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Congratulations on reaching new heights on VideoSift. You have earned yourself 14 stars, earning you status of Bronze Star member. You have been awarded 1 Power Point for achieving this level. Thanks for all your contributions.

I see it this way: I would never post a video I would not vote on myself, so it´s always an automatic upvote for my own stuff.
(Plus everyone else does it

In reply to this comment by sl666:
just for you - i do feel like a whore when i do it though.

Wow. Where to begin?

Your comparison to a policeman shooting an unarmed suspect is flawed, because cocaine and other illegal narcotics happen to kill an enormous amount of people, directly and indirectly. More so, in fact, than armed fleeing criminals, by a significant factor.

This leads into your argument about shooting down a defenseless plane. No, they could NOT have followed them until it landed. By the time it landed, it would have been outside of their jurisdiction, meaning the criminals on the plane would have gotten away scot free. But hey, how could you know, you're just tossing out comments on the interbutts, nobody's actually going to call you on your incorrect assumptions of international interdiction procedures, right?

And as for "absolutely no threat"....see:
US Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Office of Applied Studies. Results from the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: national findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; 2006.

Over 15,000 people will die this year in the United States alone from narcotics overdoses. Just because those people on the plane weren't putting a gun to Americans' heads and pulling the trigger doesn't mean they weren't contributing in a very real way to the deaths of thousands.

And don't tell me what I assume about people on that plane. Those people on the plane were very likely middle-level runners, with slightly-above average income for their country because, as you suggested, it was the best job they could get. That does not, however, mean that they could not have gotten other, lower-paying-but-non-criminal jobs, especially the pilot. That also does not mean that they did not have a very good idea of the effects their successful run would have on other faceless people. That also does not mean they did not have fair warning, or have full knowledge of the possible retribution for their actions. The terms of engagement have been well-declared, documented, and acknowledged for a long time. They knew what they were getting into when they agreed to run drugs for a cartel. Hell, they were warned repeatedly by the military jets, yet they chose to ignore those warnings and continue anyway. Or did you miss that?

As for your bit about Bush, way to make a baseless accusation - I guess anybody who disagrees with you has to be evil incarnate, just like Dubya? I was for Gore the first time around, and campaigned for Dean and later Kerry during the 2004s. So the hell with your throwaway lines, if you're so quick to judge that I'm the kind of person who votes for Bush, you're the kind of divisive, whiny airhead that lost us the elections.

In reply to your comment:
“

In reply to your comment:
“ Sl666's comment was just pure idiocy, and I'm not in the habit of suffering idiots.”

Thing is rembar, i think you are the idiot - sorry for the delayed reply,

I would prefer none of them had to die, but i cannot sanction actions to shoot down a defenceless plane.. they could have just followed it until it landed and arrested them? they were absoloutely no threat.

Would you say the same if a policeman shot someone who was running away from them? no weapon?

You assume that everyone on that plane was some evil Columbian drug lord, that probably isn't the case, it was probably flown and crewed by people that work for a drug lord because it was the best job they could get.

Defend my country, no worries, defend my family, no worries, shoot down a civilian plane? f**k no, thats an act of terrorism.

Its people like you that voted for bush.”