Obama Honors Daniel Pearl with Freedom of the Press Act
EmailFrom Sunlen Miller:
With Mariane Pearl and Adam seven-year-old Adam Pearl by his side, President Obama signed the Daniel Pearl Freedom of the Press Act in the Oval Office this morning declaring that the legislation “sends a strong signal” about the nation’s core values when it comes to freedom of the press.
“The loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination because it reminded us of how valuable a free press is,” the president said of the Wall Street Journal reporter killed in 2002 in Pakistan, “and it reminded us that there are those who would go to any length in order to silence journalists around the world.”
The act would require the State Department to compile a list of nations where press freedom had been violated every year, included in its annual Human Rights report. The president said that this will send a message to other countries.
“What this act does is it sends a strong message from the United States government and from the State Department that we are paying attention to how other governments are operating when it comes to the press,” the president said, “it also looks at countries that are — governments that are specifically condoning or facilitating this kind of press repression, singles them out, and subjects them to the gaze of world opinion in ways that I think are extraordinarily important.”
Mr. Obama said that oftentimes other countries and governments feel they can operate against the press with impunity, “and we want to send a message that they can’t.” With this law, the president declared, the legacy of Daniel Pearl lives on.
Joining the president in the Oval Office for the bill signing were the chief sponsors of the bill — Sen. Chris Dodd and Rep. Adam Schiff as well as Daniel Pearl’s extended family – his mother, father, and sisters.
In the spirit of the freedom of the press, a reporter in the room attempted to ask President Obama if he would take a few questions, which solicited a smile from the president who quipped back, “You’re certainly free to ask them.”
The reporter asked if he still has confidence in BP after the devastating oil spill last month in the Gulf.
“I’m not doing a press conference today, but we’ll be seeing you guys during the course of this week,” the president answered.
-Sunlen Miller
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“The loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination ”
What an awful way to describe the world’s reaction to the gruesome beheading of Pearl. He should have used a teleprompter.
What happened to Pearl is disgusting, enraging and sad, but what exactly is the point of this Act? What we write down some country’s names on a list and publish it…..chilling. That will show those authoritarian governments!
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010, 1:40 pm 1:40 pm
Obama Honors Daniel Pearl with Freedom of the Press Act
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But he wouldn’t take questions from the press. How telling.
Posted by: wheresmymoney | May 17, 2010, 1:59 pm 1:59 pm
“The loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination”
can’t fix stupid!
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | May 17, 2010, 2:19 pm 2:19 pm
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | May 17, 2010 2:19:01 PM
Imagine the outrage if Bush had said that.
Posted by: Noz | May 17, 2010, 2:23 pm 2:23 pm
Noz, I know right?
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | May 17, 2010, 3:03 pm 3:03 pm
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | May 17, 2010 2:19:01 PM
Imagine the outrage if Bush had said that.
Posted by: Noz | May 17, 2010 2:23:19 PM
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Bush, for all his good traits, made verbal gaffs day in and day out – it was almost a constant stream. Obama’s are few and far between. There is a difference.
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 3:11 pm 3:11 pm
“Bush, for all his good traits, made verbal gaffs day in and day out – it was almost a constant stream. Obama’s are few and far between. There is a difference.”
I do believe the difference is not the number of gaffes by each, but the number reported by the media.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010, 3:27 pm 3:27 pm
“Bush, for all his good traits, made verbal gaffs day in and day out – it was almost a constant stream. Obama’s are few and far between. There is a difference.”
I do believe the difference is not the number of gaffes by each, but the number reported by the media.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010 3:27:03 PM
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Hogwash. This one was reported, so have others – that’s why you’re talking about it.
This President is covered as much or more than any other president.
You’ve got to remember Bush had a full eight years revealing his difficulties with speaking.
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm
tierra, like I said can’t fix stupid!
Posted by: whatsgoingonhere? | May 17, 2010, 3:38 pm 3:38 pm
“Hogwash. This one was reported, so have others – that’s why you’re talking about it. ”
What? No one has called him out or made fun of him for this. It was a horrible choice of words. Why does it even have to about Bush?
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010, 3:41 pm 3:41 pm
It was a horrible choice of words.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010 3:41:52 PM
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‘staggered’ the imagination would have been better – but the point was the value of a free press.
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 3:49 pm 3:49 pm
Why does it even have to about Bush?
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010 3:41:52 PM
Its not about Bush.
The post is about expanding efforts to protect the media around the world. The law the President signed expands an annual report on human rights practices to include information about media treatment, and identify countries where the media is being repressed.
I agree the President’s statement sounded very awkward, but its not the first time and it won’t be the last. We elect human beings as President, not gaffe-free, silky-tongued, perfectly smooth robots. I never cared about Bush’s “gaffes” (though I sometimes found him very embarrassing and rather out of step due to his policies on the international stage) and I don’t care about this gaffe either.
To tell the truth I was moved at seeing Daniel Pearl’s son. He’s a very handsome well-behaved boy.
god bless to to Marianne and her son. And thanks to those who risk their lives to get us important stories and tell the unbiased truth to the best of their ability.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 17, 2010, 4:04 pm 4:04 pm
It may seem like an inadequate step, but when you actually talk to prisoners that have been held in places even such as Iran, they say that the more their names were mentioned, simply mentioned by international organizations or “lists” as you mockingly say, they were treated better.
Also, the fact that levels of press freedom will be something investigated and published will shed light into many current obscurities, many such previous published facts have pushed many to take action, whether individuals or NGOs. Also if you read more about this act is involves grants that will go to strengthening independent media worldwide.
Posted by: PW | May 17, 2010, 4:06 pm 4:06 pm
Tierra: every time I read a comment about President Obama’s inability to speak, or that he is “narcissistic”, or has a “messianic complex”…….I immediately think the idea has been implanted by Limbaugh or Beck. Haven’t they ever heard about psychological “projection”? Just listen ONE time to these two “entertainers” and it’s clear they are poster boys for rambling incoherent narcissism.
It’s embarrassing to continue reading parrot posts about “telepromters” over and over when there are vastly more important issues to discuss.
Posted by: green.goddess | May 17, 2010, 4:12 pm 4:12 pm
Tierra: every time I read a comment about President Obama’s inability to speak, or that he is “narcissistic”, or has a “messianic complex”…….I immediately think the idea has been implanted by Limbaugh or Beck. Haven’t they ever heard about psychological “projection”? Just listen ONE time to these two “entertainers” and it’s clear they are poster boys for rambling incoherent narcissism.
Posted by: green.goddess | May 17, 2010 4:12:26 PM
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Exactly.
p.s. – you look good in green.
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 4:20 pm 4:20 pm
“Its not about Bush. ”
mama, maybe read the comment by tierra that I was responding to, she brought him up, I sure didn’t.
“The law the President signed expands an annual report on human rights practices to include information about media treatment, and identify countries where the media is being repressed. ”
So in other words, like my first comment, this Act does absolutely nothing. It’s all fluff.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010, 4:27 pm 4:27 pm
this “act looks at countries that condone this kind of repression “…repression?! Is that what we call it when you are kidnapped, held against your will with a gun to your head, taunted about your religion, only to ultimately have your head sawed off and used as a soccer ball?..Obama seemed more upset about the police acting “stupidly” when they arressted that Harvard professor.
Posted by: cindy | May 17, 2010, 4:35 pm 4:35 pm
So in other words, like my first comment, this Act does absolutely nothing. It’s all fluff.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010 4:27:59 PM
PW has a good response to this at 4:06:15 PM
In regards to the rest, I looked back at the thread, and it looks like the someone who brought up Bush was doing it in the context of “can you imagine the outrage if Bush said this?”
Anyway…
Posted by: progressive mama | May 17, 2010, 4:36 pm 4:36 pm
In regards to the rest, I looked back at the thread, and it looks like the someone who brought up Bush was doing it in the context of “can you imagine the outrage if Bush said this?”
Posted by: progressive mama | May 17, 2010 4:36:05 PM
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She’s absolutely right J.R. I didn’t introduce Bush into the equation at all – I picked up on what Noz said.
Facts.
Anyway . ..
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 4:44 pm 4:44 pm
“Obama’s gaffes are few and far between”-are you kidding me?Cinco de Quatro, 57 states,Americans liberating Auschwitz, a country like Europe,Corpseman, I don’t know how you say it in Austrian,Cambridge police acted stupidly,etc, etc.And now this.This highly educated man appears to have no better command of the English language than the “idiot” he replaced.What does that say about his great intellect? That it is greatly exaggerated!
Posted by: Nephron | May 17, 2010, 4:49 pm 4:49 pm
“Obama’s gaffes are few and far between”-are you kidding me?Cinco de Quatro, 57 states,Americans liberating Auschwitz, a country like Europe,Corpseman, I don’t know how you say it in Austrian,Cambridge police acted stupidly
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Exactly, the gaffes are few and far between.
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
“In regards to the rest, I looked back at the thread, and it looks like the someone who brought up Bush was doing it in the context of “can you imagine the outrage if Bush said this?” ”
Your response to me had nothing to do with the rest of the thread, which is why I told you to read the comments. Most people would have responded with a “my bad” or “sorry you were right, you didn’t say that.”
PW does make a nice argument, I however don’t believe this Act will accomplish those things.
Posted by: J.R. | May 17, 2010, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm
In regards to the rest, I looked back at the thread, and it looks like the someone who brought up Bush was doing it in the context of “can you imagine the outrage if Bush said this?”
Posted by: progressive mama | May 17, 2010 4:36:05 PM
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She’s absolutely right J.R. I didn’t introduce Bush into the equation at all – I picked up on what Noz said.
Facts.
Anyway . ..
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 5:56 pm 5:56 pm
“She’s absolutely right J.R. I didn’t introduce Bush into the equation at all – I picked up on what Noz said.” – tierra
That’s right tierra, I beat you to the punch and brought up Bush before you today.
HooRay for me!
: o )
Posted by: Noz | May 17, 2010, 6:47 pm 6:47 pm
Most people would have responded with a “my bad” or “sorry you were right, you didn’t say that.”
________
If that’s true, and I don’t think it is, they’re not very bright as a “my bad” wasn’t called for.
Posted by: progressive mama | May 17, 2010, 7:05 pm 7:05 pm
“The act would require the State Department to compile a list of nations where press freedom had been violated every year, included in its annual Human Rights report. The president said that this will send a message to other countries.”
THIS PIECE OF LEGISLATION IS A JOKE! MR. PEARL WAS LURED INTO A PRESS INTERVIEW WITH A MUSLIM EXTREMIST, WAS INSTEAD ABDUCTED, AND SADISTICALLY BEHEADED. THE GOVERNMENT OF PAKISTAN HAD NO CONTROL OVER THIS.
, “it also looks at countries that are — governments that are specifically condoning or facilitating this kind of press repression, singles them out, and subjects them to the gaze of world opinion in ways that I think are extraordinarily important.”
THIS LEGISLATION HAS NO ENFORCEMENT CAPABILITY OTHER THAN POINTING OUT HIGH RISK COUNTRIES WHERE THE PRESS COULD BE AT RISK. THIS IS SOMETHING THE GOVERNMENT ALREADY DOES. ALL THE PRESIDENT DID WAS REPACKAGE IT, SLAP A PERSONAL DEDICATION TO IT, CALL IT NEW AND REGURITATE IT TO THE MEDIA SO HE COULD APEASE THEM. SO PATHETIC!
Posted by: Gene | May 17, 2010, 9:12 pm 9:12 pm
Obama refused questions; how ironic.
The truth is that he is afraid of the press. He knows he’s not very good speaking without his robot there to feed him the words. And someone probably whispered in the electrode in his ear that he slipped up and revealed (once again) how stupid he is by the remark he made.
Posted by: tanarg | May 17, 2010, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
he slipped up and revealed (once again) how stupid he is by the remark he made.
Posted by: tanarg | May 17, 2010 10:15:21 PM
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The President is stupid . . . sure thing tanarq . ..
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 10:19 pm 10:19 pm
Stupid, and evil. Chip Reid at CBS’s Political Hotsheet focused on a different subject, though:
“There was some rich irony at the White House today — President Obama signed the Press Freedom Act, and then promptly refused to take any questions.”
Posted by: tanarg | May 17, 2010, 10:26 pm 10:26 pm
The President is “Stupid, and evil” . .. sure thing tanarq . ..
Posted by: tierra | May 17, 2010, 10:46 pm 10:46 pm
When you compare Obama’s remarks to Bush’s you’re talking apples and oranges. Obama is just disrespectful.
President Bush may have goofed but I NEVER remember him insulting the families of those killed on 9/11, the Daniel Pearl family, the Developmentally Disabled, the Dalai Lama,Netanyahu, Lech Kaczynski, the United States AND our soldiers. This is just the short list.
Politicians are all the same, when you bash Bush remember there is just as much to bash about in this administration. At least the Republicans will let us keep some of our money.
As for the Freedom of the Press Act, easy for him to sign when he owns the press. What does he care about other counties suppressing freedom of speech? What “message” are we going to send? What’s he going to do – whip their behind at basketball if they don’t “comply.” Where the H does he even get the right to comment on other countries and what they do when we aren’t even getting it half right here?
The only message we’ve sent lately is that we are “global”, we are “no longer a Christian Nation” and basically, we are a pantie whipped nation. We are going to concede and cow-tow to those who will destroy us so everyone will “like us.”
He disrespects Daniel Pearl every breathing moment with his support of the Muslims and his disrespect for Israel.
May Daniel Pearl rest in peace, he deserves so much better than this.
Posted by: vanderfk | May 17, 2010, 11:26 pm 11:26 pm
When you compare Obama’s remarks to Bush’s you’re talking apples and oranges. Obama is just disrespectful.
President Bush may have goofed but I NEVER remember him insulting the families of those killed
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You weren’t paying attention . .. Bush JOKED about how the weapons of mass destruction might be hidden under his desk . .. after thousands of Americans were killed looking for those unfound weapons of mass destruction.
He thought that was ‘funny’.
Posted by: tierra | May 18, 2010, 12:32 am 12:32 am
At least the Republicans will let us keep some of our money.
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Are you kidding? The Bush administration bankrupted our children to the Chinese by putting 2 wars, the seniors drug program and tax cuts for the rich on his Chinese Express credit card – and then presided over the collapse of the American economy which stole away half of people’s invested retirement savings!
Posted by: tierra | May 18, 2010, 12:35 am 12:35 am
“Are you kidding? The Bush administration bankrupted our children to the Chinese by putting 2 wars, the seniors drug program and tax cuts for the rich on his Chinese Express credit card ”
How in the world can an star-struck Obama enthusiast type something like this about the prior administration as some form of critique. This astounds me. Obama has come and tripled the amount of debt for our children, stalled the economy and is looking to stifle it more all while raising taxes.
But hey, at least he is going to write down country’s names that aren’t allowing freedom of the press!
Posted by: J.R. | May 18, 2010, 8:52 am 8:52 am
What a buffon we have for a president,”The loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination “.
Reminds me of the time when the great wordsmith Obama said the release of the Lockerbie terrorist was “Highly Objectionable”,then proceeded to go on about his business without so much as a second thought to the matter.
Posted by: Johnny L | May 18, 2010, 9:13 am 9:13 am
O’bama has been on an Apology Tour since being elected President–now he passes a law that tells other countries to respect our Press or they’ll be consequences. O’bama is such a joke!
Posted by: debora.thompso | May 18, 2010, 11:04 am 11:04 am
Hey everybody, you are assuming O’Bama misspoke when he said . . .
“The loss of Daniel Pearl was one of those moments that captured the world’s imagination ”
His words fit perfectly from a worldly muslim point of view.
Also, I haven’t heard anything about him apologizing for what he said.
Logic tells you he must have meant it.
Posted by: Noz | May 18, 2010, 12:51 pm 12:51 pm
Hey, Slick Barry, how about acknowledging that it was Radical, Murderous, Hateful Islamic Fundamentalism that killed Daniel Pearl!?!?
Posted by: Community Agitator | May 18, 2010, 1:00 pm 1:00 pm
“Hey, Slick Barry, how about acknowledging that it was Radical, Murderous, Hateful Islamic Fundamentalism that killed Daniel Pearl!?!?” – Community Agitator
You mean he didn’t do that?
You’ve got to be kidding!
Posted by: Noz | May 18, 2010, 1:15 pm 1:15 pm
Obama has come and tripled the amount of debt for our children, stalled the economy and is looking to stifle it more all while raising taxes.
Posted by: J.R. | May 18, 2010 8:52:12 AM
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Nonsense. 1) the debt has not tripled, 2) the economy shows the stock market WAY up, the GDP way up and the largest montly increase in jobs in 4 years and 3) the Recovery and Reinvestment Act gave tax relief to 95% of Americans along with tax breaks for businesses.
Under the Republican Bush administration, the American economy went into free-fall collapse – you apparently have no idea what effect that has on local, state and federal budgets and deficits. Look into it sometime.
Posted by: tierra | May 18, 2010, 2:10 pm 2:10 pm