The reporter in this story about topless sunbathing says sunbathers in Sydney “will have to wait and see whether a new, more prudish standard is set for them.”

Is it your job to report news, or to pass moral judgments? In my view your characterization of the objection of some to topless sunbathing as “prudish” fits the category of judge, instead of reporter. Report the news, and let the viewer make the moral judgments.

P.E.

“Prudish” is a subjective description. We should have gone with a more neutral term: GBU Editor

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Retailers’ holiday sales plummet

NEW YORK - Retailers’ sales fell as much as 4 percent during the holiday season, as the weak economy and bad weather…

Plummet? You really need to use the word plummet when talking about 4%? Wow.

i know you want to catch the attention of readers. But honestly… plummet? You are not helping the economy by using terms like that.

K.B.

4 % is a “plummet”???!! Maybe if everyone expected 100% positive growth! Your editors blew it on the headline for this story. Shame on you for perpetuating the myth of a total disaster.

Bob S.

A number of readers objected to this word, but I think it was fair. The 4 percent figure included groceries, but for many retailers the declines were much, much steeper.

The story mentioned that women’s apparel sales fell 22.7 percent, sales at specialty electronics and appliance chains fell 26.7 percent, etc. That sounds like a plummet to me: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Mike Segar

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“Valkyrie” challenges fans to rethink Tom Cruise

Cruise, of course, enjoys All-American looks that helped send him to movie stardom playing heroic young men such as Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in 1986 movie Top Gun. As of late, he’s been on a mea culpa tour to explain his odd behavior in recent years and to regain his good-guy image with fans.

I can’t believe that one of your writers would actually make the subversive comment about “All-American” looks.. Tell your writer that this country is full of European genetics. Neither American soil nor citizenship alters genetics. Duh!

I’ll question, from now on, whether reading a Reuters’ commentary is any better than the grocery-store rags.

T.N.L.

Yes, this country is full of genes from just about everyplace, not just Europe. While the idea of “All-American looks” is commonly used here it would be difficult to explain and probably shouldn’t be used for an international audience, for fear of sounding as though we have a corner on good looks. There was also a bit of irony in this instance, since Cruise has German ancestors, among others: GBU Editor

Actor Tom Cruise speaks as he is interviewed while promoting the movie “Valkyrie” at the MuchMusic television station in Toronto December 8, 2008. REUTERS/Mark Blinch

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‘Marley & Me’ top dog at busy Christmas box office

“Marley & Me” sold an estimated $37 million worth of tickets during the traditional three-day weekend beginning on Friday, distributor 20th Century Fox said on Sunday. Jennifer Aniston and Owen Wilson star in the adaptation of a bestseller about a couple and their golden retriever.

In Marley & Me the dog is a yellow Labrador not a golden retriever

Benjamin

A number of readers pointed this out to us. We corrected: GBU Editor

Clyde, the dog who plays Marley, sits at the premiere of “Marley & Me” in Westwood, California, December 11, 2008. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

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French Madoff investor found dead in NY office

A receiver has been appointed to oversee Madoff’s firm, while investigators pour over masses of documents and conduct interviews to assess the losses and probe whether anyone else was involved.

Simon S.

Of course. This same mistake has made a number of guest appearances in GBU over the years: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Shannon Stapleton

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An appreciation of some underrated movies

Then there are the cases of those sequences that proved fun even if the movies that surrounded them were problematic. Early in “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull,” for example, Harrison Ford’s Indy stumbled into a weirdly perfect 1950s track home only to discover that it is the target in a nuclear testing site.

This story has a reference to a “track home.” The correct phrase is tract home.

J.C.

You’re right. This was a Hollywood Reporter story that was included in a Reuters news product: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Yuriko Nakao

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UN climate talks progress on aid for poor nations

POZNAN, Poland, Dec 12 (Reuters) - U.N. climate talks made progress on Friday towards launching a fund to help poor nations adapt to the impacts of climate change, such as floods, droughts or rising sea levels, after two weeks of deadlock.

Former U.S. President Al Gore won the biggest applause of the two-week conference with a speech predicting a far more active U.S. climate policy under President-elect Barack Obama after President George. W Bush.

Al Gore is not a former U.S president. He served for eight years as vice-president under Bill Clinton.

Joe V.

Not surprisingly, a number of readers noticed this one. We corrected: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Kacper Pempel

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Banks, consumers brace for new US credit card rules

In 2007, Americans were using an estimated 694.4 billion credit cards with Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover logos, according to the Card Industry Directory.

Really? That’s about 2,000 credit cards per American. Doesn’t anybody at Reuters read the stories before posting to make sure they even make sense?

Lee O.

We corrected: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Sam Mircovich

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Sci-fi fan Keanu Reeves jumped at alien role

Growing up in the 1970s, the Canadian-born Reeves, 44, said he loved the “Stars Wars” movies and read books like “1984″ and “Brave New World.”

As in the original “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” humans react with panic and terror when an alien craft lands in New York and an alien Klaatu (Reeves), backed up by the towering, indestructible robotic figure of Gort, emerges to warn people and world leaders that the planet is facing a crisis.

Your site erroneously lists Mr. Reeves as Canadian-born. In fact, he was born in Beirut, Lebanon. He said it publicly on “The Tonight Show” with Jay Leno.

Romulus

The original film is set in Washington DC. No SF fans at Reuters?

S.K.

Thanks. We corrected both points: GBU Editor.

REUTERS photo by Jorge Dan Lopez

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“At the risk of annoying everyone here…” is how Deborah Charles prefaced her question to Barack Obama this morning after his announcement of Tom Daschle as the new Sec of HHS.

Hers was the ONLY question relevant to the news conference, and her prefacing comment was brilliant in that it a) shamed the previous reporters for obsessing about Blagojevich and b) exhibited responsible reporting by actually questioning Obama’s plan and how he intended to pay for it.

I just wanted to say how much I appreciated that question. It wasn’t a ’softball’ and it elicited more information from President-elect Obama than we otherwise would have gotten.

Sean

Thank you: GBU Editor

REUTERS photo by Jeff Haynes

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