Iranian porn stars? (Updated)

"Meanwhile, in Iran, they're executing porn stars actors," (see below) finger-wags one of my favorite internet bedbugs Ann Althouse over at her site, apropos (if any associations Althouse makes actually qualify as "apropos"—she's largely a one-woman non-sequitur generator) that Obama-loving music vid over on YouTube. Instapundit Glenn Reynolds also links to the AP report on CNN.com headlined "Iran moves to execute porn stars."

I guess they didn't read much below the headline, via which one might infer that there are actually porn stars in Iran to execute. There aren't. For reasons that I imagine should be obvious, there is no above-ground pornographic film industry in the country. There's not much of a film industry, period, and the best filmmakers working in Iran—Abbas Kiarostami and Jafar Panahi, to name two—can barely get their own (extremely chaste, incidentally) movies shown in their own country. The AP hed suggests that the mullahs are going to sweep the country and off its erotica celebs, and that if Jenna Jameson's doing a USO tour and makes a wrong turn at Al Amarah, she'd better watch her, um, ass. Again, not the case.

What seems to be the real impetus behind the new law is, I think, actually more awful and gruesome than what that headline evokes. Last year a videotape that appeared to feature the popular Iranian television actress Zahra Amir Ebrahimi having sex with a male partner surfaced in the public arena. She says the tape's a fake, her alleged partner in the tape has fled to Armenia, and the matter is still officially "under investigation." Ebrahami's punishment under the standing Iranian morality laws would be bad enough; under this particular law, she could be executed. The law, then, under the pretext of attacking what is more or less a chimera, will exact particular punishment on this individual, no doubt to make something of an example of her. As I said, awful. But for the likes of Althouse and Reynolds, I suppose, not quite as, um, sexy as the notion that they're "executing porn stars" over there.

UPDATE: Ms. Althouse appears below in comments, to say I glaringly misquote her, and I do misquote her—and, as it happens, I've done so before. Maybe there is something to that Althouse vortex thing she occasionally goes on about. In any case, it's true—she says "porn actors," not "porn stars," and I should probably just apologize and not point out that Zahra Amir Ebrahimi is not a "porn actor" as the tape in which she appeared (and which she insists is a fake) was a private one, not intended for public consumption.

So here I am. Apologizing. Because apparently I really "got to her." Sorry to get to you, Ann Althouse. I'm sorry you maybe don't think I deserve to be Premiere's film critic. Would you like me any better if I told you I was also the editor of an essay that appears in in a book that's in your favorite-books-list in your Blogger profile? No? Guess I'll have to live with that.

In any case, um, welcome Althouse readers? And since Instapundit didn't bother to link to me and instead just made a smirky traffic joke, screw him and his readers? (Except Jim Meigs. Jim Meigs, you can hang out.) Is that how it works?

I don't know. But I do regret the error.

FURTHER UPDATE:And my wife just told me that this sort of thing is precisely why she generally insists that I let her review all my posts before posting. Thus endeth the lesson. Back to irrelevance...

Also, I see that Ann Althouse and I have one thing in common—we have people impersonating ourselves in comments. In case anyone's curious, I am not behind that "Mom" bit.

Comments

[happyfeet]

I like Ann's new pictures. Very smart looking. Before, I had kinda gotten a Paula Deen vibe. Which, not to say that Paula is stupid. Just not the suit she leads with is all.

[WP]

But in this case, from what I understand, Zahra Amir Ebrahimi--though in her professional life an actor (in fact, a star!)--was not having sex in an actorly capacity. She was having sex with her boyfriend, on a personal, private tape. She was not acting at the time. So both "porn actor" and "porn star" would be equally inaccurate in this case, since she is an actress (a star!) but not in the world of pornography.

If I were being really petty, I might suggest that the reference to Kenny's original post as "frenzied" is in itself laughably inaccurate. But that's just one girl's opinion.

Althouse's photo does look quite nice, though, I can agree with that.

GK: "MOM! I told you not to post here. I can defend myself, thank you."

Of course you can, son. Of course you can.

[bemo]

Just read update.

Sweet Celestials, an impersonator? Can't you [sic] his ass, Mr. Kenny?

[Phil]

"One of the things that causes those feelings is when the left steadfastly refuses to acknowledge the meaning of its own transgressions like this."

Gosh, I'd be ever so grateful if you could expound at excruciating length regardin the "meaning" of this "transgression," meaning so deep that it caused you to switch political parties, apparently.

[lulz]

Another futile attempt to contain something that can't be contained

[Christian Louboutin sale`]

Looking back on that horrible summer, I soon understood that all succeeding good things merely offset the bad.

[Canada Goose Jackets]

A man has two ears and one mouth that he may hear much and speak little.

[Red Bottom shoes]

A contented is a perpetual feast.

[Red Bottom shoes]

Happiness, I have discovered, is nearly always a rebound from hard work.

[Discount Canada Goose]

Eat at pleasure, drink with measure.

[Beats by Dre]

Suit the action to the word.