Discuss

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9493139/

Quote :

" WASHINGTON - Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son’s death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House. Sheehan and several dozen other protesters sat down on the sidewalk after marching along the pedestrian walkway on Pennsylvania Avenue. Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests. Sheehan, 48, was the first taken into custody. She stood up and was led to a police vehicle while protesters chanted, “The whole world is watching.” Sheehan’s 24-year-old son, Casey, was killed in an ambush in Sadr City, Iraq, last year. She attracted worldwide attention last month with her 26-day vigil outside President Bush’s Texas ranch. Sheehan was among several hundred demonstrators who marched around the White House on Monday and then stopped in front and began singing and chanting “Stop the war now!” The demonstration is part of a broader anti-war effort on Capitol Hill organized by United for Peace and Justice, an umbrella group. Representatives from anti-war groups were meeting Monday with members of Congress to urge them to work to end the war and bring home the troops. "

9/26/2005 2:26:24 PM

Yes, she was arrested. I'm not sure how much discussion we need to agree on that.

9/26/2005 2:29:57 PM

Hmm, I see some bias in the writer of that peice in the opening line.

9/26/2005 2:32:22 PM

I dont see any bias

thats exactly what she did.

9/26/2005 2:36:08 PM

Tin-foil hat time.

9/26/2005 2:38:48 PM

Quote :

"who has used her son’s death in Iraq"

That's bias.

9/26/2005 2:40:30 PM

She looks like that's her first contact with a male in a long time.

9/26/2005 2:41:11 PM

dude
thats not bias

9/26/2005 2:42:06 PM

^^is that why she looks happy?

9/26/2005 2:49:57 PM

So what's the grounds for the arrest?

9/26/2005 3:02:39 PM

Quote :

"Police warned them three times that they were breaking the law by failing to move along, then began making arrests."

9/26/2005 3:03:19 PM

Quote :

"That's bias."

Well I'm sorry, what do you think she did?

She wasn't out spurring the goddamn movement before the kid died, now was she?

9/26/2005 3:13:12 PM

I don't think she was....

9/26/2005 3:15:49 PM

I'm not interested in arguing the situation.

I'm merely pointing out bias.

9/26/2005 3:16:17 PM

Quote :

"That's bias."

How is that bias? It is the reason she is out there. The author is not telling the reader how to interpret the event. It is a statement of simple fact that identifies her.

Let me show you an example of bias:

Left-wing:

Quote :

"Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has used her son’s senseless death in Iraq to spur the anti-war movement, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House."

Right-wing:

Quote :

"Cindy Sheehan, the greiving California woman who has used her son’s death in Iraq to try and influence the administrations defense policy, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House."

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 3:25 PM. Reason : k?]

9/26/2005 3:20:00 PM

^^Well then you seeing bias that isnt there...

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 3:21 PM. Reason : asdfs]

9/26/2005 3:20:46 PM

eh, I can how "used her son's death" is a pretty loaded phrase

would this be acceptable?

President Bush, who has used the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11 to on spurr the anti-Iraq movement...

or does it sound biased?

9/26/2005 3:27:06 PM

^ haha. Good one.

If you think that line is biased, you are so full of shit. < -- this statement is biased.

9/26/2005 3:29:15 PM

Yea I don't really care for the woman but I can see the blatant bias. I'm suprised the editor let it slide.

Here's the corrected version:

Quote :

"Cindy Sheehan, the California woman who has become a notable figure of the anti-war movement since her son's death in Iraq, was arrested Monday while protesting outside the White House. "

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 3:43 PM. Reason : notable figure, leader, whatever]

9/26/2005 3:42:28 PM

ok i agree...that is a better way to say it

9/26/2005 3:46:59 PM

just because the line ^^posted is "Better" doesnt make the orig line "biased"

9/26/2005 3:50:58 PM

In fact, even the use of the word "woman" is slightly demeaning in a "Woman, quit bitching and get back the kitchen!" kinda way. Her sex is already implied later in the sentence with "her son", so the "woman" was consciously and redundantly added in. I would have used "California native" instead, but that's just me and I tend to notice things like that.

9/26/2005 3:53:44 PM

Its not biased. She said her sons death was the reason she was out there.

Quote :

"President Bush, who has used the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11 to on spurr the anti-Iraq movement... "

there is no anti-Iraq movement. Had you said

President Bush, who has used the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11 to spurr the anti-terrorism movement

that would have been fine. but you didnt because youre a fucking choad

^ youre kidding right? the way you interpreted it is biasd, not the way it was written.

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 3:55 PM. Reason : *]

9/26/2005 3:54:37 PM

The word "used" has a negative connotation. To say she "used" something as tragic as her son's death, while it may be factually accurate, is still a biased way to put it.

Does anyone really disagree with this, or is this just people trying to line up with where they stand politcally?

9/26/2005 4:01:37 PM

This whole argument is funny.

And when I say funny I mean sad.

9/26/2005 4:05:22 PM

Quote :

"When they reached the front of the White House, dozens sat down -- knowing they would be arrested -- and began singing and chanting "Stop the war now!""

i don't see the point in making this kind of protest. you aren't really proving anything or getting any message across other than "if you break the law you will be arrested." maybe they were hoping the cameras would catch the police doing something. still it would have nothing to do with the war. pointless

9/26/2005 4:06:02 PM

Sounds like people trying to be a martyr, but missing the whole point.

9/26/2005 4:07:45 PM

^^^^^
Of course I'm serious. It's a subtle nuance, but has an important impact on the tone of the article.

You rarely hear respected women referred to with the singular term "woman", unless the article is specifically calling attention to their sex(example: "first woman to become prime minister") and even then the mention should be brief. More common are headlines like "Kentucky Woman Attacks Husband With Knife" or "Raleigh Woman Arrested with Cocaine".

^Protests that end in arrests get media coverage. Passive protests don't get coverage, and therefore are useless.

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 4:09 PM. Reason : .]

9/26/2005 4:08:27 PM

whole article was true.

9/26/2005 4:08:58 PM

Quote :

"there is no anti-Iraq movement."

Okay...

President Bush, who has used the deaths of thousands of Americans on 9/11 to promote war with Iraq...

Is that better?

But I guess death in war does lead to being anti-war, just like death from terrorism leads to being anti-terorism.

So perhaps both are reasonable wordings.

9/26/2005 4:09:08 PM

i don't see the bias, and she deserved to get arrested.

there is no discussion here.

9/26/2005 4:14:01 PM

Quote :

"but you didnt because youre a fucking choad"

At least I'm not a fucking Chub Toad.



1/1 for 2G? Please...

9/26/2005 4:17:24 PM

Is there any video of this?

9/26/2005 5:01:11 PM

Quote :

"i don't see the point in making this kind of protest. you aren't really proving anything or getting any message across other than "if you break the law you will be arrested." maybe they were hoping the cameras would catch the police doing something. still it would have nothing to do with the war. pointless"

cause its all about the media attention; it is no longer about her son. i'm damn glad she was arrested.

[Edited on September 26, 2005 at 5:03 PM. Reason : .]

9/26/2005 5:03:26 PM

she uses death and destruction for political gain...arrest the parasite bitch

9/26/2005 5:40:12 PM

well, i don't know that i'd go that far. her cause is pretty much limited to the anti-war movement. she's not trying to ride that tide to elected office or anything, as far as i know.

and i do feel sorry for her, don't get me wrong.


but her cause is fucking stupid. what kind of reasonable person could possibly think that it's a sound idea to just up and leave iraq right now?

9/26/2005 5:42:27 PM

let me clarify...sheehan and certain democrats are using this to attack bush...they're using her as a political pawn but its not like they forced her to do anything

war is bad, it would suck really really really bad to lose a kid, but it happens, its war

9/26/2005 5:45:40 PM

The good: Sheehan got arrested. She's a dumb bitch who turned her son into an attention-gathering tool.

The bad: Sheehan got arrested. We shouldn't need to have permits to protest.

9/26/2005 5:55:14 PM

^^^Well, it's not so hard to imagine. They think we're making things worse rather than better.

If you thought that it'd be an easy decision.

9/26/2005 5:56:20 PM

Quote :

"The word "used" has a negative connotation. To say she "used" something as tragic as her son's death, while it may be factually accurate, is still a biased way to put it."

I agree with you to a certain extent. However, the "bias" might not be intentional.

9/26/2005 6:09:58 PM

^^no it wouldn't.

if you think we're making things worse rather than better, the solution is to change what we're doing.

an abrupt, immediate pullout of iraq is simply not a reasonable option.

9/26/2005 6:11:54 PM

Quote :

"what kind of reasonable person could possibly think that it's a sound idea to just up and leave iraq right now? "

What kind of dumb bitch doesn't understand the risks of war and that shit happens?

9/26/2005 6:15:08 PM

This is the arguement by the right wingers. Projection of their own reckless stupidy onto the left by claiming that they want to cut and run on the war in Iraq. This is pathetic in that very little left wingers are actually dumb enough to consider leaving Iraq high in dry. Infact the only ideas I've heard so far have come from the left. What we must consider here is the actual situation in Iraq. The escalating resistance shows you what we're up against. Graphs made by the pentagon on an annual basis illustrate this. Army personal, and Generals from the past have even spoken out against this war stating it's fultility. I can go on a long winded speech on how there was no Al Queda link, no WMDs but it wouldn't help the current situation, it'll just lead to partisan bickering. Name calling, passing the blame. It's all really tiring. We are all at fault here.

Lets be honest, Iraq is not salvagable. If we stay we're gonna end up cutting and running anyway just like in Vietnam. We need to figure out a plan that does not involve the presense of troops. One idea is to finacially support the fledgling government and police force. They're government will no doubt will be a theocracy. We cant help that. Then we can go in with peace keeping organizations. Get help from other nations to do this. No guns, just funding and tools to help them rebuild. Schools, hospitals, ultilities and the like. The terrorist threat is something we're going to have to deal with anyway, regardless if we actually accomplished what we wanted in Iraq in the first place. This war on terror has been one Giant tactical error.

9/26/2005 6:16:14 PM

Quote :

"Lets be honest, Iraq is not salvagable."

but it IS salvageable as a strategic base...right in the middle of the towelhead trenches...we don't need a democratic govt...we just need to wipe out all the turists and take their jerbs, i mean land

btw i apologize for calling them "towelheads"...in all honesty, if you see someon in a tourbon, dont run...just call the police

9/26/2005 6:18:45 PM

Quote :

"No guns, just funding and tools to help them rebuild. Schools, hospitals, ultilities and the like."

That sounds pretty good to me.

But I'm a hippie... (or so I'm told)...

9/26/2005 6:24:45 PM

why cant we just kill 'em all and take the oil?

9/26/2005 6:27:01 PM

Quote :

"we just need to wipe out all the turists"

/Iraqi's/Afghani's/towelheads/sandniggers/other racial term used to describe the middle easterners

simply put lets wipe out the whole middle east. Along with all other races we dont like. When we're done cleansing the world lets turn on ourselfs and blow up the whole stinking world.

Yeah lets do that.

9/26/2005 6:29:36 PM

but we like ourselves....just not the middle east....or france

9/26/2005 6:30:52 PM

we can just kill the people i dont like.

9/26/2005 6:30:53 PM

Quote :

"The bad: Sheehan got arrested. We shouldn't need to have permits to protest."

permits are there for groups to peaceably assemble and if there are a lot of opposition groups to have added security. for example, if the KKK was just to show up at a Mississippi courthouse and hold a rally without a permit they are liable to be killed. Going through the proper means to get a permit to hold a rally ensures their safety and others that could be potentially beaten or killed.

9/26/2005 6:32:00 PM