freedom of the press

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Released Journalist Pens Memoir
Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
John McCain Plans To Win The "Real" America After You Godless Commies Are Locked Up
Virginia Republicans Would Like You To Vote Against Evil, So Don't Vote For Them
John McCain's Staff Tells One Reporter To Stay Off The Bus

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formergr
06/23/09

In reply to Released Journalist Pens Memoir
It will probably be very interesting, and I understand that as a journalist it is only natural that she'd want to write a book on her experience, but it does make me sad that no longer in this country can anyone go through an ordeal without putting a book out after.
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Zombie Ms. Skittles
06/23/09

In reply to Released Journalist Pens Memoir
Ooooh I'm not usually a fan of non-fiction, but I might have to make an exception here.
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Rare Affinity
06/23/09

@Zombie MissSkittles: I never used to be much of a fan of non fiction either until I started buying heavily discounted hardbacks from book warehouses. At least this woman will not require a ghostwriter for her memoirs.
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ihateemo
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
Ahaha, I love that the ad that pops up on the YouTube video is "Sexy Iranian Photos". Tricksy Google ads, how did they know that Saberi is a fox?
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lalaland13
05/28/09

@ihateemo: I got "Is Your Husband Gay." What? There are no homosexuals in Iran, clearly. But I can take a quiz, if I want. To find out about my possibly-gay nonexistent husband.
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Blazing_Scribbles
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
I'm excited for Roxana, but there's still American reporters like Laura Ling and Euna Lee who need help.

As far as I've read, North Korea is denying them access to western officials. Will they be forgotten now that NK has become so aggressive?
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bluebears
05/28/09

@Blazing_Scribbles: Good point.
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Penny
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
n the Press TV account of Saberi and Clinton's meeting, the state-run news agency noted that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also wrote a letter to judiciary officials asking for a fair trial.

That's nice and all, but she shouldn't have been on trial in the first place.
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lilbobbytables
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
On that logic, I should have thanked the bully in 3rd grade when he stopped pinching me, as opposed to glaring at him and crying.

W.T.F.?
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bluebears
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
The ads that flash on the bottom of that vid include "Sexy Iranian Photos." Nice...
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Penny
05/28/09

@bluebears: I was going to say, Google ads?

I was right.
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bluebears
05/28/09

@Penny: gotta love Google.
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Jezemale*
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
If Iran indeed helped her.

I think they should be thanked.

And I may be alone but for some reason I just feel like she was up to not good. I dont see her as the innocent little victim here. I think she may have been a spy. But thats just me.
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kelsium
05/28/09

@Jezemale*: Why on earth would the U.S. send a woman of mixed heritage to spy in Iran where foreigners and women are regarded with utmost suspicion and watched closely. If she was indeed spying, which I do not believe for a second, that was a pretty fricken dumb move on whatever agency's part.
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bluebears
05/28/09

@kelsium: agreed. Also, I fully believe that if Iran had one shred of evidence against this woman she would still be in prison.
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EdnasEdibles
05/28/09

@Jezemale*: I don't think she was a spy but at the same time, she wasn't really technically wrongfully arrested, was she? She bought wine which is illegal in Iran. And I believe she was working as a journalist without press credentials which was also illegal. Not that either of those things deserve 8 years in prison but Iran isn't America. When you're in another country and they tend to be whackos, be aware of what breaking the law could get you.

I keep thinking of that kid who got caned for spray painting cars in Singapore and tons of people were like "OH that's harsh and cruel" Yes, but that's what they do in Singapore. So don't break the law there.

I guess I'm conflicted. I'm glad she's free and I don't think she was a spy but she also did break laws which was incredibly stupid.
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bluebears
05/28/09

@EdnasEdibles: I think there's a difference between vandalism and putting yourself at risk to report from inhospitable locations. I don't think its "stupid" I think its a calculated risk.
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doodley is not amused
05/28/09

@EdnasEdibles: Yes, but even if she did break the law by buying wine and working without press credentials, her sentence was based on the espionage charges, not those violations.

The likelihood is that she wouldn't have been sentenced to 8 years for those lesser charges. The calculated risk (as bluebears so aptly characterizes it) she took was that she might serve a little time for doing what she actually did, not 8 years on apparently trumped-up espionage charges. (I agree with bluebears' assessment that if Iran actually had evidence that she was engaged in espionage, she would still be in prison. Actually, I suspect if they had evidence beyond her alleged confession, her sentence would have been a lot more than 8 years.)
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chinaplate
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
'of great concern...to me personally...as a mother?'

What in blazes? What place does a secretary of state's 'heart' have in diplomatic relations? Maybe this is the uptight Brit in me but get a stiffer upper lip, lady. Gah, I don't know why this is offending me so much.
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sybann
05/28/09

@chinaplate: It might be viewed more harshly if she didn't allow that as a mother she felt for Roxana and her family. Maybe you didn't hear reports from her father (worried about her hunger strike) as much as we did.
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Penny
05/28/09

@chinaplate: I like my SOS to have a heart, but maybe that's just me?
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chinaplate
05/28/09

@sybann:

I think we did hear quite a lot of that...I think the media/PR of politics in the states is just very different. For example, I read columns here criticising the decision to suspend parliament for one day when the leader of the opposition's young son died, for example, as it was bringing politics and personal life together. I think the mixing emotion and politics is seen as degrading here, whereas maybe it is probably just more culturally normal in the US.
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EkaterinaBallerina
05/28/09

@chinaplate: I saw the documentary "Pray the Devil Back to Hell" about how Liberian women forced their government into action, earlier this year. And you know what? The resounding statement from these women was that if leaders thought more like mothers, even parents, they'd be quicker to act when human life is at stake. So I wholeheartedly support her statement. I'd rather my SOS, or any leader for that matter, act like they have a heart than not. The fuckery of Dick Cheney is what you get when people lead without emotions.
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chinaplate
05/28/09

@Penny:

Also, I think it's the gendering of 'as a mother' that instinctively gets my goat.
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Majrhoulihan
05/28/09

@chinaplate: And I think in the US, there is a great push to be more understanding of workers' family lives - more paid family leave, better maternity leave, the inclusion of paternity in employee benefits package.
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Penny
05/28/09

@chinaplate: Gotcha.
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DangerMouse
05/28/09

In reply to Roxana Saberi Thanks Secretary Clinton For Securing Her Release
"Thanks for letting me go after having me wrongfully arrested!" See? It just sounds absurd.
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hippichx sez PEACE PLEASE
05/13/09

In reply to Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
i think that, despite everything, this magazine would actually be helpful and comforting to some women of that culture. when you grow up in a world where everything is taboo, then are expected to give it up one night to somebody you now need to spend the rest of your life with and are supposed to keep him sexually happy... well, that's just a little pressure for somebody who has never had any form of sexual education. i think the magazine could give women confidence. my personal beliefs do not agree with a culture that puts women beneath men, but some women are happy in that culture. this could be a useful aid to them.
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AvocadoGills: purveyor of kinky fish porn
05/13/09

In reply to Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
MY NEW COMPUTER JUST ARRIVED!!
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AvocadoGills: purveyor of kinky fish porn
05/13/09

@AvocadoGills is waiting for peach season!: Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry for posting this here. I thought this was the open thread.
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mbot says Spock yeah!
05/13/09

In reply to Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
I looooooove Egon Schiele [see below]:

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Laulau
05/13/09

@mbot is a biracial butterfly: Have you heard Rachel's album, "Music for Egon Schiele"? It's so beautiful, and one of the few things to which I can study.
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Dulcinea
05/13/09

In reply to Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
I doubt that judging this publication by the standards of the American print industry, or the Jezebelly reading public, makes any sense. In places where 'blatant provocation' includes so much that we take for granted as our right, it's a bit distasteful to imply that these Lebanese women should object to their (blatant!) oppression more politely. As for the danger to those buying it, and potential further government crackdowns, I really, really doubt they need us to remind them of the risk.
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SunburnedCounsel
05/13/09

@Dulcinea: I absolutely agree with everything you just said.
"Object less offensively" and "You can accomplish more if you were more polite" are the oldest tactics ever for keeping the oppressed in line.
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Sadie
05/13/09

@Dulcinea: I think that's a very good point; I do think, though, that the approach of this specific publication is worth discussing. I asked some Lebanese friends (who did not feel comfortable being quoted, although one was kind enough to translate quite a bit for me!) about their take, and they did feel the mad was missing a chance to do something important (although some of this it should be said seemed to arise from the fact that the editor is a controversial figure.) It's true these are perhaps an unusually liberal group of women - one went to college with me here in the States - but I did take that into account.
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morninggloria
05/13/09

In reply to Can "The ABC Of Plucking Pussy Hair" Really Change Anything?
Why do people get so upset over a little sex? No one has died from orgasming, except for that lady who almost did that was mentioned in Cosmo that one time.
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colormeroutine
05/13/09

@morninggloria: I heard your face can freeze into that way though. So if you're not careful you could walk around with permanent o-face. and then everyone will know you are a libidinous slut
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Ailatan
05/13/09

@morninggloria: Ever heard of the petit mort?
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