Appearing at The Jaundiced Eye, the Independent Bloggers' Alliance, and My Left Wing. ![]() It seems the Brits are in a tiz over outrageous comments by Helen Mirren about rape trials. Dame Helen Mirren was accused by the Solicitor General of making ignorant, absurd and dangerous comments yesterday after speaking out again about rape prosecutions.
I would not claim to know how juries are selected in Great Britain, and it may well be totally random, as Solicitor General Vera Baird claims. But, here in the US, where attorneys are very involved in jury selection, it's an absolute fact that your better rape prosecutors try to stack juries with men. I was somewhat stunned to learn this some years ago, while reading up on the "preppy murder trial." Robert Chambers, who was convicted for the murder of Jennifer Levin, was prosecuted by renowned attorney Linda Fairstein. Fairstein, who specializes is rape prosecutions said, when interviewed, that she would always try to tilt juries in the male direction, because women jurors are less likely to convict rapists. Her statement struck me as so counter-intuitive that it always stuck with me. I did a bit of googling, to check my own memory, and Fairstein is not alone in this assessment. However, female jurors frequently do not side with the female complainant. Indeed, according to a Newsday article, “The most sympathetic juror a rape victim can hope for… is not a well-dressed, educated working woman, but a stocky, conservative, middle-aged Italian man. The Italian man, the researchers reason, regards women as fragile and in need of defense and will usually side with the accuser” (Tyre, 1991, p. 10). The article also quotes Barbara Eganhauser, a lead sex crimes prosecutor in Westchester County, who believes “women, even young women with contemporary lifestyles and values, often reject another woman’s accusation or rape and sex abuse out of their own fear” (Tyre, 1991, p. 10). Sad, but true. |
Monday, November 17, 2008
The Political Incorrectness of Helen Mirren
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Hillary Clinton For Sec. of State? Keep Your Enemies Closer?
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Posted by
AAPP
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1:28 PM
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Labels: barack obama, Bill Clinton, Hillary, Hillary and Bill Clinton
Friday, November 14, 2008
Joe Biden’s Happy Space
![]() click to enlarge For the past several years, Neil Young's resistance anthem, Rockin' In the Free World has become the music that I have tended to rage to. Whenever my wife and I would pass by anti-war protesters in North Carolina, we would always crank up the volume in our Honda Element and blast this song out into the huddled throngs. Even though it was written in response to Reagan/Bush policies, it is apt for W's administration - "I got mine so fuck you." Biden has served though some of the best and worst of Presidential administrations and I bet, someplace, somewhere, someone in the Obama/Biden administration has this loaded on their iPod. |
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Storm Bear
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10:41 AM
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Labels: cartoons, comics, humor, ipod, joe biden, neil young, politics, webcomics
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
There is No Open Door, Sarah
God is back! This time he's been talking to Alaska Governor and former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. It's obvious God stop talking to President George W. Bush months ago and has set his sights on Palin. Palin was on virtual lockdown during the presidential campaign. The McCain people only let her out to loot Neiman-Marcus' coast to coast and to do stump speeches in the pro-America parts of the country. The few scheduled interviews she had were disastrous, remember Katie Couric and Charlie Gibson? My two favorite Palin-isms "In what respect, Charlie?"and "I'll have to find some and bring them to you". 2012 is so far off I don't even want to think about it. It's obvious Palin has set her sights on running for President or something. In case you didn't know, she's a person of faith who communicates with God regularly (though he was noticeably absent when she was besmirching Barack Obama). When asked about her aspirations for 2012, Palin told a local FOX News reporter: "I'm like, OK, God, if there is an open door for me somewhere, this is what I always pray, I'm like, don't let me miss the open door. Show me where the open door is. And if there is an open door in 2012 or four years later, and if it is something that is going to be good for my family, for my state, for my nation,an opportunity for me, then I'll plough through that door."
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Kimberly B
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Labels: 2012, barack obama, God, open door, sarah palin
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Bush - too much fiber.
![]() click to enlarge Barack Obama has been elected at the President of the United States of America. No further commentary is required. |
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Storm Bear
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Labels: barack obama, cartoons, comics, humor, politics, webcomics










