A place for the discussion of all things not closely related to the sport and its competitive side. (Locked down several times a year during the major championships)
Pretoria - SA police have denied leaking critical information about the Oscar Pistorius murder case which appeared in two Sunday newspapers.
"I don't know where people got these stories," lieutenant colonel Katlego Mogale told Sapa.
"Currently we haven't issued a statement or spoken to anyone."
On Sunday, the City Press reported that through "in-depth interviews" with sources "close" to the police investigation, it could reveal that a bloodied cricket bat found at Pistorius' home was going to be a key piece of evidence in court.
Much as you may like to think otherwise, the article you link to actually indicates that the City Press story is accurate, and did, in fact, come from police sources. From the same article you quote:
The police's Mogale said she was "not at liberty" to say whether the leaked information was actually from the police docket.
"We can neither confirm nor deny [this]."
She said the leakage was "very serious" and an investigation would take place to discover who had been the sources giving information to the media."
I believe that falls into the category of a "non-denial denial."
Brian wrote:Between the sad goings-on with Pistorius and Favor-Hamilton, et al, the past few months, I find myself yearning for a near future when athletes are only making news on the track, not off it.
From this morning's news I was connecting Favor-Hamilton with Jesse Jackson Jr., both famous folks with mental issues who exhibited outrageous and reckless behavior.
bad hammy wrote:iain clearly needs to meet a few more Americans.
Brian wrote:Between the sad goings-on with Pistorius and Favor-Hamilton, et al, the past few months, I find myself yearning for a near future when athletes are only making news on the track, not off it.
From this morning's news I was connecting Favor-Hamilton with Jesse Jackson Jr., both famous folks with mental issues who exhibited outrageous and reckless behavior.
A good comparison. Neither of which deserves mention in the context of murder.
bad hammy wrote:From this morning's news I was connecting Favor-Hamilton with Jesse Jackson Jr., both famous folks with mental issues who exhibited outrageous and reckless behavior.
A good comparison. Neither of which deserves mention in the context of murder.
Didn't mean to imply that they (Pistorius and SFH/JJjr) were on the same level, in fact did not mention OP in my comment. It was a tangential comment based on another post and current events. And it's not exactly as if our discussion here is going to solve the case and any tangents are just slowing us from finding the real killer!
As far as the leaks go, many South African police are easily bribed. I'm sure the press is having no problem getting details of the investigation. Of course they should not be taken as facts until they are presented in trial, but there's nothing to indicate that they are coming out of thin air either.
bad hammy wrote:From this morning's news I was connecting Favor-Hamilton with Jesse Jackson Jr., both famous folks with mental issues who exhibited outrageous and reckless behavior.
A good comparison. Neither of which deserves mention in the context of murder.
Didn't mean to imply that they (Pistorius and SFH/JJjr) were on the same level, in fact did not mention OP in my comment. It was a tangential comment based on another post and current events. And it's not exactly as if our discussion here is going to solve the case and any tangents are just slowing us from finding the real killer!
Yes--I was agreeing with your perspective. I didn't do a great job, apparently. Hopefully, all the brilliant comments here will solve this crime in short order.
polevaultpower wrote:As far as the leaks go, many South African police are easily bribed. I'm sure the press is having no problem getting details of the investigation. Of course they should not be taken as facts until they are presented in trial, but there's nothing to indicate that they are coming out of thin air either.
because police across the rest of the world are whiter than white
you're obsessive need to try and make excuses is actually rather offensive
Media are reporting steroids found in his house and suggesting "roid rage" may have a part to play, possibly following a text she received from a South African rugby player and former boyfriend.
Daisy wrote:Is roid rage actually real? Could it possibly be a defense for what happened?
If anything it could be an incriminating factor, especially if steroids are illegal in South Africa. When you harm somebody while under the influence of an illegal substance, or a substance that is illegal to consume under the circumstances (e.g. alcohol and driving), the penalties are increased. For example, if the car you're driving kills somebody and it's found that you were DUI, you're getting locked up for manslaughter, you're not just facing a lawsuit like what would happen with a sober driver.
Now perhaps an argument over "roid rage" which is amping up on other sites. Is it a genuine phenomenon? Do steroids merely accentuate already present behavioral problems? Enquiring minds....
Daisy wrote:Is roid rage actually real? Could it possibly be a defense for what happened?
Perhaps Pego could enlighten us.
Based on my own limited experiences, my opinion is that yes, roid rage is possible, and I've personally witnessed personality changes and possible "roid rage" symptoms in anabolic steroid users... I'll wait for Pego and other medical professionals to comment though.
Daisy wrote:Is roid rage actually real? Could it possibly be a defense for what happened?
Perhaps Pego could enlighten us.
The reason for my question is that I'm reminded of the myths associated with 'supermales', those that have an extra Y chromosome (XYY); see below. Possibly roid rage is another example of confirmation bias?
XYY men in particular have been negatively stereotyped by society. When it was first discovered, popular science writers speculated that the extra Y would make males more aggressive – and more prone to criminality – than their XY peers. (This view persists: the film 'Aliens 3' was set in a penal colony for XYY prisoners.)
The myth was backed up by some rather misleading statistics. A paper published in the 'Lancet' in 1968 claimed that the prevalence of XYY men in prison was 25-60 times as high as the prevalence in the general population. This prompted some to suggest that screening for XYY would identify potentially violent and criminal males.
But the quality of this research was soon questioned (it was later pointed out that only two XYY male prisoners were identified in the study) and the consensus today is there is no strong link between XYY and criminality. XYY men may tend to share certain features, but these are well within the 'normal' range of human variation.
I have no personal experience with "roid rage," all I know is what I read in literature which also seems to be more anecdotal than a comprehensive assesment. Of what I know, some cases of manic behaviour in long-term anabolic steroid users has been described, usually in those that had manic tendencies in their premorbid personalities. Be it as it may, there does not appear to be tendency of disconect with reality. In other words, use of roids may be an excuse for breaking a few dishes, not for murder.
Pego wrote:I have no personal experience with "roid rage," all I know is what I read in literature which also seems to be more anecdotal than a comprehensive assesment. Of what I know, some cases of manic behaviour in long-term anabolic steroid users has been described, usually in those that had manic tendencies in their premorbid personalities. Be it as it may, there does not appear to be tendency of disconect with reality. In other words, use of roids may be an excuse for breaking a few dishes, not for murder.
Oh, dear, that doesn't sound helpful for BM.....What next????
BANNED steroid drugs were found in Oscar Pistorius’s house after he shot dead lover Reeva Steenkamp. Police also discovered a blood-stained cricket bat in the Blade Runner’s mansion in Pretoria, South Africa — and evidence of heavy drinking before the 3am shooting. Cops are now probing a theory that Pistorius may have blasted Reeva in an explosion of fury caused by the performance-boosting steroids.
jeremyp wrote:Now perhaps an argument over "roid rage" which is amping up on other sites. Is it a genuine phenomenon? Do steroids merely accentuate already present behavioral problems? Enquiring minds....
Pretty sure that they just accentuate already present problems. For instance, any guy (with average metabolic function) having to endure a stunningly beautiful super model at his residence over night on valentines day would be absolutely outraged and beside himself with bitter deep seated resentment and anger. But while the average guy would have simply beat her senseless, toss some steroids into his cocktail and that all american boy will immediately grab for the glock pistol to shoot her to death. Makes perfect sense.
Next out, a special report on whether emotionally handicapped people that are exalted as saints and treated like rock stars and demi-gods by multi-billion dollar corporate media machines are prone to narcissistic fits of homicidal rage.
After decades of observation of the subject and talking to many users/friends of users, my take is that roid rage exists, but not in the sense that it takes ordinary people and Jekyll & Hydes them. It merely amplifies existing personality traits. So if somebody is generally meek and mild-mannered, they stay that way. Somebody with a temper, on the other hand, MAY end up with that being amped-up a little.
My guess is that most roid-rage incidents through the years have actually been amphetamine fueled, since there's definitely a linkage of doing the two in concert.
gh wrote:After decades of observation of the subject and talking to many users/friends of users, my take is that roid rage exists, but not in the sense that it takes ordinary people and Jekyll & Hydes them. It merely amplifies existing personality traits. So if somebody is generally meek and mild-mannered, they stay that way. Somebody with a temper, on the other hand, MAY end up with that being amped-up a little.
My guess is that most roid-rage incidents through the years have actually been amphetamine fueled, since there's definitely a linkage of doing the two in concert.
Add to that a super competitive personality and alcohol...... My career in mental health tells me Pistorius had personality issues already in place that steroids and alcohol (?) accentuated. These will probably come out in the media as more people tell stories.
Facing allegations that he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during a dispute at his Pretoria mansion last week, track star Oscar Pistorius swore before a judge Monday that a bloodied cricket bat found on his property was in fact used in a completely different murder.
JumboElliott wrote:I just hope that the steroids crap doesn't take away the fact that there's no excuse for killing someone in malice.
If steroids affect the case it would be a negative factor for him, not an excuse that helps him to get away with anything. Just like if a drunk pilot crash-landed a plane due to pilot error, they'll go to prison because of being drunk, whereas if the same error happened when sober maybe they only get their license suspended or revoked.
Facing allegations that he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp during a dispute at his Pretoria mansion last week, track star Oscar Pistorius swore before a judge Monday that a bloodied cricket bat found on his property was in fact used in a completely different murder.
I think this crime could have only happened in SA. In the UK while cricket bats are plentiful, guns are very hard to come by, especially handguns. And in the US while there is no shortage of handguns, cricket bats are a rare commodity, though I own one, on this side of the Atlantic.
gh wrote:After decades of observation of the subject and talking to many users/friends of users, my take is that roid rage exists, but not in the sense that it takes ordinary people and Jekyll & Hydes them. It merely amplifies existing personality traits. So if somebody is generally meek and mild-mannered, they stay that way. Somebody with a temper, on the other hand, MAY end up with that being amped-up a little.
My guess is that most roid-rage incidents through the years have actually been amphetamine fueled, since there's definitely a linkage of doing the two in concert.
Reminds me of an old Bill Cosby line, "I said to a guy, 'Tell me, what is it about cocaine that makes it so wonderful,' and he said, 'Because it intensifies your personality.' I said, 'Yes, but what if you're an asshole?' "
