Another poll we must "correct"

Okay, granted, the *way* the article is put together *does* put a more *OHMYGOSH* spin on what is being said. But really, point out to me what is blatenly FALSE about what they said. The *only* thing I would question is the bit about a "healthy individual". Personally, I would qualify that down to an apparently healthy individual. But I'm not seeing the boldface (emphasis added for pun effect) lies.

Show me
jeremy

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Besides, if we were really shutting down people we disagreed with, would Jeremy (2Hostyl) still be around? :) I think not. - Jeff 1/24/02

Let me say this Amusement Rides are safer than driving down the highway. Why don't they pick on them.
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Chris Knight
All Your Base are belong to us
That's not roughness that intensity

This is the exact story my moronic local news aired, and I was irate! I was so pissed about the lack of facts to back their claims up. My dad watched it with me, and he said that he was embarrassed that they ran such a shoddy story.

And as for my local paper having better information, that just not true. They had a picture of S:UE and said it was located at Cedar Point. They also ran a story about MF when it was new and claimed it was as rough as a wooden coaster, and to make an appointment with your dental hygenist because of the it will rattle your dental work. What scares me about this kind of reporting is the other stories that I don't have a particular knowledge about that report as poorly on as their stories on coasters.

Yes the media is liberal...if it were conservative, there would have been so many people pulling to remove Clinton from office in the midst of the "scadal" but there were only a few.

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Sept. 11th 2001, Slayer released God Hates Us All. The song "Disciple" uncannily describes the events of that day, as well as the anthrax letters that followed.
--Slayer: Thrash band, or the next Nostradamus?

What the hell does that have to do with anything? The media covers the scandal every day, without relenting, and they're for keeping Willie's Willy in office? That would make the public a nation of thoughtless morons who can't think for themselves.

Get a grip... no one cared what Willie's Willy was doing other than people who didn't want him in office.

The "media" is such a broad term, and in itself has nothing to do with impartiality or balance. This site is "media," and I hardly think we're in any to balance anything.

If you want to look for scapegoats to attribute to society's ills, don't peg the media, blame yourself.

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

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CPgenius said:

Yes the media is liberal...if it were conservative, there would have been so many people pulling to remove Clinton from office in the midst of the "scadal" but there were only a few.

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roofle.  I'm sorry bud but you should really keep to talking about coasters.  If you are somehow stating that if people in the media were more conservative then they would have been more of a push to have Clinton removed from office, then you are wrong simply because that is not their job...their job is to report the news, not push the removal of a president.  And of course, it doesn't help when the public didn't want Clinton out of office, either.  I'm tired of talking about this, so:
"The media is only as liberal as the huge corporations that own them."
 
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If the shoe fits, find another one.

*** This post was edited by ravenguy98 on 2/25/2002. ***

I certainly agree that coasters should not be designed to figher jock standards.  But I keep hearing that coasters have higher G-froces than the space shuttle, but I never hear what the forces and duration are for the shuttle.

Article falsehoods:

"But they also are dangerous thrills."  - Compared to most of lifes activities amusement rides are pretty safe.  (Of course every thing has some degree of risk.)

"rides are leading to a wave of head and neck injuries -- some life-threatening."  - Are a couple of injuries per year on average reported in the medical press a "wave"?  Seems more like a ripple to me.

"This is simply a healthy individual going on a normal roller-coaster ride and experiencing bleeding in the brain," Braksiek said.  - If you have a condition that makes you vulnerable to injury from activities that million participate in without injury are you really healthy.  This is kind of like saying you were perfectly healthy until you had a heart attack.  The underlying contidition was already there,

"the total number of ride-related injuries jumped dramatically from more than 6,000 in 1996 to well over 10,000 in the year 2000."  - See the editorial on the CPSC for why this is false.

"The design of the rides is jumping ahead of medical science's understanding and awareness of the tolerances of the human body," Novack said.   - It may be true that the lawyer said this, but there is considerable literature on the tolerance of the human body to all sorts of forces.  

"Braksiek and other experts believe excessive speed is a big part of the problem."  Again, it might be true that they believe this, but their belief is false.  High speeds are not injurious, or we would all die on our first airliner trip.  The only risk associated with high speeds is the temptation for desingers to have G forces last longer.

How did I know that Ed Markey would be in this article...

I think he is probaly just a wuss who is scared to ride the rides. ;)

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What I am more amazed at is the fact that this thread has continued to be very argumentative, and left open by the man himself!  Jeff, what is up dude?

Sadly, these articles do perpetuate a lie, but I do believe that the majority of people don't pay much mind to them.  Just like politics, there isn't much these articles do except push buttons, especially the buttons of rollercoaster website owners and browsers.  Pay no attention guys!  The media, regardless of its political bent, is not out to please you.  It's job is to create news when there is no news to speak of.
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Check out my website!

I agree with the politicians, I mean these 'forces' are overrated anyway! I hate it when airtime rips me out of my seat, or latterals push me in. Can't these coaster designers build a coaster where there IS no rush?

And whats with these stupid drops without trims on top of them? I wanna experince half the drop!

And don't get me started on how much better OTSR's are compared to lapbars!

;)

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CANADA: OLYMPIC HOCKEY CHAMPIONS 2 GOLD MEDALS WON, MEN'S AND WOMENS! 17 MEDALS TOTAL! CANADA ROCKS!

"During the past decade, 15 cases of life-threatening brain injuries caused by roller coasters have been reported."

15 out of how many million?

"And the total number of ride-related injuries jumped dramatically from more than 6,000 in 1996 to well over 10,000 in the year 2000."

More people go to parks now. Of course there will be more injuries. And once again, 10,000 out of how many million?

"At least twice while during the ride I felt a snap in my neck."

B.S.

"What we do know is if they build it, they will come."

Isn't that the goal of any major park?

"He said designers are making rides faster because that's what the public wants. But are parks keeping up with safety?"

DUH! If they didn't "keep up with safety," people wouldn't come. (Refer to last quote)

"I would say overall, that most do a very good to excellent job."

Very true. Only I would replace most with 99.99999999%

"called thrill rides 'one of the safest forms of recreation and entertainment available.' "

Also true.

"State inspectors told NewsChannel5 that of the more than 8 million visitors to Ohio parks last year, there were no injuries directly related to the rides themselves. Still, eight state have no regulations at all."

We're right. You're wrong. (This last part to the safty questioneers.)(Is "questioneers" a word?)

"A Massachusetts congressman wants the federal government to regulate all theme parks and investigate accidents. Rep. Ed Markey hopes that will encourage parks to keep extreme rides under control, before more lives are turned upside down."

Key words: Ed Markey (I wonder if he intended the pun at the end.)

These are just my opinions. Feel free to agree or disagree.

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SFOGeorgia.
Can't wait for Superman: Ultimate Flight
Drachen Fire, RIP: 1992-1998 Dismantled 2002

I hope none of these people who write or report these stories let their kids play sports.  What would you say the g-force of a kid playing football getting tackled at full speed?  A heck of alot more than you sustain on a roller coaster, thats for sure.  Sure kid, go play football with your friends, but NO ROLLER COASTERS!.

Lame

I have a degree in journalism, which is one of the reasons that slop reporting like this and the insane notion that the media is powered by one giant liberal conspiracy get to me. I can talk about this all day long. :)

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Jeff - Webmaster/Admin - CoasterBuzz.com, Sillynonsense.com
"As far as I can tell it doesn't matter who you are. If you can believe, there's something worth fighting for..." - Garbage, "Parade"

Boy, seems like it went off topic,  Time to close!

BTW the poll when I took it was 458 for parks and rides to 136 against  :)

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Charles Nungester
167 coasters and hopes to be over 200 by the end of 2002 :)

How do they explain people who travel all over the world riding the rollercoasters for decades without experiencing  even the slightest headache? Those people never make into these articles...
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Have you ever considered that maybe it's not the park that's the problem, but YOU?

*** This post was edited by DWeaver on 2/26/2002. ***

Well weaver, they also leave out the tons of people who get bruised by rides and simply never say a word (need I remind Bat-Flight riders of 'harness rash'? How about 'Mad Cobra' coasters pre-Son of Beast? Most Arrow loopers, etc...)

Facts can be made to say anything you want them to say WITHOUT resorting to lying...
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"Nobody writes about the planes that land." Steve Salerno Washington Times 7-10-01

SFOGeorgia:  An increase from 6000 to 10000 injuries if true would be a much greater increase than the increase in attendance.  However, the increase in the CPSC numbers is due to an inadequate sampling technique, not to an actual increase in the number of injuries.  In fact the entire increase in the CPSC's "estimated" number of  injuries is due to an increase in injuries reported to a single emergency room in their sample.

If you have a problem with the article, write a well-written editorial. That's what I did after a report on the six accidents in 1999 appeared in my local paper, The Baltimore Sun. The reporter said that all the accidents occured on roller coasters (a common reporter mistake that any ride besides a coaster is a type of roller coaster), which wasn't the case. The bottom line is that they printed my editorial.
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The word "definitely" is definitely the most misspelled word on the buzz.

I emailed the head of news and gave them a piece of my mind
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Rollercoasters are my life, I think about them more than I think about....wait, thats all I think about :)

Proud Owner of www.coasterkingdom.cjb.net

Heh....same here glenn. "colleen" said she would send it over to the newsroom.