Posted on 05/20/2010 12:03:42 PM PDT by Michael van der Galien
There was an emotional ceremony at the White House on Monday when President Obama welcomed slain journalist Daniel Pearl’s surviving family members to witness the signing of the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act.
Pearl, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, was brutally murdered in Pakistan as he was following up some leads on al-Qaeda financing in early 2002. Four Pakistanis were convicted in Pearl’s murder in July of that year. The mastermind of the kidnapping and murder, however, may have been Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who confessed to the murder under interrogation by the CIA.
According to the New York Times, the Freedom of the Press Act “requires the State Department to expand its scrutiny of news media restrictions and intimidation as part of its annual review of human rights in each country. Among other considerations, the department will be required to determine whether foreign governments participate in or condone violations of press freedom.”
This is certainly good news. According to Freedom House’s annual surveyof press freedom in 196 countries, the indicators fell for the 8th straight year:
Significant declines outnumbered gains by a 2-to-1 margin. Notable regional declines were registered in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, as well as the Middle East.
Declines in important emerging democracies demonstrate the fragility of press freedom in such environments. Namibia and South Africa, two of the new democracies, dropped from Free to Partly Free. Worrying declines were also registered in Mexico, the Philippines, and Senegal.
(Excerpt) Read more at frontpagemag.com ...
Daniel Pearl would be alive today if he was your garden-variety MSM presstitute rather than a real journalist. He never would have had to make that dangerous journey to Pakistan. He could have just had Zer0’s white house fax him the day’s talking points.
I couldn't resist.
WTF are genstures?
I’m sure you meant ‘Obama’s Empty Gestures’, but it’s still redundant.
The gums-denture combo.
It’s what happens when you flap your gums without effect.
It’s been said that Obozo referred to the beheading of Daniel Pearl as an event that “captured the world’s imagination”? I really, really hope that he didn’t say that...
What else would you expect from an empty suit and an empty head? Obama is a zero!
LOL. You guys are in great form today..
gender-inappropriate gestures.
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