This isn't really a new idea. It started in the 1800's with German philosopher Bruno Bauer. The basic idea of Jesus not existing because of a lack of outside sources is easily taken apart when viewed within the time period. Jesus would have been no different than any other heretical self-proclaimed prophet. He didn't do anything that would have been considered of historical importance for his day, and historians definitely could not have been expected to predict the following that would arise after his execution. The arguement on whether or not his claims were true is another matter, but you can't really say with 100% certainty that this man didn't exist because there's no record. You just wouldn't have accurate record keeping on the lives of people considered common criminals of the day. There are a lot of generalizations drawn and a lot of guesswork bordering on sounding like conspiracy theories from people who don't even seem to have a backround in the proper areas. Most of the people speaking in this documentary were authors and tour guides. Not a lot of input from any actual historians. Upvote for the discussion that will probably follow if this makes it to the front.

"I hope we can understand, my friends, that life is not 24 and Jack Bauer..."

Scott Horton and Andrew Sullivan comment...

"The moral clarity and vision of McCain’s answer was perfectly balanced by the bankruptcy of Romney’s. In the end, the former Massachusetts governor ducks by saying that he would turn to his ultimate guru for guidance: Cofer Black, the Vice Chair of Blackwater USA. Mr. Black is known for his bravado, including a pledge to the White House that he would send them Osama bin Laden’s head in a box packed with dry ice. But of course it was Mr. Black who failed in efforts to catch bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders as they disappeared into the caves and ravines of Tora Bora. He moved from that high accomplishment to Blackwater, which is now engulfed in a series of scandals reflecting questionable management practices. Moreover, CIA officers complain that Black’s move to Blackwater entailed the privatization of vital national security relationships for personal profit, another hallmark of abuse in the Bush Administration.

McCain is turning for guidance to American military tradition and ethics. Romey on the other hand draws on Hollywood cartoons and adventurists. It’s quite a difference. And at the moment, it looks like the Republican base will take Chuck Norris over George Washington and Dwight Eisenhower any day.

Among the other candidates in the Republican field, Huckabee is clearly in the process of transforming his position on the torture question. He’s drawing closer to John McCain’s view with each passing debate. I’ll go out on a limb and say we’ll soon see three Republican candidates taking a clear-cut anti-torture position: John McCain, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee. Not coincidentally, the first two are the Republican candidates who consistently draw the most support from the active-duty military. Huckabee is clearly intent on pitching more effectively to the same community."

- Scott Horton

"It's a defining issue and this was a defining moment. Romney's pathetic and despicable inability to say that he opposes waterboarding and that waterboarding is torture disqualifies him from the presidency, in my view. If we are going to recover from the profound moral disgrace of the Bush-Cheney torture regime, McCain and Paul are the only Republican candidates who should be considered for the job. I just wish McCain had taken on Giuliani as well. But God bless him. And God bless him for insisting that those who refuse to disown torture should actively support withdrawal from the Geneva Conventions. It's the only honest position to take. I saw the man defeated by Cheney and Addington in 2006 come back to fight again. God bless him."

- Andrew Sullivan

If only Jack Bauer were a cop...

The CIA has always maintained that torture never produces reliable actionable intelligence.

This isn't 24 and Jack Bauer isn't real.

Tags for this video have been changed from '24, jack bauer, pilot, collegehumor' to '24, jack bauer, pilot, collegehumor, payphone, pager, dialup, AOL' - edited by djsunkid

"...unless of course you think that all of us scientists are in on it. <.< >.> <.< Dun. Dun. DUUUUUUHHHHH."
Don't give it away, Doc! That's for season 9, where Jack Bauer tortures the truth out of us and discovers that gravity is a myth and bacteria don't exist!

P.S. The only concerted, controlled destruction the Bush administration is capable of is of itself.

"It's just a matter of time before one of them goes off."

[T-man waterboards rougy]: How much time!! Where is it hidden?!? Don't make me go all Jack Bauer on your ass!

I think the voice acting is fine but they don't always gel nicely with the visuals. With some characters it will look like they are being poorly dubbed or the voice doesn't seem to be a good fit given a character's appearance.

Must say I'm looking forward to this game. They claim it's "Jack Bauer in space" which as high-concept pitches go is utterly magnificent.

Let's use this to stalk Kim Bauer (remember a cougar stalking her in 24).

Jack Bauer is a cylon, duh.

You don't get it? This was his elite training program. Why else do you think he's invulnerable to pain, gun shots, torture and bodily functions. Ask yourself, have you ever seen Jack Bauer pee?

Case closed.

Somehow I don't think Jack Bauer would put up with the kind of crap associated with operating within a Lynchian universe

Thats Jack Bauer working undercover and you know it.

Farhad, I've talked to you about 9/11 conspiracies a number of times now, and I still have no idea what you're alleging - if you're alleging anything at all.

Perhaps the biggest conspiracy of all is assigning some kind of Jack Bauer-esque super-competence on government agencies, who clearly fuck up and do stupid things just as often (and probably more often) as any other group of people.

None of the intelligence agencies were talking to each other at the time, and the biggest bunch of morons to ever occupy the White House and a Congressional majority were in power. Chalking 9/11 up to apathy and incompetence is THE most obvious (and the correct) answer.

Yes that is true k8_fan, you are an informed minority amongst a group of people whose knowledge of torture sometimes only extends to Jack Bauer's exploits in 24.