Meredith Kercher: Friends Left Her to Die

Arline Kercher, Meredith's mother, being comforted at a trial in Perugia, Italy. (Source: AP photo by Antonio Calanni)


At this very moment there are millions of people suffering immensely -- children orphaned in Iraq, kidnapped children prostituted in the United States, refugees under attack as they seek refuge, and millions of people starving worldwide.

But somehow, a sensational trial grips international attention and everybody forgets about the bigger, sadder things happening in the world because it's easier to grasp just one person's fate and follow that story to its end.

The murder trial of 21-year-old Meredith Kercher -- she would have been 22 this year, but her age will forever be 21 now -- is front page news in many places around the world and it's hard to fathom why. Though it's equally hard to fathom why not: a young girl was brutalized and tortured by her comrades in her own home -- and left to die.

Over the past year, Kercher's roommate -- 21-year-old Amanda Knox of the United States -- and Knox's 2-week old boyfriend 24-year-old Raffaelle Sollecito, and their drug dealer 21-year-old Rudy Guede have all 3 done everything they can to avoid any responsibility for the loss of this young lady. And not one of them at any time took any action to help her in any way.

Today, it has been announced that Guede is guilty of Kercher's murder and of sexual assault -- the judge has sentenced him to 30 years in prison. In addition the judge formally charged Knox and Sollecito of murder and sexual assault and the added charge of theft -- Guede was relieved of any charges of theft -- and announced their trial would commence December 4th.

But the one detail that nobody has yet mentioned in the news coverage of this entire trial is the one question that is on everybody's mind, not how could these people have done this, not why they are trying their best to diminish any responsibility for it, but how anyone could knowingly leave someone to die like this.

In legal terms would they be in less trouble if they had tried to at least save her by calling an ambulance? It seems likely: she may well have survived and then this wouldn't have been a murder trial as it is now. Is this about legal terms or about moral terms? It would be about moral terms if these 3 individuals were actually normal people but as the trial has proceeded it has become more and more apparent that Knox is some sort of raging sociopath, Sollecito has strange emotional and mental issues and Guede is the only one of the 3 that has any idea that what he did was wrong.

So today we will blame Guede because he is normal and he could have done something. Perhaps tomorrow we will find out more about why Knox did this and why she doesn't seem to have any remorse and why Sollecito was obviously a disturbed young man but his family and the few friends he had did not bother to notice until it was too late.

The only thing we do know for sure is that these 3 young people were all secretly living miserable lives and Meredith Kercher was the one who sacrificed her life to let the world know.


For the latest Saccharinist coverage of Selection '08 click here.

Austria's Haider Was Gay, Lover Admits

Petzner, right, admitted this week that he and Haider had been together for 5 years.

Why is it always the hateful, bigoted, angry white politicians who are fiercely closeted gays?

The latest conservative homosexual was outed posthumously this week when Austria's neo-nazi poster boy Joerg Haider was outed by his lover of 5 years, his replacement party leader Stefan Petzner.

"He was the man of my life," Petzner said this week of Haider, adding that Haider's wife and the mother of his two children was comfortably aware of their "special relationship."

This could explain why 58-year-old Haider was caught drinking in a gay bar shortly before he took off the drunk driving spree that cost him his life. Petzner, 27, has now been fired from his position as successor to Haider of the neo-nazi party -- whose platform, amongst other things, stood against homosexuality -- for outing Haider.

Note to the public: be wary of the most vile of your politicians -- they are probably huge hypocrites who do exactly the opposite of everything they tell you to do.

Hmmm....hateful, bigoted, angry white politician....who's next to be outed? John McCain anyone?

For the latest Saccharinist coverage of Selection '08 click here.

Karl Rove Citizen's Arrest in San Francisco: Video of Herr Rover Shoving a Lady

The latest event in Karl Rove's political schedule was another attempted citizen's arrest.

Following up on the July 25, 2008 Karl Rove Citizen's arrest in Iowa, this week, a 58-year-old woman protester, Janine Boneparth of the commendable organization Code Pink, attempted to slide handcuffs on Herr Rover -- an ingenious direct action citizen's arrest attempt.

As usual, the citizen attempting an arrest was rebuffed by the law -- though not without a harsh shove by Herr Rover himself. Nothing like beating up girls to make a boy feel tough, eh?

Watch video here as the Herr Karl Rovermeister actually shoves a lady in the gut on stage with a live audience! (the Shover is at 0:34)

Shameless -- but we already knew that.

Sounds like one more offense to add to his long list of violent behaviors against humanity.

This is just weeks after over 300 protesters and concerned Americans detained Rove for crimes against humanity at an event in Claremont, California.

Impressive work by concerned and active citizens. Yes, most criminals do get away with horrific crimes against humanity (anybody still remember Henry "Genocidal Maniac" Kissinger?)

At least this one isn't getting off so easy.


For the latest Saccharinist coverage of Selection '08 click here.

Just Palin Nasty: Corruption & Destruction in Wasilla

Sometimes (read: most times) the best source of news isn't the mainstream media, but the people themselves.

If you already understand that Sarah Palin is a divisive, hate-filled, unknowledgeable, unintelligent, high school bitch, that's great news America.

But if you still don't get how horrible she is (and the fact that she and her friends were the ones who made your life miserable in high school), then watch this off-the-cuff interview with two Alaskans who know Palin and know what she has done to Alaska and what she could do to America and the world.

Incredibly, as mayor of the little town (village would be a better term) of Wasilla (population just over 6,000 -- that's right! she was the mayor of a town with a population less than a Yanni concert audience) she managed to destroy it.

-- she mowed down hundreds of acres of untouched woodland to create a mega Wal-mart in this village that is big enough to serve suburban Chicago and is the biggest Wal-mart in the entire state.

-- she used 27 million dollars in earmarks (which she obtained through her Washington lobbyist friends) to build, amongst other things, a mega sports complex for this village -- a complex that even metropolitan places like San Francisco don't even have -- which was actually built on someone else's land. Then she left town before Wasilla's Multi-Use Sports Complex was finished and left the burden for Wasillans to deal with -- including a $72,000 shortfall in the town's library budget. No surprise there.

-- to make space for her mega sports complex and the mega parking lots for it and the Wal-mart she mowed down hundreds more acres of beautiful natural woodland, some of which she had not even required the proper rights to.

-- she ruined the camping and cabin atmosphere of what used to be a popular Alaska destination for nature and relaxation

This woman is dangerous and her beauty-pagaent credentials seem to have a dummy effect on the old white geezers of Washington (McCain anyone?).

Beauty is the Beast folks -- don't be fooled by Sarah Palin's fauxksy accent and lipsmacking enthusiasm.


For the latest Saccharinist coverage of Selection '08 click here.