ISIS: It appears the 2nd Japanese hostage has been murdered

[Soulman]

I appreciate that they purport to be religious but in reality it's just about power over others by using force and intimidation.

Ok, but there must be something in their religion that makes them kill and slaughter their own as well as others. Perhaps you disagree but we'll say the extreme part of this religion is killing all over the world, Europe, Asia, Middle East...all over.

 

[drew]

Yes i find your comment about Isis followers not being religious quite laughable. You can deny it all you want to yourself.

Fair enough but my view is based on the fact that I don't have any religious beliefs and in my opinion virtually all religions are about power over others rather than some divine afterlife. The power is in the hands of those at the top of the tree. I'm sure there are loads of followers who foolishly think it is for religious reasons.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Chimneys - I don't despise anyone on nsc,least of all you.Where did I say 'told you so'
IF my son and I were offered loads of money plumbing work in Syria and got caught by Isil would it be our fault or your fault?

You would be there to make money. The humongous difference is that he was there to report on human suffering. He's not going to find that in Costa Del Sol, but I imagine you might be able to pick up some work.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

https://cpj.org/blog/2015/01/kenji-gotos-reporting-is-voice-of-humanity-in-time.php

Kenji Goto, the 47-year-old television journalist held captive by the Islamic State (IS), is not a typical reporter, nor is he typically Japanese. But his courage and commitment to broadcasting humane stories from some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones would put him at the pinnacle of his profession anywhere in the world. It was such courage that took him to Syria last year, where he was taken hostage.

After the tragic murder last week of his fellow hostage and friend, Haruna Yukawa, the militant group released a statement conditioning his release on a swap with a woman imprisoned in Jordan after a failed suicide bombing. Today, IS released a video with a voiceover said to be Goto's, which claims he has 24 hours left to live unless his captors' demands are met. Whatever the outcome, Goto's capture is an outrage.

I met Goto in 2010 when I was bureau chief for The Economist in Tokyo. He was an occasional neighbor, when he wasn't visiting trouble spots in the Middle East. He is a much-loved father, who has three children. It is hard to reconcile the soft-spoken, gentle man, who once paled in a bowling alley because the sound of the balls reminded him of bombs dropping on Iraq, with the image of a hardened war correspondent. But he covers wars with a difference. Instead of focusing on who is winning or losing, he tells the stories of ordinary people, especially children, who are forced to endure conflict and the horrors surrounding them. It is their resilience that inspires him, he says. When you ask how he reaches the dangerous places he reports from, he says he follows the footsteps of normal people getting on with their lives. They show him the way.

Since founding his news agency, Independent Press, in 1996, he has covered conflict in Chechnya, Albania, Kosovo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, among other places. As a freelancer, he funds many of these trips himself. In Japan, there is an almost tribal loyalty between TV networks and their staff, but Goto has won the respect of the networks by visiting places they are reluctant to send their correspondents to. His documentaries regularly air on NHK, Japan's national network, TV Asahi and others. But he would insist on taking responsibility for his own safety so they would not be blamed if he came to any harm. His friends think that was the point of his last video, recorded on October 25, before his kidnap, in which he said he took full responsibility for his actions.

Goto has experienced the full horror of war. In Liberia, friends recall, he talked about seeing hundreds of bodies being bulldozed into a grave the size of a swimming pool. In Iraq, he said a soldier put a gun to his head. But he has sought to draw out lessons from his reporting that are uplifting, especially for children. His DVD and book, Welcome to Our School, brought out by NHK in 2003, featured children in countries including Iraq and Afghanistan introducing their schools, even those closed by conflict, and talking about their love of learning. He has also written books about AIDS, child soldiers in Sierra Leone, genocide in Rwanda, and schoolgirls in Afghanistan. On visits to schools, he has told children in Japan how privileged they are that school is such a "normal" part of life.

On Japanese television he has brought the outside world to children with little knowledge of it. Akira Ikegami, a TV anchor, recalls hosting Goto on a NHK family news program where he tried so hard to project the pain of youngsters living in war-torn regions of the Middle East that it had a moving impact on the viewers. "He is a warm-hearted guy who has a sense of duty in his reporting," Ikegami told me via email. Ikegami added that most Japanese tend to regard conflict in far-flung places as alien. But with his humanitarian approach, Goto has stirred up interest and inspired some to start voluntary work on behalf of refugees.

In Japan, the popular pressure to free him is growing, after a hesitant start in which some attacked him on social media for being in Syria in the first place. An #IamKenji campaign on Facebook and Twitter has mushroomed. There had been growing hope he would be freed alongside Muath al-Kasabeh, the Jordanian fighter pilot also held by IS. However the latest video, if authentic, suggests Goto and the pilot remain in grave danger. A brave journalist who is a voice of humanity in the midst of atrocity is in the midst of a tragic hostage situation. He should be freed.

Barrel of Fun you have informed me of what a good fella he was. Much like all the other men who have been murdered.
They took their chances for whatever reason.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

You would be there to make money. The humongous difference is that he was there to report on human suffering. He's not going to find that in Costa Del Sol, but I imagine you might be able to pick up some work.

Don't be patronising its unbecoming of your 52,500 posts

 

[Soulman]

Kenji Goto, the 47-year-old television journalist held captive by the Islamic State (IS), is not a typical reporter, nor is he typically Japanese. But his courage and commitment to broadcasting humane stories from some of the world's most dangerous conflict zones would put him at the pinnacle of his profession anywhere in the world. It was such courage that took him to Syria last year, where he was taken hostage.
He is a much-loved father, who has three children. It is hard to reconcile the soft-spoken, gentle man, who once paled in a bowling alley because the sound of the balls reminded him of bombs dropping on Iraq, with the image of a hardened war correspondent. But he covers wars with a difference. Instead of focusing on who is winning or losing, he tells the stories of ordinary people, especially children, who are forced to endure conflict and the horrors surrounding them. It is their resilience that inspires him, he says. When you ask how he reaches the dangerous places he reports from, he says he follows the footsteps of normal people getting on with their lives. They show him the way.

Truly sad RIP.

 

[Algernon]

You can't take a chance of reaching any agreement with these ISIS idiots. They are evidently thick and uncivilised, and evolution, progress and reason appear to have passed them by. Best just to eradicate them when the opportunity arises. Don't go over there and expect to be treated in a civilised way.
Saying that, he had every right to make his choice but it didn't work out for him or unfortunately his relatives and all who knew him. RIP brave chap.

 

[The Birdman]

Missed opportunity. Infect the slag in the Jordanian prison with Ebola. Release her back to ISIS. Job done!

Or with a tracking device and then send a drone in to finish her and maybe a few more of the waxkxrs.

 

[Crispy Ambulance]

Or with a tracking device and then send a drone in to finish her and maybe a few more of the waxkxrs.

And an IED up her toilet area for good measure!

 

[symyjym]

Their most powerful weapon is having a global audience at their fingertips and the ability to display their trophies on the internet within minutes.

They are clearly at war with the rest of the world and it could be considered that World War 3 has already started in all but name.

 

[pastafarian]

i had a lump in my throat tonight for the poor guys mother,having to previously plead for his life on global television clearly distraught and looking frail.

No mother should ever be put in the situation of pleading for her sons life because of some religious islamic nutters.

Nutters from islam killing people,christian nutters saying the world is only 6000 years old,Buddhist nutter extremists killing people,Hindu nutters killing muslims in India,Zionist militants nutters killing Palestinians.Mormon nutters saying yes its true Jesus was in America,

i wish you would all just **** off and leave us normaltons in peace.

 

[Wilko]

i had a lump in my throat tonight for the poor guys mother,having to previously plead for his life on global television clearly distraught and looking frail.

No mother should ever be put in the situation of pleading for her sons life because of some religious islamic nutters.

Nutters from islam killing people,christian nutters saying the world is only 6000 years old,Buddhist nutter extremists killing people,Hindu nutters killing muslims in India,Zionist militants nutters killing Palestinians.Mormon nutters saying yes its true Jesus was in America,

i wish you would all just **** off and leave us normaltons in peace.

This. My hope is that religion is attempting one last desperate kick of life before it fades and dies into history. I want religion to die but it is not going to die without a fight.

 

[hitony]

i had a lump in my throat tonight for the poor guys mother,having to previously plead for his life on global television clearly distraught and looking frail.

No mother should ever be put in the situation of pleading for her sons life because of some religious islamic nutters.

Nutters from islam killing people,christian nutters saying the world is only 6000 years old,Buddhist nutter extremists killing people,Hindu nutters killing muslims in India,Zionist militants nutters killing Palestinians.Mormon nutters saying yes its true Jesus was in America,

i wish you would all just **** off and leave us normaltons in peace.

I too saw the video of the Mother begging for her sons life, as a Father of 3 (now adult children) I can't begin to feel how that poor woman must feel, I only hope she is somehow strong enough to get through it all, I doubt it though, how does a human being get over something like that?

 

[pastafarian]

I too saw the video of the Mother begging for her sons life, as a Father of 3 (now adult children) I can't begin to feel how that poor woman must feel, I only hope she is somehow strong enough to get through it all, I doubt it though, how does a human being get over something like that?

well said......it was horrible to watch,imagine your own mother in the same situation....WTF are these religious nutters thinking....these people are pond life of the lowest order.

 

[Hillian1]

Religion of peace, etc, etc.

 

[Hampster Gull]

if it was my son..very hard to say but agree ..pay up/give in once and floodgates of Kidnap would open...

Yes, i am sure if it was my kid i would want us to pay up but long term its not the right thing

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

Just to clarify the point early about the female suicide bomber and IS not really wanting her back...she was heavily involved in the planning and deployment of the attack. They want her back for two reasons 1. It's hard to find suicide bombers (no matter what people think) 2. She has planning skills that are also valuable.

 

[cjd]

Just to clarify the point early about the female suicide bomber and IS not really wanting her back...she was heavily involved in the planning and deployment of the attack. They want her back for two reasons 1. It's hard to find suicide bombers (no matter what people think) 2. She has planning skills that are also valuable.

Utter rubbish.

If she was that valuable for her planning skills, she wouldn't have gone in as a suicide bomber. It was 10 years ago that her and her scumbag husband perpetrated their murderous crimes. She is out of date now for any 'planning skills' she had.....i.e. 'how to detonate a 'suicide vest'.

Finally, she changed her story at her trial and said she was forced to carry out what eventually became a failed suicide.

As for it being hard to find suicide bombers......no problem for these muslim terrorists......just find a 10 year old girl and strap the bombs to them.

 

[Uncle Spielberg]

Who paid him to go then.
I'll ignore being called a cock until we meet up one day.
Don't remember calling him anything-you did that.

I think he went there to try and negotiate the release of the other Japanese hostage, both murdered now. He was a well known journalist in Japan, akin to John Simpson

 

[Sergei's Celebration]

Utter rubbish.

If she was that valuable for her planning skills, she wouldn't have gone in as a suicide bomber. It was 10 years ago that her and her scumbag husband perpetrated their murderous crimes. She is out of date now for any 'planning skills' she had.....i.e. 'how to detonate a 'suicide vest'.

Finally, she changed her story at her trial and said she was forced to carry out what eventually became a failed suicide.

As for it being hard to find suicide bombers......no problem for these muslim terrorists......just find a 10 year old girl and strap the bombs to them.

Sure...it's utter rubbish...I just made it up and based it on nothing more than moon dust.

can you not do something now that you did ten years ago? She and her husband planned it on their own...that's where value is.

The use of none victim operating / self detonating suicide vests requires 3rd parties normally in line of sight of the attack. 10 year olds can't be trusted to detonate. So a willful adult is always better.