WHEN IS A “JOURNALIST” REALLY A STALKER?

The question arises because, after granting a rather generous amount of his time to the news media during his vacation, French president Nicolas Sarkozy lost his temper with two American news photographers covering his vacation Sunday, jumping onto their boat and scolding them loudly in French. Sarkozy and companions were headed for open water in a boat on Lake Winnipesaukee when he spotted Associated Press photographer Jim Cole and freelancer Vince DeWitt aboard Cole's boat, continuing to invade the quiet of his vacation in New Hampshire.

When does the “public’s right to know” become trumped by the public’s right to SAFETY? Or the right to a simple bit of peace and quiet?

Whether or not the stalkerazzi had anything whatsoever to do with the death of Princess Diana, the fact is that during her life, they frequently endangered her safety. The same can easily be said for Lindsay Lohan who is, no question, a deeply troubled young woman but who also has a legitimate beef against the Hollywood bottom feeding stalkerazzi who have more than once endangered her life AND the lives of bystanders with their tactics. I have seen videos of their activities vis-a-vis Ms. Lohan on the PUBLIC STREETS and they behave in a manner that can only be characterized as disgraceful and irresponsible! This young woman is troubled enough without these dangerous pinheads entering the equation!

While I understand the need to protect freedom of the press, is it not prudent of us to curtail the LICENSE being taken by the press? And why is it that legitimate news personnel must be vetted and issued proper identification and credentials, while these paparazzi do not? And if they are not credentialed and therefore identifiable and accountable, then they should be treated like the invasive thugs they truly are – lock ‘em up and throw away the key!