Home Cool News Coaxial Reviews Zone Chat Contact Us Sign in

Talkbacks

THIRST
by THE KNIGHT
Oct 22nd, 2007
09:27:59 AM
...
MEANS I'M THIRSTY FOR FIRST
by THE KNIGHT
Oct 22nd, 2007
09:28:23 AM
...

by carneguisada
Oct 22nd, 2007
09:39:00 AM
it looks really good!
Sadly...
by MarkWhittington
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:25:50 AM
...another in the line of anti American, anti military films Hollywood seems bent on releasing from which the public seems to be staying away in droves. Proof that film makers don't always make what the people want.
and now for something completely different
by The_Blood_is_Love
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:33:16 AM
I think the very idea of this movie is a lame attempt at sapping gravitas from the Iraq war. No soldier is unaware of the fact that a stop-loss can affect them, and having a pissy little breakdown is not an exscuse for drama. I really doubt this movie is going to stand up on its own.
MarkWittington...
by Divine_Shadow
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:50:20 AM
There is absolutely nothing "Anti-American" about being "Anti-Military"/Anti-Violence. As a matter of fact, the ONLY way one can actually be Anti-American is to unquestionably obey and support, absolutely everything the establishment does. This is still a Democracy and the U.S. Constitution is still in fact the Supreme Law of the land. It is not only our Right, but our Duty as citizens as such to QUESTION the morality of our corrupt government. But as for the film, yeah...big waste of time, but nobody is forcing it down your throat. If you don't want to see it, by all means...DON'T.
"JUST TELL ME HE'S OK!!!!"
by Bill Brasky
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:36:24 AM
"DO YOU WANT TO WIN THE WAR ON TERROR?!?!?"
by Bill Brasky
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:36:47 AM
Hollywood, please evicerate yourself, immediately.
by Bill Brasky
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:38:05 AM
You fuckwads.
Who cares about the politics...
by Buffalo500
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:39:28 AM
...Abbie Cornish is in this!
These movies are too freakin' preachy...
by www.revyou.tv
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:42:47 AM
Hollywood is so desperate to change our minds that it's really off-putting. They're like that crazy dude on the corner shouting "The World's Gonna End!" and wondering why no one's listening. A lot of the good anti-Vietnam movies were just powerful stories with no agendas. Take a look even at RED DAWN with Christian Bale that came out earlier this year. That's a better anti-war movie than all of these other recent movies because you look at what happened to this POW and think "Man, he shouldn't even have been there." Audiences are actually pretty smart and can make these connections, believe it or not...
FINALLY HOLLYWOOD IS DOING ITS PATRIOTIC DUTY
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:45:47 AM
to call attention to all the cover-ups by the Bush Administration. Stop-Loss is nothing more than a backdoor draft designed to keep the active military in place to fuel the Bush NeoCon Endless War. It's a travesty to impose this policy on these soldiers, who have done their duty and deserve to go home.

Let Bill Brasky, MarkWhittington and AnimalStructure take their place, since they're such hardcore warmongers. From the way they post I'm sure they can dismantle the insurgency in a month.

The flip side to the Stop-Loss Backdoor Draft policy was Rumsfeld incredulous shift of military operations to private contractors. Blackwater being just one of many (including Giuliani's own "consulting" company). His purpose was to create a private military force that did not have to (theoretically) answer to the Geneva Conventions, while lining the pockets of the private companies. It was not only a scam on the American taxpayers, but the most egregious insult to the military.

Bill Brasky come back safe, I'll put a magnet on the car for you.

BILL BRASKY'S MOM: "JUST TELL ME HE'S OKAY!!!!"
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:48:21 AM
Military Officer: "He's not only okay, he lost 150 pounds at boot camp. What the hell have you been feeding his fat ass, lady?"
BringingSexyBack...
by Bill Brasky
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:52:18 AM
You sad little fuck. What's the hardest thing that you have ever had to do? Scrape your bowl for resin, or drive through rush hour traffic? I have been deployed, three times in fact, and there have been people how have put magnets on their bumpers for me; i.e., like my parents, my wife, and my friends. Most people out there aren't elitist conspiracy theorists like you man. You are just a sorry little whinning piece of shit. Oh, and warmongering? Do you actully think that I WANT to go back over there? You stupid fucking loser, you don't even know what it is like to sacrifice anything, you just do what feels good don't you?
Might be a good time capsule of our era
by Mullah Omar
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:57:26 AM
I don't expect this to be a hit - at all - but this is the sort of film that people can see in 10+ years to get a glimpse of how people today were affected the the US government's abuse of an otherwise sensible policy hat SHOULD have been reserved for emergencies rather than for coverups of its incompetence and unpreparedness. Even today, most non-military people have no idea what stop-loss means or the impact it has on fellow Americans, their families, their businesses, etc. I don't have any idea whether this will end up being a good FILM overall, but I'd say that the concept alone justifies its creation.
Stop What?
by KenobiFan
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:03:20 PM
Nobody cares…really. Besides, like most movies out today, we’re already awaiting the next sequel in the GWB series... GULF WAR 3: I CAME, I SAW, IRAN! ..and like most sequels, it will be even more expensive and more pointless than the last installment.
This era will be looked upon in disgust...
by Bill Clay
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:08:43 PM
...by future historians. Sort of the way we shake our heads today and wonder why the German public was doing nothing about the atrocities committed by their government during WWII. Fuhrer Bush is already talking about WWIII, but don't be "unpatriotic" and question him!
BringingSexyBack
by The_Blood_is_Love
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:13:33 PM
I give your troll a 7/10 for good grammar and usage of paragraphs. You lack curse words and your attacks on other members needs to be a little more agressive, however.
Better version of trailer
by Librerarian
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:14:37 PM
This one actually plays: http://tinyurl.com/yolvme
Totally OFF the subject...
by Reynard Muldrake
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:15:30 PM
but would Halloween be too early for a Dark Knight trailer??? http://www.superherohype.com/n ews/topnews.php?id=6421
new Kimberly Pierce movie = rejoicing
by Librerarian
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:19:09 PM
Boys Don't Cry may have been too depressing to watch more than once, but it was a well made movie with a point... and it had a perfect, tangible sense of location and character. It's too bad Pierce hasn't done much since... she's one of those American directors who made a great film in 1999 (excellent year for film) and then disappeared. This effort is certainly welcome.
Bill Clay
by RickP66
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:20:16 PM
This era will indeed be looked upon in disgust because of traitorous, anti-American ideologues who have put their own, twisted socialism above the continued existence of their nation.
If you don't like politics in art, stop watching movies
by IndustryKiller!
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:24:08 PM
How did some of you people become so apathetic? When exactly did you start to feel that cinema should exist purely as an entertainment? Because that is just about as egregious a crime against art as you could possibly commit. I mean it's just total and utter bullshit, and I suspect that is why there isn't a single decent conservative artist in our times. We are at war, people are dying, is the finality of that somehow lost on you? Not only that but no matter how much you support this war, no matter how conservative you are, you have to admit that the whole thing has gone completely to hell and that at this point is arguable at best. Allow me to repeat that, if you are a man of logic it is arguable at BEST, no matter what your point of view is. So artists are doing what they do best, making an argument. It's important that films like this and Rendition, and (hopefully) Redacted get made. We can argue that they fail to make their point, like I did on this very site when I posted the very first review of In the Valley of Elah, but we should never ever say that they shouldn't have been made on principle alone. That is just dangerous and it isn't going to happen, thank god, so if you don't like it I suggest you find a new hobby.
I can't believe someone actually said "Furher Bush"
by odysseus
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:35:28 PM
That leftists so cavalierly compare this era and its president to the atrocites committed by Hitler's Germany is offensive. People whine about "our eroding civil rights" who never had to live with truly insidious government oppression (i.e. the Stasi in East Germany, or... Saddam's Iraq). I'm not saying there aren't big problems with what's going on -- but when lefties constantly use hyperbole and hysterics, over time it erodes their arguments -- like crying wolf. I know; am a former lefty, and saw it all the time. (And no, I'm not a right-winger now, either.)
Fuhrer Bush indeed.
by polyh3dron
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:52:16 PM
He's been eroding the middle class dramatically since becoming President and has also been eroding our constitutional rights.
You lost me at, "It stars Ryan Phillippe as a soldier."
by Pound Sand
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:52:40 PM
You just helped make my point, polyh3dron
by odysseus
Oct 22nd, 2007
12:57:58 PM
Iraq war was unwinnable from day 1
by KnightShift
Oct 22nd, 2007
01:15:56 PM
Saddam, twisted evil man that he was, did have one virtue by his presence as Iraq's leader: he kept the country from destroying itself. Iraq is really 3 major factions (and numerous smaller ones) left over from the Ottoman Empire's collapse, that the western powers (and Winston Churchill was one of the biggest sponsors of this) insisted be "mashed together" to form what became the present-day nation of Iraq. We demanded - and we keep demanding - that Iraq be a "unified country" when in reality it's anything but that. And the ONLY way to keep that "country" from destroying itself is to have a strongman in charge, like what Tito did in Yugoslavia. Someone who will lay the smack down on anyone who attempts to get out of line, and also keeps any one faction from getting too powerful and threatening the others. Or else it all comes apart at the seams and you have the different groups fighting for power and control over *everything*. That's the ONE thing that Saddam was good for, but only because WE were the ones who kept insisting that Iraq be ONE country instead of letting it be partitioned... which would have been the wise thing to have done from the getgo. But now Saddam is gone and the United States has filled the strongman role: something we never should have done because (a) we can't manage it (witness the growing use of contractors like Blackwater) and (b) the moment we leave, Iraq starts to destroy itself all over again. Hence, we'll never be able to leave and the country remain "unified". A wiser President should have known this would have happened.
not Furher bush...
by s0nicdeathmonkey
Oct 22nd, 2007
01:19:02 PM
George the Second.
TOO MANY IRAQ MOVIES
by The Winged Doucheman
Oct 22nd, 2007
01:24:20 PM
There is a glut of preachy 30-60 yr/old demo Iraq movies right now. Its like the f'n penguins. I guarantee a tidal wave of fish out of water athlete gets little kid they didn't know about films following the success of the game plan. Hollywood tries to capitalize whenever a filmmaker catches lightning in a bottle. Then they lose out. This is why popcorn movies by Michael Bay make money. They are predictable and guaranteed to put asses in the seats at your local multiplex (The Island excluded). My only question is this: What was the successful Iraq movie model that spawned this overflow of similar films?
Veteran Perspective
by hechtal
Oct 22nd, 2007
01:54:18 PM
I know that is talkback is going to descend into a political battleground, just wanted to say that as much as I don't like preachy Hollywood films, it's good to see something about Stop-Loss. Now, before you say American soldiers had a choice in joining, I joined before 2001. I was young and dumb, and wanted to get college paid for. If someone had said that there would be a war in a few years, especially one devoid of any really meaning, I would have never joined. Anyway; stop loss is real, and it effected a few people I know. People that worked hard and made sacrifices, despite the overall picture of the war sucking. Then, they got screwed even more. The gov asks the same people to sacrifice again, again, and again. Take for example the National Guard. They're supposed to be used for Homeland Defense and natural disasters, yet they are deploying in record numbers. That sort of sums up the whole war - abuse of the troops, abuse of laws, and abuse of the system by the government. Bush and his regime have betrayed the people sworn to protect the United States - I have heard it from the 5 branches (yes even coasties). A fellow I knew died in Iraq recently, and I wonder what the justification was. He was killed by an IED. Didn't die fighting, died in an explosion. For what? For "our" freedom? No, Iraq never threatened my freedom.
Anti-Military?
by manzoniman
Oct 22nd, 2007
02:21:14 PM
If you are anti-military - you are defacto anti-American. Sorry. No US military = no USA. If our armed forces were to disappear, so would our country. Not saying you can't or shouldn't criticize, but let's get real. You disagree, that's one thing. You actively dislike the military while enjoying the freedoms they are responsible for providing - then you are beyond ignorant.
It's shitty being in the military
by ButtfuckZydeco
Oct 22nd, 2007
02:26:12 PM
I managed to dodge the sand during Desert Storm.

You sign a fucking stack of papers during your initial MEPS inprocessing, some of which EXPLICITLY WAIVE your constitutional rights.

Fucking crazy.

If I hadn't been so fucking young and dumb, I would've turned around and walked right then. I didn't realize I still could.

Keeping young men and women in with this policy while paying fucking rent-a-cops 10-20K a month and letting them run around like cowboys is a fucking tragedy.

Fuck the Army
by ButtfuckZydeco
Oct 22nd, 2007
02:26:43 PM
just had to say it for old time's sake.
manzo, you might wanna brush up on your
by ButtfuckZydeco
Oct 22nd, 2007
02:31:56 PM
logical fallacies.

You squeezed a couple into the first sentence there. Pretty impressive.

Sorry you didn't like your time in the Army
by Brendan3
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:05:22 PM
I loved my time in the Army. As to being anti-military... being anti-military is absurd. A standing military is necessary. Being anti-war, however, makes perfect sense. The government's use of stop loss and calling the reserves and NG is unreasonable. Stoploss and calling of reserves is meant for emergencies where suplemented forces are needed immediately... not for long term use for scheduled rotations. The government is to blame for this, not the Army. The Army is ding what they can with what they have to fill the needs put on them by teh government. Perhaps if quality of life was improved for soldiers (a proper increase of wages and benefits) tere would be a lot more re-enlistments and stoplsses and activation of reserve units wouldn't be necessary. Many good soldiers don't re-up because they can do better to support ther families with civilian jobs. If the government would spend the money they could expand the active army, creating new combat brigades and take the burden off the reserves and NG.
Manzoniman, You're Off the Mark, But Not Alone
by ThisIsTheCaptainSpeaking
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:13:41 PM
OK, I think some of you are out of your fuckin skulls for the Bush=Hitler talk, but I have to tell you Manzoniman, the anti-military=anti-US stand is crazy, too. I'm currently serving and heading to the sandbucket shortly. You can love me or hate me, I couldn't give a fuck. You didn't ask me to join. And NO ONE forced me to join. Veterans gathered around the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier--that's America. Anti-military protestors gathered around the White House or Pentagon--that's America, too. If you hate my very existence, YOU HAVE A RIGHT TO SAY SO. That's you exercising your RIGHT as an American. I could argue that it may not be patriotic, but that would be patriotism as I define it. Simply put, I'm here so you can always have the option to hate and/or criticize me. Of course, if you spit in my face at the airport, I'm going to plant your ass in the ground. Because then you've assaulted me, and self-defense is MY right as an American.
This talkback shows...
by Toonol
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:29:02 PM
...why these movies are all bombing. They are tired and repetitive, just like the arguments here. Nobody wants to sit through them except a small portion of the population that enjoys punishing themselves in order to gain imagined superiority.

And the stop-loss policy is tragic, and is a huge burden on our soldiers. On the other hand, only the most brain-dead of soldiers didn't know about it in advance, and to imply that its legality is seriously in question is a little silly.
not really about this movie, but-
by zom-bot.com
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:51:26 PM
i just realized how every news blurb ends in exclamation.....even when it's not very exciting. or important...or....even very entertainment related. It used to make me excited to read the scoops, but i think I caught on and I'm over it.
Toonol
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:53:07 PM
That's a pretty weak post. It's not others "gaining imagined superiority", it's you who knows that your stand is weak and inferior. And soldiers aren't "brain-dead" because they don't know the consequences of Stop-Loss. I suggest you walk into your local recruiter's office tomorrow, tell them you want to enlist, and see how forthright they are about your expected length of duty. Good luck.
Dumbledore = Gay
by Prague23
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:55:26 PM
And what's sad is that Rowling didn't have faith in her readers enough to out him in the books, perhaps his brother could have enlightened us. Oh well, RIP Gandalf Jr.
The Blood is Love
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
03:57:38 PM
Cursing and insults are the domain of the fringe wingnuts. And I don't have to attack any of them, they pretty much shoot themselves in the foot pretty effectively.

by Holy Hell
Oct 22nd, 2007
05:40:12 PM
Hey guys, those of you that served: thank you for putting it on the line, for whatever reason(s) you did, to strap up in our name. It's pretty clear this war is an excercise in violent absurdity, and I know you probably didn't enlist for thanks, praise, or to feel like a hero, but thanks all the same. Sincerely. And apologies on the fucked up treatment, both from our desperate, incompetent gov't and from the more uninformed radicals who spit-up bullshit anti-soldier rhetoric. Rock on, and keep talking.
Dumbledore is NOT gay
by Holy Hell
Oct 22nd, 2007
05:45:54 PM
Nor is he hetero. He's a god-damned wizard. He's fucking cosmic. Dumbledore does NOT "polish his wand" into a tube-sock. He mediates the universe's inner-most wisdom. Jesus, Rowling.
Our country is fucking cool
by 5 by 5
Oct 22nd, 2007
05:55:33 PM
We can sit here and debate in an open public forum and not fear any government retribution. I have no problem with movies I don't agree with (that's what I fought for, that right, in the 1st Gulf War) because we have this ability and right and privilege to discuss the movie's and decide whether or not they are pure propaganda. If this is preachy propaganda it'll probably make for a poor movie.
Dumbledore is...
by 5 by 5
Oct 22nd, 2007
05:56:36 PM
...not real. So he's not really gay.
Over 20,000 soldiers in Iraq are independent contractors
by Thick McRunFast
Oct 22nd, 2007
06:16:22 PM
If the GOP could privatize the entire military, they would.
Fur her bush?
by MrMysteryGuest
Oct 22nd, 2007
07:18:19 PM
:?
5 by 5, That's EXACTLY Why I Serve...
by ThisIsTheCaptainSpeaking
Oct 22nd, 2007
07:20:37 PM
...because our country is THAT fucking cool. On a more subjective note, for one of the original, and still great, anti-war movies, everyone should check out "All Quiet on the Western Front." The one thing that has never changed in human history, regardless of the reason or justification the political hacks give for war, is the soldier on the front line.
"I'll give you a war you won't believe!"
by MrMysteryGuest
Oct 22nd, 2007
07:23:31 PM
Fuck politics! Have Rambo chop Bin Laden's head off!
This country is a great country
by ebonic_plague
Oct 22nd, 2007
08:16:57 PM
This government, however, is beyond fucked up. If you want to sign away your life to dodge explosions based on some elected bullshit artist's ill-planned and shortsighted scheme to grab power/money/oil, then by all means, hooo-ah, have fun with that... but you can toss all that "you owe your very freedom to the enlisted man overseas" bullshit. If your freedom is defined by the actions of someone else, that's not actually freedom. And occupying a foreign nation that we purposefully destabilized does nothing to ensure liberty for anyone, in our country or theirs.
LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT, YOU BASTARDS.
by uss cygnus
Oct 22nd, 2007
09:24:38 PM
"In case you missed it, a few days ago, Senator Clinton tried to spend $1 million on the Woodstock Concert Museum. Now, my friends, I wasn't there. I'm sure it was a cultural and pharmaceutical event. I was tied up at the time." -Senator John McCain
MAKE A MOVIE ABOUT THIS, YOU BASTARDS
by uss cygnus
Oct 22nd, 2007
09:30:22 PM
First Navy MoH since Vietnam to go to SEAL By Gidget Fuentes - L.A. TIMES Staff writer Posted : Monday Oct 15, 2007 18:03:21 EDT SAN DIEGO — Two years after his death in a harrowing firefight on a mountaintop in Afghanistan, Lt. Michael P. Murphy, a SEAL from Patchogue, N.Y., will receive the nation’s highest combat honor, Navy officials said. A Navy spokeswoman confirmed Oct. 11 the decision by President Bush approving the posthumous award of the Medal of Honor, the first for the Navy for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan. Murphy, 29, was leading a four-man reconnaissance and surveillance team during Operation Red Wing in Afghanistan’s rugged Hindu Kush mountains June 28, 2005, when the team was spotted by Taliban fighters. During the intense battle that followed, Murphy and two of his men — Gunner’s Mate 2nd Class (SEAL) Danny Dietz and Sonar Technician (Surface) 2nd Class (SEAL) Matthew Axelson — were killed. A fourth man, then-Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class (SEAL) Marcus Luttrell, was seriously wounded and knocked unconscious, but managed to escape. Luttrell was rescued days later. Murphy was killed while phoning in for reinforcements. The tragedy continued when enemy fighters shot down one of the transport helicopters carrying the rescue force, killing eight more SEALs and eight Special Forces operators. The 11 SEALs killed marked the largest single-day loss of life for the tight-knit community. Bush will present the Medal of Honor to Murphy’s parents, Daniel and Maureen, and his brother, John, on Oct. 22 at a 2:30 p.m. ceremony in the White House. “We’re thrilled with the president’s announcement, and more importantly that there’s now a public recognition of what Mike’s family and friends have known about him from the very beginning,” Daniel Murphy said Oct. 11 by telephone from New York. In addition to the Oval Office ceremony, the fallen SEAL will be honored at two other Washington events: the inclusion of his name on a wall at the Pentagon’s Hall of Heroes at 11 a.m. Oct. 23, and the presentation of the Medal of Honor flag at the Navy Memorial at 6 p.m. Oct. 23. Additional ceremonies are planned next month at Calverton National Cemetery in eastern Long Island, where Murphy is buried, and on his birthday next year at the Patchogue post office that bears his name, his family said. When he deployed overseas, Murphy carried a patch from New York Fire Department’s Engine Company 53 and Ladder Company 43, in Manhattan’s El Barrio neighborhood, “as a symbol of why he was there and what he was doing,” Daniel Murphy said. “Michael felt that he was doing something important ... to root out, capture and kill those who were responsible for 9/11,” he added. “Michael understood the importance of his work.” In mourning their son, the Murphy family has also celebrated his life. “What a man he grew up to be,” said Maureen Murphy, who called him “an American hero.” To the Murphy family, the announcement of the Medal of Honor isn’t just a personal recognition. “It’s more than just about Michael,” his father said. “It’s about Michael and his team. Michael, first and foremost, was a team player.” “Eleven SEALs who fought, died and sacrificed for one another,” he added. “There’s no higher calling.” Life and death on Murphy’s ridge The team was taking heavy fire in the close-quarters battle as Taliban fighters continued to close in, firing weapons and rocket-propelled grenades. At one point, Murphy took his mobile phone and “walked to open ground. He walked until he was more or less in the center, gunfire all around him, and he sat on a small rock and began punching in the numbers to HQ,” according to Luttrell, the surviving SEAL, who wrote a book called “Lone Survivor.” “I could hear him talking,” Luttrell wrote. “My men are taking heavy fire ... we’re getting picked apart. My guys are dying out here ... we need help. “And right then Mikey took a bullet straight in the back. I saw the blood spurt from his chest. He slumped forward, dropping his phone and his rifle. But then he braced himself, grabbed them both, sat upright again, and once more put the phone to his ear.” Then, Luttrell heard Murphy say, “Roger that, sir. Thank you.” The lieutenant continued to train fire on the enemy fighters. “Only I knew what Mikey had done. He’d understood we had only one realistic chance, and that was to call in help,” Luttrell wrote. “Knowing the risk, understanding the danger, in the full knowledge the phone call could cost him his life, Lieutenant Michael Patrick Murphy, son of Maureen, fiancé of the beautiful Heather, walked out into the firestorm. “His objective was clear: to make one last valiant attempt to save his two teammates.” Not long after the call, Murphy was shot again, screaming for Luttrell to help him, but Luttrell, also hit and wounded, couldn’t reach him. “There was nothing I could do except die with him,” he wrote. Murphy’s actions didn’t surprise those who knew him. That, despite his wounds, he made that call “and at the end of the call to say, ‘Thank you,’ and hang up, and continue the fight ... really exemplifies the type of person that he was,” said Sean, a lieutenant commander who was the naval special warfare task unit leader with SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team 1, a Pearl Harbor, Hawaii-based unit. Naval Special Warfare Command asked to withhold his full name. “Murph,” as others called him, was “a warrior and [was devoted] to his men,” Sean said. The Medal of Honor “draws attention to the true heroism and selfless sacrifice of all the guys that day,” he added. “It’s a testament to all 19 who gave their lives that day.” A well-kept secret In the two years since, the events on that Afghan mountain have stirred much speculation on how the team members would be recognized. “They knew what they were dying for, they believed in what they were doing and they gave their last full measure,” then-Rear Adm. Joe Maguire said during a June 28, 2006, ceremony dedicating a memorial tree and plaque outside Naval Special Warfare Command headquarters in Coronado, Calif. The other three SEALs in Murphy’s team have received the Navy Cross. On Aug. 27, the Murphy family received a call from the White House chief of military affairs telling them that President Bush approved the award. “They asked us if we could please keep the information confidential” until the Navy’s announcement, Daniel Murphy said. Talk about pressure. “Obviously, you want to get on top of a building and scream out,” he said. But the Murphys agreed, and they kept it secret. “You wanted to tell everybody, but you really couldn’t,” said Maureen Murphy. “I was thrilled, and I was like, oh my God. It’s like a rollercoaster ride,” she said. “You are so happy that the nation recognizes what you already know about your son — handsome and the brave actions and everything — then there’s the other part. ... I wish he could walk up there and receive that. It’s bittersweet.” Family and colleagues describe Murphy as a likeable leader, witty, sincere, caring, honest humble, selfless. He didn’t live for the spotlight, they say, and he’d probably prefer to deflect the attention over his combat actions. “He was a great little boy. He was a very wonderful teenager. He always rolled up his sleeves to help people,” his mother said. “In every picture we have,” she noted, “he was always in the background.” SEALs honor their own This will mark the first time a Navy person has received the Medal of Honor in 35 years, and the fourth time a SEAL has received the award. It also marks the third awarding of the Medal of Honor for combat heroism in Iraq or Afghanistan — the other two were awarded posthumously to Army Sgt. 1st Class Paul Smith and Marine Cpl. Jason Dunham. Top Navy SEALs paid tribute to the president’s decision. “I am grateful Lt. Murphy will receive the Medal of Honor in recognition and tribute for his heroism and sacrifices,” Adm. Eric Olson, who commands U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa, Fla., said in a statement. “His selfless actions exemplify the characteristics and values of special operations forces.” Murphy “was a valued teammate, professional warrior and fearless leader. We are humbled by his courageous and selfless actions, and this award is a testament to the man he was,” said Rear Adm. Joe Kernan, head of Naval Special Warfare Command, in a statement. “Mike believed deeply in his country, and he honorably lived the ethos that he shared with his fellow SEALs. “The Medal of Honor will ensure that his sacrifice — for freedom, for his teammates and for his fellow Americans — will never be forgotten,” Kernan added. “He will inspire our Naval Special Warfare community for years to come.” Sean, the task unit leader, recalled that Murphy “is one of those few leaders who was truly able to command the respect of his men, while at the same time knowing them at a personal level. They trusted him, and they felt confident in his abilities. “It just exemplified the type of people that we have in the community. The events of that day were extraordinary,” he said. Murphy’s actions that day — “exposing himself the way he did, way into a lengthy gunfight and already severely wounded” — didn’t surprise the officer. Murphy, he added, “would just say he was doing his job.”
USS SYGNUS
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:13:25 PM
What about Republican Senator Ted Stevens' $315 Million bridge to nowhere? What do you think about that? That's a bit more than Hillary's project, no?
USS CYGNUS: HILLARY WILL BE YOUR PRESIDENT
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:14:59 PM
Love it or leave it
Ebonic, You Have a Point, However...
by ThisIsTheCaptainSpeaking
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:50:30 PM
...if you live in America, your freedom HAS been defined by someone else. Don't get me wrong, you owe nothing to me or any other servicemember, and no one should define how you live. But chances are you weren't born a slave and fought your own revolution to be free, so please don't pretend you don't owe anything to anyone. I won't comment on the "foreign occupation" line, because that's determined by bullshit politicians on both sides of the aisle. If what you're trying to say is "quit cramming the 'Hooah' shit down my throat," you have a point. That said, good luck defining your own freedom in China, Venezuela, or Iran. BUT, all else aside, you're dead-on about "great country, fucked-up government." I couldn't have put it better myself. Keep on keeping on...
MARCORSEPMAN The Movie!!!!
by The Winged Doucheman
Oct 22nd, 2007
10:56:47 PM
If you get that then you are a legit 0151 Jarhead.
USS Cygnus, Please Throttle Back
by ThisIsTheCaptainSpeaking
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:06:49 PM
The "Love it or Leave It" bullshit went out the door a little after McCarthy and before Nixon/Ford. The point of being able to live free in this country is that you have the right to HATE living free in this country. All I can say in this venue is I have some personal knowledge about Lt Murphy and his extraordinary heroism, and while I would never be so bold as to speak for him, he might very well agree with what I've just said. So to paraphrase old Haggard, "If you don't love it, FIX IT..."
And BTW, Thanks Holy Hell
by ThisIsTheCaptainSpeaking
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:20:25 PM
Truly appreciated.
NEXT YEAR's LITTLE MISS COURAGE UNDER FIRE!
by Cheif Brody
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:44:18 PM
So...Ryan Phillipe goes AWOL? Yawn.
Hilary Will Be Ferocious Wartime President
by Nigh-Unstoppable
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:45:56 PM
'Cause that lady knows how to hate. She has Enemies and she treats 'em like enemies. Look at her history. She's mean and she's petty and unlike her husband, she's not afraid to break some eggs. She will make Nixon and Killinger look like amateurs.
"Bush the Fuher"
by NoCalFlicks
Oct 22nd, 2007
11:52:20 PM
Ok, not exactly, but it had to start somewhere. Hitler didn't rise to power overnight. It was gradual and based on a lot of the fear mongering tactics used by the current administration. As a proud lefty, let me state, Bush is not Hitler, but a lot of his policies if made permanent do pave the road for some scary times ahead, depending on who takes over in the future and what they choose to do with the new unilateral powers installed by the Bush administration.
The "patriotic" sheep in this country...
by Bill Clay
Oct 23rd, 2007
12:34:22 AM
...were the same type of lemmings who shouted "Heil!" at a guy who was orchestrating genocide.

“Naturally the common people don't want war; neither in Russia, nor in England, nor in America, nor in Germany. That is understood. But after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship. Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same in any country.” - Nazi Reichmarshall Hermann Goering

In slight defense of the "'patriotic' sheep"...
by Thingum Bob
Oct 23rd, 2007
03:54:36 AM
They didn't have to be told they were being attacked. This country really was attacked on Sept. 11, 2001.
I'm sure it will open as big as RENDITION (insert mocking eye ro
by Big Dumb Ape
Oct 23rd, 2007
06:08:01 AM
...Which opened in NINTH place and made a WHOPPING $4 million dollars.

Face it, other than die hard "I hate Fuhrer Bush" Lefties who are looking for a movie where they can get together and have a circle jerkfest (tip for you guys by the way: there are these things called adult theaters where you can do that as well and the movies are actually BETTER) the truth is NO ONE really wants to see this crap. The truth is, whether you support the war or not, no one wants to pay the babysitter and then go out and pay for dinner and then have to pay today's box office prices to sit there for 2 hours having a truly hammy, heavy handed message utterly hammered into your skull to the point that you're willing to pay the theater all over again just to LEAVE because life is too short to spend that much money on a night out just to be handed a shitty political lecture or an all-out depressing time at the theater. And that IS the truth and even anti-war, pro-Left, anti-Bush Hollywood is now realizing it. In fact, I'd be willing to bet that in the months ahead you'll see more and more of these projects CANNED simply because the Hollywood suits and bean counters realize that no one is buying this shit they're selling.

You know, up above IndustryKiller said "How did some of you people become so apathetic? When exactly did you start to feel that cinema should exist purely as an entertainment? Because that is just about as egregious a crime against art as you could possibly commit."

Well, I got knews for you, Industry. Compared to these yawn inducing, lecturesome movies that no one wants to see because no one wants to relive the debate over the war YET AGAIN -- Hell, this being an election year all the pompous grandstanding and war debates are already pretty much wearing people out -- I can guarantee you that 99.999% of the movie going audience really, really, really would prefer to see fucking VAN HELSING 4 opening up instead of any of these movies...

I could give a shit about the general public Ape
by IndustryKiller!
Oct 23rd, 2007
06:22:08 AM
At this point the best you can do is shove some culture down their throats whether they like it or not. And by culture, no I do not mean a message hammered into their skulls, which I think you are partially right about. I don't like it any more than you do, once again read my original review on this site of In the Valley of Elah, which I tore apart for that very reason. But just because a film has a message does not mean that it is automatically a preachy piece of shit. I think at the very least we have to admit that these films have the POTENTIAL to be important in the same way that say Brokeback Mountain was to homosexuals. They might miss in their overzealousness, and no obviously in the world where people actually defend Transformers they aren't going to do zillions at the box office, but it doesn't make the attempt any more noble nonetheless. Just because a fraction of humanity will see any given Monet painting doesn't mean he shouldn't have painted them. And as for the aforementioned money problem, no one should give a shit about how much money a film makes except for greedy studio shills. And whether the AMerican public WANTS to face something or not, when the issue is this crucial to the future of our nation and has become this inarguable of a clusterfuck, the opportunity to view the human element of the story, since thats what films do at their best, should be ever present. Depressing or not, if it isn't at the forefront of your mind then it is you who are unpatriotic.
And one more thing
by IndustryKiller!
Oct 23rd, 2007
06:26:54 AM
Man I always post and right after find I have one more point to make. Anyway, while Rendition might not have been a perfect film, I DID personally learn something about the practice of extraordinary rendition by seeing it. Therefore it is a worthwhile film. Same goes for Stop Loss, which i will probably see. Especially since I think any soldier who is stop lossed and refuses to return is in fact a hero and I'm very interested in seeing how it plays out.
INDUSTRYKILLER!
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 23rd, 2007
06:57:34 AM
I saw Rendition, and the plot to me was a bit too Crash-like. Overly contrived, but some strong performances nonetheless. It could have, and should have, been much better. Still, I don't regret watching it and supporting the creators' efforts in making it.

It was also accurate in portraying the process of extraordinary rendition, in that it practically mirrors what had happened to Maher Arar, who was abducted by the FBI at JFK Airport, detained, and sent to Syria to be tortured. Here's his ordeal, in his own words:

http://tinyurl.com/35qok3

Bill Brasky!?!?!
by redfist
Oct 23rd, 2007
06:59:02 AM
Didn't I tell you to go fuck your mother with that stupid parroted "do you want to win this war" phrase?
BIG DUMB APE
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 23rd, 2007
07:00:48 AM
Relax buddy. Once Hillary becomes President you won't have to deal with all these anti-war movies that you don't watch anyway.
Hechtal
by redfist
Oct 23rd, 2007
07:01:54 AM
You however sir have my respect
BUSH IS NOT HITLER
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 23rd, 2007
07:04:41 AM
Don't compare him to Hitler. He is, however, the most inane, gullible puppet this nation has ever seen. He is totally under the control of Cheney and the NeoCons, and they're the ones running the show. Hitler gave the orders, Bush takes them.
I LIKED HOW BUSH WAS GIGGLING ABOUT "WORLD WAR III"
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 23rd, 2007
07:06:42 AM
in his last press conference. He's definitely the kind to see the funny side in the most horrible things. What a guy.
Maher Arar video
by BringingSexyBack
Oct 23rd, 2007
09:00:17 AM
http://tinyurl.com/2s6gwt
"This country really was attacked on 09/11"
by Bill Clay
Oct 23rd, 2007
11:30:07 AM
Not by Iraq. A Saudi Arabian terrorist group attacks us, and Furher Bush invades a country that had absolutely no connection to the event whatsoever, while the "patriots" wave their little flags.

That's the true definition of "sheep".

Thanks Hollywood,
by greatmoose
Oct 23rd, 2007
10:14:48 PM
You ruined a perfectly good song. Keep your grubby mitts off of Snow Patrol!

by Captain Atom
Oct 24th, 2007
11:34:55 AM
This all a red herring... all military enlistments are for 8 years, it's just the breakdown of how much is 'Active' vs 'Inactive' the miltary has always reserved the right to keep you 'active' for the entire 8 years. This was made fairly clear to me when I joined the Navy in 1989. Once you do 8 years, you are free and clear, and would only be re-actived in the case of a general draft.
I still can't get the trailer to work...
by -guyinthebackrow
Oct 24th, 2007
01:43:56 PM
WTF?
Rendition Made Money
by kevinwillis.net
Oct 24th, 2007
03:02:25 PM
Because someone said Reese Witherspoon was naked in it. Otherwise, who gives a crap?

Stop Loss has an advantage because it's actually happing. Rendition is about the government taking affluent middle-class people with the wrong sounding names and holding them in secret prisons while Jake Gyllenahal beats the shit out of them. I think their next movie will involve how 9/11 was a controlled demolition engineered by radical Zionists.
"Sheep"
by kevinwillis.net
Oct 24th, 2007
03:04:06 PM
Defintion: 1. Those that don't agree with my personal conspiracy theories, or the conspiracies of those I agree with.

2. Anybody I disagree with on anything, because I'm smart and they are stupid. Booyah!
Yet Again Leftists misunderstanding "Constitutional rights"
by 900LBGorilla
Oct 24th, 2007
09:34:26 PM
You know I sit here amazed watching supposedly “enlightened” leftists yammer on about “Bush eroding our constitutional rights” like parrots of the generally loony and anti- constitutional Party (i.e. the Democrat party). As you people bitch about not having the constitutional right to communicate with an overseas enemy of the nation (which hint to you AIN’T a “Constitutional Right”), you site there as Mutes as ACTUAL rights are stolen by the leftists your people put on the Supreme Court (Have any of you people bothered to watch which eminently incompetent Justices voted to give Government the right to steal your property via expanded “Eminent Domain”?) Of course not….but hint EVERY “right winger” on the court found that ruling horrific….while EVERY leftist on the court voted FOR it. I won’t even start on the First Amendment which has been LITERALLY REVERSED thorough years of leftist “interpretation” from what it actually SAYS….its freaking unbelievable. I think we should have a mandatory course on the Constitution taught by an English Major (in other words someone who actually knows how to read the language)…cause we’d get a hell of a lot less lefties if that happened. Without going into a dissertation…suffice it to say that the next time you hear some left wing cartoon of a lawyer or politician start garbling on about how the Constitution is a “LIVING DOCUMENT” ...let your Bull-S—it meter stay on because what that actually translates to in ENGLISH is “The constitution says whatever I WANT IT TO MEAN” without actually having to run through the necessity of having the darn thing Amended in one of those inconvenient Votie thingies…. No people the Constitution is not in actuality “LIVING” or a kaleidoscope…it is an incredible contract between the people and (supposedly) their government that frames the specific rules the latter must comply with to make legal changes as well as the specific powers and limitations of that Government. I just hope every Democrat who blathers about living documents and other such bull crap hire contractors to build their homes who consider those agreements “living documents” as well. On a side note, I’d like to know what rights Bush has stolen – especially that are not already based on some prior Democrats Presidential practice (not that they compare at all to the left wing Supreme Court votes)…but I’m curious We need to teach our kids better than this…
Oh and Bill Clay on your last wacky post.
by 900LBGorilla
Oct 24th, 2007
10:11:29 PM
Bush never claimed Iraq attacked us…he claimed it had WMD…which it INDISPUTABLY did up to a specific undetermined point (it used them after all).. Incidentally- Bush said the same thing CLINTON said as he was leaving office…same basic thing English, Egyptian, and Russian intelligence said as well…which is party why the UN UNANIUMOUSLY signed 17 resolutions after GF-1 condemning the Iraq for thwarting weapons inspectors in their search for what he did with WMD and WMD programs….I love how you people are deaf and dumb to everything surrounding this scenario except what “Dubya said”. Incidentally, it’s great that you looked up a Georing quote…congratulations… now maybe you should expand your knowledge beyond a comic book level and study the 10 year Churchill Chamberlain debate…(hint the “Warmonger“ was right and the peace lover cost the world probably 50 million lives with his silly notions). Cause the Churchill/Chamberlain debate is the essence of the debate to go or not into Gf-2… Incidentally Sheep are those who make these lame arguments without bothering to learn history enough to understand them on any deep level whatsoever ..and based on your paper thin comments you are solidly in the “sheep camp”. Yeah Bush may be a dim bulb…unfortunately for the county the last election was between “Dumb and Dumber”…and as sad as it is the other guy was “Dumber” ..hten again we are going to be doomed to that scenario as long as the Democrat electorate keeps pumping idiots into the fray…cause that party hasn’t forwarded a presidential candidate with 1/10th the IQ of JFK since he passed away…hell carbon copy his polices today (and slap a name other than “Kennedy” on the guy) and you would be calling him a right wing Hitler too…I won’t even start on FDRs war policies.
Click for previous story Talk Back More on this story Click for next story

User login

Quick Talkback

Please login to post talkback.