Guess what? We aren’t going to complain about the weather this week. But how in the world did it get to be midterm time? Our minds are blown. And we have a week left to scrape together Valentine’s Day plans, so here’s your we’re- all-kinds-of-stressed edition of...
Darts & Laurels
Last December, a Jordanian fighter pilot, Muath al-Kasasbeh, crashed in Syria and was captured by Islamic State fighters. For a few months, he was one of the many high-profile hostages held by the group. Islamic State released a video of his execution Tuesday, though he is thought to have been killed in early January. This isn’t the first time Islamic State has released execution videos, but this one was particularly graphic — al-Kasasbeh was locked in a cage, doused in lighter fluid and burned alive. Upon its release, the video made world headlines instantaneously. An overwhelming majority of news outlets refused to display it in full, though; partly out of respect for al-Kasasbeh and partly to avoid doing precisely what the Islamic State group intended.
There’s one notable exception: Fox News, who elected to air it in full as well as post it online. At its basest level, this decision is both tasteless and irresponsible. Terrorism’s entire method is to commit acts of outrageous brutality in order to get attention, achieving a political end in the process. Hence this more sickening, shocking murder method. Fox is doing the Islamic State’s work for them. Indeed, Islamic State-linked Twitter accounts are sharing the link Fox posted because it isn’t displayed by any other Western media outlet. What’s worse: Fox did this out of self-interest. Correspondent Bret Baier said they posted it “to bring you the reality of Islamic terrorism and to label it as such.” I.e., to score points in a pathetic, one-sided competition of terminology with the Obama administration. So we’re giving a spreading-terrorist-propaganda-to-prove-a-dumb-point DART to Fox News.
In another example of something horrible that happened so far this year, a plane crashed shortly after taking off from Taipei. In a weird stroke of chance, a dashboard camera caught footage of the plane as it grazed a highway overpass, giving us an image every bit as surreal as it is horrifying. Although at least 32 people died in the crash, the crash would have certainly killed many more if it weren’t for the heroic actions of the crew and the pilot, Liao Chien-tsung, who died in the crash.
As captured on video, the crew managed to maneuver the plane around the dense Taipei skyline, avoiding skyscrapers and the people living and working in them. It’s evident they intended to and succeeded in landing the plane in the Keelung River, sparing the lives of untold dozens on the ground and lessening the impact on the plane itself. Liao Chien-tsung’s actions saved the lives of dozens, if not scores of people in Taipei. He has already been held up as a hero by Taipei’s mayor and many others worldwide, and we think he deserves that distinction. A LAUREL to Liao Chien-tsung and the crew of TransAsia Airways Flight 235. Our hearts are with them, all of the deceased and their families.
That wraps up this week’s heavy edition of Darts and Laurels. Have a wonderful weekend.
