|
Post by hwinpp on May 27, 2011 5:18:29 GMT
If the victim gets compensation her whole family will benefit, maybe even the village she's from.
And if she writes a book there'll be even more, and I don't mean this disparagingly.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on May 30, 2011 18:21:13 GMT
A French junior minister has resigned because of claims of sexual harassment made against him by former employees, saying they had been emboldened by what is happening to DSK. And then there is this lady in Bangladesh who took things into her own hands, so to speak. www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13594762
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on May 30, 2011 18:33:11 GMT
Yes, I heard about the Bangladeshi woman.
As for junior minister Georges Tron, I hope that much more comes out about his activities, because in Paris we have heard things that would make your hair curl. The charges against him are absolutely nothing compared to the stories that have been circulating about him.
The principal outrage in Parisian circles regards the special evenings he has been organizing for years in a suburban château at taxpayer expense. Berlusconi would be so jealous!
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Jul 1, 2011 1:57:08 GMT
www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/nyregion/strauss-kahn-case-seen-as-in-jeopardy.html?_r=1"The sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on the verge of collapse as investigators have uncovered major holes in the credibility of the housekeeper who charged that he attacked her in his Manhattan hotel suite in May, according to two well-placed law enforcement officials. Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself." This should come as no great surprise.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 5:01:46 GMT
You beat me to it, fumo. You can imagine what a bombshell this is in France.
|
|
|
Post by hwinpp on Jul 1, 2011 5:15:51 GMT
Wow, to me it is a huge surprise.
And haven't read it anywhere else! One day after the woman was made new IMF boss.
|
|
|
Post by hwinpp on Jul 1, 2011 6:05:59 GMT
The Spiegel is now reporting this!
Was she put under pressure? I mean this completely seriously.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 6:22:07 GMT
I am remembering what all of the African nursing home orderlies told me: "That woman is lying!" They said that from day one.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 1, 2011 6:51:37 GMT
Was she put under pressure? I mean this completely seriously.
By who(m)?
If this is true, it was probably seen as a way of getting a pile of money.
|
|
|
Post by hwinpp on Jul 1, 2011 8:30:02 GMT
Yes, now the prosecution is saying she got a call from a guy who's in prison... DSK might be out now.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 1, 2011 11:14:06 GMT
What I find amazing is that on the radio here all the politicians/journalists are abuzz about DSK's possible return to a candidacy as president. For heaven's sake -- with all the secondary accusations about him by women in France that have come up since then, they can't be serious! When the first accusation was made, nobody said, "Oh, DSK would never have done that!". All the news was that he was a serial womanizer. I just found this on the BBC, which confirms what I just wrote: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13988352
|
|
|
Post by fumobici on Jul 1, 2011 16:08:10 GMT
I'm of two minds about this. As far as I can recall DSK has never been convicted of this type of misbehavior in a court where he can properly defend himself from the accusations. On the other hand the anecdotal accounts out there are disquieting to say the least. Should people be excluded from public service based on rumors and accounts they haven't had a real chance to definitively and publicly refute?
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 1, 2011 20:05:33 GMT
Ignoring details like the "victim" having received $100,000 on her bank account and being involved in money laundering and drug dealing affairs, I am really flabbergasted by the revelation that she went to the DSK suite to do god knows what, then went and cleaned another room, and then returned to the DSK suite a second time. WTF?
|
|
|
Post by Jazz on Jul 1, 2011 20:05:42 GMT
I’ve been following this off and on since the beginning. I knew little about DSK. Reading about his powerful position, past and present, I was astounded that someone finally had the guts to charge him.
I am also of two minds about the situation. Today, I am hearing that the charges will be dropped. I am (depressingly) not surprised that after close to two months of world wide publicity and pressure, that it has ‘suddenly’ been discovered that the testimony of a mere ‘immigrant maid’ against a man of his power and prestige is now worthless. How unexpected. Forgive my cynicism.
---Fumobici: "I'm of two minds about this. As far as I can recall DSK has never been convicted of this type of misbehavior in a court where he can properly defend himself from the accusations. On the other hand the anecdotal accounts out there are disquieting to say the least. Should people be excluded from public service based on rumors and accounts they haven't had a real chance to definitively and publicly refute?'---
Given what we’ve heard in the last 2 months from many other women, this is not the first time that DSK has indulged himself. No, he has never been convicted or ‘definitely and publically refuted’ rumours’, because no one actually attempted to make him face the consequences of his actions until now. Certainly not in France.
I am (depressingly) amazed that there is now excited chatter that he will once again be thought of as running for office in France. I remain totally unconvinced that ‘suddenly’ this woman’s word is worthless. However, all is well with the world. The great and powerful man will once again not be held accountable.
’
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 2, 2011 17:05:50 GMT
I'm of two minds about this. As far as I can recall DSK has never been convicted of this type of misbehavior in a court where he can properly defend himself from the accusations. On the other hand the anecdotal accounts out there are disquieting to say the least. Should people be excluded from public service based on rumors and accounts they haven't had a real chance to definitively and publicly refute? Fair or unfair, when any whiff of scandal gets out about a politician, there is usually a great deal of ''trial by media''. Good investigative journalists can uncover damning or exonerating data. Unfortunately, media hoopla can also incorrectly taint or sanctify their subjects, and none of it has any legal standing. Without a trial, our only evidence is whatever is turned up by news outlets we consider reliable. Today, I am hearing that the charges will be dropped. I am (depressingly) not surprised that after close to two months of world wide publicity and pressure, that it has ‘suddenly’ been discovered that the testimony of a mere ‘immigrant maid’ against a man of his power and prestige is now worthless. How unexpected. Forgive my cynicism. And an equally cynical ''Amen!'' to your statement.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 2, 2011 22:51:39 GMT
Apparently the NYC police now want to nominate her for an Oscar as best actress, now that her prison phone call has been translated ("Don't worry. This guy has lots of money. I know what I'm doing!").
Let's not forget that it is the prosecution that discovered all of these new details, not the defense team.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2011 14:44:35 GMT
I heard one of the (American) commentators wondering if the DA's office could be prosecuted for pimping, since Ms. Diallo started turning tricks at the hotel where they put her, including some of her regular customers from the Sofitel. She is one busy woman, especially since she has more cell phones than DSK.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 4, 2011 15:50:29 GMT
That probably has as much value as the tabloid headlines that first called DSK "le perv", and now it's all her fault. And some French socialists and others are talking about conspiracy theories saying he was set up. I mean, they did find his DNA in the hotel room and on the maid's clothes, didn't they? Another big shot who doesn't have the sense to keep his zipper fastened? Maybe now DSK's lawyers will charge the woman with something. I think reaction to this is going to be split between men and women. The men saying it was so unfair to DSK and how his character was assassinated, bla bla. Women saying that he has lost so much credibility as a possible French president because of all the other stuff that has come out about his predatory sexual behaviour over the years. I don't understand why his wife was smiling coming out of the courtroom.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 4, 2011 17:37:22 GMT
I have never liked DSK and I certainly would never want him to be president, unlike a lot of people I know. Meanwhile, someone has filed a charge of attempted rape against him in France.
But I have great respect for the split second analysis of the African orderlies at the nursing home, who had precise knowledge of what most African women who work in luxury hotels are really doing. Frankly, I don't care if she is a hooker and I am more annoyed by the drug dealing and money laundering.
As for DSK, he will unfortunately return to France and still be influential and many people will continue to admire him. I have always hated his arrogance and his sense of superiority for belonging to the aristocracy. However, hosing down people with sperm did not really harm the reputation of Bill Clinton or François Mitterrand either.
Nevertheless, I am capable of not instantly dismissing the conspiracy theory about the Accor hotel group being involved in a set-up.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 5, 2011 7:19:35 GMT
Part of an editorial in today's IHT/NY Times, with which I agree completely.
"You know what I’ve just described, of course: l’affaire D.S.K. In the days since Dominique Strauss-Kahn’s stunning reversal of fortune, many Frenchmen have howled at the injustice of it all: “This vision of Dominique Strauss-Kahn humiliated in chains, dragged lower than the gutter,” as the French writer (and D.S.K. friend) Bernard-Henri Lévy put it — all because Cyrus Vance, the Manhattan district attorney, chose to believe “a hotel chambermaid” over an esteemed member of the French political establishment.
In America, meanwhile, the case’s collapse has brought sniping from former prosecutors and white-collar defense attorneys, who have criticized Vance for indicting Strauss-Kahn before he knew more about the victim’s background.
For the life of me, though, I can’t see what Vance did wrong. Quite the contrary. The woman alleged rape, for crying out loud, which was backed up by physical (and other) evidence. She had no criminal record. Her employer vouched for her. The quick decision to indict made a lot of sense, both for legal and practical reasons. Then, as the victim’s credibility crumbled, Vance didn’t try to pretend that he still had a slam dunk, something far too many prosecutors do. He acknowledged the problems.
Lévy, himself a member of the French elite, seems particularly incensed that Vance wouldn’t automatically give Strauss-Kahn a pass, given his extraordinary social status. Especially since his accuser had no status at all.
But that is exactly why Vance should be applauded: a woman with no power made a credible accusation against a man with enormous power. He acted without fear or favor. To have done otherwise would have been to violate everything we believe in this country about no one being above the law.
As for Strauss-Kahn’s humiliation, clearly something very bad happened in that hotel room. Quite possibly a crime was committed. Strauss-Kahn’s sordid sexual history makes it likely that he was the instigator. If the worst he suffers is a perp walk, a few days in Rikers Island and some nasty headlines, one’s heart ought not bleed. Ah, yes, and he had to resign as the chief of an institution where sexual harassment was allegedly rampant, thanks, in part, to a culture he helped perpetuate. Gee, isn’t that awful?
The point is this: We live in a country that professes to treat everyone equally under the law. So often we fall short. The poor may go unheard; the rich walk. Yet here is a case that actually lives up to our ideal of who we like to think we are. Even the way the case appears to be ending speaks to our more noble impulses. Vance didn’t dissemble or delay or hide the truth about the victim’s past. He did the right thing, painful though it surely must have been.
To judge by his recent writings, Bernard-Henri Lévy prefers to live in a country where the elites are rarely held to account, where crimes against women are routinely excused with a wink and a nod and where people without money or status are treated like the nonentities that the French moneyed class believe they are."
|
|
|
Post by bixaorellana on Jul 5, 2011 14:08:40 GMT
That's an excellent and thoughtful editorial, Bjd, only slightly marred by the last sentence, which blanketly besmirches an entire class of French people.
The even-handed actions of the Manhattan DA might encourage more women who have been raped to brave the legal process in order to bring rapists to justice.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Jul 5, 2011 15:43:53 GMT
Bixa, most people I know here roll their eyes at any mention of Bernard Henri-Lévy, or BHL as he is known. I think we should watch out for anyone so well known that the mention of their initials, preferably 3, is an immediate reference.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 15:53:48 GMT
Cyrus Vance must be an angel. It's a shame that his record does not show that. But at least district attorneys and judges are not elected by people with no knowledge of the requirements of the profession... or are they? That would be really stupid and they would have to pander to public opinion constantly.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 6:50:40 GMT
So, it looks like Act 1 of this story is coming to an end. The African orderlies at the nursing home were strangely jubilant. "That man has suffered enough! That bad woman should go to prison!" I can only imagine that it is some sort of tribal thing, or else the whole world has been turned upside down, which is another credible possibility.
|
|
|
Post by tod2 on Aug 23, 2011 8:18:04 GMT
Kerouac, If that was Act 1 are you thinking sometime in the future we will see an Act 11? If anything, DSK is going to have to behave himself in the future - unless of course he just can't help himself..... I must say I do find it strange that the nursing home ladies were so vehement and quick to point an accusing finger at the chamber maid. You would think being of the same sex she would get sympathy( I'm assuming they are female orderlies). Of course we'll never know why they think this way except as you say, it must be some obscure tribal reason..... mmmmmmm
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 23, 2011 8:22:52 GMT
I hope they have been feeding him bromide ever since he got in trouble. Once he finally makes a reservation to come back to France, Air France might decide to use an all male crew.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2011 17:48:13 GMT
I fully understand the deafening silence about this case -- all of us would prefer that none of this had ever happened since it does not correspond to our views of appropriate events or outcomes.
|
|
|
Post by bjd on Aug 26, 2011 20:43:04 GMT
On Wednesday while I was waiting for my train at the Gare Montaparnasse in Paris, all the papers on the newsstand had their headlines about the DSK case being over. Headlines ranged from "it's not over yet" to "this insulting and terrible thing has been brought to a close".
My favourite was le Canard Enchaîné: La fin pour DSK? Banon.
Interestingly, most people I have talked to are sure he is guilty -- just that he got away with it.
|
|
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2011 21:04:41 GMT
"Guilty" -- definitely guilty of having ejaculated on her uniform. But one of the stranger details is that Nafi entered the room at a certain time (according to her door badge) and yet DSK was calling his daughter concerning their lunch date about 12 minutes later. That is a really fast sexual event!
|
|
|
Post by mich64 on Aug 27, 2011 16:39:06 GMT
Please excuse my vulgarity, but I do not think his interests were in a joint orgasmic experience, therefore, 12 minutes should certainly have been a sufficient amount of time to fit this into his schedule. The thought of the need for a quick cleanup and dismissal of the maid to call his daughter actually disgusts me more so.
Mich
|
|