Free Republic

The flying public brings with it to the airport the same standard of manners and morals it takes to the highways, none.

It is for that reason impose on all flights where legroom is always limited and virtually does not exist, a restriction that seats should be prevented from leaning. The leaning seat with someone’s head in your lap causes needless tension and discomfort among passengers, which can and should be avoided.

My second suggestion is that all airlines should follow a standardized set of boarding and deplaning instructions. At the present time they all have their own often-unclear set of instructions causing angst and further unnecessary tension with the flying public.

Never knew I was so inaccurately being stalked and observed. I have posted a number of well crafted ideas and thoughts, but thanks for tracking my musings. If you would care for a list of my "originals" I shall be glad to tell you were to find them.

Schwarzenegger is a dangerous, narcissistic serial groper and serious abuser of women. His adoration is his only thing. He has succeeded only in bullying his way to fame and glory with little care or concern for others. He rules much the same as the gang leader in the "hood," rules by force and no one questions, out of fear and retribution. California needs more than a cartoon movie character to lead. It requires a leader with brains and great morality not narcissism in its purist form so transparent and consuming.

Leaving little or no room for the consideration of others. This guy may have the body but not the soul. He will be a worst disaster than keeping Clay Davis for two more years.

Have any studies evaluated the benefits of home schooling?
How do these kids compare to the rest of the public and private educated kids? Do they adjust well socially? Are they successful in their higher education and trade job pursuits?

As a sophisticated SF diner for the last 35 years there is one enormous problem which the restaurant industry totally ignores. There are simply too many restaurants, too many choices and it is increasingly difficult for anyone to build loyalty. The aggressive panhandlers are a great deterrent for frequent family visits to this once glorious city.

As a sophisticated SF diner for the last 35 years there is one enormous problem, which the restaurant industry totally ignores. There are simply too many restaurants, too many choices and it is increasingly difficult for anyone to build loyalty. The aggressive panhandlers are a great deterrent for frequent eamily visits to this once glorious city.

The question is why Gibson, why now?

BRAVO !!!

The U.S. intelligence community has excised significant details of the ties of the Saudi royal family to al-Qaida from a congressional report. Congressional sources said the 800-page report on the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was delayed for months over arguments with the Bush administration on details of Saudi involvement with al-Qaida.

The administration did not want a companion report by the independent National Commission on Terrorist Attacks to reopen wounds with Riyadh amid its new cooperation with the U.S.-led war against Osama bin Laden's terror network, the sources said.

The report, which could be released this week, will discuss how the United States underestimated Saudi links to al-Qaida. The 10-member commission reviewed the FBI failure to detect Saudi aid to two of the 19 al-Qaida hijackers in September 2001. "There's little doubt that much of the funding of terrorist groups – whether intentional or unintentional – is coming from Saudi sources," John Lehman, a member of the independent commission, told a congressional hearing earlier this month.

The sources said the congressional study was completed in December 2002. The administration kept the report quiet for six months and the commission said the White House withheld documents required for the investigation. Last week, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., former chairman of the Select Committee on Intelligence, said the report claims that al-Qaida has trained between 70,000 and 120,000 terrorists. Many of those trained were sent to countries around the world, including the United States. "We have to assume that as those people were placed around the world, some were placed inside the United States," Graham said. "Some of them are in the United States today."

Graham, a Democratic presidential candidate from Florida, has criticized the Bush administration for delaying the release of the report. The senator said the Bush administration has approved inclusion of the al-Qaida training estimate in the final report. "We allowed al-Qaida to regroup and regenerate," Graham said. "They've conducted a series of very sophisticated operations, thus far none of it in the United States, but seven Americans were killed in Saudi Arabia." Over the weekend, the United States launched another effort to promote human rights in Saudi Arabia. Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Lorne Craner arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday to discuss the human rights situation in the kingdom.

Who speaks for the victim? ESPN ^ Monday, July 21, 2003

Who speaks for the victim?

By Kevin Jackson Page 2 staff

I never realized I was a raging feminist until this weekend. On paper, I'm one of the last people you'd expect to hear extolling the wisdom of Gloria Steinem or Martha Burk.

A clean image and a tearful press conference don't necessarily mean "not guilty." For cripesakes, I'm one of the editors in charge of Page 2 -- you know, the section of ESPN.com that has published approximately 2,500 photos of Anna Kournikova, given Gregg Easterbrook a forum for his cheesecake "art" and turned Jennie Finch into a household name. But this Saturday afternoon, I realized that ... uh, I'm not like other guys.

Or at least I'm not like the guys who I've heard discussing the Kobe Bryant case over the last couple of weeks. My car nearly careened off the road Saturday when I heard the host of a sports-talk radio show in New York offer this summary of the sexual-assault case against the Lakers superstar:

When you first hear that some woman has accused Kobe of sexual assault, your first thought is obviously that this must be some gold-digger or some woman who tried to "entrap" an NBA star. After all, we know Kobe, and this is totally out of character for him. These women are out there, and it's a dangerous world for these guys.

I'm sorry, but I must be living on a different planet here. Maybe I've just read too many tales of athletes' late-night activities off the police blotter, or maybe I'm too in touch with the "divine secrets" of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

Either way, when I hear that a professional athlete is being charged with rape, my first thought isn't that he's the victim. Nor do I immediately envision some sort of vexing vixen preying on poor unsuspecting millionaire athletes in a hotel lobby.

No, my first thought is to fear that a horrible crime has occurred ... and to hope that I'm wrong. And, yes, that's my first thought no matter how well I "know" the athlete -- whether that athlete is a "thug" like (fill-in-the-blank with your NBA bad boy of choice), or a "solid citizen" like Ray Allen or Kobe Bryant. I certainly "know" Kobe Bryant better than most people on the street. I've interviewed him several times, including a brief one-on-one at last year's ESPY Awards. I've watched hundreds of his games and countless press conferences. I've seen more of his TV commercials than I care to count. (I've also covered enough pro sporting events -- from the Super Bowl to the NBA Finals -- to know plenty about groupies and the world of temptations that confront professional athletes.)

And after all that, this is what I "know" about Kobe Bryant: He's eloquent and thoughtful. He gives good sound bites. He speaks Italian. He carries himself with class on and off the basketball court. And he's one of the best basketball players to ever lace up a pair of sneakers.

After last Friday's mesmerizing news conference at the Staples Center, I also now "know" that Kobe cheated on his wife of two years, a woman who bore his first child a mere seven months ago.

Here's what I don't "know" about Kobe Bryant: I don't know how he treats his family when they're behind closed doors. I don't know what his sexual habits are. I don't know if he has a raging temper. I don't know what he might be capable of when no one is around. Look around your office or your school. No matter how much you think know some of the people that you come in contact with every single day, you probably don't know the answers to any of the questions above.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert wouldn't put his career on the line if he didn't have a case. Remember, we thought we knew Kirby Puckett, O.J. Simpson and Bill Clinton.

Now, I'm not saying Kobe is guilty. I have no idea what really happened on the night of June 30 at the Cordillera Lodge & Spa, and all Americans are innocent until proven guilty. All Americans except for the female victim in this case, that is. Since the news of Bryant's arrest broke two weeks ago, it seems like we've been searching for reasons to discredit this woman. She tried out for "American Idol" ... so she must be seeking fame and fortune. She went up to Bryant's room voluntarily ... so she was asking for it. She was an employee of the hotel ... so she was behaving unprofessionally. She allegedly overdosed on drugs two months ago ... so she must be unstable.

I only "know" one thing about this woman: Her life is never going to be the same again, and yet she's pressing on with this case anyway.

Rather than look for reasons to doubt her story, I'm going to give her the benefit of the doubt until someone can prove she's lying -- the same benefit of the doubt so many people, men in particular, seem so eager to give Kobe.

On Sunday morning, I bumped into a fellow sports journalist who offered the following word of warning to me about the Kobe case: "Man, be careful what you say about this case around women. I was at a party Saturday night, and all I said was, 'Kobe made a pretty big mistake,' and a couple of women still jumped all over me."

Well, sorry, guys, but I understand why so many women are so outraged. I also understand why so many rape victims never come forward.

If this case does indeed turn into a he-said, she-said, I'm not going to blindly assume everything he says is true. And I'd at least like to withhold my final judgment until I hear what she has to say.

Kevin Jackson is the coordinating editor for ESPN.com. His email address is kevin.jackson@espn3.com.

It is legal canon in this country that a person is innocent until proven guilty. The burden of proof rests with the public prosecutor. Having gotten that fundamental "Law for Dummies" lesson out of the way, however, the visceral, knee-jerk reaction to basketball star Kobe Bryant's accuser deserves to be put on public trial long before he sets his expensive Nikes in a Colorado courtroom. "She's just a gold digger" became the maddening mantra. Fans are "shocked" by the sexual-assault charges leveled against clean-cut Kobe. Excuse me, but I have been awed and appalled by some of the off-the-cuff comments being made about the 19-year-old hotel clerk — also clean-cut by local accounts — who filed a complaint against the 24-year-old basketball player after their encounter in the wee hours of the morning June 30 at the posh Lodge and Spa at Cordillera.

Only two persons on earth really know what went on in that room. "He didn't have to force her. He can get anyone he wants," was the rallying chant. This the most damaging and injurious of defenses, because as experts in this awful arena will tell you time and again, rape and sexual assault are violent crimes that are actually not about getting sex at all. They are crimes in which sex is used as a weapon of power and control. So quick was the judgment against her that you'd think the unnamed woman, who everybody will soon know, was the perpetrator rather than the victim. Already stories are circulating about the former cheerleader, "American Idol" contender "seeking the limelight" or being unstable or being suicidal.

Is this fast and furious finger-pointing because most don't have a clue what constitutes rape? Is this because too many people put too many athletes on pedestals? Is it cynicism or fear that drives society's discomfort and disdain when celebrities are called into question, particularly with sex-related crimes? Witness how Paula Jones was turned into a pariah when she accused Bill Clinton of untoward sexual advances. Nobody believed her either, until the infamous intern Monica Lewinsky disclosed the dress.

Remember who said "the bitch set me up"? Remember Jodie Foster in "The Accused"? Remember sportscaster Marv Albert in a Virginia hotel room? These high-profile cases have a chilling effect on lesser-known victims who are reluctant to come forward and file charges against their attackers because they know that they will be immediately ridiculed by either their parents, their peers, their partners or the police.

Does anyone really believe that someone would so lightly set themselves up for such scrutiny and scourge? And, no one blames the victim more than she blames herself. Most troubling was that some of the most rabid ranting came out of the mouths of women. "It's just Mike Tyson all over again," said one woman who called into a local radio station seeking instant reaction to "breaking news" that Bryant had been formally charged Friday. Granted, Kobe is no Madman Mike, but a rape by any other nice name is a "sexual assault" or having "inflicted sexual intrusion or sexual penetration causing submission against the victim's will." Granted, the tearful sports idol fessed up about his "mistake of adultery." Good move. Slam-dunk. But he just as swiftly denied the assault charges with his betrayed wife by his side. He may well be acquitted claiming that what happened was between two consenting adults.

Still, the only supportive and protective comments for the victim — yes, the victim — heard above the hue and cry about Kobe's career and advertising contracts came from Eagle County (Colo.) District Attorney Mark Hurlbert, who asked the media to respect the victim's privacy.

Yesterday, I checked with the D.C. Rape Crisis Center. Mine was the first media call they received. Ditto over at Men Can Stop Rape headquarters.

Jonathan Stillerman, co-founder and co-director of Men Can Stop Rape, said that he hopes the Bryant case will present "an opportunity to elevate the issue of sexual assault in the public's eye so people see this as something to be taken seriously." He explained that "a lot of people see [sexual assault] as rough sex rather than a crime. They think the rapist is hard up and the crime comes out of some desperation to get some kind of sex."

Not so. In fact, the statistics show that the majority of sex offenders were involved in an ongoing sexual relationship with one or more partners at the time they committed their offense, Mr. Stillerman said.

"Fundamentally, this is not about sex. It is about using sex as a weapon to gain power and control or to express anger," which very often comes out a sense of entitlement.

"It makes perfect sense that someone in a high-profile position who is worshipped and has hero status may feel entitled to do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to whoever he wants," he said. "It's that sense of entitlement that can fuel sexual coercion or sexual violence." Therefore, "It comes as no surprise that someone with that same sense of entitlement may not end up thinking much about somebody else's boundaries, wishes or limits," he said.

Unfortunately, as Mr. Stillerman points out, "we don't have a radar to detect the safe man from the dangerous man," because sexual assailants cross all economic, class, race and cultural lines.

More often than not, we let our hero worship blind us in an attempt to deal with our discomfort and feelings of helplessness. We live through our idols, and when they fall, so do we. The result is an overriding tendency to defend and protect. Nonetheless, in his dozen years' experience in this field, Mr. Stillerman said it is rare for someone to file such a claim falsely. In fact, he said, the statistics indicate that only 2 percent to 3 percent of filed reports end up being false assertions.

No doubt "victim blaming is all too common in sexual assault," as he said.

The next time we're tempted to say "She's just a ... ," we should give great pause.

For information about Men Can Stop Rape, go to www.mencanstoprape.org or call 202/265-6530. The D.C. Rape Crisis Center can be reached at 202/232-0789. Copyright © 2003 News World Communications, Inc. All rights reserved.

What we don't "know" about Kobe Bryant: How he treats his family when they're behind closed doors, what his sexual habits are, if he has a raging temper. What he might be capable of when no one is around.

Another NBA thug who can get all he wants for free that needs to show the insecurity of his manhood of lack of it by being abusive to a woman. The NBA has the largest percentage of wife, girlfriend abuse and largest number of sired illegitimate children of any socio economic group and certainly in professional sports. Why? Is the easy score the least satisfying?

I for one am glad to see Mr. “You guys know I would never do something like that “

Charged!

Another NBA thug who can get all he wants for free that needs to show the insecurity of his manhood of lack of it by being abusive to a woman. The NBA has the largest percentage of wife, girlfriend abuse and largest number of sired illegitimate children of any socio economic group and certainly in professional sports. Why? Is the easy score the least satisfying?

I for one am glad to see Mr. “You guys know I would never do something like that “
Charged.

Another NBA thug who can get all he wants for free that needs to show the insecurity of his manhood of lack of it by being abusive to a woman. The NBA has the largest percentage of wife, girlfriend abuse and largest number of sired illegitimate children of any socio economic group and certainly in professional sports. Why? Is the easy score the least satisfying?

I for one am glad to see Mr. “You guys know I would never do something like that “

Charged.

Maybe just maybe Saddam had the correct formula to control Iraq.

Total and forceful domination. There appears to be a clear and emerging pattern that the Iraqi people respond only to force and violence.

Hope for a civilized society cannot be obtained a without total and violent domination by some force of military power. The Iraqis have thus far demonstrated that they prefer violence to freedom.

There will soon be an American groundswell to say f**k ‘em.