November 9, 2009

Mother Jones Contributor Shane Bauer Charged With Spying

Shane Bauer

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Mother Jones contributor Shane Bauer, who has been detained in Iran since late July after accidentally crossing the border while hiking in Iraqi Kurdistan, has been charged with espionage. Bauer and his two companions, Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal, who were also charged, face the death penalty if convicted.

The families of the three detained hikers held vigils yesterday, November 8, to recognize the hikers’ 100th day in detention. Last Monday, Shon Meckfessel, a travelling companion of Bauer, Shourd, and Fattal who was sick the day of their hike, wrote an open letter to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asking for their release.

Ahmadinejad has suggested that he might consider releasing the three hikers in some sort of swap. Reuters explains:

Ahmadinejad suggested in an interview with the American television network NBC in September that the Americans’ release might be linked to the release of Iranian diplomats he said were being held by U.S. troops in Iraq.

We will keep you posted on any further developments.

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THE FACTS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES.

At least we hope they will, because that’s our approach to raising the $350,000 in online donations we need right now—during our high-stakes December fundraising push.

It’s the most important month of the year for our fundraising, with upward of 15 percent of our annual online total coming in during the final week—and there’s a lot to say about why Mother Jones’ journalism, and thus hitting that big number, matters tremendously right now.

But you told us fundraising is annoying—with the gimmicks, overwrought tone, manipulative language, and sheer volume of urgent URGENT URGENT!!! content we’re all bombarded with. It sure can be.

So we’re going to try making this as un-annoying as possible. In “Let the Facts Speak for Themselves” we give it our best shot, answering three questions that most any fundraising should try to speak to: Why us, why now, why does it matter?

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