STUPID STATEMENTS (Part V)

We are all prone to saying stupid statements. Here are some more stupid statements that have been said.

Five of the pirates who hijacked a Saudi supertanker drowned with their share of a $3-million US ransom the day after the bundle of cash was apparently dropped by parachute onto the deck of the ship. The drowned pirates' boat overturned in rough seas. Abukar Haji, the uncle of one of the dead pirates, blamed the naval surveillance for the accident that killed his nephew. He said; "The boat the pirates were traveling in capsized because it was running at high speed because the pirates were afraid of an attack from the warships patrolling around.” That statement is about as stupid as blaming the cops who were chasing a convenience store robber, after the robber had been struck by a car as he was running across a busy intersection against a red light during the chase.

Kerry Lynn Dalton of California was sentenced to death for the torturous murder of Irene Melanie May on June 26, 1988. According to testimony, which came almost five years after the slaying, Dalton suspected May of stealing from her and killed her in the ultimate act of revenge. Dalton and her accomplices used electrical wire, a knife, screwdriver, frying pan and battery acid on their victim before her body was taken to an Indian reservation and burned. In 1992, Dalton was arrested after she bragged to some friends about the murder, saying, "I got away with it."

A prestigious Montreal private school agreed in January 2009 to pay $5 million in damages to 35 former students who alleged they were sexually assaulted by three teachers over three decades. The school denied any wrongdoing or liability. Despite the school’s deniability statement, Ted Claxton, chair of the board of directors at Selwyn House said, "We're very pleased with the decision. We think this settlement arrangement is something in the interest of the men involved and the school. We hope this will allow those men to put things behind them and get on with their lives." If the allegations were false, then why did Claxton say that he hoped that the men could put things behind them? By using the word, ‘things’ he was referring to the sexual abuses the men suffered from. That was a strange thing to say when the school denied any wrongdoing and liability and then paid the victims all that money.

On January 15, 2009, radio commentator, Avery Haines stumbled through an introduction to a taped report on farm aid and fired off the most fateful joke of her life. At the time, most Canadians hadn't even heard of the rookie news anchor, who had been manning the morning desk on CTV's NewsNet for a mere two months. She cracked that “I was a lesbian-folk-dancing-black-woman stutterer with a rubber leg.” When the tape accidentally went to air, the story fell with a splat on the front page of the Toronto Sun. Haines was fired with haste.

Haines certainly isn't the first broadcasting personality to get fired for a terrible faux pas. Consider a Toronto case, like Jeremy Brown. Classical 96 FM gave the former entertainment and food commentator his walking papers in 1996, after he said “Tits up.” on air. He’s never been back on the air. "I'd love to go back," the 68-year-old says. "I haven't been asked."

Or how about the tragedy of veteran jazz DJ Phil MacKellar. In 1982, CKFM listeners overheard MacKellar referring to blacks as "niggers" when he took a private phone call without noticing that the microphone was on. He lost his show and then died of a heart attack five months later.

Lawyers are usually careful about what emerges from their mouths in front of a jury, at least when they can restrain themselves from a natural professional tendency towards logorrhea – talking too much or too fancy. Defence lawyer Marshall Sack, a veteran defence lawyer who represented the female teenage defendant who was alleged to have "counseled and encouraged'' her boyfriend to kill a 14-year-old girl out of jealous resentment – moved smoothly on with his linguistic gaffe. Sack was badgering the investigating police officer while the officer was on the stand giving testimony. He wanted the witness to tell the jury that his client was simply a frightened young girl when questioned about her part in the murder. It was an astonishing performance that might some day be used in a law school class about how not to conduct a cross-examination. To wit: Never ask a question that could elicit a damaging response. He asked, "Do you agree with me that (M.T.) presented herself to you as what she was, a 15-year-old girl accused of being complicit in the murder of a 14-year-old, being questioned by two adult male police officers?'' The reply he got and didn’t want the jury to hear was, "I found (M.T.) to be very, very cold, period. Emotionless." Sack's client was subsequently convicted of first degree murder.

The Prime Minister Harper appeared to be on a war footing while at a press conference to announce a highway project in Nova Scotia. He was taking about Canada’s role in Afghanistan. He said, "We have to define what victory means in Saskatchewan." He meant to say, ‘Kandahar’. I think that the Saskatchewan residents might well be advised to barricade themselves in case he wasn't kidding.

LaTasha Mixon, 28, of Sacramento said on March 22, 2009. “My cousin was not a monster.” Her cousin was Lovelle Mixon, a 26-year-old parolee who had shot four Oakland police officers in which three died and the fourth became brain dead. He was escaping the first two officers who were attempting to arrest him because he had missed several parole meetings. He later died in a shootout with other police officers.

In a five-minute segment aired on March 17, 2009, panelists on an American show called Red Eye; took a number of shots at Canada and the military. In the clip, the show’s host, Gutfeld said, “The Canadian military wants to take a breather to do some yoga, paint landscapes, run on the beach in gorgeous white Capri pants. Isn't this the perfect time to invade this ridiculous country? They have no army!" Panelist Benson replied: "I didn't even know they were in the war. I thought that's where you go when you don't want to fight. Go chill in Canada. I guess that'll be their tourism selling point: We're not in the war for a year. So come on by while we nap." Roughly 2,500 Canadian Forces personnel are currently deployed in Afghanistan as part of International Security Assistance Force. Since February 2002, 116 Canadian soldiers have died in the war in Afghanistan. On March 23, Gutfeld issued a statement indicating his statements were "misunderstood." Gutfeld also made an additional statement through his Twitter account, reading, "My apologies to the Canadian military, they probably could at least beat the Belgians." This stupid man wasn’t even born when the Canadian military beat the German army out of Holland during the Second World War. One of Gutfeld's fellow jokesters – Benson, a comedian who quipped that he wasn't even aware Canadian troops were in Afghanistan – was forced to cancel scheduled gigs in Edmonton.