For those of you not familiar Women on Waves, it's an international organization based in the Netherlands that helps women in countries where abortion is criminalized. They literally have a ship and dock in countries like Chile where women get unsafe abortions and die on a regular basis.

I first interviewed them about a story I was working on last year. They said they have tons of calls from the U.S. for help - notably many from servicewomen serving overseas who cannot access abortion services at military hospitals. And not at all if they're serving in a country where it's illegal. Yes, under the law we will let women take a bullet - arm them - but won't allow them to control their own reproduction while overseas ... even if they're raped.

The other issue I learned from talking to these women's health advocates is that when you Google "RU486" or "abortion pill" you will not get the actual medication. You will pay for fake pills. Sometimes more than $80 or more for pills that are not as advertized. Women on Waves counters this by providing the real information on how to safely end a pregnancy with medication that is widely available for other medical reasons. This is the image (posted above) that was taken down by Facebook.

Women on Waves sent out a press release:

Date: 30-12-2011
For Immediate release:
Facebook censors safe abortion information

Today, Facebook removed the profile picture of Rebecca Gomperts, which was text with information about how women can do abortions safely by themselves. Dr Gomperts is a well-known abortion rights activist and the Director of Women on Waves. Women on Waves is a charitable organization focused on women?s health and human rights. Its mission is to protect maternal health by preventing unsafe abortions. Women on Waves sails a ship to countries where abortion is illegal. On board the ship the medical staff provides sexual education and healthcare services. With the ship, early medical abortions (up to 6 1/2 weeks of pregnancy) can be provided safely, professionally and legally. Applicability of national penal legislation, and thus also of abortion law, extends only to territorial waters; outside that 12-mile radius it is thus Dutch law that applies on board a ship under the Dutch flag, which means that all our activities are legal. Women on Waves? efforts serve to draw much-needed public attention to the consequences of unwanted pregnancy and unsafe, illegal abortion. To date, the ship has sailed to Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain. Women on Waves also supported the launch of safe abortion hotlines in South America, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. (for more information see www.womenonwaves.org). In 2005 it founded Women on Web, a telemedicine abortion service that provides medical abortions to women in countries where there is no access to safe abortion (www.womenonweb.org)

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Walter Cronkite covering the Apollo 11 landing, July 1969. Part 1--watch Part 2 and 3 here.

Walter Cronkite's death this week really brought into sharp focus for me just how much we've suffered journalistically since Cronkite retired in 1981. Gone are the days where we can view our news media as fulfilling their obligations as the Fourth Estate and using the freedom of the press to hold DC accountable for their actions, as originally envisioned by Jefferson:

"No government ought to be without censors, and where the press is free, no one ever will. If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth whether in religion, law or politics. I think it as honorable to the government neither to know nor notice its sycophants or censors, as it would be undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute the latter."

Sadly, it appears that all we have in the media now is sycophants and censors and very little--if any--free press. And our democracy is mortally crippled by it.

As for this Sunday's offerings, if you are sick as I am of the poor downtrodden privileged white men threatened by Sonia Sotomayor, I don't recommend watching Sen. Jeff Sessions on State of the Union. WH Budget Director Peter Orszag will be making two appearances to reassure us that all is going along with the stimulus plan and the Goldman Sachs bonus bonanza is proof that it's working. And we're still talking health care on The Chris Matthews Show and with HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius on Meet the Press. But what I'm looking forward to--space geek that I am--is Buzz Aldrin and Sen. John Glenn reflecting on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

ABC's "This Week" - Pre-empted by British Open golf tournament.

CBS' "Face the Nation" - Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah; Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y.; former astronaut and Sen. John Glenn.

NBC's "Meet the Press" - Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

NBC's "The Chris Matthews Show" - Panel: Clarence Page, Kathleen Parker, David Brooks and Kelly O'Donnell. Topics: Is the cost of health care reform President Obama's greatest vulnerability? Who got the better deal out of the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton coalition? Meter Questions: Will Obama sign a health care reform law this year? YES: 12

NO: 0; Will the Republicans support a health care bill with new taxes?

YES: 7 NO: 5.

CNN's "State of the Union" - White House Budget Director Peter Orszag; Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and Jeff Sessions, R-Ala.; Rev. Jesse Jackson.

CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS" - Rwandan President Paul Kagame sits down with Fareed to discuss his nation's 15 year journey from genocide to economic growth and autocratic, but stable governance.

"Fox News Sunday" - Orszag; Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H.; astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin.

So what's catching your eye this morning?

Working Life: Why we miss John Edwards' voice on trade and globalization.

Amygdala: Knowing what one is talking about.

Connecting.the.Dots: Lotts of Smoke

sans everything: When conservatives loved the Palestinians. Computers have cut-and-paste functions. So does right-wing historical memory.

Mad Kane's Political Madness: Dear Ralph: Go Away!

ANNALS OF JOURNALISM: The NYT censors Krugman, why not Kristol, Rich, Dowd, Kristof, and Brooks?...Mountain, Meet Molehill...Howard Kurtz's conflicting interests and his love affair with The Right...USA Today to Dems: Move to the right...How the press can prevent another Iraq...Russert asks a plagiarist about plagiarism, but that wasn't his lowest moment...Fox News Porn...NYT can't see a Bank bailout in front of its eyes

Are you wondering if ABC actually did only target right wing blogs in their effort to promote their new mini series? Look no further than to the Cowardly Lion:

via Digby

Apparently, the rightwing bloggers all got preview copies days ago. Hugh Hewitt wrote:

I, and I am sure many others, have been sent the entire six hour program to preview and review, which I will be doing over the weekend. Edits post-distribution of the review DVDs would invite scrutiny of the very portions sent down the black hole, underscoring the episodes the censors hoped to hide.

Rep. Louise Slaughter calls out ABC...

EMail Disney and ask them what's going on

DOD Web site jokes of Christian crusade against Muslims

via : It's a photo of a US tank dubbed the "New Testament" - the name of the tank is written across its barrel. The even funnier part is that this photo MADE IT PAST military censors and the DOD Web page with the photo on it even brags about the name "New Testament" in the caption. So some jerk at the Pentagon knew exactly what this was about and found it funny enough to put on their Web site, and it passed various level of review. Lovely. click here for the picture

On Inside Politics today, Bill Schneider did an Oscar round up and said:

SCHNEIDER: The head of the Motion Picture Academy provide a moment that red state viewers, all Americans, in fact, can connect with it.

FRANK PERSON, PRESIDENT AMPAS: We dedicate the 77th Academy Awards services to the men and women in the armed services where are they serve with our gratitude forever for the sacrifices that they have made....

By saying that a dedication to the troops is only a red state issue (even though he corrected himself) was really a shot to all democrats that we couldn't possibly support our troops and live in a blue state. The CNN censors should have done a "Robin WIlliams" on him.