with regard to the falsely accused). The sticker reads, "America Means Civil Liberties: Patriotism is Defending Them." You can see exactly what they look like here. There is no ad for MANN on the sticker, and I'm selling them for $4 each. I know they're not cheap but they're not cheap to buy in such low quantities. If you'd like one please e-mail me at scott@mensactivism.org for more info.

Tony writes "Here is a recent article in a peer reviewed journal that examines the targeted murder of males in Rwanda. [note: this article is available in the free sample issue (same title as subject heading) offered at the site. registration is required but free.] I will let the introduction speak for itself, "The aspect of gender in the Rwandan genocide is perhaps more extraordinarily intricate and multifaceted than in any genocide in history. The claim is a bold one, but it can be sustained by considering the combination of factors specfic to the events in Rwanda between April and July, 1994: the enormous stress that traditional gender roles, especially masculine ones,
were under when the genocide erupted; the prominence of women in perpetrating the genocide (a historically unprecedented
feature, in terms of the scale and directness of the involvement); the bluntness of the genocidaires’ appeals to gendered expectations and aspirations, again including women as active agents of the slaughter;" In the conclusion, the author and editor of the magazine confront feminists with their lack of attention on male victims. This article not only shows the atrocities that are occurring around the world against men but also I believe shows that male issues and rights are slowly gaining worldwide attention."