Ahhh…the "Land of the Free"

PLEASE, Flood, carry on keeping your replies and posts short!! Why use 30 words when 3,000 will do, eh Jonesey!? 😀

The treatment she received is completely secondary to the resurrected 1952 legislation that led to her detainment.

As I said in my opening post, if you’re conned into believing that a nation is as “free” as it so often likes to proudly boast, when it requires journalists to declare themselves prior to entry, that’s fine: more fool you.

You’ve even pointed out the ridiculous flaw in their methodology above: just pitch up and say you’re there as a tourist….it’s what every Swedish nanny and au pair I knew in So Cal did; then they over-stayed for 2 or 3 years.

Still, at least the saving grace is that all good Christian Americans can sleep soundly in their beds knowing they are safe from “intelligence operatives” who might come knocking on their doors asking them awkward questions….unless the sneaky so-and-sos lie at the airport, of course! 😮

Steve

p.s. list of incidents in the USA follows. Personally speaking, the most worrying aspect is the repeated mention of denying these people their rights to consular access:

20 journalists arrested

Photographer Thomas Sjoerup, of the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet, was deported in March 2003 after being held several hours at Los Angeles airport while police photographed and fingerprinted him and took DNA samples.

Gary Gaynor, a photographer with the weekly Tucson Citizen, was arrested on 5 March while covering the police expulsion of about 30 people demonstrating at the University of Arizona against the Iraq war. He showed his press card and refused to leave when ordered to by police, who arrested him and threatened to seize his equipment unless he signed a statement admitting he had trespassed on private property. He agreed and is being prosecuted for this.

Kurt Mälarstedt, sent by the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter to cover Iraq war developments in the US, was arrested when he arrived at Washington DC airport on 20 March without a press visa. Before being deported, he was questioned, photographed and fingerprinted. He was not allowed to make any phone calls until all this had been done, preventing the Swedish embassy from intervening on his behalf.

Alexandre Alfonsi, of the French weekly Tele 7 Jours, was refused entry into the country on 10 May at Los Angeles airport for not having a journalist visa. Stephanie Pic and Michel Perrot, of the French weeklies Télé Poche and TV Hebdo, who had just passed through immigration without any problem even though they did not have such visas either, tried vainly to get an explanation. All three were then arrested and held for nearly 26 hours. They were freed the next day after being repeatedly questioned and body-searched six times. An official told Alfonsi he would never be allowed back into the country. The three journalists had come to report on a video games trade fair.

The same thing happened the next day to Thierry Falcoz, editor of the cable TV station Game One, and two of his cameramen, Alex Gorsky and Laurent Patureau, who were also on their way to the trade fair. They were detained until the next day and then put on flight back to France.

Swedish journalist Erik Hansson was arrested for not having a journalist visa when he arrived at Los Angeles airport on 13 May to report on the trade fair for several newspapers and magazines. Several colleagues who also did not have visas were not arrested. Hansson was kept in an unheated room and then questioned. Twelve hours later, he was taken in handcuffs to a police detention centre. The next day he was taken back to the airport where he was held in a cell for nine hours before being deported to Sweden.

Babette Wieringa and Anko Stoffels were arrested when they arrived at Los Angeles airport on 30 May to cover an award ceremony for world film stunt champions for the Dutch daily De Telegraaf. They did not know they needed a special visa, filled in a tourist entry form but told officials why they had come. They were not allowed to stay more than 12 hours at the airport and were taken to a prison in the city. They said they had been treated like criminals by the police.

Corey Kilgannon (reporter) and Librado Romero (photographer), of the daily New York Times, were arrested by the Coast Guard on 13 August for sailing in a boat into the security zone around New York’s Kennedy Airport. They were doing a report on three fishermen who had disappeared in the area the previous day. After warning them they risked up to five years in prison and a $50,000 fine, the Coast Guard released Kilgannon but detained Romero because in 2002 he had been accused of riding a his bicycle on a sidewalk.

Rachael Bletchly, of the British weekly Sunday People, was arrested at Los Angeles airport on 9 October for not having a journalist visa and detained for 26 hours, during which she was not allowed to sleep or contact a lawyer or British consular officials. She had not been asked for such a visa on previous visits.

Celeste Fraser Delgado, of the weekly Miami New Times, was arrested on 20 November after interviewing demonstrators protesting against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) at a conference in the city about it. She was accused of refusing to obey a police order and peacefully resisting arrest. She was freed the next day and the charges dropped. Police had arranged an “embedding” of journalists in the police to “assist” their coverage of the protest. Fraser Delgado said the arrangement, which she had refused to take part in, was an attempt to control press coverage. The Independent Media Center (IMC) said three freelance journalists were arrested during the demonstration.

Peter Krobath, sent by the Austrian monthly SKIP to cover a film première, was arrested when he arrived at Los Angeles airport on 2 December for not having a journalist visa. He was interrogated for five hours, searched, photographed and fingerprinted and then taken to a prison in the city where he was detained with criminals. He was deported to Austria the next day.

First off sincere thanks, Flood, for taking the time to clarify the statement you made that had me so confused. Longest post by you I’ve seen in quite a while and I feel appropriately honoured!.

You seem to be basing most of your position below on the fact that routine paperwork can sometimes be difficult and its an entirely human thing to do to make admin mistakes. I would accept that argument but for two things:

1) Were talking about a Visa application required to be made probably weeks, if not months, ahead of the date of travel. This is not a matter of an incorrect filling in of a confusing and complicated form. This is simply a lack of preparation before starting out on a job. I know, full well, that if I were that lax about the jobs I have to attend I’d be the recipient of a class A bollicking and repeat offenses would see me out of a job. Nice being a freelancer who can find a story ‘anywhere’ I suppose?!.

2) You dont seem as willing to extend the ‘human weakness’ solicitude to the Immigration staff at LAX. For me this is everything I’m disputing with you, Souris and the others. You have your minds set with a certain image of the US and, rather than see this issue for what it most likely is – a few bad apples in LAX Immigration, you latch onto it to reinforce your viewpoint even before you accept that you only have one, naturally biased, side being reported.

We all know that government officials and their minnions never make mistakes so it must be the reporters – BUT the reporters that are making this mistake all seem to be going to Los Angeles.

Flood I scarcely believe you wrote this?!. We also all know that all journalists are paragons of virtue and adhere to the strictest personal codes of ethics dont we?. What was the name of the BBC reporter who got sacked over the David Kelly affair for ‘sexing-up’ a single-angle report. Didnt the Daily Mirror just lose an editor over evil British troops torturing people?. Your faith in the media is strong, sir, and suprising for one of your intelligence.

How many airports accept international flights coming into the USA? Loads? Several dozens? Are you telling me that only 13 reporters failed to fill in a form properly or is it more, much more, believable that this particular form is incorrectly filled in frequently but either it is not discovered (red faces amongst the immigration nazis) or other immigration officials see it for the ancient history that it is and decide to ignore it

Seeing this is a Visa that you are actually issued with, she says she’s got one now!, I’d guess its fairly simple to know whether you’ve got the forms filled out right or not by the fact that a Visa lands on you doorstep or not. If you dont have one you dont fly to the States and tell them you are intending to work as a journalist. If you’re a bit sneaky, and a lot more switched-on than this silly bint, you actually read your visa waiver form and, if you’ve goofed and forgotten the right visa, realise that you can tell Immigration that your not there to work and walk merrily past them. Hmmm I wonder if this could have happened once or twice. Then again though, in your view Flood, journalists never lie do they?.

Just tell me that you didn’t believe one single word that she wrote; tell me that everything she said was a lie.

I dont doubt that she was treated roughly. I do doubt the picture she’s painted that she was entirely meek and inoffensive the whole way through – her writing style is quite sarcastic and aggressive, so, it is my belief she’s got up somebody’s nose at the airport and paid the price for it, but, that is largely irrelevant.

What is at issue here is the connection that is being attmpted to be made between an event that has, at most, been a minor irritant at Customs at a couple US airports and official US foreign and domestic policy?. Where is that connection?. What has the inappropriate actions of a handful of people in Los Angeles got to do with Washington policymakers?. That linkage is so tenuous that it defies belief, unless of course, you want to see it because it supports your preconceived views and that, simply, isnt very honest is it?.

Souris,

As I clearly stated Lappin is but one manifestation of the current Govts policies, another I guess is the lamentable behaviour of other representatives of the US Govt in Iraqi prisons.

How is the treatment Lappin received a manifestation of anything other than poor treatment by a group of Customs types in LA?. How is the Iraqi prison scandal indicative of US government policy?. You’ve said you don’t like the incumbent US administration but that doesnt mean they are immediately responsible for every misdeed performed by an American citizen to you does it? How fair is that?.

I think underneath that you know as well as I do that the US has shifted dramatically to the right

Dont agree with that at all!. I used to get over there a few times a year for business and to see in-laws up until the end of last year and I saw changes in security after 9/11. To be honest with you though Souris, as I said earlier, I’ve had more difficulty getting into Belfast City airport than Newark or anywhere else I’ve flown to in the US!. I also remember the way London was closed down during one of the IRA mainland bombing campaigns in the late 80’s. It was a lot more draconian than anything the yanks have tried yet!.

Other than that I think this is a case of misperception stemming from the domestic-first policies that Clinton favoured. Under the Clinton administration the US was, to a degree, quite quiet on the international stage. Now, with an event like 9/11 as catalyst, the US asserting itself like it did during the Cold War years. Essentially its little more right wing that it was in the late 80’s/early 90’s but its more visible now because its taking the positions that make it stand out.

Either way though this has made for an interesting debate!.

He is god – hadn’t you guessed?
Go on, ask him another!;)

Flood.™

Sauron, that is pure, Grade A, 100% genuine high-grade bullsh*t!

Are you clairvoyant or something?

You weren’t there, you don’t know what happened yet you still try to come across like some all-knowing superior being passing judgement on we mere mortals.

So how come, guy?

Souris

Lappin’s story sound like a put up job but assuming there is some small shred of truth to it, it reads more like the product of a mind deluded by and motivated by hate for the U.S. than anything. It reads like a cheap novel.

As far as your judgement of the U.S. is concerned, it seems to me to be based on some perverse moral standard that equates the right to take reasonable steps to protect ones boarders with crimes against humanity. One can only imagine what your view might be if you had something real to moralize about.

Regards

Sauron

Jonesy,
I thank you sincerely for advising me of the annual passenger throughput for LAX. However it changes nothing. As I clearly stated Lappin is but one manifestation of the current Govts policies, another I guess is the lamentable behaviour of other representatives of the US Govt in Iraqi prisons. How many others are there that don’t get to the media?, I guess we’ll never know. I think underneath that you know as well as I do that the US has shifted dramatically to the right and I gather from reading your posts that that is a situation with which you have no problem, thats fine, its what makes forums go round and I respect that. A final point on this as follows. I have not judged the US in total on the conduct of a few reactionary elements in the welcoming commitee at LAX , in my opinion they merely “ape” the conduct of those in higher places who formulate the policies and as you and I both know THEY live in big houses in Washington.

Not even the vaguest idea where your going with that one Floody? My point is that of the countless millions of passengers that pass through LAX annually a recognisable percentage will be foriegn journalists.

Not a clue? Oh dear…
My point was that journalists tend to be ‘now’ type of people; they have deadlines to meet, that sort of thing. Therefore things will fall by the wayside – like reading the small print on forms that they have filled in several times before, for example.
So when LA is about the only airport which is expelling reporters for not filling in the appropriate paper work then the reasons must be:-
i/ the reporters are at fault, or
ii/ the immigration officers are at fault.
We all know that government officials and their minnions never make mistakes so it must be the reporters – BUT the reporters that are making this mistake all seem to be going to Los Angeles.
Why?
Is there a journo school on how to fill in ancient legislature correctly, or is it a coincidence? Can’t be a coincidence – I know lots of reporters and they are all as (stupidly) fallible as one another – and I was being sarcastic about the journo school.
So if journolists make mistakes why are they not being picked up elsewhere? But they are, you cry: one other was also deported elsewhere.
How many airports accept international flights coming into the USA? Loads? Several dozens? Are you telling me that only 13 reporters failed to fill in a form properly or is it more, much more, believable that this particular form is incorrectly filled in frequently but either it is not discovered (red faces amongst the immigration nazis) or other immigration officials see it for the ancient history that it is and decide to ignore it (red faces amongst the immigration nazis, again).
That is the point – 13 reporters would be just the tip of the iceburg; there will have been others with the same problem elsewhere purely because it is statistically impossible that this mistake could not be made only by people travelling to LA (the fact that one other has been admitted to thoroughly underlines this). Someone in officialdom, somewhere, should have his/her arse kicked either for letting it happen or not letting it happen – no excuses. If these 13 had been potential bombers, for example, then there is an excellent chance that others got in elsewhere because such a rule was not fully adhered to across the board – and what other rules and regulations are possibly not being followed everywhere else?
But instead of owning up to the fact that they had a problem they just go ahead and treat the one kind of person who could high-light this short-coming as though she was any other sort of vermin; do you see? The fact that they treat someone who is able to hit back like that just underlines the bloody poor attitude that America has for non-Americans: it is very much like the people at the end of many British customer complaints lines: a sort of couldn’t care less about your problems and why you are where you are and how you got there – but we shall ignore the reasons you are where you are and claim that you are anti whoever we are if you say anything.

What you lot have totally failed to think of is what happens (in your minds) if she is correct, if (in your minds) she hasn’t exagerated the experience, maybe even played it down? It won’t make the USA any less of a utopia will it? To me such stupid heavy-handedness would take the shine off all those false welcoming smiles and would almost certainly, I feel, taint a lot of peoples thinking.
Still, she was obviously a commie; hell, she was born in Moscow so she was always going to hate America… Just tell me that you didn’t believe one single word that she wrote; tell me that everything she said was a lie. Tell me that you would still not trust her had her experience not taken place in America but in North Korea or Albania or Iran or Syria or Libya or France or somewhere else regarded as part of the axis of evil (read ‘doesn’t trust America much’).

Best wishes,

Flood.™

Souris,

Let me put something in perspective for you. LAX airport, according to their own figures, serves 61 MILLION passengers per year plus. From this we’re talking about 12 reporters being unceremoniously booted out of the country!.

For you this is an indicator of the Bush administrations policies filtering down to the front lines is it?. Well all I can say is, if your right, the policies arent having much of an impact are they?!. Lets face it 12 deportations could be the work of one female customs officer who suffers badly with PMT once a month!

But I have no time for the present “Government” that rules there and I make no apology for that.

That had already come through quite strongly and you certainly shouldnt make any apologies for airing your views, however, you perhaps need to clarify your thoughts on the US as what you’ve written here:

In my opinion the Lappin incident is a manifestation of what the policies of that clique has done to certain members of that society, in many cases they are those in responsible positions, with great sway over others, it has also seemed to influence the way in which they now seem to regard the outside world and those who live in that.

Does not seem to agree with this:

I never implied that I judge the whole US by this one incident,

By definition here you are expanding those ‘GWB tainted’ US officials, from the small number pointed out in the article at LAX, out to being a more widespread problem. At what point do you start having to criticise the US public, that you apparently have no animosity towards, because they are after all doing Bush’s evil bidding?!

Thats not the US I grew up with, and that one “fingerprinter” may, for all I know, speak for many like him, now thats frightening.

Very scary rhetoric indeed, however, it is simply not supported by the facts. 13 journalists expelled with 12 from LA and 1 elsewhere when compared with the total international passenger traffic into the US, even on a daily basis, is utterly inconsequential in the whole scope of things. Unless it happens to you personally – and then, if you happen to be a print journalist, you can make them damn well pay for humiliating you eh?!.

Jonesy,
I have made it abundantly clear that I have nothing against the US a whole
nor against tha majority of the people living in it. But I have no time for the present “Government” that rules there and I make no apology for that. In my opinion the Lappin incident is a manifestation of what the policies of that clique has done to certain members of that society, in many cases they are those in responsible positions, with great sway over others, it has also seemed to influence the way in which they now seem to regard the outside world and those who live in that. I never implied that I judge the whole US by this one incident, but I draw your attention to the closing paragraph of the original report……Thats not the US I grew up with, and that one “fingerprinter” may, for all I know, speak for many like him, now thats frightening. He obviously knows nothing of The Guardian which appears to one of the very few decent newpapers in the UK.

Pluto

a friend of mine refused to sleep with some drug-addict bimbo a few years ago, she beat the hell out of herself, and called the cops. a half dozen cops came in, soo upset that my friend hurt this woman, that they cuffed him to a lamp pole and beat him–without even giving it a second thought.

Oh hell now you’ve done it pal – cruelty to lamp posts – thats going to set them all off again! :rolleyes:

Big freaking hairy deal.

Ohhh… something bad happend in a country that calls itself “the land of the free”…so, you know what I’M going to do? Post a message pointing out the irony of a place that prides itself on freedom, treating someone like a criminal for little or reason….

There’s hundreds of millions of people here.

a friend of mine refused to sleep with some drug-addict bimbo a few years ago, she beat the hell out of herself, and called the cops. a half dozen cops came in, soo upset that my friend hurt this woman, that they cuffed him to a lamp pole and beat him–without even giving it a second thought.

Crap happens all the time.

Another friend of mine was arrested an spent the night in jail. Why? He was mistaken for someone else. big deal. Live with it.

Was it right that the journalist was detained? No. Is something like that something we can prevent from happening 100% of the time. No. Is a “journalist” from al jezzera coming into this country to do “research” something we might want to keep tabs on? yup. What about someone coming into this country on a student visa, in order to kill thousands? can we stop that 100% of the time, no, but we certainly have to try to try 100% of the time. And since we’re not always RIGHT 100% of the time, we cannot expect 100% of the people we detain to be deserving of detention.

Arthur

Just poor spelling but I shouldn’t have used the term article because that term refers to factual writing which I doubt this is. But in any case she is skilled at artifice thats for sure.

As for paranoia, I suppose the absurd statements and laughable theories expressed here by you and others are somewhat delusional.

Sauron

And maybe – if you re-read the stuff again, if it isn’t really too much of a chore – you will notice that it was only Los Angeles which seemed to abide by this ancient ruling.

Ho hum. I quote:

Thirteen foreign journalists were detained and deported from the US last year, 12 of them from LAX.

Someone must have listened, because the press office at the department of homeland security recently issued a memo announcing that, although the I-visa is still needed (and I’ve just received mine), new guidelines now give the “Port Directors leeway when it comes to allowing journalists to enter the US who are clearly no threat to our security”. Well, fine, but doesn’t that imply some journalists are a threat?

Note use of the plural Port Directors there. Not to mention the sheer idiocy of the last sentence – she goes around making enquiries, interviewing sources and gathering information, yet, doesnt appreciate that that is precisely the same job that an intelligence operative performs!. Its not just nation-states that have intelligence organisations perhaps someone should alert her to that as well as the Visa requirement eh?.

Lets face it, there is no way they were going to escape without criticism for their actions in detaining a law-abiding person (since what had she done wrong other than incorrect paperwork? Are you very anal about paperwork, Jonesy?).

Based on what she’s told us in the story she broke their laws and criticised them for having them in the first place!. Its funny I wonder what would be the response of our government if US citizens came over here and started telling us our D-Notices etc were undemocratic and shouldnt be allowed yadda, yadda – I’d say they’d be booted out in short order!.

As for the paperwork I am utterly dire at routine admin, BUT, if I need paperwork for a specific job, a specific tech manual or works instruction sheet etc, I make damn certain I have it with me so I can do my job!. This woman is apparently freelance so her livelihood depends on getting her stuff in print. I’d have expected her to be a wee bit more careful therefore – still, despite not getting the original materiel she went out for on that specific trip, at least she got a story published out of it eh?!.

What about the fact that – in your opinion – only lazy journos who don’t do their homework go to LA? Isn’t that strange?

Not even the vaguest idea where your going with that one Floody? My point is that of the countless millions of passengers that pass through LAX annually a recognisable percentage will be foriegn journalists. Seeings that, on average, they actually deport one a month according to this womans statistics I would deduce that the authorities at the airport arent exactly rounding up journalists onto boxcars to ship them out to the concentration camps just yet.

Ultimately, therefore, perhaps a few people are just a wee bit guilty of blowing this out of all proportion to further what is a, largely, unrelated agenda.

There is also the, very obvious, fact that a hell of a lot more than just 12 journalists passed though the hallowed portals of LAX in 2003 and the majority don’t seem to have been treated to the full gulag experience.

What about the fact that – in your opinion – only lazy journos who don’t do their homework go to LA? Isn’t that strange?

Flood.™

Alternatively, as a professional journalist, perhaps she, or her paper, should know what the rules for reporting from the US are and bloody abide by them. I love the way that this incident has been spun to being the fault of the US and its little suprise that people, so typefied by our Mousey friend above, perfectly happy to use this, and any other tenuously-related point, as a stick to beat the US with.

And maybe – if you re-read the stuff again, if it isn’t really too much of a chore – you will notice that it was only Los Angeles which seemed to abide by this ancient ruling. If you flew into New York every other week, like normal, without any trouble and then got sent to LA for a story whose fault is it that you get detained – yours, your company, the lax immigration officers in New York, or the professional nazis in LA who seem unable to differentiate between drug smugglers, members of the communist party, or journalists…
Lets face it, there is no way they were going to escape without criticism for their actions in detaining a law-abiding person (since what had she done wrong other than incorrect paperwork? Are you very anal about paperwork, Jonesy?). If an American citizen was to suffer in that fashion over here then it would be a major diplomatic incident for sure; believe me, I’ve heard the story of a policeman (from another policeman) whose possibly upwardly-bound career died when he stopped a British registered car (no CD – Corps Diplomatic – plates) for speeding – being driven by the wife of a high-ranking American diplomat, who promptly called her husband. No breath-test for her, nor would she go to the police station either; so when she was cuffed and bundled into a police van she was spitting fire – and so, apparently, was her husband. Result – a grovelling apology to her and a black mark on the police officers record.
Still, maybe they’d have invaded us instead…;)

Flood.™

Souris,

I’ll tell you what worries me – all these people who are incapable of evaluating an issue on its individual merits but, rather, are quite willing to incorporate whatever comes along as yet another strand in a rope to hang the US with. It says more about peoples desire to further there own agenda’s than it does about any kind of appreciation for the actual topic being discussed.

You are a great case in point I’m afraid – the actual story here is about heavy-handed law-enforcement at one US airport. For which, incidentally, we only have one journalists point of view of it (the poor helpless victim of our tragedy), and utterly no objective information or evidence as corroboration. Now, completely in absentia of this, you start up with the whole “but it worries me sick that some folk are so myopic about the present government in the US and its highly dubious policies both at home and abroad, “

For all you and anyone else here knows our poor little victim here may have gotten off the plane, having not done her homework as to what is necessary to work in the US, and been aggressive and confrontational to customs staff to try and bull her way through without the right paperwork?. I’m a fairly regular traveller to the US and I’ve certainly seen some fine old performances at various desks over the past few years. If she has been misbehaving, and conveniently omitted that from her report, it puts a slightly different slant on the customs reaction doesnt it?.

There is also the, very obvious, fact that a hell of a lot more than just 12 journalists passed though the hallowed portals of LAX in 2003 and the majority don’t seem to have been treated to the full gulag experience. This would indicate the possibility thst there was some other factor involved in her treatment or there may be a disciplinary issue with some of the staff at that airport. Neither of which should be an issue tht brings the whole of US foreign and domestic policy into question!.

I don’t think that there is much in Lappins report that one could describe as “tenuous” unless you are seeing it through some warped looking glass, she must have been terrified. Yes, how dare we critcise the good ol’ US. I have nothing against the country per se nor most of its people, but it worries me sick that some folk are so myopic about the present government in the US and its highly dubious policies both at home and abroad, so often cheaply imitated of late by the government in the UK.

Alternatively, as a professional journalist, perhaps she, or her paper, should know what the rules for reporting from the US are and bloody abide by them. I love the way that this incident has been spun to being the fault of the US and its little suprise that people, so typefied by our Mousey friend above, perfectly happy to use this, and any other tenuously-related point, as a stick to beat the US with.

Sauron – ‘artical’ is a combination of article and cynical? Just curious. You definately get an A+ for paranoid conspiracy theories, i hope some of the Brits here will send you an issue of today’s/yesterdays Guardian where i’m sure you won’t be seeing any references to the US contribution at D-Day. But then again, isn’t it sad to see examples of American bravery, heroism, and sacrifice sliding away, further and further into the past 😉

As for remembering silly details about experiences like the one she went through – like Flood, in such cases you just remember things like that. Considering she’s a journalist, she also very likely happens to have a ‘nose’ to notice such details. Call it a job-deformation if you will.

In Belarus, i didn’t have any shopping channel. I only had to witness my guards playing endless games backgammon, bashing their stones on the board as hard as they could… i would have preferred Mike Levy trying to sell me some sort of inflatable juice machine.

Perhaps Ms Lappin should be more careful in future in choosing her destinations, countries ruled by reactionary and unstable govts are notoriously unkind to journalists and writers who might rock the boat, ask any who have fallen foul of the likes of Iran, Zimbabwe etc. I honestly don’t know which is the greater threat, the bandits in the White House who have turned that once great nation into a modern day “Heart of Darkness” or those like Sauron and others who constantly seek to justify and defend those fools and their policies to the rest of us. In the Cold War Radio Moscow would have been proud of folk like those.