berman@ihlpg.UUCP (Andy Berman) (08/08/85)
-------------------------
For those who haven't heard, today's news reports indicate that
the Nicaraguan contras have kidnapped and are holding hostage 29 American
religious workers who were on a boat in the San Juan River in
Nicaragua.
The contras are the terrorists who are armed and trained by
the CIA, and defended by President Reagan as "freedom
fighters". They seek to overthrow the popular and
democratically elected government of Nicaragua.
According to the New York Times (August 8, 1985),
"Rebels fighting to overthrow the Nicaraguan
Government have been receiving direct military
advice from White House officials on the National
Security Council. ...The direction include[s] advice
and tactical influence on the rebels military operations
as well as help in raising money..."
In layman's terms, the terrorist scum holding Americans
hostage are the bosom buddies of the Reagan Adminsitration.
Some questions:
1) Will the outcry about Americans being held hostage
be promoted by the government and the media when those
responsible for the hostage taking are allies of the
Administration?
2) Will the dullards on the net who spouted know-nothing
attacks against the Shi'ites be heard from when Reagan's
pals are the terrorists?
3) How much longer will the American people stand for a bullying
foreign policy that shames our own heritage and helps
those who hold our own people as hostages?
Andy Berman
...ihnp4!ihlpg!berman
--------------------------tw8023@pyuxii.UUCP (T Wheeler) (08/09/85)
Not so fast with the accusations Andy. The reports from the jungle are not all in yet. Depending on who you want to believe, the captors are either Contra or Sandinista. There have been no conformations of who the captors are, as of this writing. The only information I have heard so far is that the people were released late Thursday afternoon, unharmed. Now, until they get to someplace they can be interviewed and the identity of their captors ascertained, let us withhold judgement. T. C. Wheeler
padraig@utastro.UUCP (Padraig Houlahan) (08/11/85)
> ------------------------- > > For those who haven't heard, today's news reports indicate that > the Nicaraguan contras have kidnapped and are holding hostage 29 American > religious workers who were on a boat in the San Juan River in > Nicaragua. >... > 1) Will the outcry about Americans being held hostage > be promoted by the government and the media when those > responsible for the hostage taking are allies of the > Administration? A distinction must be made between innocent bystanders and a group that deliberately places themselves in a dangerous situation. I have no sympathy for the latter when they get into trouble. > 2) Will the dullards on the net who spouted know-nothing > attacks against the Shi'ites be heard from when Reagan's > pals are the terrorists? If the above distinction is made, there is no need for condemnation. (Of course all of this assumes that you know enough to be able to make the distinction.) > 3) How much longer will the American people stand for a bullying > foreign policy that shames our own heritage and helps > those who hold our own people as hostages? > > Andy Berman What bullying foreign policy? Which country greets its citizens returning from abroad in coffins? Which country promises retaliatory action against perpretrators of violent acts on its citizens, but fails do anything about it? Who's bullying who? Who's carrying the shame? Who's doing nothing about it because dullards gripe that hitting the guy that kicks your teeth in is a bullying act? Padraig Houlahan.
arig@cvl.UUCP (Ari Gross) (08/12/85)
> For those who haven't heard, today's news reports indicate that > the Nicaraguan contras have kidnapped and are holding hostage 29 American > religious workers who were on a boat in the San Juan River in > Nicaragua. > > The contras are the terrorists who are armed and trained by > the CIA, and defended by President Reagan as "freedom > fighters". They seek to overthrow the POPULAR and > DEMOCRATICALLY elected government of Nicaragua. > > Andy Berman > ...ihnp4!ihlpg!berman > Glad to know the Sandinista thugs were democratically elected. But then , haven't you heard, so was Michael Gorbachev -- or have you cancelled your subscription to Pravda ??? Ari Gross
jrm@cbuxc.UUCP (John Miller) (08/13/85)
Anyone who foolishly goes wandering into a war zone the way that church group did deserves whatever they get!!!!!!!! How many more creampuff liberal do-gooders will stick their nose into South American politics? Perhaps we should send them all - less to contend with back home when they don't return!
bill@persci.UUCP (08/13/85)
In article <185@pyuxii.UUCP> tw8023@pyuxii.UUCP (T Wheeler) writes: >[...]The reports from the jungle are >not all in yet. Depending on who you want to believe, the captors are >either Contra or Sandinista. There have been no conformations of who the >captors are, as of this writing. [...] >Now, until they get to someplace they can be interviewed and the >identity of their captors ascertained, let us withhold judgement. >T. C. Wheeler Do you think we can believe them even then? These people are not innocent bystanders, they have incurred the expense of going down there in the first place because of their political beliefs, and have now been given an excellent soapbox upon which to preach, no matter who 'captured' them. -- William Swan {ihnp4,decvax,allegra,...}!uw-beaver!tikal!persci!bill
ray@rochester.UUCP (Ray Frank) (08/14/85)
> Not so fast with the accusations Andy. The reports from the jungle are > not all in yet. Depending on who you want to believe, the captors are > either Contra or Sandinista. There have been no conformations of who the > captors are, as of this writing. The only information I have heard so > far is that the people were released late Thursday afternoon, unharmed. > Now, until they get to someplace they can be interviewed and the > identity of their captors ascertained, let us withhold judgement. > T. C. Wheeler What difference does it make who the captors are? Americans have no business purposely traveling to a war zone. I consider those American as combatants. Andif they are hurt or killed, that is their fault as a result of their arrogance.
tim@cmu-cs-k.ARPA (Tim Maroney) (08/15/85)
I quite agree, any American who travels to a war zone is asking for it. The seven hostages held in Beirut are just cretins who deserve their fate. The Iranian hostages should have known better; once they were taken, we certainly shouldn't have wasted our time and our precious bodily fluids worrying about it. Seriously, I doubt I am the only one who has noticed that the "it's their own fault" sentiment comes exclusively from far-righters who refer to peace activists as "liberal creampuffs". This is a politically convenient stand for them to take; in line with the noble traditions of the right, such secondary matters as ethics and truth are not allowed to interfere. -=- Tim Maroney, Carnegie-Mellon University, Networking ARPA: Tim.Maroney@CMU-CS-K uucp: seismo!cmu-cs-k!tim CompuServe: 74176,1360 audio: shout "Hey, Tim!"