A Stiff-Trunked Elephant...

In the inappropriate children's pop-up book category...we have a winner!

I guess this means that I will be paying a little bit more attention the next time that I buy a pop-up book for Will. The question though "how did the editorial and publishing process not pick up on this image?"

By the way, why is the elephant pink? I cannot ever recall seeing a pink elephant. The fact that it is pink...nah!

These were the words that were with The Huffington Post article: Children's Book Fail, Fail, Inappropriate Kids Book, Inappropriate Pop Up Book, Phallic Pop Up Book, Poll, Pop Up Book Fail, WTF, WTF Pop Up Book, Comedy News. I wonder whether anyone will end up here searching those terms?

Ho hum...

Pink -- The Grammys...

Pink always puts on a good show. A ticket to the Grammys just to see Pink perform would have been worth its weight in gold, at least to me.

Enjoy the photos of the Grammys performance (nice tattoos).

Can Rape Be A Joke? -- The Follow-Up...

In a follow-up to an earlier post that discussed this particular case and whether or not rape could be a joke, the jury has come back with a verdict. The rape itself might not have been a joke, but it seems that the jury has been convinced that it was accidental. The jury consisted of six men and six women and they took just shy of two hours to reach their verdict of "not guilty".

The prosecutor, Kieran Gilligan, instructed the jury that they must be satisfied that there was penetration, that is was deliberate, that there was no consent, and that Naggs knew that the man was not consenting to any penetration.

The man who claimed that he had been raped was a willing participant in the events and had said something to the effect of "Be gentle. Don't do it too hard." I am guessing that probably sealed it for most of the jurors.

The jury acquitted Naggs and she is free to return to what she has apparently been doing for the past thirteen years, and doing quite well by all accounts.

So, the lesson from this case would seem to be that rape is not a joke, but in a very particular set of circumstances a rape could be accidental and therefore not rape. I think.

Can Rape Be A Joke?

Can rape be a joke or perhaps an accident? The Victorian County Court, before Judge Tim Wood, is soon going to have to determine this very issue. The case involves a buck's night, the best man, a stripper, and a strap-on pink dildo. Yes, the makings of a very interesting story and turn of events that have resulted in claims of rape and the rape being nothing more than a joke.

The rape is alleged to have occurred in 2007. Perhaps alleged is the wrong word as the event occurred and all parties agree that it occurred. The substance of this issue is whether the event is rape.

The stripper, Linda Maree Naggs, is accused of using the strap-on pink dildo to violate the best man. After unequivocally stating that he did not want to have the dildo stuck in his anus, Naggs went ahead and did it anyway. This was done in spite of his insistence that he did not want to be violated. It has always been a case of "No" means "No" when one discusses the wishes of a woman declining sexual intercourse. Simply, "No" does not sometimes mean "Yes" or "Maybe" or "just do it as I am only playing hard to get." No means no, and this standard must not differ between women and men.

Naggs has pleaded not guilty to rape.

There is little need to get into the nitty gritty details and specifics. However, suffice to say, the alleged rape caused physical injuries to the best man. And, at this point there was some push and shove, and a demand for a refund of the stripping fee. Naggs refused and then threatened to call in some bikie acquaintances to settle the matter.

The best man kept the black-strapped strap-on pink dildo as evidence and this was tendered to the court.

Rape can never be a joke!

Postscript...

This post has been amended slightly from the original posting for the purposes of accuracy with regards to the names of victim and the prosecutor in the case.