Roxana Update: Two Presidents Talking

Thanks for this update and for mentioning the blogger, Hossein Derakhshan.
Watching the Iranian leader spin Roxana's spy sentence into political capital is ugly; but with Gitmo still in operation, the US has lost high standards as a beacon of international justice, and her dual citizenship means Roxana is judged as an Iranian woman in their courts. Were you as bothered as I was by your colleague Butter's online article? The one where he flippantly refers to the 31-year-old freelance journalist as "Miss North Dakota." Not even "former Miss"... Keep in mind that Roxana's beauty queen stint was 12 years ago, when she won the Miss America Scholar Award! Saberi then earned a Master's Degrees in Broadcast Journalism from Northwestern University and a second Master's Degree in International Relations from Cambridge University. She was working on another Masters degree in Iranian studies and international relations at the time of her arrest. For BBC and NPR she has filed important stories, and has admirers for her bravery and brains as well as her exotic Japanese/American/Persian beauty. It's kinda disparaging to label her with something she did in her youth; I expect better reporting from Time mag.

"The high-profile intervention suggests to me that Ahmadinejad...suspect a miscarriage of justice"
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Scott:
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Your man Ahmadinejad just launched into a Jew-hating rant about the world under control of Zionists, rhetoric not too far off from the convictions you voice here, at the UN.
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Man of justice, indeed.

Scott,
Even in Iran, the media can be a lifeline for those lost in the system. There is no way that the Iranians are harming Roxana Saberi with this many eyes on her. It wasn't long ago that the IRGC captured members of the British Navy that were within Iran's territorial waters in the Straits of Hormuz. When the cameras turned on, the British "hostages" were sent off with custom-tailored suits at a huge press gala featuring Ahmadinejad. It would require a complete 180 degree change of attitude by the Iranian regime to suddenly now treat Roxana like a Guantanemo Bay prisoner or Palestinian civilian in Gaza.

#2 - It should be noted that the speech was, in fact, anti-Zionist and not anti-Jew. Many Jews are not Zionists. Zionists accept that Jews, even if having no physical link to the Middle East for several centuries, have a right to live a specific area of the Middle East, in place of any others that might have been living there already for a very long time. Others say that this is a colonialist policy, calling for genocidal and racist measures.

And now for some words from our professional blog persionadvocate, otherwise known as Nick, the busiest lawyer in New York!
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Zionists, colonialist, genocidal, racist!
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Oh my!

Once again we hear about the rantings of President Ahmadinejad concerning Israel. While I understand that Israel is concerned about Iran, let's get real about who is really in control. The Mullahs are the real rulers and Ahmadinnejad has about as much real power as Shimon Peres. While Ahmadinejad was questioning the Holocaust, the most popular program on Iranian television was a mini-series about an Iranian who saved French Jews during the Holocaust. So much for denying it didn't happen! Please note that much of what this man says is for political consumption back home. He, like so many other Arab leaders, has focused on Israel to draw attention away from his failed policies back home.
Remember, Ahmadinejad is not loved by the Mullahs, but tolerated. However, unlike Khatami, he is not viewed as a leader who would theaten the Mullah's power.

P.S. to dizzybee - I don't think Butters was making fun of Ms. Saberi. Clearly she is a very accomplished woman and I think Mr. Butters is aware of that. I think he is making light of being Miss North Dakota to demonstrate how ridiculous it is to think Ms. Saberi is in engaging in spying, let alone she was secretly purchasing alcohol.

#5 - I guess 200+ dead Palestinian babies at the hands of Israel in 2009 alone is insignificant to you. And yes, I'm a very busy lawyer, but that had nothing to do with anything here. Thank you for the shallow personal attack, hater.

Dead Palestinian babies!
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Shallow hater!
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Oh, the anguish.