# Mel Gibson dials it up to 11 with new telephone recording. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 13, 2010, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490 "2010-07-13T03:07:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/281 "2010-07-15T16:39:50Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > I somehow doubt that Bricker will be insulted by the notion he’s opinionated and prone to speak his mind in an argument regardless if he’s in the minority … Opinionated?!? _Moi?_ Er… no offense taken. Indeed, phrased as you did, the insult would almost seem to be directed at the impliedly sheep-like behavior of all those who _do_ “go along with the flow” in political discussions. In any event, it’s absolutely true and not remotely insulting to observe that I’m not daunted by the prospect of being the minority or sole voice in a given argument… ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/282 "2010-07-15T16:40:49Z")
And what is it if the “victim” used and altered illegal recordings to make herself look better and her “abuser” look crazier? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/283 "2010-07-15T16:42:49Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > The vast majority of people you meet are religious, and pretty much ALL people are assholes, therefore, the majority of assholes you meet are religious. > > What you are displaying is confirmation bias, and probably a little bit of prejudice. You don’t like atheists just BECAUSE they are atheists, so you look for and remember assholery in them, while ignoring it in religious people. Certainty of righteousness and eternal reward has been one of the most dangerous and destructive things in human history. Doubt has been one of the most constructive and has NEVER caused harm.. > > The suggestion that fear of eternal consequences has anything to do with whether people are assholes is complete crap, by the way. The guys who flew the planes into the World Trade center believed in eternal consequences. > > Let me ask you this, is fear of eternal consequences the only thing that stops YOU from trying to be a good person? Are people really being “kind” if they’re only acting a certain way out of fear? How do you explain all the non-believers who are kind without any belief in supernatural reward or punishment at all? You neglect another possibility in your analysis: that the criteria for assholishness are not universal, and differ as between you and **BigT**. He may well reject your formulation that “…pretty much ALL people are assholes…” which would in turn eviscerate your conclusion that the majority of assholes you meet are religious. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/284 "2010-07-15T16:43:39Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > …insensitive and hurtful to the feelings of [people]…who are part of the discussion…who are reading this thread. How clearly does it have to be spelled out to you? When you’re standing on someone’s foot, intentionally or not, the polite thing to do is to apologize and stop. Words to live by, Dio. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/285 "2010-07-15T16:50:13Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > And what is it if the “victim” used and altered illegal recordings to make herself look better and her “abuser” look crazier? I suppose it’s possible. But I have to say… it’s very very difficult to imagine how substantively different the reality could be. Even if it turns out the reality was that she was screaming invectives back at him, and later edited in her calm responses, that wouldn’t change much in my opinion of what i heard: a profoundly angry man, someone with fury running through his mind and profoundly disturbed. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/286 "2010-07-15T16:50:39Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > And what is it if the “victim” used and altered illegal recordings to make herself look better and her “abuser” look crazier? You make a totally valid point. I am now of the opinion that the bitch deserved to get her teeth knocked out twice. Stupid cunt. Why wont she just blow him? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/287 "2010-07-15T16:52:30Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > And what is it if the “victim” used and altered illegal recordings to make herself look better and her “abuser” look crazier? She didn’t. And the recordings weren’t illegal. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/288 "2010-07-15T17:04:33Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > She didn’t. And the recordings weren’t illegal. The latest news reports are saying that experts think the recordings have been altered. For example, the disparity in the quality of the recording of his voice versus the quality of her voice. Also, if he did not give permission to be recorded they are indeed illegal and inadmissable in court. It seems to me that releasing tapes that can’t be used in a court trial would certainly benefit one of the parties involved. I’m not saying he’s not an abuser and she’s not a victim but there’s something fishy about these tapes. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/289 "2010-07-15T17:15:08Z")
The cops have all the original tapes and have not said they’ve been tampered with. They haven’t been. You can find internet “experts” saying that Obama’s birth certificate is fake as well. Even Mel Gibson has not denied the authenticity of the tapes. Don’t you think he’d say something if they were faked? It’s also not illegal. You are misinformed about California law. There is a statutory exception to both legality and admissibility if the other person is making threats of violence. I linked to the text of the statute earlier in this thread. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/290 "2010-07-15T17:17:17Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > The latest news reports are saying that experts think the recordings have been altered. For example, the disparity in the quality of the recording of his voice versus the quality of her voice. > > Also, if he did not give permission to be recorded they are indeed illegal and inadmissable in court. It seems to me that releasing tapes that can’t be used in a court trial would certainly benefit one of the parties involved. > > I’m not saying he’s not an abuser and she’s not a victim but there’s something fishy about these tapes. I’ve recorded myself while on the phone before and it sounds like that- the reason being that I’ve got whoever it is on speaker phone (so they sound all broken up) and I am right there, so it sounds more clear. And I’m sure this has been stated about a million times thus far: but in California, if the recording has to do with a domestic assault, it’s ok to record without the other person knowing (or so say all the news shows on TV). ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/291 "2010-07-15T17:17:54Z")
> [@Sue\_Duhnym](#): > > He’s being outright inflammatory, putting “kinda, sorta” words in Dio’s mouth that are directly in opposition to what Dio is preaching and I get a warning for telling him to shut the fuck up? I didn’t warn you. What I posted was a mod note that was intended to head off a potential problem, since most people don’t like being told to shut the fuck up. Now that we’re in the Pit, it’s not an issue if you tell him to shut the fuck up or if he says the same. Nobody in the thread has received a warning, in fact. Warnings almost always include the word “warning,” and they are backed up by notifications sent by private message. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/292 "2010-07-15T17:19:39Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > The latest news reports are saying that experts think the recordings have been altered. For example, the disparity in the quality of the recording of his voice versus the quality of her voice. > > Also, if he did not give permission to be recorded they are indeed illegal and inadmissable in court. It seems to me that releasing tapes that can’t be used in a court trial would certainly benefit one of the parties involved. > > I’m not saying he’s not an abuser and she’s not a victim but there’s something fishy about these tapes. **Dio** has already provided [a cite in this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=12678137&postcount=44) that shows you are absolutely wrong about it being illegal and/or inadmissable. So, wrong. Legal experts have already said they are not illegal and may very well be admissible depending on what court case they’d be used for. Also, I’m sure you won’t want to watch an 8 minute video tape (hell, I didn’t really want to watch it) but MSNBC has the report that pretty much goes against everything you’re contending: [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38257841#38257841](http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/38257841#38257841) They bring in Paul Ginsberg who is a forensic audio analyst (has worked for the FBI and CIA) who goes over the tapes in what he says “minute detail down to the ten-thousandth of a cycle” and believes that they have not been altered. He explains that he is the remote party over the speakerphone while she is speaking directly into the microphone and that’s the difference in the quality of their voices. Personally, I think it’s odd that anyone didn’t get that anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/293 "2010-07-15T17:42:33Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > It’s also possible to believe that he’s a nutcase AND that she’s a golddigger, as evidenced by the fact that I believe both. Is every woman that fucks a powerful or rich guy a golddigger? It’s not like she was a waitress at a roadstops in Hoboken. And even so, some women would fuck a famous guy if only for bragging rights. Sure she could have known he was an antisemitic asshole, but it’s a far jump from there to spouse abuser. > [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](#): > > I would respectfully like to point out that, with abuse victims, the threat doesn’t necessarily go away when the victim throws the abuser out. In fact, quite the contrary. Absolutely right. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/294 "2010-07-15T17:56:37Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > But moving beyond that obvious point, some of us have moved on to speculate about HER character and her motives for staying, given that she wasn’t a young girl without resources. Because of course it’s sooo easy for an old person to leave an abusive relationship. What the hell?! ---
**Author:** ![Kolga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e56c9b/32.png) [@Kolga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolga)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/295 "2010-07-15T18:00:00Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Is every woman that fucks a powerful or rich guy a golddigger? It’s not like she was a waitress at a roadstops in Hoboken. And even so, some women would fuck a famous guy if only for bragging rights.. I asked this question before, and did not get an answer. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/296 "2010-07-15T18:28:27Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > The latest news reports are saying that experts think the recordings have been altered. For example, the disparity in the quality of the recording of his voice versus the quality of her voice. :dubious: Got a cite for that? Because I haven’t heard any such thing. You’re so full of shit. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/297 "2010-07-15T18:32:20Z")
Nevermind. Forget I was here. Thank goodness for dying iPhone batteries giving me time to reflect. I saw the thread had moved but my brain didn’t register the forum switch. I thought the possibly altered tapes was a new development since it was just reported on the news and I had only skimmed the thread and frankly don’t read long Diogenes posts and don’t watch news channels 24/7. I meant to phrase it more as a question on if it would change any opinions but I did not phrase it well since everyone has read it as if I am a supporter of domestic abuse and the move to the pit will only make that worse so there’s just no point in continuing. Nevermind. Move along. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/298 "2010-07-15T18:35:37Z")
And since you guys are such big bullies, demanding “facts” and “cites” and “blow jobs before the jacuzzi,” I’m taking my ball and I’m going home! RAWR! ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Yankee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/southern_yankee/32/2800_2.png) [@Southern\_Yankee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Yankee)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/299 "2010-07-15T18:38:46Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > And since you guys are such big bullies, demanding “facts” and “cites” and “blow jobs before the jacuzzi,” I’m taking my ball and I’m going home! RAWR! Well, to be fair, _after_ the jacuzzi you have that awful chemical taste… ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490/300 "2010-07-15T18:40:11Z")
> [@Southern\_Yankee](#): > > Well, to be fair, _after_ the jacuzzi you have that awful chemical taste… But all the crabs are dead. Pick your battles. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mel-gibson-dials-it-up-to-11-with-new-telephone-recording/546490.md?page=16)