Lakey88's Blog

The Media asks, Knox: ‘She Devil’ or Angel? Whatever the conclusion, no comfort can be bought to the Kercher family.

Days after American student Amanda Knox, and her former boyfriend Italian graduate Raffaele Sollecito was convicted of the murder and sexual assault of Meredith Kercher, a student from Leeds who was on a years exchange course in Perugia, the verdict has since sparked huge controversy. In the US, in particular, Knox’s innocence is firmly contested, on the basis that the 26 year prison sentence handed to her was based on flawed evidence, and botched investigations over the two year period of investigation. The jury’s difficult decision, resulting from an 11 month trial could not just be based on physical evidence alone, the question remains, were these two students capable of such a horrific murder? Or were they indeed the innocent victims of media speculation and false evidence as the claim?

The global attention surrounding the murder of Meredith Kercher’s, who was found dead in her bedroom in November 1 2007, lying under a duvet with her throat cut, has focused largely on the accusers rather then the victim. Knox in particular has been the center of mass media speculation, her many changing faces and version of events has made her the subject of lurid fascination, for the media and public alike, she certainly did not fit the profile of a psychotic murderer, or did she? She is either the wide-eyed, hard working, high spirited all- American student who found herself embroiled in accusations and false claims of murder. Or she is the ‘she devil’ the prosecution would have us believe, a manipulative actress, compulsive liar and fantasist, whose jealousy and appetite for drug-fueled sex games made her seek revenge on her housemate, Meredith, who largely disapproved of Knox promiscuous activity. The Jury’s verdict rested on what version of Knox they believed to be true, in this case the latter version seems to have overalled.

 The student, Dubbed ‘Foxy Knoxy’ by the media, (indicative of her flirtatious character), has been ‘submerged in a media tsunami’ says Knox’s lawyer. She has two faces in according to popular belief, angel and demon, sinner or saint, the debate continues. Knox’s calm, often cheery composure during trail is said to have baffled investigators, she began displaying bizarre behaviour days after Meredith’s murder, when Knox was seen purchasing lingerie and talking of ‘wild sex’ with Sollecito, as well as performing gymnastics to police in between being questioned. However does this odd behaviour warrant suspicion? Or is this a girl in mourning, attempting to cope with situation? I’m not convinced. Although she may subvert the typical profile of a killer, it is fair to suggest she does not fit the profile of a saint either. One of the short stories she had displayed on her myspace talks of a young girl being brutally murdered by having her throat sliced, ‘like razors’ in her mouth, troublingly similar to Meredith’s death. Friends of the murdered student say the unpredictability of Knox, possibly brought on my her drug use, had made them Meredith increasingly weary, they would often argue about missing money, or Knox’s habit of bringing ‘strange men’ back with her to the apartment the girls shared.

Defense lawyers claim there is no evidence that Knox was in the room were Meredith was killed, however her DNA was found near the handle of a kitchen knife, the  presumed murder weapon, found in Sollecito’s flat with Meredith’s DNA on the tip of the knife. However any evidence placing Knox at the crime scene is now said to be contaminated and unusable as evidence. However on the morning Meredith’s body was found, a shopkeeper said he’d seen Knox and Sollecito buy cleaning products, although she told police she was with her boyfriend at his the whole night and morning.  Police believe a burglary was staged in the apartment as possible motive for murder, however nothing was taken. Knox also falsely accused Patrick Lumuba, a local Congolese bar owner, although he was later cleared after his alibi that he was working the night of the murder proved true, police believe this was in a bid to cover up her own role in the murder and that of Guede, a drifter from the ivory coast Knox and Sollecito and bought home that night, he has already been charged with murder and sexual assault after his DNA was found on Meredith. Phone records also show Knox had made several calls to Guede after the murder, although he had fled abroad to Germany. Knox’s involvement in the brutal and tragic murder, however small or large, still deserves the guilty verdict, Meredith’s family deserve the truth, as some form of justice.

One supporter for Knox wrote during the trial, “a highly spirited student whose life has been clearly ruined by a collision of predatory journalism and slipshod prosecution”, Knox’s life had been ruined? I begin to ask; maybe we should focus our grievances more on the innocent victim, Meredith Kercher, who lost her life in a senseless, callous murder.

That time of year is setting in again, no, not just Christmas, but as the colder approach and we steadily opt for staying in the warmth in front of the box, we are met with the surge of reality Television programs, firmly fixating themselves on our screens. The current series of the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing dominate Saturday TV prime spots, and week day entertainment is supplied by ‘I’m a Celebrity..Get Me Out of Here!’ There is almost no escaping reality Television nowadays, if not on the TV itself then plastered all over the newspapers or magazines, it is inherent in our culture to a great extent.

In many ways we have become a nation obsessed with watching others, when people from all classes flock to gawp at ordinary people, it is almost reminiscent of the age old Victorian Freak shows or Roman Gladiator games. Although it is fair to say we have progressed significantly away from witnessing actual human slaughter, the sentiment of freak shows or cage fighting still remains; by watching the often dim witted, socially delusional and fame obsessed hopefuls’ making spectacles of themselves for our amusement.

This argument is somewhat pessimistic, as poll results issued this week show we are also a nation largely in support of the underdog, with Susan Boyle said to be top of Google’s most searched list this year. Boyle’s overnight success of this years Britain’s Got Talent has made her both a national and international sensation, particularly in America where she remains a spectacle of fascination. The single spinster from Scotland dubbed the ‘hair angle’, is an example of those deemed ‘unfortunate’, yet are able to subvert all expectations the cynical minded may have harboured, in the same way Paul Potts’s did the previous year. Susan Boyle’s amateur rendition of ‘I have a Dream’ shocked even the like of Simon Cowell, who admitted along with the rest of the public that he was ready to write her off before she even opened her mouth. After a nip and tuck here and there she has become a household name, as a simple, unpretentious character achieving her ‘dream’.

Good on her indeed, but is it a little depressing that Susan Boyle is one of the most searched names? Among those who have past away this year, more notable Micheal Jackson, Stephan Gately and Jade Goody (another unpretentious reality TV character that achieved success for her blissful ignorance and appealing lack of general knowledge), Boyle is searched above the politically powerful or influential such as Obama. However, aside from such monumental events that occurred this year, such as the American presidential election seeing its first black President, the onset of the worst recession we have seen in decades, as well as the outbreak of swine flu, and heavy flooding in recent weeks, 2009 has arguably been a fairly depressing all round. Therefore, the success stories of the likes of Susan Boyle found on such reality TV shows on our screens this season, can be seen as a welcome addition of optimism and enjoyment in our otherwise stressful lives, however crass and intrusive they may seem.

Ever wondered what goes into your favourite face cream? Well it seems some may contain more disturbing ingredients then could be imagined.

A recent investigation has uncovered that a Peruvian gang has allegedly killed dozens of people and drained their bodies of fat to be used in cosmetics. The remains of the victims, found in shallow graves in the Peruvian jungle, were said to have been kidnapped and killed by a criminal gang for human fat trafficking. The liquid is said to be worth $15,000 per litre of fat, police believe the fat was sold on the black market to cosmetic companies in Europe, and bought as anti-winkle creams.

Six of the gang members remain at large, and in addition to the five killings they have confessed to police believe suspect dozens more, with a further sixty disappearances being linked to the case. The killers are believed to have targeted local farmers and peasants on remote roads in the Huanuco and Pasco regions, between the jungle and Andean peaks. Peru has understandably reacted with horror at the report that the gang enticed their victims with the promise of work, before butchering them, decapitating them and removing their limbs in order to extract the fat. One of those arrested told police the ringleader had been killing people for their fat for more than three decades. The gang has been referred to as the Pishtacos, after an ancient Peruvian legend of killers who attack people on lonely roads and murder them for their fat.

Medical experts said human fat had cosmetic applications to keep skin supple, but were sceptical about an international black market. “It doesn’t make any sense, because in most countries we can get fat so readily and in such amounts from people who are willing to donate,” Adam Katz, a professor of plastic surgery at the University of Virginia medical school, told the Associated Press (Guardian), therefore reports that the fat was transported to Europe cannot be confirmed.

 As to why these victims had to loose their lives in such barbaric circumstances, is not only completely unjustified, but more, their deaths come as a tragic example of the limits some would reach to cash in on the cosmetics trade, an enormously profitable industry in this day and age. Is this then testament to modern day vanity? It is arguable, but what remains is that the price of a face cream somewhere out there on the market, came at the cost of an innocent life.

Gordan Brown has announced this week he will be issuing an apology to the tens of thousands of child migrants, extricated from Britain between 1920 to 1967, to live abroad. They left with the promise of a better life, however, many faced years of abuse, hard labour and gross mistreatment.

Brown’s apology comes forty years after the programme was abolished, following on from Australian President Kevin Rudd’s apology in 2006 to those children who endured abuse in his country. The children, aged between 3 and 14, were taken mainly to Australia and Canada, the majority of whom were from poor backgrounds and already under some form of care. They faced years of un-paid work and in many cases they were cut off completely from families or told they were orphans. A key implication to the programme, which sent 150,000 abroad, was the aim to supply common wealth countries with sufficient “white stock” (Guardian), particularly in relation to Australia. The apology, although late coming, offers some recognition that these state policies were grossly misguided and regrettable.

Gordan Brown’s confirms the “time is now right” for the apology, which comes after discussions with the charities that represent the child migrants, he adds, “it is important we take the time to listen to the voices of the survivors and victims of these misguided policies”. Some critics may argue that this apology is nothing more then a stunt, and frankly too late in time. However, for those remaining victims, many of whom are understandably still angry for their lost childhood and right to live as a British citizen, to them this apology will act as some form of remorseful recognition of the treatment they endured.

Although leader Brown nor Rudd were around when the abuse occurred, as leading heads of state, their apology appreciates that the state conduct and behaviour during this period was vastly mistaken. And offers some hope that such conduct will not occur in the future. Ed Balls, the children’s secretary, admits the child programme was a “stain on our society”.

Forty years on, many of those who suffered are still raw with emotion, and although an apology cannot erase the past, as one victim told the Guardian, it is better then never; “we’ve suffered all our lives. For the government of England to apologise to us, it makes it right. Even if it’s late, it’s better than not at all”.

The BBC’s Panorama report this week exposed severe flaws in the criminal justice system. Revealing that across England and Wales half of all criminal cases brought to justice are punished out of court by way of cautions, warnings and fines.

 The cost-cutting, fast-track justice scheme was initially implemented by Government as a way of dealing with prisons so full. As well as, relieving courts of minor cases, such as anti-social behaviour. However, in recent years concern has increased from critics and victims alike, who argue that rocketing numbers of cautions are being imposed by police as punishment for crimes of a serious nature, not the minor offences as originally intended.

Cautions are formal warnings, issued at the discretion of the police if the offender admits his guilt. However, the investigation by BBC’s Panorama discovered that many criminals involved in serious crimes are getting off lightly without prosecution from a high court.  Furthermore, the report found that only half of those issued with the penalty notice actually pay to fine imposed. The director of Public Prosecutions Keir Starmer confirmed that anything above common assault should not be given conditional cautions. However results from 39 of the 41 forces revealed that almost 39,000 cases of actual bodily harm (ABH) resulted in a caution last year. A further 739 cases of the more serious offence of grievous bodily harm also resulted in cautions.

More worrying though, is that such lenient punishments are being distributed more regularly, with serious cases of burglary, child neglect, sexual assault and rape receiving just a caution in 2008. Defense lawyer Ian Kelcey said, “When you’re talking of cases of rape, assault on children, dwelling house burglaries being dealt with out of court, that is not appropriate, “That is merely an administrative convenience rather than an offence brought to justice.”

Lack of justice for victims has meant that the public are ultimately losing faith in the British Justice system. Lauren Smith, a 26-year-old flight attendant from Newcastle, was bitten and beaten up by a man she used to be friends with. He received a caution, despite a high court judge confirming he should have received at least a 30 month custodial sentence. Lauren was understandably furious, “he hasn’t just made a mockery of me, he’s made one of the entire Justice system”. With criminals virtually getting off scot-free for serious crimes, there is nothing to prevent repeat offending, and as a result crime rate in Britain on one of the highest.

In wake of the programme however, Jack Straw has issued a formal review of system in response to this report.

A new cosmetic surgery report suggests there is a steady decline of self-esteem among young girls, with half of secondary school girls saying they would consider surgery.

Naturally insecurities develop among adolescents as they endure physical and emotional changes. However, it seems the new generation of girls have matured before their years, with girls as young as seven developing severe insecurities and low self-esteem over their appearance, weight and body image.

Findings suggest that young teenagers consider surgery a realistic alternative to their problems, as if cosmetic procedures were a normal part of everyday life. A study found that in the age group of 11-16 years olds, 46% say they would consider surgery, liposuction gastric bands or other such procedures, and in the 16-21 age group, a staggering 50% say they would turn to such drastic surgery to correct their various body hang-ups.

Critics would argue that teenage girls nowadays are immersed in a society where stereotypical representations of women are predominant. In turn, notions of beauty have been socially constructed to be equated with slender figures, glossy hair and flawless looks. Such unrealistic notions are portrayed through various mediums of exposure – such as advertising, television, magazines and celebrity culture. Representations of women particularly in the fashion industry and retail reflect an idealised image of what is means to be beautiful, with immense ability to influence the consumer. In turn many women buy into a concept, by believing that by purchasing a particular product, item of clothing etc, or even undergoing a cosmetic procedure, their lifestyle will improve dramatically.

Prevalence of cosmetic surgery among celebrities, most of who are looked up to and idolised by young girls, can play a part in making such procedures seem simple, easy and accessible. And with an abundance of mixed messages in culture about body image reaching young teens everyday, it is no wonder insecurities are growing. Popular magazines bombard us with images of skinny models and celebrities each day, offer us the new fad diet plan and exercise regime, as well as highlighting weight gain on a size 8 celebrity as if it was a negative ailment.

Such programs as How to Look Good Naked supposedly tells us to celebrate and embrace our curves and various body shapes, to ‘learn to love ourselves’, yet on the same channel such programs as Ten Years Younger and You Are What You Eat sends an alternative message. It is extremely worrying that young as 11 say they have cut down on what they eat in order to stay thin, however, it seems almost inevitable in a society were the wrong messages are reaching young audiences with increasing ease. This in turn, is influencing eating decisions and creating body worries more rapidly, Nicola Grinstead, a trustee of Girlguiding UK said these insecurities were alarming “girls and young women are telling us they are finding it quite hard to except their appearance, and it is starting at a much earlier age than we had previously thought”.

Following Nick Griffins’ controversial appearance last week on Question Time, the BBC has received a barrage of complaints from audiences, for allowing the leader of the British National Party to use the mainstream TV debate show as a platform to express his fascist right-winged views. With fears that such a high profile appearance on the show could increase the parties’ profile within the public sphere and gain them and their views further notoriety.

 On arrival Griffin was met with a hostile reception, not just from the hundreds of anti-fascists protesters that gathered outside the BBC studios, but from the audience themselves, who repeatedly jeered at the smirking Griffin as he attempted to defend himself and his parties’ policies. Griffin’s flustered responses did not go un-noticed but the show’s host David Dimbleby, who repeatedly hauled Griffin up for dodging questions and denying controversial, offensive quotes he has made in the past. When pressed, for instance, over Griffins connection with the extremist racists KKK,  his ability to backtrack and deny such claims were remarkable, even describing the KKK’s leader David Duke as ‘almost totally non-violent”. In this light I highly I can hardy see how Griffin has done himself or his party any favours in a bid to push them into political mainstream, but rather exposed himself and the BNP as the racist, fascist party they are.

 Criticisms of the BBC grew, after is has emerged Griffin’s appearance has apparently sparked new interest from the public. A poll for the Daily Telegraph suggested 22% of the electorate would consider voting BNP and a further 3,000 people registering for information about the party. However this so called new wave of interest is hardly damaging, when Griffin seems to have not only alienated the general public but also members of the BNP itself, with further reports that the party is looking to replace Griffin for future elections.

 To suggest that Griffin’s appearance and feeble efforts to sway public opinion has in any way made an impact on the face of politics in the long run, would be to completely underestimate public judgement and their ability to see Griffin and the organization he represents as being deeply flawed. Question Time’s Thursday programme saw its audience numbers triple in what they normally receive, attracting an estimated 8 million viewers. Which demonstrates in itself that public interest in seeing this party scrutinised for the first time is rife. Giving in a sense, the audience a platform or opportunity to express their views to Griffin, in what we can hope has been a serious wake up call for the right-winged organization and the ignorant bigot that leads them, to re-asses their policies in the wake of a multi-identity, multi-cultural Britain.

Passive, lazy or simply lousy, however you choose to label it, what remains is that the modern practice of journalism is receiving such criticism more frequently then ever, and the problem does not seem set to change.

journalism has become a popular mode of news reporting that journalists appear to be opting for, particularly within local news press. It has emerged that journalists are relying heavily on primary sources in the research process, which in many cases often results in one-sided, biased information reaching its readers. Where journalists are failing their readers is that instead of actively ‘seeking truth’ as many would believe their job entails, the pressures of the industry means that enabling the given and accessible sources to drive their story is often the easier option. Unfortunately, this means with a narrowing range of sources being utilised, the primary sources can act to set the tone of the news story which in turn has the ability to shape public opinion and ideology, often without secondary validation or verification.

The practice of passive journalism within local news, has become part of the widespread problem of shoddy journalism in general, and arguably the cause of increasing mistrust within the public sphere. The public should expect to look to journalists to provide factual, objective news stories, but instead our newspapers are filled with pages of recycled packaged news, that has been elevated above important and relevant news stories. Nothing more then propaganda, politically biased stories, provided directed by the PR companies themselves, and similar irrelevant celebrity drivel.

 But who is to blame for this practice of passive journalism? The journalists themselves or the pressures of the industry in which they operate in? or is it us, the readers who choose to buy into a culture of celebrity gossip and entertaining stories? where in our existing  public sphere  important news values are no longer elevated over banal speculation and non-objective news. Which in turn,  in the competitive media industry, means journalists are forced to adhere to public interest and demand instead? The question remains open to discussion. But what seems evident, is that if the standard of journalist is set to improve  –  the values and objectives that are crucial in order shape public opinion and gain trust are once again  addressed; Then both journalists and citizens need to actively step up to their role within the public sphere, and soon.