Thursday, January 30, 2014
Friday, January 24, 2014
Oscar Pistorius: Guilty of culpable homicide because of criminal negligence; Pistorius plans book; Oscar Pistorius sentenced to 5 years in prison
12th Sept 2014
After many months of argument and counter argument, Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide as opposed to premeditated murder.
Many people are not happy with the outcome but the Judge, Thokozile Masipa, has remained calm and focussed as a good judge should, and given the verdict that most people expected.
Hopefully Oscar will now remain calm and focussed himself until he is officially sentenced sometime in October and refrain from committing impulsive and destructive actions while he is free on bail.
At the end of the day Oscar may get a suspended sentence as opposed to spending from 5 to 8 years in prison! Should he get off scott free let us hope he will make a personal decision never to take up another firearm again for the rest of his life! By making such a decision he will show genuine respect for Reeva Steenkamp and her family and sincere remorse for the fact that he took her life in a moment of panic and because he tends to be trigger happy!
He would also be very wise to undergo therapy in order to discover what it is that turns him into a volatile and irrational being as opposed to a person who has overcome great odds to become a world star and mentor.
He seems to believe in God and so needs to lay his fear down and, in faith, believe that he has been blessed and given a great gift and needs to shine like a beacon in a dark and violent world!
Pistorius plans book
The trial..
Yesterday ( 7th April 2014 ) the trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp continued and Oscar himself began his testimony. What he spoke about was really sad and one wanted to be in the court to comfort him as he stumbled through the telling of his story.
Today ( 8th April 2014 ) Oscar continues his story and is now describing his horror when he realised that Riva Steenkamp was quite possibly the person he had just shot 4 times at fairly close range behind the locked toilet door in his bathroom. The horror intensifies when he eventually batters a hole in the door and, on opening it, does indeed find her body inside the toilet.
Because of his great distress caused by the telling of his story, the court has now adjourned until tomorrow. Unless Oscar is a very good actor and he doesn't get broken down during the cross examination by the prosecution, I believe he may be found innocent of murder.
9th April 2014
Well today the Prosecution got its claws in and things got really nasty! Because of 'evidence' in form of a video that had not been declared on the docket and because of a very graphic photo of Reeva Steenkamp's head after the shooting being shown, Oscar Pistorius was decimated!
Because I learned from a lawyer defending a death row prisoner in the USA in 1997, I know that what goes on between the Defence and the Prosecution is a fight to the bitter end. It is the Prosecution's absolute aim to prove guilt at all and any cost and today I saw this done very viciously! It is a good thing that I'm not squeamish but Oscar Pistorius, after that viewing, could quite easily be driven beyond his capability to cope! My heart goes out to the parents of the victim because they too had to view that photo..again probably..!
I would like to say that I admire the Judge because she has remained calm and in control and is still able to show empathy.
The court has now adjourned in order to allow Oscar Pistorius to get himself together in order to face the next barrage. May the Force be with him whichever way things swing.
pm: Well after a couple of breaks the trial went on and eventually Oscar was brought to the point where he found it very difficult to get past calling the whole catastrophe an 'accident'.
It seems he had to choose between flight or fight and, seeing as flight was not an option for him because he was balancing on his stumps, he followed the fight path and fired 4 shots at the toilet door without knowing who was behind it. It may be that his fear and paranoia caused him to snap and he fired because of the extreme tension that had built up ( which would mean that he was not in control of his actions ) or that he actively chose to pull the trigger ( which means the whole action was no accident as he insists that it was. )
Tomorrow the case continues...let's see what other surprises the prosecution pulls out of the hat!
10th April 2014: Lots of old stuff came up today but nothing very loudly incriminated the accused concerning the actual case except that he probably broke a few gun rules as many gun owners do. I was married to a gun owner once and so can speak from experience.
He used to leave his loaded Magnum .38 on the night table at night when I worked night shift and our son of 4 yrs slept in the room next door.
Very irresponsible behaviour that and I eventually moved out with my son in fear of something catastrophic happening!
The fan situation may cause problems though..
21st Oct 2014
At last Oscar Pistorius has received his sentence which is 5 years in prison.
By the sound of things he may get to spend from 2 years to 10 months in actual prison time and the rest will be under house arrest.
The sentence can be classified as 'light' but Oscar has to contend with serious threats to his life while behind bars, prison rape and other gross happenings that may crop up.
He will also have to contend with recurring bouts of ptsd and guilt which will haunt him from time to time and which, in turn, can lead to heavy depression.
At least Reeva Steenkamp's family seem to feel that justice has been served and hopefully they can move forward with the rest of their lives.
Hopefully Oscar gets therapy for anger management and never picks up a gun again in his lifetime. Prison can be a time to grow and mature!
Oscar Pistorius begins jail term
Fan blows away Oscar's story
Reeva Steenkamp standing 'with hand on door handle' when she was shot dead
Oscar 'danger to society'; mental health issues
After many months of argument and counter argument, Oscar Pistorius has been found guilty of culpable homicide as opposed to premeditated murder.
Many people are not happy with the outcome but the Judge, Thokozile Masipa, has remained calm and focussed as a good judge should, and given the verdict that most people expected.
Hopefully Oscar will now remain calm and focussed himself until he is officially sentenced sometime in October and refrain from committing impulsive and destructive actions while he is free on bail.
At the end of the day Oscar may get a suspended sentence as opposed to spending from 5 to 8 years in prison! Should he get off scott free let us hope he will make a personal decision never to take up another firearm again for the rest of his life! By making such a decision he will show genuine respect for Reeva Steenkamp and her family and sincere remorse for the fact that he took her life in a moment of panic and because he tends to be trigger happy!
He would also be very wise to undergo therapy in order to discover what it is that turns him into a volatile and irrational being as opposed to a person who has overcome great odds to become a world star and mentor.
He seems to believe in God and so needs to lay his fear down and, in faith, believe that he has been blessed and given a great gift and needs to shine like a beacon in a dark and violent world!
Pistorius plans book
The trial..
Yesterday ( 7th April 2014 ) the trial of Oscar Pistorius for the murder of Reeva Steenkamp continued and Oscar himself began his testimony. What he spoke about was really sad and one wanted to be in the court to comfort him as he stumbled through the telling of his story.
Today ( 8th April 2014 ) Oscar continues his story and is now describing his horror when he realised that Riva Steenkamp was quite possibly the person he had just shot 4 times at fairly close range behind the locked toilet door in his bathroom. The horror intensifies when he eventually batters a hole in the door and, on opening it, does indeed find her body inside the toilet.
Because of his great distress caused by the telling of his story, the court has now adjourned until tomorrow. Unless Oscar is a very good actor and he doesn't get broken down during the cross examination by the prosecution, I believe he may be found innocent of murder.
9th April 2014
Well today the Prosecution got its claws in and things got really nasty! Because of 'evidence' in form of a video that had not been declared on the docket and because of a very graphic photo of Reeva Steenkamp's head after the shooting being shown, Oscar Pistorius was decimated!
Because I learned from a lawyer defending a death row prisoner in the USA in 1997, I know that what goes on between the Defence and the Prosecution is a fight to the bitter end. It is the Prosecution's absolute aim to prove guilt at all and any cost and today I saw this done very viciously! It is a good thing that I'm not squeamish but Oscar Pistorius, after that viewing, could quite easily be driven beyond his capability to cope! My heart goes out to the parents of the victim because they too had to view that photo..again probably..!
I would like to say that I admire the Judge because she has remained calm and in control and is still able to show empathy.
The court has now adjourned in order to allow Oscar Pistorius to get himself together in order to face the next barrage. May the Force be with him whichever way things swing.
pm: Well after a couple of breaks the trial went on and eventually Oscar was brought to the point where he found it very difficult to get past calling the whole catastrophe an 'accident'.
It seems he had to choose between flight or fight and, seeing as flight was not an option for him because he was balancing on his stumps, he followed the fight path and fired 4 shots at the toilet door without knowing who was behind it. It may be that his fear and paranoia caused him to snap and he fired because of the extreme tension that had built up ( which would mean that he was not in control of his actions ) or that he actively chose to pull the trigger ( which means the whole action was no accident as he insists that it was. )
Tomorrow the case continues...let's see what other surprises the prosecution pulls out of the hat!
10th April 2014: Lots of old stuff came up today but nothing very loudly incriminated the accused concerning the actual case except that he probably broke a few gun rules as many gun owners do. I was married to a gun owner once and so can speak from experience.
He used to leave his loaded Magnum .38 on the night table at night when I worked night shift and our son of 4 yrs slept in the room next door.
Very irresponsible behaviour that and I eventually moved out with my son in fear of something catastrophic happening!
The fan situation may cause problems though..
21st Oct 2014
At last Oscar Pistorius has received his sentence which is 5 years in prison.
By the sound of things he may get to spend from 2 years to 10 months in actual prison time and the rest will be under house arrest.
The sentence can be classified as 'light' but Oscar has to contend with serious threats to his life while behind bars, prison rape and other gross happenings that may crop up.
He will also have to contend with recurring bouts of ptsd and guilt which will haunt him from time to time and which, in turn, can lead to heavy depression.
At least Reeva Steenkamp's family seem to feel that justice has been served and hopefully they can move forward with the rest of their lives.
Hopefully Oscar gets therapy for anger management and never picks up a gun again in his lifetime. Prison can be a time to grow and mature!
Oscar Pistorius begins jail term
Fan blows away Oscar's story
Reeva Steenkamp standing 'with hand on door handle' when she was shot dead
Oscar 'danger to society'; mental health issues
Friday, January 17, 2014
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Saturday, January 11, 2014
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
Female Genital Mutilation: 'The Cruel Cut'; Arrests made in female genital mutilation case in UK;
Female genital mutilation is illegal in many countries and yet thousands of young girls ( as young as 6 weeks!! ) are being subjected to this 'stone-age' practice!
It seems that there is a tiny light at the end of the tunnel as 2 people have been arrested in London for being involved in the mutilation of a tiny baby!
Leyla Hussein
The Cruel Cut
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-cruel-cut/episode-guide
Tackling FGM
UK's approach to FGM not working
FGM: Arrests in female genital mutilation case
It seems that there is a tiny light at the end of the tunnel as 2 people have been arrested in London for being involved in the mutilation of a tiny baby!
Leyla Hussein
The Cruel Cut
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-cruel-cut/episode-guide
Tackling FGM
UK's approach to FGM not working
FGM: Arrests in female genital mutilation case
Mukhtaran Bibi: Gang raped in clan ' honour' revenge punishment
In this new year of 2014 I read the history of a very brave- spirited woman named Mukhtaran Bibi from Pakistan. In spite of her horrific treatment on orders from local government, she survived the degradation and has gone on to be the mother of a baby boy. Hopefully he will follow in his mother's footsteps and reject the 'stone age' culture that holds his country back from moving out of poverty and ignorance!
Mukhtaran Bibi: 'Honour' gang rape victim, survivor and activist
Mukhtaran Bibi gives birth to baby boy
Mukhtaran Bibi: 'Honour' gang rape victim, survivor and activist
Mukhtaran Bibi gives birth to baby boy
Sunday, January 05, 2014
Saturday, January 04, 2014
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