20 Ground Zeros

I think it''s outrageous that there are Current viewers/internet commentators who are so prone to "ignorance and misinformation" (which is exactly what the last few posts have been).
Pull your heads out of your bums, people.

I think it''s outrageous to distribute such one sided unsubstantiated so called "documentaries". Hatred and animosity anywhere in the world are brought on by ignorance and misinformation which is exactly what this is.
It''s unfortunate, as the creators of this film clearly feel so much for one side of the conflict. The only way they can help bring about change is by trying to show accurate claims of both sides.

and as for comment #30, what can we say? Since I have read the Qur''an in Arabic, I don''t think I can take your paranoid fear-mongering about Islam seriously. Maybe if you knew the difference between a Hanafi and a Hanbali in medieval jurisprudence, you might have a more mature outlook on your neighbors than blakkbox. In the meantime, while you hit the books I would ask that people keep their racism and slander to a minimum. I''m sure you have some Muslim neighbors, why don''t you try and get a sense of reality from them? I''m certain they are hospitable and sophisticated enough to disarm even your terror and paranoia.

Hector: Oops.
Jaron: Care to weigh in on the "Islamic problem" Hector brings up in #30 after you?re done layin? down the plurium interrogationum?
You guys belong to the light
You belong to the thunder
You belong to the sound of the words
You?ve both fallen under
Whatever you deny or embrace
For worse or for better
You belong, you belong
You belong together.
Pat Benatar, baby.

How can you compare lebanon to ground zero? The last facts I checked never said anything about any terrorists in NYC bombing pakistan and afganistan. Terrorists were hiding amongst civilians in Lebanon, causing alot of them to get killed. Please do not compare the innocent people dying at ground zero to the many civialians killed because their own people chose to put them at risk by hiding behind them like cowards while fighting the Israeli military..

This is very appropriately named, "20 Ground Zeros" because whether the guys intended it or not, they underscored the point that just as 9/11/01 was the work and responsibility of Islamic fundamentalists, so was the recent bombing of Beirut and southern Lebanon brought on by Hezbollah, another group if Islamic fundamentalists. The damage is great, but lets lay responsibility where it belongs, not on Western society. It''s radical Islamic fundamentalists. thanks for this exposee.

Another ''Blakkbox Boob'' - "..Iraq is right next door(to Lebanon).......". Sorry guys but Iraq shares no border with Lebanon.....its a mere few hundred kilometers away. You have to cross Syria from West to East to get there. But its okay ''cos there''s lots of blood and carnage in Iraq and by inference the same will apply to Lebanon.
Another ''Blakkbox Boob'' - #2 in short pursuit - "Israel occupied Lebanon for 10 years..." . Sorry guys it was from 1982 to 2000. My math says thats 18 years....Another ''Blakkbox Boob''.
But I guess thats okay compared to the ''Blakkbox Boob'' that claimed that the 2nd Lebanese war started because of a cross border incursion into Shebaa Farms when actually it happened somewhere between Zarit and Netua about 60 kms away. The one is in Western Galilee whilst Shebaa is East of the Galilee pan-handle. But who gives a damn...the sound byte looks good so why worry about the facts.
I guess I can''t blame Blakkbox for having a bit of fun and excitement..that''s what turns them on but......
What is worrying is why Current would lend a hand to such unprofessional journalism!!

Dear Jbox,
Now that I?ve put your other team members in their respective places, it?s your turn. Very smart of you to try and destroy my credentials instead of the actual evidence I?ve presented, but I won?t play that game. You guys must really be desperate because now you?ve resorted to a familiar practice, pulling facts out of thin air. (I was never in the IDF!) I also never lost my temper and don?t plan on losing it because I am the one who challenged you to provide me hard evidence for an event that never happened. Humorously enough, while Nate unsuccessfully tried to prove that 2+2=5 by citing internet blogs and Chass wrote poetry, Jbox wisely admitted that the attack could have happened in Disneyland for all he cares but that it doesn?t matter because he was merely echoing what the ?people on the ground? were saying. That?s personally the route I would have taken. Defending a lie is inevitably a futile endeavor. Defending deceptive journalistic practices is much easier. To learn why your first pod is deceptive, read carefully my letter to Current (post #27). If you guys know what?s good for you, and more importantly, for Current?s reputation as an honest broker of information in the world, the next peep I hear out of you guys better be an apology for deceiving innocent people about how the second Lebanon War started.

Sincerely,
Jaron

Jaron babe, can you put me in my place again ''cause I don''t really remember the first time? While we''re remembering, remember how in the discussion of where the soldiers were kidnapped we do not now nor never have disagreed with you? That was cool.
On the floor of Tokyo
Or down in London town to go, go
With the record selection
With the mirror reflection
Jaron is dancing with himse-elf

Jaron,
The fact that you cannot get around your fixation about "who started it" proves that you have missed the overall point of this pod series.
Another major point that you are missing is that no one is "arguing" with you over where these soldiers were actually kidnapped.
However, in your video, your "strong piece of evidence" is military animation, footage of burned-out humvees, and a hole in a fence.
AGAIN: NO ONE IS ARGUING WITH YOU ABOUT WHERE THE SOLDIERS WERE KIDNAPPED. It''s irrelevant to the objective of these pods, which are clearly first-hand experiences of what it was like to be in Lebanon during the July War.
I couldn''t help but sum up what I have learned from the Jaron Gilinsky School of Credible Journalism. When someone disagrees with you, (a) it''s super important to try to censor any other opinion that is not on par with your own, (b) repeatedly miss the point of the other person''s experience, argument or opinion, and, most importantly, (c) keep repeating "2+2=5."

speaking of wacky extremists, poster #36 uses footage obtained from the IDF and animation from the IBA in his brilliant documentary film. I don''t know if you can find any more blatant examples of propaganda factories than those two sources. I have a few questions for what qualifies "Jaron" to be involved in the discussion (while he tries to imply that we as trained professional middle east specialists should stay out of it). I''m afraid that having spent time in the Israeli Defense Forces, living in Israel, or being a reactionary Zionist doesn''t qualify anyone as a middle east specialist. Nor does being tight enough with the IDF to get access to their footage and propaganda. Let''s get this discussion on mature footing please, I''m tiring of extremist Right Wing dogma, censorship attempts, and name-calling. Can you please get your temper under control and address nate''s arguments before making yourself look hypocritical on misguided source criticism Jaron?

These pods are fantastic and a refreshing change from the usual news.

I think they are particularly good for those who are posting from The-Lebanese-Are-Miserable-Terrorists perspective. It will force them to see, even if they can''t admit it, that the Lebanese people are, in fact, people. And war is ALWAYS two-sided.
Regardless of your perspective or politics, it is always healthy to pause for a moment and empathize with your enemies, to see that their suffering is just as real and significant and unfortunate as the other sides.

both pieces put on by black box are bogus! how could a network owned by AL gore allow such bad journalism to be aired? don''t you have some sort of filter? did 60,000 people die in Lebanon? no! so that''s not 20 ground zeros. this is belittling 9/11 and its effect. this is anti American because it makes the terror attacks in New York seem like just casualties of war. 9/11 was a terror attack and it pains me to see a pieces like this aired with the title 20 ground zeros. be a human and get this crap off the air.

This piece is dishonest and must be taken off the air.

2. Second, until 2006, Israel and Hizbullah had conducted three successful prisoner exchanges:
a. January 23, 2006 Hizbullah exchanged the bodies of the 3 Israeli soldiers (the one who were kidnapped and died during the 2000 Shebaa Farms operation) and a suspicious businessman for nearly 400 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners ). The Germans had been brokering the deal for three years and it included the hand over of maps of Israeli mines left in Lebanon and future conditions for the exchange of Lebanese prisoner Samir Qantar. (see CNN link and BBC link link
b. June 25, 1998 - The French and the Red Cross brokered a prisoner exchange for at least 14 months. The bodies of 40 Hizbullah fighters and 60 Lebanese prisoners were exchanged for remain of 2 Israeli soldiers. See ?Ilya?s Body Returned in Deal? by Arieh O?Sullivan, The Jerusalem Post, June 26, 1998
c. July 21, 1996 - In a German brokered exchanged, Israel freed 45 Hizbullah prisoners, 17 other Lebanese militiamen and transferred the remains of 141 Hizbullah gunmen in exchange for the remains of two Israeli soldiers. See ?Israel Frees Last Batch of Lebanon Prisoners??, by Hussein Dakroub, The Seattle Times, 22 July 1996
d. May 20, 1985 - Israel exchanged 1,150 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners for three Israeli soldiers with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine in Lebanon. This is not Hizbullah, but it occurred around the time that Hizbullah announced its official establishment and the exchange was supposed to have included Samir Qantar who is still in an Israeli jail.
This was part of the political context of how Lebanese received news that 2 Israeli soldiers were kidnapped in 2006. The prevalent Lebanese perception of where and how the kidnappings took place was what blakkbox reported.

As far as ''serving unintentionally as a mouthpiece,'' I can only see the intention to insult and/or write a statement about Hizbullah that does not address the story that blakkbox reported.

Dear Nate,
I am really getting a kick out of you trying to prove that 2+2=5, this time with links to random internet blogs. "If people say it on the internet, it must be true!" Come on buddy, you can do better than that. You will also find on the internet people denying the reality of the attacks on 9/11, man walking on the moon, and the Holocaust. The hole in Ground Zero attests to the fact that the twin towers were in fact destroyed. If you were to come visit me in Northern Israel (It''s beautiful this time of year), I will take you to the hole in the fence from the RPG fired from Lebanon, as well as remnants of the destroyed convoy which are still visible on the ground miles away from Sheba Farms. Once again, 2+2=4. Either present some hard evidence to the contrary or correct the untruth in your report.
Sincerely,
Jaron

Chass, I don''t know what that poem was all about but it seemed to me like a sarcastic way of pleading guilty. I don''t think that you guys are intentionally anti-Israel and I appreciate JBOX''s honest confession of the nature of journalism as being definitionally biased, but I think that you guys are unintentionally serving as the mouthpiece for a bloodthirsty terrorist organization that''s eventual goal is your destruction as well. Hezbollah, ?the party of Allah?, seeks to enforce and implement the Muslim faith. Islam means submission and a fundamental tenet of the Muslim faith is global supremacy, hence the existence of Israel in ANY size or shape exposes Islam to be false and Allah not to be supreme, hence in their minds, once the thorn of Israel is removed from the Middle East, then nothing is in their way to take over Europe, America, and the rest of the world. Just ask them. Read their charter. Keep in mind that the occupation in 1982 which you erroneously reported lasted 8 years, was provoked by years of attacks, massacres, and katyushas littering Israel. It just seems a little twisted to blame Israel, a country which has taken countless suicidal measures to appease a bloodthirsty foe, for a war that was brought upon them! I know that you guys aren?t intentionally distorting facts, but it is important to give background and perspective and not just a skewed snapshot of destroyed infrastructure.

Dear Blackcat,

The link to my video is about as strong a piece of evidence as you can get. It is a first hand account from a credible journalist from a crime scene. Thousands of other credible international journalists took the same photos and video that I took from Zarit. The fact that you cannot distinguish between thousands of pieces of firsthand documentary evidence and a handful of wacky internet conspiracy theorists blogging from a continent away about a place they?ve never been to proves that you should stay well out of this debate.

Sincerely,
Jaron

Garretmachine,
The term, "20 Ground Zeros" came from an article in New York Times (August 4th, 2006) that describes the PHYSICAL DESTRUCTION of Southern Lebanon. It does not imply 20 times the human tragedy of 9/11. It seems awfully harsh to claim something is anti-American just because it was misunderstood.

This is Nate from blakkbox. Many thanks for watching and reading.

Some continue to argue past our argument that there were people in Lebanon who believed that the Israeli soldiers were kidnapped inside the Shebaa Farms. Since we were reporting what people believed on the ground, where the kidnappings actually happened doesn?t concern our report of what was the Lebanese political perception at that time.

But for those who continue to miss the argument and repeat their contention that the kidnappings were not in Shebaa Farms, I wrote in an earlier post that the whereabouts of the kidnappings were disputed. Amongst those who analyzed the media reports at the time, there were people who firmly thought the kidnappings happened in the Shebaa Farms and there were those who firmly believed they didn?t. Please see the following links to several chatroom/blogs from last summer that contain comments from both sides of the dispute. However, I must clarify that this dispute only shows English speakers and people who use the internet enough to post comments. If the commenters are Lebanese, this is a small cross section of the Lebanese population, and if ?the facts? are being disputed even in this proportionally small demographic, then for those who know anything about how politics work in Lebanon, it isn?t hard to believe that the prevalent perception was that the kidnappings happened in Lebanon in the Shebaa. These are the links: link link link link

If you check out the links you will see comments similar to Jaron?s comments on the ?facts? and you will see them disputed by others comments of the ?facts.? Again, this is not what our pod was reporting. We were reporting the prevailing political perception in Lebanon, and we could do that because we were talking to people in Lebanon. As much as some might be tempted to use their debating skills to attack how the Lebanese are, the historical precedent and context of Hizbullah-Israel prisoner exchanges alone, makes the Lebanese political perception at the time entirely believable:

1. First, the last kidnapping Hizbullah conducted was in the Shebaa Farms. In October of 2000, Hizbullah kidnapped three Israeli soldiers from inside the Shebaa Farms at Har Dov. The soldiers died during the operation and Hizbullah held their bodies and used them as a bargaining chip for the prisoner swap in 2006. Please see the UN report and Michael Young?s analysis on the 2000 kidnapping. link link

Jaron,

I couldn''t help but note your argument about internet links.

From what I read, Nate was simply trying to demonstrate what the Lebanese - in Lebanon - were saying at the time of the war.

I also couldn''t help but note that, in your "Welcome to War" post #36, you post a link to -- surprise! -- your own film.

Come on, buddy, you can do better than that.

Dear Current,

I just watched this pod again and I am writing to formally request that it, along with "Welcome to War" be edited, or taken off the air. I have asked Blakkbox, but they have denied my request, so now it is only up to you. As a journalist and genuine Middle East scholar who has broadcast nearly 20 pods on your network, I have tremendous respect for your integrity and quality standards. It is totally understandable that occasionally a basic factual error will find its way into one of your pods. However, once brought to your attention, I will be appalled if you continue to ignore it. Any real student of the Middle East knows that Israel occupied the Security Zone in Southern Lebanon for 18 years, not 10 years as these phonies claim. I don''t care how many books these guys may have edited on Hezbollah, the fact that all 3 of them allowed this error to be broadcast on national TV proves that they are not the Middle East experts they pretend to be. I commend your efforts as the only network that is trying to train a citizen army of journalists. But let them be responsible and ethical journalists, not fraudsters. This mistake is obviously a relatively minor numerical error, but as we see in the "Welcome to War" pod, minor errors are the calling cards for untrained journalists who do not genuinely understand the reality on the ground. What is even scarier about blakkbox, is that even after proving to them through incunabular evidence that they are mistaken, they refuse to put their "people on the ground" comment in its proper context. If the fact that Hezbollah initiated the war miles away from Sheba Farms was obvious to the general public, there would be no need to qualify it. But the fact that most Current viewers don''t know who started the war makes it imperative that the statement be qualified.

By way of example, if I were to report that ?people on the ground? in Afghanistan said that the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers didn?t happen and are part of a Western conspiracy, all our Current viewers would know that this is not the objective reality and the ?people on the ground? are delusional. So there is no need to put it in context. The attack on Israel that precipitated this war is just as real as what happened in New York on 9/11. But the American public is obviously not as aware about some shadowy cross border affair somewhere in the Middle East as they are about 9/11 which happened right in front of their faces. Blakkbox manipulates this lack of public awareness about the Middle East to intentionally distort the objective reality in the minds of our viewers. It is manipulative, deceptive, unethical, and should be corrected.

Although in the grand scheme of things, these are relatively minor errors, by not correcting this material we enter a slippery journalistic slope. Minor errors accumulate and will eventually diminish the credibility of everything Current has ever aired. When a report is factually incorrect or deceptive and it continues to be broadcast, what does that say about us a trusted source of information?

Current has the potential for greatness. Heck, Current is great already. I want to continue to be proud to be a professional journalist working for Current TV. Let?s show the mainstream media that they suck without sacrificing basic journalistic principles and ethics. I implore you to continue to strive for excellence and truth.

Respectfully,

Jaron Gilinsky

Unfortunately, my thoughts on the politics of the middle east are fuzzy at best. My father was born and raised in Israel and listens to the Israeli radio on-line everyday. My mother was born in Los Angeles, CA so understandably, I grew up in a very interesting environment. From a young age I decided that I needed to keep an open mind to all sides of every story and to not form an opinion until I understand every point of view. Because of this, I haven''t made many stands and I don''t think I''ve ever been fully informed about any political contraversy. Mind you, I don''t blame anyone else but myself for my lack of understanding and education on these matters.

I had my mother and father watch the blog and of course they immediately became defensive. They sat me down and wanted to tell me Israel''s side of the story and were worried that I wasn''t getting all the facts straight.

But wait, my dad as "Israeli" as he is only goes to Israel once every 5 years or so to visit FAMILY. So all the war and political information he hears is over the radio. Didn''t these guys go in person and experience what is going on?

Everyone has a side of themselves that we want to bury away and hope that no one every finds out. We all have a dark side and wish that it is never exposed to the public. Is blackbox trying to show that Israeli''s are horrible distructive people? Honestly, I hardly think so. I think they are trying to show a different point of view.

These men are extremely intellegent...surfers or not! I don''t think the critics are giving them the credit they deserve. Controversy creates discussion and awarness. I think they are doing what they need to do to open our eyes to the other side of the story. But like I said before, my thoughts on politics are fuzzy at best...

I''m standing on the edge of time;
I walked away when love was mine.
Caught up in a world of uphill climbing,
the tears are in my eye
and nothin'' is rhyming.

Oh Jaron well,
you came and you gave without taking,
but I sent you away.
Oh, Jaron well,
you kissed me and stopped me from shaking,
and I need you today. Oh, Jaron!

in discussing "what started it" one enters into a infinite regression of attacks and retaliations, among them, Israel''s internationally condemned occupation of Southern Lebanon during the 80''s and 90''s, all the way back to the Balfour Declaration and so on. Please see Sterlin''s post on the "welcome to war" pod for some talking points in what we in blakkbox hope will be an enlightening and civil discussion on the issues at hand. We in blakkbox also come from an academic slant and have serious reservations about the notion of "impartial objective" journalism. All knowledge is part of a cultural discourse, and if journalism as a discipline feels that it can still ignore postmodern literary theory after all this time and make claims of impartiality and omniscience, then it will grow to be a very angry and petty little tool of reactionary racism, imperialism, and self-deception on a very grand scale.

This is intense. I know I wouldn''t want to be there!

This is really well done. WOW.

Unbelievable! These guys are Teflon coated! I can''t imagine taking the risks they did to get this film!

This piece is dishonest and must be taken off the air.

I see where you guys are coming from... but when you show something like this don''t you think its a bit one sided to not show what caused it!? Its like a child coming home after a fight at school showing just what the other child has done to him... This was clearly in retaliation to something. If you want to be accurate fair journalists you''re going to have to show both sides.

"20 ground zeros" came from the New York Times August 4th 2006 piece on the physical destruction of Southern Lebanon...Infrastructure etc. It doesn''t imply 20 times the human tradgedy.
These clips were shot while we were in Lebanon, reacting to what we experienced and sharing the stories of the Lebanese people (see laughter under the bombs). It would be intellectually dishonest if we were speculating about what was happening in Haifa.
Asserting that Hezbollah is a rabid radical Shia terrorist group blah blah blah does little to further meaningful discussion. Why are they doing what they''re doing? We didn''t take for granted the shrill typical "war on terror" rhetoric.
p.s. no more surf slang unless you can really use it.

p.s.s. here''s an image from the New York Times of the physical destruction of Southern Beirut image

I did not get the idea that Hezbollah was the victim in this video, but what it did show is how war continues to impact a people group. Regardless of which side you show, both sides are represented by humans. You can label them terrorists, victims, or anything else, but these people are still people, and this video gives you the stories of the people.

Love the pods. Can''t wait for Blakkbox to do more! I love the way the pod is edited. Makes it much more interesting and draws you in. Love the facts that pop up during the pod too. Gives you more background on the conflict occuring. Bravo guys. Love it. Can''t wait for the next one. Would love to see you guys do a pod on North Korea and Kim Jong-il one day.

wow...seems like a lot of people disagree with this pod. I didn''t see what was dishonest about it. I saw a lot from the other side during the war but I didn''t get to see the Lebanese perspective. Frankly, we never see this perspective, especially from three white dudes. Agree or disagree their courage can''t be called into question.

This is a deceitful piece about the damage of war, looking at one sides perspecitve through a foggy and tainted lens. Ask questions that you think your hezbollah friends might not have considered try and search for some answers press them on their terrorist beliefs. You won''t of course, because that requires a bit of courage. Your entire reporting is a painful clip of you trying to go where no other reporters can, only to find out that once you are there you have nothing to say. Big surprise. I''m not sure what has happened to Current TV, but these types of videos belong on You Tube, not a website devoted to serious journalism.

Chass are you claiming the Hezbulla is NOT a radical Islamic group?
Are you honestly praising a "hezbollah dude"... ?
This clip was not only dishonest, and as so would be welcomed by the Hezbulla propaganda machine (thank you Iran), but these ''surfer dudes'' have no idea whats going on in the middle east. Not only that but they are multiplying and people are actually beliving them. These guys would be much better off returning to Cali to work on their "narley" tans, and leave journalism to professionals.
Jaron, its a shame you didnt make this man!

Special thanks to super rural podunk hezbollah dude.
Visit Global Eye

I would like to ask British Yosef what he thinks is "dishonest" about this piece. Or are you just angry because there is another point of view out there? You probably disagree with the Palestinians, too. Nobody''s asked you to take your blog off the internet, so let it lie.

I''ve watched all three on the Blakkbox episodes and they are amazing. This is the way the networks should be covering the news. Thanks guys, you''re great.

amazing

It''s posited in the film that the attack on southern Lebanon has been described as 20 ground zeroes. By whom? I am currently living in the Middle East, and this is the first time I''ve heard that reference. As an American citizen, I find that (as well as titling the film after it) very offensive. I''ll explain why.
September 11, 2001 was a vicious attack by terrorists on unsuspecting civilians working thousands of miles from any active combatants. Israel''s shelling of southern Lebanon was a military action in response to terrorist attacks emanating from civilian areas. To compare the two shows a blatant disrespect to the innocent lives lost in the twin towers. I would expect more from "legitimate" journalists.

Dudes, I found another factual error in "20 Ground Zeros," besides the grossly misleading title that makes 1000 deaths seem like it was 60,000 deaths. These guys must have been out surfing during math class. Roughly 1000 Lebanese died in this war and roughly 3000 Americans died at Ground Zero on 9/11/2001. But I guess telling the truth and calling the piece 1/3 of a Ground Zero isn?t as exciting? I found another factual error in this piece that is actually beneficial towards Israel. WOOPS! The occupation of the Southern Lebanon Security Zone was actually 8 years longer than these guys claim, from 1982-2000. But who cares about numbers anyways?

The title of this film is misleading. 20 ground zero''s? That''s an extremely strong statement to make. The Journalists have a good way of making Hezbollah look like the candy man instead of radical Islamic terrorist organization. It''s no doubt an entertaining film to watch, but I would hope the journalists realize their responsibility to explore the reasons for last years war. Instead of making Hezbollah out at being a victim.
Regards

I have known blakkbox for some time now. It is amazing to know all the work, studying, traveling, knowledge, and courage that is behind every one of them. I don''t know what kind of journalism you would call this, but we need more of it. I''m bored with the "pc" carefully edited news. I need more news from people who not only know what they''re talking about, but it''s their passion to discover what we''re afraid to know. Thank you blakkbox, for doing what you''re doing.

I''m a Current junkie, but I''ve never found anything worth commenting about. I mean, there''s lots of good entertaining items on (I''m a junkie) but nothing like this. Wow. Can''t wait for the rest.

This Current website makes me so mad. I just wrote a long comment about the Blakkbox pod and pressed submit and it didn''t post. I wanted to say that the way these Blakkbox guys present the news makes me interested in news again. I got so bored on network news and colbert report and all that stuff that I just stopped paying attention. These Blakkbox guys make news more like a movie. I could watch this all day.

It seems funny that -- all of the sudden -- a bunch of people "from the Middle East" (let''s just call it as it is, guys, you live in Israel) - are all whining about how these pods are "dishonest" and "biased".

There are two sides to every story. It''s as simple as that. And, whereas I have not witnessed (in watching these pods) that blakkbox endorses Hezbollah, nor are they really speaking out politically -- you are all getting your panties in a wad and screaming for this to be taken off the air.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but for ONCE I would like to hear and see what is happening on the other side. I saw the "Laughter Amid Bombs" pod on the air, and, before that, I never really stopped to think about the destruction and tragedy that happened to the Lebanese people last year.

It is a tragedy that such a conflict existed in the first place, but let''s stop griping at each other and realize that war -- no matter whose side you are on -- is a horrible thing. Everyone suffers. This is one point of view in a certain conflict that happened a year ago that I would like to see, so I will REALLY BE ANGRY if Current listens to "the other side''s" whining and takes it off air.

Thanks.