Lara Logan

Those of us back in the US, covering whatever we cover, do so almost always under the cover of law. We may loose our jobs, or have an advertiser pull his run, but our lives are safe and we will work — safely — another day.

Our prayers are with Lara Logan — and with the hundreds other journalists injured, imprisoned and killed doing the job of bringing the world to us.

Jon Stewart on the Rachel Maddow Show, uncut

An intelligent conversation.

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Anderson Cooper crows over Amazon’s removal of pedophile how-to book, demands more book kills

A rant on Wednesday night by CNN’s Anderson Cooper may have forced Amazon’s hand — getting the book peddler to back down on its anti-censorship policy by removing from sale the e-book “Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure.” Last night, Cooper continue his assault on Amazon, demanding that it stop selling a Cooper-drawn list of additional pedophilia-related books (including another book by the Guide’s author that Cooper said had similar content).

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Cooper’s segment tries to dramatize, Michael Moore-style, his program’s attempts to extract from Amazon a comment about the company’s materials acceptance policies — even sending CNN’s Seattle reporter to camp out for two hours in the lobby of Amazon headquarters awaiting an interview that never came.

Speeding up his pace and changing to a somewhat cavalier tone, Cooper zeroes in on the free-speech component of the Amazon question:

Originally, Amazon said they don’t want to censor — and we can all understand that: Freedom of speech is vital in this country and I mean who wants some company deciding what we can and cannot read. However, Amazon does censor some things.

He said Amazon policies found on its Website states that “pornography, X-rated moves, home porn, hard-core material that depict graphic sexual acts, and amateur porn and not permitted” and that offensive material would not be published.

“What we deem offensive is probably about what you would expect,” Amazon’s online statement continues. “This includes items such as crime-scene videos, videos of cruelty to animals, and extremely disturbing materials.

Among the Amazon-sold books under attack last night by Cooper is one that makes this claim:

Children exposed to premature sexual experiences with adults frequently turn out to be distinguished  and unusually charming and attractive in their outward personalities.

In a separate segment last night, Cooper was joined by John Walsh of America’s Most Wanted. Walsh is a longtime anti-crime crusader with a special focus on missing and abused children; his own child was abducted and murdered.

Anderson Cooper crows over Amazon’s pulling of …, posted with vodpod

Music for Veterans Day. God bless those who fought to keep us free. And God bless the USA.

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In 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day in the 11th month, an armistice was signed and The Great War — “the war to end all wars” — was over.

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Today in History

Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” (written in response to Irvin Berlin’s “God Bless America”)

Anderson Cooper on Amazon pedophile e-book

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Anderson Cooper on Amazon pedophile e-book, posted with vodpod