So about Glenn Beck's little 'Restoring America' Rally...

[Thor]

Most of these would be awesome:

[HotHotHeat]

LOL the magnet one is great.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by MrMastodonFarm

Or not.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_1...93-503544.html

If you go to AirPhotosLive.com you can see how much experience they have at guessing the population of a crowd: Zero. They take photos from unmanned balloons for a living.

Their estimate would be even less accurate than other news agencies who relied on the experience of reporters who were present at rallies when the park service did provide a population estimates.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

If you go to AirPhotosLive.com you can see how much experience they have at guessing the population of a crowd: Zero. They take photos from unmanned balloons for a living.

Their estimate would be even less accurate than other news agencies who relied on the experience of reporters who were present at rallies when the park service did provide a population estimates.

I'm sure if its the rally for the Daily show and they reported a much smaller crowd you'd jump at their correctness.

[Devils'Advocate]

I would so love to go to this rally.... I should check around and see if anyone is up for a road trip.

[peter12]

To be fair, 87,000 is a heck of a lot of people.

[Thor]

It is, again you don't find it ironic you conservatives fight to make rosy pictures out of the pope, Glen Beck rallies, Obama news, etc..?

I mean you don't see it?

[peter12]

Originally Posted by Thor

It is, again you don't find it ironic you conservatives fight to make rosy pictures out of the pope, Glen Beck rallies, Obama news, etc..?

I mean you don't see it?

Me? I was just saying that 87,000 is a lot of people.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by Thor

I'm sure if its the rally for the Daily show and they reported a much smaller crowd you'd jump at their correctness.

Why? I like the Daily show. Actually if I lived Near D.C. I'd probably go to their rally before a Beck rally. As an independant baptist I'm very wary of any ecumenical movement. Glen Beck's rally had too much of a religious undertone for my likeing.

I just think Beck took a huge risk in setting up the rally. He really stuck his neck out for something he believed in. It took guts and from most accounts he succeeded in what he was trying to accomplish. Why not give him that?

The same people who were smirking at Glen's efforts before the rally are trying to belittle the impact it had afterwards. I think it is petty on their part.

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by peter12

To be fair, 87,000 is a heck of a lot of people.

Interesting that their estimate was so low at 87K.

I find that figure hard to believe as I was on the ground at the rally (not in support, but as a sneaky 'Socialist' Canadian acting as a wolf in sheep's clothing). The other figures of over a 100,000-200,000 seem far more accurate. I'm also by no means a Glen Beck supporter, but these Tea Partiers are frighteningly dedicated to their insane cause.

It was a four hour event and many people were coming and going throughout the event, so I find it hard to believe such a low balling number of 87,000 people.

(Here's a photo from just in 500 metres in front of the Washington monument at about 12:00pm - 2 hours in and after Sarah and Glenn had already spoken - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ctoverdrive/4947848943/)

[c.t.ner]

I'm planning to take in the Colbert/Stewart rally and I'll be there with bells on and even more ridiculous signs, but this is one hell of a risk for the two of them. It's one thing to mock these people comfortably from your studio, it's another thing to put your name and brand behind a massive 100,000 person rally.

Don't get me wrong I love these guys and I can't wait to go, but unlike the Tea Party crowd these guys are going to solely have to leverage people in the District, Baltimore and possible Philadelphia to come to this. I can't imagine thousands of people busing in from the midwest to attend this rally - like they did for Beck. This rally needs to at least match the numbers of the "Restoring Honour" rally or they'll be cannon fodder for the fringe right.




Any suggestions for better slogans?

[HotHotHeat]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

If you go to AirPhotosLive.com you can see how much experience they have at guessing the population of a crowd: Zero. They take photos from unmanned balloons for a living.

Their estimate would be even less accurate than other news agencies who relied on the experience of reporters who were present at rallies when the park service did provide a population estimates.

Did you actually just argue that ground level is a better perspective than overhead?

[c.t.ner]

Originally Posted by HotHotHeat

Did you actually just argue that ground level is a better perspective than overhead?

I think he was arguing that someone who had been to other marches on the mall with an attendance of greater than 100,000 (back in the days when the National Parks counted the attendance) would have a better basis for judgment over a company basing their finds off of an overhead photo.

That's what I got out of the comment.

[Calgaryborn]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

I'm planning to take in the Colbert/Stewart rally and I'll be there with bells on and even more ridiculous signs, but this is one hell of a risk for the two of them. It's one thing to mock these people comfortably from your studio, it's another thing to put your name and brand behind a massive 100,000 person rally.

Don't get me wrong I love these guys and I can't wait to go, but unlike the Tea Party crowd these guys are going to solely have to leverage people in the District, Baltimore and possible Philadelphia to come to this. I can't imagine thousands of people busing in from the midwest to attend this rally - like they did for Beck. This rally needs to at least match the numbers of the "Restoring Honour" rally or they'll be cannon fodder for the fringe right.

I'm not sure why more or less people at Colbert/Stewart's rally would even matter to the right. People came to Beck's country because they are worried about the dirrection of their country. People will go to Colbert/Stewart's for the entertainment. One doesn't naturally oppose the other.

On a side note. It must take a lot of guts to stand and speak in front of 100 000 people. Colbert and Stewart are really going to be out of their comfort zone. Good on them.

[RougeUnderoos]

I don't understand the arguing about how many people showed up.

Like it or lump it, there are millions of people in the States who believe him, even if they didn't all make the pilgrimage to this kooky revival.

[Phaneuf3]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

Any suggestions for better slogans?

Take it down a notch... For America!

I am not afraid of Muslims... but I am kind of scared of spiders

[SeeBass]

Originally Posted by c.t.ner

I'm planning to take in the Colbert/Stewart rally and I'll be there with bells on and even more ridiculous signs, but this is one hell of a risk for the two of them. It's one thing to mock these people comfortably from your studio, it's another thing to put your name and brand behind a massive 100,000 person rally.

Don't get me wrong I love these guys and I can't wait to go, but unlike the Tea Party crowd these guys are going to solely have to leverage people in the District, Baltimore and possible Philadelphia to come to this. I can't imagine thousands of people busing in from the midwest to attend this rally - like they did for Beck. This rally needs to at least match the numbers of the "Restoring Honour" rally or they'll be cannon fodder for the fringe right.




Any suggestions for better slogans?

Perhaps they need bus sponsors like the Koch brothers.

[troutman]

Originally Posted by peter12

To be fair, 87,000 is a heck of a lot of people.

More people go to see the Redskins on Sunday.

[driveway]

Originally Posted by Calgaryborn

If you go to AirPhotosLive.com you can see how much experience they have at guessing the population of a crowd: Zero. They take photos from unmanned balloons for a living.

Their estimate would be even less accurate than other news agencies who relied on the experience of reporters who were present at rallies when the park service did provide a population estimates.

How AirPhotosLive counts a crowd:

To get the numbers for an event, the company uses a 360-degree, spherical panoramic camera that can capture shots of the crowd from every direction all at once during the "peak" time of an event, or when attendance is at its highest, according to Curt Westergard, president of AirPhotosLive.com.
...
A series of 3-D grids can be super-imposed over the images, breaking up the massive, complex crowd images into an easier-to-manage system.
...
Samples of sections of the grids (which can include 100-by-100 feet or 500-by-500 feet squares) are then tallied by counting every person in them. These headcounts are then plugged into a mathematical formula (based on known, spatial distributions of crowds) that calculates how many similar grid sections there are based on the density of people in each section, according to Westergard.

They also counted the Obama inauguration crowd.

[ResAlien]

Originally Posted by peter12

To be fair, 87,000 is a heck of a lot of idiots.

Fixed.