ISIS, the army of fanatics who likely would not exist had it not been for the U.S. invasion and subsequent slaughter in Iraq, have released video of what they claim
is the murder of journalist Steven Sotloff. Unfortunately, according to people who have viewed the video, the claim appears to be true.
Sam Brodey at Mother Jones had this to say:
The video's authenticity has not yet been confirmed by US officials, but The New York Times reports that Sotloff's family believes he has been killed. If so, that means the 31-year-old Sotloff—who went missing a year ago while reporting in Syria—becomes the second American journalist executed by the Islamic State.
Last month, a video surfaced showing ISIS fighters executing American journalist James Foley. Many on the Internet seethed that the gruesome circumstances of his death appeared to overshadow his important work. The same shouldn't happen to Sotloff. Ignore the sensational headlines and instead explore some of the brave, intelligent journalism he devoted his life to producing.
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Exactly so. Here are two of Brodey's examples:
"Syrian Purgatory": In this 2013 piece for Foreign Policy, Sotloff traveled to a Syrian refugee camp to report on the hundreds of thousands displaced by the civil war there. His chilling opening sets the tone for a story about the plight of refugees and the pitfalls of humanitarian aid: "It was less than 40 degrees Fahrenheit, and the winter wind cut to the bone. When I asked why she didn't have a blanket like everyone else at the Atmeh refugee camp, [Um Ibrahim] shrugged and looked down. 'I sold it to buy bread for my children.'" […]
"Libya's New Crisis: A Wave of Assassinations Targeting Its Top Cops:": Here, Sotloff reported on the deadly aftershocks of the Benghazi attacks. In explaining the rash of killings of major Libyan security officials, Sotloff paints a compelling picture of the deterioration of post-Qaddafi Libya. "But the biggest loser today is a Libyan state stumbling from one crisis to the next," he writes. "The government has not investigated the bombings and no one has been prosecuted."
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Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on this date in 2007—Another Batch of Brownies:
The FEMA chief was asleep at the switch. The MSHA boss was actively working to make his agency less effective. So is it any wonder that the Bush apointees in charge of the Consumer Product Safety Commission have been more worried about protecting the bottom line of the manufacturers, than about saving the lives of consumers?
After a sharp increase in deaths among children riding ATVs, doctors called for restrictions on selling adult-sized devices to kids under sixteen. What did the agency charged with protecting consumers do about warning consumers?
But when it came time to consider such a step, a staff member whose name did not appear on the meeting agenda unexpectedly weighed in.
"My own view is the situation is not necessarily deteriorating," said John Gibson Mullan, the agency's director of compliance and a former lawyer for the A.T.V. industry, according to a recording.
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When imported products ranging from toys to toothpaste were found to contain toxic ingredients, what did the CPSC have to say? Not much, really. But then, there aren't many people left to say anything. |
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