Those goddamn French strike again.

France vetoes Lockerbie deal.

Long overdue to the families of the victims, and those stinky fucksticks have to stick their noses where they are not wanted once AGAIN.

Looks like the wrong Frenchies are getting fried. :rolleyes:

Sorry, I don't agree.

Families of tragedies don't deserve anything, whether it be an accident or a terrorist activity.

My taxes are paying for a zillion dollars for greedy 9/11 families (they get $4.3M each) who should have had insurance.

Money doesn't raise the dead, and people who accept that money are only in it for the money.

I agree with Ian. I am very sorry for the loss these people had to endure. But they dont deserve that much money. LIbya need to be held accountable for sure, but France is doing this because they want money too.

How is it the World Trade Center families get 4.3 million and yet families of our soldiers who die get like 5 grand or something like that. Even the families from Oklahoma are going to sue now I hear. Everyone thinks they are owed something.

I think 9/11 set a dangerous precedent. After the DC sniper event, they were taking donations for the families of the victims. So what about the other people killed on the streets of DC? What made the sniper victims more deserving?

Donations are fine. But arent the 9/11 families getting the money from the government? I may be wrong.

I do agree it is a dangerous precedent.

Yeah, the government gave them money, but from what I understand, if they accepted it, they gave up all rights to sue anyone (tradeoff, I suppose...we'd pay for it either way).

As much as I hate the Frenchies, I agree with what others are saying. A death is a death in my book. All families should be treated and compensated equally. Actually, I think families of our troops are more deserving, but I won't go there. I just kind it kind of odd that a few known lefties here are all about equality when they dedicate their lives here pushing unequality between classes.

Well, if that's a thinly veiled poke at me, I have said it before - I am middle of the road on most things, but lean toward the left on social issues, and lean toward the right on economic issues.

Regardless, if it IS a poke at me, show me where I've pushed INequality between classes. If it's not a poke at me, never mind.

Holy crap, i agree with you too. It is very tragic what happened to these people, but millions of dollars to the families, sounds a little extreme to me.

First of all.... all the 9/11 families are not getting $4.3 million each. The amount is based on a formula set by the Special Master appointed to oversee the fund. Yeah, a few families may be getting that much...but not many. The families also have to sign away their rights to sue for damages in civil court.

I do think it was wrong for the government to jump in and set up this fund. Plus the formula to calculate the settlement is ridiculous. They set it up with one purpose...so THEY would not be sued. They lied and said it was to protect the airline industry. That is total bullshit. Why the hell should other American taxpayers have to pay money to victims families for actions committed by foreign terrorists without knowing the full level of accountability of their own government. It's not right. A settlement fund should come from the frozen assets of the terrorist organizations involved. Besides, are the taxpayers responsible to protect airlines? I don't think so.

If taxpayers are going to have to pay then the families should sue. Let the chips fall where they may. Americans need to know that their government is not doing their job. It was the Federal Government's fault that these terrorists were here in the first place so they have a very large degree of culpability in the whole thing. If the Feds were even remotely interested in enforcing their own existing laws, 9/11 would never have happened. The Feds are getting off cheap by paying off the families from this fund and they have to disclose nothing. A lawsuit would require the plaintiffs lawyers to have access to Federal records, documents, policy meeting records, email records, etc. A plethora of stuff. They would never want this to happen and will do anything to prevent it from happening. That's why the government wants to pay these families. The truth is they are paying them to go away.

What was one of the biggest obstacles in the lawsuit filed by some victims families against the Saudi government? It was our own Federal government... most notably The State Department.

The families of the victims of Pan Am 103 do deserve money from the Libyan government. Libya has admitted their guilt. That's it so let these dirtbags pay. The families do deserve some type of remuneration and compensation for this willful and deliberate terrorist act. This should also not be going on for 15 years. That is not right. (more State Dept. meddling and foot dragging) Fuck France. They have a lot of business dealings all over North Africa. This is a self serving act on their part.

Hey.... What happened to all the money collected by the numerous corrupt charities after 9/11 for the victims families? They cashed in big time on a national tragedy. The families got a little but the charities kept a huge amount for themselves and other reasons. Where is the outrage here?

I can't think of one single reason why the families of victims of 9/11 should receive any money from our Government sans Social Security.

A family member having a massive coronary or any other catastrophic event for a family doesn't earn you millions from the Government.

They were victims, the families are victims and I feel for them. It's called life insurance, you pay it yourself in case something like this happens. It's cheap.

"Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without your tuba" -Gen. Schwarzkopf
Screw the French and their crusty bread!
"I can't be a rascist, I don't even drive a fast car" -ME

First, F^&K the french. As far as I am concerned they can all lick my redeye. Paris is the most beautiful city in the world...and I will never go back unless it is to take a crap in the Seine.

Second, I sympathize with the loss of loved ones on Sep 11. They do not however deserve compensation from the government...private donations..fine...other than that, buy insurance.

Third, write your representatives and tell them to stop supporting the airlines with our tax dollars...maybe then we will get decent service and security.

lets face the facts. the only heroes of 9/11 are the firemen, paramedics, and police officers that went back into those doomed buildings. in addition to the rescue workers at the pentagon and those brave fearless people that prevented that last plane from crashing into God knows what. the people in the buildings are only poor people who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and deserve zero compensation. thats why i buy insurance. a soldier dies and the widow gets a lifetime lump sump of 6500$ and they tax it too. come on lets be real here and think with our brains and not our emotions.

What Libya is trying to acomplish here is not to get the Lockerbie problem solved but to get the UN sanctions lifted. Libya has been a know cest pool for terrorism for ages, I am dumbfounded the Dubya did not pave that country before Iraq. 2.7 Billion dollars will be a drop in the bucket if the sanctions are lifted.

Before you slam your favorite country try and understand why, If the UN lifts the sanctions more moeny will flow into funding these shitheads and their activities. Do I think they deserve money perhaps, but not at the cost of more terrorism or to ease pressure on a country that is run by a madman...

You are definitely right Claus about not lifting the sanctions on Libya. The families of the Lockerbie bombing can be paid out of the Libyan assets that are still frozen here in the U.S. I don't know how much the value is but it is a good start. (Of course the U.S. State Dept. weenies would object. Foggy Bottom bites the bone)

Yeah sure, we should make Libya a giant glass parking lot. (Syria and Iran also) I'm surprised you say that. Weren't you one of the guys who complained about us attacking Iraq?

Yup and I still think Iraq was the wrong priority, Libya is a good example.Afghanistan is also a long term difficult project. We have been through this before, I would have liked to see a Terrorist witch hunt that would have flushed Bin laden out and dealt a serious blow to terrorist organisations around the globe.

Ian, I agree with this statement to the fullest.

Why our government is compensating these individuals is beyond me(besides the whole way America is these days).

I'm just sour over the whole Lockerbie thing cause the families sued the right fucking people for once. Rare thing in this country, or so it seems. Had the families who had people die in 9/11 sued Osama Bin Laden and not taken any other money(except private donations), I would of supported that as well.

Just out of curiosity, what does the ACLU have to do with this whole thing? Just because they tend to be viewed as being in the "left" camp?

I just mentioned them because they came to mind as the kind of lawyers that come running everytime they hear something they don't like. I am sure though, that they would be the first ones to step up and sue the airlines for some bogus charge.

Understandable you'd have that view (not attacking your view, just an observation).

But the airline thing - it has nothing to do with Civil Liberties, so the ACLU shouldn't have any interest in it.

Understandable you'd have that view (not attacking your view, just an observation).

But the airline thing - it has nothing to do with Civil Liberties, so the ACLU shouldn't have any interest in it.

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Correct you are, but I am sure they would find a way somehow.