The Rights Of Man

NEWS UPDATE

Sorry everyone for letting things slip the past three weeks- its been hellish at work. Hopefully things are better now. Anyhow, here are some latest news and thanks to those who have supplied them:

Mike Buchanan: Compendium of recent media interviews and his article on Politics.co.uk - Some of the opposition to Mike's comments show the sexism that in endemic against men.

BBC News (Kent): Rochester nightclub's cleavage stunt condemned - Free entry for women to the nightclub again even if somewhat unsavoury

BBC News: Male identity crisis not due to feminism (Diane Abbott MP)

BBC News: Boys suffer poor body image say teachers (Katherine Sellgren)

BBC News: Helen Grant Minister to overhaul community sentencing to make them more female friendly - More inistitutional bias, can you imagine the government looking at more male-friendly sentencing? Fuller interview in Independent and you can see this in action for Vicky Pryce.

A Voice for Men: Spanish Feminist Establishment is shaking

Daily Telegraph: UCAS men are becoming the disadvantaged group (Tim Ross)

Guardian: False allegations are few and far between (Kier Starmer) - Pure mischievous bias from the laughable misandric Directory of Public Prosecutions. Full press release here. 

Daily Mail - Women lose out in pension revolution  - As Groan says "Typical; reporting by the DM. Leads off with 'poor women' headline yet the actual story is rather different as the women concerned will still be able to claim their pension earlier than men in this age cohort. A fact never explained by the DM. Of course they will also, on average, enjoy a longer life."

Huffington Post : Female Tory MP's tell Cameron to appoint more women 

Daily Mail - Butler Sloss apogises to F4J

 For other good sources of news - please add Helping Men and Fighting Feminism to your favourites amongst others.

Posted by Skimmington 

O2 AND SYMANTEC DEFAME AND CENSOR MORE MEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS SITES BY THE DAY

O2 AND SYMANTEC  DEFAMING AND CENSORING MORE MEN'S HUMAN RIGHTS SITES
BY THE DAY

Once again I've been busy monitoring what O2 and Symantec have been getting up to with regard to their censorship of human rights sites, and rather than fixing the problem things are getting worse!

Last month an article at The Register featured extensive quotes from members of the excellent UK blog MRA London regarding the censorship and hate site issue and condemning the actions of the companies responsible. The article correctly pointed out that MRA London wasn't even a victim of the censorship and they were simply concerned for their friends at avoiceformen and the wider men's movement.

Well it may well be a coincidence, or perhaps it's payback, but what we know for sure is that MRALondon have now been blocked as a "hate site" too. The MRA London team includes people such as Erin Pizzey, so Symantec are O2 and Symantec are branding as "hateful" people such as the UK's most important figure in gaining recognition and support domestic violence victims. How "hateful" it was of her to set up the world's first domestic violence shelter and support so many victims of abuse.

I've also investigated some lesser known sites  and even older sites that are no longer with us to give complete picture of the situation. This demonstrates not the the sheer scale of this problem, but also just how long it has been going on for. That now makes 87 domains censored at some point, with the current total standing at 84. See my prevous article for examples of O2/Symantec's most sickening cases of censorship.


Here's all the new entires for the roll of honour, again many congratulations to all those on it:

http://anirishmanagainstfeminism.blogspot.com
http://antifeminism.mathews.me.uk/
http://battlinbog.blog-city.com/
http://beatdeaddaddy.freewebtools.com/
http://callumphoenixrising.blogspot.com/
http://www.cooltools4men.com/
http://dhdiary.blogspot.com
http://www.dontmakehermad.com/
http://framedfathers.blogspot.com
http://www.genderwar.org/
http://www.hatemalepost.blogspot.com
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/verismo/
http://league-of-anti.blogspot.com
http://www.mens-network.org
http://mensaction.net
http://mens-links.net
http://mensrightsblogs.com
http://misformalevolent.blogspot.com
http://www.mralondon.org
http://siberianow.wordpress.com
http://sxmodels.blogspot.com
http://truthformen.wordpress.com
http://verlch.blogspot.com

by John Kimble

NOW OFFICIAL - O2 AND SYMANTEC BELIEVE HELPING MALE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AND SEX ABUSE IS HATEFUL

By now most people are aware of the issue of men's rights website being wrongly blocked by Symantec and various mobile phone companies due to them somehow being flagged as "hate sites". I've done further investigations and can exclusively reveal the official response from these companies on this matter. There tends to be a bit of confusion about this issue and so firstly I'll attempt to explain what's going on and tackle some misconceptions.

Which sites are blocked?
I initially identified 48 sites blocked by Symantec/O2 and flagged as "hate sites". The list then grew to 58 as even more were identified. It's fair to say that a majority of key sites critical of feminism and supportive of men's rights are blocked. You can see the full list here.

What exactly does this mean for the sites concerned?
The "hate site" classification means a number of users are denied any access, particularly people accessing the internet in some restaurants, workplaces and via mobile phone networks such as Telefonica/O2. In total Symantec claims 250 million users of the filter worldwide, so it could easily mean a 10% reduction in traffic for mens' rights sites.

How long has this being going on?
It is uncertain as to exactly how long this has been an issue. I became aware of the problem in May 2012 though it appears to have been going on in some cases for at least two years. It must have been happening for a considerable length of time as some of the blocked sites no longer exist.

Hold on, I thought avoiceformen.com had been unblocked and Symantec had backed down?
Sadly this is not the case and such a suggestion is based on a false report in the media. Avoiceformen.com was never unblocked at any stage.

I find this all a bit hard to believe, how can I check a site's classification for myself?
There are currently two ways to check whether or not a site has been branded as a "hate site". Users have previously checked a site's status by enabling Norton's DNS service, but a much easier method is O2's url checker.


Other mens' rights activists and even member of the media have had difficulty getting any sort of meaningful response from Symantec so I've taken a different approach and been in touch with O2/Telefonica management. I asked them to classify the blocked websites more appropriately and to stop censoring such content.  Eventually I was put in contact with O2's head of complaints, Antony Gibson, and he confirmed that O2 use the same filter service from Symantec, called Rulespace, thus explaining why the two block lists of the two companies are identical.

Mr Gibson liaised with Symantec and informed me they had reviewed the list and decided to reclassify just 2 out of the 47 sites I presented them with. This therefore means the "hate" classification/block officially stands for the bulk of this content (including avoiceformen.com) and is no accident. Mr Gibson explained that O2/Symantec regarded the sites to be at the "low end" of the spectrum in terms of hate and further explained that they were blocked and classed as "hate sites" due to reasons such as showing "aggression" and/or use of the term "anti-feminism"!

Mr Gibson did express some concern about people seeing men's rights sites listed as hate sites and smeared in this way, but O2's solution to our concerns is that they will disable their url checker so no one can see the reason why a site has been blocked. In other words O2 is fairly happy for the issue of human rights for men to be classed as hateful, their only concern is people finding out that they're taking this stance. So, now we have no just a case of censorship and defamation, but a cover up too!

To compound matters yet further, many of these sites classified as hateful really are incredibly innocuous and deal with very important issues, many don't even use the term "anti-feminist" either nor contain "aggression". Such a term is so vague and ambiguous as to be completely meaningless, and proves absolutely how the filter is arbitrary and a nonsense and completely open to abuse. More importantly, if O2/Symantec have an issue with the term "anti-feminist", then they are quite blatantly taking an extreme political stance in favour of an ideology. Afterall, there's barely any more "aggressive" way of supporting feminist doctrine than to censor and defame anyone who dares critique or correct it.

I think this issue really sums up how important the men's' movement is today, not to mention the scale of the challenge facing us. We see countless feminist activists all over the media campaigning against free speech and equality and seeking privileges for women such as subsidised  insurance premiums. Feminists make endless sexist comments telling men not to rape and even the host of the world's leading feminist radio programme openly laughs at male victims of domestic abuse. Whilst all this has been going on, and despite spending countless hours on the matter,  I've failed with a simple request for companies to stop denying help to male victims of rape and domestic violence. In fact I can't even get these sick companies to remove their "hate site" smear from their classification of these vitally important resources. Perhaps I haven't yet been "aggressive" enough?

Here's a selection of sites O2/Symantec's insist on keeping in their "hate site" category:

http://dvmen.org  - A site in Colorado helping male victims of domestic violence.
http://toysoldier.wordpress.com - A blog highlighting the plight of male victims of rape and abuse.
http://www.ncfm.org  -Website of the longest running men's human rights organisation in the US (founded in 1977).
http://www.fathersforlife.org  - A site seeking for fathers to have a greater role in their children's lives.
http://www.debunker.com/patriarchy.html  - A webpage scientifically debunking the most common feminist myths.
http://disenfranchisedfather.blogspot.co.uk - blog by a fahter who doesnt' get to see his son.


For those who are curious, apparently the only two non-"hateful" men's sites out of the 47 are:
Hisside.com and dadi.org and both are now unblocked.

Update:

O2 have been in touch and would like me to point out that O2 customers who are over 18 can remove the restriction and view any web site they want to by going through their age verificaiton process which can be found here. Customers without a credit card can visit an O2 store with photo ID such as a passport or driving licence.

by John Kimble

The following may or may not be the email addresses of the O2 board members:

[email protected], Pilar.Ló[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], Kate [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], René[email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]

THE CENSORSHIP AND DEFAMATION OF 10 MORE MEN'S RIGHTS SITES EXPOSED

Previosuly, I promised to keep readers fully up to date on all matters relating to the censorship of men's rights sites by mobile phone companies and Symantec. I'll be bringing readers some big updates on this story in the next few days and in the meantime I can reveal ten more sites wrongly censored and smeared as "hate sites". The total number of sites on the roll of honour therefore now stands at 58.

 

The new sites discovered are:

http://contrafragmentos.blogspot.com

http://countersnippets.blogspot.com

http://www.gabnet.com/lit/demoh10.htm

http://lndavout.blogspot.com

http://www.lbduk.org/ (currently not working)

http://www.mamonaku187.blogspot.co.uk

http://www.menshour.com/ (currently not working, unrelated to the BBC radio show)

http://men.typepad.com/

http://www.theabsolute.net/misogyny/

http://www.ukmm.org.uk/(again not working but made the news quite a bit in its time)

 

by John Kimble

NEWS UPDATES

There has been a few recently and a few sent over:

Some new UK sites:

   Justice for Men and Boys (political party)

    Helping Men (Glen Poole)

   Cornwall Community News (some strong articles on here)

 

A Voice for Men: Interview with London MRA (25 minutes 45 seconds in)

South Wales Argus: Man found not guilty

Cambridgeshire Police: Domestic abuse against men podcast (a first perhaps)

Daily Mail: Men should be afforded anonymity in rape appeals says High County Judge and I agree (Peter Lloyd) and the original news item. John Cooper QC is happy for innocent men to be named though as is Lisa Longstaff of course. Men are collateral damage.

Miss Alisa Place: We can't fix domestic violence if we pretend 40% of victims are not there (Alisa Valdes)

BBC: Project highlights everday sexism against women

Daily Telegraph: Divorced fathers have a hard time (Jonathan Agnew)

Daily Telegraph: Council makes toilets gender neutral (Victoria Ward)

Daily Mail: Judge says conspiracy of silence in place about the value of fathers (Steve Doughty)

BBC Women's Hour: Jenni Murray laughs as wife admits cleaning toilet with ex-husband and toothbrush before he used it (19 min 30 secs in)

The Ignored Gender: Misandry and the Superbowl

Marie Claire: No Men allowed,the rise of the women-only club

Daily Mail: I should not have lied (Janine Yaqoob)

Evening Standard: Labour women-only shortlist (Joe Murphy)

MRA London: Site banned by Norton

The Guardian: On male privilege (Richard Seymour)

Posted by Skimmington 

NEW GOVERNMENT EQUALITIES OFFICE DIRECTOR TO CONTINUE TO IGNORE MEN

The Government Equalities Office (now transferred to the Culture Department), the taxpayer-funded civil service run organisation that believes that equality does not apply to men.

News reached TROM towers that they now have a new CEO, Rachel Clark. As you can see from the welcome message sent on, a new broom may be there but nothing will be changing - more sexism by ommission from the laughably named Government Equalities Office

Posted by Skimmington

Sent on behalf of Rachel Clark, Director

 Dear friends,

I am writing to officially introduce myself as the new Director of the Government Equalities Office. I took up the post from Jonathan Rees on Monday 4th February and would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to Jonathan for the significant contribution he made to the Government's equalities agenda since starting at GEO five years ago and wish him the very best for the future. It is a tremendous honour to step into his shoes. Not only is this an area I am deeply passionate about, but I believe equality to be the cornerstone of society and central to the Government's efforts to rebuild and grow the economy.

I am delighted to be taking up this post at this exciting time for GEO as we drive forward the Government's new equality agenda, exemplified by introducing legislation to equalise the rights to marriage and to maximise the contributions of women to economic growth, through the Women's
Business Council and Think Act Report  initiative.

I look forward to hearing from you firsthand about the challenges and issues you face and progressing this important agenda.

Warmest wishes,

Rachel Clark

 

PARISH NEWS: FAMILIES NEED FATHERS CALLS FOR SUPPORT

Dear Supporter

Tomorrow, proposed shared parenting legislation will be debated in Parliament. You can help to ensure that this becomes law.

Section 11 of the Children and Families Bill sets out a presumption of shared parenting for consideration by Parliament. It states that family courts are "to presume, unless the contrary is shown, that involvement of that parent in the life of the child concerned will further the child's welfare."

With the Second Reading of the Children and Families Bill scheduled for 25 February, and more detailed work on the Bill to take place in the coming months, it is crucial that we ensure that policy makers remain aware of how important shared parenting is to children of separated parents and their
families.

To do this, we need your help.

There are two ways that you can make sure your voice is heard. The first is to take part in the Public Reading of the Children and Families Bill online; follow this link and leave your comment, and these will be made available to the MPs on the Bill Committee.

The second thing you can do is to make contact with your local MP, and let them know why they should support this Bill. Speak or write to them, briefly explain your experiences, and why you believe a presumption of shared parenting would help to prevent children from having a relationship with a loving parent damaged through no fault of their own in future.  If you're not sure how
to contact your MP, you can do it through www.theyworkforyou.com -  just type in your postcode and it will bring up details for your MP and an option to send them an email.

If contacting your MP, be sure to be courteous, focus only on the issue of shared parenting, and explain that shared parenting is not about parental rights; it is about ensuring children are not the victims of parental separation, and that they can continue to benefit from a loving relationship
with both parents wherever possible.

This legislation is close to becoming law; it will not help those that have gone before, but it could help to ensure that the next generation of children do not lose touch with a parent without justification. 

You can help us to make this happen. Please take a few minutes this weekend to comment on the Bill, or get in touch with your MP!

Best wishes,

Families Need Fathers

---

MARITAL COERCION - FOR WOMEN ONLY - ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF SEXISM AGAINST MEN

Without getting into the party politics of the issue - and of course making comments on the case itself as the trial is beginnig again, but why is marital coercion only available for wives, and not husbands. The law is "Marital Coercion pursuant to section 47 of the Criminal Justice Act 1925."

It was a law I had never heard but then it came out that only wives can use it. The background to the law is covered here.

There is an argument to be had about whether the law should exist at all, but the fact that it does and is only for wife's is staggering in a society that claims to be about equality. What is also staggering, but never surprising, is that no one in the media has actually made the connection that this law is sexist.

Considering the level of domestic abuse/partner abuse against men which shows that one in three victims are male and 600,00 men are victims each year must mean marital coercion is an issue for husbands as well as wives.

If the law is to remain on the statute book, then it has to apply to husbands as well. Silence from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission as ever, I think there needs to be a complaint made to them.

Posted by Skimmington 

NEWS UPDATE

A few recently

Yahoo: Boyfriend Trainer - Controversial app lets you beat boyfriend (Chris Morris) and Independent / Telegraph

DTI Press Release: Vince Cable demands board place women on them

Huffington Post: Does Call the Midwife fail the sexism test (Caroline Frost)

BBC: Young boys lack optimism

Posted by Skimmington

FUNDRAISING SUMMIT CANCELLED BECAUSE MOST SPEAKERS ARE MEN

An old trick of the hard left was to no platform people they disagreed with and of course those hard left anti-male feminists are now in positions of power and authority within the state and the third sector. Their tentacles reach everywhere.

Third Sector magazine broke this story today:

A conference on the future of fundraising organised by Giles Pegram and Adrian Sargeant has been cancelled after controversy arose over the gender balance of its line-up of speakers.

The one-day event, entitled The Summit: Raising the Extra Billions, was to feature nine male speakers, including Sargeant, professor of marketing and fundraising at Plymouth Business School, and Pegram, a fundraising consultant and former fundraising director at the NSPCC. Jen Shang, a professor in philanthropic psychology at the University of Bristol – and Sargeant’s partner – was the only woman involved.

This of course shows that those in the charitable sector have no idea about meritocracy and openly want to create a quota system - it is a McCarthyite obsession where they see communists misogyny everywhere - even where it clearly does not exist. Any man that is a success must have walked over the carcasses of women to get there.

There of course is the usual hypocrisy from the likes of Charity Chicks ( a website itself based on solely on gender division - what would they say if there was a site called Charity Blokes?) who try and dress their gender one-up-man-ship in the name of equality.

The other hypocrisy is that there are conferences, events and initiatives where nearly all the speakers are women. What is the view of Charity Chicks to this? No one complains when speakers are all women because anti-male women see it as a victory while many women and men are only concerned about the quality of the speakers not what gender they are.

Posted by Skimmington

Another article