A Tale of Three Court Cases: Part Two

Wacko Jacko.

For all the people talking about this case, how can any of them say such vile things as "cut off his nuts" or as ignorant as "Free Jacko."

They don't know if he did it or not. They have no way of knowing. The only people who know for sure are Jackson and his accusers. So for everyone adding their two cents as to whether or not he did it, shut the fuck up.

As always, I'm here to share the real story. And this, to me, is the saddest part.

Jackson settlement from 1993 allegations topped $20 million - Jun 16, 2004: "Jackson agreed to pay $15,331,250 to be held in a trust fund for the accuser, now 24, as well as $1.5 million to each of his parents. The accuser may have also received another seven-figure payment not specified in the agreement. Additionally, the plaintiff's lawyer was slated to receive $5 million."

Back in 1993 when the first (publicized) allegations came out, that suit was settled out of court in 1994. The result? Cold hard cash going to the accuser, his family, and his lawyer in exchange for a promise to stop persuing the matter in courts. Jackson's camp said repeatedly that the settlement was in no way an admission of guilt and I could see a person of his celebrity making such a settlement even if he wasn't guilty.

But what if he was guilty then, and what if he is guilty now?

If the family in 1994 had pushed for justice, maybe that would have prevented any further abuse. Maybe Michael Jackson would be locked up now or maybe he would have gotten psychiatric help.

If he is found guilty, I'd like to see that money stripped from those bought out back in 1994. I'd like to see that money go to children's charities or worthwhile causes like the Kids Help Phone or Children's Aid. I'd like to see those bought out put in jail. They are just as guilty as Jackson (IF he's found guilty)... they have Jackson's cum on their hands... all over again.

Of course that's IF he is guilty.

There is always the chance that this is a money grab as it may have been back in 1993. Jackson may just be an easy target. If that's the case, lock them all up and leave Jackson alone.

I can also see how the 1993 accuser would have taken the money. That family is now set for life. Heck I'd let Jackson blow me for $23 million and Jackson could be damn sure I'd never tell a soul about it.

A Tale of Three Court Cases: Part One

When I turned on my computer this morning all I got was a short "whirr" and a flash of my power light. Panic. I tried again. Nothing. More Panic. I cracked open the case and tried again. Nothing. I flipped the main power switch on the back off and on again. Tried booting up. Same flash as before and I noticed that the fans started spinning oh so briefly before sputtering out. Bloody hell. I put my thinking cap on and remembered what happened when I tried installing the ATI 9800 XT AIW almost a year ago. It did something similar then. I deduced that not enough power was getting to my machine. I unplugged a few things from the circuit and success. Whew.

Anyway back on track.

All the buzz in the past week or so has been around two major court cases in the US. A few people have asked for my thoughts so I will post them starting today. But first, there is another court case that doesn't have the same profile as the others. It finally got resolved today.

Bobby Fischer Heads for Iceland After Japan Release

The great American chess hero Bobby Fischer was released from detention in Japan where he will head to Iceland, which granted him citizenship last week. He has been incarcerated in Japan since July because he is wanted in the US for playing a chess match. No, Bush doesn't want to try out his Gruenfeld against the greatest player who ever lived, the American authorities want him jailed for playing in a chess match back in 1992.

You see, back in the day, Americans were prohibited from performing any activities in the former Yugoslavia and that is where Fischer had his match. Fischer won $3 million for defeating Boris Spassky in a rematch of their 1972 classic which launched Fischer to icondom in the US.

Ok, dudes... the Cold War is over. The match was in 1992, not 1962.

Even Fischer's Cold War rival, Boris Spassky things the charges are rediculous. He wrote Bush a letter himself asking for "charity" and "mercy." Spassky even offered to turn himself in. As a French citizen in 1992, he believes he was an equal participant in Fischer's crime.

An excerpt:
If for some reason it is impossible (to drop charges against Fischer), I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set.

Another thing that bothered me in the original story is at the bottom where author Elaine Lies (*cough*) says:

He resurfaced after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. In an interview with a Philippine radio station, Fischer praised the strikes and said he wanted to see America "wiped out."

What a bad man eh?

Well this is what he actually said:

"This is all wonderful news. It is time to finish off the US once and for all.

"I was happy and could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US.

"I applaud the act. The US and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians for years. Now it is coming back at the US."

While still damning and sounding like a nut, Lies selective use of quotes makes it seem far worse than what he actually said. Context is everything. Let me see.. I'll pull a few selective quotes myself.

Sober says Fischer said:

"... could not believe what was happening. All the crimes the US has committed in the world. This just shows, what goes around comes around, even to the US."

Now then... that doesn't seem all too different from this quote:

"You cannot exercise your powers to the point of humiliation for the others. That is what the Western world -- not only the Americans, the Western world -- has to realize. Because they are human beings too. There are long-term consequences,"

"And I do think that the Western world is getting too rich in relation to the poor world and necessarily will be looked upon as being arrogant and self-satisfied, greedy and with no limits. The 11th of September is an occasion for me to realize it even more."

And that was the then Prime Minister, Jean Chretien.

Happy St Patrick's Day

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.

Up the Irish!

Slainte.

New project in the works (teaser)

In the past couple weeks something has pissed me off so much I'm actually doing something about it. If you want a hint you can read the articles below and see where I seem to be pissed off the most.

Tonight I emailed a few people to see if I can meet with them to bounce ideas off them. I hope I get to or at least they write back. I'll get to use my skills to help a cause I've discovered I'm very passionate about. It might mean a lot of work but I think it will be very rewarding. I just want to meet with some of these people to see if my ideas are actually relevant and if my proposed plan will actually help.

Sober on Rye receives first accolade!

A while ago I told you I had submitted the site to BlogsCanada.ca and they have approved my listing. Not only that but they listed the site as being "Cool." You got it playa. I'm officially cool.

Disclaimer: They list blogs automatically under "What's Cool" if the blog links back to BlogsCanada. So no one really thinks I'm cool, I just linked back to them. Oh well. I'll just make this part of the post really small and maybe you'll miss it.

Bombz is Back

Bombz-away.com is back online. Freeze is rating everything left, right and middle.

New Older Posts

New Older Posts? What the heck does that mean?

I had a number of entries in the works but I never got around to finishing them. Blogger and I weren't talking to each other for a while because it lost my huge entry about Howard Hughes.

Anyway, I have finished and posted them, but you'll find them a little bit lower on the page. So scroll down. Or you can jump to them directly with these links:

Bishop Calls for PM's Excommunication

UPDATE: The guy IS a pirate

1000 Blank White Cards

Game in progress. Isn't it fun to be sociable?

Pics later.

Bishop Calls for PM's Excommunication

Bishop Calls for PM's Excommunication

The Roman Catholic Bishop of Calgary wants Martin excommunicated for his plan to legalize same-sex marriage.

Personally I vote for a country-wide interdiction.

Is there some certificate you can get for being excommunicated? I want one signed by the pope. I'd frame it and hang it over my desk along with my Certificate of Normalcy.

Anyway, back to same-sex marriage. What does some Calgary Bishop's opinions have to do with two consenting non-Catholic adult fags living in Montreal? I'm here to tell the Bishop to butt the fuck out! Tell Catholic queers they're going to hell if he must but leave it at that. Don't marry them in your church but for the the love of crack understand that this is a human rights issue! If any two people decide to make a commitment to each other to live as one, they should have the same rights regardless of gender! No one has the right to forbid a couple to make the commitment of marriage. Not the government, not the Pope, and certainly not the Bishop of Calgary.

The only thing all of this talk is doing is cheapening marriage for married couples. They are no longer married because of their love for each other, they are married because the government and/or the church allowed it. This needs to change. Marriage is between two people. It is about their love and their commitment to each other and their union. This must be the focus.

I'm having kittens over here just thinking about all of this.

Gotta get a drink to calm my nerves.

See this post in the archives for more on same-sex marriage.