Category Archives: Race

Race

Roxana Saberi goes free

Freelance journalist Roxana Saberi was freed by Iran today. Her sentence was suspended, but the espionage charges still stand. She cannot work in Iran for the next five years, but can leave the country.

Ms. Saberi’s arrest had become a thorny issue between U.S. and Iran. The two nations have no diplomatic ties, but have engaged in talks to improve relations and have held high-level meetings on Afghanistan. According to Mr. Khorramshahi, the judges explicitly stated in their verdict that Ms. Saberi could be released because “there was no animosity between Iran and the United States.”

Asian women journalists, beware

Is there really so many Asian American women as journalists that three of them are being held in hostile countries for espionage? It is disturbing to me that three women of Asian descent — including Roxana Saberi, who is half Japanese and half Iranian — are being held in hostile countries on trumped up charges. Is Hillary Clinton the only U.S. official who will speak up for them?

The three of them have been on my heart lately. I can’t imagine the fear they are feeling, the worry their families are experiencing. I can only imagine the admonishment their moms will give them when, God willing, they return, especially since I’m sure all three of them were urged to go into safer professions like medicine, law or some sort of computer or engineering work instead.

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Sites making me giggle lately

Facebook is not just a way to waste time, its a way to find more ways to waste time. Via Facebook, I’ve stumbled on a few genius sites that I would now like to share. You know, its like paying it forward.

First off, Criggo makes me giggle like nobody’s business. That’s where I lifted the image to the left. The blog posts the funniest tidbits from newspapers throughout the country (I presume) and sticks an ironic headline on it.

The other site I found when my buddy and former GNP refugee Mark put himself down as a fan of it — Overheard in the Newsroom. OMG, who knew such tiny tidbits of conversation could make you collapse in giggles? One of my favorite tidbits recently was this one:

“I wonder who actually says to themself, ‘You know, I really need to bedazzle my hoo-ha.’”

One features copy editor to another, about a bikini-wax story that said some spas will “add crystals” for additional cost.

Oh, there’s so many more. You must discover them for yourself.

Filipino twin sisters separated at birth?

So Trinity and I have been catching up on our shows and we finally watched the Numb3rs episode that was so freakily similar to the Chatsworth train crash. I felt really weird with how similar the crash in the fictional show was to what happened in real life, but was also distracted by this lady, on the right, Lourdes Benedicto. Of course, as I watched, I had no idea she was Lourdes Benedicto. And as I tried to figure out where I’ve seen her before, it hit me — it’s Lonni Rivera! A reporter who used to work at CBS 2/KCAL 9 earlier this year!

Except…it was not. Turns out they just look a LOT alike. Sheesh, they could have been separated at birth.

Hardly any Filipino food at the Filipino festival

OK. I haven’t been to FPAC in a few years, so maybe things have changed. But I am seriously wondering why I took the night off, drove about 60 miles each way and spent $5 admission (somehow I got a $2 discount, even without a Macy’s card) to attend this festival. I was seriously not happy by the end of the day.

Granted, I got there at about 2:15. Hey. CP Time, OK? Or in this case, Filipino time. Whatever. But when I was warned that the wait for food was 45 minutes long, I knew things were already going downhill. Not only that, when we finally got in line, what do I see? Just ONE Filipino food vendor. Out of the FIVE at the entire festival. Whoever heard of just FIVE food vendors at an ethnic festival? Really?

Food lines at FPAC. Really.