Is the Head of the IMF a Sex Criminal?

You respond like one of Pavlov's dogs to the ringing of a bell. They didn't think either, they displayed reflexive conditioned behavior. I didn't expect you would actually understand my post.

Kobe Bryant is a good example of a rich man buying his way out of a possible rape conviction. He bought his accuser's silence. Why you keep bringing this up eludes me.

Women often bring civil suits either during, or after, sexual assault trials. People also bring such suits when the crimes involved have nothing to do with sexual assaults. Civil suits allow a victim to sue for damages related to a crime, and that is entirely different than the reasons for a criminal action. That should not make a civil suit at all suspect, nor does it mean that it somehow "evens the score" when a settlement is made. Even if he could collect the $32 million from O.J., do you think that would make Fred Goldman feel any better about the loss of his son?

Because you might have few altruistic or ethical values does not mean that others are like you. Lawyers not only do pro bono work on occasion, it is an obligation of their profession that they do such work. I see nothing odd about Shapiro representing the maid pro bono--particularly since he's gotten a lot of free publicity out of it. Even I now know his name. But he is not even the type of lawyer one would likely choose for a sexual assault civil suit--that type of suit really requires a criminal attorney, because it involves the re-trying of a criminal case, but with a lower burden of legal proof. And, given the type of defense team DSK could afford, it would require a top-notch criminal lawyer to match them. Jeffrey Shapiro does not fit that bill. Neither does at least one of the other lawyers that are now also representing the maid. And lodging a civil suit, prior to completion of this trial, would help the defense to cast aspersions on the alleged victim's credibility, and it's really not in her best interest to make such a move, particularly in this particular high profile case.

You are envying this woman--who is very possibly the victim of a sexual assault--because you think she just won the lottery. That you are perverse enough to think that way, reflects on you and not the alleged victim in this case.

And we do not presume she is lying, until it is proved otherwise in court. If she was presumed to be lying, the case wouldn't be in court, an arrest would not have been made. That is an example of your twisted logic, and your belief that all women lie about sexual assault and, therefore, should not be believed or afforded any credibility.

Bringing up possible conspiracy theories, and suggesting this hotel maid was part of them, is really just melodramatic speculation at this point. It makes for good theater. Believe me, if the defense can prove that is what happened, they will do so, and you will hear about it. Meanwhile, spare the intrigue, this appears to be nothing more than another sexual assault case in NYC, just one with a high profile defendant.

The Kobe case is a fine example of blackmailing a man by giving him a choice of risking getting a brain death jury who will overlook that she follow him up to his room even those it was not her job to do so and begin a sexual encounter by her own words or paying her off.

The state in that case aid her in blackmailing him by going forward with a weak case that should never had been file.

Oh well he was a big famous black man and his accuser was a cute blond girl so what prosecutor could resist filling charges and gaining worldwide notice.

So, now we can't trust the jury system either?

Of course, all good defense lawyers allow "brain dead" jurors to be selected. That means we can't trust defense lawyers either.

So, we can't trust the alleged victim, the police, the D.A., the defense lawyers, or the jurors.

We can only trust the accused?

Not that you're paranoid, BillRM

I want to stick with the DSK case. And I'm waiting for the trial. I suggest you do the same.

But we know how he was arrested and how he was charged. And all we know about his past behavior is what somebody has alleged and if our impressions are based on that then shame upon us all.

Still not got the hang of the quote button. Sorry.

Firefly is willing to take any claims that picture any man as evil as true on their faces.

The only thing we know is that DSK is a heterosexual male who there exist women who are willing to talk bad about him.

Given that almost every male had such women in their past we know nothing beyond that.

I incline to Mr Thorn's ideas. The circumstantial evidence is very strong. To do what he is alleged to have done he must have lost the use of his wits. Perhaps that is at the core of the feminists agenda. "See--they lose their wits over us. Ulysses had to be tied up to resist. We are so enchanting are we not?"

Is it true she was on $60k?

Just type at the end. It's simple, as the meercat said. Then drop down two line spaces and write whatever you want about it.

Is it clear now izzy?

I am struck by how few women who have actually experienced the DSK moves talk badly of him. If he was the violent sexual predator that he is painted as we would have heard about it by now from others. All we have to date are the assertions of one very young girl, who did not say much for ten years and who is not currently willing to lay on official claim. We also know that her claimed reason for not filling a complaint now is that she is afraid that it would be used by the Americans as an excuse to treat DSK unfairly. We know that he likes lots of women. We know that he likes to make bad passes as women, we know that he likes the sex clubs and we know that he makes a habit of using sex workers.

And how he was arrested, and charged, were done in a lawful manner. It's not up to the public to second guess the police and D.A. regarding how long it should take them to form a judgment about making an arrest--we don't know what evidence was available to them that led them to feel confident in making an arrest, and their experience and expertise in these matters far exceeds that of anyone posting in this thread.

And, regarding his past behaviors, we are talking about a man widely known in France as "the great seducer" and the "hot rabbit", and he does not deny the reasons he is called such things. He has also been publicly accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault by specific women in the past. I see no reason that anyone should feel "shame" if their impression of this man takes into account such factors--he is a public figure with a very public reputation, not all of which is very favorable or flattering.

But, by the same token, his reputation, and his past behaviors, are not directly relevant to whether he violated the criminal laws in that hotel suite with the maid. Sure, some of his past behavior might suggest that he could be aggressive in how he approaches females, but that doesn't mean we can decide the current legal case on that basis, and a jury will likely not hear testimony about his past behaviors.

Right now, we really don't know what went on in that hotel suite. We have not even heard the alleged victim's account of the events which she gave to the grand jury. We don't really have the evidence the D.A. has, all we know about are unsubstantiated leaks. We just know he was arrested and what the charges are. That's not enough info to jump to any firm conclusions about him, or the police, or the D.A., or the alleged victim.

I dunno, I'm still a bit confused as to why he has a Russian accent.

In France the term 'hot rabbit,' is a derogatory term usually applied to women like 'slut.' When applied to a man, unless he's gay, it's usually meant in a complimentary way.

And what is so funny, or ironical, or tragic, is that all the men involved in chasing DSK to the pen must think there is something wrong with men losing their wits over a woman, presumably never having done so themselves.

Not that I think DSK did lose his wits unless the allegations as they stand are true. If he did he made as fine a compliment to femininity as Homer does and should thus be a feminist sacrificial god. It was the nearest he could get to swimming a crocodile infested river.

The allure of the feminine must not be so tempting to the men who are hounding DSK. In fact they are not even aware that such an allure exists. Which must be due to women not being all that enchanting to them.

That's been my position all along. He was either stitched up, by her or a conspiracy, or he's a feminist hero.

Imagine all these men in court making out she was not entrancing enough to cause a man to lose his wits. Ye Gods.

I know it's meant as a compliment. But that's in France.

In the U.S., we tend not to view such behavior in a similar positive light--hence his being labeled the "Parisian Perv" in the NYC tabloid daily newspapers.

Now we are quoting tabloids how low can you fall?

Riiight...that is why we have so many drunken sluts running around our college campuses...because such behavior is frowned upon.

The difference between Americans and the French is this regard is that the French are honest about it, but we Americans look away and dont talk about it what is really happening, we keep to our PC scripts.

Yes--and that is the point. A Serbian war criminal of the first order has just been arrested and we saw a brief glimpse of him. It was nothing like what you showed us of DSK's arrest etc. He won't be getting bail though. They have evidence of mass graves, summary executions, ethnic cleansing and torture stacked up as high as you can imagine. And on film. He's flat out guilty no matter how innocent he is presumed to be. The rapes, thousands of them, are a minor matter.

Tabloids are newspapers with half-size pages. The two in NYC sometimes enhance the news through their use of colorful and sensational language, but they basically report the same facts as the NY Times.

Hawkeye has posted articles from the NY Post throughout this thread.