Lesson #1: When reporting in Iran, always ALWAYS use your credentials. If not, they will arrest you.

For those of you who have been under a rock for the past few weeks, 31-year-old Roxana Saberi was arrested in Iran for reporting without press credentials. She was working on a book about Iranian culture at the time of her arrest for "espionage." Apparently in Iran, you are considered a spy without the proper papers.

The Iranian court sentenced her to eight years in prison after a one-day trial that was not open to the public, according to a report on CNN.com. Saberi, in a very short telephone conversation with her father, has decided to go on a hunger strike until she is released--which might be sooner than originally planned.

Saberi's case has roused up international attention. Jesse Jackson has offered to travel to Iran to come to Saberi's defense. Iranian Noble laureate Shirin Ebadi, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2003, has also taken up Saberi's cause. Even popular Iranian filmmaker (and Saberi's fiance) Bahman Ghobadi has joined the fight, writing an open letter requesting Saberi's release from prison. Click here to read his letter.

Saberi's dilemma, however, is not confined to Iran. A December 1, 2008 study by the advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists found that there are journalists imprisoned all over the world [below is a summary of the study, according to CNN]:

The group's annual census, carried out on December 1, counted cases in: Afghanistan (1); Armenia (1); Azerbaijan (5); Bangladesh (1); Burma (14); Burundi (1); Cameroon (2); China (28); Cuba (21); Democratic Republic of the Congo (2); Ecuador (1); Egypt (1); Eritrea (13); Ethiopia (2); Gambia (1); Iran (5); Iraq in U.S. custody (1); Iraq in Iraqi Kurdistan custody (1); Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory (4); Ivory Coast (1); Maldives (1); Peru (2); Philippines (1); Russia (2); Senegal (1); Singapore (1); Sri Lanka (3); Uzbekistan (6); Vietnam (2).

Even though the Iranian court has ordered a quick appeal for the U.S. journalist, President Obama has stepped forward and expressed his concern for Saberi's well-being.

News Commentary: Saturday April 25, 2009

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visited Baghdad unannounced today to tell the Iraqis that the U.S. will still support them even as it withdraws troops in the upcoming months and years. But, in the wake of suicide attacks, the country is a bit jittery because they are realizing how much they depend on U.S. troops for security, defense, and even economic survival. Clinton also met up with a group of Iraqi students, journalists, and activists where she was asked questions ranging from how "United States could help Iraq in ways large and small — from restoring confidence in the Iraqi armed forces to supplying farmers with more up-to-date machinery" (New York Times). [Picture: Clinton speaking to Iraqi journalists, students, and activists at U.S. Embassy in Iraq)

In lighter news, Britain's Susan Boyle wowed judges last week on popular TV show "Britain's Got Talent" (which features American Idol's own Simon Cowell). Videos featuring Boyle singing for the first time went viral--even my mom called me and told me to find her video on YouTube! But, it's not Boyle's voice that's captivating the world. It's her look. A recent New York Times article has found that, in the eyes of the public, "Yes, Looks Do Matter." No kidding! Here's two photos of Boyle, one taken at the start of the competition and one taken later, after the fame had time to set in. What do you think?
(left: "before"; right: "after")

Hungry Girl?

Self-proclaimed "Hungry Girl" Lisa Lillien has recently come out with a new cookbook "200 under 200" that has hungry girls all over raving. The Hungry Girl empire consists of a Web site, 2 cookbooks, a subscribable email list, and, of course, the presupposition that "real" women can't follow a "real" diet, but, instead, would rather recreate low-calorie options for their favorite junk foods like pigs in a blanket or creme brule (with only 104 calories!). According to an April 24 article on Jezebel:

"Hungry Girl has 700,000 subscribers to its daily e-mails, and Lillien employs a staff of nine. If she raves about a diet cookie, sales go through the roof; her pans can spell, if not doom, trouble. Clearly her 'just us girls who need treats' approach makes people feel better than judgmental, 'snobbish" (as she would say) and unrealistic dictates about fruits and vegetables.'

I have to admit that I bought her first book, and even though I've used her recipes a total of about 5 times, I think it's a pretty good resource for single twenty-somethings who don't have time to throw down in the kitchen after a long day at grad school, unpaid internships, or lower-level coffee-fetching jobs. The other demographic of twenty=somethings just eat out.

Hungry Girl Lillien is gettin tons of press lately, including a profile in the Washington Post. So, in the world of diet news, this skinny lady takes center stage!

Ms. Deep Pockets?

A recent headline grabbed my attention:

'Anonymous donor makes $70M in gifts to women-run colleges and universities'

Okay, first of all, how awesome is this? Recently, 13 schools have received gifts totalled to nearly $70 million by an unknown philanthropist.

Included in this bunch are

• Montclair State [NJ]



• University of North Carolina at Asheville [NC]



• Purdue [IN]



• Michigan State [MI]



• Binghamton University [NY]

So ,what do all of these places have in common? Well, they all boast female presidents! Some have questioned whether the gracious anonymous donor is Oprah (who opened a school for girls in Africa and obviously values womens' education), while others have questioned Leona Helmsley, a real estate baronness who has given millions to hospitals, the homeless, and other causes. But, both of these womens' publicists deny any involvement.

As far as unsolved mysteries go, this one ranks way higher on my list than those on the TV show by the same name (which always creeped me out to no end!). And does it even matter who the mysterious donor is? She or he (let's just say 'she' for the heck of it) obviously doesn't want a new library constructed with her last name engraved in the granite. This is philanthropy at its finest--doing good for good's sake rather than for more selfish, narcissistc purposes.

Briarn O'Rourke of Clemson University [SC] believes that the donor might be a group of women who just want to leave a positive legacy:

My gut tells me it's a group of people sitting around saying,
'Let's just make a huge difference.'

Let's just hope that university adminstrator's use this money wisely and don't take advice from any friends on Wall Street who might suggest an all-expenses paid trip to Europe to wait out the economic crisis.

Happy (Mother) Earth Day!

Well, if there's one woman making the headlines today it's Mother Earth. And while some people are riding their bikes to work, turning off the water while they brush their teeth, or taking to the streets for a 'go green' celebration, others are a bit fed up with the commercialization of the holiday.

Take, for example, political comedian Will Durst. His outburst makes me laugh (and think), which is why I'm posting it in it's entirety below. You should think about it to...

I Hate Earth Day

I hate Earth Day. I'm serious. It makes my head hurt. Pours buckets full of tiredness into my soul. 40 years of watching it slowly transform from a vibrant subversive movement to an ineffectual Hallmark holiday has sucked all the energy out of me. We're approaching President's Day here in terms of vapid commercialization. This little hippie girl got tarted up like a hooker on shore leave payday with parades and coupons and big box stores stocking aisles to bridge the holiday purchasing gap between yellow Marshmallow Peeps and red white and blue Sparklers. "Earth Day Candy. 100% Organic Sugar. It's green!"

I'm worn out by people so busy proving they're planet friendly, they end up spraining their own arms patting themselves on the backs for barely remembering to throw an empty beer bottle at a blue bin. And missing. For flaunting their extreme green commitment with a personalized embroidered hemp shopping bag swinging provocatively to the front door of the Park and Rob from the back hatch of an SUV.

I'm sick of the politicians. All of them. The supposedly sympathetic ones, staging their sanctimoniously phony photo- ops in front of CGI forest glens, while their staff is under strict orders to do everything in their power to stall environmental reform to the point of arguing about punctuation. And the unsympathetic ones simply wear me out, expressing their smirking faux concern over the larger problem of cow flatulence.

I'm way weary of the corporations weaseling their way into our wallets with nonsense as transparent as the curtains at Grey Gardens. "Earth Day, brought to you by Dow Chemical. Without whom this event would neither be possible, nor necessary. Co- sponsored by Mobil- Exxon. Spanning the globe to find new ways to teach fish to breathe oil."

And you know who just drains me? Those big hotels shoving their laminated cardboard placards into our faces from the top of the bathroom sink with the sole design of instilling guilt. "We here at Acme Rest want to see the burrowing barn owl smile. So don't make us wash your sheets. Oh sure, you can have new towels if you want. You'll kill Bambi's mom. Its up to you." Hey, I just want new towels from the previous guy. Is that going to be a problem?

The naysayers? These people are exhausting. You'd think that since Obama had rescued the fair damsel Science from 8 long years of Executive dungeon darkness, that people would at least say nice things about her hair. You'd be wrong. "We don't know what's causing the greenhouse effect. You're costing jobs." As opposed to costing lives. Then the idiots keep lighting matches to see how high the pool of gasoline has risen. Hey! Your shoes are wet. What else you need to know?

Al Gore puts me to sleep and Prius drivers make me want to plotz. Not the Prius. The drivers. The EPA? I get drowsy just thinking about them. With their impenetrable lack of bark and bite and teeth and the same goes for the media who can't even get worked up for one freaking day a year and yeah, that also means me. As I said, I hate Earth Day. But you know what? It sure as hell beats the alternative.

However, if you're more inclined to take part in Earth Day festivities (or at least support them), then you should check out YouTube's Live Green Channel. It feature all kinds of videos to help you go green in different aspects of your life. It's pretty fabulous!

There's so much going on in the world of women's news it's hard to know where to start. Perhaps a good place in the recent Boston Marathon, which boasted the closest women's finish in the history of the event! Kenya's own Salina Kosgei who outsprinted the defending champ, Ethiopian Dire Tune, to win by less than a stride. In a close third was American Kara Goucher, who, pictured here, was a bit disappointed by her finish (photo courtesy of the Associated Press).

On a more serious front, a Saudi Justice Minister is trying to enact laws that will prohibit child marriages in the future. This news comes in the wake of judge Sheikh Habib Al-Habib's refusal to annul an eight-year-old girl's arranged marriage last weekend. According to an article on the Feminist Daily Newswire, the marriage between the girl and a 47 year-old man was arranged by her father to settle a debt. When a Saudi judge refused to grant the girl a divorce, the case went public and many--both within the country and globally--are outraged.

Nearby in Afghanistan, women recently took the streets to protest a new law that would severly restrict womens' freedoms. According to The Guardian, the law would prohibit women from leaving their homes, working, going to school, or obtaining medical care unless granted permission by their husbands. Another controversial part of the law states that women cannot refuse their husbands sex. Check out this related video from the New York Times.

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2009/04/15/world/1194839517084/a-mans-world.html