Reporters Without Borders: USA: United States imprisoning journalists

[SealLion]

You'll have to excuse me as the title, I think may have been too long; therefore, the correct title of this threads news is

Where the United States imprisons journalists

You can download this as an HTML doc or open it up as a PDF if you have PDF Download as a Firefox extension. Even if you don't, you can still view it any way you like.

Check it out:

Journalists kidnapped in Iraq

Right from the start, the war in Iraq took a tragic
and bloody turn for the world's media trying to
report on it and inform the public. It has now
become the deadliest war for journalists since
Vietnam 40 years ago, with 78 journalists and
media assistants killed between March 20, 2003
and January 2006.......... Iraqis ........ have become the main
journalist casualties of the war,......

that's a shame. But it is war and everyone's a target. Regardless if your a journalist or not. But, if you read on, there's more..

They have been murdered, kidnapped and
threatened by armed groups opposed to the US
presence and the new Iraqi government. They
have also been shot by US and Iraqi troops.........US and Iraqi
forces who frequently open fire indiscriminately
and arbitrarily arrest journalists.........

That is the same thing that happens in Israel and Gaza. Journalists are made for taking pot-shots at and if they are known to that particular military and are seen as undesirable b/c of their truth reportage, are killed.

Things don't change what region of the world fighting is going in, I guess.

I wonder if the US has taken it's lesson from the Israeli military on shooting journalists.

Read on....

They are routinely arrested and increasingly held
for long periods on suspicion of collaborating
with the insurgents. They are not charged or
tried for any crime by any appropriate authority
and their detention is determined only by a
questionable special tribunal.

Reporters Without Borders wishes to expose
and condemn this intolerable situation by inves-
tigating the detention of journalists held by US
troops in Iraq.

I felt that this is news that isn't really heard of a lot b/c really, I've never heard of this before where journalists are imprisoned by the US because of some ridiculous collaboration-with-the-enemy charge.

Bulls**t is what I'd call it.

Maybe there are some instances where it may be true and correct with respect to spying and collaboration, but I also wonder if it is paranoia on the military's behalf.

Or the detention of pple who report on abuse by military authorities??

What do you think??

Overall, there is way, way too much for me to quote and comment on. Suffice it to say that if you have enough time to read the whole thing, good for you then.

According to RWB, it seems that most obviously isn't just the countries on the South American continent and Asia that engage in such actions because of what-ever reason, it also seems to happen in countries you'd think would at least uphold some of the principles of free speech----look again, yes??

Here's the link:

Reporters Sans Frontières - Where the United States imprisons journalists

enjoy.

[slikrapid]

I wonder if the US has taken it's lesson from the Israeli military on shooting journalists.

since these two countries are closely related on many areas (weapons/economics/finances/politics/intelligence agencies/...) it's reasonable to say they are cooperating, supporting each other, sharing information & taking lessons from each other

I felt that this is news that isn't really heard of a lot b/c really, I've never heard of this before where journalists are imprisoned by the US because of some ridiculous collaboration-with-the-enemy charge.

that may be so, but how difficult is to just label someone as a terrorist, regardless of one's actual job - there was an example of how an airport security detained a young boy (about 10 years old) because his name was on the 'terrorist suspect' list and refused to let him go for several hours (or more) even though any sane person would instantly realize its ridiculous to accuse a minor like that for being a terrorist

Maybe there are some instances where it may be true and correct with respect to spying and collaboration, but I also wonder if it is paranoia on the military's behalf.

who knows, it may be a way to intimidate their families/relatives/employers/colleagues/friends/... - in any case, there should be enough transparency to justify the detentions (which should have expiry dates, like in any legal process in democratic countries), otherwise the system cannot expect their citizens to be satisfied with its structure/methodology

it also seems to happen in countries you'd think would at least uphold some of the principles of free speech

as i mentioned once before, freedoms/liberties aren't what they seem (or what one would expect them to be), there's always some catch or situations when the government has the (legal) ability to invade/lessen/evade those liberties many people take for granted (a reminder: 'nothing' is set in stone, laws change over time) - attacks on various liberties are happening constantly, not only in practical examples, but also in different legislation acts (like the patriot act) that are being presented into the system via parliaments - many don't even seem that dangerous at the first glance, but may serve as platforms for future expansions/extensions that are/will be - thus the need for transparency, continuous monitoring & interventions by the public body arises, so that the foundations (like basic human rights) of our societies don't get eroded & ultimately collapse - also, make no mistake, the corporations/elites/... will surely strive to protect their interests, well, what about the general population, shouldn't it do the same?

a few quotes on that:

defend our liberties today so future generations don't die in tyranny tommorrow

those that don't fight against tyranny will get exactly that, tyranny