Iran, that country over in the Middle East that we're never, ever going to invade militarily, has put the kibosh on some of our cultural invasion. The government recently banned nine celebrity and culture publications because they ran images of foreign artists, like actresses Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, who are "corrupt" and lead "decadent lives." Can't, um, find much argument with that. Though, of course, censorship is rarely a good thing, especially when the focus is on "scantly dressed" women and whatnot. And we've been so welcoming of Shohreh Aghdashloo! Oh, and poor Reese and Nicole. Maybe they should be invited up to Columbia so Lee Bollinger can make out with them or something. [NYT]