Annapolis Capital Gazette Journalist Killing Editorial

By Susan Robens-Brannon

June 30, 2018

Ode to five fine journalists

I am deeply saddened for the five lives lost at the newsroom Capital Gazette shooting in Annapolis, Md. These lives are, Gerald Fischman, 61, Rob Hiaasen, 59, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith 34, and Wendi Winters, 65.

As a reporter for a small-town print newspaper and this shooting hit close to home. Most small-town reporters do not get wealthy from our work, we do it because it is our passion. It is our passion to inform the community about what is going on, the new business, the possible new development in town, the 100-year-old birthday celebration and music in the streets. We report on local crime, arrests and possible corruption in the government. 

The small-town newspaper is not fake-news, it is as close as you can get to real news, we work under high ethical guidelines and double-check our facts. We work long hours and fight for print news hoping that it will not die. Where else can you get local news in one place?

The paper did its job, they reported on a person, Jarrod Ramos, with evidence of harassing women over social media, in court he pleaded guilty. Reporting on this, is not a crime, it is the news. We report on sex crimes all of the time, we report on drug arrests, and we report on murders. These facts are not defamation, but admitted, found guilty or brought into charge and public information. We report on these issues all of the time, it is normal and responsible.

It is said that Ramos made threats in 2013, a detective investigated the threats and the paper decided not to pursue criminal charges because it may exacerbate the situation. Ramos then took the issue to court and lost his round of appeals in 2016, claiming that he had been wronged by the paper. From 2011 to early 2016, Ramos waged war through social media, he tweeted 149 times at the Gazette’s official account, he mentioned the columnists Eric Hartley 201 times and a dozen named the newspaper’s former editor, Thomas Marquardt. Ramos mentioned that he would enjoy if the paper would cease publication, but nicer if both Hartley and Marquardt cease breathing in 2015.

Could the paper had done something different to prevent this brutal and hateful killing of its employees? Would the Capital Gazette have paid for an office security guard? What are the boundaries before taking preventative action as a reporter? I know that my newspaper would not spend the extra money on a security guard, even if threats continued for years. The small-town paper is working hard to stay afloat, or at least that is what they tell us. That is another story.

I can only be reminded of a time when I was reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and received death threats. I took them seriously. I changed my publication name and used a pseudo name, kept my whereabouts unknown by changing my IP address often. It seemed to have worked, I am alive. One time, I even moved when the threats increased in both demeanor and became daily.

The problem is that it is difficult to know where to draw the line for safety as journalist. Do we just brush it off and say they will get over it as we think most people would? In America, we might get jailed for reporting on a protest, but we normally do not concern ourselves with getting shot. 

The mainstream news will make this all about gun control, once again. They take any gun event and blow it out of proportion, ignoring the fact that our moral fiber has been disintegrating for years. It is the fiber of our society that we should be concerned about, not gun control. 

It is the increased stress that Americans are under, and the 1% that control the 99% causing economic inequity, it is the non-livable wages, lack of time off, lack of medical benefits and the high cost of medicine causing hard working Americans to sell their homes when things go wrong to pay the medical bills. It is the fear of our lives being compromised, losing our jobs, working more hours for less pay and isolation due to social media and television. It is these things that are causing more than 24 percent of American who live under extreme stress. Eight in 10 American’s suffer from stress. Seven people every 2 seconds die from stress every year worldwide, that is 110 million people and that was 2013 data. This number of deaths more than that from guns.

Ramos was stressed. Stress leads to all kinds of negative physical symptoms, panic attacks, anxiety, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, fears, phobias, ulcers, overeating, smoking, alcohol and drug use. Ramos lost it. Stress causes anxiety, and anxiety can lead to violence and aggressive behavior in some people. Ramos did a bad thing, he messed up and as a result lost his job. He felt bullied because although he pleaded guilty, he did not take responsibility for what he did. He felt powerless. 

The paper missed the signs. The continual threats and harassment of the paper and the lashing out reflected that Ramos was at a breaking point. He was both angry and stressed and that is a toxic combination. Again, I say it is not the gun, it is the person behind the gun that is the concern. We in the journalist world has lost comrades due to the moth holes in the moral tapestry that once held our country together. I pray for their families, I pray for their loved ones, I pray for those who are still alive at the paper and I pray for America.

Analysis of the American Missile Attack on Syria

LUCAS JACKSON / Reuters

Dear President Trump,

Regarding to Foreign Policy:
I am saddened by our recent strike in Syria. I disagree that this is for protection of America, this conflict is on foreign soil, not ours.  I am speaking from a person who served 10 years (non military) in the ME as a photojournalist/reporter, humanitarian worker with a master in conflict analysis.  Please do not pull our sentimental strings on this recent chemical attack as justification for us to spend money that we do not have to go into another country with feet on the ground diving into another endless war.
What did Assad have to gain by launching a chemical attack on his own citizens?  Nothing, because he knows the last thing that he needed to do when other countries are staring him down was to provoke  conflict with US, Britain, etc...  He is not a stupid man.  Where did the reporting come from regarding this attack? The doctor was a part of a group connected to the kidnapping of the British reporter, tweeted at the same time, videoing men with white helmets directly touching victims without protection and an Assad hating man released images. The nerve agent used will immediately kill those who come in contact within one minute of exposure, they need a gloves,  gas masks and no one was harmed without protection?  Hello?
You talk about fake news and propaganda, but where are your intelligent advisors?  This seems to be a story written for the dumbing of Americans.  This is a time warp situation, from 2003, to justify the evasion.  You could have been Blair or Bush.  Either the situation was created (beautiful babies? really?) to be a problem emotional reaction, solution.  My question to you is who benefits?  My conclusion is the benefit is to remove Assad from control and take over the country.  No one waited before we went in, to investigate the attack.  We do not know the delivery system of the attack, the principle is don't let too long go before response, because the chance to respond will get destroyed.
I now believe that you are also controlled by the same people Hillary was, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Libya were countries on her list. We were lied to once (Iraq) now it is the same.  I voted for you.  If this is not true,  then please, send me to DC and  let me speak to your generals.  Let me be on your advising team as an American citizen to offer a different perspective from those who have been in key positions for a long time. I speak four languages, worked in international mediation.

Thank you.

My additional take:

Nothing has changed, the same countries named the same situation.  Syria is a proxy war.  A British official admitted that two years ago that there were preparing something in Syria through the invasion of rebels. This is  before it all started, before the connection to Israel.  November 30, 2010, one month before the Arab Spring, US warfare unconventional warfare strategy requires that target state population perceptions are first grouped into accepting an armed interaction using propaganda, political psychological evidence to discredit the government creating local and national agitation, helping organize boycotts, public strikes and protests. to suggest public discontent before public propaganda, money, weapons and materials are brought in.  If the target country responds through retaliation then the resistance can exploit the negative consequences to garner more sympathy and support by the population emphasizing the sacrificing and hardships on the behalf of the people to use that for our benefit.

Putin could see where this was going before the U.S. election that they were not trying to remove ISIS from the Middle East and from Syria, because the idea was to use ISIS that America created was a way to get rid of Assad. (remember the loss of trillions of dollars in the pentagon?) If Putin did not give air support to Assad, then Assad would be gone by now.  The place would be overrun by Saudi funded, American ISIS madmen.  With the help of Putin's army, Assad has been able to push back these funded ISIS terrorists taking back Allepo and pushing back Palmyra.  The civil war has gone on for over 5 years where half the country has been destroyed.

The plan to remove Assad did not work with Putin being successful, the oil executives said for the first time that removing Assad would not be a prerequisite for solving the problem in Syria.  In turn, this Syrian gas attack, based on no evidence, has been used quickly to justify the incursion into Syria.

So now, where does that leave Russia and China?  The prize country or next country will be Iran.  If Syria goes as a result of this hoax then Iran and then Lebanon will be next.  Putin has called off the attack as unjustified, as he is right.  Remember how our mainstream media started talking about Russia lately, demonizing them as the enemy is all part of the strategy.

A side note:  This is a good example of how the public is duped by propaganda and fake news.  Mainstream reporters gets the daily telly, and if they question what they are reading then they are ridiculed by their peers.  This is arrogance and ignorance to transform global society into justification of power.

Think about the recent censorship going on with You Tube, Twitter and the tickers for Google news.  Think about how Germany is going to fine hate speech with 5 million in fines for social media.
The original plan? He did not let Russia know.