Smoke, Magnets and McGuffins: trying to understand LOST

What the fuck is up with that island.

So we know it's somewhere in the Sunda Trench, which is where exactly?
We know that it's time works differently on there and leaving the island will seem like days to those on the island but only an hour to those leaving the place.
We know you can only leave the place via a certain path, or paths since there's been multiple ways ppl have left or entered the vaccinity of the island. But it has something to do with the magnetic fields or some shit.
But what of these flashbacks and what do they have to do with the overall mythology of the show? Sure they're there to fill us in on back stories and how the characters have met but there's got to be some strong connection that ties at least 50% of survivors/others/Desmonds together otherwise why the fuck are they there? In a show that revolves so heavily around keeping it's audiences attention (and in todays day in age that is no easy task for something that is intelligent), focus and puzzle-solving why would it be filled with sob story sub plots to distract from why they are really there. Because Ben wanted/needed them to be.
Jack for his spinal surgeory superpowers, Locke for his connection to the earth, perhaps even Kate for her slippery nature. Sayid for his interrorgating techniques and perhaps even Hurley for his millions of gold deblumes.
But what of Claire? Could that be a reward to Jack for his troubles, introducing him to his half sister?
Jin and Sun seem to be McGuffin material though Jin did work for a big bad boss so he might be of use there. Or could Suns impending death be just a decoy and Jin will be the one to die for thier cause.
Perhaps Charles Whitmore the billionaire tycoon father of Penny, Desmonds one true love, is the link that keeps the chains together.
He could know Jacks father, a director of surgeory, he could even know Suns father, another business tycoon.
Or could Charles Whitmore be the one who's after the island, and Ben. Actually, we already know that lol. But more so, Penny his daughter knows about the island and is after Desmond, Whitmore knows Desmond is there...
And with this 'constant' thing.... What happens in the past, between Des seeign Daniel and Des going to the island that makes Daniel know Des is his constant?? Or does Desmond go into the future?
Does Des visit other castaways and that's why we've been seeing the flash backs?
But what really floats my boat in all this is the plane that was found and advertised to the world, 200+ dead passengers on the bottom of the ocean.
Where the fuck did that come from.
Could Ben REALLY be behind it all? If so, wierd, he's an amazign character in the show because as much as we know we don't really know anythign about him. Nor his invisible friend Jacob.
And about Jacob could he be the god we all pray too or a representation of and the island be the belly button of the world. The place where it all began? Though it's probably something a bit more scientific than spiritual, thuogh it's still all fuckign wierd you gotta admit.
Can't wait for Grant Bowler to pop up on the show, he's one of Williams favourite actors and we're both excited at the prospect.
Hope he's a gruff looking sailor on the ship S Diddy and Desmond are on!
Speaking of the scotsman, is what he is suffering from this so called "sickness" the french womans team died of? We think so

Also when is Michael actually going to appear again and how? We 'know' its supposed to happen but who knows and when and how and why. Also if Michael appears is he with Walt? We do know that Ben gave him the directions off the Island and a boat but where is Michael. Is he working with Ben? Thinking back I do think I remember Ben saying something to Michael about getting to a boat when he gave him the directions, I may be wrong though my memory isn't as good as it used to be. Is that the boat Naomi's crew is on? Or is Michael not involved with that and going to come back and rescue the survivors? Though we now know that there is apparently 6. What's happened to the rest of the survivors? Are they living on the Island?
Is that who Sayid is trying to protect? Or is he protecting the Oceanic 6 and the rest got that 'sickness'?
One thing I don't get is why Kate has Claires baby. Does that mean Claire's dead? Also Jack doesn't want to see him, Why is that? Does Jack even know that his Claire's half brother and Aaron's uncle?
Our guess is that the psychic will pop up on the island and tell claire she has to get rid of the baby, to someone else, to kate, and stays on the island with Locke and Sawyer who won't be leaving the island by choice.
And how will it all end? Will the final moments be of the island being destroyed and if the land does have somehting to do with the earth/time/something bigger then what would destroying it do?

Will the survivors arrive back on the island in the final scene as a flashforward whilst in the present time they leave the island.
And these flash backs and forwards could they be both in an episode or one and the same? When it's revealed at the end of the season 3 finale that it's a flash forward could that mean there was more we haven't realised?

As we said earlier they'd have to tie into the show somehow otherwise it's meaningless padding.

When shall Libby return as well? We were left on sucha cliffhanger with her in Hurleys flash back, she has to have more to do with it.
Just has to.
oops, she is...