SUMMARY - MIDDLE-EAST & EAST MED.

MIDDLE -EAST & EAST MED. IRAN David Cameron to ask Iran’s help in battle against Islamic State http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/david-cameron-to-ask-irans-help-in-battle-against-islamic-state/story-fnb64oi6-1227067504538 …  >> "first time a British leader has held face-to-face talks with an Iranian president since the country’s revolution in 1979" -----------------------------------------------  LIBYA #Libya - link b/w toppling al-Qaddafi one-party state & emergence dangerous competition b/w tribal & Islamist factions in Libya /oilprice #Libya - unable to protect institutions, airports & natural resources, especially the oil fields / oilprice/com >>Libya’s Islamists have been unable to secure control over Libya’s oil fields - govt lacks central control over oil resources >> oil resources = bargaining chip in competition for power / high standard of living for citizens under Qaddafi set to slip #Libya - May Be Focus Of Major Rift Between US And Regional Allies - http://oilprice.com/Geopolitics/Africa/Libya-May-Be-Focus-Of-Major-Rift-Between-US-And-Regional-Allies.html … -- *must read* / good info >> US is moving closer to alienating Egypt, Saudi Arabia & UAE to support Turkey’s & Qatar’s objectives in Libya !! / oilprice ----------------------------------------------- Mossad Rahm Emanuel, #Obama's first Chief of Staff – also served as Obama's Israeli Mossad handler --- [presstv/ir] Israeli-Turkish Intell - Syria - US 1958 an Israeli-Turkish covert intelligence alliance (the “peripheral pact”) was formed [Deniz Tanzi] - sn/ethz/ch > #Turkey partnership w/ Israel intelligence re PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) + Armenian Secret Army for Liberation Armenia >Turkey was Israel's access to new markets + a buffer in conflict with Arab states/ Turkey = neutral position on Palestine >> things changed w/ Recep Tayyip Erdogan head of AKP >> 2009 stance re Gaza (populist move?) >> + Freedom Flotilla incident (Turkish citizens killed) >> but this is the public front / status quo remains re strategic & economic / military & security officials quietly meet #Turkey - For 50 years Mossad agents free to expand their humint network in Turkey / Israeli planes use Turkish bombing ranges /.isn.ethz.ch >> Reports of Turkish-Israeli intelligence cooperation in #Syria >> quickly denied by #Turkey >Seems Erodogan makes big show of being anti Israel (vilifying Gülen Movement as pro-Israel), while quietly chums w/ Israel? Turkish President calls for ‘no-fly zone’ in #Syria .. Discussed w/ Obama & Biden http://www.panarmenian.net/eng/news/182874/ … Congressman Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) met w/ FSA members & lobbying from #Turkey for a no-fly zone over #Syria >> http://tinyurl.com/mp3w3mf >hanging out in Turkey as part of duties re House Foreign Affairs Committee - jurisdiction over bills & invest foreign affairs  >Congressman Kinzinger facilitated negotiations b/w multiple groups who battled both Assad & ISIS .. CNN there too!  LOL  >>CNN, who sat in on undermining a foreign govt:  'moderate' Muslim rebel groups #Syria to form alliance w/ Christian Syriacs >Zinziger former US air-force pilot / rank Major / took part  "Operation Iraqi Freedom"  - ie Iraq War/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_War >> Kinzinger ... served in Iraq & Afghanistan [ivn.us] >>Creepy how US military are in govt.  & are legislators  ... who are in foreign country plotting to overthrow foreign govt. >Thought Iranians were maybe crazy with all their Mossad tin foil hat articles, but now I'm not so sure about that ... lol #USA - "Rep. Adam Kinzinger: Freeze Putin's Assets" newsmax/ ... LOL ... when he's not plotting against Assad, it's Putin in his sights. >> favourite word is 'INNOCENT' ... innocent civilians, innocent people ... he's all for the 'innocent' -- It's Superman! #USA Texas Senator Ted Cruz: "US would effectively become al Qaeda’s air force" if US is drawn into bombing #Syria [ivn.us] ... LOL! ie ... "high reported number of al Qaeda & al Qaeda-affiliated fighters within the Syrian opposition" [ivn.us] >> Kinzinger argues Assad's 'chemical weapons' and free-for-all Iran 'weapons of mass destruction' ... Familiar?? ----------------------------------------  Greece #Greece - burden is greater than any NATO ally or #EU member>> 1) economic challenges, 2) porous borders 3) immigrant flow >> /savannanow > Greek debt stands @ 174.1% of GDP.   For every dollar Greece earns, it owes $1.74 (est) >> http://tinyurl.com/kmbv2me > Bail-out = lending institutions overseeing + over-squeezing suffocating Greek economy / Youth unemployment @ near 60% >> TENSIONS HIGH: #Athens / visible, volatile & impoverished illegal immigrants have taken over entire neighbourhoods >> 90% of Eu’s irregular immigrant entries by Greek borders or its waters — mainly traversing an *enabling* Turkey next door. >> forced by #EU law to remain in Greece ... but intend to slip into other EU countries for work. ---------------------------------------- COMMENT More random information that I found interesting at the time. The US representative in Turkey meeting up with the Syrian anti-government forces is rather distasteful.   It amounts to being involved in a plot to overthrow the government in Syria, in my opinion. Forgot what the 'must read' was about.  LOL.  Never mind.  It's there to revisit if I want. .

SUMMARY - MISC

SUMMARY - MISC #China -- court jails Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti for life for separatism: lawyer [AFP] ... Gee, they didn't deliberate much on that decision ---------------------------------------- Putin wrote Fatty a love letter: #Ukraine's access 2 vital Russian markets if Kiev implements any part of trade agreement w/ #EU in 4 PAIN >> Hey, Fatty ... #Russia's got you by the TARIFFS !! LOL - I love politics & trade. http://tinyurl.com/kgobecp >> EU delayed implementing the trade accord until Dec. 31 2015 ... LOL it's a trick. Hit 'em with gas cut-off 4 winter >> Putin wants three-way negotiations to amend the EU's accord with #Kiev ... Awww, that's no fun/ EU says room 4 compromise. ---------------------------------------- #India MASSIVE >> private firms allotted coal blocks by govts b/w1993 & 2011 have lost their mining rights!! > http://tinyurl.com/n4mdvm7 > Hey, #Poland - India suffering from drastically LOW coal supplies! > Following dec'n govt free 2 auction or allot blocks WOW .. this is #India's Coalgate - 2012 auditor govt under-priced coal mines & gave away as much as $33 billion windfall !! #India - Shares in Indian power & steel producers tanked b/c India's coal decision - http://tinyurl.com/kmkmxpd  - will also impact on LENDERS >> a "complete de-allocation" of the coal blocks will inflate India's IMPORT bill by $3bn (£1.81bn, €2.27bn) >> - IBTimes ---------------------------------------- #Ghana - bans inland importation of rice / losing $22.5m annually - http://tinyurl.com/l4qeqp6      /     http://tinyurl.com/kr6a8d6  ... > large foreign importers get better deal b/c stored at 'bonded warehouses' & duty paid once SOLD / small pay duty on crossing ppl lobby 2 lift ban to support local traders / argue ban giving monopoly to foreign importers of rice, leading to price hikes ---------------------------------------- #Kazakhstan bilateral military cooperation amid concerns Islamic extremism / military mod ..freebies #Russia / http://tinyurl.com/l8526uz ----------------------------------------------- UN Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) - ratified by more than 50 countries & in force >> #Sweden attended event >> international law by 24 Dec 2014 >>> Haahahahaaaa   TheGuardian is selling it with "... can save lives" headline ... http://tinyurl.com/kkbwsgr ----------------------------------------------- Estonian conservative party to set up shop in Finland / http://tinyurl.com/lgylwvw  / est 100,000 Estonians live/work Fin / elections March 2015 ----------------------------------------------- #Finland - over Fennovoima nuclear project - Green Party votes unanimously to leave government | Yle Uutiset | yle.fi http://yle.fi/uutiset/7482977  COMMENT Random bits of info that caught my attention as I looked at this and that.   The most exciting thing for me at the time was India's 'Coalgate' because I'd looked at a bit of coal information in other regions and this slotted in very nicely.  Got worked up about Ukraine, only to find it's all down to negotiations and very boring -- I'm hanging for the gas cut-off pay-back.  Don't think there will be one, as Russia's a lot more civilised than I am. Estonians setting up a political party in Finland is bizarre, however many Fins they might have there.  Ghana sounds rather corrupt.  Something is going on there.  But I haven't looked at it beyond the above. The imprisonment in China is probably a big one for people who generally support human rights causes -- and for those who seek to exploit such causes or issues. I'm not in that mould.  On the whole, I tend to be emotionally remote from most things that happen on the planet.

SURVEILLANCE, CYBER-SECURITY & OTHER

SURVEILLANCE, CYBER-SECURITY & OTHER NSA New Chief Risk Officer Position NSA/CSS Dir Adm Michael S. Rogers announced creation of new Chief Risk Officer pos'n @ Agency/ http://tinyurl.com/plruj5r  / NSA insurance? #USA >> Why would a spy agency be involved in insurance? Cyber-Security #Hacker / eBay custom Javascript & Flash content expose users / cross-site scripting (XSS) / http://goo.gl/9FUTzs  / criticism eBay #cybersecurity Windows XP anywhere on network / unpatched & unsupported XP = "Swiss Cheese of operating systems" 4 hackers /bitcoinmag Taiwan  Population: 2.619 million (Dec 2010) >> Taiwan aka: The Republic of China .. Ma Ying-jeou is President .. lawyer, US exposure .. aka "Teflon pot" / controversies #Taiwan govt investigates Xiaomi /China's smartphone co / on potential #cybersecurity concerns http://tinyurl.com/jwmly6l  / dec'n in 3mths #China & #Taiwan historical foes /defeated Nationalists fled 2 island / civil war loss 2Communists 1949 / Renegade province #Surveillance - Xiaomi smartphone accused of sending copies user text-msgs 2 servers mainland China / co. DENIES - http://tinyurl.com/jwmly6l >> #China Shi Tao journalist leaked censorship order govt had sent Chinese media: IMPRISONED 2005 b/c YAHOO handover E-MAILS >Apple has begun 2 store user data on servers @ mainland #CHINA / first time tech giant has stored user data on Chinese soil ! WikiLeaks #WikiLeaks founder calls Google “a privatized NSA” >>> http://tinyurl.com/pgz7nwy  - DailyDigestNews  #UN's Ban suppresses information >> not a word about corporations or #Assange or #Wikileaks raised by #Ecuador!! >> http://www.innercitypress.com/unga1ecuador092414.html … Believe: Techie corporate fatcat in bed w/ US govt or whistleblower-publisher political prisoner? VIDEO  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=EejoN7Z-OZE …  >#Assange has the 'luxury' of UK police guards in #Ecuador embassy corridors & elevators. PSYCHOLOGICAL TORTURE - HR violation >"If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place" - Eric Schmidt >"Since Google stopped colluding with the Chinese govt ... " >> http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1601886/google-reminds-web-censorship … Ray McGovern / USA ‘Surveillance state’ "Ex-CIA analyst joins Chico State profs in discussion of Fourth Amendment, government power over Americans" Ex-CIA Ray McGovern /4th Amendment / #USA / http://tinyurl.com/prut7me  /#Surveillance has NOT stopped a single terrorist attack NSA's Alexander Black Market #Surveillance - Dark Net - 34 countries ops. - drugs busts - Europol - http://tinyurl.com/mvh5abq  - 1,000 ppl / ppl traffic, 600kg cocaine + or FBI - Fake Cellphone Towers Surveillance #Surveillance - FBI uses IMSI catchers, ie fake cellphone towers, to pipe private cellphone data thru government monitors / ocregister International Mobile Subscriber Identity = telephony device - 'man in the middle' attack >> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMSI-catcher … >> countries w/out encrypted phone data traffic (or weak encryption) render IMSI device unnecessary! FBI forced state & local law enforcement 2 sign non-disclosure 2 acquire IMSI tech themselves / police militarization!! [ocregister] #USA >> #USA federal agents want to disseminate spying technology while keeping it a secret >> http://tinyurl.com/lr3hehn FBI on Apple & Google Encryption FBI Director James Comey concerned Apple & Google selling ph's w/ encryption they can’t break >> http://www.zdziarski.com/blog/?p=3894  - #surveillance > above link = The Politics Behind iPhone Encryption and the FBI - Jonathan Zdziarski #Hacker 'Poison Ivy' / China-based / trying to infect visitors to human rights & environmental NGO sites http://bit.ly/1qzJ9xz  Roman Seleznev - Russian Alleged Hacker US Fed judge in hacker case - Roman Seleznev /blocks #Philadelphia law firm Fox Rothschild LLP from acting - http://tinyurl.com/n5s62wq  #Russia - conflict of interest issue / firm represented some of Roman Seleznev's alleged victims [politico] Satellite Navigation #Russia /US refused Russia’s GLONASS satellite navigation system on its territory. Russia then banned use GPS on Russian territory for military purposes >> Globalnaya navigatsionnaya sputnikovaya sistema = "Global Navigation Satellite System" [wiki] COMMENT Buch of random information in the IT, cyber-security, surveillance, hacking and similar category, that I found interesting at the time.

'Deep State' USA - Mike Lofgren Article

'DEEP STATE' - USA Essay: Anatomy of the Deep State February 21, 2014 by Mike Lofgren Link:  http://billmoyers.com/2014/02/21/anatomy-of-the-deep-state/ Below are key points /extracts / summary (as learning aid for blogger): Visible government & the Shadow government Without due processes, President can: liquidate American citizens  detain prisoners indefinitely without charge conduct dragnet surveillance on the American people (without judicial warrant) engage in witch hunts against federal employees (the so-called “Insider Threat Program”) In USA, power is typified by: displays of intimidating force by militarized  federal; state; &  local; law enforcement.  Overseas, US can: start wars at will; & engage in virtually any other activity whatsoever  without Congress approval. 2011 political warfare over the debt ceiling, WA allocated funds on: overthrow Muammar Ghaddafi’s regime in Libya overt & covert assistance to French intervention in spill-over Mali $115 million to keeping a civil war going in Syria £100 million (min) to UK's GCHQ (spy agency) $1.7 billion constructing mammoth structure in Utah -- for NSA to archive digital surveillance data Meanwhile, in USA:  bridges carrying interstate highways have collapsed due to inadequate maintenance of infrastructure. Shadow Government (the 'Deep State') is a "hybrid entity of public and private institutions ruling the country" and this shadow government is only intermittently controlled by, the visible state whose leaders we choose." The Deep State government has its failures: Iraq Afghanistan Libya and is therefore not invincible.   The Deep State protects inept higher-ranking personnel. Cultural assimilation  >  “Groupthink”  - adoption of views of superiors & peers. Executive Office of the President via National Security Council CO-ORDINATES the activities of the Deep State, which is a hybrid of the following: national security  law enforcement agencies Department of State Department of Homeland Security Central Intelligence Agency Justice Department Deep State key areas of Judiciary: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Vital federal trial courts (eg Eastern District of Virginia & Southern District of Manhattan) - where NSA cases conducted. Department of the Treasury (financial flows; international sanctions; SYMBIOSIS with WALL STREET) 'Rump' Congress - congressional leadership & some (but not all) members of the defence &  intelligence committees.  Rest of Congress "submits to a few well-chosen words from the State’s emissaries". Eg. Passage of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Amendments Act of 2008: retroactively legalised Bush’s illegal & unconstitutional surveillance and indemnified telecommunications companies for their cooperation in these acts. No problems: submission & passing of bill leveraged with trump card :  “terrorism” "What is euphemistically called “private enterprise” is an integral part of its operations." Now "854,000 contract personnel with top-secret clearances — a number greater than that of top-secret-cleared civilian employees of the government." The Corporate Arm of the Deep State Membrane between government and industry is highly permeable:  See National Security and Booz Allen Hamilton, (one of the government’s largest intelligence contractors, 99% dependent on govt business).  Contractors now set: political and social tone of Washington; and  increasingly setting the direction of the country and are "doing so quietly, unrecorded in the Congressional Record or the Federal Register, and are rarely subject to congressional hearings." Wall Street -- the cash -- keeps the political machine dormant & "operating as a diversionary marionette theatre." "The executives of the financial giants even have de facto criminal immunity": " ... institutions so mammoth that prosecutions would have "negative impact on the national economy, perhaps even the world economy". "Wall Street may be the ultimate owner of the Deep State and its strategies, if for no other reason than that it has the money to reward ..." Harvard: Ivy League is .. the preferred bleaching tub & charm school of the American oligarchy.  [LOL] White House advisers contractor-connected think tank experts economic gurus (pro-globalization and deregulation) preferred pose is that of the politically neutral technocrat offering .. profound expertise "deeply dyed in the hue of the official ideology of the governing class" Domestically:  invariably believe in the “Washington Consensus”: financialisation, outsourcing, privatization, deregulation and the commodifying of labour. Internationally, they espouse 21st-century “American Exceptionalism”: the right and duty of the US to meddle in every region of the world with coercive diplomacy and boots on the ground Silicon Valley is a vital node of the Deep State (Snowden exposure) Important engine of the nation’s economy Indulged by Washington: “jailbreak” smartphone (ie modify for use with other service provider)> receive a fine of up to $500,000 + several yrs prison "... libertarian pose of the Silicon Valley moguls, so carefully cultivated in their public relations, has always been a sham" Silicon Valley - commercial purposes - tracking activities of electronic device users. Deep State - emulate the Valley -- for own purposes.  Deep State conscripts the Silicon Valley’s assistance. 21st century:  drone strikes data mining secret prisons Panopticon-like (all-seeing) control Yet, visible parliamentary institutions of self-government declining to status of a banana republic amid gradual collapse of public infrastructure. [ summary incomplete ]

VIDEO - A Song for Carl Bildt

Pjesma Karl Bildtu Translated the lyrics are: "hey carl bildt, suck our d*ck!!"  A song for Carl Bildt Source:  here

Surveillance & IT

SURVEILLANCE & IT ------------------------------------------ >Apple has begun 2 store user data on servers @ mainland #CHINA / first time tech giant has stored user data on Chinese soil ! Google 2 build gigantic 120-megawatt data centre in the Netherlands $772m / intl submarine cables+ / http://goo.gl/2ZmTiB  / 4th centre #IT ------------------------------------------ USA  -  RULE 41 – USA SURVEILLANCE INVASION OF INTERNET - WORLDWIDE DOJ changes to Rule 41 would allow FBI to hack into & remotely control PCs located anywhere in world! - http://goo.gl/I507N5  - #USA #LAW >> "broadest expansion of extraterritorial surveillance power since the FBI’s inception" - law professor Ahmed Ghappour /nww FBI to examine & covertly upload files, photos, emails, or do anything the PC can do - eg turning on the webcam & microphone" ------------------------------------------ PROPOSED RULE 41 Amendment  http://justsecurity.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/proposed-amendment-rule-41.pdf … NEWS CORP / MURDOCH  -  GOOGLE  - EU - MONOPOLY News Corp letter fm CEO to #EU competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia, criticizing Google & championing regulators http://goo.gl/iqLlAe demanding “a regulatory veto” notwithstanding fact they “haven’t demonstrated any economic harm” stemming fm search provider. >> .. threatened by disruptive innovation in the marketplace, seek to manipulate the regulatory apparatus to their advantage. http://www.project-disco.org/intellectual-property/092214-newscorp-salvo-google-shows-even-free-markeeters-will-demand-regulatory-responses-disruption/ ------------------------------------------ AUSTRALIA – G20 – FINANCE MINISTERS – COMMON REPORTING STANDARD .. some 47 countries including Australia had signed up to a common reporting standard to being in 2017 that would see banks exchange information on individuals' finances, which could then be passed on to countries' tax offices. Another eight G20 countries would join by 2018, although there were another unnamed 14 countries who are apparently unwilling to go down this path. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/the-g20-finance-ministers-meeting-explained/5759262 G20 expect multinationals 2 voluntarily bring profits back to the US @ tax 35 -40% when the corporate tax rate in Ireland is 12.5% / murdoch ------------------------------------------ CANADA - SURVEILLANCE - WARRANTS RULING The ISPs enacted their new policy following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling in June stating that law enforcement authorities must get a warrant to request subscriber data, even basic subscriber details such as name and address. However, a recent report in the Star reveals that police are still making requests for subscriber data without a warrant, though the number of requests has dropped significantly. Rogers’ transparency report revealed the government made nearly 175,000 requests for subscriber data to the company last year, or about 480 per day. Telus’ transparency report, released last week, found the company got 103,500 requests last year, or about 283 per day. Government documents released under access to information laws earlier this year estimated that the government makes about 1.2 million such requests every year. http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2014/09/22/julian-assange-canada-privacy_n_5860774.html ------------------------------------------ CANADA - C-13 OpenMedia is leading a coalition of orgs. against Bill C-13 which #Canada govt tabled re high-profile cyberbullying cases /huffpost.ca #Canada - http://goo.gl/85s8vG  - Bill C-13 = authorities access to the private lives of Canadians without a warrant CSEC 'Spy Palace' Canada's electronic eavesdropping agency, CSEC, is getting a new $1.2-billion headquarters in Ottawa, the most expensive government building ever built. Here are some illustrations of the finished building. http://i.huffpost.com/gadgets/slideshows/336920/slide_336920_3412305_free.jpg ------------------------------------------ COMMENT Not clear on the status of Canada's C-13 bill.

In Summary

Miscellaneous First-ever #UN summit on indigenous ppl held now @ NY - calls 4 more reporting / monitoring rights / http://goo.gl/zGrqHL ------------------------------------------ #Lithuania trawler Jūros Vilkas in the Barents Sea /arrest of crew & ship's redirection 2 Murmansk/ admin violations  -  Russia  -   http://goo.gl/4sMQz5 ------------------------------------------ Stefan Löfven working on budget / hoping Red-Green coalition 2 push thru http://goo.gl/eIHVKW  - crucial meeting FRI Parl speaker #Sweden ------------------------------------------ #Scotland - http://goo.gl/4Q11iG  - voting age / Mr Salmond's successor noms / changing the role of Scottish politicians at Westminster call for 16 and 17-year-olds to be given the vote at future elections. ------------------------------------------ #Spain $340mil sale of vacant landmark 25-story Edificio España - opens door to further Chinese investment - http://goo.gl/Kb85LZ  >>"Telefónica, the Spanish telecommunications giant, halved its stake in China Unicom in 2012 to cut its debt." NYT >> BBVA - Spanish lender - now earns more from banking ops in #Mexico than in its home market. [NYT] > BBVA Oct 2013 cut its stake in Citic Bank, part conglomerate controlled by China govt, 2 help meet intl capital requirements #Spain - Chinese citizens received 282 of 1,880 “golden visas” granted. Visas give residency to any foreigner buying ppty @ $205,500 / NYT ------------------------------------------ #France - PM Manuel Valls pledged @ Berlin to push economic reform package - http://goo.gl/RzW1Fq  / zero growth & record unemployment Germany's media has been highly critical of France, Germany's top partner in Europe / "Frankreich" / "Krankreich" / 'sick' {AFP} Frenchie Pilots' union rejects Air France offer to end strike >> Giving #Hollande a migraine, along with IMF & Bling Bling's come-back RT >> "75% of France's electricity comes from nuclear energy. In the future, it will be 50% nuclear, 50% renewable" [CFR] ------------------------------------------ COMMENT Various bits of information that ought to be self-explanatory. Economy in France and in Spain bad.  Guessing Spain is worse off.

POLITICS - Female Exploitation

Female Exploitation William Hague And along comes #Hague ... the women's issues monitor #Hague reckons he's made progress on war-zone rape. >>> So it's just the beheadings we've got to worry about? Watson UN-Establishment-Media Puppet ... Followed by Emma Watson, would you believe ... Is this a conspiracy? LOL "Don't bully brave Emma" DM .. who writes this crap? Brave? Brave??? -- Try PUPPET Liberal Democrats (UK) #UK -- Liberal Dems are going with an end FGM campaign Bizarre 'Feminist' Campaigns CoppaFeel!  (UK)   -   It's On US (USA):  No thanks & No thanks! More politicising women:  "A campaign to show breasts in a non-sexual way to help cancer awareness" [Indep] - Why is everyone *using* women? > Where's the testicular cancer awareness pics?  Where's: 'Vital to respect the dignity of men everywhere' condescending crap? >> this is like a bad LSD trip: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CoppaFeel ! >> CoppaFeel! UK & It'sOnUS USA -- WTF?  This is some really *warped* campaigning going on. http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/coppafeel-launches-campaign-to-show-breasts-in-a-nonsexual-way-for-cancer-awareness-9744810.html Ed Balls RT >> "Ed Balls went on a Sound of Music tour in curtained costume that his wife made him" [Independent] ... What's UK press smokin' ? Didn't read article.  Sure smacks of Dave Cameron's Samantha advising him to put more women on the front bench political 'feminism'.  Or it could just be The Independent taking the piss out of Balls.  Yeeew.  That doesn't sound right. Obama | UN General Assembly >> still dragging women into it. Getting a bit tired, these politicians using the we're-feminist schtick. >> TWICE ... >>used women TWICE! >>dragged Eleanor Roosevelt into it, too!! [ie UN speech] COMMENT   One person's 'impassioned plea' is another person's manufactured propaganda. Go figure. The above is my take on causes, politicians and UN (and other) celebrities 'campaigning' for women, feminism, equality, awareness and so on. F*ck off with your preaching. We're not morons.  We're aware.  We're not the lesser sex.  We don't need 'special' consideration. And we certainly don't need 'the establishment': (be it in the guise of prime ministers, presidents, actresses or advocates of causes) defining us, manipulating our minds, our self-image or our social relationships, while exploiting our gender, our bodies and our perpetual 'victimhood' for hidden gains. Obama talking freedom, human rights, legacy, women's rights and reminiscing about Eleanor Roosevelt is preposterous.