PIVOTAL WEEK FOR FATHERS

It seems a pivotal week for Father's with Father's Day being widely celebrated and seems to be more so each year combined with the news earlier this week that the government has launched a green paper on ensurig there is parental involvement with children for mothers and fathers if they separate.

Father's Day itself has this year passed without inane comments from Cameron and his ilk like last year. Throughout the week, it was clear that there were more supplements about celebrating Father's Day, articles about how important fathers are as well articles that raising the continuing question about those dads who today will be sorely missing their children because of the maliciousness of the mothers and CAFCASS.

While some may critcise some of the weekly supplements about 'what to buy dad' because they solely driven by profit - well, frankly who cares? If magazines and retailers think the children of father's want to celebrate the day by buying a gift for their dad then it doesn't matter because the by-product is the raising of the profile of the day itself and the importance of fathers.

The day itself acts as a pivot to leverage coverage about fatherhood and there have been a number of great examples (see below). With the day being in June and International Men's Day in November it gives the opportunity to have two days a year which put men, boys and fathers in the spotlight. It would be fantastic if International Men's Day received the same coverage.

Daily Telegraph - It'll be an unhappy Father's Day for some (Louis de Bernieres)

The Guardian - Danny DeVito: I still miss my dad

 Metro - Google celebrates Father's Day

Daily Mail -  Oh, the agony and ecstasy of being a dad...and a son (Dominic Utton)

Gloucestershire Echo - Fantastic Fathers: A typical example of local coverage

The Guardian - How fatherhood changed my perception of teaching (Ross Morrison McGill)

Daily mail - Fathers fear for their daughters

Daily Mail - How the absence of a father can wreck a child's life (Fiona Macrae)

BBC News - Rent, debts and pensions (Kevin Peachey): Just a namecheck for father's but nonethless this is how the day becomes pivotal for linking on the value of fathers.

Daily Telegraph - Modern fathers have been around for centuries : The actual headline is awful and bears only a little resemeblance to the article.

Daily Telegraph - Rojoice, all you embarrassing dads,  you are doing a brilliant job (James delingpole)

The Fatherhood Institute call for father's names to be on all birth certficates

On the issue of the Green paper issued this week - there has been some positivity and some negativity from those in the men and boys sector. The main issues were around whether it was shared parenting or not and also the strength of the pledge to deal with mothers (and some fathers) who disgracefully breach contacts orders and continually get away with it. Tim Loughton spells out the situation in a letter in The Times and was robust in the BBC

Families Need Fathers were positive as were the Fatherhood Institute and the Centre for Seperated Families. Fathers4Justice said it was the worst Father's Day card ever and Janice Atkinson-Small in the Mail is very unhappy. 

I have not looked through it all, but happy for any views to be shared here but there seems to be three non-feminist groups in favour.

Posted by Skimmington

PS - Just think how much today must stick in the craw of the uber-feminists ;@)

Comments

[ian]

Families Need Fathers were positive as were the Fatherhood Institute and the Centre for Seperated Families. Fathers4Justice said it was the worst Father's Day card ever and Janice Atkinson-Small in the Mail is very unhappy.

Skimmington are you unbelievably Naive? Do you have any idea of how much illegal activity and corruption goes on in the family court system? How the law that is already in place is totally ignored and all bodies that are meant to enforce it , just ignore those who break it.

If you don't realise this is another load of crap from the Gov that will also be ignored when it comes to Men, you are very blind as to what really goes on in this circle.

[Skimmington]

Sorry Ian but I had to delete your first comment - if you mention someone who bombed innocent people in America and then say "Can't say I would blame them" even if you then try and caveat it then this site will get shut down. You muight as well put Bin Laden in for good measure.

Do you not think the authorities don't crawl over the web looking for references to terrorists and see where they are written?

Anymore stunts like that and you will be banned - sorry - but you just cannot write that stuff and I want the authorities who look at this and know its not tolerated or welcome here.

[ian]

Oh Skimmington don't be so utterly ridiculous. I said if someone was pushed to it after being treated the way Fathers and Men do in this country, I could not blame them if they took matters into their own hands, I damn well stand by it, as for innocent people, that's very debatable in those places. Sorry but half the Fathers and MRM I know feel the same way. What you say is complete rubbish, the U.S MRM sites have such comments all the time and I don't see them acting like a bunch of hysterical tarts..I don't see the CIA coming after them either, Mr Tin foil hat.

Tell me, If you claim to be so "serious and proper" Why don't you show your face or your real identity? I for one am getting suspicious as to who is really behind this site and their true motives.

All you do is regurgitate headlines, you're clearly too frightened to debate anything.

[Jon]

For goodness' sake, ian, if you feel so strongly about freedom of speech then set up your own MRA blog. You write enough material on here to make your own blog anyway.

[ian]

GO f***k yourself Jon. I am still waiting for answers to my questions on this fraud of a site.

[Jon]

Insults aside, ian, it was actually a serious suggestion. I was not being facetious. If you don't like the way things are done here, why *wouldn't* you start your own blog?

[ian]

Because I spend umpteen hours a day on other matters related and I can only spread myself so far,half the time I am posting here while cooking and on my phone, let alone when sat at the desk or Tablet on other places strategically getting things in cracks where needed. Unlike the few here who seem to want to keep the status Quo. One has to wonder why those here seem to want it like that? Frightened of debate? Frightened of change or don't really want it to change too much?

Are any of you with something like "Families need Fathers" on nice fat wages and expenses living off the back of it all (check their funding), who spend 30 years getting nothing done while matters only get worse? People like that always prefer the Status Quo not to change too much otherwise they'll be out of a job.

Take down the "UK's leading" site nonsense, it is frankly insulting to UK MRA as it makes it look as if nobody in the UK does anything but sits around regurgitating bloody headlines and acting like a small room full of semi-feminists. Next you'll be required to Own a Beard, a shed or a "I'm a victim card" to comment.

Rather than just having a go at someone when they try to step this dead place up a notch in the comments.

So who is Skimmington and why do they hide their identity if, as you claim this is supposed to be a "serious" site and the "leading UK site" ?

[ian]

I'll make you a deal if you rather I leave, one , answer my previous question and Two remove the B.S at the top of this site:

"The UK's leading website for raising issues about gender discrimination and sexual discrimination against men "

It is completely false and it undermines the UK MRM. When people see that and come here to only find a few of ol' farts duffing away in their shed, repeating a few articles of someone else's work, with no original articles of their own, no proper debate, no interviews, no nothing..it gives the impression the UK MRM is as dead as this site is, so please remove it.

As for your other point Jon, IF I can get at least 20% of the other stuff I am dealing with out the way, I may well start my own site, a proper one with proper open debate, heated or otherwise....we damn well need it!

[Groan]

Skimmington please carry on. After all "ol farts" run things.

[ian]

Still waiting for Skimmington to come out of hiding and remove his bullshit claim.

[Skimmington]

Sorry Ian - I have blocked your IP address.

Telling someone who has greatly helped this site to go 'fxck' themselves is really a step too far now.

In terms of the claim - the site has had over 800 posts, has had recognition from others such as Total Politics and for the past two years receives 200 hits per day - nearly all in the UK. The people who contribute lead busy professional lives so this is on top of that activity.

The claim is not made to belittle the work of others (how could it when the site links to the stories of others) but is to position the site as mainstream and accessible.

I am sorry I have had to block you but it can't go on like this.

[ian]

Skimmington, you make me laugh, blocked my IP address, good luck with that.

So after all you wont show your face or your identity showing you have something to hide and you won't remove your false claims which are so bogus it makes you look ridiculous.

200 HITS for anyone who has a brain does not mean 200 individual visitors, at any rate 200 anything is piss poor, making it even more pathetic to claim you are the "leading UK site!".

Do the MRM a favour, stay the fuck out of it if all you can do is undermine and censor others.

[ian]

BTW Skimmington, here is a story you should read. This is from a "real" UK MRM site, one that makes yours look like what it is. It has original content, great videos, interviews and does not make the claims you do. It doesn't have to when one looks at this place does it?.

No I have no affiliation with them at all but I recommend it to others, especially the videos, because it is real MRM work, not regurgitating some pap while inviting comment only to censor it when it kicks a little dust. The first work of the MRM must be to rid itself of the likes of you, the fakes and frauds.

This guy had to contend with people just like you at this meeting, so called MRA who are fakes undermining the rest, like you.

http://www.manwomanmyth.com/mens-rights-movement/ucl-debate-is-feminism-sexist-and-does-the-mrm-even-exist/

[ian]

..and not forgetting why someone who makes false claims and says about being into the mainstream ...feels the need to hide their identity? So why do you hide who you are Skimmington?

Is it because you are someone who tries to undermine MRA,s or maybe your actually with another group who is trying to keeo the status quo by undermining what is really needed so they can build yet another facade to make some money out of it while men suffer?

Why would someone trying to ACt so forthright...need to hide?

[Jon]

Thanks for the sentiment and support, Skimmington. Also, in light of recent posts can I suggest the best way to deal with timewasters and trolls who bypass IP blocks, is for the many supporters of this forum to completely ignore their posts, and for you to simply delete their posts when you see them. Trolls thrive on attention and this one has certainly proved he is desperate for it. He'll get bored quickly if he gets none.
Cheers.

[ian]

Ah thew old "call it a troll" when it becomes convenient trick eh ? Bypass I.P block? I haven;t even tried anything yet Jon. You got your tin foil hat and book of feminist tactics available there Jon?

Still waiting for an answer Skimmington.

[Bob]

I don't see why anyone should be forced to recind their privacy in order to express an opinion. This is by far the best site to get news on men's rights issues and stories you won't see in the media, certainly not without traipsing through hundreds of papers and websites.

I like this site over the others because it is calm and there is good will here. It doesn't reduce things to a brawl. We should try to keep it like that. Arguing should be reserved for the feminists on other site and forums. Also MRAs should not be fighting amongst each other. There are tactics our opponents will use to disrupt and its tempting to argue excessively or get personal too but it only clouds real debate.

Obviously we won't all agree on everything. Anyway, some may even change their minds; there was a guy who posted on this site who opened my eyes to Race for Life, wich I had sort of ignored, until I realised just how unacceptable it really is.

Yes manwomanmyth is a great site too, they used to have a TV channel, but it was taken down. They are very professional and produce great informative vids. This site fills a mainstrean news blackout and isn't the same type of site as manwomanmyth, but still provides just as important a service.

[Jon]

Good post Bob, some very good points. It is also worth noting that, as far as I can tell, manwomanmyth does not give away his real-life identity on his site either, unless I am missing it somewhere.

I also agree with you on this site; I have found it one of the most consistently useful sites on men's rights issues and there are often some really good contributions and articles from high-profile figures in the MRM.

[Groan]

I Agree Jon and Bob. I have found this site educational and easy to recommend. Given the many women also involved in supporting equity, specially those working hard in difficult fields, I think it important that there are places for facts to speak for themselves. In my experience TROM has made a difference precisely because it doesn't hector.

[ian]

I don't see why anyone should be forced to recind their privacy in order to express an opinion. "

Utter bo*locks! When you CLAIM to be the UK's leading MRM site and try to take a moral high ground, if you are still hiding...then you are a joke not worthy of respect.

This site deserves no respect and cannot possibly be called mainstream by any standard..until its Author reveals themselves.

THE QUESTION IS STILL UNANSWERED!

Be assured. it ain't going away either...