Grateful Dead

"Not guilty" doesn't = "innocent" by a long stretch. My wife was incredulous over the verdict, I was actually expecting it. Without a cause of death, all of the prosecution agruments, all the defense arguments, were speculation, since whoever actually knows what happened was not telling. That makes the burden of proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" pretty tough to shoulder. Without knowing with certainty how or when Caylee died, how can you prove that a particular person killed her? I observed a trial once where every person in the courtroom, including me, KNEW that the accused was guilty. But all the evidence was circumstantial and plausibly explained by other scenarios. The judge, who I'm sure also believed that he done it, ruled "not guilty." It's supposed to work that way. Sometimes it sucks. Sometimes it sucks a lot.

Unbelievable spineless wimps on this jury just wanted to go home. Not one would hold out and hang the jury. This equals the OJ verdict. I am sickened by this miscarriage of justice. If Casey didn't do the actual deed, she knows who did and deserves 30 years in the slam for that alone.

Yup its that time again. Its coming real close to us this year...reckon we'll go and have a look see.. http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/COURSE/us/1100/etape_par_etape.html#zone1

am quite sure both of them understood exactly what that means! Horriffic!!!!!!********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde

A couple of years ago I was in a bar/cafe in Munich Germany with my wife. A smartly dressed woman entered laden with shopping and followed by her 12(ish) year old daughter. As they sat down at the table next to us my wife noticed that the daughter was wearing a pink T-shirt with the following words written across in sparkly writing: 'Just do me' We debated whether to go across and say something to them. Maybe not being native english speakers they did not understand. But we could not think of a way to explain without seeming like complete weirdos so said nothing.

I totally agree cosmicbadger. No indeed means NO.Just to clarify to everyone, i do not support any entangled web of behaviour as by any means justifying a sad, abusive outcome. There are no excuses. But the more confusing the message, the more perplexing the deed becomes. At what point does lurid, provocative body language and attention getting turn into a "come on"? Men AND women. Like i said, the incredible amount of stupid males in the world WILL read these signs in a particular way. Everyone in this kind of situation are complicit. Some men encourage and demand this behaviour, certain women are all too happy to oblige. Makes for incredibly muddy waters where all parties are ultimately become losers. I remember traveling in Morocco with my wife; we found ourselves with a party of three English girls, seemingly completely oblivious to the Muslim tradition of more modest attire, even in extreme heat. We are talking, and i kid you not, the barest minimum. Which, in turn, provoked in some quarters, cat calls, and quite distressing leering and unpleasant comments. And the girls reaction was one of almost incredulity and unabashed sneers. True, at a certain age you think you're the centre of the Universe and you can do what you want. I understand that, we've all done it. But what the hell did they expect? "I want to walk around pouting, flicking my blonde hair, but don't say anything or come too close; you ain't hot, you ain't fit and you ain't a similarly tangoed arsehole from the West". Maybe leave the country and stick to Ibiza then, no? (They did have some good hash that we imbibed while on camel back, ambling through the desert by moonlight for a couple hours to camp, the wind a cooling complement while Phil Lesh's bassline from "The Other One" played in my gently cushioned mind, so guess we dug them a wee bit). We all know that men abuse their self-assumed positions of dominance (and we all know that women know the real deal; "Talking Loud And Saying Nothing" anyone?). But stupid people attract other stupid people. And you know what? Like most things, it spoils it and complicates matters for the many thousands, nay, millions of people who are decent and mean well. The few shafting the many. Others paying the price for the minority. And likewise, in agreement, riggsjr; Justice totally uneven, and probably encouraged, dare i say, demanded? Possibly the same sentence for a Kynd soul buying a tiny amount of weed as for the an aggravated assault or sexual misdemeanor. Me? I'll stick to music and the love and companionship of my family and friends. Friends i have or friends i've yet to meet.

all the complexities and grey areas and contradictions and mixed messages and mixed massages should not change the simple message that 'No means no' .

jonapi, I too had to do jury duty a number of years ago. Two guys sticking a knife in people's faces then taking their wallets and in one case the guys jacket. Their "lawyer" was asking those who had been assaulted, 'are you sure you weren't drunk and lost your wallet?', ' perhaps you sold your jacket for taxi money', ' how much had you been drinking?' ' why were you walking alone?' (that one killed me, you walk alone so you deserve to be mugged!') All through this the two misfits are sitting laughing and sneering at the witness's discomfort and fear.After lunch the prosecuting attorney sticks in a CCTV DVD showing the two guys clearly taking a guys wallet from him emptying it then throwing it into the street, then chasing a taxi driver who stops to see what is going on. At this point, I kid you not, one of the defendants bursts into tears and utters the immortal lines "It wasn't me it was him, he made me do it" The 'lawyer' looked at his clients whispered something then asked if they could change their plea to guilty. The jury was then dismissed and two thirds of a day had been wasted so that two neanderthals could get a slap on the wrist and told not to be naughty again or they would have to stand in the bad boys corner. (I jest of course, but bet they didn't get much more.) I often feel that the more crimes some individuals commit the lesser the sentence they are given as if they have clogged up the prison system enough and it is time to give someone else turn. Whilst I would never call for the type of punishment we hear about in the middle and far east, I do feel that we in the U.K have become too lenient with crime, particularly with repeat offenders. One doesn't want to see people who have made a mistake in their lives or committed a minor first offence be put away for years but equally we too often see real criminals treated with kid gloves and told the only way to change them is to rehabilitate them, when this has clearly been tried previously. Let those who abuse their power and use their position to commit crime, in its many guises, be punished equally as hard as the working chump who makes one error in life. Let justice be seen to have been dealt in an even way, ensuring all are penalised no matter what their background, wealth or educational differences are. This last bit is not aimed at SK, which is looking more like a stitch up the more you read. Thanks for reading my rambling.

Root problem or how to pick up the leaves? None of us know what really happened in Strauss-Kahn case (brace yourself for fresh allegations folks); do i believe Sarkoszy would pay for accusations made to remove a thorn? Absolutely. Do i believe that a wealthy, powerful (in his own head) male would do something so stupid, even at an important moment in his life? Absolutely. Would a maid be tempted by a fistful of dollars (or was it Euros?) for unsatisfying, empty sex only to have a change of mind at the last minute? Sure. Would a man do whatever he wants, using a woman knowing that he can buy his way out if the shit hits the fan? Sure. Justice is one strange beast. Having participated in jury service in London, it beggars belief how farcical the system can be. The bureaucracy, red tape, time wasting and general incompetence of the courtroom is staggering. Laughable and frustrating in about equal measures. Lawyers on both sides grandstanding, smugness abounds, quoting lyrics to current pop songs in a bid to show their hipness to the youth of today. And the jury sitting there, having to take it without jumping up and throttling them; have you seen some of these people you have to do jury service with? Good God...young teenagers who repeatedly turn up late (got to fit in a McDonalds breakfast, right? Why, it just sets you up for the day, doesn't it? Gotta get your energy from somewhere); most of the basic English language flying over their heads with mighty speed. Older, obstinate oxygen thieves who argue for the sheer joy of it, revelling in their pedantic, newfound positions of power! Lunch boxes stolen as a child but NOT today, mama!! It IS a tricky business though; plainly obvious that this young kid in front of you is guilty, the victim obviously distressed, the eyes telling you everything you need to know. No previous charges, cases and sentences made known to the jury before you decide; the teenager barely containing his growing grin, he's been here many time before and knows how the game works. But, BUT, with no concrete evidence, the decision HAS to be not guilty. Only fair i guess, stops any possible abuses. Only after your judgement do you hear from the narcoleptic judge that he has a history of knife wielding and aggravated assault, including threats against the man once before. Whaddya do?! As for the "victim or the crime" argument? Well...... Like many other important issues around the planet, it's time to look at the cause of the problem, not the clean up operation in the aftermath. The continued sexualisation of women and the pathetic macho posturing of men, all deemed entirely normal and natural, will continue to produce such appalling injustices on both sides. Women are guilty of this. Men are guilty of this. And it's usually money, greed and power pulling the strings. An interesting dilemma. You can't blame some women for taking the easy option. Gets you the lifestyle you crave, right? You can't blame some men for believing this bullshit and treating girls as objects, put on this planet for THEIR benefit. Chicken and the egg. In the gym there's a TV screen, playing the usual vacuous aural blancmange, one after the other. I'm convinced some of these performing monkeys are a completely different species. Anyhoo, some act comes on, involving the Head Creature from the Pussycat Dolls; dressed in not that much, it's bikini-time ladies and gentlemen!, grinding away, most of the time the face out of shot, singing about touching her body and look at me me me. And i wonder, just WHAT is she trying to tell everyone? What does she want? "Come and get me, look at me, feel me, do what ever you want, hang on, not THAT close, don't touch me, HELP, 911, lawyer....". And the dumb, vain, empty man that follows; leer across his punchable face, would drag his testicles across broken glass to be flattered by an idiot. Greedy people one and all; men exploiting women, women exploiting women, all exploiting themselves. We live in strange times alright. A world where manipulation is key, degradation a justifiable means to an end. Where waving guns, violence, torture and killing is pumped out of the television set and splashed across the cinema screens in the name of entertainment; no thought of the possible influence or the feeding of imagination to the audience. I saw a documentary on TV about naturism through the ages; interview of a family with the hobby that was passed down through about 4 generations. What did they do? Pixelated the 12 year old daughter's body. What for? Apparently there was absolutely no chance they could possibly show something THAT offensive; could plant seeds of perversion in an ordinary person's mind right? There might be someone watching who's, like, really into it, man!!!!! But shooting someone in the head? Thats was boss, dude! How bizarre our attitude to sex and the human body is. Walking around a campsite with no clothes on, why you HEATHEN! Why don't you grind away to a limp bassline and fuck anything that moves. A sad state of affairs. Alterable by the knowledge that we are all connected; the Universe as a group mind!!!!! Tolerance, respect, understanding, compassion, true spiritual empathy, music, laughter and love. Just not for the Pussycat Dolls.

...in the case State of Florida VS. Casey Anthony? "Guilty your honor, of 1st degree MURDER of her own child. We have just one more thing to add, your honor, that's GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY on every charge in this indictment!! After watching not one stinking minute of this sordid affair on television for over a year I just watched 8 hours of the most compelling TV for 9 hours over the last two days -- Closing arguments in the Casey Anthony trial. For those who don't know, Casey Anthony decided she didn't want to be a Mom anymore, she'd rather be a party girl and used chloroform on her beautiful young (4, Maybe?), young daughter before duct-taping her mouth and nose and putting a smiley sticker on her and dumping her 15 blocks from her parent's home in a swamp in a laundry sack. Bella Vita was a tattoo she then had put behind her left shoulder while she partied hardy till her lies were exposed. The "Beautiful Life" my ass! This is so sick it could only happen in America. All that was missing were pictures of her boyfriend snorting ecstasy off her body. She might get another trial because her lawyers were more pathetic than she was. At one point producing a picture of a 15 year-old Casey (that the judge did not allow) surrounded by cartoon characters, totally fictitious, made up by Casey during the police investigation, Zanny the Nanny (short for Xanax she must have been snorting?). Her defense had numerous opportunities to introduce pre-trial evidence of sexual abuse by the brother and father of Casey but did not do so. Her consequential actions are like that of small girl whose mental process had stopped maturing after a traumatic event, like sexual abuse. But, she did what she did and she is likely to become the 3rd ever woman on Florida's death row, as much as I find that distasteful. Life in prison with possibility of parole after 30 years is a more just punishment. I don't believe in the death penalty or that any person is inherently evil. Evil existing from it's own side. Little Caylee was never given an opportunity to live that long.... If the jury comes back with any lesser verdict and punishment it is a tragedy and a travesty, IMHO.