SHE HAS A NAME

[Otta]

I've had a few Sunday beers and have no idea about anything serious.

[jamster]

Otta Wrote:

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> I've had a few Sunday beers and have no idea about

> anything serious.

Liked!

[the-e-dealer]

oh otta you arent taking a serious public enquiry seriously. Shame on you

[WorkingMummy]

Obviously, not guilty until the contrary is proven and all that, but as the facts of the case emerge, (Steenkamp apparently in the bathroom with the door closed, or in one report I read, with the door LOCKED, when Pistorius shot four bullets through bathroom door at her) seems to me, things are not looking too good for Mr. P making the World Championships this year.

I'm awaiting some b/s like, "Toxic mix of alcohol and performance enhancing drugs (administered without my knowledge by my coach of course) clouded my judgment and made me overly aggressive when I decided that no girlfriend in bed beside me plus SOMEone in bathroom necessitated shooting the crap out of whoever was behind that door."

And pray to god that the main headline does not then become, "Oscar Pritorius Drug Cheat".

[*Bob*]

i fink ee dunnit

[the-e-dealer]

Contempt of Court!

[Otta]

They were saying on the radio that when the warrant officer arrived, OP's brother and lawer were already there, and a locksmith had been called to open a safe containing a memory stick with details of his offshore accounts. Would seem someone was hoping to do a runner (on blades of course).

[the-e-dealer]

What's legalbeagle's brother got to do with this?

[woodrot]

'roid rage bro

[legalbeagle]

According the the U.N. A woman in South Africa is killed by an intimate partner every six hours.

According to data from the world bank, women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.

"Violence against women is not confined to a specific culture, region or country, or to particular groups of women within a society. The roots of violence against women lie in persistent discrimination against women." (Secretary General of the UN)

Of course I get why we are all talking about this one awful act. I just wish we were more concerned, globally, generally, the the atrocious act that happens every six hours. Perhaps if THAT was in the tabloids with such frequency, something would change. Or perhaps it wouldn't. Perhaps some of us, even most of us, would continue only to have their eye caught by the headlines. But I reckon it's worth a try.

[Huguenot]

Are you sure you're not conflating impotence with disinterest?

There's no evidence that the good people of ED are unconcerned about the plight of women, and more that they are unconcerned about any of the other challenges and tragedies that affect so many of the 7bn people alive in the world today.

[legalbeagle]

No there isn't and I don't say they don't care, not at all. I know lots of them personally so that's an accusation I know to be unfair.

What I do see though is some logical awkwardness in various arguments. On the one hand, we all care deeply, we all think tabloids are awful, we all accept celebrity is nonsense and vacuous. On the other hand, tabloids that print these stories sell better than papers that don't. And we shrug and say that's what tabloids do and we shouldn't be surprised. (Which is true, they do and we shouldn't)

So we get the press we deserve? I'm not blaming EDF or commentators on it for the existence of The Sun, of course not, but a very large number of people are keeping it in business. I wonder if they would continue to do so if they had run a story about a murder every six hours rather than this murder....

[Huguenot]

Well any newspaper that ran the same story every day (regardless of what it was) would find themselves struggling to get readers. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

Can't escape the vicarious joy of schadenfreude either - we like to see the mighty fallen, the travails of the little guy are usually too close to home to be comfortable reading.

[legalbeagle]

I don't mean running it every day. That'd be difficult by any measure. But I'm sure that shadenfreude is a large part of it. That and, I'm afraid, the bikini shots.

[*Bob*]

Double amputee Olympic gold medallist hero shoots pin-up reality tv star girlfriend dead. On valentine's day.

No.. I just can't see the press interest on this one.

[Loz]

legalbeagle Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> According the the U.N. A woman in South Africa is killed by an intimate partner every six hours.

>

> According to data from the world bank, women aged 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic

> violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria.

>

> "Violence against women is not confined to a specific culture, region or country, or to

> particular groups of women within a society. The roots of violence against women lie in

> persistent discrimination against women." (Secretary Genera of the UN)

I thought you weren't running with a gender angle? In fact, wasn't that the central tenet of your (*cough^) 'explanation'?

Your post smelt before. It smells real bad now.

[legalbeagle]

Oh for goodness sake loz would you let it go. We all get that you think I'm a sexist. We all get that you don't believe my explanations. However we are trying to have an interesting debate, not a debate about how much you have taken a personal dislike to me or the views you mistakenly think I hold. I was not running a "gender angle" in my original post, I was commenting on celebrity. That does not mean that we cannot comment on other aspects of a story, or that it cannot evolve.

And incidentally, your comment on another thread:

"Actually most serious feminists are hysterically* funny. They just don't mean to be. Or see the joke.

(* 'offensive' use of the word entirely intended)"

Is very sexist. Perhaps we should start hounding you? Perhaps your own suggestion that those with "dodgy" views shouldn't be allowed to get away with it applies just as well to you?

Or perhaps you should just accept that you've made your point, and stop now.

[Jah Lush]

From what I can see it's an open and shut case.

It was Valentines Day, he asked her to marry him, she wouldn't commit to a relationship with a gun obsessed, steroid-abuser in need of anger management therapy, they had an argument, he went for her with a cricket bat, she ran and locked herself in the bathroom, he tried to smash the door in with the bat, frustrated with his failure to get to her he got a gun fired through the door killing her in the process. That's my guess.

Case closed. Send him down.

[*Bob*]

That's your take, Jah - and you're entitled to your opnion.

Personally, I think it was Professor Plum, in the library, with the candlestick.

[legalbeagle]

As news filters through from the court I agree it doesn't look good - but then again this is just a bail application and not all of the evidence has been heard yet.....

(Worth knowing, in case you didn't, that SA has a different trial system. Jury trials were abolished a while ago and now there is just a single judge at first instance, which means reporting is much more relaxed than here, the theory being that the judge will not be swayed by popular opinion or media coverage.)

[LondonMix]

Well no need for a trial then Jah Lush!

I have to say, the story is fascinating. I don't consider myself a celebrity watcher (don't read any of the celebrity gossip magazines etc) but when such a revered athlete is involved in something so torrid, it does grab my attention. Surely, anyone can understand why this story is so noteworthy.

Whether or not the press should have included her name in the headline isn't always clear cut. Unless someone's name is already well known, it is almost never included in the headline but rather in the body of the story. Your much more likely to read "Local man kills family" than "John Smith kills Jane Smith, Bobby Smith and Jill Smith". The names only go in a headline when the person involved is one of the unusual elements of the story. Reeva Steenkamp, until her tragic death, was completely unknown to the vast majority of people in this country.

[*Bob*]

I'm going to predict that he'll get off.

You heard it here first, newshounds.

[LondonMix]

It's a tough one to call. This brings back memories of my youth and the OJ trial back home...

[woodrot]

I hate to be cynical, but I think he will be found guilty of some kind of lesser charger after negotiation - eg manslaugher or its SA equiv.Theres too much bad news around in SA for their 2nd most famous personality being thumped with the full moider rap.

He is finished tho, both as a sporting hero and as a brand. be interesting to see how the tes aspect will be digested

[legalbeagle]

The lack of jury trial makes the OJ Simpson scenario less likely.

Which is a good case to illustrate my initial point. There were two victims. Can you name them without googling? His ex wife, of course, but the other victim (in this case a man) is lost very quickly......