Here's an important news bulletin for anyone in Russia: American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the name of a private business. It is not the name of an organization of the American government which broadcasts TV. The American government cannot stop them from airing almost anything. That isn't the way things work here. In this country, private citizens control the government. The government does not control private citizens.

Recently the Russians formally protested ABC and Ted Koppel's Nightline broadcast of an interview with Chechen rebel leader Shamil Basayev which included discussion of Basayev's "courageous" attacks carried out against defenseless Russian elementary school children last year. These "brave" rebels shot children dead after they permitted them to sit in their own feces while working on total dehydration. These "honorable" actions taken in defense of the poor defenseless people of Chechnya obviously emboldened Koppel to do the "right thing" and air their propaganda errr opinions.

Koppel noted the Russian protest during the broadcast and added something along the lines of freedom of speech not being an issue when a popular person states a popular point of view. Right Ted, that's how we all see things. But maybe there's another way to look at it. Maybe the entire population of Russia is still completely out of its mind with grief and rage, and maybe they just think its wrong to broadcast anything these cowards have to say.

Koppel is a jackass and ABC is idiotic for airing his verbal excrement. I hope they are ashamed of themselves. Does this talking head with the peculiar hair and the silly manner of speaking honestly think anybody is behind him on this?

Here's an important news bulletin for ABC, Koppel, and the Russians. None of this matters because nobody is watching Nightline. The sooner Nightline and, this brainless wonder, Ted Koppel are off the air, the better. It is a waste of valuable airtime. I'm sure some info-mercial selling a detergent that works or a way to get in shape can fill the time slot and the world will be better served.

One final thought on this: To the Associated Press whose story entitled "Russia Upset by Chechen Warlord Interview" I read about this, Basayev is not a "Chechen Warlord." He is undeniably an al Qaeda terrorist leader. Can we please call a spade a spade? If you need to modify what you call him to remove "terrorist," there are a number of terms you can try which are far more accurate than "warlord." Try these: "coward," "child killer," "weakling" "swine"