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The Amanda Knox Case Proves that Americans are NOT the Dumbest People on Earth

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McCamy Taylor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 06:30 PM
Original message
The Amanda Knox Case Proves that Americans are NOT the Dumbest People on Earth
Edited on Wed Sep-28-11 06:33 PM by McCamy Taylor
If you are one of those Americans who claims to be Canadian when traveling abroad, if you have ever felt ashamed of television programming like Jersey Shores and Pawn Stars that claims to represent “real” Americans, if you cringed when you discovered that half of young Americans could not point out Mississippi on a map of the United States, here is some good news! We are not the dumbest people on earth! Dumb, apparently, respects no international borders. Dumb can pop up anywhere, at any time. Dumb comes in all colors. Dumb can even be found in countries that make some pretty damn fine food and some first class art.

I came to this realization today when reviewing the so called evidence that Italian prosecutors---and European journalists---have presented to “prove” that Amanda Knox is a modern day Lizzie Borden. What caught my eye first was the last part of a CNN article.

He and Knox say they were at Sollecito's house on the night Kercher died, not the villa the two girls shared.

But Maresca disputed that Monday, calling their claim the "false alibi." Under Italian law, he said, in a trial based on circumstantial evidence, a defendant's alibi that turns out to be false can be used against them. The computer from Sollecito's house showed no activity on the night in question, he said, suggesting that he and Knox were not there.


http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/26/world/europe/italy-knox-appeal

In other words, Italian prosecutors claim that Sollecito must be lying, because he was not viewing internet pornography while he was shagging Amanda.

There are not enough exclamation marks in the world to express my response to this one. Has no Italian male ever actually scored with a chick? Is that why they do not know that no guy is gonna bother logging onto HotBabes.com when he has the real thing right there in his own bed? Now, I know that lots of us are addicted to our computers, but I must admit that sometimes days pass in which I do not turn the damn thing on. Like, if I have company from out of town. Or, I have something better to do. Maybe I did not use my computer on 9/11/2001. That does not mean that I was there in NYC on 9/11 giving the hijackers instructions from the ground---even though, according to the Italian prosecutors, my lack of any motive for aiding Al Qaeda terrorists proves that I must have done it.

Which brings me to the second piece of evidence in my case to prove that Americans are not the dumbest folks in the world. The Italian prosecutor says that Amanda’s lack of a motive for committing murder is the most damning evidence against her.

The prosecutors believe the defendants deserve the harshest possible punishment because of the brutal nature of the murder, the sexual assault, the lack of a motive.

"They have killed for nothing," she said.


http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44651714/ns/today-today_news/t/prosecutors-seek-life-sentence-amanda-knox-appeals-trial/

Oh boy! I am a well paid U.S. citizen professional with a charming husband and a delightful son. I am not a Muslim and I have absolutely no reason to want to see a bunch of people that I do not know die. And, according to the prosecutors in Amanda’s case, that makes me the most guilty of all when it comes to the 9/11 hijacking.

Then there is the matter of circumstantial evidence. Apparently, when all of America was glued to the television watching the O.J. Simpson trial, Europe was watching soccer. Because

Manuela Comodi, summing up the case Saturday, said there is "gigantic, rock-solid circumstantial evidence."


As all Americans know, circumstantial evidence is only as “solid” as the integrity--- and lack of bias--- of the law enforcement folks who claim to have gathered it. In the O.J. case, the racial prejudice of one of the police officers was enough to convince the jurors of something that any rational person would have figured out on day one. Even if OJ committed the crimes of which he was accused, he did not drop one bloody glove on the scene and another on his own property. Obviously, the police planted the glove to gain some probable cause. No doubt they thought that they would coax a confession out of the guilt stricken Simpson. When he refused to talk and they were forced to rely upon circumstantial evidence only, they discovered what happens when even a single piece of such evidence is tainted---the whole case gets thrown out. And O.J. might have done it. He had motive and everything—something Amanda lacks.

So, why do the Italian prosecutors, who are obviously anything but unbiased, think that they can get away with claiming that their circumstantial evidence is “rock-solid.”? Good question. Maybe the traits that lead Italy to embrace Il Duce are still there, and maybe this is why the Italian prosecutors feel free to just make stuff up. They figure their own countrymen will say to themselves “Those prosecutors wouldn’t say it if it wasn’t true.” In which case, I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would like to sell to some folks in Europe. Cheap. Practically a steal.

Speaking of race, Europeans know that all Americans are racist bastards straight out of Selma, Alabama, right? That’s why we have an African-American president and they are doing thinks like building containment camps for the Roma (gypsies).

Amnesty International has called on the Italian authorities to review a controversial housing plan that has resulted in the forced eviction of hundreds of Roma and paves the way for thousands more over the coming months.

In a new briefing paper Amnesty International has warned that the program, which began in July 2009, violates the human rights of thousands of Roma.

The measures envisage the destruction of over 100 Roma settlements across the capital and an estimated 6,000 Roma are to be resettled into just 13 new or expanded camps on the outskirts of the city. The plan is likely to leave more than 1,000 Roma homeless.


http://ivarfjeld.wordpress.com/2010/03/13/gypsies-in-italy-to-be-forced-into-concentration-camps/

Why do I bring up race? Amanda was tried and convicted in the European press for being a typical American racist---which makes her a murderer. The evidence? She accused her former boss, a bar owner who happens to be Black of committing the murder.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-496218/I-fired-Foxy-Knoxy-hitting-customers-Patrick-Lumumba-reveals-framed-Merediths-murder.html

"She tried to play the race card. She thought that by pointing the finger at a black person she'd distract attention from herself. She used me as a scapegoat.

"I've never had so much as a fine for not paying a bus ticket before. But now I've been branded a cold-blooded murderer."


Amana has never been convicted of any other crimes, but in her case, that makes her absolutely guilty, at least according to Italian prosecutors.

The “burn the witch” aspects of the trial have me shaking my head, too. Now, America went through its own love affair with satanic cults back in the 1990s, when the nations prosecutors launched a series of cases against day care workers using the coached testimony of tiny children to convict them of being devil worshipers. Yeah, those cases made us look as dumb as shit. But hey, at least there was some evidence (flimsy though it might have been). At least the prosecutor did not stand up in court and say

"Within her lives a double soul: one which is angelic, good, compassionate ... tender and ingenuous," Carlo Pacelli said.

But she had another side, he said: "And a Lucifer-like, demonic, satanic, diabolical one which sometimes leads her to borderline and dissolute behavior," saying that was the Knox who had killed her roommate.


Without any kind of support. Stupid as we Americans are, I think that some of us would have scratched our heads and muttered to ourselves “You know, I’m not sure if I buy that” had the prosecutors in the day care cases said, in their closing arguments, “In case you are wondering why this twenty year old woman with no history of sex crimes assaulted these kids, I must tell you, she is a witch, and Satan made her do it.” In a U.S. Court, that would be grounds for an objection. In Italy, that is apparently considered “rock-solid” evidence, if the press is to be believed. That is a big “if” by the way. I have a hard time believing that Italians, who have always impressed me with their fairness and intelligence, are really that dumb. I think maybe the prosecutors think that they are that dumb---which makes the Italian prosecutors the biggest imbeciles of all.

I know one person who thinks that the Italian prosecutors are first class suckers. That is the criminal who was with the dead woman when she was killed and whose DNA was all over the scene and who then fled the country and was originally given a 30 year sentence for the rape and murder but who was able to get that reduced to 16 years by going along with the prosecutors story that motiveless Amanda was the real perp. He is sitting in an Italian jail accruing good time so that his 16 year sentence will be over before he knows it.
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McCamy Taylor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 07:17 PM
Response to Original message
1. Oops. Almost forget the prosecutors motive for persecuting Amanda.
Edited on Wed Sep-28-11 07:20 PM by McCamy Taylor
After the murder, they interrogated her in Italian (a language she did not know well) until she finally agreed to sign a statement saying that her (Black) boss was seen with the dead woman on the night of the murder. In other words, the police immediately targeted a Black guy for being Black and they needed probable cause to haul him in. After they examined the DNA evidence it became clear that the boss did not do it. This probably raised a big stink, police were accused of being racist, so they claimed that it was Amanda who forced them to arrest the the wrong guy. They played upon European prejudice about all white Americans being racists in order to cover up their own racism. Once the character assassination started, it just spiraled out of control from there. Now, the career prosecutors have to keep the farce going in order to save face, because if she ever gets to America and can tell her story freely and sell the movie rights, Italy is going to wind up looking worse than a horse's ass. American tourists will go anywhere but Italy for their summer vacation. The scenes where they hit her over the head and refuse to let her go to the bathroom while they badger her all night in a foreign language will be especially memorable for American audiences. I know that I am not about to let my 20 year old son go to Italy, even though I have always enjoyed the country in the past. Paris just sounds so much friendlier right now.

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provis99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 07:25 PM
Response to Original message
2. stupidity is of course, worldwide.
the difference though, is that in America, we brag about our ignorance and stupidity; europeans tend not to.
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McCamy Taylor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 07:32 PM
Response to Reply #2
3. True. However, what Americans really brag about is their rugged individualism.
They say, in effect, "Just because you have a title or a degree, that does not make you right. I am going to believe what my heart tells me."


Sometimes, this leads Americans to make some really dumb judgments. On the other hand, it decreases the likelihood that we will ever become a fascist state by a bunch, since Americans do not trust their politicians or police, either. And why should they? Many of us were persecuted in our home countries, like the Irish who still hate the British a century later.
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pacalo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 07:43 PM
Response to Original message
4. Not knowing anything about the Knox case, I watched the Lifetime movie.
The factors that seemed to cause the detectives to hone in on Knox were her inappropriate behavior & the fact that they learned that Knox had been told by the victim, Kercher, that she wasn't doing her part in keeping the apartment clean.

Another thing: Knox blamed her (& Kercher's) boss, the bartender who was black, of killing Kercher. The movie portrayed Knox as jealous of Kercher's bartending skills. On the day Knox was going to interview for a job at the bar, she asked Kercher to accompany her. During Knox's interview, during which she informed the bartender she had no bartending skills, Kercher went behind the bar & mixed one of her own creations for the bartender. He was impressed & asked her if she would be interested in working for him. This was portrayed as a major slight toward Knox.

Inappropriate behavior & circumstantial evidence could convict many people & it's not enough.
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McCamy Taylor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 10:48 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. Except...it was the police that decided the Black guy did it. They essentially tortured Amanda so
Edited on Wed Sep-28-11 10:51 PM by McCamy Taylor
she would give them probable cause to arrest the guy.

Now, they are scared about what happens when she gets back to the US. I am surprised they haven't tried to cut a deal, a guilty plea in exchange for sending her home. This case appears to be all about the Italian cops and prosecutors saving face.

Amanda, if you or any of your family is reading this, I would love to help you write the definitive story once you get back. I wouldn't even charge money for helping. I really, really hate abuse of official power wherever it occurs and this case stinks like last weeks gym socks.
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Rincewind Donating Member (682 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 02:29 AM
Response to Reply #4
8. You do know
that Lifetime movies aren't considered evidence, don't you?
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pacalo Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 03:16 AM
Response to Reply #8
15. Oh, of course. I took the movie with a grain of salt; I watched it because I didn't know anything
about the case. From what I saw, the case doesn't have any concrete proof that she did it, & that Knox has made a quirky impression on acquaintenances she's made in Italy.
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Hassin Bin Sober Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 11:12 PM
Response to Original message
6. We just executed ANOTHER probably innocent person and we have people cheering the DP at debates.
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EmeraldCityGrl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Sep-28-11 11:21 PM
Response to Original message
7. There are civil suits pending against the Knox family
and Sollecito's very, very rich family. The lawyers that put the life
size photo's of the victim post-mortem are involved in those suits.
Lots of money at stake on the outcome of this trial.

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elias7 Donating Member (913 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 08:21 AM
Response to Original message
9. I hadn't followed the case before. Researched it now: Totally innocent!
Edited on Thu Sep-29-11 08:24 AM by elias7
The Massei report has been throughly discredited. The crime scene was not cleaned up, yet all the evidence points to a single man(Guede). The DNA evidence implicating Knox and Sollecito has been discredited.

I kind of assumed she was guilty by the passive immersion I had experienced by the generalized press reports, but I finally decided to look into the case the other day.

Knox had lived with Kercher all of 3 weeks!!

Sollecito and Knox had been dating 2 weeks!!

Their involvement would make no sense, and there is no real evidence- circumstantial or not-- that ties them to this murder.

It seems there may be latent hostility on the part of those who think she is a sociopath or a conniving bitch. That characterization is just not there, but rather, is projection of ????
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Tuesday Afternoon Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 09:11 AM
Response to Original message
10. I hope Amanda sues the shit out of Italy.
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6000eliot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 09:17 AM
Response to Original message
11. If only people cared this much about Troy Davis.
But then, he wasn't an affluent white woman, so there's that.
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truebrit71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 09:20 AM
Response to Reply #11
12. That's a bit harsh...there were plenty of people that cared about Troy Davis....just not the M$M...
..THEY are the ones with the fixation on the trials and tribulations of pretty white woman...
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6000eliot Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Sep-30-11 03:07 AM
Response to Reply #12
14. That was what I meant.
I intended no criticism of anyone here.
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Odin2005 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Sep-29-11 10:22 AM
Response to Original message
13. This is literally a modern day WITCH-BURNING.
:grr:
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