Letters to the Editor
Parson Jim
Published Letters: 582 Editor's Choice: 7
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Salon Editorial Policy
[Read the article: Roundup: Veiling, pseudo-science and more!]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Why are John Travolta's drag burblings considered "feminist" by Salon when more relevant stories about equality are being made available on the internet, and by "equality", I mean true equality, not the rape-crisis victimology typified by many of the Salon choices for Broadsheet?
Turkish women recently started an awareness campaign to highlight the absence of women in the Turkish Parliament. The concept for the campaign was developed by two men. Men and women working together for true equality, not women castigating men for the lack of government programs and benefits, a la American "feminism".
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=69134
Mustache goes a long way to create awareness
Monday, March 26, 2007
A few well-known women last week initiated a campaign to create awareness for the lack of top female politicians in Turkey by donning ties and posters featuring drawn mustaches on their faces, attracting nationwide attention and creating a commotion that should have cost them 100 times the money they spent
ISTANBUL – Referans/Milliyet
Last week, the Association for Educating and Supporting Women Candidates (KA-DER) asked, “Is it necessary to be a man to enter Parliament?” Famous women remonstrated against this by wearing moustaches. Even though they were criticized for putting on “a show by wearing mustaches,” KA-DER members were able to carry the issue to the agenda with this campaign. They were also able to make a $10 million advertising campaign but only pay $100,000 for it. Their aim is to sustain this support until the elections, thereby raising the number of female candidates. As their campaign gears up, more celebrity women are coming to join their initiative.
The backstage of the campaign is as interesting as the campaign itself. KA-DER was able to have the advertising for free, from TVs to newspapers, to billboards. They got the involvement of 54 women's NGOs in the campaign. The total number of NGOs that support the campaign has acceded 100.
There is a man behind the moustache idea:
The idea sprang from the fact that Turkey ranks 163rd among 167 countries when it comes to women's representation in Parliament. In fact, the aim of the women went beyond putting this on the agenda; it was also to show what they could achieve if women had a say in politics. Among the nameless heroes of the campaign are the employees of the Adrena Advertising Firm, which has supported KA-DER gratis. The firm's employees have worked three months for this campaign and have come up with hundreds of ideas. They even thought about organizing a beauty contest with the slogan, “choose the women.” However, at the end, the mustached women project got dominant and the slogan was determined as, “Is it necessary to be a man to enter Parliament?”
The people behind the slogan and the idea were two men. The idea of the moustache and having it drawn with a pen belongs to Adrena Advertising Agency Art Director Harun Karanfilci. The “Let's elect women” and “Is it necessary to be a man to enter Parliament?” slogans belong to the president of Adrena Advertising Agency, Alper İnuğur.
The campaign will continue until the elections:
İnuğur says the campaign will continue until the elections, adding that many people criticize the campaign and it will have no long-term effects. “We wanted to create an awakening in the first phase. In this phase, it was aimed to draw attention of the public to female candidates with open-air billboards, posters, and bulletins. We became successful in this. Businesswoman Ümit Boyner, actress Meltem Cumbul, actress Lale Mansur and writer/publisher Meral Okay took part in the advertising campaign. The second phase of the campaign is “alerting consciousness.” This phase will be launched in June. The number of educative activities and supportive campaigns geared towards female candidates will be increased; seminars and meetings will be organized. The third and final phase of the campaign is “uprising,” which will start in August-September. This phase will coincide with the period that the candidate lists will be publicized. KA-DER will call for the political parties to allocate one of the top three positions on their lists to women.”
Representation of women in Parliament is below that of 1934:
KA-DER administrative board member Semiha Öztürk says: “The cost of such a campaign, with its agency, TV, newspaper, billboard, and other advertising costs comes to around $10 million. However, our spending has not even reached $100,000.” She sees the noteworthiness of the messages it gives as the reason behind the campaign's success. “Among the information given with the question “Are you aware?” are the facts that today women are represented with a smaller number than in 1934, that Turkey is 163rd among 167 countries in this regard, and that number of female mayors in rural administrations does not even add up to 1 percent,” she explains. She says that no one is aware of these data....
© 2005 Dogan Daily News Inc. www.turkishdailynews.com.tr
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Anonymous 3:30
[Read the article: What else we're reading]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]Absolutely right. The passing of Lady Bird Johnson is a sad day for every American and everyone in this country who cares about wildlife conservation.
She took a stand for environmentalism when the concept was still an unknown in the US.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2007/07/12/ap3906503.html
Some of her legacy is highlighted here:
http://www.wildflower.org/organizations/affiliates.php
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A Sign of Impending Darkness
[Read the article: Flying the child-unfriendly skies]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]"When we get to the stage where Republican politicians are making ordinary citizens look self-absorbed and uncaring, then I would say ordinary citizens need to re-evaluate."
"Need to re-evaluate"? I would argue this situation is a sign the Apocalypse is nigh!
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Or...
[Read the article: Roundup: Prostitutes turned politicians and more]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]You could "reverse-Photoshop" folks to make them look more real:
http://planethiltron.com/index.php
CHeck on your favorite celebrity for a *real* picture!
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Women fight to lose their rights
[Read the article: Women fight to lose their rights]
[Read more letters about this article: Here]NOW and other feminist groups in California have fought against presumptive joint custody legislation and the use of Parental Alienation Syndrome as a factor in determining custody. This has had a disastrous effect on working women who are going through divorce, and may lose access to their kids as a result of biased family law.
Happens all the time on both sides of the political spectrum.