Keeping ourselves safe from writers

If you are a US citizen traveling to Europe, you are familiar with the visa waiver program--meaning you have the privilege of visiting many foreign countries without having to apply for a special visa. But a disturbing article by Elena Lappin printed in the July 13th edition of the International Herald Tribune points out that a certain class of foreign travelers don't share in the privilege of free entry into the United States. Yes, writers and journalists must apply for a special I (for information) visa. Lappin, a British journalist detained for 26 hours in Los Angeles and "fingerprinted, photographed, handcuffed and forced to spend the night in a cell in a detention facility in central Los Angeles" before being deported to London, writes, "By requiring foreign journalists to obtain special visas, the United States has aligned itself with the likes of Iran, North Korea and Cuba, places where reporters are treated as dangerous subversives and disseminators of uncomfortable truths." 13 foreign journalists have been detained and deported since March 2003, according to Lappin. How long before other waiver countries reciprocate? I don't really relish reviewing accommodation in France's detention cells or recommending the correct pasta course in Italy's jails.