Comments on Crazy Days and Nights: Don't Give Him Bail - And Why Gore Vidal Is The Mo...

@HudsonJoe - well said. WBotW does have serious an...

2009-11-03T10:59:44.794-08:00

@HudsonJoe - well said. WBotW does have serious anger issues.

@HudsonJoe I find it really ironic that you jump ...

2009-11-03T10:51:16.798-08:00

@HudsonJoe

I find it really ironic that you jump on WbotW in regards to reading skills when you obviously misread my earlier posts, lol. But we won't kick the hive any further.

I will say though that I don't think i'll be taking advice from someone ("Do your homework before you start forming opinions or commenting.!") who can't even form complete sentences:

"Polanski plead guilty to a single reduced charge in return for a reduced but undetermined."

Have a lovely day.

No prob. In the book, though, Lolita seduces the...

2009-11-03T10:41:41.062-08:00

No prob.

In the book, though, Lolita seduces the older man, doesnt she? And is described as "sexually precocious"

Linnea, actually a Lolita or Nymph according to Na...

2009-11-03T08:43:22.180-08:00

Linnea, actually a Lolita or Nymph according to Nabokov's famous novel is definitely not highly developed, sexual or seducing. They don't even know their appeal to men. They don't have breasts, pubic hair or a sex drive yet.
But I didn't use that word in the novel's context here either, so it seems to be misleading, I agree.
I just meant that she might have been tought by her mother to play the underage seducer to earn money for them or get ahead in the show business.

I just think that something about that story smells fishy to me.

I mean that even before he had the chance to have intercourse with her there were a few occasions on which she would have been able to tell her mother and prevent this from happening to her. But she didn't.

But, how many times do you think a 13-year old should say no to a man much, much older and more powerful than her before it counts as rape?.

But that's exactly what I find odd.
According to the transcript she never mentioned that he threatened her either verbally or physically. If I would have a photo shoot with an older man who tells me to take off my shirt and I wouldn't really want to but obeyed after the second time he'd asked me to due to being scared that he could harm me, I sure as hell would have told my mom and would have never gone out with that man for a second photo shoot again.

I just can't help it. There's more to the story than what we get to know.
Again, not to say that Polanski isn't guilty of molesting her. He should have known his boundaries.

Thanks for not jumping down my throat, Linnea. :)

Gladys, Harriet and others: I completely agree wit...

2009-11-03T06:35:18.823-08:00

Gladys, Harriet and others: I completely agree with you.

Mina - dont apologize, I understand your questions. But, how many times do you think a 13-year old should say no to a man much, much older and more powerful than her before it counts as rape?

Also, I seriously think the existance of "Lolitas" (young girls, highly developed and sexual, trying to seduce older men) is made up by men who are attracted to young girls and are looking for an excuse to rape them.

I'm sorry, but I've read that transcript and I hap...

2009-11-03T06:09:58.664-08:00

I'm sorry, but I've read that transcript and I happened to find a few things quite odd.
Roman met with that girl twice. At the first meeting he drove her to a hill or something and after a while he asked her to take off her shirt. The first time she answered 'No' and after Roman asked her again she took off her shirt and let him do the photos. What I don't understand is that if this was the point at which she felt already threatened by/scared of him then why didn't she say something to her mother and voluntarily let him take this kind of pictures of her a second time instead?
Also, almost everytime he asked her to do something (taking off her clothes and join him in the tub) or offered her the pills and champagne she firstly said no to him but shortly after he asked again she agreed immediately and did what he asked her to. She didn't even say that he forced her to do things, he just asked. And he only had to ask twice. She also said that she talked to her mother on the phone while being in that house with Polanski.

I'm sorry again, but I think that she was some kind of teenage Lolita and that her mother 'offered' her to Polanski in exchange of money or a career. I think that the girl was aware of that deal too and was probably going to get her share of it.
Something must have gone wrong. Maybe Polanski broke the deal by not paying enough or whatever.

Don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that he's not guilty of taking advantage of that girl, but I think that at least her mother should be questioned about her part in that incident too.

I am so sad to read that Gore Vidal said this--he ...

2009-11-03T00:48:09.801-08:00

I am so sad to read that Gore Vidal said this--he writes some of the most insightful, funny political essays I've ever read. But he's dead wrong on this issue and also proves himself to be misogynistic and callous. I will never be able to read him again.

THANK YOU ENTY FOR TAKING WOMEN/YOUNG GIRLS'S SIDE...

2009-11-02T22:40:28.490-08:00

THANK YOU ENTY FOR TAKING WOMEN/YOUNG GIRLS'S SIDES. so many people think that just because you made some good movies and have powerful friends you should be forgiven. I wanted to throw up a couple years back during the academy awards when polanksi was nominated and he got a standing ovation by people in the audience including nicole kidman and other prominent celebrities! Thats when I stopped watching the awards show knowing that I probably have a higher level of education then half those actresses/actors. Thank you community college for instilling a good moral compass in me!

@WBotW First off WBotW good mouth. Second you ne...

2009-11-02T20:45:46.990-08:00

@WBotW

First off WBotW good mouth.

Second you need to learn how to read. I never told him he could not form an opinion. What I did say was to get the basic fact at issue correct before stating an opinion in a public forum.

Third where do you get off call the girl's mother a pimp? Did you read the grand jury testimony? You can accuse her of poor judment. But if you are going to call her a pimp you are going to have to call every stage parent in the world a pimp.

WBotW, you really need to address what ever your unlying issues are that generates such anger.

Who gives a rat's rear what GV says? We've all se...

2009-11-02T20:32:16.273-08:00

Who gives a rat's rear what GV says? We've all seen the testimony and know exactly what happened. He needs to evolve from the Jurassic era.
Because of the way things were then, we now have laws that protect children.

We're not talking about her mother. Her mother is...

2009-11-02T20:12:55.793-08:00

We're not talking about her mother. Her mother is a different issue. We're talking about her offender -- the one who drugged, raped and sodomized her.

Why is it when the emphasis is put on the one who perpetrated the crime, the global pedo apologist brigade gets nervous?

Fuck yourself HudsonJoe! Who the hell are YOU to t...

2009-11-02T19:49:16.828-08:00

Fuck yourself HudsonJoe! Who the hell are YOU to tell empyrios when he/she may have the privilege of forming an opinion?

Kudos to you empyrios for sticking to your opinion and going against the lemmings who live on Enty's bandwagon.

I still would like to know where the hate is for Samantha's pimp. Remember her? The kid's MOTHER who pimped her little girl out?
That skank is even more guilty than Polanski, as she is the one who pretty much giftwrapped her child for this man.

Our justice system may be imperfect, but no one be...

2009-11-02T18:47:54.572-08:00

Our justice system may be imperfect, but no one beat him into entering a guilty plea.

I have very vague memories hearing about this when...

2009-11-02T16:27:33.107-08:00

I have very vague memories hearing about this when I was growing up and the story that was splashed around was that she was 14, consented to every act and was not coerced in any way. Even were this story true and she had she consented, the fact that she was 13 makes this more than some simple trumped up "morals" charge a la the sin of cohabitation. The truth however is more sinister as he had to ply her with drugs and alcohol and she was still staying no. That makes this rape, not statutory rape.

As a Jew, the only thing I find more offensive than using his family history/WWII as some sort of defense, is claiming the charges are a result of antisemitism. The charges against Leo Frank had their root in antisemitism; the charges against Roman Polanski are based on criminal activities he admitted to engaging in.

@empyrios What rock did you crawl out from under? ...

2009-11-02T14:54:32.781-08:00

@empyrios What rock did you crawl out from under? You make a complete hash of the basic facts.

1.) There was nothing shady or dodgy about the trial because there was none. Polanski plead guilty to a single reduced charge in return for a reduced but undetermined. That obviated the need for a trial.

If there was anything shady at that time it was the deference shown Polanski, in the forms of the reduced charges and being allowed to travel to Europe to complete a movie while still on bail.

2.) In our legal system the state is the victim not Ms Geimer and has the sole right to determine if this case goes on.

Do your homework before you start forming opinions or commenting.!

Another disturbing account detailed in the film ha...

2009-11-02T14:45:51.643-08:00

Another disturbing account detailed in the film has now been revealed to be a lie. While the excerpt follows, if you're interested, check out the full story at
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-polanski25-2009oct25,0,5115267.story?page=1

"The film delved into the allegations against Rittenband. Dalton and Gunson recalled private meetings in which the judge told them what to argue at the sentencing hearing, even as his decision was already made. Another prosecutor, David Wells, said he was constantly in the judge's ear about the case and planted the idea of the psychiatric study at Chino.

"Polanski's attorneys jumped on Wells' statements as the key basis for a full-throttle push to have the case thrown out -- their first public move in 30 years.

"They had now cleared every obstacle they could. They had the victim on their side. They had Wells. They had Gunson saying the judge acted in bad faith. They even had a transcript of the filmmaker's interview with Richard Doyle, one of current Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley's bureau directors, saying he believed Rittenband abused his authority. (Doyle also said he thought Polanski's crime was "extremely calculated. . . . I don't think he had any intention of doing a photo spread of the girl.")

...

"On Sept. 22, Cooley drafted a warrant for his arrest. Polanski, now 76, was arrested four days later while getting off the airplane in Zurich.

"Four days after that, Wells told the media he made up the stories in the documentary about Rittenband. "I'd like to speak of it as an inept statement but the reality is that it was a lie."

Samantha Geimer has also said she wants the charge...

2009-11-02T14:41:40.844-08:00

Samantha Geimer has also said she wants the charges to be dropped as everytime the media talks about rape she is affected mentally and emotionally. Can't say I blame her. that being said Roman Polanski is a rapist and pedophile. I don't care how mature she looked the girl was 13 years old. 13. Its disgusting that people are actually supporting him. If he wasn't famous it wouldn't even be a thought in anyone's head.

Empyrios: Samantha Geimer has no legal standing ...

2009-11-02T14:22:28.870-08:00

Empyrios: Samantha Geimer has *no* legal standing to request that the charges be dismissed. It's the District Attorney's office that is prosecuting Polanski for his crime and his flight. Victims rarely influence DAs when the offenders have lived for 30 years in luxury after having confessed to the crime.

And he never paid Geimer the $500K settlement they reached in a civil suit. What an upstanding guy...

In all seriousness, the legal issues dovetail with the moral issues and outrage that people are expressing. We have laws precisely because children (and that's what a 13 year-old girl is) do not have the capacity or reasoning ability to make decisions that will/could forever change their lives.

Anti-Semitism might have been more rampant in the 1970s, but I doubt that most of us who are calling for his extradition and punishment have an anti-semitic bone in our bodies. I hate all child rapists.

Probably the reason Polanski fled was because he k...

2009-11-02T14:21:46.534-08:00

Probably the reason Polanski fled was because he knows what happens to Pedophiles in prison.

Another prime example of Hollywood being completel...

2009-11-02T14:10:14.204-08:00

Another prime example of Hollywood being completely out of touch with reality.

unbelievable! i'm so glad he was denied bail. i, l...

2009-11-02T13:58:20.501-08:00

unbelievable! i'm so glad he was denied bail. i, like everyone else here, become more outraged every time i read about this...it's insane. and what kind of human vomit equates that 13 yr old w/ a "young hooker"?! what a pos vidal is.

I've mentioned this before but as someone who is h...

2009-11-02T13:40:19.776-08:00

I've mentioned this before but as someone who is half-Polish and who has regular contact with family in Poland, there are very few playing the "foreigner in the US" card there and those that do, aren't worth listening to.

How dare anyone suggest he shouldn't get the sentence that was given out all those years ago because he doesn't feel like it? What a crock. The victim may want it to go away but nonetheless he hasn't paid his debt to society and bailing him, for however much it is, is as good as condoning what he did.

No child, because that's what she was, should have gone through such an experience and let's be honest, it's hardly likely to have been the first time he's had inappropriate feelings towards teenagers. Just look at his previous relationships.

Well, Gore, take your accusations of anti-semitism...

2009-11-02T13:33:16.536-08:00

Well, Gore, take your accusations of anti-semitism and climb back under your rock with them, too. America treasures our Jews. That's why so many of them are successful and lauded by the public for wonderful things in the arts and sciences and beyond. That one, however, is a child rapist. Usually, powerful, rich people get a free ride, a la OJ. He didn't. He didn't even have the balls of OJ. He ran. Disgusting.

if Samantha Geimer doesn't think he deserves to be...

2009-11-02T13:31:44.878-08:00

if Samantha Geimer doesn't think he deserves to be "hung from the highest tree", then why would you? she was there. you weren't.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/09/polanskis-cause-has-a-backer-in-his-victim-.html

Okay, from a legal standpoint, HE CONFESSED. That...

2009-11-02T13:29:41.895-08:00

Okay, from a legal standpoint, HE CONFESSED.
That's what all this bullshit is really all about. He confessed to his crime in exchange for a plea deal that would have let him just do time served, and the judge in the case said "no fucking way" because it was a THIRTEEN YEAR OLD CHILD and he wanted Polanski to answer for the crime.
Polanski ran to France where he's been sitting ever since, proverbially thumbing his nose at the American judicial system.
I'm all for "innocent until proven guilty" but the SOB CONFESSED.
In my eyes, that kinda takes away the whole "innocent until proven guilty" argument.