My Judgments

First of all, let me clarify one thing. I am a poor judge of people, especially of those who are devious and criminal. I think my problem is that I cannot imagine someone being so bad and cruel. I still have difficulty believing that O.J. killed Nicole Simpson and Lenny Goldman! How can he be so ruthless and stupid?

Having said this, I want to share my thoughts on two criminal stories which are dominating the news here in USA. One is the Michael Jackson trial. I think the whole case is built on greed – the greed of the prosecutors for publicity, and the greed of the accusers family for a financial windfall. The news media (and the associated consultants and experts) is not far behind in their greed to 'hook the people in' by building up this case (It certainly is a better alternative to going to Iraq and reporting what is actually happening there). Do not mistake me. There is no doubt that Michael Jackson is a weirdo who might have done inappropriate things with young boys before. But the accusation of the boy in this case makes no sense. According to him, he was molested AFTER his family was kept under siege by Jackson’s people worried about them talking to press. Why would Michael molest him for the FIRST time when he is panicking that someone will accuse of him of child molestation? It will be a shame if Michael Jackson is convicted on this false accusation. My feeling is that even if he is convicted, the conviction will be overturned on appeal -- the judge was clearly biased in his rulings (notably allowing previous accusers, whose accusations were never validated, to testify).

The missing teenager (Natalee Holloway) in Aruba is another news story which is puzzling me. There are now five people in custody, and no confessions yet. I feel that if any of these five had any part in a crime the police would have made them break down by now. It is interesting that for a short while, there were reports that one boy has confessed and was going to lead the police to Natalee’s body. Nothing happened. I am not surprised. The police can make you admit to anything they want – especially if you are a young kid 17 or 18 years of age!