Various blogs noted that the woman reporter that was abducted in Iraq over the weekend. Some wondered if this was proper or when such secrecy should be used.* It is unclear why her name was withheld (privacy? security reasons?), but it did not strike me as too outrageous really. Anyway, today, news reports did identify the woman; it also noted that her interpreter was killed as well. A picture (studious looking brunette with glasses) of the freelance reporter, Jill Carroll, was included ... she's younger than me. And, doing the press and nation proud -- risking her life to supply the news, and probably doing so with a more independent voice. The press, especially non-Americans by the way, is some of the true heroes of this conflict.
Update: Apparently, the delay was mostly security reasons to help capture the kidnappers.
[Repeated news articles also suggest some of these non-Americans are clear targets of our military ... such as Bush wanting to bomb al-Jazeera, not some branch of al-Qaeda, but a true independent voice that should be honored. The most recent includes an armed invasion of a reporter's home while his family was with him, allegedly to ask him questions about a terrorist. Many find this dubious.]
Jill Carroll covered the death of Maria Ruzicka, another young (slain ... damn it if Carroll joins her) hero, who was concerned about the Iraqi civilian dead. My local tabloid, the NY Daily News, had a touching story on Ruzicka, and I wrote a little note (which was printed, lol ... why not print my critical letters?) thanking them for it. I am reading a good book by another young person (so says I, ancient soul) who also is promoting the cause of peace and understanding. Jennifer Miller, daughter of U.S. State Department negotiator at the Oslo/Camp David peace summits herself is a freelancer, and author of Inheriting The Holy Land: An American's Search for Hope in the Middle East. [She also is a mostly secular Jew ... she is upfront about her possible biases.]
This was built off her experience in Seeds of Peace, an (per their website) "organization that helps teenagers from regions of conflict learn the skills of making peace." Miller went to Israel for six months to obtain a first hand view of things as well as listening to the views of various sides ... especially her fellow "seeds" ... focusing in particular on the youth. Her father clearly opened some doors too. [The blurbs on the cover come from such people as Madeleine Albright, Shimon Peres, and Mahmoud Abbas.] My copy also has the additional value (if illegitimate -- it is a library book) of having notes in the margin apparently by a local Jew (the library is in an area with a sizable Jewish community) focusing on his/her distaste of the author's point of view.
It strikes me how important such an on one level unremarkable speck of land is to our nation, nay the whole West. For instance, consider the Gaza Strip -- which recently was stripped, so to speak, of the small Jewish settler population. It is literally a strip of land, reminding me of Dave Barry sardonically showing a map of Grenada ("actual size") in one of his books. But, Israel as a whole is not much bigger, especially after removing the southern desert area (which is a significant amount part of the acreage, but I assume not that populated). And, look how important the damn country is. Such is one reason I am reading the book -- well written, perfect for young adults too -- even though I know so little about the rest of the world.
Oh well. I hope Carroll is still alive.
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* Some blogs are also concerned that a new law prohibits one from "annoying" another online, arguing that this is not really the same as harassment.
A rejoinder (providing the feminist p.o.v.) noted that courts have consistently interpreted similar state laws (thus the word is boilerplate, not some fascist addition in the federal law) narrowly, not only protecting opinions on blogs, but not defining the word to mean anything that is in any way bothersome. This seems fair ... after all, general harassment laws sometimes have the word "annoy," and it is not deemed to be a free speech concern. I do see how it can be abused, so wariness is proper, but guarded acceptance does as well.