• Categories
Collapse

The Silver Fern

Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz

Scheduled Pinned Locked Moved Off Topic
9.4k Posts 86 Posters 1.3m Views
Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz
    • Oldest to Newest
    • Newest to Oldest
    • Most Votes
Reply
  • Reply as topic
Log in to reply
This topic has been deleted. Only users with topic management privileges can see it.
  • DonsteppaD Offline
    DonsteppaD Offline
    Donsteppa
    wrote on last edited by
    #477

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="canefan" data-cid="585899" data-time="1465453907">
    <div>
    <p>If the guy was well raised but just happened to be a sicko bad seed it is terrible for the parents too. But based on the dad's statement I think it is more likely the kid was raised in an environment with a lack of accountability. If I did something out of line CF Snr punished me for it and I knew I'd done wrong. The same goes for CF jnr, if I think he's behaved poorly I punish him accordingly. You could assume the rapist had got away with a lot through his life for him to think what he did was a good idea</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Yep. In this particular case, the Father's comment makes me wonder if he could somehow be charged and jailed for a severe case of Being a Cretin.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas Greenback
    wrote on last edited by
    #478

    <p>If being a cretin is punishable by jail time, TSF had better hope jails have good interweb</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • dKD Offline
    dKD Offline
    dK
    wrote on last edited by
    #479

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="MN5" data-cid="585864" data-time="1465447681">
    <div>
    <p>As a Dad to two young sons I'm kinda terrified that in just over ten years time I could be getting the call that one of them has gotten up to no good. I agree, it's very easy to point the finger at that Douchebag Dad but if any of us were in that situation would we not defend our kids too ?</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Doesn't fucken bear thinking about really. I mean we've all done dumb shit on the piss as young fellas but 999 times out of 1000 it's silly hi jinks that can be laughed off in the cold light of sobriety.......</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>No, I wouldn't defend them if they were convicted of such a heinous crime, BUT, I would still support them and love them and expect them to take responsibility for their "actions"</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • DonsteppaD Offline
    DonsteppaD Offline
    Donsteppa
    wrote on last edited by
    #480

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="585905" data-time="1465454458">
    <div>
    <p>If being a cretin is punishable by jail time, TSF had better hope jails have good interweb</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Is that why we've lost a few posters in recent times?</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • antipodeanA Online
    antipodeanA Online
    antipodean
    wrote on last edited by
    #481

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="No Quarter" data-cid="585783" data-time="1465428174"><p><img src="

    <br> <br><blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="585785" data-time="1465428243"><p>How are these fuckwits newsworthy?<br><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/80539917/freelee-the-banana-girl-and-vegan-youtubers-are-the-next-kardashians'>http://i.stuff.co.nz/life-style/well-good/80539917/freelee-the-banana-girl-and-vegan-youtubers-are-the-next-kardashians</a></p></blockquote><br>I saw stuff.co.nz and kardashina in the link, so I didn't click on it.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    wrote on last edited by
    #482

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
    <p> </p>

    In Brock Turner's home town, we're raising kids who are never told 'no'
    

    <p class="">By Kate Geiselman</p>
    <div><span>8:43 AM Thursday Jun 9, 2016</span></div>
    <div> </div>
    <div>
    <p>COMMENT: An alternate version of the Brock Turner sexual assault story has been spinning in my imagination since last January, when I first heard of his arrest.</p>
    <p>In my version, he recognises that what happened on Stanford's campus behind that dumpster was rape. He comes to understand that intoxication is not consent. He takes responsibility for his violent "action" that irreparably harmed another human being, instead of blaming them on alcohol. Rather than spending a year and a half honing his story, making excuses and lawyering up, he pleads guilty. He looks his victim squarely in the eyes and says, "I'm sorry. I had no business putting my hands on or in you after you were no longer able to give consent. I should have helped you to safety instead of running and lying about why I did. I will do everything I can to spare you any further pain. I will spend the rest of my life educating young people about consent and sexual violence."</p>
    <div> </div>
    <p>Then he serves his punishment - perhaps even a sentence mitigated by his understanding of the crime, his taking responsibility, even his character references - because he gets it. He bears the weight of his guilt, and in doing so eases the burden of his victim.</p>
    <p>But that's not what happened. And because I live in the community that spawned Brock Turner, I have known on some level for many months that my version would never be reality.</p>
    <p>Oakwood, Ohio, is about as idyllic a Midwestern community as one could imagine. The streets are tree-lined, the houses charming. The kids walk to school and go home for lunch. The schools are nationally recognised. In fact, the nickname for Oakwood is "The Dome," so sheltered are its residents from violence, poverty and inconvenient truths. I have lived here for over 20 years.</p>
    <p>Communities like this one have a dark side, though: the conflation of achievement with being "a good kid;" the pressure to succeed; the parents who shrug when the party in their basement gets out of control (or worse yet, when they host it) because "kids are gonna drink;" the tacit understanding that rules don't necessarily apply. The cops won't come. The axe won't fall.</p>
    Yet now it has.
    <p>Invariably, when I tell someone who knows Dayton that I live in Oakwood, they will assume that I am rich, narrow-minded, a Republican or some combination thereof. If most residents were just the stereotype, though, I would not have been happy here as long as I have. For the most part, I have loved raising my kids here. But I have struggled, too. My closest friends and I have a long-standing joke about needing to remember to "lower the bar" around here - about not falling prey to the pressures to conform and compete, not buying the line that the schools or the kids here are special. Most of us understand our privilege and good fortune. Many do not.</p>
    <p>There is an Oakwood in every city; there's a Brock Turner in every Oakwood: the "nice," clean-cut, "happy-go-lucky," hyper-achieving kid who's never been told "no." There's nothing he can't have, do, or be, because he is special. Fortunately, most kids like this will march into their predictably bright futures without victimising anyone along the way. Many will do good in the world.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>But it's not hard to draw a straight line from this little 'burb (or a hundred like it) to that dumpster at Stanford. What does being told "no" mean to that kid? If the world is his for the taking, isn't an unconscious woman's body? When he gets caught, why wouldn't his first impulse be to run, make excuses - blame the Fireball, or the girl or the campus drinking culture? That is entitlement. That is unchecked privilege.</p>
    <p>When the news of Turner's arrest broke a year and a half ago, it was met in this community with a fair amount of shock and denial. Before details emerged, the whispered sentiments at Starbucks and in the aisles of the local grocery were compassion for his parents and hopes for a fair trial. In light of his conviction and sentencing, though, I find that I'm hiding from social media and avoiding conversations on this subject, lest I have to listen to someone defend him. I don't want to hear anyone start in about the nice family or the good kid. My kids went to high school with him. I ran the community center swim team he was on. No, I don't "know" Brock Turner like his friends or neighbors do. But I do know what he did, and so do we all, based on the unanimous verdict of a jury and two eyewitnesses.</p>
    <p>We now also know exactly what his victim suffered, and we know that he doesn't own any of it. Neither do his apologists. Letters of support - his father's and at least one of his friends' - are making the rounds online, and they are shockingly tone-deaf. His father has blamed alcohol and promiscuity. His friend said, "Rape on campus isn't always because people are rapists." That either of these letters cut ice with the judge is just further proof of how broken the system is.</p>
    <p>I thought the outrage over this story would start before now, but it took a victim's statement going viral to bring it the attention it deserves. At every turn, I've thought of how things could have gone differently. I've wondered if all of this was the attorney's doing - that Turner and his family were manipulated into denial because their lawyer told them there was no other alternative. But his father's letter and his own lame "apology" make it seem clear that they truly believe that bad timing and alcohol - not Turner himself - were to blame.</p>
    <p>Ultimately, there is no happy ending to a story like this one, not in the version I imagined months ago or in the one that actually came to pass. I take some solace in the fact that the victim's brave, eloquent statement has brought more attention to rape culture than any single indictment or verdict could.</p>
    <p>It's cold comfort, to be sure.</p>
    <p><i>Geiselman is a writer and professor of English at Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio.</i></p>
    <p class="">- <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.washingtonpost.com/'>Washington Post</a></p>
    </div>
    <div>
    <p class=""> </p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • MN5M Online
    MN5M Online
    MN5
    wrote on last edited by
    #483

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="dK" data-cid="585906" data-time="1465454834">
    <div>
    <p>No, I wouldn't defend them if they were convicted of such a heinous crime, BUT, I would still support them and love them and expect them to take responsibility for their "actions"</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p>Fair call, better choice of words.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • jeggaJ Offline
    jeggaJ Offline
    jegga
    wrote on last edited by
    #484

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="antipodean" data-cid="585909" data-time="1465455215">
    <div>
    <p> 

    <br>
     <br><br>
    I saw stuff.co.nz and kardashina in the link, so I didn't click on it.</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>The headline I saw was "the worst person on the internet" and was expecting another article about another  moron who had wrecked their life in 140 or less characters. Instead its about two scrawny chicks one of which eats nothing but bananas [about 50 or so a day] and their internet shitfights, nothing about the Kardashians.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugby
    wrote on last edited by
    #485

    <p>I think teaching your kids right from wrong is the best way for them to grow up knowing what is and isnt acceptable...I dont think highlighting a particular crime will make them more/less suceptible to committing it.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • antipodeanA Online
    antipodeanA Online
    antipodean
    wrote on last edited by
    #486

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="taniwharugby" data-cid="585918" data-time="1465457148">
    <p>I think teaching your kids right from wrong is the best way for them to grow up</p>
    </blockquote>
    <br><p>You say that, but the <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.facebook.com/AllBlacks/videos/10153714330776915/'>NZRU welcome Gatorade as a sponsor</a> and every fuckwit on Facebook is having a cry because apparently it's not their job to teach their kids about nutrition, it's the All Blacks'.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas Greenback
    wrote on last edited by
    #487

    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/share-your-news-and-views/14975898/An-open-letter-to-women-Never-settle'>http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff-nation/assignments/share-your-news-and-views/14975898/An-open-letter-to-women-Never-settle</a></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Is Stuff just turning into a feminists dream?</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • DonsteppaD Offline
    DonsteppaD Offline
    Donsteppa
    wrote on last edited by
    #488

    <p>Have been on the Stats site for a bit today, and decided to have a look at the crime stats:</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE7411'>http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE7411</a></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>There were 4,137 <em>recorded </em>victims of sexual assault in the year to March 2016 by NZ Police (those 4,137 people may have been victims more than once, but are recorded once for the particular 12 month period). Then there's the estimate (?) of one in five women on campus being victims of sexual assault, which I hear Joe Biden has also quoted in an open letter today. Those two numbers probably set a low and a high point for stats.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Whatever the actual figure is, sexual assault is an under reported crime. One of the (various) disturbing aspects of that sentencing decision that was in an article today: when a victim goes through all that and the end result is the perpetrator in prison for six months of less - future victims will be less likely to come forward.Going to the police and through the court system is a heck of an ordeal, and if the end of it is a wet bus ticket...  </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>So however widespread the problem is, dodgy decisions like this Judge has may take us even further away from knowing...</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Do stats actually matter? Probably not, given one is too many. But the better measured (and prosecuted) something is, the more likely it is that society will move for the better.  </p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas GreenbackB Offline
    Baron Silas Greenback
    wrote on last edited by
    #489

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Donsteppa" data-cid="586080" data-time="1465524884">
    <div>
    <p>Have been on the Stats site for a bit today, and decided to have a look at the crime stats:</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE7411'>http://nzdotstat.stats.govt.nz/wbos/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=TABLECODE7411</a></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>There were 4,137 <em>recorded </em>victims of sexual assault in the year to March 2016 by NZ Police (those 4,137 people may have been victims more than once, but are recorded once for the particular 12 month period). Then there's the estimate (?) of one in five women on campus being victims of sexual assault, which I hear Joe Biden has also quoted in an open letter today. Those two numbers probably set a low and a high point for stats.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Whatever the actual figure is, sexual assault is an under reported crime. One of the (various) disturbing aspects of that sentencing decision that was in an article today: when a victim goes through all that and the end result is the perpetrator in prison for six months of less - future victims will be less likely to come forward.Going to the police and through the court system is a heck of an ordeal, and if the end of it is a wet bus ticket...  </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>So however widespread the problem is, dodgy decisions like this Judge has may take us even further away from knowing...</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Do stats actually matter? Probably not, given one is too many. But the better measured (and prosecuted) something is, the more likely it is that society will move for the better.  </p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>I provided a link earlier as to why that 1 in 5 claim is bogus. It just shouldn't be involved in the discussion at all. </p>
    <p>The fact is that reported sexual assaults is a decreasing crime, and any claim that it because it is too hard to prosecute/ report doesnt really stack up, I have yet to see any evidence that rape is taken less seriously now than it was in the past. In fact I would say that rape has never been taken more seriously. Does that make it perfect, or even close to it? No. But it does show that decreasing sexual assault stats (at least in the US) are reflective of change.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>I have no issue with criticism of the sentences, but the narrative that is starting to gain traction about guilty until proven innocent is a dangerous thing for everyone. </p>
    <p>The fact that one case is being used to criticise the entire system is typical of the politicization of the issue. One judge got it wrong. Where is the stats for the average rape sentences? IS that amount to low? How does it compare to other serious crimes? No analysis of that gets the media spotlight. Mainly as it probably does not  fit the narrative that men are evil bastards that are running amok raping women and getting diversion form judges that laugh about it.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>The fact someone like Biden is using one case to make political mileage should ring alarm bells. Where is his open letter about the Duke Lacrosse team and the false rape accusation that ruined their lives? Nah .. that wouldn't have won votes. </p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • jeggaJ Offline
    jeggaJ Offline
    jegga
    wrote on last edited by
    #490

    <p>Now if I wrote the headline it would something along the lines of,</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><strong>Machete weilding feral shot by heroic officers. Equally feral partner tragically survives</strong></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80923765/shooting-in-paeroa'>http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80923765/shooting-in-paeroa</a></p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    wrote on last edited by
    #491

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
    <p> </p>

    	Mum shares shocking chickenpox photos of son who was 'too young to vaccinate'
    <p  class="">By Vanessa Brown</p>
    <div><span>10:05 AM Friday Jun 10, 2016</span></div>
    

    <div>
    <div>
    <img height="310" src="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201624/a3d165a37841dfe390fb0332ac698b15_620x310.jpg" width="620" alt="a3d165a37841dfe390fb0332ac698b15_620x310">Elijah's ordeal with chickenpox has prompted his mum to speak out about vaccination. Photo / Facebook, Kayley Burke</div>
    <p><strong>WARNING: Graphic images</strong></p>
    <p>They are the horrifying pictures posted by a desperate mother who doesn't want other parents to go through the same trauma she's had to endure.</p>
    <p>Queensland woman Kayley Burke shared confronting images of her 11-month-old son Elijah, who is visibly covered in scabs and blisters caused by chickenpox.</p>
    <p>Ms Burke revealed in a Facebook post, which has been shared more than 27,000 times, that her son contracted chickenpox because he was "too young to be immunised".</p>
    <p>"Vaccinate your kids people," the post started.</p>
    <p>"The pictures below show you exactly why.</p>
    <p>"Our poor baby boy who is too young to be immunised has caught the chickenpox.</p>
    <div> </div>
    </div>
    <div>
    <p>"It has almost been a week since they showed up."</p>
    <p>After her son was admitted to hospital one-week ago, Ms Burke told theSunshine Coast Daily her son had been crying and trying to itch the sores that now cover his entire head.</p>
    <p>"It's horrible I can't think of anything worse (than watching him go through this)," she said.</p>
    <p>"I'm very annoyed that he's sick. I'm a strong believer in vaccinations and I'm sure if he was old enough to have the shot he wouldn't be so sick."</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Little Elijah was admitted to Ipswich Hospital on Thursday with a secondary infection.</p>
    <p>Ms Burke revealed that both she and her other child, three-year-old Kaliah also contracted chickenpox. It is understood her daughter had been recently immunised.</p>
    <p>"Kaliah and myself also have the chickenpox," she wrote.</p>
    <p>"Fortunately since Kaliah hasn't long been immunised she has a few spots and blisters but is well in herself."</p>
    <img src="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201624/baby1.jpg" alt="baby1.jpg">Photo / Facebook, Kayley Burke<p>She admitted that adult chickenpox was "horrible and painful" and that she would "rather give birth with no pain relief".</p>
    <p>Ms Burke said the chickenpox she had contracted had spread inside her mouth and down her throat, causing significant pain. When her son stopped drinking his bottle, she assumed the same had happened to him.</p>
    <p>Ms Burke pleaded with other parents to not be "a bloody idiot" and ignore vaccination.</p>
    <img src="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201624/baby2.jpg" alt="baby2.jpg">Photo / Facebook, Kayley Burke<p>"Think about the risk you are putting on other helpless kids that are too young or who actually can't be vaccinated," she said.</p>
    <p>Shocked parents who came across Ms Burke's desperate plea sent their love, and wished the little boy a "speedy recovery".</p>
    <p>"Can't stand hearing about stupid selfish people not vaccinating their children," one Facebook user posted.</p>
    <p>"Poor little guy. My hearts breaking for you guys. It's just horrible watching their tiny helpless bodies lying there and not been able to do anything about it. Thinking of you guys and hoping you all have a quick and speedy recovery."</p>
    <p>According to medical professionals, groups most at risk of chickenpox are infants, pregnant women, people undergoing chemotherapy and those with a low immune system.</p>
    <img src="http://media.nzherald.co.nz/webcontent/image/jpg/201624/fam.jpg" alt="fam.jpg">Photo / Facebook, Kayley Burke<p>Ipswich Hospital director of pediatrics John Gavranich said the only way to reduce catching the disease was for parents to immunise their children.</p>
    <p>"The only way of reducing the risk is ensuring as many people as possible are vaccinated," Dr Gavranich said.</p>
    <p>"It is a ... preventable illness and we should have high rates of vaccination."</p>
    <p>News.com.au has contacted Kayley Burke for comment.</p>
    <p class="">- <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://news.com.au'>news.com.au</a></p>
    </div>
    <div>
    <p class="">By Vanessa Brown</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • jeggaJ Offline
    jeggaJ Offline
    jegga
    wrote on last edited by
    #492

    Winger informed us all that chickenpox was a harmless childhood malady and it was over the top to immunise against it .<br>
    That baby's got shifty eyes, probably a shill to big Pharma and scratched himself raw on purpose.

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • canefanC Offline
    canefanC Offline
    canefan
    wrote on last edited by
    #493

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="586154" data-time="1465551060">
    <div>
    <p>Winger informed us all that chickenpox was a harmless childhood malady and it was over the top to immunise against it .<br>
    That baby's got shifty eyes, probably a shill to big Pharma and scratched himself raw on purpose.</p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p>I'm sure there's a homeopathic elixir that can fix that</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • DonsteppaD Offline
    DonsteppaD Offline
    Donsteppa
    wrote on last edited by
    #494

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="Baron Silas Greenback" data-cid="586116" data-time="1465537351">
    <div>
    <p>I provided a link earlier as to why that 1 in 5 claim is bogus. It just shouldn't be involved in the discussion at all. </p>
    <p>The fact is that reported sexual assaults is a decreasing crime, and any claim that it because it is too hard to prosecute/ report doesnt really stack up, I have yet to see any evidence that rape is taken less seriously now than it was in the past. In fact I would say that rape has never been taken more seriously. Does that make it perfect, or even close to it? No. But it does show that decreasing sexual assault stats (at least in the US) are reflective of change.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>I have no issue with criticism of the sentences, but the narrative that is starting to gain traction about guilty until proven innocent is a dangerous thing for everyone. </p>
    <p>The fact that one case is being used to criticise the entire system is typical of the politicization of the issue. One judge got it wrong. Where is the stats for the average rape sentences? IS that amount to low? How does it compare to other serious crimes? No analysis of that gets the media spotlight. Mainly as it probably does not  fit the narrative that men are evil bastards that are running amok raping women and getting diversion form judges that laugh about it.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>The fact someone like Biden is using one case to make political mileage should ring alarm bells. Where is his open letter about the Duke Lacrosse team and the false rape accusation that ruined their lives? Nah .. that wouldn't have won votes. </p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Very little of any substance gets any useful analysis in the media these days (the initial premise for this thread..). If you'll filter them for being in a paper that Jegga would scream leftard at (and that they are UK specific stat), there are some interesting pieces of analysis out there that I've found in about 15 seconds in the Guardian. (I imagine I could have done the same in the Telegraph or other proper paper too) They just won't beat out "lady amazed to find that a pie is hot" stories on Stuff or the Herald though...</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/12/rape-cps-police-prosecutors'>https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/mar/12/rape-cps-police-prosecutors</a></p>
    <p> </p>
    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
    <p> </p>
    <p>Nearly three-quarters of recorded rapes of adults and children in England and Wales are not referred to the <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/law/crown-prosecution-service'>Crown Prosecution Service</a> for a decision on whether to charge a suspect, a report by the inspectorate of constabulary revealed on Thursday.</p>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/25/rape-myths-low-conviction-rate'>http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/25/rape-myths-low-conviction-rate</a> (full article is quite an interesting read, including also the featured comment)</p>
    <p> </p>
    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
    <p> </p>
    <p>The low conviction rate – around 7% of reported rapes resulted in convictions during 2011/12 – is not significantly out of line with other common crimes such as burglary, she maintains.</p>
    <p>Writing in the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Reece confronts the supposedly widely held belief that "victim blaming" makes it difficult to convict those who carry out attacks.</p>
    <div>
    <div>
    <div> </div>
    </div>
    </div>
    <p>The truth, she suggests, is far simpler. Unlike assault, which often takes place in public and sometimes within sight of CCTV cameras, rape is an offence for which there are usually no independent witnesses.Reece told the Guardian: "I don't think most people are subject to rape myths. I'm not saying that no one [is influenced by] them but the vast majority of jurors, police, prosecutors and judges have decent attitudes.</p>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Regarding:</p>
    <p> </p>
    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
    <p> </p>
    <p>One judge got it wrong. Where is the stats for the average rape sentences? IS that amount to low? How does it compare to other serious crimes? No analysis of that gets the media spotlight. Mainly as it probably does not  fit the narrative that men are evil bastards that are running amok raping women and getting diversion form judges that laugh about it.</p>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>The sentencing decision undoubtedly is an outlier, but then given the coverage that it has got, someone who has been the position of:</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p style="margin-left:40px;">"the victim, frightened and diminished by the experience, has to have the confidence to come forward. Then the police have to believe the victim, and there has to be enough evidence for the Crown Prosecution Service to judge there's a good chance of conviction. And then, when the case finally comes to trial, the jury must be convinced by the prosecution in a case that often comes down to one person's word against another." (<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/13/prosecuting-rape-police-cps'>http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/feb/13/prosecuting-rape-police-cps</a>)</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>... is unlikely to objectively check out conviction rates, average sentencing, or consider outliers in the sentencing stats. But for the next month or two at least, they may just remember that saga they saw on Facebook about some kid on the swimming team only being convicted for six months - and his affluenza father being a pig - and it may all become too difficult. So that's why I think it does matter, even though this case is probably an outlier in terms of sentencing, and even though attitudes on the whole seem to be improving (assuming the Guardian story above about decent attitudes is correct).</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Regarding the coverage and an alleged wider anti-men narrative - I'm not convinced. Also in the media this week... vehicle fatalities have halved in NZ while the population has doubled over the last 30 - 40 years (and violent crime stats are also on the decline, amongst other crimes in decline). Yet an outlier Queens Birthday road toll that's the highest since 1989 has also seen all sorts of lengthy knee jerk commentary this week, and an inordinate amount of time debating Judith Collins comments in a way that nearly made me put my foot through the car radio on two occasions driving to Taupo. (I think she's right to the extent that speed is one of multiple factors). SunLive commenter also lose their mind most times that there's a car crash reported - despite the long term trend and QBW fatalities being an outlier (and again, hideous for the families involved).</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>My point being... something... that the media runs with whatever they think will fire people up, I don't there's any massively bigger an anti-men agenda in the media than there is an agenda for shouting "criminal" at someone doing 101kmph, there are small sets of people on their hobby horses doing both this week (amongst the wider 'hands thrown in the air in horror' reactions from the general population), it's just which gets the attention at any given time.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>As for Biden, politicians will be politicians. But I'm far more interested in whether he's right or wrong in this instance than in what other topics he should written a letter on. Obama has been big on gun control, should he also be all over this issue to the same degree? Etc, etc. Plenty of people say that Key spent too much time and money on the flag debate over other issues, and I've got no time for that argument either. I've witnessed recently a close friend going through hell on a series of false accusations from his ex/the mother of his two children (that could have been even hairier if the burden of proof was reversed). That I haven't written a lengthy post on that topic doesn't mean I'm not equally alarmed about it. (In that case, thankfully, he had two female witnesses who she had told that she was doing it just to scare him...) </p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>And on that burden of proof thing... I agree that is a chilling proposition, and that there have been some poorly thought out solutions discussed in the media coverage this week. But, I'm wary of that being used to potentially downplay some of the wider issues around sexual assault.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>I don't have too many solutions myself, other than parents doing their best and and walking the talk. "Tell me and I will forget, show me and I will remember, involve me and I will understand" was a training philosophy that I was given once, and probably does as well for raising kids on most issues. If my workplace observations are any guide, I think there's also some attitudes/behaviours to women from a very small number of older men that are literally dying out too...</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • MN5M Online
    MN5M Online
    MN5
    wrote on last edited by
    #495

    <blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="jegga" data-cid="586124" data-time="1465541044">
    <div>
    <p>Now if I wrote the headline it would something along the lines of,</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><strong>Machete weilding feral shot by heroic officers. Equally feral partner tragically survives</strong></p>
    <p> </p>
    <p><a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80923765/shooting-in-paeroa'>http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/80923765/shooting-in-paeroa</a></p>
    </div>
    </blockquote>
    <p> </p>
    <p>That headline is "beer over the laptop" funny jegga........</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>So according to the feral's surviving partner the cops shot the feral in the back.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>I find this impossible to believe unless he had his back to them and was threatening others in front of him.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>......and according to the Stuff Morons it was "only" a machete, not like it was something apparently deadlier, like, you know, a gun or something. Just a machete. Not a deadly weapon. Total overreaction, they should have got in there and disarmed him, not shot him.</p>
    <p> </p>
    <p>Fucken arsehole cops.</p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0
  • taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugbyT Offline
    taniwharugby
    wrote on last edited by
    #496

    <p>yep, cops are the bad guys here! </p>

    1 Reply Last reply
    0

Alternative needed from the absolute crap of stuff.co.nz
Off Topic
  • Login

  • Don't have an account? Register

  • Login or register to search.
  • First post
    Last post
0
  • Categories
  • Login

  • Don't have an account? Register

  • Login or register to search.