Oh, sorry, didn't see this before I posted the other one...

 A likely story.  You will enjoy the thunder of my brother Thor!

Mars(bar none)

About Assange, who knows? After reading numerous accounts in the Nation, Le Monde, Libération, ad nauseum, it seems DSK has been dogged by such stories for awhile...Still, he is presumed innocent.

On the maid thing,  I highly doubt whether BHL has ever seen a cleaning crew at a luxury hotel, much less knows what they do.  Here's an article that counters his claim about that:

http://origin.www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/05/dsk-what-hotel-housekeepers-do.html

An article in French on DSK

http://www.liberation.fr/politiques/01012337845-dsk-et-les-femmes-un-secret-de-polichinelle

Finally, I like this statement by Katha Pollitt:

"Now DSK’s defense attorney is saying the sex, if it took place, was consensual. Because nothing is more likely than that a housekeeper—a Muslim widow in a headscarf, no less—will leap at the chance to fellate a 62-year-old hotel guest who springs naked out of the bathroom."

http://www.thenation.com/article/160792/dsk-deja-vu

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-13459753

Granted bail today...

You guys still don't get it? It is all part of a huge conspiracy of the Americans to increase the French unemployed by one person.

http://www.france24.com/en/20110519-us-france-strauss-kahn-resigns-imf-chief-rape-sexual-assault-charges-justice#

Interesting that a leftie philosopher should be familiar with $3000 a night hotell rooms!. Is he familiar with the cleaning policy of the Sofitel New York to make such a statement?  I've read in the mainstream press that that the maid was told the room was empty.  Also DSK seemed in such a rush to leave that he left behind some personal belongings such as his mobile phone.  As the first article I posted DSK has a reputation that proceeds him.  In this article the distinction is drawn between the French and American attitudes towards such charges and I find myself agreeing with the Americans: http://counterpunch.org/johnstone05172011.html

As for Levy and his leftism, he is an enthusiastic supporter of the Libyan campaign and confidant of Sarkozy.  Left and right get blurred (which is why i dislike these lables) when one considers "In France, right-wing Marine Le Pen stands against foreign interventions in Libya and Côte d'Ivoire , against payments to bankers, against the president, while left-wing Bernard Henri Levy supports wars and interventions, loves bankers, is a friend of the right-wing president Sarkozy". http://www.counterpunch.org/shamir05042011.html

In the end he will have his day in court and I see nor hear any reason why the NYPD nor the courts have/will treat him any differently than any other accused os such a serious charge.

And the Germans are in on it too.  Next Alsace-Lorraine.

I hope he gets an IMF loan for that $1M bail and has to restructure his own personal economy.

Interesting article on "perp walk" practices....(He forgot to put his coat over his head... 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/seealso/2011/05/daily_view_furore_over_perp_wa.html

http://gothamist.com/2011/05/18/prosecutor_rape_cop_guilty_despite.php

Article from a New York city site about NYPD cops being tried for rape.  

"And referring to Moreno's testimony that he didn't look like a rapist, Balbert contemptuously asked, "What does a rapist look like? Does he have to have 'rapist' tattooed on his forehead?" "

Yes, and Ronald McDonald, Ray Kroc and others owe ze french zillions of dollarrrrss for all the money made frrrench frrrries...

At the IMF....

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/20/business/20fund.html?_r=1&hp

And let's not forget The World Bank's Paul Wolfowitz (wolf) who quit after getting his girlfriend a job there.  Former ambassador to the great democratic republic of Indonesia at a time Indonesia was massacring East timorese, deputy secretary of defense, former dean of the Paul Nitze (cold warrior) school i.e another ususal suspect! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Wolfowitz

In this interview with Joseph Heller (author of Catch 22) at the 17:15 mark (but watch it all!) he says "In order to get along with other people we have to curb our desires, we have to modify, restrain ourselves..."  If only DSK could have had such character he might have got along better with women(?).

For those people understanding French, this may be an interesting debate:

http://infrarouge.tsr.ch/#id=3160780

http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,2072527,00.html

Sex, Lies and Power...

By CHRISTINE AHN and KAVITA N. RAMDAS

 The IMF has earned its villainous reputation in the Global South because in exchange for loans, governments must accept a range of austerity measures known as structural adjustment programs (SAPs). A typical IMF package encourages export promotion over local production for local consumption. It also pushes for lower tariffs and cuts in government programs such as welfare and education. Instead of reducing poverty, the trillion dollars of loans issued by the IMF have deepened poverty, especially for women who make up 70 percent of the world's poor. http://counterpunch.org/ahn05252011.html

Protected From Retaliation

The Housemaid, Her Union and Strauss-Kahn

By DEAN BAKER

One very important fact has been largely absent from the coverage of the sexual assault case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the former head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and leading candidate to be the next president of France. The hotel housekeeper who he allegedly assaulted was represented by a union.

The reason that this is an important part of the story is that it is likely that Mr. Strauss-Kahn's victim likely would not have felt confident enough to pursue the issue with either her supervisors or law enforcement, if she had not been protected by a union contract. The vast majority of hotel workers in the United States, like most workers in the private sector, do not enjoy this protection. http://counterpunch.org/baker05252011.html

I also think it is suspicious, DSK was the favourite for the next French presidential election in the last few months he received a lot of critics from the French media about his fortune, his religion and his different affairs with women.

IMF translate in French is FMI, on French TV they don’t stop to make the joke :

FMI = F…. Me I’m Famous  

DSK said:

"I think every Jew in the diaspora, and so this is true in France, is wherever he can help Israel. That's why it is also important that Jews take political responsibility. Everyone does not think the same thing in the Jewish community, but I think it's necessary. Because we can not both complain that a country like France, for example, has in the past and perhaps still today, a policy too pro-Arab and do not try to influence by individuals who think differently, allowing them to take more responsibility. In sum, in my duties and in my everyday life, through all of my actions, I try to make my modest stone is made ​​to build the land of Israel. "

(Interview by Emille Malet Passage No. 35, February-March 1991). You can also google "Emile malet strauss kahn" and you will see the results.

Source :http://www.juif.org/go-news-26085.php 

Thanks for these VERY interesting piece of news. Maybe this is going to make

people realize that Unions are not some outdated thing from the past but that

we need them now more than ever.

Well Felipe, Mr. Strauss Kahn has all the right in the world to express his

views about Israel and I fail to see what this has to do with his apparent difficulty

at controlling his sexual impulses.

Trinity,

I just post his declaration without any comments… so please don’t suppose anything…

I really wanted DSK as the next French president for several reasons that I am not going to develop here. I am very disappointed that it cannot happen…

For your information the mother of my actual President Sarkosy is Jewish, I am so proud of the diversity of my country, there are not so many countries in Europe which can elect a non Christian president. I am not sure tomorrow we can have a black president, but at least we can already be proud with we have :-)

Indeed DSK should control his sexual impulses :-)

Sincerely,

Felipe

I believe this explains everything.  Mr. S.K's job was until a few days ago

screwing up developing countries and he probably found totally normal to

also screw a woman citizen from one of those countries.  This is meant as a

joke and with the most respect for the lady in question.

hahahahaha, thanks Felipe but please do not call me Trinity!!  I do not pretend

to be so holly!!  :-)

"I do not pretend to be so holly"

oui oui... ;-)

From now on, INDECENCY has new abbreviation to me. DSK, now living in 600 square meters costing 50.000 US$ per month to rent or 14 million US$ to buy.

And this guy, driving around Paris in extravagant Porsche cars, was supposed to be France's favorite candidate, trying to make the masses believe that he promotes socialist values. I can only see arrogance and disconnection from reality.

Tonight on French tv was a documentary about the DSK case. Everyone interviewed - at least, everyone supporting him - was extactic about his intelligence, telling of their dismayal at the events and how they cannot believe that such an intelligent person could do such a (stupid) thing as (attempt to) rape a chambermaid.

May I wonder... what has intelligence got to do with aggression and aggressive sexual pulsions? Do the French mean that since he is such an intelligent man, especially as regards business and politics, he cannot possible be a rapist?

http://www.businessinsider.com/strauss-kahn-meets-the-obamas-2011-5

This link has a photo with DSK meeting the Obamas. Note President Obama's hand and facial expression along with DSK's er, um, "smile."

Today Sarkozy spoke out publicly for the first time about the DSK case. His words meant nothing really. Namely he said it was sad and that lots of unacceptable things had been said.

Okay. Just blabla.

No side taken by Sarkozy, we don't understand what is seemingly sad or appalling, according to him, and whether he supports DSK or not. It's as if he worked out his speach to be acceptable should DSK be found guilty... or not guilty. Works both ways.

Yes absolutely amazing picture. Just look at the body language of the three protagonists! Strauss-Kahn seems overconfident, leaning forward, looking at his prey (Mrs Obama? ) straight in the eye, as if nothing and nobody can resist him. Mrs I is demurely standing still while Mr O, well Mr O may have a smile on his face, but his hand is halting Strauss-Kahn's (known to be) groping paw...

Translator the pic is great :)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/16/dominique-strauss-kahn-tristane-banon

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17banonbox.html

Statement and petition in support of alleged victim of DSK.

http://www.change.org/petitions/feminists-demand-let-justice-be-done-les-fministes-exigent-que-justice-soit-faite

DSK turns lonver.

“It is a mess, a mess on both sides,” one official said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/01/nyregion/strauss-kahn-case-seen-as-in-jeopardy.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

France stunned - “I think Sarkozy and his friends are going to have a very unpleasant morning,” said Claude Bartolone, a Socialist legislator.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/world/europe/02france.html?ref=nyregion

It is certainly a mess.  

Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.

OK, at least that is clear; sex there was. Are we to believe now that the lady immigrant from Guinea Conakry is a ruthless manipulative liar that hangs out with drug dealers and spends her leisure time cleaning up toilets in five star hotels?

Let's wait and see. 

Now we will soon to be led to believe that SHE raped him...

There have been reports that she lied on her immigration forms - this does not mean she wasn't raped or couldn't have been raped like any other woman by any other man under other circumstances.

Media also reports she associates with an imprisoned drug dealer without providing any details on what sorts of drugs, the nature of the offence, the race of the 'dealer', the sentence of the 'dealer', the trial details of the 'dealer', etc. etc. So she is smeared with some association with a 'drug dealer' in a land where drug laws are draconian and disproportionately applied to black and brown, rich and poor.

Conversations of prison telephone discussions with the 'dealer' are said to have been recorded indicating she discussed how to profit from the case. One would expect that a 'criminal' would know either from his lawyer or from fellow inmates that conversations are recorded and to have discouraged any incriminating conversations. And what does in mean to benefit (or whatever terminology was used)? Surely one could consider a rape (or any other type of) victim of a violent crime to not only want to see the alleged perpetrator serve time but to receive some sort of personal damges settlement (but that I guess would occur in a civil and not criminal suit).

Of course it was to be expected that any accused would attempt to clear and defend themselves, but one sees that some accused have substantially more means to do so than others and if DSK is truly innocent this should not prevent societies as a whole from questioning the whole prison industrial complex as Angela Davis discusses in this interview (although I do think there are clear cases of psychopathic killers who have to be locked up to protect society n matter what the cause of their pathology).

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/10/19/angela_davis_on_the_prison_abolishment

Moreover, he has been credited with a style of womanizing that is not so much the Latin lover stereotype as “a chimpanzee in heat”, according to a young journalist who has publicly recounted how she had to fight him off tooth and nail.

 The young journalist in question, 32 year-old Tristane Banon. is going to press charges against Dominique Strauss-Khan for an alleged rape attempt during a press interview in February 2003. She’s the daughter of a Socialist deputy and at the time of the presumed rape attempt a close friend of DSK’s daughter.  Banon’s mother admitted on French TV, “she had advised her daughter no to press charges at the time”.

 An interesting twist for the case.  Many of my co-workers are French and since the beginning of this affair they have been bitching about “corrupted American justice” and saying had this had happened in France it would just be “his” word against “hers”, no dirty linen.  Well, it seems this is exactly the way is going to happen if Banon does press charges (she has not done it yet).  Let’s  hope French justice rises up to our expectations.

 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/french-writer-tristane-banon-brings-second-rape-case-against-dominique-strausskahn-2306962.html

The woman in the US also lied about what she did after the alleged 'rape' - she said that she had stayed protruded in the hallway for half an hour, whereas she had later on to admit that she had been cleaning another room after the alleged 'rape'... apparently she had also lied about having been gang raped on her application for US immigration ...

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/World/2011/07/03/Credibility_issues_for_DSK_accuser_633258.html

With regards to the French lady, strange that she waited all this time to file a case against DSK...

No, this is not at all "strange." In most counties, the majority of rapes go unreported. One reason for this is the "defense" strategy of attacking the alleged victim's reputation, rather than refuting the evidence of the alleged crime.

On the other French woman who accuses DSK of attempted rape, the fact is that she had even said this on national television years ago. When one attempts to get justice against the rich and powerful, one has to strike when the time is right. In addition, many rapists are finally caught and prosecuted because other victims come forward.

http://www.english.rfi.fr/france/20110615-france-launching-its-first-campaign-against-marital-rape

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/jul/06/dominique-strauss-kahn-troubling-light

Understand this as well: someone who has lied in the past can be telling the truth about the present.

[Kenneth]Thompson [the alleged victim's lawyer], who specialises in employment discrimination and sexual harassment cases, relentlessly detailed what he claimed were the indubitable facts of the assault: the violence that had torn a ligament in the woman's shoulder (the advocate touched his own shoulder to reinforce the point); the bruising of her vagina; the ripped stockings.

Then this: "The next thing I want to tell you is that when she was fighting to get away, when she was on her knees and he was sexually assaulting her, after he finished, she got up and started to run for that door and started spitting Dominique Strauss-Kahn's semen out of her mouth in disgust all over that hotel room.

"So when you hear about the forensic evidence, the DNA evidence, she spit his semen on the wall, she spit it on the floor – and guess what? As soon as her supervisor came upstairs, she saw that. The security staff at the Sofitel, they saw that. The detectives at NYPD, they saw that. And there was a prosecutor from the Manhattan District Attorney's office who went into that hotel room on the day it happened, and she showed him where the semen was."

Furthermore, her account of the assault has been consistent.  The victim herself volunteered the information to the prosecution about her asylum application lies.

"The only defense DSK has is that the sexual encounter was consensual. That  is a lie."  Kenneth Thompson

Apparent medical and DNA evidence: bruised vagina [as witnessed and photographed by hospital nurses]; torn ligament in the shoulder; torn pantyhose; semen on the walls and the floor [as witnessed by hotel staff, detectives, prosecutors]  

Is all this consensual sex? 

Given how much money this man seems to have to dig up your dirty linen, you would have to have a very strong stomach to press charges against him.  Having your entire life interrogated, having all your friends interrogated, having your bank accounts and telephones investigated, have your pc and emails read, having all those bad stories from your youth re-opened and then publishing the whole lot for the entire world to see, would, in my view be a horrendously traumatic experience for anyone.

If Tristane Banon decides to to press charges over the incident that happened a decade ago, she might find her life laid bare for the whole world to see.

Who on this planet hasn't got some little secrets that only we know.  Secrets regarding our relationships, the one-offs that are best left forgotten, the times we got too drunk, the times we lied, the speeding ticket, the joint we smoked and so on. 

I hope that this French journalist consider carefully what she is getting in to.  I've got a feeling it is like David taking on Saul.  The outcome maybe different from what she plans.

I was not saying anything, I just reported what I read, that's all. If you want to hear my personal opinion, there it is: I think he is guilty, in particular when I read about the forensic evidence.... I also saw the programme on French TV about the journalist, and what I say is if she was able to talk about it on national TV then, strange that she only reports the case now, isn't there something behind that, maybe political tactic? I did not say it did not happen....

Can we prove that it isn't?

That's the purpose of the investigation and a trial.

From reading this article in the Village Voice, it appears that the NY district attorney's office is less than capable in prosecuting high-profile rape cases...

http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-07-06/news/nypd-rape-cops-second-incident-moreno-mata/

By hoping that the victim win also against the New York Post.  By treating her of prostitute, they went too far ! It is also a shame that in France, politics support DSK ! Machism dies hard !

Or....  She actually *is* a prostitute.  

A rose by any other name....

Seems pretty clear he *is* a sleazebag, at the very least...

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17fund.html

"Mr. Strauss-Kahn took a keen interest in the woman making the presentation — Piroska M. Nagy, a blond Hungarian-born economist who was 50 at the time and who had worked at the I.M.F. since 1986.

"A person with direct knowledge of Ms. Nagy’s version of what happened and her view of the I.M.F. investigation said that the affair — which was conducted at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland — was consensual, but that she had felt coerced because Mr. Strauss-Kahn was so forceful and so senior to her, making it hard for her to, in effect, say no.

“I was damned if I did and damned if I didn’t,” she wrote in a letter to the investigators. In the letter, she went on to say that Mr. Strauss-Kahn was “a man with a problem that may make him ill-equipped to lead an institution where women work under his command.”

I guess even if she's a prostitute and a lying, scheming woman, it doesn't make him less guilty if he has really 'sexually assaulted' her & attempted rape. No?

And in the same fashion, it doesn't matter (to the case) if he's a sleazebag if it's proved somehow, that the act was truly consensual.

On another note, here's an article that talks about DSK's previous fears of being setup (reportedly in an interview with Liberation which seems to be published only afer the incident). 

NBC correspondent Jeff Rossen noted how the would-be Socialist Party candidate for the French presidency had "worried his political opponent, current French President Nicolas Sarkozy, would try to frame him with a fake rape..."

Rossen further added that Strauss-Kahn once told a French newspaper that the rape victim would be "promised 500,000 or a million euros to invent this story" by Sarkozy.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703421204576329690735300066.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

--------------------

I too think - A lot of DSK supporters in France do not seem to be biased against the victim due to 'machismo' - they may just be looking for another reason to blame their own President.

Hence the recent tabloid frenzy against the lady perhaps, helps them confirm their initial theories of DSK being a soft target due to his reputation.

I'd also be interested in hearing what the 'intellectual' & 'philosopher' BHL has to say about tabloid press & their tactics now, since he was pretty vocal when it went against DSK.  :)

I haven't the time right now to read the articles. If DSK had suspicions of a plot he must have had some sort of evidence and one would assume he would hire a lawyer and contact the police. That would certainly have put Sarkozy in a bad light. Did he? Even if DSK's claim of a plot is true it doesn't disprove that he might have sexually assaulted the lady.

As for the intellectual-philosopher (sic) BHL i couldn't care less what he might have to say on a legal and moral issue, being the man who pleaded with and apparently convinced Sarkozy to start bombing the civilians of Libya.

One does have to take seriously the idea of machismo in French politics. What is worrisome is that some members of the so-called Socialist party are wishing him to get off and return to lead the party and yet seem to show know understanding or sympathy for the plight of this woman or others who have reported about DSK's past and reputation. A sad reflection on French so-called Socialism or just perhaps the men in that party.

There is absolutely no proof at this point that she is or has ever operated as a "prostitute."  

There is, however, evidence that DSK had an affair with a subordiniate while heading the IMF. This was highly unethical, even if consensual and in many countries would be construed as sexual harassment.

As for plots, Sarkozy reportedly warned DSK about "womanizing" at the IMF:

"NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) -- French President Nicolas Sarkozy reportedly warned Dominique Strauss-Kahn about his womanizing before he left for the United States in 2007.

Strauss-Kahn, a former economics professor and minister of the economy and finance from 1997 to 1999, had a reputation in France for being sexually aggressive, CBS News reported. Sarkozy, who supported his appointment as head of the International Monetary Fund, warned him mores are different in Washington, The Times of London said."

Read more: http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2011/05/18/Sarkozy-reportedly-warned-IMF-chief/UPI-37951305750213/#ixzz1RVdDWguh

DSK's "plot" theory is also ridiculous in light of the fact that he knew exactly what the stakes were in the US given the previous Wolfowitz-World Bank scandal: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6575747.stm

I agree on the unethical part and the 'reputation' aspect sure makes a great point on both sides, helping make certain hypotheses on either ends.

The French reaction and/or conspiracy theories, though may help justify their own perspectives, though seem to contradict the very statements on DSK's "irreparably damaged reputation." In reality, Strauss-Kahn seems to have gained 'perhaps' a certain amount of public sympathy and thus support (Le Monde has critcized this poll), although the party couldn't do more to make it clear that he will not be running in the elections.

Well, the "plot" theory seems ridiculous to me too, but from a sociological point of view, let's not forget - people placing their faith on such a theory. My point is - the recent turn-of-events seems to have only helped them confirm their bias, which is a far cry from 'machismo'.

Rest assured, I certainly do not support any 'plot' theory and wouldn't unless there is any real evidence of it. :)

But does that mean I look at every DSK supporter around as a macho-man? Or as Bernard Debré puts it, is the incident, "a humiliation for France?" I find these as ridiculous & flat statements to support. 

As for BHL and his intellect & precious philosophy, I guess this video explains best. 

Sorry Marksist but you asked for it!

 http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/07/02/bernard-henri-l-vy-lessons-of-the-dominique-strauss-kahn-affair.html

 Here is what BHL has to say about the DSK affair.   For those of you who’ll have the patience to read it entirely without having your blood pressure rise (as it has been my case), please note there’s no mention of Tristane B. nor of the hundreds of “main-courant” against DSK recorded by the police in France.  DSK’s reputation of being “sexually aggressive” is not recalled either.

Shame on him for bringing into his “5 Lessons of the DSK Affairs” the name of Captain Albert Dreyfus only to say one line below……….The Strauss-Kahn affair is obviously unrelated to the Dreyfus affair. 

All BHL's arguments seems to be focussed on 'image', 'honour' (only with respect to DSK, of course), which seem pretty important to his '7 fois entarté Highness'. Also only against the tabloid press, to the extent that it seems like he only believes their accounts.

He writes in his lesson #4:

Another temptation typical of our era is the sacralisation of the victim’s word.

and then, in #5:

Soon there will be another, I mean another victim...and that will be Dominique Strauss-Kahn himself.

Ok, so what are you doing, Monsieur BHL...only in your case, the victim is not the real victim but DSK. Why? Ah yes, because he was made to walk the perp.

With friends like these... 

I don't have a persecution complex but why are you and Arun being so cruel to me? I can understand Arun's motives due to his longheld animosity toward a citizen of the country that brought civilisation and advances in weaving to his country - but why you Nefertiti? Jealousy that our empire outlasted yours and our pirates sunk more of your ships than you did of ours.

You know there are international laws against torture and I plan to bring charges up against to you and report you to the thought police as well.

I certainly support the plot - as it thickens and becomes more entertaining.

As for machismo, it is a bias and no one I think is suggesting that all support for DSK is based on the machismo bias. Whether there is more or less machismo in France than anywhere else I have no idea. And whether other biases are coming into play, I find both irrelevant to the fact that it is present and certainly in the very public and influential places you would not like to see it e.g. media and politics.

My greatest concern however is that the tarte was not too expesnvie as it would have been a terrible waste on BHL.

Wll, if she were a prostitute, the both of them would be guilty of a crime under the laws of NY State

*Prostitution is considered a class B misdemeanor in New York City.

*An offender found guilty of committing prostitution may serve up to 3 months in jail and/or pay a fine up to $500 per offense.

*However, a customer (or patron) of an adult prostitute may serve up to a year in jail and/or pay a fine up to $1,000. Police officers perform regular "sweeps" of the streets in order to clear them of prostitutes and their customers.

http://dating.com/prostitution-laws/new-york-city.php

But DSK is not claiming that he and the alleged victim had "consensual" sex, not that he "paid" for her services.

Does anyone out there really believe (besides DSK himself and his fans) that DSK is so irresistable?

DSK irresistable ? He's not Brad Pitt he has nothing sexy, except for "machists women" like Anne Sinclair...

That's what socialists in France want to make us believe but when you see the faces of the guys (very ugly) booooo see Lionel Jospin ? very ugly ! When he lost the presidential he escaped to a Palazzo in Sicile (very pricy) socialism in France it's "la gauche caviar" = left caviar !

DSK certainly isn't irresistable, but it ain't his fault & that ain't no crime. Do women world-wide never have consensual sex with not-so-irresistable men?

He does have a grim, deadly swagger with a "The DSK" T-shirt, a batmobile and oozes a Neuilly sa mère attitude. I guess few ladies can withstand such heat. 

On a more serious note: Having been parodied extensively in recent times by humourists like the one below on this front, adds up to the perception of DSK as a 'soft target' to some of his supporters.

You're absolutely right;, I never got over the shock of discovering during my first visit to the UK that "El Pirata Drake" of my history books was named over there "Sir Francis Drake"!!!!!!

Ach! I meant to write DSK is claiming that he had consensual sex.

So, if he hired her as a prostitute, let him say so and be convicted of that crime. 

Well, on that matter, Sarkozy is not the handsomest of men...nor always the most sober...

Nothing to do with the DSK case, except sex, I must admit, but I enjoyed reading this story:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2013870/Robber-broke-hair-salon-beaten-black-belt-owner-kept-sex-slave-days--fed-Viagra.html

Awww bad bad, but this story really made my day.

The Sun spices things up with 2-3 other details, like the hospital visit and the pink fluffy handcuffs:

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3691278/Robber-fed-Viagra-and-kept-bras-sex-slave-by-salon-owner.html

Ungrateful dude, biting the hand that fed him (well.... Viagra).

Police searching DSK's hotel suite for semen sample find it - from 4 other men.

That's correct. Not on the walls.

 ON HER AND HER UNIFORM.

Read the entire documents for dismissal. If you don't have the time or inclination, see this:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2011/08/22/nyregion/dsk-recommendation-to-dismiss-case.html

 Page 1 -- clear evidence of sexual encounter

Page 8 --- Final paragraph – clear forensic evidence of sexual encounter

 Page 17 – final paragraph

 Page 18 – final paragraph – semen stains on hotel maid uniform match DSK dna profile

 Page 19 – final paragraph

If the authorities believe she engaged in prostitution then DSK should be charged under NY state prostititution laws.

As the old public service commercial goes:  READING IS FUNDAMENTAL!

BTW: dismissal was based upon prosecution believing that a conviction could not be secured based upon evidence and credibility beyond a reasonable doubt.

http://www.slate.com/id/2302193/pagenum/2

Excellent article raising numerous points about the NY district attorney's office dismissal document.

@Translator.  Good points.  Do you believe that there is enough evidence to convict DSK of having has sex with Diallo against her will?  If not against her will, is there enough evidence to convict him of having paid her specifically for sex?  If he paid her for sex (prostitution) should they both be prosecuted per NY law?

Robert C--

Well, these are all good questions. Some legal commentators have said that the prosecutor should have let a jury decide.

The author of the Slate article raises some very important points. Having read quickly the 25 page dismissal statement, what I think is striking is that everything hinges upon the DA's interpretation of her conduct.

For example, they say at one point that she does appear upset when telling the story. Well, that could definitely be a cultural bias.  There also seems to be a great deal of dispute about the famous phone conversation.

The whole question of prostitution is a difficult one to answer because DSK's lawyers could claim selective prosecution -- that is that he is being targetted because of who he is.

If it wasn't rape then doesn't it strain credulity that there wasn't some kind of financial proposition involved?

Finally, there is something very curious about the fact that the detectives who arrested DSK apparently did not attempt to question him before he "lawyered up."  This is part of policing 101.

First he claimed immunity from prosecution, then 4 hours later, he said he wanted to speak to his lawyer.  Why wasn't he questioned right away.

See this article for the time line on that. DSK says he was willing to speak before his lawyer advised him against it.

http://articles.cnn.com/2011-06-16/justice/new.york.strauss.kahn_1_sexual-assault-sexual-conduct-diplomatic-immunity?_s=PM:CRIME

It will be interesting to see whether she gets to stay in the U.S.

Finally, I think she will get a financial settlement of some kind as there is a civil process lodged against him. He will have to make some statement under oath as to what happened between them if the process goes forward.

Quote: If it wasn't rape then doesn't it strain credulity that there wasn't some kind of financial proposition involved?

Some kind of financial proposition does not necessarily equate to prostitution, she could have been hoping to make money from the press, through blackmail, or she could have been promised money by one of DSK's enemies.

As for the delay in questioning, jumping in and trying to scare a confession out of the suspect before their lawyer arrives might be police procedure for the average low-life they pick up, but it's likely they're a bit more careful with someone with DSK's position. The police's own lawyers were probably busy trying to decide if his immunity claim was valid.

I don't think for a minute that DSK will pay a settlement. It's hard to think how he could do that without at least implicitly admitting guilt. That would be the final nail in the coffin of his political ambitions, and I don't think he's ready for that yet.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/22/dominique-strauss-kahn-dismiss-sex-charges

 An interesting article from the Guardian.

 It seems that when a woman files a complaint for sexual assault, besides having to deal with the appalling psychological consequences of the aggression, she has to proof beyond any doubt she’s a “good victim”.  Naffisatou Diallo does not fit into that category because she’s said to have lied to US officials on numerous occasions.

I don't think it'll be long before rape shield law is expanded far enough to permit unscrupulous fraudsters to lodge these types of claims over and over and over again with little fear of reprisal. 

Let us note that the police and DA never said the claim was fraudulent. The dismissal statement said the prosecutors believed they couldn't prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

They also never said that it wasn't. 

It doesn't take 4 hours to determine whether his immunity claim was valid. It takes one call to the US AG's office from the DA.

If they were "being more careful" then they were giving him deferential treatment which is wrong.

He already admits having sex with her and the DNA evidence is there.

They had no evidence to charge her of that. She may, however, be leaving the US fairly soon due to immigration fraud.

@Translator.

Your points are enlightening, especially the immunity and questioning issue.  Difficult to gleen truth from hearsay on whether they attempted to question and he declined or what other factors were involved.  Ultimately, the prosecution has to determine whether the juice is worth the squeeze--in other words, is there enough evidence of a crime being committed to warrant the expenditure of resources.  They are held accountable by the people to make the best judgement calls, and not waste resources (to include citizens' time on a jury) chasing dead end cases.  That's not to say who is innocent or guilty, but that it seems to gray to pursue.  Perhaps there's a lesson for all here, and that's the positive outcome.

I like that expression about the juice and the squeeze.  

Some years ago I worked to organize the defense of a man charged with felony rape. The contention was that she was too drunk to consent. She actually never accused him but he was accused by a male nurse after dropping her off at the hospital because she had passed out. 

I thought he was targetted because he was a foreigner. The case took months to be resolved and it ended up that he was charged with a gross misdemeanor instead of a felony.  Sometimes the DA either puts pressure on the "victim" to withdraw charges or puts pressure on the defendant to plead out the case and take a deal.  In the latter case, the defendant generally cannot sue the prosecution for false arrest.

I think the DA especially did not want to go forward with the case after losing an important rape case against NYC cops. (See details here: http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2011/05/27/nyc_cops_rape_charges_why_did_they_get_acquitted.html) 

DSK still will have to face not only Diallo's civil suit but also Tristane Banon who claims DSK sexually assaulted her years ago in France.  

Forgot to mention that in a civil case, the standard is not "beyond a reasonable doubt" but generally the "preponderance of evidence."  That is why OJ Simpson was not convicted in the criminal case but lost the civil case.

This is also why the woman who claims to have been sexually assaulted by 2 NYC cops may well win her case.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Preponderance+of+Evidence

@Translator.  Interesting defense (too drunk to consent), though not uncommon and pretty difficult to win when the intoxicating substance was voluntarily consumed and the alleged victim was consious--seems in your case consciousness is questionable.

Concur that the civil suit will have different dynamics.  Unfortunately, this one is much muddier than the OJ case.  It is easy to establish that the two had sex.  Consent is near impossible to determine. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on the side of the fence one sits) the history of the alleged victim will most likely be admissable, which is not in her favor.

Interesting point worth considering that relates to one of the links you provided: "innnocent until proven guilty" is not based on any Constitution right.

Some new twists to the tale adds new questions:

Was DSK setup? Was French intelligence involved?

The most unusual evidence described by Epstein is a security video of the hotel's engineer, Brian Yearwood, and an unidentified man apparently celebrating the day's events. Earlier, Yearwood had been communicating with John Sheehan, a security expert at Accor, which owns Sofitel, and whose boss, René-Georges Querry, once worked with a man now in intelligence for Sarkoz

From ze Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/nov/26/dominique-strauss-kahn-hotel-maid

The original report by Epstein (you may face a timeout, the site seems to be overwhelmed).

There are some  issues with that article...

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/11/28/why-dominique-strauss-kahn-needs-to-tell-his-side-of-the-story.html