Journalism roundup

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Tuesday, November 10, 2009 - 12:24 PM Share

They're rounding up reporters again in Iran. Since the June 12 "election," "At least 100 journalists and bloggers have been arrested ... and 23 are still being held," states a group that tracks journalistic freedom. "At the same time, around 50 have been forced to flee the country to escape the relentless repression."

Meantime, my wife and I were walking past an Egyptian diplomatic office in downtown DC the other day when we encountered a bunch of very polite demonstrators protesting the imprisonment of Kareem Amer, an Egyptian blogger who was arrested for writing things not unlike some of the comments you see posted here every day. 

So I want to pause to give a major tip of this blog's hat to the American Bill of Rights, especially my favorite one:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances ... "

BrentDPayne/Flickr

EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, HUMAN RIGHTS, IRAN
 

SMCI60652

2:39 PM ET

November 10, 2009

here here!

here here!

 

RPM

2:41 PM ET

November 10, 2009

So easy to take for granted...

the basic freedoms that enable us to be such a raucous bunch of monkeys.

Thanks for the reminder.

 

NORWEGIAN SHOOTER

6:58 PM ET

November 10, 2009

sauce for the gander

We are blessed to live and blog (is there a difference?) in the US, but that is because freedom of the press is vigorously defended here. Where it is not, our government doesn't exactly have a sterling record.

Shirley in your close monitoring of Iraq you would have come across many more examples.

 

TYRTAIOS

7:24 PM ET

November 10, 2009

Who is Shirley? :)

Who is Shirley? :)

 

BILL KELLER

9:24 PM ET

November 10, 2009

How they valued the breath of perception....

that comes to the eyes and ears from the vision or sound filled with every man's or woman's expressed thoughts, biases and emotions. How they sought not to suppress it by condoning that that would or building that which can.

I sometimes wonder as we observe or are hit by the actions of officers of the courts or of the military or of the civil service to suppress speech or press or petitioning - from where comes the act by Congress to do so.

 

BILL KELLER

11:51 AM ET

November 11, 2009

But also give the Army leadership credit...

This private citizen with some blue and brown water history has a great deal of admiration for the culture growing within the Army for intellectual challenge and debate that is going on across theatres, echelons, corps and ranks be it Non-commissions from the 82nd, Officers at Leavenworth, West Point and Down Range and Generals in the field.

This is also a strong commitment to the First Amendment.

 

TIMBERLAND

3:43 AM ET

December 11, 2009

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Thomas E. Ricks covered the U.S. military for the Washington Post from 2000 through 2008.

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