Osama Bin Laden's "luxurious mansion"

JudeBrando

Banned
JudeBrando
Joined
Jan 19, 2011
Messages
1,692
Someone first declared Osama's pad to be a "mansion" and "luxurious" and then the media immediately and unquestioningly regurgitated that description repeatedly. Why?

From the first pictures, that was obviously a ridiculous description, even allowing for lesser Pakistani standards.

Check out the five-star accommodations at the "luxurious mansion compound":

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rs-secret-lair-barely-habitable.html?ITO=1490
 
I know, have you seen the reviews of the place:

Aside from the complimentary dialysis machine use, easy underground access to Pakistan’s beautiful vast cave system, and free toaster waffles, it’s a pretty big dump. The food wasn’t organic, the wifi was spotty at best, absolutely no cell coverage, (yelp reviews were so wrong on that one) and no one spoke English. To make it worse, the country’s best basketball player, some 6’7″ dude with a turban, gets shot our first night there. And the coffee was cold. We’re so not coming back.
Click to expand...
http://eu.techcrunch.com/2011/05/02/bin-ladens-compound-gets-a-bum-review-on-google-maps/
 
JudeBrando said:
Someone first declared Osama's pad to be a "mansion" and "luxurious" and then the media immediately and unquestioningly regurgitated that description repeatedly. Why?

From the first pictures, that was obviously a ridiculous description, even allowing for lesser Pakistani standards.

Check out the five-star accommodations at the "luxurious mansion compound":

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rs-secret-lair-barely-habitable.html?ITO=1490
Click to expand...

Apparently he paid a lot more than it was worth for that place too. He's gonna be underwater for a long time!
 
My first impression from the exterior photos was that it was a big dump. Also, depite the constant media message that it had "no internet".... there was a whacking big sattelite dish front and center.
 
Bikewer said:
My first impression from the exterior photos was that it was a big dump. Also, depite the constant media message that it had "no internet".... there was a whacking big sattelite dish front and center.
Click to expand...

Apparently they had whatever passes for Sat TV in Pakistan
 
For Pakistan, it was pretty impressive. I don't have time for remarks about disorder after the SEALs had had their way with the place. Stuff gets tossed around a bit.

The grounds inside the walls seem to be laid out for a vegetable garden rather than a lawn. I can see why they would like to grow their own veggies if they can.

This thread is rather pointless, really.
 
leftysergeant said:
For Pakistan, it was pretty impressive. I don't have time for remarks about disorder after the SEALs had had their way with the place. Stuff gets tossed around a bit.

The grounds inside the walls seem to be laid out for a vegetable garden rather than a lawn. I can see why they would like to grow their own veggies if they can.

This thread is rather pointless, really.
Click to expand...

Well since the Osama death it has been pretty slow from a 'news' perspective. Give it time. Charlie Sheen will either resume his place as number 1 talking point, or another natural disaster will occupy our minds
 
JudeBrando said:
Someone first declared Osama's pad to be a "mansion" and "luxurious" and then the media immediately and unquestioningly regurgitated that description repeatedly. Why?

From the first pictures, that was obviously a ridiculous description, even allowing for lesser Pakistani standards.

Check out the five-star accommodations at the "luxurious mansion compound":

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rs-secret-lair-barely-habitable.html?ITO=1490
Click to expand...

Does this thread have a point beyond the rather obvious claim that media outlets in the west sometimes repeat an incorrect but relatively unimportant detail in reporting a breaking story?

On the whole they do a good job - take the story about where President Obama was born. The vast majority of news source correctly report that he was born in Hawaii in the early 1960s.



Lastly, why did you start this thread in the Politics sub-forum. Are you somehow asserting that the White House was behind this erroneous reporting?
 
JudeBrando said:
Someone first declared Osama's pad to be a "mansion" and "luxurious" and then the media immediately and unquestioningly regurgitated that description repeatedly. Why?

From the first pictures, that was obviously a ridiculous description, even allowing for lesser Pakistani standards.

Check out the five-star accommodations at the "luxurious mansion compound":

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...rs-secret-lair-barely-habitable.html?ITO=1490
Click to expand...

It does look like a dump.

The Daily Mail is a rubbish newspaper that promotes all sorts of woo.

In England, it is referred to as 'the Daily Fail' or 'the Daily hate Mail', due to their commentaries and their previous support of Hitler.

It is a jumped up gossip rag for white collar workers who would be too embarrassed to be seen reading the Sun on the tube.
 
It was a lot bigger than surrounding homes and probably worth a lot more. But if you move in and want to remain secretive you're not in a position to have interior decorators brought in or to have Broyhill do a furniture delivery. So it's obviously not going to be fixed up nice. And on top of that we saw pictures and video of it after the SEALS went through the entire place looking for important stuff, not before.
 
you all must be some spoiled ass pissy pants brats. For much of the world a place like that is a palatial mansion. I know tons of Dine and hawaiians who would kill for a spread like that
 
JudeBrando said:
Someone first declared Osama's pad to be a "mansion" and "luxurious" and then the media immediately and unquestioningly regurgitated that description repeatedly. Why?.....
Click to expand...
Why indeed? It's because they sell a commodity, not really information per se.

Sensationalism sells, plain Jane does not.
 
geni said:
The Daily mail? On a sceptics forum? Really?
Click to expand...
You know, much as I agree with darn little that Jude posts, who cares if he linked to a bad source? It was a valid conclusion. The news media did repeat, "mansion" over and over, some still using it. They even created the usual apologies, "it was very large for Pakistani standards", or "large for the neighborhood".
 
It may have been a nice mansion if they had cleaned the place on occasion.

I think it was the victim of neglect and sloth.
 
JudeBrando said:
Really what? You are skeptical of the pictures of Osama's pad? Yes- really? No- what then?
Click to expand...

Most of the pictures are exterior shots and even those are being seen through video compression that makes the garden in particular look worse than it is.

We are also seeing pics that were taken after the place had been visited by US SEALs and the packistani millitry authorities. Neither if which did any good for the fabric of the house.


About all we can tell from the pics is that it wasn't palatial but it was habitable. Between those two extremes it's impossible to draw conclusions
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top Bottom