Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Oprah Gets Snowed: Why Was She Not Made Aware of The Race Card Being Played?

Posted by Peter Quennell





Previous posts on Oprah’s intervention here and here.

We will have a detailed takedown of the large number of disputable claims made today on Oprah Winfrey’s show posted here in a day or two. 

Meanwhile, we must say that it was a pretty weird experience to witness Oprah Winfrey, of all people, being taken in by the “of course the black guy did it” meme.

  • Is she aware that the poor black guy Rudy Guede has no prior convictions and that all three have had prior brushes with the police?

  • Is she aware that there is NO reliable evidence that the poor black guy Guede has ever done drug dealing or burglary in Perugia or for that matter wielded a knife?

  • Is she aware that there is no REMOTELY feasible scenario under which a lone wolf like the poor black guy Guede could have done this crime all alone?

  • Is she aware that there is EXTENSIVE evidence that Knox and Sollecito rearranged the crime scene and moved Meredith’s body - while the poor black guy Guede was reliably reported at a disco?

There seems to be a nasty race card deliberately being played here to deflect blame from Amanda (remember Patrick Lumumba?) which Oprah’s staff should have picked up on in a mere 15 minutes of research.

This was the REAL story here - that blaming it all on the black guy is a theory that just doesn’t fly - and Oprah should have been onto this one like a hungry dog onto a bone.

Hopefully next time she will be.

Comments

A million-dollar tip here for any very smart TV network or any very smart TV host.  Get a camera and crew over to Italy like yesterday and into Rudy Guede’s cell.

We are hearing that Rudy Guede’s anger knows almost no bounds now at being framed for the entire crime. We reckon that he is close to telling all - given
a guarantee to make quite sure that he is kept alive.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/24/10 at 04:47 AM | #

Personally, I can’t see Rudy being the one to talk - He did the final deeds (rape & murder) - If anyone talks, it’ll be RS - he may not of actually even been there during the murder, but Amanda certainly was. RS is the one trying to cover for Amanda and helped in the cleanup. Amanda will be the last one to talk and even if everyone else does, she’ll not.

Posted by John on 02/24/10 at 09:52 AM | #

How is talking supposed to keep Rudy Guede alive? If I would be in his shoes I wouldn’t boast about “telling it all” because I would fear someone tries to muzzle me down before I have an opportunity to tell what I know. I at least would bear that in mind - just in case the last beating wasn’t a coincidence ...

Honestly, I don’t believe anything what any of these three convicted are saying. Thanks to their young age they received a very lenient sentence, despite the viciousness of their crime.

Posted by Nell on 02/24/10 at 10:21 AM | #

“We are hearing that Rudy Guede’s anger knows almost no bounds now at being framed for the entire crime. We reckon that he is close to telling all - given a guarantee to make quite sure that he is kept alive. “

I really hope that’s true.

Posted by mortytoad on 02/24/10 at 02:19 PM | #

Oprah should fire her fact-checkers! They obviously did not do their job and have perpetuated the sham of injustice, as well as embarrassing Oprah, whether or not she yet realizes it, to those of her audience that have any intelligence.  Heads should roll for this one, Oprah!

Posted by Mo-in-Mass.,USA on 02/24/10 at 02:21 PM | #

I noticed that Oprah was restraining herself a lot. You could see her check with off-camera advisers. She obviously was told by her producers that the Knoxes would never again be on her show if she was too inquisitive.

For Oprah, it is not about truth, it is about the number of viewers and good ratings.

The sobbing little sisters of Amanda and her parents provided her with just that.

This show was only relevant for the American audience that is not interested in the truth about what happened to Meredith, but about how horrible it is for parents and siblings to have an (innocent) daughter serving 26 years in a foreign country. Details don´t matter.

Very disturbing to watch for those that want true justice for Meredith Kercher.

Annoying to hear the same argument that Amanda was hit and mistreated by police officers. Why not file a complaint?

Most memorable sound bytes from the show by Curt and Edda: ¨Things are very different in Italy. Of course wrongful convictions happen here (in the US) but at least here you get a fair trial…¨

And then, later in the show, talking about the visits to Amanda in jail: ¨Things are very different there (in Italy), you actually get to hug her.¨

Indeed, a very humane way to treat convicted murderers, very unlike the situation in the US.

Posted by saskia on 02/24/10 at 08:19 PM | #

Oprah deserves whatever backlash she receives. She is “so important” now that she can rely on others to plan, investigate and prep her show for her that she doesn’t have to do anything intellectual (like actually read about the crime? Hello…...).

Just another worthless talking head like Larry King who cannot be bothered with the facts. And John? All 3 were complicit. There was no way that Rudy “did the final “deed” of murder” by himself.

Posted by tigger34 on 02/24/10 at 08:48 PM | #

@saskia

You nailed it! I never expected Oprah to be even remotely interested in “truth” and “justice”. Quite clear here what sells to the masses and what not. Anyway, its disgusting to be bombarded by the Knox/Mellas PR campaign day and night.

All this media circus turned out to be useless for Amanda’s “defence” and to “free” her from prison. There wasn’t anything new in this interview, no “revelations”. Same old story, over and over again.

While the Kerchers have to endure a life without their beloved daughter who was killed by Amanda Knox, the family of the murder lines their pockets by lying to the masses about the “non-existing evidence”. Freakin’ unbelievable.

Posted by Nell on 02/25/10 at 02:04 AM | #

I went to Oprah’s website and sent an email via the “contact us” link there.

I told them I think that they should invite the Kerchers and all the journalists that were present at the trial to come on the show and inform the audience, both in the studio and those watching at home, about all the actual EVIDENCE that was used to convict Knox, Sollecito and Guede. 

I also ranted about the poor fact checking and the fact that the show was being used as a forum to perpetuate the lies and insult the Italian judiciary system. 

Hopefully others will express to Oprah that in all fairness the opposing side should have its say on her show, for the sake of fairness and justice being served.

Posted by Mo-in-Mass.,USA on 02/25/10 at 05:47 AM | #

I suppose there is little distinction between “talk shows’’ and “reality TV”, with neither being (officially) scripted, and the escalation of emotion only adding to the coveted ” entertainment value”.

Didn’t Oprah’s shows originally have a “topic”? What was it for this episode, “Lying, Murdering, Drugged-up Co-eds and the Deluded Parents Who Love Them”?

Maybe the networks could offer the three sobbing sisters a reality show of their own.

Posted by mimi on 02/25/10 at 07:44 AM | #

I’m so tired and angry at comments about the italian jury not being ‘sequestrated’ giving the misleading inference that sequestration occurs in the US.

This is simply not true!

“Sequestration has fallen so far out of favor that judges rarely bother anymore. The current thinking is that isolating a jury causes more problems than it solves. For one, it can increase juror dropouts. Those with family responsibilities can’t stomach more than a few nights away from home, and they often end up leaving midcase due to “personal circumstances.” The departures, in turn, increase the likelihood of a mistrial. And there are serious concerns that the eagerness of jurors to return home could compel them to deliberate hastily.

When a judge does decide to sequester a jury, it’s often because there’s a critical piece of inadmissible material being discussed in the press—for example, a suppressed confession. Or there may be the threat of harassment from reporters, protesters, or the defendant’s criminal associates.

Less frequent nowadays is a sequestration based solely on the high-profile nature of a case; such reasoning became less popular after the 1995 O.J. Simpson trial, which featured a long sequestration that some legal observers regarded as counterproductive. “

Source:  http://www.slate.com/id/2091241/

I loved Curt’s line: ” .... over there you only get one side of the story.”

This would be so funny if it didn’t involve a young lost life.

Posted by Chan on 02/25/10 at 11:41 AM | #

Chan, thanks for the link to Slate. Yes, sequestration sure worked well for the OJ jury, didn’t it? They were sequestered for 266 days, and at the end of that time, they were so anxious to do a good job deliberating, it took them less than half a day to find a murderer not guilty.

But back to Oprah, you know, initially I was kind of sad to hear that this was her last season, but not anymore. She’s clearly become just another infotainment hack and has decided to phone it in for her last season. I never thought I’d see the day where Oprah would be pallin’ around (to coin a phrase) with the supporters of a female thug/sexual abuser/torturer/thrill killer. I thought part of the reason Oprah supported Obama was because she hated torture?

Oprah need only have gone to this one webpage kindly pointed out a few days ago by Pete, entitled “Italians Have Known for a Long Time how Depraved and Cruel the Final Struggle was.”

Oprah, time to hang up your hat. No need to keep phoning in your last season. Just say you wanted to take a long cruise in a short boat. Say you had to see a man about a horse. Whatever. Just get off the media stage if you’re going to foist sadistic little murdering co-eds and their ilk on us poor viewers.

And furthermore, the racial component.

Does Oprah not care about the fact that this young woman, this “milk-and-honey” White girl she’s defending, basically tried to FRAME a poor black guy for the murder SHE committed? Does Oprah not care that the victim herself was half-Asian? I guess Oprah’s now officially “White” herself. I guess that happens. Look at OJ.

Well, I’m pretty disgusted. I’ll probably go to the website and send an email, like Mo did, although I have serious doubts what difference it’ll make. Oprah, get over yourself and start enjoying your retirement. Your day is over….

Now, if only there were some young buck (or buckess) out there, trying to break into the talk show business, who would show the other side, that of the truth and justice? They might find a ready audience out there. I think people are tired of supporting disturbed women (or men), and letting them off the hook for their behavior.

Look at what happens when you do—you end up with Amy Bishop.

Posted by Earthling on 02/25/10 at 05:25 PM | #

Hopefully Oprah will do better next time? What next time?

Let’s hope she just walks away before she participates further in the shameful defiling of the memory of the victim by providing a free fundraising platform for one of the three people fairly tried and convicted of killing Meredith Kercher.

It is clear that Oprah did zero preparation for this show, and that she thinks flashing a photo of Meredith and inviting Lyle Kercher to say a word or two constitute balanced treatment. I applaud the Kerchers for their wisdom.

Real balance, as someone suggested, would have required representation of the facts of the case and a factual presentation of the Italian system of justice.

Posted by Skeptical Bystander on 02/25/10 at 05:57 PM | #

Hi Earthling. Yes Amy Bishop killed her own brother in 1986. She fired THREE blasts at him with a shotgun - and yet the DA ruled it an accident.

She has been in a series of violent episodes since - and now she is the suspect in a mass shooting.

Legal analyst Wendy Murphy had this to say: “Delahunt has yet to explain his decision to rule the case an accident when all the evidence EXCEPT the family’s inconsistent and biased statements, suggests the shooting was an intentional execution.”

So the family of Amy Bishop helped to get her sprung. To head out and eventually kill again.

If Amanda Knox is indeed a charming psychopath and if she took joy in Meredith’s killing, as her later remarks and behavior seem to suggest, she also could be a mortal risk to other people, right through to the end of her life.

Posted by Peter Quennell on 02/25/10 at 08:31 PM | #

Well said Earthling. All the things I think but, never say! Yes, Oprah, the great crusader for the downtrodden, poor and racially persecuted has just made herself “white” in my eyes. I, too, wish she would take the last train out of Dodge….....

Posted by tigger34 on 02/28/10 at 04:17 PM | #

This is one question (out of many) that Oprah should have asked Mrs. Mellas:

“Mrs. Mellas, on November 10, 2007 you were told by your daughter that Patrick Lumumba had nothing to do with this murder. She voluntarily gave out his name to the police only because Raffaele blew her alibi by saying that Amanda was not at his house with him from 9PM to 1AM on the night of the murder”.

“Why didn’t you inform the police, the prosecutor or the media that Patrick didn’t commit any crime and instead let an innocent man in jail for another 10 days? Weren’t you worried that an innocent man could have ended up spending at least 21 years in jail for a crime that both you and your daughter knew he did not commit?”

For the record: Patrick Lumumba was released 2 weeks after his arrest because he was cleared of any wrongdoings by prosecutor Mignini. Patrick was NOT released following Amanda’s confession of his innocence nor because Amanda’s mother revealed his innocence to the police. On the contrary, Mrs. Mellas knew he was not involved in this brutal crime and probably used him as a sacrificing victim, hoping to get her daughter released in exchange.

Posted by Cesare Beccaria on 03/02/10 at 03:33 AM | #

So diappointing, Oprah has publically exposed herself as someone who just doesn´t care anough to check the facts, or even worse, someone who knows perfectly well what´s going on but needs the ratings. Either way totally lacking in integrity and showing contempt for the public.

And how she managed to miss the setting up of two Black guys and the way the family have continued to use racist sterotypes to garner support from their perceived audience is beyond me. But who knows what was going on behind the scenes with lawyers? If Oprah didn´t take this on then who will?

The Guardian has also been on my never-to-be-trusted-again list for a while. Actually the British press as a whole. They seem to have forgotten that the victim´s family is part of their audience. What do they have to do to escape the Amanda sob stories and baby pics- leave the country? It´s deeply unfair and sad.

This forum and PMF give me hope. Fortunately there are some places and people that can´t be bought. You´re doing a really great job.

RIP Meredith Kercher

Posted by Clarissablue on 03/02/10 at 05:01 AM | #

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