Editor’s Note: National Geographic’s report, “Documenting a Drug War,” looks into the drug war taking place along the U.S. border with Mexico. Correspondent Lisa Ling reports on the drug trade and will be on tonight with Michael Ware to discuss the violence that has affected so many on both sides of the border. 10 p.m. ET.

Lisa Ling
National Geographic Correspondent

It’s a raging drug war that has turned Phoenix, Ariz., into the second kidnapping capitol of the world. National Geographic Correspondent Lisa Ling embeds with the Phoenix Police Department as they investigate the latest drug-related kidnapping, uncover a cache of $3 million worth of marijuana and ambush suspects at a ransom drop-off. She also goes across the border to ride along with a photojournalist on his crime beat in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – the deadliest city in North America.

Oprah and I usually get along fine.  But this week, she did a show on erotica and pornography.  Some women have sex with strangers, on camera, for money.  Some women buy kinky lingerie and sex toys.  The show gave the overview of everything NC-17 and passed judgment on none of it.  So I’m going to.

Buying a sex toy is not the same thing as buying porn.  Nobody gets hurt if you buy a sex toy or crazy lingerie (unless, I guess, if you’re into that).  Pornography, on the other hand, transforms girls into women with dead eyes.  Actresses who have played in sexy scenes, nude scenes, look slightly sheepish in their interviews.  Actresses who have had sex on camera look humiliated.  Their eyes look despondent.

Winfrey interviewed Jenna Jameson, who is, apparently, a big ol’ porn star.  And it’s perfectly healthy and she’s completely empowered, except that she cries when she talks about her infant sons finding 0ut about her past.

I won’t say that I think it’s right for her to be ashamed.  I don’t think there’s anything inherently shameful in what she did.  For whatever reason, many human beings feel like sex is something that should be private.  Whether this is natural or unnatural, right or wrong, I was sad that Jameson clearly feels shamed by what she has done.

I haven’t known women who worked in pornography.  I have known women who worked as strippers, and that was bad enough.  Preach all you want about women’s choices and how boobs are perfectly healthy and sexuality is perfectly normal.  I agree.  But that doesn’t matter.  I’ve seen that their eyes have the glaze that resembles the look of abuse victims: confusion, shyness, shame.

Maybe allowing the audience to decide their own boundaries was part of Winfrey’s intention.  I wish she had drawn a clearer line, or asked more pointed questions, at least, about how various sexually explicit activities and purchases affect women.  The last segment showed Lisa Ling interviewing an actress who talked about getting regular HIV tests, and having to trust that her costar hadn’t had sex with anyone since his negative test result.  Thankfully, it was hard for the show to wrap things up on a light note after that.

It seemed flippant to suggest, as Winfrey did, that you should ask your girlfriends if they watched porn, the same way you might ask them if they wear thong underwear.  The question of pornography at least deserves more serious consideration than that.  Is the fun or thrill or release of pornography worth the possible suffering of some people who produce it?

I don’t know.  I buy flowers every week at the grocery store: gerber daisies, roses, carnations, lilies.  I love having flowers in the house.  I have learned that a lot of our flowers are grown south of here, in countries where the workers are mistreated.  Tons of pesticides.  And still, I buy flowers.

We all support various evils with our money and our time.  Sometimes we know about it, and we do it anyway.  Maybe those crummy flower growing jobs are the only jobs those people can get.  Maybe it helps their kids go to school.  On the other hand, I stopped buying meat because I couldn’t stand the idea of all those animals being callously raised and killed.

In fact, Winfrey pushed the meat industry a few years back, and was the recipient of some pretty sharp retaliation.  I respected her stand.  And knowing that, I wish her recent show had been as brave.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/06/world/asia/06korea.html

Two journalist working for Al Gore’s media company doing a story about woman’s rights and human trafficking were captured by North Korean military and sentenced to twelve years in hard labor camps were brought home yesterday by the diplomatic efforts of one fmr President Bill Clinton. Now when Laura Ling and Euna Lee stepped into North Korean territory to do this story they must have known the dangers of being captured, but were willing to take that risk in order to write and produce the most compelling story they could. It strikes me sometimes how Americans at times feel as though they have a right to go anyplace in the world and do what ever they want without fear of repercussions. We go to other countries and don’t always take into account their laws or customs. Now I may be playing devils advocate here but if somebody came in from N. Korea and snuck into our country illegally and was doing a story about how horrible something in our country was, would they be arrested? Of course they would be, and heck probably be charged as spies or something like that. What to me doesn’t always make since is this, if an American takes the risk to go to another country with different laws and different customs, doesn’t that also mean that we take the risk to being charged with the crimes of that country, even if the punishment isn’t the same as it is in this country. If these woman would have been put to death for what they did, then i could understand the international outrage, but I almost feel as though we are making a big deal over something that in all reality is two journalist taking a chance and not being able to talk their way out of it.

Porn and erotica on Oprah? How fabulous! I was at work today and unable to watch the show, but I’m picking up great coverage on twitter and the blogs – thank you, Oprah, for recognizing what women increasingly are bold to claim for ourselves: the full range of our sexuality, freedom to read and watch what turns us on, and dreams (or better) of sharing it with our partners. Here’s a quote from Chicago Examiner coverage of the segment: “Something’s going on in bedrooms across America,” Oprah says. “It has been reported that 1 in 3 consumers of online porn in our country are now women.”

Over on Oprah’s page, there’s a beginner’s guide to the five things you need to explore your sensual side, put together by Kari Kriser and Cheryl Sloane, co-owners of Chicago’s G Boutique. Are you ready? The items are (1) lingerie, (2) sex toys, (3) lubricant, (4) adult videos and – keep scrolling – Yes! #(5) is erotic books! They even advise (as both halves of Adriana so often do) “Read them out loud to your lover. It can be so stimulating.”

Our only suggestion? Add e-books to the list of print books – especially since Oprah’s come out in support of the Kindle reader. Twelve of our erotic romance titles are currently available in Kindle format at Amazon.com , with many more to come. A perfect holiday present for the lover in your life!

For people who haven’t heard about the content of Oprah’s show today — she is talking about why millions of women are using porn and erotica. Imagine what would happen in many relationships if more women were to get in touch with their sexy, sensual side. Below are full details about Oprah’s show.

It’s a multibillion dollar industry. Lisa Ling reports on why millions of women are using porn and erotica. Plus, the most famous porn star in the world, Jenna Jameson. Warning: This content is intended for adult audiences only.

http://current.com/groups/vanguard/

My pick for video podcast of the week.

Just saw Laura Ling’s special on Vegas titled, “Lost Vegas” and it – was – haunting.

FREEDOM
Never valued more than by those who have been victims of an oppressive dictatorship

(Euna Lee and Lisa Ling)

Picture by: dunno source Caption by: XxUnlovedxX via Poster Builder

» Recaption This!

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I generally don’t feature women on this site but Lisa is just as HOT as Paul so why not? Dr. Paul Song is a hot piece. I saw him in the above wedding photo and thought….”Damn, he is handsome”. I could say all the dirty nasty doctor things that I want but I’ll keep it nice because I like Lisa and I just think  they look soooo good together. This man obviously knows how to seal the deal. They met in 2006, married in 2007 and here it is 2009 and they are still going strong. Yay Lisa & Paul! Although this Chi-town doc is off the market he is a supreme hot sex of the day kind of guy!

Enjoy…

Alicia Keys-Keep a Child Alive

Usher-Powered by Service

CGI-DAY 3

Today, Day 3—Thursday, seems to be celeb day, even more than the past two. I was in a press conference with Usher (who just donated a million dollars and is launching a new youth service program, “Powered by Service” www.poweredbyservice.org). Really Usher, you’re chewing gum for this? The new project aims to mobilize 5 million young people in initiating projects to serve their communities. He is partnered with several other organizations, including Philippe Cousteau and his focus on Oceans of the World with the “Waterplanet Challenge.” I bumped into, literally, James Brolin who was standing with Barbra Streisand—ended up dashing for the exit with them at the end of the night when we were ducking out a bit early.

Ricky Martin opened a session about human trafficking—his focus with the Ricky Martin Foundation (www.rickymartinfoundation.org). He’s looking very buttoned up in his black suit and gray tie. He gets choked up as he says, “I’m here because there are so many kids who didn’t make it,” we lost them, he tells us, to slavery, sexual slavery, and human trafficking.

This is also the focus of Mira Sorvino and Julia Ormond, who are here. There’s Bono being called up on the stage, next to Jessica Alba. Eve Ensler, Jesse Jackson….and this is before the evening awards ceremony with Demi & Ashton, Alicia Keys performing, Ben Stiller as MC, Lisa Ling presenting an award, and Quincy Jones giving a super-long speech. The carpet is blue throughout this hotel, but today it seems it ought to be red.

Queen Rania of Jordan—the most stunning ruler in the world—is one of the panelists on the dais for “Building Human Capital—Creating Jobs and Strong Communities.” She gets a big reaction when she tells us, “It would cost $11 billion dollars to put every child in the world into primary education. That is the money Americans spend on their pets every three months.”

Devastating statistics again float out: On average, paternally-led families that earn one dollar a day spend, on average, 2 cents on education and 20 cents on alcohol, sugar drinks, prostitution, and gambling. When mothers are given the money to make family decisions, almost 95 cents gets re-invested into their families.

Brad Pitt, with his pointy, Green Arrow-looking beard, gets the hallways buzzing—he is a featured panelist in the Town Hall meeting, “Building a Better Future—A Progress Report on Make it Right, New Orleans.” Make it Right was born from this conference three years ago, and will, by this time next year, have built 150 houses in the Lower Ninth Ward that are green, aesthetically designed, sustainable, and affordable. Many families are already back home from their paradigm-shifting work. Bill Clinton wonders why, if we can do it in New Orleans for no more money than traditional, wasteful architecture—why would we ever build the old way, anywhere, again?

After truly dense days of emotionally and intellectually challenging forums large and small, the evening awards are a nice relief. The ballroom has gone through a mild transition—tables have dark tablecloths instead of white, more elegant chairs have been swapped in, the crowd arrives more dressed up with lots of cocktail dresses, suits, and an array of beautiful native fabrics from cultures around the world. Juanes, the most popular Latin recording star, does a couple of great numbers, and Alicia Keys, a CGI member with her outstanding fight against AIDS (www.keepachildalive.org), closes out with her hits, including “Superwoman,” particularly poignant considering the day’s insights.

To have been present this week to such profound commitment and the energy to make change, it felt like the people in these rooms had the drive and determination to solve all the problems in the world. How can we not, every one of us, want to be part of that?

Philippe Cousteau-Waterplanet Challenge

Ricky Martin-Ricky Martin Foundation

© 2009 • Matthew Hibbard

So Lisa Ling came to visit the University of Missouri last night and it got me thinking about the world outside. It got be wondering what it would be like to report outside my comfort zone and to dive into the unknown. As I was thinking about it, this picture came to mind, a picture shot in Juarez, Mexico.

It was the summer of my senior year and it was the last trip with my youth group before heading off to college. Like groups in the past, my church crossed the boarder in El Paso, Texas and traveled on a school bus through neighborhoods reported to be the most dangerous in the world. As we drove by, I saw houses on top of houses, abandoned cars in the alleyways and children running around barefoot. But I also saw kids lining up at convenient stores buying a bottle of Coca-Cola, I heard music from patios and smelled fresh tortillas. It was a world that I would be living in for two weeks, a world outside the one I knew so well.

The school bus stopped in front of a church that also functioned as a school. Our mission was to continue building an orphanage across the street and lead a bible camp at the church. Let me tell you my spanish isn’t that horrible, but having to tell a child how to tie a ballon around his ankle in spanish did get a little challaning. Overall though it was a great experience, a challenge that required my mind to expect change and to learn with open eyes.

But back to the photo above, this was shot in the hills surrounding Juarez. You can almost make out the Mexican-United States boarder where the Rio Grande weaves through. My brother and a friend were climbing on the rocks and I decided this was a great shot to take. I altered the photo just a tad to highlight the shirts I designed.

At this perspective, two cities seem to merge, two nations seem to be the same. But that assumption is far from the truth. In reality, one side is trying to be safe and distant while the other is just trying to survive.

Lisa Ling explores the most dangerous places on earth, but whose to say we can’t as well. Why can’t we all clear our assumptions, provide others with mutual respect and ride our own school buses into the unknown.

♦ Just When You Thought It Was Safe To Step In The Classroom…♦

“An Educated Man is Always The Most Dangerous. Why do you think people try so hard to keep us dumb?”

—Christine Smith, aka Mom Dukes.

DETROIT — When I was in high school, oh so many years ago, every day before third hour  we would sit in class and watch this mini-newscast called Channel 1. Channel 1 usually talked about the major stories of the previous day and was anchored by a couple of familiar names: Lisa Ling and Anderson Cooper. It lasted between 5 and 10 minutes, and it was mainly a waste of the first few minutes of class. When we would have guest speakers in class, usually city officials or someone giving a special presentation, it would usually hold our attention for about 5-15 minutes, before we were off in our own world (I would usually be writing poetry, or drawing up football plays). However, if the President of the United States (who at the time was Bill Clinton) wanted to come speak to us, or  had an important message for the nation’s students, I can guarantee it would’ve been met with anything ranging from approval from parents to random indifference. Same thing would’ve applied to any of the other presidents of my lifetime: Carter, Reagan, Bush 41 and Bush 43. Strangely though, when President Barack Obama decided to give an opening day speech to the nation’s students about the importance of education, something that everyone not named Sarah Palin claims they are in agreement is a positive thing, it kicked off another edition of the fake outrage machine, this time driven by the right wing-nuts Glenn Beck, Michelle Malkin, and the rest of the Republican Party and sponsored by News Corp and Fox News. And of course, thousands fell for it.

The entire crap sandwich started innocently enough when it was announced that the POTUS was planning on addressing kids with a speech meant to inspire them to stay in school, work hard, and get good grades. The rest will work itself out. In a day and age where high school dropout rates are increasing everywhere, with Detroit being #1 in that category (congratulations), there’s no better time for the POTUS to take a stand and try to encourage the trend to stop. That cued up the right wing fear and smear machine to get rolling with more of this paranoid nonsense about what Obama’s true “agenda” was with this speech. Because obviously a Harvard educated man couldn’t possibly just want to encourage kids to stay in school! Many on the right, led by Beck and the other lunatic screamers, immediately claimed that Obama’s speech (which no one other than Obama had seen) was going to be a political speech meant to “influence kids to align themselves with Democrats”. Again, NO ONE HAD SEEN THE SPEECH! I’m just wondering if all these clown shoes had a problem with their patron saint Ronald Reagan going in front of a classroom full of kids in 1988 and saying that taxes are “such a penalty on people that there’s no incentive for them to prosper because they have to give so much to the government.” But that’s not political!

This entire thing is an extension of this campaign by Right-Wing Conservatives, and the simpletons who support them, who are going out of their way to disrespect and invalidate the President of the United States. These are bitter sore losers who are willing to make themselves look like petulant, paranoid, spoiled children just so they can one up the legally and fairly elected President. These are the same mouth-breathers who arrogantly demanded that the President prove that he was a US citizen, in spite of the fact that he already did. They openly compare him to Hitler and call him a Nazi and Socialist, despite the fact that these idiots couldn’t actually tell you what a socialist is. When they compare Obama to Hitler, it is in a serpentine, six-degrees-of-separation manner that makes no sense what so ever. Hell, Glenn Beck even accused the president of having a “deep-seated hatred of white people”. You know, the President who’s mother is white, and was raised by his white grandparents. But of course, if they said it on Fox News, it’s gotta be true…right? I mean, they say they are “Fair and Balanced!” Ugh…they are about as balanced as Aretha Franklin and Me on the scales of justice.

The more disturbing thing about this were all of the indignant parents who were organizing other parents to “protest” this speech and many were either pressuring schools not to show the speech and even pulling their kids OUT OF SCHOOL, for fear of, as Jim Greer, the head of the Florida Republican Party, put it, “indoctrinate America’s children to his socialist agenda.” That a-hole likely doesn’t know what “indoctrinate” even means, let alone “Socialist”. Stay at your pay grade, pimp. So you have all these screaming paranoid right-wingers and these simpleton soccer moms and southerners pulling their kids out of school so they don’t have to be exposed to this radical, leftist, fascist, marxist, black nationalist, socialist Obama’s secretly evil speech to poison children’s minds…and what does he say to them: “This isn’t just important for your own life and your own future. What you make of your education will decide nothing less than the future of this country. What you’re learning in school today will determine whether we as a nation can meet our greatest challenges in the future.” That Left Wing Son of A Bitch! How dare you tell kids that learning is cool! That’s something those “East Coast Elites” and those sissies in college would say!

Seriously though, there were some indignant parents who said “Who the hell does the President think he is to tell our kids to stay in school!? That’s our job!” Well, it’s about time you started doing it. And besides, he’s the President of the United States. He can say or do whatever he wants! At least that’s the precedent that was set by the previous dictatorship, you know the one that these squealing losers voted for twice as he ruined this country’s economy, crippled its military, tortured POWs, spied on its citizens, and attempted to make civil liberties and civil rights optional. Hell, for all of his negative qualities, the one quality that G.W. Bush had that I wish Barack Obama would inherit was that “I don’t have to tell you sh*t, just shut the f*ck up” trait. As the POTUS, regardless of who he is, he should be respected, if not the man, the position itself. But this reaction from these brain-dead parents who believe anything that Fox News tells them are essentially saying “I don’t care if he’s the President or not, that Nigger is not going to tell me how to raise my kids!”

Remember, these were people who were willing to vote for a simpleton like Sarah Palin and often deride those who are educated as “elites” and insist that those lesser educated and worldly people who live in rural areas and suburbia are “real Americans.” What is really American is this consistent Conservative agenda to dumb down and mentally cripple this country through a campaign of paranoia and irrational fear. The President had originally suggested that students draft letters to themselves discussing “what they can do to help the president.” The aforementioned wing-nut Greer thought that the President was “using the kids to forward his agenda.” Well, yes he was. His “agenda” is to PROMOTE EDUCATION…Fool! Furthermore, the fact that there were thousands of parents who actually kept their kids home from school out of “fear” of this message are even bigger idiots than Beck, Greer, Malkin, and the rest because they got the reaction that they were looking for. They started shrieking “The Sky is Falling!!!” and you dummies went out and bought hard hats and umbrellas.

I used a quote from my mom to start this blog and I will bring it full circle. My mother dedicated nearly 40 years of her life to teaching. Education was, and still is, in her heart and in her DNA. My mother is the first person in my family to have obtained a Bachelor’s Degree and is the ONLY member of my family with a Master’s Degree. She is one of the main reasons that I am the way I am. When I was a kid, I obviously thought school was boring. But once I got to high school at Renaissance, then onto college at Michigan State, and furthermore once I got into Grad School at Wayne State, I saw education as an asset. Why? Because my mom had her teacher foot up my ass! That’s why! I am the first (and to date, only) man with a Bachelor’s Degree in my family, and I would be the first man, and second person, to score a post-Graduate degree in my family. If it sounds like I am proud of this, you would be right. Conservatives would call people like my mom “elitists”. I call her an inspiration. Education is important to all of us in this damn country. Real Americans get degrees! George W. Bush claimed that by invading Iraq, he was protecting America. The way to safeguard and protect this country is by educating the youth of this country now and setting up a far better foundation! Like My mom has told me time and time again, “Education is the deadliest weapon!”

And one more thing…I wonder how all those simple MFers who took their kids out of school to protect them from a speech that was encouraging their kids to value their education and stay in school, can look at those same kids with a straight face and tell them to work hard and value education? Just something for you to think about.

Thank You For Your Time. Take Care. God Bless. Always Dare To Be Different. And…G.O.M.A.B!

Until Next Time…Knowledge Reigns Supreme Over Every One! Σ

“Euna and I are two of the lucky ones whose story of captivity resulted in a happy ending. But there are so many journalists imprisoned around the world whose fate is still undecided. It is my sincere hope that the energy ignited around bringing us home will be harnessed into raising awareness around these fellow journalists and their struggle for freedom.” ~Laura Ling

UPDATE: Laura Ling and Euna Lee released a statement on September 1st, 2009 about their capture that was published both on CurrentTv’s website and as an op-ed in The Los Angeles Times: “When we set out, we had no intention of leaving China, but when our guide beckoned for us to follow him beyond the middle of the river, we did, eventually arriving at the riverbank on the North Korean side [...] We were firmly back inside China when the soldiers apprehended us. Producer Mitch Koss and our guide were both able to outrun the border guards. We were not. We tried with all our might to cling to bushes, ground, anything that would keep us on Chinese soil, but we were no match for the determined soldiers. They violently dragged us back across the ice to North Korea and marched us to a nearby army base, where we were detained.”

I have been wracking my brain trying to figure out what to write in response to the return of Laura Ling and Euna Lee to their homes and families. All of us watching and waiting with bated breath, sending and re-sending Twitter messages, signing petitions, refreshing news feeds…we all waited for that moment when they descended from the plane, and Euna swept little Hana into her arms and Laura ran into the arms of her husband. I can’t tell you the relief and joy I felt, as I’m sure you all felt, watching that reunion of friends and family, and watching the restrained pride on the faces of President Clinton and Mr. Gore. It’s damn nice to see the good guys win.

I was less patient than I should have been. I was less patient with the media, the extraordinary American press of which Laura and Euna are both members, than I should have been. Weeks went by when Lisa Ling and her family attended candlelight vigils and we heard nothing, nothing from the press and nothing from Washington. There seemed to be a particular gag order that was afflicting CurrentTV, the San Francisco-based independent media company for which Laura and Euna work, and for which they were on assignment in China when they were taken. A lot of us got very angry very quickly, and with the blessing of hindsight that is 20/20, I realize now that I should have known that there was more going on behind the scenes, that sometimes international relations require calculation and calm, and that our waiting would pay off.

There’s an incredible irony in the fact that such great silence was necessary to prevent two of our press agents from being silenced permanently. It’s that necessity that made me hesitant to write this, and makes me wonder just how strategic we need to be in the days ahead…because “the girls,” as they were so lovingly (and strategically—it wasn’t lost on me that Lisa Ling and others who spoke on their behalf did their best to make them seem vulnerable and harmless) called during their time away from us, are home now, but the tenuous relationship with North Korea remains. America and her allies still have journalists doing work in South Korea and in China, and if we aren’t careful, there might be a next time—and we might not be so lucky next time.

The media’s reporting of their return remained cautious and strategic, even after the girls were in the air, even after they were home. Dan Abrams, Chief Legal Analyst for NBC News, tweeted his frustration with this: “The media reporting on the ‘pardon’ of Ling and Lee without more context implies there was a legitimate ‘conviction.’” I understood him, because it infuriated me as well, and for someone who has devoted one’s life to law and the integrity of the justice system, it must be devastating when things like this happen. That said, I wonder where our responsibilities really lie when it comes to freedom of the press v. control of the message in situations like this one, where complete truth-telling could be a serious bungle. There are situations where despite their reputation for being callous and hungry for any scoop, the media will withhold information upon request of the authorities, to avoid interfering with the investigation or to protect those involved, or even to protect our national security when it comes to details about military strategy and training methods. When it comes to dealing with a country like North Korea, a country that has a bitter hatred for the concept of a free press, and a country with which we have no diplomatic relations, how careful do we need to be? If in times of war or other turmoil, the law falls silent, should the press follow? Where do we draw the line between being wise, and being like them?

I don’t know the answers to these questions; I just know that I’m less judgmental of the media silence on this case, and other cases of imprisoned journalists, than I was a few short weeks ago, and I know that I worry about even publishing thoughts as seemingly harmless as these.

One thing of which I am sure is that there is great joy in this reunion, and great symbolism. The First Amendment and the people who protect it do not go down without a fight. Laura Ling and Euna Lee are soldiers for that cause; they are members of the United States press corps. I was heartened to see people displaying the yellow ribbon in their honor as they would for a POW, and I cried both for them and for this country when they were brought back to us. This was not a small thing we witnessed. This was a chance for the average American to take a moment and realize that it’s not just those in uniform who put their lives on the line for this country—they’re called the press corps for a reason. Sarah Palin and others would do well to reflect on this before they take another shot at “the media” in the general sense, because while there are rotten apples, I have no doubt in my mind that we wouldn’t be able to debate this subject at all were it not for the journalists who do their jobs well. It is their courage and nobility that allows me to write this blog, and allows you to read it. Journalists die every day. Journalists are captured every day. They risk this so that we can critique our government and hold them accountable, so that we can read books, and start blogs, and build libraries, and share information, and go to school, and learn new languages. They do it so we can make art, and sing songs, and love the ones we’re with. They do it so we can create beauty of the highest natural order.

I have such extraordinary gratitude for everyone who worked and wrote and fought and cried for Laura and Euna to come back. It was an honor and a privilege to be a part of the Twitter campaign, and I now have renewed confidence in new media and its daunting power.

And so the story continues. In far-off lands, and in America, where the streets are paved with gold.

The Grotto Blog by Lauren E. Moccio is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.lauriebethsgrotto.com.

Julia really didn’t love Julie

What really bugged Julia Child about the blog project that became the basis of Nora Ephron’s movie? Russ Parsons attempts to explain in the LAT. The food journo, who was friendly with Child during her later years, says the chef seemed most unsettled by the fact Julie Powell did not approach her cooking with as much discipline as she did. Also a turn-off: Powell’s constant complaining. Child really was a plucky as she seems in the film.

Masters sets the story straight about real-life ‘Basterds’

Kim Masters tells the story of her father, a Jewish commando for the British Army during WWII, in a feature tying into the upcoming release of Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds.” Guess what? Veterans have issues with the movie’s cartoonish violence. They hate “the premise that Jewish soldiers would hunt for scalps or bludgeon prisoners with a baseball bat,” Masters writes. “We killed people elegantly, without that sort of thing,” said Tony Firth, now 90, tells her.

Ling sisters collaborate on book project

Recently sprung journo Laura Ling and her sister Lisa are shopping a book about sisterhood and journalistic ideals, WSJ’s Speakeasy blog reports. This enables the sisters to pool their respective starpower – until Laura was imprisoned by the North Koreans, her sibling, a correspondent for “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” was far better known. It will also allow Laura Ling to broaden the story behind her captivity, and rescue, which, let’s face it, might not sustain an entire book.

Will New Yorker be spared during McKinsey’s blood-letting? Conde Nast spies whisper it is so

The N.Y. Observer checks in on the mood at Conde Nast and discovers a horrifying litany of cutbacks: No more expensing spa treatments! The bottled water is almost gone, never to be replenished! But the paper passes along reports that Si Newhouse has assured New Yorker editor David Remnick that his pub will be spared. Asked about the scuttlebutt, Conde Nast CEO Chuck Townsend sighed. “When Si and David speak at the lunch they have periodically, God knows what’s communicated between them.”

Jealousy probably is the wrong word to use, but that’s exactly what a lot of media watchers concluded after the Secretary of State got testy in answering a question thought to be about her husband. Bill Clinton, you see, casts a long shadow. His work in freeing those two journalists from North Korea sent speculation abuzz.

What new role might he play in an Obama Administration? Did he freelance? How much did Hillary know about the mission in advance? There were even jokes about his being on the plane with two women.

For a lot of people, this meant the Big Dog was back.

For his wife, it meant having to share the spotlight on a situation that’s normally handled by her office. And remember, this is a woman who came close to being President of the United States, and now handles foreign policy for the most powerful nation in the world. So how is this made manifest?

A university student in Kinshasa, Congo asks her what was translated as “Mr. Clinton” would think about a World Bank concern regarding a Chinese loan offer to the Congolese government. Clinton fired back, “My husband is not Secretary of State. I am”. If you look at the video of her response, her exasperation is clear.

And you know what? She’s got a point.

Reverse the people involved here, and ask yourself if Bill Clinton would have been asked a similar question in an identical situation. Maybe, maybe not, but could Mrs. Clinton have been reacting to what she felt was a sexist inference? To add an ironic twist to the saga, ABC News says the translator got the question wrong, and that the student was actually asking what President Obama, not former President Clinton thought of that loan offer.

So now we’ll go through at least one news cycle with snarky talking heads, male and female, cocking their eyebrows and asking “What’s wrong with Hillary”? And the substantive work she’s been doing since her appointment will mean nothing. Is she getting enough rest? Will Bill be ordered to fade into the shadows? How are they really getting along?

And once again, we’ll see one unintended consequence of cable news without end. I’ve talked about it far too many times on this blog, but only the demands of the 24 hour news machine can take a possibly misunderstood question and run with it like this. And that’s because we as news/political junkies need our fix.

Too bad. But what do you think?

To hear the blowhards over at FOX, you’d have thought that Bill Clinton went to Pyongyang with a suitcase full of treasury bills and the blueprints for the stealth bomber.  Listen folks, we got those women back for free.  All that lunatic Kim Jong Il wanted was some quality time with Bubba.  No concessions on nukes, no crates of surface to air missiles, no free agents or first round draft picks.  If he’d wanted two hours alone with Jenna Jameson or a personal concert from Kelly Clarkson, we couldn’t have gotten off much cheaper, and presumably either of those stars would have taken one for the team to gain the freedom of Lisa Ling and Euna Lee.  But no one says it better than Jon Stewart: Stewart Slams CNN & Fox For Coverage Of Clinton’s North Korea Rescue (VIDEO)

BW

Yesterday I along with most of Americans rejoiced when Laura Ling and Euna Lee touched down on American soil. They had been sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for “mistakenly” crossing over the border to North Korea. One of the things I found disturbing in watching the coverage was the us of the word “girls” in reference to these two young women. CNN anchors used the word and President Obama also called them “girls”. I take offense on two levels. Had they been men of the same age they never would have been called boys, and also by using the word you indicate they had some level of child like innocence in their actions. There was nothing child like about what they did. They crossed a border into hostile territory and they got caught.  If they had not gotten caught they would have had the big story. Ling’s sister Lisa is also famous for dangerous antics. So let’s be very clear here. They are not girls they are very lucky well-connected young women who worked for Al Gore, and who had the benefit of a cooperative media and now they are home and they had the next few weeks to ponder how they can profit from their not too innocent exploits.

I’m glad to hear that the journalists that were being held in N. Korea have been released.  But, I have to admit, when I first heard about it, I thought I heard wrong.  When I heard that Laura Ling was being held, I wondered if they meant Lisa Ling.  I used to watch Lisa Ling on Channel One News, but I’d never heard of her sister Laura.  I wonder how common it is for siblings to go into the same profession, and only one of them becomes well known (or, at least, well known to me).