So what kind of things are message boards put upon to censor, you may wonder?
Well, for starters, there's this pic of
Anders Fogh Rasmussen:
Anders Fogh Rasmussen
Secretary General of NATO
Perhaps not Rasmussen's proudest moment; covered in red paint by a protester in Copenhagen, in 2003.
However, there's nothing wrong with a bit of cyber satire involving political figures...and it's quite topical.
In today's headlines:
NATO Chief Says Russia Still Trying to Destabilize Ukraine
Anders Fogh Rasmussen Says Western Allies Must Bolster Defense of Europe
Updated July 8, 2014 6:35 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON—The leader of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization said Tuesday that Russia is continuing to try to
destabilize Ukraine, including through a new military buildup on its
border, and that Western allies must push forward on efforts to bolster
the defense of Europe.
Anders Fogh
Rasmussen, secretary-general of the military alliance, said that even
though Kiev has gained the advantage in a fight against separatists, the
alliance must make increased investments in its own military response
force and create a "more visible" military presence in Eastern Europe.
Russia
hasn't overtly responded to the Ukrainian counteroffensive in eastern
Ukraine. But Mr. Rasmussen said that Russia throughout the crisis has
periodically made moves aimed at reducing Western pressure while
continuing to quietly foment instability.
"Whenever
the international community puts more pressure on Russia, they take
some tactical steps that will defuse the international response, then
after a while, they continue covert activities to destabilize the
situation," Mr. Rasmussen said in an interview with The Wall Street
Journal.
Since Russia annexed Ukraine's
Crimean peninsula, the U.S. and other NATO members moved to increase
deployments of small units of ground forces and aircraft squadrons to
Eastern European nations. Mr. Rasmussen said those efforts must continue
and, potentially, expand.
At a planned
summit of NATO leaders set for September in Wales, the alliance will
discuss efforts to improve its reinforcement of member states. Mr.
Rasmussen said there needs to be more investment in defense
infrastructure, including designating bases that would receive
reinforcements and pre-positioned equipment.
He
also said the alliance must invest in intelligence capabilities and
improve the NATO Response Force, a multinational crisis response unit
that is supposed to be quickly deployed on a range of missions. Mr.
Rasmussen said he wanted to see more European contributions to the force
and stepped-up deployments of the U.S. units assigned to it.
He
said the force also needs to create elite units that could remain ready
to deploy to trouble spots or reinforce defenses in a matter of hours.
"We
need to make it more responsive," he said. "What I could envisage is to
develop what I call a spearhead for the NATO response force at high
alert."
Speaking after a meeting with
President Barack Obama Tuesday, Mr. Rasmussen outlined what he saw as a
continuing threat to Europe by Russian aggression. NATO's stance toward
Russia must change because Moscow's attitude to the alliance has
shifted, Mr. Rasmussen said.
"Russia
considers NATO not as a partner but as an adversary," Mr. Rasmussen
said. "If you study Russian military documents and doctrine you will see
that they point to NATO as an adversary and a potential threat. Of
course, we have to take those words seriously." [Hello, it's NATO that's lined up troops & it's US troops on European soil as of 25/04/2014.]
But
Mr. Rasmussen said he doesn't favor renouncing the 1997 Founding Act
signed between the Alliance and Russia. The agreement, which states NATO
and Russia won't use force against each other, remains in the interest
of the alliance, he said.
Under the 1997
agreement, NATO said it wouldn't permanently station additional combat
forces in Europe. The collective defense of NATO allies, Mr. Rasmussen
said, can be strengthened without violating that agreement. [I would suggest that 600 troops is a violation]
"I have no doubt we will need a more visible NATO presence in the east than we have seen in the past," Mr. Rasmussen said. [Again, he wants a troops build-up.]
President
Obama has pledged $1 billion to shore up European defense, but NATO
officials are looking for additional spending from other alliance
members. [US is sinking $1b..and NATO wants more. That doesn't bode well for the Russians or the 'Founding Act'.]
Investments in the NATO
response force and improvements in military infrastructure will require
increased spending, and leaders of the alliance have struggled to get
most European nations to meet its target for defense budgets of 2% of
gross domestic product. [Money...]
Mr. Rasmussen
said that Russia's aggression was a wake-up call for the alliance, and
has prodded some governments to "move in the right direction" on
military spending. But he noted that after the last five years, Moscow
has increased its military spending by 50% while NATO spending has been
reduced by 20%. [What aggression is that, exactly?]
Russia's actions have
caused a re-evaluation of NATO membership in some countries that train
with the alliance but aren't full members, like Sweden and Finland. No, US-NATO machinations are the cause of this obvious rally to wage war in Europe.]
Mr.
Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Demark, said while he would n't
interfere in domestic debates inside Sweden or Finland, noted the
alliance has a "well-developed partnership" with the two countries. [So they want Sweden & Finland under the US-NATO 'wing', as well ... but they're playing coy?]
"There
is no doubt if Sweden and Finland should decide to apply for
membership, they qualify and the accession talks would be easy and
short," he said. [So is this a done deal?]
http://online.wsj.com/articles/nato-chief-says-russia-still-trying-to-destabilize-ukraine-1404857700?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304642804580017684219573298.html
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What Russian aggression?
All we are hearing is Rasmussen's (and obviously Obama's) 'need' for this & 'need' for that.
Russia's within the confines of its borders, but they are not.
What they are doing is painting Russia as the aggressor while they themselves step up US military presence & military spending, war training & rallying etc. -- on European soil.
But that's the beauty of the US, EU and NATO relationship. LOL.
