betsy

I would also like to add that on the contrary, it is never too soon to see a movie such as this....at a time like this, when we've seen the reality of terrorism, not on distant shores, but right here....on our doorstep. I do not think waiting years before we see this will do any benefit at all....it will end up being just like any other war movies based on true events....but somehow having the impact of "just another action movie", because it happened too long ago. We're far too removed from that reality. But this is about now. We're living this now. I would rather these heroes be immortalized now....when the impact of what they've done will serve an important purpose. Heroes not only save lives. They also inspire.

Columbine massacres? No. This type of movie? Yes. Well, the way I see it...this is more than just watching a group of people die. It is the way they took control. The way they chosed to die. The reality of terrorist acts make this movie significant in a way that it is celebrating the heroic deeds of this group who'd all come together united in a snap decision that not only saved the lives of thousands more....but may've also rekindled the spark of patriotism in everyone. I know that if faced with the same situation, held hostage and helpless in a plane....I would want to die the same way: fighting. If we're at war...we better start doing "propagandas" to stir up patriotism. That's what they did in the second world war. And what better "propaganda" it is than to see the re-enactment of real heroes....of this day and age....facing this new type of war. Terrorists will never feel so ease anymore in planes....they never know when there would be another United 93.

Probably for the same reason people stop at a roadside accident and watch victims hauled off on a stretcher. Or this new way of placing anything from flowers to teddy bears on the sites of death by strangers! There's no consistency in this public show of "grieving." I guess whomever gets your fancy or whomever gets the most prominent death coverage by the media gets this type of attention from compulsive mourners. And the younger the dead the more attention they get. Ever seen these displays when tragic victims are elderlies??? Yes, society has a fetish with violent death!

Jesus jumping Christ on a pogo stick. I know you're thick, but having your picture taken with someone doesn't mean you have any influence over them. Have another drink, Monty. I wonder where Clinton got the idea to rent out a famous room in the White House to hollywood celebrities. The Hanks? Streisand? Baldwins?

Even if three out of four families all clamor to have a photo-op with their sons' arrival in caskets....that lone family who wishes to maintain their privacy in grief must still be respected. This is not a matter of majority rules. The three families who wish the photo-ops can still have THEIR OWN INIDIVIDUAL PHOTO-OPS by inviting all the press in their private funerals or ceremonies. No one can claim being denied! As a matter of fact, even if ALL FAMILIES wanted the photo-ops...the military reserve the right to have their fallen comrades treated in the way the military deems proper inside the military installation!

Tune in to CTV Newsnet, the non-stop news channel. Up-to-date blow-by-blow account from imbedded journalists! And if anyone missed the count, don't worry....replays every 15 minutes or so. Why, this are the most exposed "hidden" news items there is! Been wondering...just what is it exactly about the tarmac in Trenton that's so different and turning the Liberals and NDP purple?

I disagree Geoffrey. This is as much a legitimate topic of a film as Pearl Harbour (From Here to Eternity) or the Holocaust (Schindler's List).I heard a CBC radio discussion this morning stating that "it's too soon" to show this United 93 movie. Mark Steyn, on the other hand, made the point that no one waited to make Casablanca. I posted above that it took over 85 years to make a film about the Titanic. (In fact, there was a 1950s Titanic movie.) It is often said that Hollywood is just a business, out to make a buck. And with that said, we can ignore Hollywood - as if business is not part of society, or part of culture, as if making a profit denies anyone the right to say anything. The story of this flight is as dramatic as it gets, but the story is also political. This film has every right to be made, every right to be part of American culture and every right to turn a profit for its investors. I don't think it's crass exploitation of a private tragedy. [bTW, I have heard that the family of all those innocents who died approved the script.] Link The film is due for release this Friday. If I'm not mistaken, parts of the proceed is going to a foundation that's related to 9/11.

Then and only then should it be "debt paid in full!"

Can the families of their victims sue? They may have paid their legal debt to society but what about their debt to their victims and their families? But no, seriously...can the families of these slain men sue? Because if the answer is yes...boy oh boy....it will really be cheaper to build up more holding facilities and just keep all these men in prison for as long as it takes. Minimum sentence ought to be 20 and no chance of parole either! Never mind the crap of serving 3/4 of the sentence.

Exactly! That's why the anti-war activists are politicising this to the utmost! They want to show the death toll...the body count!

Sorry, but what makes Dinning different from all the rest of spouses/parents who've lost a loved one? Why should his request be given any preferential treatment over others? Besides, if he wants the photo-op...why doesn't he invite them to his son's funeral?? I gather the coffin will still be draped in a flag. Does writing a letter elevates one to a higher status than the rest? Dinning is reacting with his emotions....and I wouldn't be surprised if he is being skillfully manipulated. If there's anyone doing the spitting here, it's those who are trying to use the soldiers and the families' grief to politicize the issue. The Liberals and the NDP! In this score, they're just one and the same...made from the same fabric! They're spitting on the slain soldiers! As for anyone wanting to see flag-draped coffins....somebody from MDuffy had volunteered to lend footage of films, just so to let the dead soldiers be and have them laid to rest in peace.... with honour, respect and dignity.

Harper had a good response to the Liberals/NDP who insists that some parents (Fathere of Dinning was the most prominent being used) want the press in Trenton, even after Harper said that there are parents who want to grieve in private and had express the wish not to have the press around: "Stop pitting families against each other!" Liberals and NDPs are not only dis-honouring our fallen soldiers by using their death to politicize.....they are also showing utter insensitivity, poor taste and ruthlessness of using just about anyone or anything (in this case, the girefs of families)...just to farther their agendas. Despicable! And they have the gall to sit infront of the cameras and trying to make you believe that their way is the way of honour. Maybe these politicians just simply don't know the meaning of honour.

Thats not what I hear them saying. Well, that's what a Talk Radio guy said on MDuffy...and I gather he got the message directly from a rep! The Canadian Legion also supports Harper decision. Also mentioned on MDuffy.

But that means Harper's policy are being met with approval! So all this Liberal and NDP crap insisting that "he won not because of his campaign policies....he only got a third of the vote...etc." seem to be proving them wrong. Worse, the polls are showing that people either approve or agree with Harper's decisions and moves so far (especially his head-butting with the media).

Well, if we're going to have a registry as part of the sentence (which endanger the lives of these ex-convicts), then just as they would if these convicts were still inside the prison, law enforcers should ensure that these felons are all protected. After all, basically...they're still "serving their sentences." Btw, can the family of the slain men sue?

Journalists and TV crews are imbedded in Afghanistan among our soldiers. They are recording as bodies are taken into trucks and during ceremonies as they are loaded into planes. Actually, one journalist commented that this has been the most "open" war that we've had. So no one can say that this government is trying to hide the dead from the public. Btw, a soldier told of the tasteless and insensitive question a reporter asked his son as they were bidding farewell: "Do you think your daddy will ever come back home?"

Update: Decima research placed the Tories close to majority at 41%!! And if I'm not mistaken, that doesn't include Quebec. MDuffy said it lightly, but looked like he couldn't believe it. "Is Harper getting to the people over the heads of the press? How dare he." The journalist answered: "Yes, he's talking to the people over the press....and he's getting stronger. Especially in Quebec." So now they've got really something to grumble about.

8% of peds will re-offend. What about the 92% who won't? The killer was found to have a long list of names taken from the registry. Who knows how many more would've been executed had he not committed suicide. The best way is to train your child to steer away from ANY possible situations that may endanger his safety. Getting a child to focus on ONE PARTICULAR KNOWN EX-OFFENDER could backfire....with the child's vigilance being lulled into false security when he is among others! This ex-offender will be the "big bad wolf" with children. They'll end up tending to watch out only for him!

You ever wonder why on earth an 8 year old willingly gets in a stranger's car? She was fed a line....a very plausible line that was hard for an eight year old to deal with. So kids better learn how to handle those pitches.

My mom used to give me various scenarios and how to handle them. One of them that stuck most in my mind was: What will you do if someone comes to you and say, 'your mommy was in an accident and is in the hospital....and she needs you right away. She asked me to come and fetch you. Hurry."

Let's say some new guy moved in next door to you, your wife and 2 kids. Seems like a nice guy, helped you push you car out a snowbank one morning, had a beer over the back fence with him and talked about how you both dislike the skyrocketing salaries of pro athletes. Then your wife calls and tells you she just got a flat tire about 10 miles from home. You wonder if he would mind watching your kids for 1/2 hr while you help the wife... Would you if his name was in the registry? Or would you have already told your kids, "Never, ever go near that man"? So what happens if one of the kids in the neighborhood disappeared? The practical response is to go after this registered guy living in your area. The suspicion and investigation most likely will focus around him. Worse, he could even be lynched before the cops step in. Then years later you find you've got another Milgaard. The child was killed by someone else...perhaps even by her own parents...or cousin...or sister's boyfriend. Majority of child crimes are perpetuated by people whom the child or the family knows. If I am a sex offender bent on re-offending, will I be dumb enough to do my crime against someone from my own community...when I know for a fact that everyone will be upon me? Why should I mess up my own backyard...when actually, this backyard can provide me with some nice "cover?" Only a dumb convict with a death wish...or with an uncontrollable impulsive urge...will commit a crime in his own neighborhood, knowing that everyone knows who and what he is. Some criminals have the intelligence of a Bundy. So yes, we'll be lulled into a false sense of security. Our eyes will mostly be on this guy whom we know.....and we'll tend to overlook the other unknown who lurks about. Vigilance with our children and constant reminder of the dangers is what we need to focus on. Like animals of the wild, you train your young to survive any predators that lurks about.

It is like the Inquisition. I do understand the fear and anger....but is it just? If this registry is part of the sentence...then the system has a responsibility to protect these offenders. They provide protection to inmates inside the prison whom they deemed would be in danger from fellow inmates ....then they should provide the same since obviously the registry will put the offender at high risk.

Apparently the veterans are not in favor of lowering the flag. They say soldiers fight and die to keep that flag up!

Do we need to see coffins as proof before we believe that these soldiers died? Why do you have the need to see the coffins? Don't we know and understand what "dead" means? What good or benefit does it do other than to satisfy the morbid curiosity of some...and the agenda of those who wish to politicize or use the tragedy for some other reasons? Do you do a tally how many died? Only with shown coffins counted as "really dead?" These men are fighting in war. Death comes with war. SUPPORT THEM by: keeping their morale up...and that includes trying to be brave and solidly united and standing behind them as a nation and facing the reality of war as best we could...to the point of keeping a stiff upper lip in the face of grief!

Yes there are two ways to look at this, as Geoffrey says vouyerism should be avoided, but showing the caskets come off the plane is not vouyerism, smacks too much of Bush's not allowing any coverage of caskets returning. Since a lot of people only look at the too bit bites in television, then what a good way to keep them from really realizing these soldiers died. Harper know this is unpopular and he is trying to hide it. Who says he doesn't have hidden agendas. So what's wrong if the Tories had taken a page out of Bush's? That's really what had the media in a knit....it's not really about the dead and this event. This tragedy just happened to be a convenient way to USE and say that Harper is the other "evil twin" of "evil" Bush! Besides, why do we need to see flag-draped coffins everytime some poor soldier gets killed? So they can be politicized and used by just about anyone who had something to gain by these deaths? Why does it have to be made into a circus??? What's the difference between the grief of a mother/wife of any other person to the grief of the parents/spouse of a soldier? Are they not all human??? The best way to honour these soldiers is to let them keep their dignity in death!