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Monday, May 14, 2007
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Posted By CNN: 12:03 PM ET
  7 Comments
No report on Canada winning the world hockey tournament eh?

Well, we have free health care.
Posted By Em, Toronto, Ontario, Canada : 1:11 PM ET
This is a tough situation. These soldiers are being held and probably tortured, if they are still alive. They are being held by vermin, the lowest class of subhumans. I feel terrible for these men and their families.

People complain about Club Gitmo, but the prisoners there are treated humanely and within the Geneva convention (even though the Geneva convention doesn't apply to them).

As far as these terrorists saying not to look for the soldiers, will these terrorist stop from putting these brave men on Al Jazeera? I'm sure video will be out shortly.

I think it is excellent that the Iraqi govt. is cutting back on its broadcasting of bad news. Bad news happens, but so does good news. Good news just doesn't get reported. A good question here is; is the media irresponsible, or is this just what we as consumers tell the media we want by giving higher ratings to bad news?

The govt's of Iraq and the U.S. need to view what is being put out. As much as I hate cutting back on freedoms, freedom of the press can go too far, and the press of the western nations has been irresponsible in its reporting. In the effort to maintain "journalistic integrity" by not taking sides, the mainstream media is giving credibility to our enemies.

Fair reporting is one thing, but journalists must decide who they want to win. If the terrorists win, there will be no free press, religion, speech, or any of the values that we hold dear. The beauty of America is that even though I am an independent conservative, and someone else is a toe the line republican, democrat, Atheist, Muslim, Fascist, Communist or whatever, that is their right. They are allowed to believe whatever they want. If our enemies win, we will lose our freedoms. What is better, a LITTLE less freedom for a time, or complete freedom for a few years before we have NO FREEDOM whatsoever?
Posted By Nestor, Austin, TX : 1:15 PM ET
In response to journalist John Sweeney yelling at Scientology representative Tommy Davis about whether Scientology is a valid religion, I have to say that Sweeney was totally out of line. Sweeney has no right to legislate people about their beliefs regardless of the free speech or being a British subject or anything. It is a reporter's job to report what is out there and the people need to decide whether how they feel about it. Reporters should never try to influence subjects that they are reporting on about his own personal views.

He should feel bad about the streaming video of him looking like a red tomato or something to that effect. It should make him cringe; also, he should be saying something to the effect of, I look so unprofessional and I look like I have never had any training in journalism at all.

I hope Mr. Sweeney learns from this experience, and while on the job, do what he is supposed to do in a professional manner.
Posted By Sylvie Grace, Atlanta, Georgia : 1:39 PM ET
AC360:

I swim every day at a YMCA located near a military recruitment office.

Every week, five or six young people come to the Y to sharpen their swimming skills to pass military swim tests for active duty. I look at them and realize how young they are, how naive they are, how vulnerable they are.

I sometimes strike up a conversation with these recruits, and I have come to the conclusion that their enlistment has nothing to do with the fighting the insurgency in the Iraq War.

Going into the military has to do with the college money they will receive after military service; it is the thrill of adventure going to other countries and "kicking butt"; or it is because they cannot find a good living wage or descent job to support a young family.

But what I don't hear is the idealistic momentum for success in Iraq from these young people. They have no idea what they are going to be facing.

Surprisingly, it is like they are playing Russian roulette, but they are willing to take the chance.

What I want to say to them is that it is not a video game, it is not an episode of "The Unit" or "24"; this is reality. Many Americans, Iraqis, and civilians have died and will die.

Whether President Bush needs 100,000 or 500,000 more troops, I don't think it has to do with 911 anymore. It is about bodies and manpower to fight the war.

As for the young people I have spoken to at the YMCA, I wish them well and safety. I wish I could tell them why we are there. But I cannot.
Posted By Sharon D., Indianapolis, IN : 4:47 PM ET
"People complain about Club Gitmo, but the prisoners there are treated humanely and within the Geneva convention"

Actually, Nestor, we have no real way of verifying this, beyond what the government tells us. But of course, they would never LIE to us, would they??

"If the terrorists win, there will be no free press, religion, speech, or any of the values that we hold dear."

Stalking horse argument. Al Queda does not want to take over the USA - they just want us out of the Middle East.

" What is better, a LITTLE less freedom for a time, or complete freedom for a few years before we have NO FREEDOM whatsoever?"

More stalking horse. There's no such thing as giving up a LITTLE freedom for a period of time and then getting it back. Freedom given up is freedom you will have to fight for (and I mean spill blood over) later.

"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" - Ben Franklin.
Posted By Arachnae, Sterling VA : 5:49 PM ET
Re the link to "Iraqi insurgents warn":

Al Queda wants to convert everyone Christian to Muslim. If we don't convert we will see 9/11 type events. To combat this phenomenon we must face the evil. This whole premise is so simple and yet people fail to see that pre-emptive strikes and rooting out terrorism in Iraq and other places in the Middle East is essential. Why does the media continually downplay Muslims attempting to strike Christians, as is the case with the Fort Dix story? Every few weeks we hear another story with similar elements, yet the news outlets refuse to call an Islamo-fascist as Islamo-fascist.
Posted By xtina - chicago IL : 6:52 PM ET
Dear AC360 and viewers,

First... the terrorist organization telling us not to look for our soldiers...

What audacity. That is, quite possibly, THE most obnoxious thing I have ever heard of. Of course we're going to look for them you terrorist twits; now don't be so stupid. I am now more convinced than ever that the age and maturity of the terrorists is going down rapidly. I'm sure they felt the same way I do when G.W. Bush said the same thing about Saddam Hussein. Just like George Bush, who the hell are they to tell us what to do about our own citizens, brothers, and cousins; how to run our government?

Second... in regards to Mr. Sweeney... I think that was hilarious. It is the reality of how things get out of hand in an arguement. The frightening thing is the level of arrogance.
Of course the scientologist organization should record reporters. That doesn't give them the right to take only snippets of a reporters work and react only to what suites them to react to. That doesn't give them the right to take a report entirely out of context. But, like all bullies, their goal is to frustrate and demean, not as a side affect of truth, but as the goal of instigating and inciting anger.

I'm happy Mr. Sweeney got it all out. It's about time Smart Alec's like that got their comeupance.

Then again, I find the idea of relying on an imaginary friend for anything tasteless and ultimately useless.

Thirdly... the beating of a 91 year old man... with witnesses and not in a side hallway?!

Disgusted. I'm thoroughly disgusted. Not only should that man be identified and arrested, so should those mooks standing around doing nothing because it's not their business and they don't wanna snitch.

How truly pathetic and craven their lives must be.
Posted By James Foley Kamiah, Idaho : 11:19 PM ET
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