That Hollywood Group is Wrong

It seems to me, all well thinking women worldwide and especially mothers, should immediately start boycotting anything that Hollywood big wigs such as Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Pedro Almodovar , Adrien Brody, Sigourney Weaver, Harvey Weinstein and any other actor or studio official as well as Zurich Film Festival Jury President Debra Winger have an input in.

For these are among the main leaders who have jumped to the defense of Roman Polanski and see him walk away from the drugging, rape and sodomizing of a 13 year old child over thirty years ago.

We have no way of finding out why the US authorities took so long to seek the extradition of Polanski, but justice must be served, even thirty years later. For there is no question of Polanski's guilt, since he did plead guilty at the time of his prosecution, but later escaped imprisonment by going to live in Europe.

Are these so-called famous Hollywood personalities and movie icons who would have him excused saying that they approve of the drugging, raping and sodomizing of young girls by perverts, simply because they are talented? Are they saying that only the untalented of the world should be punished for perversions? I wonder what they would be saying if this terrible crime had been committed against their own child or sister?

Let the world tell all these perverts that we disapprove of their stance by boycotting their works, no matter how "talented" they appear to be.

Silver Sands Beach

This weekend, I learnt something about most muggers. That is, they are really cowards who when not having the element of surprise to jump the defenseless, are mere wimps.

Here I was at Silver Sands resort in Duncans, Trelawny, when on Sunday, for my exercise I decided to walk up to the town. I had my earphones in my ears as usual. On the way back, I saw a man appear behind me and heard him calling out to me as I walked down the hill. I ignored him. He followed me the entire journey down, crossing the road when I did and saying things that I could not hear because of the music.

As we got to the lonely spot where there is a gravel turnoff to Duncan's Bay, I decided that I did not want this man following me further as that section was quite bushy and less trafficked. So I walked on to the gravel track, pretended to be heading to Duncan’s Bay. I then picked a large stone and quickly turned around to confront him with my hand with the stone in it, raised right in his face and shouted "Weh yu a fallaw mi fah?" 

I suppose he had thought I was just another defenseless woman whom he could intimidate, mug or whatever. What he did not anticipate was my reaction so he jumped out his boots when he saw my upraised hand and the large rock. He certainly had no time to get to any weapon if he had one.

 Although he had followed me on to the path to Duncan’s Bay he protested rather weakly in a very shaky voice that he had not been following me. I told him was he was a dirty liar for he had crossed the road each time I did and was calling out things to me. It was really quite funny to see him cower but I did not press my luck, instead, pushed him aside and went back on to the main road. I then stopped to see what he would do but he walked off into the bushes, so I continued my exercise. 

I suppose he will be more careful who he chooses to mess with in the future.

Apart from that incident , it was an absolutely wonderful weekend. We got down there around 7 pm Friday night and after drinks with Bernie (my brother) his wife and friends, turned in.

On Saturday morning at 6am., we went out fishing in a 28 foot Boston Whaler with experienced fisherman Errol. Thank God for that for if we hadn’t, we would probably have all ended upon in hospital. This is because Joan the great fisherwoman, caught the largest fish....about a 3/4 pound fish called a "stinging grouper"(aka Scorpion Fish. Thanks to Valerie Charles' suggestion on Facebook, I looked it up and found the info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scorpaenidae ).

 None of us knew anything about these fish at the time, but Errol quickly cut it off the line and threw it back explaining that if any of the bones touched our skin, it was instantly poisonous and some people even became swollen and had to be hospitalized. 

He further told us that for years there was a doctor in Falmouth by the name of Dr. Foote and for years that fish was called "Dr. Foote" for that is where those who caught it and tried to release it from the line in the normal manner, ended up!

I was extremely sorry to see my fish go back in the water (dead of course) since it was the biggest fish I had ever caught! Would you also believe that there is a fish called Nayga fish? Apparently the colonial masters gave it that name because it is jet black and our people have just continued to use that name. It resembles a doctor fish and but is full black. Bernie caught one.

As usual the beach was absolutely beautiful, warm and calm. At about 11am the visitors started to arrive for the domino session. My very first set with Stewie as my partner, we got six love. 

But wait for it, we then dropped 17 love before ending the last of three sets with 6/1! At that point I thought I should retire lest I ruined my reputation. So I went to play scrabble and won two of three games.

However it was the draw of the dominoes slamming down that I could not resist. So back I went to one of the tables after a wonderful buffet dinner (there were about 35 guests) only to get two six loves. Temporary retirement from dominoes for me after that, just drinks, animated conversation and listening to great music for the rest of the session.

On Sunday it was back to the beach and later to the pool, until it was time to come back to miserable Kingston. 

Oh for more weekends like this.

Poor Caster

I cannot believe that anyone in South Africa could support the retention of Leonard Chuene as head of their Athletics council, after the pain and suffering, not just for today but also for years to come, that he has caused Caster Semenya.

Readers will recall that when the issue of Caster's sexuality became not only a public issue in Berlin but also an international scandal as well, Chuene denied knowing that tests to determine the sex of the runner were carried out on the runner in South Africa before her 800m world title win. Now, not only is he admitting that he knew of the problem, but also that doctors had recommended that she be not entered.

Now that it has been revealed that Chuene lied, to add insult to injury, the south African Athletics Council has released a brief statement saying it "unanimously expressed confidence in the current ASA leadership."

In other words, this entire council has shown the international community that it fully supports dishonesty and even worse, their actions have demonstrated a callous disregard for the welfare of this young athlete who is being disgraced internationally because of the dishonesty of the governing organisation. In my book, the world of athletics would be better of without the entire athletics council in south Africa, as it is presently composed.

Why am I surprised however? After all, did South Africa not just elect a prime minister who had been charged with both rape and corruption, despite the sordid facts that came out at the rape trial.

Nelson Mandela set the foundation for South Africa to become a leading light in the black world, but from these recent trends, it appears his legacy will be lost even before he passes from this physical plain.

Agole or Hog Hole?

I really enjoy riding,........riding to anywhere and anytime. To date however, the ride to Hog Hole in St. Catherine was my absolute best.

Well it could have been better, if we had only left on time, but as usual, Charles was late, reminding us once again of that age old adage "closer to church, further from God." However, the nine of us (we were joined on the way by Damit) never left as late as we have in the past, so did not have to contend with the blaring hot sun which has always been my major turn off.

All went well for most of the way to Spanish Town except that Tashna who has been away and out of shape for over a month, was not feeling well and had to go into the support vehicle as we approached Spanish Town. To her credit however, from time to time, she came out of the vehicle and back on her bike.

Outside of Spanish Town also, Grace had some problems with her bicycle and had to stop change bikes. What we all missed however was the spectacle of our “cycling icon" Howie fallingoff his bike! He had been riding "shotgun" so it was not until we stopped that someone spotted the telltale blood stains on his foot and he admitted that his attention had been diverted by a young lady, (as usual) and he had a minor spill. No serious injuries however. What was hilarious was the declaration by Fatman (who had been driving the support vehicle at the back and seen the spill) that he had been seriously contemplating riding with us, but on seeing a professional like Howie diving to the ground, he had decided to stick to four wheel vehicles!

Charles, as usual had gone off on his own, claiming that because he is a slow rider he did not want to stop when the rest of us did, but we finally caught up with him as we started to enter the Bog Walk gorge. What an absolutely beautiful ride from there on.

The gorge is breath-taking when you take it all in slowly...... the slow moving Rio Cobre river, the flocks of birds all over the green hills, the coolness of the area, eveything. We also made a discovery just as we exited the gorge. How many of you knew that Jamaica had a cable car? Not many I guess.

When we got to Kent village, (which is that little area where you always see a lot of fruits for sale in stalls along the way) we stopped to buy drinks and Michael spotted the "cable car." This created quite a bit of excitement as Michael, Tashna and Heather were all obliged by a kind gentleman who took them for a ride on the cable car.

This engineering feat had come about as there are a number of farms on the other side of the Rio Cobre river and to get there, higglers and workers used to go bay bamboo raft. This proved to be inconvenient however, as when the river is in spate it would destroy the raft and persons would sometimes be stranded for hours. Then someone came up with the idea of making a metal unit in which people could stand and using cables pulled by hand, to take it across the river. We were told that it has been in operation for quite a few years and has worked well for all concerned.

Here’s to Jamaican innovation. Of course, the speeders like Orrell, David, Howie, and Damit, missed this nice intervention and were quite jealous when were told them about it.

When we got to Bog Walk a few of us were grumbling that we wanted to stop there and have breakfast but when Howie assured us that Hog Hole was "just around the corner" ( ie. another 6 miles!) we grudging agreed to continue. Because the bridge in Bog Walk is under construction and only the bicycles could use that route, Howie had to leave us to show Fatman how to get on the road to Hog Hole.

From Bog Walk to Hog Hole is also a very scenic route with beautifully manicured pastures housing grazing cows and horses and well laid out citrus plantations and it was a very easy ride with just one slight slope to climb.

The real drama started when Betty who was driving one vehicle and being followed by Winston Chin You driving another to take us back, called Charles to find out how to get on the road to Hog Hole. Having given her incorrect directions the night before on their way to a party, he told her to just ask people on the way after getting to Bog Walk. When that advice yielded no good results, she called back and since Howie was the one who knew the route, Charles gave him the phone to give Betty directions. Boy did he ever give her wrong directions as we learnt from a subsequent phone call from her after she had almost reached Linstead (totally out of the way),.

Then Michael took the phone and apparently gave her a different set directionsI! A subsequent phone call and the number of "cloths" that one heard coming from the phone, indicated to us that he too had misdirected her!

We had in the meantime found an excellent picnic area at the entrance of a farm and had camped out there waiting for them to arrive. At that point, Fatman even volunteered to go back to lead Betty and Winston to where we were, but he allowed Michael one last attempt on the phone, to stop confusing her. He eventually succeeded but even when they arrived and found that there was a cold Red Stripe Lite and a cold peeled and cut orange waiting for them (Charles had come up with the idea of having those delicious items ready and waiting for them to cool the temperature) both Michael and Howie got a good tongue lashing while we had a good laugh.

Hog Hole was literally just around the corner from there and after we crossed the bridge that Howie built, (that's how he discovered the place) although the river was quite low, we did find a spot for cool off.

That's when we goat a lesson on the development of the Jamaican parlance. As it turned out, right beside the river was where Lurch, an old schoolmate of Charles lived. He joined us in the river and told us the interesting tale. On the map, Hog Hole is called Agole (with an accent on the e) but according to Lurch, the name of the river we were swimming in is Rio D'Oro and in the olden days people used to point to the river and say "It ha gole in dey". Over the years, that was shortened to become "It Ha gole" and eventually the it was dropped, the ha and gole were combined to become hagole then Hog hole. I think that is such a more interesting explanation of the name than Agole, don't you?

Anyway after cooling off in Rio Oro we drove back to Bog Walk and had breakfast at Juicci for although we arrived after they had stopped serving breakfast, chief organizer Charles had the presence of mind to call them and place an order for us.

Another great day after a 31 mile ride to prepare for the long ride to Negril on October 18th.

Racism in America

A video on utube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq9G44tomKY shows
Baptist minister Steve Anderson from Arizona boasting that he prays each night for Obama to die and go to hell. At the same time the reports are coming in daily about an increase in hate crimes in the USA and even more dangerously, that the secret service is getting intelligence that threats against President Obama's life are being hatched minutely.

You know, having seen how racism is vicious in the USA, I had feared that Obama would never have lived to be inaugurated. Thank God he did.

Now I am even more concerned that he will not live to see out his term. If those white racists in the USA are allowed to succeed, I suspect America will have a very long and bloody civil war.

Trafigura

According to a recent BBC radio report, BBC Newsnight has uncovered evidence revealing that Dutch oil trading company Trafigura knew that waste dumped in the Ivory Coast in 2006, was hazardous. Trafigura had persistently denied that the waste was harmful but internal e-mails show staff knew it was hazardous, the report went on to say. (my emphasis)

Further, the reports stated that “On Wednesday, Newsnight learned that Trafigura has offered to pay damages to settle a class action brought on behalf of 31,000 who said they were injured. The news of the settlement came as a UN report on claims that people had fallen sick or died as a result of the dump was published.

The report also said there is "strong prima facie evidence that the reported deaths and adverse health consequences are related to the dumping of the waste from the cargo ship".

These latest developments are especially important to us in Jamaica for it tells us what kind of company Trafigura really is. What is frightening is that in 2007, they gave $30 million to the People’s National Party (PNP) government in Jamaica as a campaign contribution, but up to now, no one will tell the public what the party promised them in return or rather why Trafigura was so intent on having the PNP returned to power.

Without any reasonable explanation and in light of these latest developments, one can’t but conclude that Trafigura was searching for another country in which to dump its toxic waste and they thought the PNP would be inclined to oblige them

What a frightening thought, not the thought that PNP would sell out the Jamaican people, for they have done that many times during their 18 years of governance. The terrifying thought is that had they been returned to power in the 2007 elections, the lives and health of thousands of Jamaicans would have been put at risk.

In my book too, the actions by Trafigura are born out of raw racism for in certain parts of the developed would, they have long entertained the attitude that it is always ok to dump their garbage, hazardous or not, on the black people of the world. And don’t forget that history has shown us time and time again, that there are always black people ready to cooperate (for money of course) with other races in the selling out of their own people.

A Woman's Right

According to a recent poll done in Jamaica, when respondents were asked to state the extent of their agreement with the statement 'Abortion is morally wrong', 73 per cent said they strongly agreed, 12 per cent said they agreed somewhat, while nine per cent strongly disagreed and six per cent said they disagreed somewhat.

"The general consensus was that abortion was morally wrong," said the pollster. "Eighty-five per cent of all persons interviewed expressed this view.

"This suggests that this view was consistently held across all the various demographic groups, virtually to the same extent," he added.

I have no qualms about categorically stating that I fall in that nine percent group which strongly disagreed for it is my opinion, that what a woman does with her body is her business and hers alone. No church, politician, judge or parson should have any say with what a woman does with her body, just the owner of the body. So who needs a poll ?

Anyway, I think what the poll reflects is the negative influence that the church in Jamaica is having on people, for it has been a long established that Jamaica has more churches per square mile than any other country in the world. I have even heard some of those religious fanatics (ie. parsons) arguing on public media that even when a child is gang raped, if she gets pregnant, she should be required to keep reliving that terrible experience for the full term, then give the child up for adoption. Such callous views do nothing but make my blood curdle for the very thought of a child having to endure such torture is really unspeakable.. Neither do I support the theory that a fertilised egg is a person. In my book, that is a totally stupid premise........ like saying that when I eat a fertilised egg I am eating a chicken.

This is not to say that I support the concept that abortion should be used as a means of birth control. Absolutely not.

However, when a woman finds herself pregnant, if she is not ready psychologically or financially to deal with that lifetime responsibility, by all means have an abortion.

Let me say however, while I am strongly in favour of removing eggs, I have a personal problem with removing a fetus, once it has visibly developed a human form.....just my quirk.

In the main however, I remain firmly of the view that only a woman has the right to determine what comes out of her own body and when and there is nothing immoral about that.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJu_qutzS3Y

Bicycle Lanes

Recently, Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding in launching Caribbean Wellness Day, called on us to adopt healthy lifestyles.

I am all for the motivating speeches and healthy living, but I am even more for government policy that backs up the motivating speeches. For example, wouldnt it have been wonderful if when he made the call, the PM announced a government policy which would see his government putting in "bicycle lanes" each time a road is constructed or rehabilitated? Not only would this encourage healthier living and save lives but many of us would be quite happy to beat daily traffic jams by going about our business on bicycles.

Wouldn't that also tell us that the government is serious about cutting down on oil imports?

I suppose I live in a dream world where words and deeds coincide.

Morant Bay Ride

For some time now, a few ambitious members of "Fun and Thrills" have been toying with the idea of riding to Negril, Westmorland, some 140 miles from Hope Pastures. Now it seems our toying days are over as the date has been set for Sunday October 18th and based on a resolution adopted on top of some hill, we have started to do long endurance rides.

So on Sunday 13th September we had our first endurance ride to Morant Bay, St. Thomas, a distance of 34 miles according to our top sprinter, (the Bolt of Fun and Thrills) Barry. Well departure time from Hope Pastures was set for 5.30 am to beat the sun, but having arrived on time many times and having to wait on the latecomers, I have slowly been becoming a latecomer myself! So I arrived at 6am only to find everyone on board. Winston drove the support vehicle accompanied by his son Zackaria.

Actually, it was a pretty non-exhaustive ride to Yallahs, (Barry tells me that a rasta man told him the real name for Yallahs is Ayallah,but the English colonial masters could not pronounce it and therefore corrupted it to Yallahs). So mi get it so mi give it and since rastas don’t lie, I believe it!)for apart from a small section in the Bull Bay area, it was level riding. I was actually feeling so comfortable that when I saw a number of my colleagues resting at Albion, I didn't feel like stopping. On hearing that Andrew had gone ahead, I decided to try and catch him up.

Now that was probably my gravest error for unbeknownst to me, Andrew stopped in Yallahs. So there I was killing myself to catch him up , long after he had stopped! By then the sun was in full swing and extreme heat was coming up from the asphalt, but I was determined not to stop until I saw him. Then thank God I saw Barry and Darragh (a young Irishman who is so fit that he has competed in the Ironman triathlon although he smokes!) at a shop where thy had stopped to buy a cold beer and Guiness and give Darragh an opportunity to smoke a cigarette. So I got a little rest before they took off like Bolt and I did not see them again until they had reached Morant Bay and turned back to "Washoff" where there is that little waterfall by the road.

So on I plodded by myself and in the hot sun, still determined not to stop until I caught up Andrew. On approaching Whitehorses, there is quite a challenging hill and I heard a bike coming behind me which changed down to first gear as the hill was so steep. That's when I knew I was crazy to be using woman power to get up that hill when no one was paying me to do so!

 The irrationality of the situation was further reinforced when I saw a man ahead of me pushing his bicycle up the hill. Aha I thought, if a man has to pushing his bicycle up this horrible hill the so can I. Then it occurred to me that maybe he had a puncture. As if to tease me, he then jumped on his bicycle at that very moment, then after pedaling for about 30 seconds, he dismounted and started to push again. That was all I needed to dismount too, but my conscience said to me that I ride up Long Mountain every week and he doesn’t so I should not get off. So I obeyed and on I toiled. That's when Howie, who had stopped in Albion to wait on the others, flew past me. That’s about when I finally reached the top and saw the lovely downhill ride and the clear, inviting, blue, sea which seemed to be calling out to me to jump in and cool off. All that seemed to have been sent by God as a reward for my perseverance !

 As the downhill section finished, I had arrived at "Washoff" and there to my delight, sat Howie and Damit at a stall drinking cold coconuts. Boy was I ever happy to join them, especially since my water had been exhausted and I had been becoming quite thirsty. There we stayed in the shade till Andrew who I had stupidly been chasing,, arrived. Then came David, Charles, Michael, Grace and Renee (not necessarily  in that order).

 Next, we saw Darragh and Barry coming back. Well those of us who thought that we could have called it a day, were in for a disappointment as team leader and dictator Michael mandated that we must finish the ride. So after a while it was back in the sun for another five miles to the round about.

We all got there within minutes of each other and started to ride back to find the support vehicle. Luckily Winston came within view very quickly and Renee and I gave up our bicycles immediately for a ride in the van. Then we saw Betty arrive in an air-conditioned vehicle and Winston was immediately rejected! At one point we thought mad Michael followed by naive David were planning to ride back to Kingston but when we got back to "Washoff" they too jumped into the vehicles.

 Then it was on to 'Survival" for a delicious breakfast of ackee, mackerel and callalloo with wonderful food and fried jonnie cakes. That was around 11am and only after that did I begin to feel normal.

Well as we of "Fun and thrills” like to finish a day’s expedition with a swim, we headed for Grants Pen beach (in St. Thomas). But bearing in mind the frequent reports about crime in that area and seeing how narrow the road was, making it difficulty to make a quick getaway if necessary, we decided to go to Cable Hut beach in Bull Bay instead. That was a wise decision as the sea was unusually calm. Barry, Renee and Darragh who left us after breakfast, missed the best part of that ride!

Caster Semenya

I find the treatment by the International Athletics Association and the world press of 19 year old South African Caster Semenya totally unforgivable.

What future now lies for this poor child after her privacy has been so terribly invaded and mauled by the international press? Granted she does not seem to have been given the 'normal" set of tools as most of the rest of mankind ( and womankind) but she is a human being with feelings, so why have these insensitive idiots treated the delicate matter of her sexuality in such a callous, insensitive and downright wicked manner?

Poor Caster was born with a vagina visible and thus treated as a girl her parents. Then she made the mistake of getting involved in athletics and having excelled in her chosen field, has now become the scourge of the athletic world with barbs like "they have to include a special category for it" being thrown at her with scant regard for her feelings. Imagine being referred to as an it by so-called journalists!

God created her as she is. Her major manifestations are female while hidden inside her are male organs and hormones. So she must now suffer international ridicule for the rest of her life for something over which she had not control, thanks to the International Athletics Association.

Which brings me to a general attitude to homosexuality by some who pretend to be speaking for God.

I have always had the greatest sympathy for homosexuals for regardless of what others claim, I have been always convinced that these urges are not something that we humans have any control over.

I have always based this premise on my own simple experience for when I became sexually aware, I did not say "ok I am going to fall for boys instead of girls". That came naturally and without any input from me as it was in where I was born and to what parents. These are some of the things that we have absolutely no control over but indeed must learn to play the hand we are dealt. Yet we have religious leaders leaders preaching death and damnation to those unfortunate enough to find themselves in the position that is not considered normal by society, like being attracted to their own gender.

I don't know whether Caster is attracted to males or females, but her dilemma and that of other hermaphrodites is the extreme. It is my opinion that homosexuals are driven by an urge that is related to their internal makeup, nothing they can do anything about and nothing to do with them being sexual deviants or perverts.

Wouldn't this be a wonderful world if we could only learn to accept people as God made them and stop taking on to ourselves the role of judges in things that we have no knowledge about or control over?

Next time you feel like judging another's lifestyle, stop and think how you would feel if you were born like a Caster or had a friend or relative who is not born with the attributes (internal and external) that society considers "normal".

OF TOLLS AND AWARDS

On Saturday 5th September we set off for one of our monthly rides and to have breakfast and a swim at Hellshire Beach. It was the usual group of dedicated riders but two first timers (on the Hellshire ride that is) were with us. They were Peter and Grace.

All went well as we did the trip in 2 hours which is less than the last time and there were no mishaps like when Charles crashed into Betty on the last ride to the beach, causing her to have a minor spill.

As we arrived, most of us headed for a swim in the warm, blue, clear, wonderful Caribbean sea that is Hellshire Beach. Real drama started when the sumptuous breakfast was served and Betty and family had not yet arrived. When Charles called to find out what was happening, we heard the amusing tale(amusing to us, not the players!).

Winston had been driving my car over as I had to leave early for an appointment and he and Betty were behind each other. When they got to the toll booth (where the toll fee had been surreptitiously increased the night before) Lisa was no where to be seen but they had to go through in order not to create a traffic problem. Problem was, Lisa had left home without her bag (of money!) so she should not pay to go through the toll!

There was much teleconferencing between her, Betty and Charles with Betty saying she would return through the toll to pay for her. Charles had the brilliant idea that since she is a beautiful young lady she should get out of the car and let the first man she saw know that she had left her bag and had no money to pay the toll. After some balking and I guess because she was holding up traffic, someone paid the toll for her and she eventually arrived.

She arrived after we had all eaten however but before the awards ceremony. You see, when we rode up Long Mountain the previous Wednesday, Barry came up with the brilliant idea that we should start giving out awards to our members. He thought that we would start with "The Most Improved Rider' and suggested that award should go to Charles, Club Bully (his brother's designation) and host extraordinaire (my designation). He was deemed the most improved rider because after weeks of riding up to Maryland on a Sunday and complaining all the way, on Sunday 30th August, from he got on the bicycle he never stopped, surprisingly, not even to buy an orange. Fact is, even when we stopped to take a group photo he could not be found and indeed most of us never saw him after he left Hope Pastures until we got to Maryland.

There was therefore consensus on the awardee and after much discussion as to whether he should get a cup or an engraved chimmy, most of us forgot about it. But not good old Barry, for he went out and bought a trophy, had it engraved and put a picture of Charles on it. After Lisa arrived, the trophy was presented to Charles by Grace who we expect to be the next winner of the most improved rider award. In the meantime, she remains provider of delicious desserts!

But guess what, the next day as we again rode up to Maryland, the awardee stopped several times to rest and perhaps even get a quick nap, for he had spent the entire night before staying up to play cards.

I wonder if we should now start presenting trophies for indiscipline?!!!!

See photos at; http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?id=763366822&pid=3472306#/album.php?aid=140597&id=763366822

OF CRIME AND PUNISHMENT

I cannot begin to imagine what life must have been like for poor little Jaycee Lee Dugard who was kidnapped by Phillip Garridoin in 1991 at when she was only 11 years old, held for some 18 years, during which period, she was constantly raped and impregnated twice, starting at the tender age of 14.

One other real tragedy coming on the heels of this entire blood curdling affair, is the role of various state agencies. For example,the fact is, Garridoin's character was well known and in no sane country would this monster, once discovered and convicted, be out of jail and free to rape and torment other women and children after a very short sentence.

For in 1976, he had kidnapped and for some 8 hours raped Katie Callaway who was 25 years old at the time. For that crime he was convicted and sentenced to serve 50 years but for some strange reason he was released after serving a mere 11 years. How does that compare to the thousands of young black men who are given very long stiff sentences for drug use in the federal system in the USA, a crime which hurts no one but themselves? It seems to me the US justice system is riddled with racism and to some extent, sexism, as men invariably seem to get off lightly there when women are the victims and blacks get ridiculously long sentences for mere misdemeanors..

I wonder too if the policeman who was sent to investigate a tip that children where living in the backyard of the known pedophile but went no further than Garridion's front door, is still "serving and protecting" as an honourable member of the police force there?

You know, had that entire incident not had such a devastating effect on Jaycee and her children, it would provide excellent grist for an excellent comedy.