brusque

Subscribe to Brusque via RSS

****

April 20, 2009 Posted by ej | Entertainment, Film, Global, People | Business, Disparity, Entertainment, Girls, International, Newspapers, Women, World | Leave a comment

Iran Sentences US Reporter (and former Miss North Dakota) to 8 Years in Prison for Espionage

Initially arrested for buying wine in Iran, Roxana Saberi, a US reporter (and former Miss North Dakota) has been sentenced to 8 years in prison in Iran for espionage. The United States calls the charges “baseless.”

BREAKING NEWS Mon. 5. 11.09 (Click on the blue links below for more info):

According to CNN.com: “Iran to Free U.S. Journalist, Father Says”!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Additional report from the BBC: Iran “to release” Reporter Saberi

🙂

****

Iran Sentences US Reporter to 8 Years in Prison

VOANews

An American-Iranian journalist detained in Iran has been sentenced to eight years in prison on charges of spying for the United States.

A lawyer for journalist Roxana Saberi told news agencies about the court’s decision Saturday, and said he will appeal the verdict.

The 31-year-old dual American-Iranian citizen, who had been working in Iran for several news outlets, was arrested in late January for working in the country without valid press credentials.

But earlier this month, Iranian authorities announced espionage charges against her, saying Saberi used journalism as a cover to pass classified information to U.S. intelligence services.

The United States has rejected the espionage charges as “baseless.” Source

****

Learn more about Roxana Saberi and her case here:

Profile: Roxana Saberi

BBC News

When the journalist Roxana Saberi was first arrested in Iran, her family was told it was for buying a bottle of wine – an act banned under the country’s Islamic law.

That was in January 2009. Iranian prosecutors then accused her of working as a journalist without a valid press card, before on 8 April she was finally accused of spying for the US.

Between January and March, Ms Saberi was only able to contact her family in the US twice, according to the human rights group Amnesty International.

She told them she was not being physically harmed but was finding life difficult in Evin prison, near Tehran.

Diverse heritage

Ms Saberi, 31, was born in the US and grew up in Fargo, North Dakota, the daughter of Reza Saberi, who was born in Iran, and his wife Akiko, who is from Japan.

In 1997 she was chosen as Miss North Dakota and was among the top 10 finalists in Miss America 1998.

When she received her Miss North Dakota title, Ms Saberi said that her aim was to encourage other people to appreciate cultural differences – an ambition that eventually led her into a career in journalism.

She graduated from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, with degrees in mass communication and French.

Ms Saberi also holds a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Northwestern University in Chicago and another master’s degree in international relations from Cambridge University in the UK.

She is currently working on yet another masters degree in Iranian studies.

Ms Saberi moved to Iran six years ago and worked as a freelance journalist for various news organisations, including the BBC, before her press credentials were revoked.

Her father said she had been determined to go to Iran, although he had expressed his concerns.

Mr Saberi said that despite losing her press status, his daughter had stayed on to finish a book on Iran and to study. He said she had planned to return to the US later this year.

Shock arrest

But then came her arrest. More . . .

****

****

April 18, 2009 Posted by ej | Journalism, Newspapers, People, Politics | Business, Journalism, Leadership, Newspapers, Politics, Women | Leave a comment

A User’s Guide to Twitter

Seems like we’re not the only ones trying to figure out Twitter! So we thought we’d post this article that we found very, very useful. Think of it as a User’s Guide to Twitter. In it, the author explains not only the basics of Twitter, but also how to customize your Twitter page.

****

Birds of a Feather Twitter Together

Social Networking Service Connects Followers, Not Friends on PCs and Mobile Phones

Katherine Boehret, The Wall Street Journal

If you’ve heard of Twitter but don’t exactly know what it is or how it works, you’re in good company. In the past two months a bunch of my friends, ranging in age from early 20s to late 30s, have asked me about Twitter — or Tweeter, as one person accidentally called it.

To clear things up, I’ve put together a basic Twitter guide that explains how to use it, Twitter lingo, privacy options, mobile applications that can be used with the service and problems that it has. Let’s get started.

Twitter limits social-networking updates to 140 characters or less. The service is surprisingly useful, but leaves room for improvement.

What is it? In short, Twitter is a free social-networking tool that keeps people connected with one another and with sources of information. Twitter users submit updates about whatever they’re currently doing, and these updates cannot exceed 140 text-based characters.

Lingo: Twitter is the name of the service. The term twittering describes the activity of updating a Twitter account. A tweet is an individual Twitter update. Twitterers are people who use the service.

Followers, not Friends: Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace use the term “friend” to refer to people who are connected with one another, but Twitterers can simply follow one another’s messages by finding a person’s username and selecting a “Follow” option. This alerts the person that you’re following them, and they can reciprocally choose to follow you, or not.

Why use it? While some people primarily use Twitter to post updates about their activities or comments on the news, I use the service more as a follower, allowing me to see quick snippets of news as it occurs. Most tweets are written by real people, while others, such as updates from news organizations that you’ve selected, are automatically generated. Many tweets include the addresses of Web sites with relevant articles that tell readers more on a topic.

Where is it? Twitter works on your Web browser at Twitter.com, where user updates appear in a simple list form as they are submitted. After you’ve signed up and started following other people, those people’s updates, or tweets, will appear when you log onto Twitter.com using a username and password.

Twitter also works on mobile phones, where the 140-character limit allows messages to be sent and received via SMS text messaging. Tweets can also be sent and received via email. Users with smartphones like BlackBerrys or iPhones can use one of the many popular mobile applications for accessing Twitter, which offer much richer options than simple SMS does; I’ll get into these later.

Privacy: Unlike other social-networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter isn’t focused on holding and sharing personal information about its members. Indeed, the service operates with a majority (80%, according to the company) of users opting to keep their updates public, that is, follow-able by anyone, without permission. This openness encourages people to follow one another or to see who others are already following, and then follow the same people.

However, users can opt to protect their updates, meaning they must grant permission for others to follow them. If you’d like to sign up for Twitter, but aren’t comfortable putting your first and/or last name on the site, you don’t have to; instead, just tell others your username.

Twitter Page Personalization: Each user has a Twitter page showing all of his or her updates, or tweets. (Mine is twitter.com/kabster728, and you can follow me.) This page also shows the number of people a user follows, how many people follow her and how many total updates she has posted.

Twitterers can customize their Twitter page by uploading a photo to be used as the background. The icon representing each user can also be personalized, and this is important because it appears beside that person’s tweets on Twitter.com, where followers recognize and appreciate its familiarity. Some people, including me, use pictures of themselves as their icons, while others use random shots. More . . .

****
Subscribe to Brusque via RSS

****

Picture Credit: The Wall Street Journal, Twitter

March 21, 2009 Posted by ej | Gadgets, Technology | Education, Gadgets, Newspapers, Technology, Twitter | 1 Comment

10 Amazon Kindle 2 Accessories

For the members of the Amazon Kindle 2 Fan Club, here are some cool accessories.

By Jennifer L. DeLeo, PC Magazine

Amazon began taking preorders of its Kindle 2 e-book reader on February 9, and a month later, it’s still one of the most talked-about tech gadgets. The second-generation Kindle doesn’t disappoint, either: it has an improved screen, a better button layout, a wider selection of e-books, and the (highly debated) text-to-speech capability. There’s even a way to view Kindle books on your iPhone now. And let’s not forget the rumored touch-screen Kindle 3 in the works. Let’s all blame Oprah for the national Kindle hysteria!

If all the excitement has made you reach for your wallet to snag the $359 device, then you’ve probably noticed that Amazon forgot to include a little something in the box: a protective book cover! That’s no mistake, folks. Although Amazon’s first-generation Kindle included a book cover, the retailer decided to ship the next model without one. But don’t fret— most Kindle owners complained about that flimsy book cover anyway, and there are lots of cover options available.

To help you in your search for the perfect Kindle 2 cover—and some other useful add-ons—we present our list of some great accessories, from cases and a stand to a clip-on light and messenger bag. More . . .

****
Subscribe to Brusque via RSS