Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #120 on Aug 27, 2011, 5:36pm »
Absolutely. I have argued many times with fellow males about my aversion to "meaningless sex" for purely physical reasons, but I appear to be in a minority. Oh well.
Speaking with my test group of African orderlies, I was dismayed once again, not by their support for DSK, which is their right, but the way they dismissed the event with the statement, "it's normal; he's a man!" Not only do I not find it normal, but I felt that I had been put in a group of "non-men" by the way they were talking.
I absolutely need to find out why they think DSK is such a wonderful man. This is the biggest mystery to me.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,128 Location: South-West France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #121 on Aug 27, 2011, 6:05pm »
I hate to say it, but those African orderlies have been brainwashed by the culture they grew up in." Men are always right and women don't count for a lot, even if they are the ones who do all the work."
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #122 on Aug 27, 2011, 6:26pm »
I agree with bjd's comments on there being many women who still believe that a male is always correct and that women do not count as equals. However, even though they believe this I cannot understand why they accept it without also expressing disgust.
Also, like Kerouac, I would like to know why some women think he is still a wonderful man? He may be a brilliant economist, politician etc., but as a man, a husband, a Hotel patron, I find him revolting, even if it was consensual. I do not believe he values, honors or respects a female.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #124 on Aug 27, 2011, 7:29pm »
I certainly understand the "brainwashed" comment, but I fear that it is more a problem of totally different cultural values. These women at the nursing home are hardheaded and intelligent and make it clear every day. But they also have completely different cultural values (and also totally different life experience).
I would hesitate before criticizing them for their opinions, even when I do not agree.
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #125 on Aug 27, 2011, 8:44pm »
I would certainly hesitate as well, for they have every right and respect for their opinions, beliefs and cultural roots. But I do wish to understand from their prospective what the attraction to him would be.
Thank you bjd for the photo of the postcards, not one that I will be purchasing while in the city for my holiday but a funny photo for myself to see.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,128 Location: South-West France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #126 on Sept 19, 2011, 7:21am »
Last night on French TV, DSK was intereviewed (by a French woman journalist who just happens to be a good friend of his wife). I did not watch (don't have a TV and can't get that station through the internet, although I wouldn't have watched anyway). What I did see what a comment on the interview by a professor in media studies at the American University in Paris. I think he was Australian, guessing by his accent.
Anyway, in contrast to what I heard on the radio this morning where they interviewed Socialist Party supporters and politicians, who all thought he was wonderful, this professor called it "well-scripted answers to well-scripted questions". He said that despite DSK's words of regret, his whole body language and attitude showed no regret whatsoever (he even compared him to Richard Nixon). As for his wife and her attitude throughout, he said Anne Sinclair was a professional journalist, who was used to dealing with journalism and knows exactly how to behave in such a situation.
In the few excerpts I heard, where Strauss-Kahn said he had wronged his wife, family and France, I thought that rather pretentious -- he's just a politician, who incidentally was already in trouble years ago for fake jobs to get money for the Socialist Party. The country seems to have recovered just fine.
And, as the professor said, he never said he was sorry. He said, "je regrette", but didn't ask for pardon. As the interviewing journalist said, "It wasn't Bill Clinton."
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #127 on Sept 19, 2011, 8:06am »
I didn't watch either. I have no desire to listen to what he has to say, since I didn't even support him as an economist.
I did read that he was very careful not to stray one iota from the prosecutor's report (which he apparently had in front of him during the interview), so that nobody can claim that any new elements have been added to the case as that would possibly be grounds for reopening it.
Joined: Nov 2011 Gender: Female Posts: 48 Location: Toronto Canada
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #128 on Sept 19, 2011, 9:20pm »
May I say that I think that it is a given that we all respect others' viewpoints (re: the African orderlies etc.) but, are free to give our own opinions. If not, there would be very few posts.
I have little respect for DSK as a human being. Yes, he is probably an excellent money person, of high status in French society, but he's not not much of a man.
This is a complete power play. One that he is highly skilled in, the chess game of life. The maid is now looked upon as a 'liar', one looking to 'cash in'. Who knows. I think the truth is probably that he was totally out of line and took advantage of a weaker person. He has powerful back up, she does not. She is the victim in ways much more than sexual.
In the end, as I suspected, he will not be brought to justice. Given a few years, this will be forgotten. His weak statement of innocence is a joke.
The maid may well be deported back to a society that originally caused desperate measures to escape. Tragic for her. His life will probably be just fine.
We are still left with the powerful male-female power misalignment. It is still not equal. Too much is forgiven males (by their male brothers), only because they are male. And, sadly, still far too many women 'forgive ' these men, while they would in a heartbeat condemn the females.
This seems to me a perfect example of where we are stuck. Men are still more equal than women, and, powerful wealthy individuals are more worthy than the poor. With the comibination of the two, the maid doesn't and never had, a chance. Pathetically simplistic, I know, but I think its true.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,128 Location: South-West France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #130 on Nov 9, 2011, 8:50am »
Don't count DSK out of the news yet. There is another slowly brewing scandal with managers of the Carlton (ie fancy) hotel in Lille working with prostitutes. Mention was made of prostitutes being supplied to DSK while he was in Washington.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #131 on Nov 12, 2011, 12:28pm »
Prostitutes being supplied to people in Washington is hardly earthshaking news.
However, DSK was very upset when a set of his text messages to friends and cronies was published yesterday, with such pearls as "want to join me to check out the cool new sex club in Madrid?"
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Female Posts: 4,128 Location: South-West France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #134 on Mar 27, 2012, 8:28am »
I heard his lawyer on the radio this morning saying that DSK never imagined that the women supplied to those "libertine parties" were prostitutes! Imagine his horror and shock on learning that!
I can't imagine this guy's arrogance -- does he really believe that a bunch of, I assume, young women are so thrilled to go to sex parties with old men without being paid for it?
My first thought was "Is this woman a complete idiot?" Why do these stupid women fall for this guy? I mean, he's not so rich any more since it was his wife who had the money.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #143 on Oct 17, 2012, 4:49pm »
Well, actually he has been in the news since this summer when his wife finally kicked him out, as well as the ongoing saga of the various legal cases, notably in Lille.
Joined: Feb 2009 Gender: Male Posts: 35,182 Location: Paris, France
Re: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, IMF president « Reply #144 on Dec 10, 2012, 7:30pm »
And so, as usual, the case is finished once and for all. Nobody will ever know what happened.
Naturally, I remain pleased that Dominique Strauss-Kahn's political career abruptly ended and I am also satisfied that his wife finally kicked him out.