Friday, April 18, 2014

An Attempt to Restart the Duke Rape Hoax: The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities

 


 










• Hardcover: 672 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; First Edition (April 8, 2014)
• $35.00


A Review by David in TN

William D. Cohan has written The Price of Silence: The Duke Lacrosse Scandal, the Power of the Elite, and the Corruption of Our Great Universities.

Many years ago, I read a review that described a book as something that could have been written as a magazine article, but was made into a book with a lot of padding. Cohan's work has over 600 pages with plenty of "padding." Oddly enough, Cohan has no end notes or bibliography.

In March 2006, a black stripper named Crystal Mangum accused three Duke Lacrosse players of beating and gang raping her. Recently appointed Durham County District Attorney Mike Nifong seized on the accusation, and the TV networks eagerly gave Nifong enormous publicity.

Nifong needed it to win election as Durham County DA in his own right. He was trailing badly in the polls, had no name recognition, and his fundraising had dried up. The electorate was nearly half black. The scenario was right out of Tom Wolfe's The Bonfire of the Vanities.

A district attorney seizes on The Great White Defendant, in order to win an election. In fact, events would prove that no rape had occurred.

Another motive for Nifong was a larger pension if he could make 30 years at the DA's office. Ironically, Nifong is now living comfortably on the pension he did receive, according to William Cohan.

Cohan begins the book with 11 pages on Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. Coach K turns downs millions of dollars to coach the Los Angeles Lakers. The Duke basketball coach stayed out of the case, but Cohan mentions him often in the book.

Cohan's book claims there should have been a trial, and in interviews has said his book is the trial that never happened. The author depicts Nifong as a courageous and honorable prosecutor fighting heroically against tricky defense lawyers defending arrogant, loutish lacrosse players with wealthy parents and political influence.

Cohan implies throughout that "something happened in that bathroom." He presents no new evidence whatsoever, and never says exactly what supposedly happened.

Cohan interviewed both Crystal Mangum and Mike Nifong. He accepts their stories uncritically. Nifong was convicted of lying to a judge and concealing evidence. Mangum is in prison for murdering her boyfriend.

Cohan is not bothered by the fact that there was no DNA from any of the players on Mangum. How did they beat, rape, and sodomize her and leave no DNA? Cohan takes Mangum's latest story (a broomstick was shoved into her, about the 12th version) at face value. He quotes uncritically Nifong's attacks on the defense lawyers, the North Carolina attorney general, and the falsely accused throughout the book.

Cohan dwells on Mangum's fake fingernail found in the bathroom waste basket with DNA that could not be excluded from belonging to Dave Evans, one of the accused. Even if it did belong to Evans, he lived in the house and used the bathroom, making a transfer unsurprising.

Regarding Nifong's conviction and disbarment, Cohan gives Nifong's own reason. The defense lawyers used their political influence on North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper and the North Carolina Bar disciplinary panel that disbarred Nifong after a five-day trial.

Nifong calls it a "kangaroo court." Cohan describes it as a "sacrificial slaughter."

Roy Cooper "sold his soul to the devil," by declaring the players "innocent," said Nifong.

Nifong had violated legal ethics by calling the accused "hooligans," hiding exculpatory DNA evidence from the defense, and lying to a judge about the evidence.

Nifong declared the supposed rape "racially motivated."

Throughout the book, Cohan quotes without comment seemingly every attack on the accused by the media and leftist Duke faculty.

Nifong (and Cohan) believe the accusation alone is enough for a trial, along with one inexperienced, fanatically feminist nurse's testimony.

The lengthy tome has page after page of interviews with Nifong and Mangum, columns written in 2006 attacking the accused, hand-wringing about underaged drinking, and too much attention to sports.

Cohan claims without proof that Duke paid out $60 million with the idea of buying silence. Cohan depicts himself as an intrepid investigator uncovering what Duke, the defense lawyers, and the accused lacrosse players don't want the public to know.

In fact, the Duke president and other top administrators joined the rush to judgment, along with many Duke professors.

In summary, William Cohan has rewritten the story the way he thinks it should be, not the way it was.

13 comments:

The PDK Herald/Crier Project said...

As I scrolled down, the first thing I noticed, which jumped out at me with the power jump of a Kangaroo, was 672 pages.

Wow I thought, he manage to stretch it out that far. Is anyone actually supposed to read it, or is it suppose to be a symbol, a book intended only for show.

I would not have bothered with it from the get go.

As I then read Nicks retort, I gleaned this to be a liberal's Opus Magnus.

Cohen, that is a Jewish name is it not? In my life I never met a bad Jew. I see the real Jews as hard working towards an honest prosperity.

However, also in my life I never met a decent or worthwhile liberal. Further, in my opinion, when a Jew becomes a liberal he commits apostasy by leaving the faith of the God of Abraham for the faith of liberalism.

I have nothing against those who stop practicing their inherited Judo-Christian religion because religion is not for everyone.

However an apostate is a person with a character flaw. That flaw is always born of immaturity. Selfishness and cowardice are the chief immature traits I see in immature, adult people. These are those who call themselves liberal.

Nifong is the lowest of the low. I would be ashamed, embarrassed and angry if my surname was Nifong, the name Nifong is now Mudd.

The negress was truly a piece of sh-t, but still a negress, member of the negros.

Nifong is a piece of sh-t, but also an apostate, and an apostate for profit, that makes him a liberal.

Humans cannot slide any lower than that.

I do not subscribe to life after death in a literal sense for humans, however if their were, and if their were in the Christian sense, then Nifong would spend eternity with his buddy Lucifer down there where it is really, really hot.

Can anyone imagine the scope of the tragedy if Nifong pulled it off and those Duke white boys did 10 year stretches in the big time, big house.

My God.

From the Sanctuary, I'm PDK: Thank you.

Douglas said...

Don't the real victims, in this case the Duke Lacrosse team members, have legal recourse in liability suits? I would think it would fall under the same rules that applied when an author tried to publish a book in the Case of the murdered little girl, can't remeber her first name but the last name was Ramesses.

Anonymous said...

Right. 600 pages about a nothing.

"Something happened".

Of course "something" always happens. Does not make it a crime.

jeigheff said...

The liberal liars never give up, do they?

Anonymous said...

Black highway serial shooter has been apprehended. Another crime that stereotyped to be white men. I can't help but wonder if the cars he was shooting at were only white people. Media won't bring it up but we know that already.

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/crime-courts/missouri-man-accused-targeting-drivers-faces-18-felony-counts-n84256

Anonymous said...

With the increased policing of the internet any site considered to be a "white nationalist" site may find itself under surveillance or refused hosting services. This article is an indication of the future. I wonder how many blacks have posted messages on racist black supremist sites and gone on to commit violent acts against whites, somehow I don't think anyone is going to compile that info. jerry

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/04/18/nearly-100-recent-homicides-linked-to-users-of-stormfront-white-supremacist-site-splc-says/

The PDK Herald/Crier Project said...

JonBenet Ramses, I believe.

Cohen is probably snuggly ensconced in his belief that with the power of white liberal ideology behind him, the Duke boys will not go after Mr. "lower than the belly of a snake" Cohen.

The double standard of treatment for non-liberal, non-apostate whites versus for the treatment for the negro is incredulous.

However, white liberals have achieved their superiority, are in charge and giving the orders, and no one will be allowed to step outside their ideological weltanschauung.

They used to sing songs against totalitarians, Woody for example, but now that they have achieved their superiority they are totalitarians themselves.

For the immature and insane, liberals, there is the liberal, golden rule, which states, it is bad if you do it to me, but good if I do it to you.

Separate to secede via a declaration of indepedence, done low-key, is the only hope for the white race.

From the Sanctuary, I'm PDK: Thank you.

Anonymous said...

This Cohan reminds me of Kotlowitz in Chicago. Wrote this "tome" with regard to the negro found drowned in the St. Joseph MI. river. Suggested that "maybe" whitey did the killing as rope marks were found on the neck of the deceased.

ONLY at the end of the book doe Kotlowitz mention that the rope marks were from the dragging of the body from the water by a group of watermen.

Much to do about NOTHING!

Anonymous said...

The SPLC probably in a deliberate manner has postings to the so called "hate forums" merely to stir things up.

That SPLC bunch has been discredited so many times for what they are and yet people listen to them.

Anonymous said...

The MSM is still at it. Today there are fawning reviews in the Washington Post and Newsday. The Newsday piece (http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/duke-lacrosse-scandal-revisited-in-the-price-of-silence-1.7724242) quotes Ann Peterson "a lawyer in the Durham district attorney's office," who whines:

"How many times has an innocent person been charged with an offense and recovered millions of dollars because they were charged? So what makes this case, and these kids, so exceptional and different from all of the other people who have been mistakenly charged with a criminal offense? Money."

No, Duke players were not "mistakenly charged," they were deliberately charged by a DA who knew they were innocent. Furthermore, the entire national media and their own school refused to give them even the presumption of innocence.

And what about the multi-million dollar payout to the so-called "central park Five?"

David In TN

The PDK Herald/Crier Project said...

Morris Dees is lower than low.

A liberals liberal.

He serves mammon via apostasy.

Like Nifong, Dees would sell the white gene pool to look like Mr. wonderful and make a fortune.

Mr. highfalutin Mbforris sounds like the type of guy who made a deal with the devil. That sleezeball will probably skirt justice and never get his comeuppance.

FTS, I'm PDK: Thank you.

David In TN said...

ESPN's 30 for 30 program has a show on the Duke Lacrosse Case (Hoax) on Sunday, March 13, at 9 pm ET. This will be the 10th anniversary of the attempt to imprison 3 innocent men.

The show is titled "Fantastic Lies." It looks to be a serious, accurate account.

David In TN said...

Nicholas,

Cohan is whining this week in Vanity Fair about the ESPN film on the hoax, which premieres tomorrow (Sunday) night. It seems ESPN optioned his book, but did serious research and have made a film fitting the facts.