besides now having more questions then answers, like usual (pet peev), i just dont even know where to start. these are the ones i can come up with:

1. was locke's father freshly kidnapped, or has he been there for awhile? it appeared to me that he was freshly snatched. so in that case...

2. do they still have a way to get on and off of the island? i was lead to believe that the man from tallahassee went and got locke's father while locke was blowing up the sub.

3. if the fbi couldnt find this guy, how did they find him?

It looked like the cuts were fesh. They were that real bright red, blood usually gets a brownish tint after a while.

I think that it would be kind of cool if they had Cooper there for years, living as a resident. He needed a place to flee, the Other's had an island completely off the radar for him to flee to.

Then, once Locke came around and Ben realized that he would be able to manipulate Locke, they started looking at Cooper in a different light. Locke breaks in to Ben's room and and Ben realizes it is time to round up Cooper. Cooper struggles and that is why he is freshly mussed up.

A possibility.

besides now having more questions then answers, like usual (pet peev), i just dont even know where to start. these are the ones i can come up with:

1. was locke's father freshly kidnapped, or has he been there for awhile? it appeared to me that he was freshly snatched. so in that case...

2. do they still have a way to get on and off of the island? i was lead to believe that the man from tallahassee went and got locke's father while locke was blowing up the sub.

3. if the fbi couldnt find this guy, how did they find him?

I definitely think that there is nothing 'normal' about this situation. If it's not supernatural then I'm really at a loss for words...and frankly I hope there IS something more than wierd science going on here.

I was distracted for part of the show so I can't remember exactly what was said about the "man from Talahasee"...but didn't Ben tell Richard to simply 'go get him'. And we didn't see him after that right? So Locke's father probably IS the Man from Talahasee...and they may have had him stored somewhere else...and Ben wanted him brought out so that Locke could see him.

It looked like the cuts were fesh. They were that real bright red, blood usually gets a brownish tint after a while.

I think that it would be kind of cool if they had Cooper there for years, living as a resident. He needed a place to flee, the Other's had an island completely off the radar for him to flee to.

Then, once Locke came around and Ben realized that he would be able to manipulate Locke, they started looking at Cooper in a different light. Locke breaks in to Ben's room and and Ben realizes it is time to round up Cooper. Cooper struggles and that is why he is freshly mussed up.

A possibility.

A good possibility... But Cooper in Dharma? Doesn't seem to mesh.

Also, if there is the mythical "Box" that Ben was talking about that would explain Kate's Horse, Jack's Dad, etc. But now they are no apperations... but real.

Coop's bruises were fresh. He also looked mighty scared and even more shocked when John peeked in the door.

But, could Ben have known about John's dad from his days as a prisoner and once he was returned to his camp, sent out people to get "barganing chips?"

A good possibility... But Cooper in Dharma? Doesn't seem to mesh.

Also, if there is the mythical "Box" that Ben was talking about that would explain Kate's Horse, Jack's Dad, etc. But now they are no apperations... but real.

Your right about Kate's horse, Jack's dad, and so on, but then how could Kate and Jack not be on the "list" if they are so in tune with the island as to be able to have these things appear. I got the impression that only those who were in tune with the island could have that happen. So many more questions from this show.

Could it be that this is Cooper's latest con?

Like Ben was faking when he was held captive in the Swan - maybe Cooper isn't really a prisoner of the Others?

I was wondering what exactly Ben meant by "go get" the man from Tallahassee. Normal meaning, in the context, would be get him from the holding cell or wherever he is and bring him to Ben's room. But that's not what happened - implying to me that Alpert actually got him from off the Island.