John Cantlie - Sonic from Fast Bikes

[LoonR1]

moanthebairns said:

He was unbiased until he was captured.

I'd like to see how you would respond with a glock pointed to your head.

I'm sure you would put them in their place loon, I can imagine it. "don't be so fking stupid the dvla hasn't fked up your licence your just a fascist with a grievance with the west, of Wales. You're making it up".....bang

Edited by moanthebairns on Friday 13th February 21:33

I'd do exactly what he's doing. That was actually my point which was in response to your comment that his videos were unbiased. They tend not to be when you've got an AK47 shoved in your gut.

[moanthebairns]

LoonR1 said:

moanthebairns said:

He was unbiased until he was captured.

I'd like to see how you would respond with a glock pointed to your head.

I'm sure you would put them in their place loon, I can imagine it. "don't be so fking stupid the dvla hasn't fked up your licence your just a fascist with a grievance with the west, of Wales. You're making it up".....bang

Edited by moanthebairns on Friday 13th February 21:33

I'd do exactly what he's doing. That was actually my point which was in response to your comment that his videos were unbiased. They tend not to be when you've got an AK47 shoved in your gut.

I was talking about before he got captured. In the page before I commented about them being propaganda videos.

[LoonR1]

moanthebairns said:

I was talking about before he got captured. In the page before I commented about them being propaganda videos.

It's still pretty stupid going back though. Getting captured once should be enough for ten lifetimes.

[moanthebairns]

LoonR1 said:

moanthebairns said:

I was talking about before he got captured. In the page before I commented about them being propaganda videos.

It's still pretty stupid going back though. Getting captured once should be enough for ten lifetimes.

It's his passion. Why do people go on bikes after being seriously injured. Why do people climb mountains when there is a storm brewing.

You buy the ticket you take the ride

[LoonR1]

moanthebairns said:

It's his passion. Why do people go on bikes after being seriously injured. Why do people climb mountains when there is a storm brewing.

You buy the ticket you take the ride

His passion? If someone said their passion was bathing in blood, then going for a naked swim with Great White sharks, then you'd say they were pretty stupid. That's about the level his "passion" is at.

[Fleegle]

LoonR1 said:

He went, got captured, escaped, came back to Britain, and then went back and got captured again. I'd call that pretty dangerous amd stupid.

This exactly

I hope he gets out alive, but FFS what possessed him to go back the second time?? They say cats have 9 lives, us mere humans aren't so lucky

I wonder if Terry Waite would have gone back so quickly?

[srob]

B17NNS said:

The bloke is doing what any sane person would do. Whatever it takes to stay alive in the hope that one day he will be free and able to return to his loved ones.

This is where I struggle with it. Any sane person wouldn't have gone there in the first place, let alone go back after he's already been freed (and shot in the process, I believe).

I hope that he does make it home safely, but I fear he won't this time. Before you go into a situation like this you have to make the decision whether you're willing to not come home to your family again, in the name of documenting what's happening (and the cynic would say, make a name for yourself and chase the storm, so to speak.)

[moanthebairns]

LoonR1 said:

moanthebairns said:

It's his passion. Why do people go on bikes after being seriously injured. Why do people climb mountains when there is a storm brewing.

You buy the ticket you take the ride

His passion? If someone said their passion was bathing in blood, then going for a naked swim with Great White sharks, then you'd say they were pretty stupid. That's about the level his "passion" is at.

I feel the same way about homosexuality. Doesn't mean I go around calling them fked in the head and sadists.

[LoonR1]

moanthebairns said:

I feel the same way about homosexuality. Doesn't mean I go around calling them fked in the head and sadists.

What? They bum sharks too?

[moanthebairns]

LoonR1 said:

moanthebairns said:

I feel the same way about homosexuality. Doesn't mean I go around calling them fked in the head and sadists.

What? They bum sharks too?

They don't call sharks man eaters for nothing.

[RedCitroen]

I believe that he went back to thank the people who helped free him. As posters have said if it wasn't for brave individuals like John reporting and documenting the atrocities we would not know half the st that's going down.

[s3fella]

Fleegle said:

I wonder if Terry Waite would have gone back so quickly?

It took him ages to get his bike fixed.

[Schnellmann]

Without knowing more details it would be harsh to pass final judgement but at face value it seems ill advised to return to a war zone where you have already shown potential ineptitude (having been kidnapped once).

If he really did go back to thank the people that helped him to freedom the first time then it is trully bizarre: a bit like having a road accident on the way to thank people that saved your life after an earlier road accident.

I do hope he survives, however unlikely that seems at this point.

[Clinton Baptiste]

The other journalist who was killed by them (James Foley) was also on a return visit having being previously kidnapped and released, they never learn. Play stupid games win stupid prizes.

[B17NNS]

RedCitroen said:

I believe that he went back to thank the people who helped free him

Send a note and some chocolates?

[LoonR1]

RedCitroen said:

I believe that he went back to thank the people who helped free him. As posters have said if it wasn't for brave individuals like John reporting and documenting the atrocities we would not know half the st that's going down.

That's just plain stupid. What reports? I don't remeber seeing a single report from him prior to his capture and his reports now make it look like a gentle stroll through any holiday destination. There's certainly no atrocities being reported by him

[RedCitroen]

He was freelance. Most likely he sold his reports to other agencies. He's more likely to be reporting and documenting atrocities over there than us keyboard warriors sitting at home in comfort. He might have been foolhardy to return however that doesn't warrant him potentially losing his head.

[Dare2Fail]

Aren't all the 'he's an idiot for going/goin back' just arguments about degrees of risk that people are prepared to take? Case in point is that I know loads of people who think I am borderline suicidal for riding a motorbike, but to me it is no big deal as it is acceptable based on my personal view of risk. Other people do things that I wouldn't be comfortable with but I'd be pretty hypocritical to start calling them idiots simply because they are prepared to take risks that I am not prepared to take. It's all a matter of degrees.

[LoonR1]

Not really. Most of the risks we take are massively mitigated and the chances of serious injury or death are remote. Going back to somewhere that you e been kidnapped and shot and expecting a different result is pretty fking stupid.

I ride past the one place that I've had a bike crash many times a week. What I tend not to do now is try to run a red light at 60 when there's a car waiting to turn right anymore. Last time it hurt. A lot.

We're supposed to learn from experience. Repeating the same actions and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity.

[RedCitroen]

So you got back on your bike and he went back to Syria. As we do not know the circumstances surrounding his second kidnapping, we cannot just assume that he wasn't more cautious.