Michael Jackson was found not guilty!!  Celebrate.  He claimed that the boy and his mother were trying to get money - that's why Jay Leno testified also, because she tried to blackmail him also.  Please, just respect the system and give up the accusations against Michael.  He was found not guilty on all 10 counts.

What is Justice?  The dictionary defines it as

1. The quality of being just; fairness.
2. The principle of moral rightness; equity.
3. Conformity to moral rightness in action or attitude; righteousness.
4. The upholding of what is just, especially fair treatment and due reward in accordance with honor, standards, or law.
5. Law. The administration and procedure of law.
6. Conformity to truth, fact, or sound reason: The overcharged customer was angry, and with justice.

With that definition in mind, what is justice when it comes to Karla Homolka??  For those who may not remember what all the fuss is about - a brief recap....

She was Paul Bernardo's wife and partner in crime.  Paul committed his first known rape in May 1987.  The met in 1987 and became engaged on Christmas Eve, 1989.  In 1990, Paul turned to cigarrette smuggling to make money when he lost his job at an accounting firm.  In July 1990, Paul and Karla drug her younger sister, Tammy, with Valium that Karla stole from her workplace, then Paul rapes her briefly before she wakes up.  Later that year, in November, Paul is first questioned as part of the investigation into the police's investigation into the Scarborough Rapist cases.  At this point, alarm bells should have started going off.  On December 23, 1990, just 2 days before Christmas, Paul and Karla again drug and rape Tammy, this time with animal tranqs that Karla took from work again.  Obviously, pre-planning went into this assault; the police say that Karla took a more active role in this rape.  Tammy died on her own vomit after this rape, just 2 days to Christmas, at the hands of her own sister and fiance.  Just a few weeks later, Paul picks up a hitchhiker and rapes her, but somewhat luckily, he decided to drop her back off on the street.  As difficult as rape is to live with at least she is alive to tell her tale, unlike Paul and Karla's other victims.  On June 14, 1991 Paul kidnaps Leslie Mahaffy and together with Karla, she is raped and murdered.  On June 29th, Paul and Karla get married in a lavish ceremony.  On the same day, police were making a grissly discover of Leslie Mahaffy, encased in concrete in the lake.  THE VERY SAME DAY!!!  On April 16, 1992, almost a year later,  Paul and Karla kidnap Kristen French from a St. Catherine's Lutheran church parking lot.  This is the same church where I have attended several youth events.  I have stood in the parking lot having a cigarrette alone in the dead of night.  Perhaps, that's part of the reason I feel so passionate - there is a level of familarity with the situation, even from several hours away.  Perhaps, it's just the fact that my name is Lesley also and it could be my parents or any parents in the same situation.

Kristen French was found on April 30th, with her hair cut off, naked in a ditch.  She had been raped, tortured and murdered.  In December 1992,  The Centre of Forensic Sciences started testing the DNA that Paul had given in 1990.  Why would it take 2 years to test samples when there was an open case of a serial rapist, and 2 unsolved murders (Tammy's death was declared accidental)?  I understand that police are busy with a variety of investigations, but doesn't the delay sound rather lengthy?  I'd love to know stats on the Scarborough Rapist, aka Paul Bernardo, during the 2 years that police had the DNA evidence in their own hands and did nothing.  January 1993, Karla is beaten by Paul and leaves him.  I will not dispute whether she was an abused woman or not, she was a willing accomplice by her own admission on occasion.  On February 17, 1993, Paul was arrested, however he requested a call for a lawyer and the police denied it.  He was questioned for 8hrs, none of it is admissible because the police violated his rights.  A search warrant was issued for Paul and Karla's home on February 19th.  The police searched the home for 71 days - SEVENTY ONE DAYS!!! - but never found the video tapes of the rapes of Kristen French, Leslie Mahaffy, Tammy Homolka and Jane Doe.  There were video tapes in the house and the police didn't find them in 71 days!  I don't know about you, but my house could be torn apart brick by brick in 71 days and I'm being serious.   I have some serious questions about the police investigation, as I'm sure many of you reading do now, if you didn't before.  On May 6, 1993, Paul's lawyer, Ken Murray, gains access to the home and takes the tapes.  They were hidden above a ceiling light fixture in the couple's bedroom.  He then hid them for 16months.  Based upon these missing tapes, the crown felt they were doing the right thing making a deal with an abused wife, Karla, to get the "evil husband", Paul, in jail for the protection of the community.  The deal with Karla, also known as the "Deal with the Devil", was put in place later in May.  In July 1993, Karla pleads guilty to 2 counts of manslaughter and is given a 12yr sentence, which is being completed next month.  In September 1994, Ken Murray quits as Paul's lawyer and gives the tapes to the new defense counsel, John Rosen, who then gives them to the police where they are used by the crown in the trial again Paul Bernardo in late spring 1995.  Perhaps, Paul got the raw end of the deal since his lawyer was the one that ultimately turned them in to police (after the previous lawyer held them for 16months - hell, that's longer than I've held some jobs!)  Paul Bernardo is sentenced to life in prison without the possiblity of parole for 25yrs on September 15, 1995.  Then in November 1995 Paul is declared a dangerous offender, meaning he can be kept in jail indefinitely.  Ken Murray is charged with obstruction of justice and possession of child porn for the tapes in January 1997 - serves him right - they were violent kiddy porn rape and snuff tapes!!

Anyways, back to the question of justice.  Is justice served when a killer serves her sentence and then is released back into society, whether she is remorse or not?  Is justice served when a killer gets good deal based on evidence that was hid for 16months by her husband's lawyer?  Or is justice served when the public feels safe?  It's hard to tell families that their children's deaths are only worth 4 yrs a piece, not taking into account the rape of Jane Doe.  When will our justice system start serving justice, not just defending the rights of the criminals. 

Jeopardy should not be attached to a trial when the lawyer is convicted of wrong doing criminal activity related to the particular case.  The legal system should be able to toss the deal out the window, since it was only made in good faith on one side.  The Crown was working with the evidence at hand, Karla knew she was getting a good deal based on what she could be facing had the videos came out prior to her deal being finalized. 

Someone who raped and murdered 3 young women, including her own sister, should not be allowed out into the public until at least a decent amount of time has been served.  And honestly, if Paul Bernardo is a dangerous offender, why isn't Karla Homolka?

I'm sure everyone has seen the pictures released of Saddam Hussein in his underwear and also in a robe.  Did anyone else do a double take when they heard Bush's response??

A little background ... The pictures were released by someone within the US Military and were taken about a year ago.  Military officials are launching a full investigation into how it happened but the damage has been done.  The Sun (who first published the pictures) said they were given to them to print as a way to demoralize the remaining resistance.  However, interviews with people in the Middle East see this as the mistreatment of a president and prisoner of war, no matter what you think of his politics (and torture record).  The Geneva convention states:

Under Articles 13 and 14 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions III Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, POWs "must at all times be protected ... against insults and public curiosity," and also "are entitled in all circumstances to respect for their persons and their honor." (quote from CNN website).

But why should that slow the Americans down - they're still saying that the combatants held in Cuba are not POW's and should not have the protection that accorded to them. 

President Bush was asked Friday whether photos of Saddam -- as well as the now-retracted Newsweek story about military interrogators flushing a Quran down a toilet -- serve to inspire opposition in the Muslim world.

He said, "I don't think a photo inspires murderers. I think they're inspired by an ideology that is so barbaric and backwards that it's hard for many in the Western world to comprehend how they think."

Now is that last statement racist or inflamatory??  It hit me that way but I think the major problem is that he said it before checking with his daddy to see if it was okay.