February 2, 1999

Name That Dictator 3

… but we can’t get near the plants where he’s making it.

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The Libyans took more than 150 reporters, photographers and camera operators to the plant site Saturday, but the trip amounted to a view from a half-mile away followed by a quick drive around the outside in darkness.

The Libyans would not even point out which of the dozen or so concrete buildings was the source of all the controversy. Asked if a large industrial-looking structure was the facility in question, a functionary shrugged and said, “As you wish.” (1/10/89, Chicago Tribune)

Iraq has again denied U.S. weapons inspectors access to a site despite Baghdad’s promise of full cooperation, a U.N. spokesman said yesterday. A Baghdad-based chemical monitoring team seeking entry to a warehouse on Friday that had been inspected many times was denied access because it was the Muslim Sabbath, said [a U.N.] spokesman… (12/15/98, Associated Press [via Boston Globe])

When in doubt, trying rallying the ‘Arab nation’ …

The Dictator defiantly urged his forces to fight back as one hospital reported five people had been killed and about 30 injured in U.S.-led air strikes against Country X’s capital yesterday.

“Our great people and our brave armed forces … resist and fight them,” the Dictator said in a statement carried by the official Country X news agency. …

“Fight the enemies of God, the Arab nation and humanity. God willing, you will be the victors.” (Toronto Star)

Country X radio issued a call to arms Tuesday to its citizens and the entire Arab world to strike out everywhere at Americans in retaliation for the U.S. attack on Country X, warning that those who do not heed will be “cursed forever.”

“To arms, O sons of our Arab nation, to dive on all targets which belong to terrorist America,” Country X’s radio said in a broadcast monitored in London. (Chicago Tribune)

Which is Libya and which is Iraq?

Get the answer — and the next scenario.

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WHO DOESN’T LOVE A POSITIVE STORY—OR TWO?

“Great journalism really does make a difference in this world: it can even save kids.”

That’s what a civil rights lawyer wrote to Julia Lurie, the day after her major investigation into a psychiatric hospital chain that uses foster children as “cash cows” published, letting her know he was using her findings that same day in a hearing to keep a child out of one of the facilities we investigated.

That’s awesome. As is the fact that Julia, who spent a full year reporting this challenging story, promptly heard from a Senate committee that will use her work in their own investigation of Universal Health Services. There’s no doubt her revelations will continue to have a big impact in the months and years to come.

Like another story about Mother Jones’ real-world impact.

This one, a multiyear investigation, published in 2021, exposed conditions in sugar work camps in the Dominican Republic owned by Central Romana—the conglomerate behind brands like C&H and Domino, whose product ends up in our Hershey bars and other sweets. A year ago, the Biden administration banned sugar imports from Central Romana. And just recently, we learned of a previously undisclosed investigation from the Department of Homeland Security, looking into working conditions at Central Romana. How big of a deal is this?

“This could be the first time a corporation would be held criminally liable for forced labor in their own supply chains,” according to a retired special agent we talked to.

Wow.

And it is only because Mother Jones is funded primarily by donations from readers that we can mount ambitious, yearlong—or more—investigations like these two stories that are making waves.

About that: It’s unfathomably hard in the news business right now, and we came up about $28,000 short during our recent fall fundraising campaign. We simply have to make that up soon to avoid falling further behind than can be made up for, or needing to somehow trim $1 million from our budget, like happened last year.

If you can, please support the reporting you get from Mother Jones—that exists to make a difference, not a profit—with a donation of any amount today. We need more donations than normal to come in from this specific blurb to help close our funding gap before it gets any bigger.

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