I am hoping for better laws on the protection of one’s personal integrity – and I hope the child victims sue the daylight out of the politicians that allowed them to be re-victimized like this. The lack of foresight and plain common sense should worry anyone living in a EU country. These people are paid very well to uphold and protect your interests – I feel that they are not. Not at all.

The “dissidents in china”-card is always played when “freedom of speech”-advocates claim that any control, even that of limiting access to or preventing the distribution of, child abuse material, will be abused and our access to governmental critical information, religious material, stuff on abortion etc will suffer. I think that is a flawed argument and basically not true. If it is, prove it!

We have to allow some form of control and censorship on the Internet, just as we accept that not everything is published in our newspapers, books or shown on TV. Why are there no protests against editors in newspapers channeling and shaping information to fit their needs and views? I guess its probably because we accept that not all information is good information, and there are some things we just dont need to see or know – and we trust that the editors are using their good judgement in evaluating the information. I think the same should apply on the Internet – its basically just another media outlet.

I think many people are scared of too much police on the internet because they are afraid of their own security, and to avoid any unpleasant rendezvouses with the police, they decide to oppose all policing. If this results in kids being re-victimized again and again by bad guys, so be it. It is, in their mind – not mine, a small price to pay to be able to access information for free.

Stating, what for me is the obvious, things like this might not be very politically correct, as I should say its because of dissidents in China and other oppressed people, but I basically think that most people think of themselves first and foremost. Its sad, really..

If we aim for this construct of perfect, we will absolutely fall short. As imperfect humans, if we try to reach any point of perfection we will absolutely fall short. You mentioned that above, but then contradicted yourself later.

Yes, we have an epidemic of obesity. However, why would someone even want to try to lose weight (besides health reasons) if they were striving to look like most of the models in magazines. If there is a perfection as you stated, most see it as being like a swimsuit model. Most “normal” women will never get there. So, instead of being satisfied when they get to Lizzie’s size, some might say what is the point and don’t lose any weight whatsoever. I do realize that every situation is different, some people lose weight when they reach a certain high number, when they have a health issue, or because they just want to be healthier.. Whether the model in question is 180 pounds or 100, the message is never to have a healthy diet and exercise routine. It is absolutely about image and how clothes fit.

I agree that an image should be a healthy one. However who am I, and who are you, to say that this woman is unhealthy. Because she looks a certain way? That’s ridiculous. Healthy does not always mean that every muscle is tight and there is no flab. And you and I don’t know what this woman eats on a daily basis or what kind of exercise she does.

Also, to be specific. She is sitting down and leaning forward in the first photo. I would be willing to bet that most fit celebrities that are in magazines have a little bit of pudge there, it is just airbrushed out. Or, they would just never sit in that position at all in a magazine because it is an unflattering pose. I feel like the magazine wanted to showcase the fact that she had a little flab in the belly and put her in that position. Because, as you pointed out, she looks “somewhat better” in the second picture.

You are welcome to your opinions. I mean, that is why you have a blog. And there is nothing wrong with that. However, in general, we as people have to be careful not to put our own opinions out there as the absolute right one. To me, it reads that you have taken your opinions on your own body and health and applied it to this woman and anyone who has commented after. That is all fine as long as you know that others’ opinions and bodies are different and they might have different standards than you have.

Personally, I think this woman is beautiful. And I cannot say if she is fit or not. She does have some flab, but I do not know one woman who does not have a little flab on her belly…and I know women of all ages, weights, and fitness types. I have also come to realize that almost every woman wishes they could change something about the way they look, and almost every woman is completely different in shape and weight distribution. So I cannot say who is more healthy than the other just by looking at them. A vision of health needs to be the role model, however I think we are a bit idealistic to believe that it is going to come from a fashion magazine.