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Republican politicians are treading into murky (read: sexist) waters in the contraception debate. Earlier today, in protest of House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa's refusal to allow women onto a panel of witnesses at the hearing on the White House mandate to require employers and insurers to provide contraception coverage, Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) walked out, garnering a significant amount of media attention and setting off an ensuing furor among women and men. Why no women? Issa said, “the hearing is not about reproductive rights and contraception but instead about the Administration’s actions as they relate to freedom of religion and conscience."

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Currently under the Obama plan, in cases where religious groups are involved contraception coverage will be offered to women by their employers’ insurance companies directly, so that religious employers who oppose contraception don't have to be involved with that nasty business. What Issa means is that the hearing is about whether requiring insurers to cover birth control violates the religious freedom of people who don't believe that birth control should, essentially, exist. The people on his panel, then, were men. Religious men. (Two women appeared on a second panel at the hearing. Both spoke against contraception.)

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But back to Issa's statement: How do you take "reproductive rights and contraception" out of a conversation about birth control? You can't. You might try to ignore those parts of the conversation because you want to get a specific answer, for a specific purpose. And allowing women on a panel to talk about how and why they need birth control -- and how and why they need insurers to pay for it -- detracts from that mission. 

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In tackier, more sensational headlines, Rick Santorum pal Foster Friess announced on MSNBC today that back in the old days the "gals" used to just put some Bayer Aspirin between their knees as a handy (and cheap!) contraception method. In addition to winning "most moronic statement of the day," Friess went on to further belittle the issue of birth control, insinuating that all this focus on stupid lady crap when there are more important issues at stake (like wars), is the marking of a randy, sex-obsessed culture:

Here we have millions of our fellow Americans unemployed, we have jihadist camps being set up in Latin America, which Rick has been warning about, and people seem to be so preoccupied with sex. I think it says something about our culture. We maybe need a massive therapy session so we can concentrate on what the real issues are. 

Rush Limbaugh comes down on this side, with a bit more of a conspiracy angle, saying Democrats "ginned up" the contraception debate to divide the GOP and distract from the real issues. 

RELATED: Even Republicans Want Employers to Cover Birth Control

But what are the real issues? Sex, and everything related to it -- you could argue that very little is not related to sex in some way -- surely, is one of them. Surely Friess knows that. (We dare say his words have the confessional mark of "methinks the man doth protest too much.") 

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Friess, Limbaugh, and Issa, each in different ways, are trying to desexualize and downplay the importance of an issue that is, at its core, about not only sex but also men and women, power, religion, socioeconomics, relationships, healthcare, equal rights, and, not to speak too broadly, but pretty much our entire global future. We'll throw Issa a bone: Fine, this particular hearing is also about freedom of religion and conscience -- things that women have opinions on just as much as men do, just like men should care about birth control just as much as women do. But, two facts: Men don't actually get pregnant, and we have nothing to gain from a one-sided conversation about an issue that impacts us all. It's doubly insulting when women, who have been dealing with birth control on their own for years, are left out of the conversation or added as an afterthought. Come on, politicians. We're all grown ups here. If you feel the need to giggle behind your hand when someone mentions sex, you should excuse yourself from the table. Didn't we all take health class back in high school? (As House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said today, “What else do you need to know about the subject? I may, I may at some point be moved to explain biology to my colleagues.”)

The simple answer of why men are dominating the conversation on birth control is that, regardless of strides made, men continue to largely dominate the conversation in politics. The more complicated answer is that the men who are dominating the conversation on birth control -- and you can count Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and Florida Senator Marco Rubio among those who've come out against the White House contraception plan -- are deeply afraid of losing the conservative vote, and, it seems, conservatives continue to be deeply afraid of women having free and equal control over their own bodies and all that follows from that. Like having sex. Creating fewer unwanted children. And women taking care of themselves. What a sin. 

Image via Shutterstock by Mathom.

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Why Are Men Dominating the Debate About Birth Control for Women?

Media Matters reportedly took more than $400,000 from a pro-gun control group even as its boss walked the streets of Washington with a Glock-toting personal assistant acting as his bodyguard.

A donation from the Joyce Foundation was specifically earmarked for use by Media Matters to promote a $600,000 initiative on “gun and public safety issues.” But reports that paint Media Matters boss David Brock as a gun-guarded boss obsessed with security might make the next solicitation for Joyce funds a bit awkward.

“It doesn’t look good," said Fraser Seitel, President of Emerald Partners Communications and public relations expert who authored the book "Rethinking Reputation." "It’s subject to easy criticism.

“But it is a gray area in terms of public relations. Since [Media Matters] is so anti-NRA, to have their members packing heat leaves them open to criticism.”

Brock reportedly told confidantes that he feared for his safety and needed hired guns to keep him safe. The District's gun laws are among the strictest in the nation, which raises the question of whether Brock's assistant at times was in violation of its ban on carrying a concealed weapon.

“He had more security than a Third World Dictator,” one Media Matters employee told the Daily Caller. Brock’s guards rarely left Brock’s side and even accompanied him to his home in a tony Washington neighborhood where they “stood post” nightly, the source told the Daily Caller

Media Matters proudly claims to be engaged in an information war to bring down Fox News Channel, and has been exposed as a distributor of liberal talking points that regularly find their way into the reporting of mainstream media outlets, according to the Daily Caller.

Officials at the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation did not return calls for comment. The non-profit doles out donations to a varierty of groups to address such issues as urban public education, job training, the environment, and gun violence.

A July 2010 grant of $400,000 to Media Matters was specifically targeted to support a gun and public safety issue initiative. As part of the initiative, Media Matters sent a representative, David Holthouse, undercover to a gun hunting trade show and had him write about the experience.

In a Media Matters article entitled, SHOT Show 2011: "The Second Amendment Ain't About Duck Hunting", Holthouse wrote that “increased lethality has become the nicotine of the firearms industry.”

“Every year gun makers roll out new lines of assault rifles, tactical shotguns and handguns that hold even more bullets, or fire even faster, or boast new gadgetry that supposedly enables their user to kill other human beings more efficiently than ever before,” a line from the January 2011 article read.

Holthouse previously wrote an article for a Denver publication claiming he once planned a murder, so far as to travel to a neighboring state to buy a gun with a scratched off serial number so it could not be traced back to him. His intended target was someone who attacked him as a child, forcibly raping him at 7-years-old, according to the article.

The latest revelations about Media Matters has raised questions in Washington, with some lawmakers in Congress considering opening a investigation into the group’s tax-exempt status, according to reports in The Daily Caller.

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Brock and the Glock: Armed men guarded Media Matters boss as he took $400,000 gun control donation

Former Sun CEO Jonathan Schwartz has launched a social network for caregivers that places privacy front and center. For a modest fee, users can have all the advantages of sharing on their own terms, without worrying about the site using their personal data to lure advertisers. CareZone isn't a "niche" site, said Schwartz. Caregiving is "what the vast, vast majority of people on Earth do every day."

Former Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz is offering caregivers a social networking service designed to be free of confusing privacy policies and invasive advertising.

Social networking is far older than Facebook, MySpace or even Friendster, according to Schwartz, CareZone founder and CEO. Family is actually the world's oldest social network, and whether by birth or by choice everyone is pretty much part of it.

However, this original social network doesn't always make for a good fit with today's online social media, he maintained -- especially when it comes to privacy.

For many social media sites, the user isn't the customer but the rather the product. The goal of CareZone is to change this so that productivity and privacy don't have to be mutually exclusive.

"The network's goals are to serve the needs of those that care for their parents, their children or the loved ones we consider part of our family," Schwartz told TechNewsWorld.

"We believe with life expectancies extending nearly everywhere on Earth, and with the burdens falling increasingly on those already challenged with kids, our service is timely and high value," he added.

Entirely Private

The concept behind CareZone is to provide an online account that can be opened on behalf of a loved one, and which remains entirely private and available by default only to the person who opened it. The service, which launched this week, offers subscriptions ranging from US$5 a month to $48 a year per individual.

Accessible online, the CareZone could be used to provide a permanent reference for key information including names and addresses, blood type and allergies. It also provides a way to manage medications and therapies, including dosage, frequency and reactions.

General purpose social networks have played a huge role in encouraging people to share more, but as the online social world evolves, participants will look for networks that offer more value for their personal and professional interests. But will Schwartz's background bring the attention that CareZone might need to succeed?

"It may mean something in Silicon Valley VC circles, but consumers in virtually all markets don't know who he is," said Josh Crandall, cofounder of Netpop Research. "They won't take it into consideration when evaluating the service."

This service is thus a significant departure from the Facebook-type social networking sites that provide the usual "what you're doing right now" type of social commentary, but for this reason it could offer something unique as well.

"Launching a social network for a niche audience requires deep expertise and passion for the subject," Crandall told TechNewsWorld.

The challenge is to differentiate itself through specialization from general purpose social networks, he said. "By focusing on a particular niche, the product team must focus on building features that general purpose social networks don't have time and bandwidth to tackle."

Not a Niche

However, Schwartz doesn't even believe that there is such a selective market.

"We don't view taking care of an older parent or a child as niche: It's what the vast, vast majority of people on Earth do every day," he said.

Technology will not be a barrier, in his view. "We're focused on those that are responsible for care -- not necessarily the objects of their caring attention -- and those that are already connected via smartphones, tablets and PCs. That's 4 billion and counting. It doesn't matter to us whether your Mom has access to the network, it's whether you and your sisters do -- you're the ones whose challenges we can lighten with the smart application of basic technologies."

The fastest-growing segment on popular social networking sites such as Facebook is comprised of those 50 and older, noted Lynne A. Dunbrack, program director, connected health IT strategies, at IDC Health Insights.

"There are already plenty of people who want to share health issues, good or bad," she told TechNewsWorld, "and this could be a good extension of that."

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New Social Network for Caregivers Bucks 'User as Product' Model

ZURICH, Switzerland, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Myriad Group AG (SIX: MYRN.SW - News), the company powering billions of rich mobile social and web experiences on any connected device, today announces Myriad Updates is being deployed with leading carriers Vodafone, Orange  and Mobinil.

Gaining significant commercial momentum, Myriad Updates has been selected by Orange to deliver Facebook to Africa. With only one in every 32 phones being a smartphone in the region, Myriad is opening up new markets and creating huge revenue opportunities for carriers. For instance, in the first week of launch one carrier signed over 50,000 paying subscribers to their social networking service. Being one of the few companies to successfully monetize social experiences on the mobile devices, Myriad has attracted very strong interest from carriers in both developed and emerging markets. With such a strong pipeline, Myriad is on track to deliver social networking services to over 1 billion mobile users by end of 2012.

See Myriad Updates at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, where it is shortlisted for "Best Consumer Mobile Service" at the GSMA Global Mobile Awards or view the demo before MWC on Myriad's YouTube Channel.

Available on nearly any mobile phone, subscribers who have limited or no access to data can connect to their favorite social networks, such as Facebook, Twitter and Flickr via Myriad Updates. Powered by Myriad's mobile social networking platform, Xumii, Myriad Updates presents a person's social network activity on the screen as text using the USSD bearer, thus enabling users to stay connected without having to install an app or requiring a data plan.

Myriad's deep heritage in embedded software and unique ability to deliver end-to-end solutions, including the integration of social networking into mass-market phones, enables carriers to rapidly deliver cutting edge services while creating new revenue opportunities, even in emerging markets where many consumers own lower-end mobile devices.

"Myriad Updates is bringing Facebook and Twitter to the millions of users in emerging markets without data plans, driving monetization of mobile social experiences and putting carriers back into the social networking game," said Simon Wilkinson, CEO of Myriad Group. "Myriad is opening up new markets and creating huge revenue opportunities. Signing up over 50,000 subscribers in just one week indicates the powerful demand for these services and clearly positions Myriad as the leading provider and innovator of social networking solutions for mobile carriers."

Myriad Updates has also been recently recognized as a Finalist in the 2012 GSMA Global Mobile Awards for the Best Consumer Mobile Service. "We are delighted to be recognized by one of the most coveted awards in the industry. We believe that Myriad Updates has the potential to be a major driver for social networking as growth in markets with low PC penetration quickly plateaus," added Wilkinson.

Myriad will be attending this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona and will be located at Hospitality Suite AV 102. Myriad will also be hosting workshops dedicated to Social Mobile on Wednesday, Feb. 29, from 10am to 12pm CET and Analytics Intelligence Hub from 2pm to 4pm CET in Hall Q Sala B. To register, please visit http://www.myriadgroup.com/mwc12workshop

About Myriad

Myriad is chosen by leading OEMs and network service providers to power rich mobile social and web experiences – from the most basic to the smartest connected device through a single, scalable platform.

Today, over 2.5 billion mobile users rely on Myriad software. Myriad apps often provide users with their first taste of the Internet, and with our proven technology embedded in every Android device we are on target to help our partners power the next billion users.

We operate worldwide, with offices in Switzerland, France, UK, USA, Mexico, India, UAE, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Australia. Headquartered in Zurich Switzerland, Myriad is listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX Symbol: MYRN).

For more information please visit our website: http://www.myriadgroup.com. You can also follow us on twitter@MyriadGroup and view our YouTube Channel - YouTube.com/myriadgroupmarketing

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Myriad Updates on Track to Deliver Mobile Social Networking to Over 1 Billion Mobile Users by End of 2012

Social networking websites cannot be forced to install filters preventing users from illegally sharing music and videos protected by copyright, the European Union's top court said on Thursday.

The EU Court of Justice ruled that such an obligation to monitor content would go against EU rules that ensure a "fair balance" between protecting copyright and defending personal data and the freedom to conduct business.

"The owner of an online social network cannot be obliged to install a general filtering system, covering all its users, in order to prevent the unlawful use of musical and audio-visual work," the court said in a statement.

The case stemmed from a complaint filed by SABAM, a Belgian management company responsible for authorising the use of music of authors, composers and editors, against Netlog NV, a website based in Flanders.

SABAM charged that Netlog enables users to post music and videos in SABAM's repertoire without the company's consent and without the website paying any fee.

The management company sought an injunction from a Belgian court to force Netlog to stop allowing users to post such material and pay a 1,000 euro ($1,300) penalty for each day it delays complying with the order.

Netlog countered that such an order would amount to imposing a general obligation to monitor content in violation of the EU's E-commerce directive. The Luxembourg-based top court sided with Netlog.

The EU Court of Justice issued a similar ruling in November, rejecting SABAM's bid to secure an injunction against Internet service provider Scarlet Extended SA.

The judges ruled that a national court cannot impose an injunction ordering an Internet provider to install a filtering system for all electronic communications, saying it is too expensive for the company and could infringe on people's fundamental rights.

The latest decision is another defeat for backers of web filters, including artists and the enterainment industry, who are fighting to protect their work from circulating freely on the Internet.

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Social networks can't be forced to impose filters: EU court