Journalistic Cheerleading

July 22, 2003 2:39 PM

Matt, delete this if you want. . . I am so pissed off by this. Let's get their heads mounted on pikes in the White House rose garden, while we are at it. (I apologize. . I needed to scream and this is the only place I know to.)
posted by Danf (111 comments total)

I don't get it.
posted by Captain_Tenille at 2:40 PM on July 22, 2003

I hate CNN too. Fucking assholes.
posted by y6y6y6 at 2:41 PM on July 22, 2003

I needed to scream and this is the only place I know to.

Don't you think this would have worked better:

Arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggggggg!
posted by DragonBoy at 2:42 PM on July 22, 2003

are you talking about the trumped card? with saddam's kids? ...yeah, messed up
posted by Peter H at 2:42 PM on July 22, 2003

Tackless, yes. But these men are mass murders and sadists on a scale that beggars belief. Unless you think the intelligence was hyped on that too....
posted by pjgulliver at 2:42 PM on July 22, 2003

"TRUMPED"???
posted by muckster at 2:42 PM on July 22, 2003

You know what really pisses me off?
posted by COBRA! at 2:42 PM on July 22, 2003

This really makes me mad!
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:44 PM on July 22, 2003

Let's get their heads mounted on pikes in the White House rose garden, while we are at it.

Sounds like a great idea to me. What's a pike?
posted by pardonyou? at 2:45 PM on July 22, 2003

pjgulliver. . . .it is doubtless that Saddam and his sons have perpetrated untold cruelties on the Iraqi people. But for a news outlet to, with so much bellicosity, trumpet their deaths. . .well it brings us, as a people, down a notch closer to their level.
posted by Danf at 2:45 PM on July 22, 2003

"What's a pike?"

Pike.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 2:46 PM on July 22, 2003

God damn it all, anyway!
posted by COBRA! at 2:46 PM on July 22, 2003

"TACKLESS" ????? Let me tell you what really pisses ME off!
posted by luriete at 2:46 PM on July 22, 2003

why would the New York Post change their URL to cnn.com?
posted by muckster at 2:47 PM on July 22, 2003

just to play devil's advocate, how many of you cracked jokes when strom thurmond died?
posted by mcsweetie at 2:48 PM on July 22, 2003

And in a backwards way.

That said it does seem like an unbelievably tabloid CNN front page. I think we can pretty much discount them as a serious news organisation from about now ...
posted by feelinglistless at 2:48 PM on July 22, 2003

Since when has CNN been a bastion of journalistic sensibility?
posted by moonbird at 2:49 PM on July 22, 2003

"What's a pike?"

Pike.
posted by wsg at 2:49 PM on July 22, 2003

The BBC are also reporting it on their 'front page', does that make them any less of a serious news organisation?

Would it perhaps be better if they didn't report it? or just put it somewhere in the middle of the paper, in small type?

I know, let's not report what is happening... that way the world will keep spinning with everyone oblivious.

If I've missed something very obvious, feel free to point it out.
posted by knapah at 2:54 PM on July 22, 2003

OK OK. .I have committed several venal sins upon this group by:
1. Posting about Iraq in general
2. Posting the link, as I did
3. Whatever else people care to cite, I am sure there is more.

As I said, if it's deleted, I don't especially mind. . .
And I offer humble and sincere apologies for any abuse of this forum that I just committed.
posted by Danf at 2:56 PM on July 22, 2003

Well this doesn't seem to be much of a discussion, but does anyone have some info on this old hearsay I remember from back in the day?
Didn't Bush Senior's administration attempt to assassinate Saddam in one of his palaces, and end up whacking his son instead. Then, in retaliation, there was Saddam's infamous attempt on Bush Senior's life.

Anyone got links to that? Having trouble picking good google keywords...
posted by zekinskia at 2:58 PM on July 22, 2003

"What's a pike?"

Pike.

Pike?
posted by pardonyou? at 2:58 PM on July 22, 2003

Whatever heralding the US media does on this pales in comparison to the celebration of terrorism Uday put on the front page of Babel (his newspaper) on September 12th 2001.
posted by clevershark at 2:58 PM on July 22, 2003

They are celebrating in Baghdad too.
posted by thomcatspike at 2:59 PM on July 22, 2003

Someone say pike?
posted by eatitlive at 3:00 PM on July 22, 2003

Oh I don't think that CNN is the issue here. I think that a few of the lefties here are just a teensy bit upset that the deaths of Sadaam's sons is a positive developement in Iraq. Good news from Iraq, of course, does not fit in well with the left wing's plans to portray Iraq as a "Vietnam-style quagmire." I just heard (on NPR, of all places) that people in Baghdad are celebrating! I wonder what Howard Dean is saying.
posted by Durwood at 3:02 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike?
posted by mazola at 3:02 PM on July 22, 2003

Whatever heralding the US media does on this pales in comparison to the celebration of terrorism Uday put on the front page of Babel (his newspaper) on September 12th 2001.

Well, that's great, if the goal of US media is to be marginally better than some despot's state run newspaper.
posted by jess at 3:03 PM on July 22, 2003

Um, I see a news site with, like, news on it.

Outrageous. (A post on this? How long will this link be relevant? It's not exactly a permlink)

Pike!
posted by dash_slot- at 3:03 PM on July 22, 2003

just to play devil's advocate, how many of you cracked jokes when strom thurmond died?

How many of us are a cable news channel with national exposure?

We're allowed to publicly revel in Thurmond's death (as well as the deaths of the younger Husseins) because we're private citizens and not (for the most part) professional journalists. But CNN is not supposed to editorialize on its front page under any circumstances. This gloating, especially as it's tied to the pro-war "deck of cards" metaphor, is deeply disturbing.
posted by Epenthesis at 3:04 PM on July 22, 2003

For those who are joining late ...

When this was originally posted. the CNN front page, above the news story had the word "TRUMPED" in big bold letters with scans of the Iraqi playing cards at either side. In the past few minutes this has been changed to "Sons Dead" which is a bit more journalistically sound.

It seemed a bit tasteless hence this FPP on Mefi. It did seem very amateurish, especially for a major news organisation without a track record of this kind of thing (although correct me if I'm wrong). Seemed a bit like Fox News would do to be honest (again correct me if necessary).
posted by feelinglistless at 3:04 PM on July 22, 2003

If this post isn't deleted, it's going to be awfully confusing in a couple of days.
posted by timeistight at 3:05 PM on July 22, 2003

Danf: I can completely understand your anger. But here's something constructive you can do: Put every one of your efforts into writing letters, passing out leaflets, talking with people and informing the general public on why this bothers you. Be willing to listen. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Be governed by reason, rather than the same frenzy that seems to be in season with Uncle Sam these days. It may not seem like much, but one day of doing this will be more than what most people muster in a lifetime.
posted by ed at 3:07 PM on July 22, 2003

When this was originally posted. the CNN front page, above the news story had the word "TRUMPED" in big bold letters with scans of the Iraqi playing cards at either side. In the past few minutes this has been changed to "Sons Dead" which is a bit more journalistically sound.


aha, that's more understandable to be irritated with. I was beginning to wonder how far mefi had gone there...
posted by knapah at 3:07 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike.

Pike?
posted by ehintz at 3:09 PM on July 22, 2003

Tackless, yes. But these men are mass murders and sadists on a scale that beggars belief....

Shouldn't we be better than those "mass murderers"?
Shouldn't we like, you know, give them a fair trial?
Shouldn't we at least be able to do something else than just shoot'em up in a firefight?

This isn't victorious, this is just plain barbaric.
posted by hoskala at 3:09 PM on July 22, 2003

Whatever heralding the US media does on this pales in comparison to the celebration of terrorism Uday put on the front page of Babel (his newspaper) on September 12th 2001.

Hmm, "not as bad as Uday Hussein" doesn't seem like much of a standard to live by.
posted by Ty Webb at 3:09 PM on July 22, 2003

If this post isn't deleted, it's going to be awfully confusing in a couple of days.
It's awfully confusing already. Thanks for filling us latecomers in feelinglistless.
posted by chill at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike.
posted by mazola at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2003

Anyone bother to save the page so we can link to a mirror (just in case this post is here for a while)?
posted by feelinglistless at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2003

Er, so it's already out of date, and Danf has done the honourable thing...

Do I detect the genesis of a new Mefi meme....

"It's a pike!"
posted by dash_slot- at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2003

Danf, I never read the CNN front page because when idiots have to summarize news in the way that will attract the most attention to themselves, they inevitably end up doing something that pisses me off.

So my reaction to the headline "SONS DEAD" is probably the same as yours. To report on the deaths of two dangerous men is one thing, but to do it from an angle that stresses that they were someone's children is another. This makes it sound like we're taunting Saddam -- hey, bitch, we killed your children!

That kind of ethic disappoints me, but then I think about it a little bit more and I have to admit that that's probably where we are as a society. Many of CNN's viewers are probably quite happy that Uday and Qusay are dead for the very reason that it is one more perceived victory over Our Great Enemy.

Don't get me wrong, that doesn't excuse it -- if anything it makes it worse.

That said, your post comes off as a cry for attention. Sadly, nobody really cares whether you want to scream or not. To tell the truth, anyone with reasonable intelligence and the misfortune to be paying attention to what's going on in the world already feels like screaming every time he opens a newspaper or turns on the television, so why do your frustrations warrant ventilation in a public forum?
posted by Hildago at 3:10 PM on July 22, 2003

danf you are a selfish jerk. Do you think Matt has the time or inclination to go around picking up shit that you purposefully lay on his doorstep? What a waste of his time. You don't have a place to complain? Hmm how hard is it to get your own website/weblog? No, the problem is that you don't have a place to complain where a ton of people will read it, so you abuse this space for your own annoying needs. It's pathetic, you are a loser, and you are a pain in the ass to the person who keeps this site going, plus you have the audacity to acknowledge in your own post that you are wasting his time.

"Matt delete this if you want". He should delete your account-- not because you are ignorant of how annoying you are, but because you are aware of it and post anyway.
posted by cell divide at 3:11 PM on July 22, 2003

If this post isn't deleted, it's going to be awfully confusing in a couple of days.

It's awfully confusing now.

And this has got me outraged. AAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHH!!
posted by dhoyt at 3:12 PM on July 22, 2003

Poop.
posted by mazola at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike.
posted by Acetylene at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2003

danf:

I'm not going to jump on you about this (no doubt others already have, and will). Chalk it up to experience and move on.

And shed no tears for those two sociopaths -- they got what they so richly deserved.
posted by mrmanley at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2003

I don't think CNN's in the clear yet--they're still linking this story from their front page.

(pike)
posted by Inkslinger at 3:14 PM on July 22, 2003

Last night on the Mass Pike
thought I was losing you...
posted by eyeballkid at 3:16 PM on July 22, 2003

Oh I don't think that CNN is the issue here. I think that a few of the lefties here are just a teensy bit upset that the deaths of Sadaam's sons is a positive developement in Iraq. Good news from Iraq, of course, does not fit in well with the left wing's plans to portray Iraq as a "Vietnam-style quagmire." I just heard (on NPR, of all places) that people in Baghdad are celebrating! I wonder what Howard Dean is saying.

Durwood, while its great that we got Saddam's sons, not that I really understand the fixation, I don't see how what Howard Dean is saying, is relevant.

And, regardless of how the war is progressing, the president has a lot of questions to answer about how and why he lied to the American people to get us to invade in the first place.

Unless the sons had all the missing WMDs stapped to their backs, I don't see how this lessens the questions surrounding this administration.
posted by bshort at 3:16 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike.
posted by brownpau at 3:16 PM on July 22, 2003

OTT
posted by dash_slot- at 3:16 PM on July 22, 2003

Hildago : see my previous post. That said, I can see what you mean.

cell divide : but don't posts like this add some much needed variety?
posted by feelinglistless at 3:17 PM on July 22, 2003

Speaking of Uday, how can you be upset at CNN, even if they trumpet it in a slightly tasteless manner?

The death of this man is something which should make anyone happy, even those who are against the war.
posted by pandaharma at 3:17 PM on July 22, 2003

And shed no tears for those two sociopaths

Sigh. Nobody is shedding tears for those two sociopaths, despite your obvious attempt at the usual straw man. Some people would just like major news organizations to behave with more class than a tabloid. Hell, even Durwood has to listen to NPR once in a while to remind himself what news for adults sounds like.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 3:18 PM on July 22, 2003

Okay. Yeah I agree it's pretty confusing now.

Does anyone have an origional copy of the item cached? I'd like to see it.
posted by delmoi at 3:19 PM on July 22, 2003

pike

Head on a pike?
posted by DragonBoy at 3:19 PM on July 22, 2003

Here's a grab.
posted by stonerose at 3:20 PM on July 22, 2003

Unless the sons had all the missing WMDs stapped to their backs, I don't see how this lessens the questions surrounding this administration.

Oh, I bet it will work for a lot of people. The timing is probably quite fortuitous, as many decide if a war is worthy of support on similar grounds to a decision about which sports team to support.
posted by Ignatius J. Reilly at 3:20 PM on July 22, 2003

Shouldn't we like, you know, give them a fair trial?
Shouldn't we at least be able to do something else than just shoot'em up in a firefight?

RTFA. 2nd paragraph:

"They resisted the detention and the efforts of the coalition forces to go in there and apprehend them, and they were killed in the ensuing gunfight and the attacks that we conducted on the residence."

You'd rather we'd gone in and tossed pretty tulips at them?
posted by dhoyt at 3:21 PM on July 22, 2003

BTW, Matt, feel free to link to that jpg on the off-chance you want to salvage this thread.
posted by stonerose at 3:22 PM on July 22, 2003

Shouldn't we at least be able to do something else than just shoot'em up in a firefight?

A fair trial would have been the very best outcome, but killing them is a second-best option which thoroughly satisfies me. Excellent job, US Ground Forces and Coalition Troops.

Danf, what I don't understand is how some people are always ready to rationalize if not excuse killers like Saddam and the fanatical, crime-inducing segment of the islamic press and get all hysterical when CNN or whoever it is gets carried away. Why is lefty outrage so unbalanced?
posted by 111 at 3:27 PM on July 22, 2003

Hooray for fark.
posted by delmoi at 3:27 PM on July 22, 2003

celldivide: Over the fucking line. People fuck up. The post will be going away. 'Nuff said. No need to start with name calling and derision.

Danf: Please do us a favor and get a blog. It's a perfect place to post things like this.

Pike!
posted by zpousman at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2003

just to play devil's advocate, how many of you cracked jokes when strom thurmond died?

me!
posted by mcsweetie at 3:29 PM on July 22, 2003

McSweetie has a point . . .
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 3:30 PM on July 22, 2003

Amazing how some of you are willfully obtuse enough to refuse to see the subtle difference between "made uneasy by the slow descent of mainstream US media into rah rah rah tabloid jingoism" and "wanting to toss tulips, rationalize and excuse mass murderers."
posted by muckster at 3:32 PM on July 22, 2003

danf, yer a jerk. since the cnn front page has changed by now (didn't you realize it changes like, 42,000 times a day?) if it weren't for stonerose i wouldn't know what you were whining about. on preview, what hildago and cell divide said.

i say we put your head on a pike.
posted by quonsar at 3:32 PM on July 22, 2003

Let me rephrase since McSweetie commented again, I was making reference to his first comment.
posted by RunsWithBandageScissors at 3:32 PM on July 22, 2003

This is some of the best of news we've had in awhile. If Saddam is still alive, I'm sure he turn up before too long.
posted by WLW at 3:36 PM on July 22, 2003

but don't posts like this add some much needed variety?

You mean as a change from all the posts that follow the guidelines?
posted by timeistight at 3:36 PM on July 22, 2003

"the news story had the word "TRUMPED" in big bold letters"

No no. I don't think that's what he's mad about. I mean, come on, he's pissed at a headline??? No way. He's pissed at CNN's use of huge, bandwidth sucking graphics on their homepage. And so am I damn it. How long do we have to put up with this crap?

Nobody would start a thread about their personal gripe with a transient headline. This is about deeper issues: The way on-line news sites cram huge image files down our bandwidth. It's unfair and we should all be as pissed as Danf.
posted by y6y6y6 at 3:37 PM on July 22, 2003

S'pike
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:38 PM on July 22, 2003

but don't posts like this add some much needed variety?

...

You mean as a change from all the posts that follow the guidelines?

A little righteous outrage at the events of our times (and coverage thereof) is a nice compliment to all the neat flash games we love so well.

I, for one, welcome our screaming overlords.
posted by scarabic at 3:39 PM on July 22, 2003

what muckster said. this whole day has been a big jingo-fest: saturation coverage of the return home of Pfc. Jessica Lynch, (bravely rescued from doctors and nurses in the face of non-existent opposition)... and now, this.

This is some of the best of news we've had in awhile. If Saddam is still alive, I'm sure he turn up before too long.

Why don't we just poison the finger-sandwiches they'll be serving at Uday and Qusay's funeral? Then, when Saddam eats one, he'll...
posted by stonerose at 3:40 PM on July 22, 2003

posted by ed at 3:43 PM on July 22, 2003

Has anyone else noticed this post hasn't been deleted or Metatalked yet?
posted by feelinglistless at 3:43 PM on July 22, 2003

title grapic on cnn (tv):

aces in the hole.
posted by c at 3:49 PM on July 22, 2003

save your screaming for when we get one of saddam's doubles and say it's him, Danf...
posted by amberglow at 3:49 PM on July 22, 2003

of course i meant graphic.

yeah this thread is great.
posted by c at 3:49 PM on July 22, 2003

I knew someone named Pike. Please don't make her wear Uday's head in front of 1600.

Meanwhile, in other news today:
1. Bush aide takes blame for Niger uranium thingy
2. FBI to take brunt of blame for 9/11
3. "Our Hero Jessica" came home
4. And Duhbya's back to thinking, "It's gooood to be the Boy King."

[And now the scores for Louganis' reverse 2 1/2 in the pike position ... TEN. TEN. TEN.]
posted by NorthernLite at 3:51 PM on July 22, 2003

Why exactly is this triumphant news for the U.S. effort in Iraq? Killing Iraqis hasn't exactly been difficult for American troops.

Is the expected benefit that whoever's been killing U.S. troops will stop now? Or ... that with them dead the keepers of the secret WMD stashes will finally start blabbing to the U.S.? Or, the U.S.-installed government will now eventually be more stable? Or, we're just tickled that bad men and those with them are dead?

Or what? Please explain.
posted by sacre_bleu at 3:54 PM on July 22, 2003

What the hell... Pike.

This thread sucks. I'm going home. (I apologize. . I needed to scream and this is the only place I know to.)
posted by mazola at 3:54 PM on July 22, 2003

zpousman, people fuck up all the time and I for one have never (I don't think) made a point of it. But this is the first time I remember someone saying: Hey I'm fucking up, here I go, and Matt if you don't like it just delete, like the man has nothing better to do than police this place. At least the standard fuckups are just people making an honest mistake-- which is part of Matt's personal cost in operating the site. But when you know you are doing it, and even take the time to point this out in the post itself, I find it rude, selfish, and annoying.

I am the last person to point stuff like this out, especially in the thread itself, but when people start taking Matt for granted, treating him like their personal janitor, that moves this place just a little closer to shutdown.
posted by cell divide at 3:55 PM on July 22, 2003

The only thing that could make this media circus more entertaining is if Saddam's response to this news was to smirk evilly and say, "To the cloning vats!"

Bad, bad post, yet I am utterly compelled to post here. I now understand American Idol.
posted by mkultra at 3:56 PM on July 22, 2003

Oh, and: piek!
posted by sacre_bleu at 3:56 PM on July 22, 2003

Hmmm... What's so bad about the "TRUMPED" headline? Some lowly-paid webslave probably decided on this somewhat-clever wordplay and decided to put it up. I really don't see the unprofessionalism aspect of the complaint.

Oh, and amen, cell divide.
posted by gyc at 3:57 PM on July 22, 2003

Eh. PikeFilter.
posted by weston at 3:58 PM on July 22, 2003

posted by monju_bosatsu at 3:58 PM on July 22, 2003

A little righteous outrage at the events of our times (and coverage thereof) is a nice compliment to all the neat flash games we love so well.

Yeah, I know that the death of Uday is so outrage worthy. I mean, a sheer travesty of justice! Also, using metafilter as your own personal dumping ground to demonstrate your own neuroses and inability to have perspective is right on.

Try to tie this all you want into the misbegotten invasion, it's totally irrelevant. danf's just so apoplectic about a transitory headline that it bespeaks more about his fragile mental state then any lies about war.

Oh, and Pike

On preview: mkultra, you're right, hard to look away, isn't it? Like an interactive car accident.
posted by Snyder at 3:58 PM on July 22, 2003

Oh yeah, I forgot. I ♥ cell divide.
posted by mkultra at 3:59 PM on July 22, 2003

mmmm, pikecakes.
posted by WolfDaddy at 3:59 PM on July 22, 2003

I needed to scream and this is the only place I know to.

How about to CNN.com's feedback page?
posted by Vidiot at 4:00 PM on July 22, 2003

Wait a second, the 6th post on FARK says "pikes". Did I miss something?
posted by tomplus2 at 4:02 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike.
posted by CunningLinguist at 4:07 PM on July 22, 2003

Holy Pike!

Sigh. I've been against this war, but you know, the idea that the planet is no longer "blessed" by the presence of these two guys just doesn't bother me. They won't be missed by many.
posted by pyramid termite at 4:09 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike
posted by gyc at 4:11 PM on July 22, 2003

Has anyone else noticed this post hasn't been deleted or Metatalked yet?

ah, but it has!


pike
posted by joedan at 4:16 PM on July 22, 2003

Exclusive CNN photo of Uday's death at the hands of U.S. forces!
posted by stonerose at 4:17 PM on July 22, 2003

Best comment from the fark thread:

2003-07-22 04:24:29 PM gurglesnap


I took a quick nap at lunch today. When I came back to my desk, I found the following articles on CNN:


Pentagon: Saddam's sons are dead
Former POW Lynch returns home (She's pictured in front of a HUGE US flag)
Smoke billowing from Eiffel Tower

I FEEL LIKE I'VE AWOKEN IN THE MIDDLE OF A BIG, OLD NEO-CONSERVATIVE WET DREAM.
posted by Espoo2 at 4:21 PM on July 22, 2003

Pike(y)
posted by Stauf at 4:27 PM on July 22, 2003

Fort Pike!

Telemarketing Pike!

Pike, the object oriented language.

This is fun, I like pike (Somebody needs to photoshop a "p" on one of those old Ike campaign buttons). ;-)
posted by ehintz at 4:31 PM on July 22, 2003

Pikeys
posted by Joeforking at 4:37 PM on July 22, 2003

Ah, shite, sorry stauf ya beat me to it.
posted by Joeforking at 4:39 PM on July 22, 2003

"Somebody needs to photoshop a "p" on one of those old Ike campaign buttons"

All right, but it doesn't make much sense.


posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:39 PM on July 22, 2003

Pikecam

Anipike

Pikes?
posted by dness2 at 4:45 PM on July 22, 2003

.
posted by thomcatspike at 4:47 PM on July 22, 2003

mr_crash_davis, don't be obtuse:


posted by stonerose at 4:50 PM on July 22, 2003

Gawd, but this thread has some entertaining value. I really, really appreciate the wicked sense of humor (and p-shop skillz) of some of you people. And "PikeFilter" nearly collapsed my lungs.

Having said that...Danf, go to heck. WTF were you thinking? The world *should* celebrate the death of two barbarous, brutal, tyrannical thugs. And you ain't seen nothing yet -- when we catch bin-Laden and Saddam (and don't get me started - I *know* they are not cave-mates) there is going to be some massive hoopin' and hollerin'.
posted by davidmsc at 4:50 PM on July 22, 2003

you can get pike on ebay
posted by maceo at 4:51 PM on July 22, 2003

thomcat's pike?
posted by mr_crash_davis at 4:55 PM on July 22, 2003