[itistoday]

It's time for some home-brewed conspiracy so put on your tin-foil hats. I just finished watching the horror-flick 'Jesus Camp' and am now viewing everything in evangelical-nutcase terms so this post may or may not have been written by a 'sober' person. I guarantee nothing.

Today's headline news on CNN's international front page: Bus crash kills 26 pilgrims in France - CNN.com

Twenty-six Polish pilgrims died when their coach crashed off a mountain road at a notorious accident black spot in the French Alps and burst into flames, police and officials say.

Now, CNN likes to play "double headline", and it was their headline on the front-page that grabbed my eye: "Religious pilgrimage turns deadly". Clicking that linked to the above story with the different headline "Bus crash kills 26 pilgrims in France".

Upon seeing this I was confused, what happened to the "religious" part of the story? Nowhere in the article was anything about a religion mentioned. What religion was it? I also thought, "Isn't that ironic, religious pilgrims burn in flames in tragic accident... That sure doesn't sound like good news for whatever religion it was."

So I searched and found another source: Forbes:

GRENOBLE, France - A bus carrying Polish Catholic pilgrims from a holy site in the French Alps plunged off a steep mountain road, crashed into a river bank and burst into flames Sunday, killing 26 people, authorities said.

Ah ha! Just as I suspected! They were Catholic! Do you think CNN would have mentioned the religion had it been Muslim? I'm certain they would have, in fact, they probably would have made it part of the headline, something along the lines of: "26 Muslim Pilgrims Burn in Accident". They'd probably even put quotes around 'accident'.

And uh... please don't attack me as 'trolling', I'm not. I'm making the point, partly in jest, partly serious, that it seems to me that even the supposed 'liberal media' in America have been infiltrated by the evangelical army depicted in 'Jesus Camp', just as they've made headway with the Supreme Court. I'm not making this up, watch the movie, they happily admit that that is their goal. I don't know about you, but I'm putting on my tin-foil hat and running to Canada.

[Mithras]

Eh? Sorry, I'm not sure I get it. What about mentioning that they were religious is part of the dastardly RWC? I mean, I'm as leftist atheist as your next New Yorker, but...

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Mithras 

Eh? Sorry, I'm not sure I get it. What about mentioning that they were religious is part of the dastardly RWC? I mean, I'm as leftist atheist as your next New Yorker, but...

The 'conspiracy' is that CNN deliberately did not mention that they were Catholic because of the unfavorable circumstances surrounding their deaths. Let me put it this way, it would not look 'good' if you believed that God loves and protects all his children, or even just those who worship him, and suddenly you see on the news that devout believers going on a pilgrimage to worship this God died in a freak accident and burned in flames.

[OldManMac]

I watched Jesus Camp last week, and that was one truly frightening movie.

Back to the OP, I don't see the "conspircacy" either. It's a news story, and a freak coincidence of it was that they were Catholics. Tens of thousands of people die everyday via horrible circumstances. IMO, it's an unreachable stretch to conclude that religion had anything to do with this.

[itistoday]

You guys really think it's normal for CNN to mention that these were religious pilgrims in the summary on the front page and then not even mention the word 'religion' in the story itself? They just refer to them as 'pilgrims' in the story. Pilgrims to what? The colonies?!? They don't even exist anymore!

(note for the intellectually handicapped: there was humor in this post, see if you can find it.)

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

The 'conspiracy' is that CNN deliberately did not mention that they were Catholic because of the unfavorable circumstances surrounding their deaths. Let me put it this way, it would not look 'good' if you believed that God loves and protects all his children, or even just those who worship him, and suddenly you see on the news that devout believers going on a pilgrimage to worship this God died in a freak accident and burned in flames.

That's because you don't understand Christianity. God does not "protect all of [H]is children" as you see it. You think that means He protects them from harm on Earth. What he does protect is their eternal life, which is far more important.

Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

A true Christian shouldn't fear death. He should embrace it and look forward to it. In my eyes I am envious of them. Their pain is over.

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

You guys really think it's normal for CNN to mention that these were religious pilgrims in the summary on the front page and then not even mention the word 'religion' in the story itself? They just refer to them as 'pilgrims' in the story. Pilgrims to what? The colonies?!? They don't even exist anymore!

(note for the intellectually handicapped: there was humor in this post, see if you can find it.)

I see the word "pilgrim" and I immediately think "religious devotee".

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

That's because you don't understand Christianity. God does not "protect all of [H]is children" as you see it. You think that means He protects them from harm on Earth. What he does protect is their eternal life, which is far more important.

Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain."

I'm not about to argue this (remember, I don't believe any of it). I'm just saying that there are plenty of Christians out there (the vast majority) that believe that praying makes a difference and that God listens to them, and thus this story would give them cause for concern. I'm sure that making sure they don't die in a ball of fire is one of those things they'd ask for, at least if they thought it was a possibility.

A true Christian shouldn't fear death. He should embrace it and look forward to it. In my eyes I am envious of them. Their pain is over.

Seems to me that Muslims get a better deal than you guys, they look forward to death too, but they are greeted by horny virgins when they die!

[ShortcutToMoncton]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

Seems to me that Muslims get a better deal than you guys, they look forward to death too, but they are greeted by horny virgins when they die!

I've always wondered, what do Muslim women look forward to when they die? I mean, horny man-virgins blowing their loads in 24 seconds just doesn't seem to be as appealing, you would think right?

greg

[Railroader]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

I'm not about to argue this (remember, I don't believe any of it). I'm just saying that there are plenty of Christians out there (the vast majority) that believe that praying makes a difference and that God listens to them, and thus this story would give them cause for concern. I'm sure that making sure they don't die in a ball of fire is one of those things they'd ask for, at least if they thought it was a possibility.

Huh? How is this connected to what you said earlier about God protecting people?

BTW: I believe what is bolded.

Originally Posted by itistoday 

Seems to me that Muslims get a better deal than you guys, they look forward to death too, but they are greeted by horny virgins when they die!

We'll see.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by ShortcutToMoncton 

I've always wondered, what do Muslim women look forward to when they die? I mean, horny man-virgins blowing their loads in 24 seconds just doesn't seem to be as appealing, you would think right?

Being able to show their face? *rimshot*

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by Railroader 

Huh? How is this connected to what you said earlier about God protecting people?

Christians pray to their Lord asking for protection for themselves and for loved ones all the time. They pray because they believe it will have an effect. Now they see on the news that several devout pilgrims going on a religious journey of worship die in an accident involving a bus flying off a ledge and exploding in a ball of flames. Therefore, the conspiracy says, Catholics at CNN removed any mention of these being Catholic pilgrims, lest people think their Lord doesn't care about them or has become angry with them or worse, doesn't exist. I mean, I know it's a stretch, I said so from the onset, but I thought I made myself clear.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Baghdad car bomb kills 31 pilgrims - CNN.com

CNN.com - 20�pilgrims killed, hundreds wounded in Baghdad - Aug 20, 2006

CNN Transcript - Breaking News: As Many as 35 Killed in Hajj Stampede - March 5, 2001

CNN.com - Eight killed on Kashmir pilgrim route - July 21, 2001

Those Muslims and Hindus at CNN (and I guess Reuters too, as per the original headline) have been busy too.

[itistoday]

Mr. CRASH! I thank you for your feeble attempts to poke holes in my conspiracy theory, they help me put it to the test! Remember the conspiracy itself, that CNN did not mention what religion it was.

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE 

Baghdad car bomb kills 31 pilgrims - CNN.com

The pilgrims were returning to Baghdad after celebrating the holy day of Arbayeen, which fell on Saturday. The holy day marked the end of a 40-day mourning period for the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. Hussein died near Karbala in a 7th century battle.

Seems pretty clear to the reader they are Muslim after reading that... to do the same as they have done in the CNN article I lambasted would be to make no mention of any religious activity whatsoever (other than simply the use of the word 'pilgrimage').

CNN.com - 20�pilgrims killed, hundreds wounded in Baghdad - Aug 20, 2006

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims crowded the streets of the Iraqi capital, heading to the shrine of an eighth century imam, Musa al-Kadhim, to commemorate his death.

Again, the reader is left with no question as to their faith.

CNN Transcript - Breaking News: As Many as 35 Killed in Hajj Stampede - March 5, 2001

Reports say as many as 35 people may have been killed during a stampede at the Hajj in Saudi Arabia. Now, the Hajj, as you may know, is an annual pilgrimage. It's a very important part of the Muslim faith.

Hah! Are you blind?

CNN.com - Eight killed on Kashmir pilgrim route - July 21, 2001

Eight people have been killed and fifteen wounded in Kashmir in two explosions on a route where thousands of Hindu pilgrims were trekking to a holy cave-shrine.

I rest my case.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

Mr. CRASH! I think you for your feeble attempts to poke holes in my conspiracy theories, they help me put them to test! Remember the conspiracy itself, that CNN did not mention what religion it was.

It's a Reuters article.

Seems pretty clear to the reader they are Muslim after reading that... to do the same as they have done in the CNN article I lambasted would be to make no mention of any religious activity whatsoever.

I thought your conspiracy was mainly about headlines.

Also, the irony here is that CNN (whom you've incorrectly targeted in your conspiracy) DID add in the religious element with a headline that said "Religious Pilgrimage turns deadly" but the Reuters story doesn't treat the specific religion as anything relevant (which it really isn't).
All that matters is that 26 people died, and their religion has little to do with the anything any more than reporting the religion of these people has to do with that story. Another Hindu conspiracy, or is that Christian or Muslim?

Anyway, wouldn't think it'd take many people long to figure out that a pilgrimage in France would probably involve Catholics (though give them a few more years, and we may be able to assume it would be Muslim, but that's another story...)

I rest my case.

Good, because it's weak. I'd remind you that the majority of news stories never mention the religion of the people involved, because it's usually 100% irrelevant.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE 

Also, the irony here is that CNN (whom you've incorrectly targeted in your conspiracy) DID add in the religious element with a headline that said "Religious Pilgrimage turns deadly" but the Reuters story doesn't treat the specific religion as anything relevant (which it really isn't).

You are correct, this was my mistake, I didn't notice it was a copy. But I can still blame CNN for copying an obviously biased article.

All that matters is that 26 people died, and their religion has little to do with the anything any more than reporting the religion of these people has to do with that story. Another Hindu conspiracy, or is that Christian or Muslim?

Sure, I never said their religion was relevant, I was just pointing out that for some reason, whenever events such as these occur to people of other religions CNN/Reuters/Evil Catholics find it relevant to mention what their religion is, and that the fact that they didn't mention it here pointed to an ulterior motive.

[CRASH HARDDRIVE]

You wrote:
Do you think CNN would have mentioned the religion had it been Muslim? I'm certain they would have, in fact, they probably would have made it part of the headline, something along the lines of: "26 Muslim Pilgrims Burn in Accident"

I posted several CNN (notice, actual CNN stories, not Reuters) where they in fact did not make Muslim or Hindu part of the headline about pilgrims.

Edit : eh. never mind. I didn't realize you were 12. Get back to blasting CNN/Reuters/Evil Catholics/anything and anyone for some sort of (religious right???) news conspiracy.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE 

In other words, you were too stupid to figure out this wasn't a "CNN" story, but one from another news source.

Check my reply again, before I read this reply of yours I edited it and corrected it.

I posted several CNN (notice, actual CNN stories, not Reuters) where they in fact did not make Muslim or Hindu part of the headline about pilgrims.

The conspiracy does not require that religion be mentioned in the headline, read what I wrote originally again. I was just pointing out an oddity that brought my attention to this issue.

[itistoday]

Originally Posted by CRASH HARDDRIVE 

Edit : eh. never mind. I didn't realize you were 12. Get back to blasting CNN/Reuters/Evil Catholics/anything and anyone for some sort of (religious right???) news conspiracy.

Thank you, I will.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by itistoday 

Seems to me that Muslims get a better deal than you guys, they look forward to death too, but they are greeted by horny virgins when they die!

Yeah, but only 72 of them. That's good for, what, 18 days tops? What are they going to do for the rest of eternity? Baywatch reruns?

[red rocket]

The way it appears to me is that CNN, even CNN International, has a viewer demographic that is formally predominantly Xtian/nominal Xtian/atheist within nominally Xtian‑leaning societies.

Therefore, using the term ‘pilgrim’ (especially with the inclusion of the term ‘France’) doesn't require any further explanation, as Xtian is the default type.

[ebuddy]

Originally Posted by red rocket 

The way it appears to me is that CNN, even CNN International, has a viewer demographic that is formally predominantly Xtian/nominal Xtian/atheist within nominally Xtian‑leaning societies.

Therefore, using the term ‘pilgrim’ (especially with the inclusion of the term ‘France’) doesn't require any further explanation, as Xtian is the default type.

Nice catch. It also says at the bottom of the linked article; Polish television said the Polish pilgrims were from parishes in the Szczecin area of northwestern Poland, who were due to return home on Tuesday. Parish; An administrative part of a diocese that has its own church in the Anglican, Roman Catholic, and some other churches.

"Polish Pilgrims" and "parishes" are as indicative of "Catholicism" as "imams" are of Islam. It's something you'd have to know I guess. So... no conspiracy.

[itistoday]

And I would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!