Packaged as kind of a leading question, isn't it?

No, I expressed my opinion and asked others for theirs.

And if you'll notice, I did not ask for a review.

And if you'll notice, I did not ask for a review.

Are you saying you don't appreciate me commenting on the way you asked the question? I wasn't trying to be snarky. Come on, Jack. I'm beyond that with you. It's just that with your some of your loyal readership, the outcome becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy when you put it that way.

As for the case itself, I agree with you. It doesn't grab me. But as a lawyer, from a jurisprudence standpoint, the insights into the Italian criminal justice system are a little bit interesting.

There is only so much space in the printed media and valuable time available to the broadcast media for actual news. If they fill it with un-news, as in which movie star is sleeping with what movie star this coming weekend, we wont read or hear real news, like for example the upper echelon of the PPB being in Bangladesh for a week training their cops to be like Portland's, how to shoot unarmed citizens, stomp and beat a mentally ill person to death, and best of all, how to get a paid vacation while being investigated for DUII.
http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2011/10/portland_police_chief_mike_ree_5.html

At this point, cable news is like a television series produced by Steven Spielberg. The difference being, of course, that when in ratings trouble, Spielberg always punts with "preteen boys in peril" as an excuse for a lack of watchability. Substitute "preteen boys in peril" with "attractive American college-age girls in peril in foreign lands", and you have the main ratings engines for both CNN and Fox.

(The really sad part is that our complaining about it won't change. CNN made a big deal during the Anna Nicole Smith fiasco a few years back about how only 11 percent of its viewers were interested in even more coverage. The reason why the other 89 percent suffered, of course, was that the 11 percent were active customers of the crap CNN was advertising. It all comes down to the advertisers and whom they're trying to reach: in that regard, neither they nor cable news outlets give a fart in a high wind as to what the rest of us think.)

When these events involve victims who are American citizers (Awlaki, for example), they are ipso facto important to the US media, even though citizenship isn't especially relevant to the legal questions at issue. The biggest problem is that you just don't get much substance out of the reports. For the Knox case (why isn't it the Kircher case?) there is a good, in-depth review in Rolling Stone, and it is no less interesting an account of police and prosecutor bungling and misconduct than many closer to home that command our close attention.

Funny that the media have spent so much time on the Knox trial, while the stock market - which affects the pensions and retirement funds of most working Americans - is slipping into "Bear" territory.

The fact that a record number of votes were cast in American Idol's finale 97.5 million and for President of the US of A in 2008 were 66,760,924, kind of makes a statement as to our priorities, huh.

The fact that a record number of votes were cast in American Idol's finale 97.5 million and for President of the US of A in 2008 were 66,760,924, kind of makes a statement as to our priorities, huh.

I think it's legal to vote more than once on American Idol. I get your point, though.

At work yesterday someone received a text message about the exoneration, and wanted to know whether I thought she was innocent.

My question was- Amanda who?

It really pays not to watch TV or listen to the radio, seriously. Bloggers, Youtube, Netflix, and the library are so much more relevant and satisfying.

I was interested, because it reminds me to teach my daughters to never talk to the police. Even in far off and romantic locations, cops lie. Shut your mouth and call a lawyer!

Um, Amanda Knox is the one who lied. Repeatedly. And one of her lies almost put her employer, a Mr. Lumumba, in prison for the rest of his life.

And--forgot to mention, before someone brings up the canard that the Italian police forced her to accuse Lumumba--He spent two weeks in jail before getting released. And when he was released, it wasn't because Knox manifested a conscience, it was because an alibi witness came forward.

Sorry to go off topic. To answer your original question, I've obviously spent too much time following the case, only because I've been fascinated by the bizarre rationalizations people keep making for this murderess.

Neil Anderson

The local CBS affiliate in Eugene actually broke into the CBS Evening News with the alert that "Amanda Knox has touched down in Seattle!". The ABC and NBC stations gave it a "ho hum" report as they should have. Seattle's own Lizzie Borden!

You'd be surprised at how many people really do care about this stuff.