Long and short of it: 8yr prison sentence commuted, 2 yrs suspended sentence, 5 yrs probation against journalism in Iran, and word is Saberi has been released.
That certainly bodes well. Hopefully this kind of thing can build to momentum, and reform politicians in Iran will be able to re-establish their foothold in the government.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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This is excellent news on many levels, not just because from the looks of things her imprisonment was unfair and her trial was laughable. It's also a great peaceful gesture that can be built off of.
One wonders if they jailed her with the specific intent to release her for just this sort of attention.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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quote:One wonders if they jailed her with the specific intent to release her for just this sort of attention.
If I were ruthless (or for a more charitable term, 'desperate') enough and wanted better relations with the USA, this would be a clever method.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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The more likely explanation is that Ahmadinejad (spelling, I know) didn't want the negative international attention with elections so close at hand and with moderates knocking on the door to the presidency with a decent chance of taking it away from him. And also the head of their courts, though I can't remember his name or how it works. But political motivations were probably chiefly at play, which says a lot I think for Obama and Clinton's efforts in recent weeks to raise awareness and push Iran on this issue.
That's assuming one isn't cynical enough to actually believe they engineered the situation from the beginning but hey, I don't for a second doubt that such a move is both possible and realistic. We don't hear about the backroom steepled fingers plots until decades after their outcomes have already been resolved.
Posts: 21898 | Registered: Nov 2004
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Glen Greenwald has a troubling column on Salon.com* discussing the discrepancy between the US media's coverage of Roxana Saberi's imprisonment and that of the journalists imprisoned without trial by our own government. I haven't done the legwork necessary to find out if Greenwald's claims are accurate, but he's usually pretty scrupulous in his research.
*You may have to click through an ad in order to read the column.
Posts: 16059 | Registered: Aug 2000
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I like reading what Greenwald writes...but man, he's got such a political axe to grind it's tough sometimes.
That said, it is troubling and hopefully with a new Administration in power, activities such as this will continue to shift into history. That's just one reason why his likening our behavior to those we detract falls flat. We at least have a mechanism for changing it, and have exercised that ability.
I have to admit, it was also strange to hear him pointing out that at least Saberi got a trial in Iran. Does he imagine that had the situation been left entirely alone, the outcome would've been the same? It was hardly the Iranian criminal-justice system which led to this verdict. It was diplomacy.
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How, if what he writes is true, could anyone with a conscience not have a political axe to grind?
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:How, if what he writes is true, could anyone with a conscience not have a political axe to grind?
...
Instead of responding to the tone of that question, I'll just clarify that I'm not talking about his writing on this topic. And to further reiterate that I do still enjoy his articles.
Posts: 17164 | Registered: Jun 2001
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The tone of that question (which I will clarify as we tend to have problems in that area) was "puzzled."
I do not know how a person could believe what he believes without wanting to do something political about it. Thank you for clarifying that you weren't referring to this article or topic.
I am not familiar with his other writings, but it would seem that writing political opinion pieces would be, by definition, "grinding a political axe".
I can see how a comedy writer could be criticize for political axe grinding (M*A*S*H for example) or a fiction writer (Rand) but isn't that kind of the job description of a political opinion writer? I can see finding someone too angry, or too nasty, or to crude, but too political?
Again the tone is "I really don't understand this".
Posts: 11187 | Registered: Sep 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Rakeesh: That said, it is troubling and hopefully with a new Administration in power, activities such as this will continue to shift into history. That's just one reason why his likening our behavior to those we detract falls flat. We at least have a mechanism for changing it, and have exercised that ability.
The concern is over the integrity of that system. If our government actively circumvents the appropriate checks and balances, as has happened many times in the past century, then those mechanisms are rendered quite useless. The fact that they are there is not really enough- they have to be adhered to.
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