IMF managing director arrested, accused of sexual attack

[Joe Hillshoist]

And fairly solid.

[blanc]

speech bubbles please.

That would be a civil suit for damages Peachtree Pam, and not a private prosecution?

[Nordic]

By the way, since Obama is 6-1, in that pic Strauss-Kahn looks to be about 5-8.

Wow, I didn't know Michelle Obama was 6'1"

[Peachtree Pam]

speech bubbles please.

That would be a civil suit for damages Peachtree Pam, and not a private prosecution?

Yes, it would be a civil suit for damages. There is a lower threshold for proof in a civil suit. If DSK is convicted, a civil suit is a walkover. If he is acquitted, she still could win a civil suit (O.J. Simpson).

There are new developments:

Strauss-Kahn Accuser Adds Counsel Expecting an Attack on Her Reputation

The hotel maid who accused Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the ex-International Monetary Fund managing director now charged with sexual assault and attempted rape, hired additional legal counsel in anticipation of an attack on her reputation and credibility, her lawyer said.

Attorney Norman Siegel, former director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth P. Thompson, who prosecuted New York City police officers for the beating and torture of Abner Louima, have begun to work on behalf of the 32-year-old hotel maid from Guinea, according to Jeffrey Shapiro, who has been representing her.

“We anticipate the defense in this case is going to mount some sort of an assault on her,” Shapiro, a New York personal- injury lawyer, said yesterday in a phone interview. “It requires a team effort” to protect her, he said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-05-2 ... ation.html

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyers threaten to ‘undermine’ maid’s credibility

NEW YORK – Defense lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn say they have information which could "gravely undermine" the credibility of the New York hotel maid accusing the former IMF chief of trying to rape her.

The threat appeared in a long letter from attorneys William Taylor and Benjamin Brafman to Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance in which they complained about what they said were "continual" leaks by police aimed at damaging their client's case.

Responding, the DA's office said in a letter Thursday it was "troubled" by the threat about damaging information on the maid and said: "We are aware of no such information."

According to Taylor and Brafman, "we could now release substantial information that in our view would seriously undermine the quality of this prosecution and also gravely undermine the credibility of the complainant in this case," the letter said.

No further information was given about the nature of the information, but the mention raised new tensions ahead of a June 6 court hearing when Strauss-Kahn is expected to plead not guilty to the sex assault charges.

Brafman and Taylor complained to Vance that leaked information about the police investigation was feeding a "media frenzy."

The leaks have been "recklessly injected into the public arena with the potential of permanently prejudicing potential jurors who are being exposed to these materials on a daily basis."

The letter, sent Wednesday, asks Vance to stop the media leaks.

"We are requesting that you use whatever resources are appropriate to stop further leaking immediately," the attorneys ask, also demanding that they be given access to any evidence already mentioned in the anonymous leaks.

They said they would repeat the demands formally on June 6 before Judge Michael Obus.

In their response, prosecutors from the District Attorney's office said they were also concerned by leaks and had "communicated our position in that regard to members of law enforcement outside of this office."

However, the DA's office slammed the threat regarding the maid, saying "we were troubled that you chose to inject into the public record your claim that you possess information that might negatively impact the case.

"If you really do possess the kind of information you suggest that you do, we trust you will forward it immediately to the District Attorney's Office."

The defense lawyers' letter, which is also copied to Obus, mentions in particular a New York Times report detailing the police narrative of how the alleged crime unfolded in the Manhattan Sofitel suite occupied by Strauss-Kahn on May 14.

It also mentions leaked reports about the discovery of DNA traces from Strauss-Kahn on the maid's clothing.

"We can cite to dozens of other prejudicial articles and news stories that have appeared in recent days in which confidential police sources have provided a wide array of prejudicial information about Mr Strauss-Kahn, including information which even if true, would never be admissible in any court."

[Canadian_watcher]

Strauss-Kahn Accuser Adds Counsel Expecting an Attack on Her Reputation

However, the DA's office slammed the threat regarding the maid, saying "we were troubled that you chose to inject into the public record your claim that you possess information that might negatively impact the case.

"If you really do possess the kind of information you suggest that you do, we trust you will forward it immediately to the District Attorney's Office."

wow - that is classless and absolutely dirty pool. Perhaps in rape cases there should not be the rule where the defense gets to keep their evidence confidential ... or is there? In Canada the defense does not have to make full disclosure (I don't think.. it's been a while since school and I'm not in the field any more)

[lupercal]

Another piece of the puzzle, from February:
................................
IMF boss calls for global currency
Heather Stewart - guardian.co.uk - Thursday 10 February 2011



Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the International Monetary Fund, thinks a new world currency would calm economic instability and curb the dollar's power. Strauss-Kahn thinks the fund's Special Drawing Rights could be used as a global currency.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn, managing director of the International Monetary Fund, has called for a new world currency that would challenge the dominance of the dollar and help curb future financial instability.

In a speech in Washington, Strauss-Kahn argued that the reserves that member countries held with the fund could be used, instead of the dollar, to price international trade. These so-called special drawing rights (SDRs) could also act as an alternative to the dollar in central banks' foreign currency reserves.

"Using the SDR to price global trade and denominate financial assets would provide a buffer from exchange rate volatility," he said, while "issuing SDR-denominated bonds could create a potentially new class of reserve assets".

The IMF published a policy paper backing Strauss-Kahn's views as it gathered top-level economists for discussions on the future of the international monetary system.

Strauss-Kahn, who has been tipped as a contender for the French presidency next year, also argued that the way SDRs were valued, which is currently based on a basket of currencies – the dollar, sterling, the euro and the yen – be broadened to include others such as the Chinese yuan.

International policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the threat of currency wars as struggling governments try to hold down their own exchange rates as they clamber out of recession.

Strauss-Kahn admitted that there were formidable hurdles to achieving a greater role for SDRs, but he warned that without urgent action, the simmering conflicts in the international financial system could tip the world back into chaos.

"Global imbalances are back, with issues that worried us before the crisis—large and volatile capital flows, exchange-rate pressures, rapidly growing excess reserves – on the front-burner once again. Left unresolved, these problems could even sow the seeds of the next crisis," he said.

China, which holds much of its $2.85 trillion mountain of reserves in US Treasury bonds, has repeatedly expressed unease about the value of the dollar, while American politicians have complained that Beijing gains an unfair advantage by keeping its own currency cheap.

The idea of SDRs emerged in 1969, to support the Bretton Woods fixed exchange rate system, but when that collapsed a few years later, the role of SDRs was largely forgotten. They allow IMF members the right to swap their own reserves for foreign currencies in times of need.

However, at the London G20 meeting in 2009, in the midst of the credit crunch, world leaders agreed a dramatic $250bn boost to SDRs, sparking speculation that they could play a growing role in the global monetary system.

Strauss-Kahn said the IMF was also examining ways of strengthening international policy co-ordination, and monitoring international imbalances.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011 ... d-currency
.....................

meanwhile Sarkozy is sitting pretty in Deauville where he and his G8 buddies are raking in the profits of their fake Arab Spring: http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews ... 27?sp=true

[Nordic]

IMF boss calls for global currency

[Canadian_watcher]

Another piece of the puzzle, from February:
................................
IMF boss calls for global currency

I had taken it for granted that everyone already knew this. Isn't it what's behind the whole "The Americans Framed Him!" line of thought? The US doesn't want the dollar to lose its standing as global reserve currency and so they resorted to shenanigans to get rid of a pesky rival?

[lupercal]

^ I'd guess it's one reason our spooks stuck their necks out to help a friend, much like they helped Harper win his big enchilada, and why just about every clown in the circus here is either playing along or keeping mum, including the White House ring.

[Joe Hillshoist]

Man if this was a set up to stop one world currency implemented by the IMF I say good on whoever set him up.

[Pierre d'Achoppement]

Now porn star claims to have enjoyed threesome with 'gentle and sweet' DSK after meeting him in strip club
By Nick Pisa

Last updated at 4:05 PM on 26th May 2011

She nicknamed him 'Genghis' Khan after ruthless Mongolian warlord
He's just a libertine, she said

An Italian porn actress today claimed to have had a steamy threesome with IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Khan after meeting him in a strip club.
Natasha Kiss, 38, who has starred in dozens of erotic films, said Strauss-Khan was 'gentle and sweet' adding that she remembered him most for 'his cuddles'.
Miss Kiss described how she has met the Frenchman at a private members strip club in Paris and how she had nicknamed him Ghengis Khan - the ruthless 12th century Mongol warlord emperor.

The actress, whose real name is Michelle Conti, described her meeting with Strauss-Khan in an interview with leading Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.
She said: 'I thought long and hard about speaking. When I saw him in the newspapers and on the television, treated worse than a killer, then I decided to speak out.

'We met in a private club in Paris four or five years ago.
'He shook my hand and very clearly said his name. I nicknamed him Genghis Khan - the only difference between then and now is his hair, it was speckled now its whiter.
'He was in the club like everyone else there, he wanted to have a drink, a dance and if you feel like it go off with someone.

'In Paris, like everywhere else in the world, you can decide at any moment to flirt - not like Italy.' When asked why Strauss-Khan had begun to flirt with her, Miss Kiss, who boasts on her website that 'sex is her reason for living' said: 'He was very sweet. I was with friends and he was on his own.
'He tried to attract the attention of an older distinguished lady but she gave him a look which said she was not interested so he just smiled back at her.
'He tried with others but with no luck. What attracted me to him was the fact he was such a gentleman despite all the rebuttals he got. He then approached me and he got it together with a friend and myself.'

Miss Kiss, who says on her website she makes porn movies 'for passion not the money' adding she likes 'extreme sex' went on: 'He wasn't randy or woman hungry like people are making him out.
'He was very gentle, educated and not a dribbling dog as can often happen - in fact he treated us both very sweetly, he cuddled me and that's what stuck in my mind.
'I was in Paris for a week and I went to that club every night - he came three or four times. One evening he came really late, we chatted for a bit then we all went back home to sleep.'
When asked what her impression of Strauss-Khan was she said: 'I have no doubt that he is a very nice person, it's disgusting what he is being put through.
'Dominique does not need to rape a woman - if he wants he can just pay an escort or do as he did in Paris and go to a private club to enjoy himself for a bit. He is just a libertine.
'I know men. The emotional sexual side, if it's like that is like that. He is not violent, the picture that has been described of him is not him, as I say I still remember his cuddles.'
Miss Kiss has made five pornographic movies and is now a director. She was nominated in 2004 for a prize at the Barcelona Erotic Film Festival losing out to Anastasia Mayo.
Last week former madam Kristin Davis, whose escort service also catered to the former governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer, said she provided prostitutes for Strauss-Khan in 2006 when he was France’s presidential nomination as a Socialist.

Explore more:Places: Paris, France, Italy Organisations: International Monetary Fund

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z1NYBtdRHg

[Canadian_watcher]

^

[crikkett]

Publicity. Miss Kiss' name as a creep-friendly whore is now spread as far and wide as her legs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She claims to enjoy what she does for money.

[seemslikeadream]

Publicity. Miss Kiss' name as a creep-friendly whore is now spread as far and wide as her legs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She claims to enjoy what she does for money.

and she just may run the world

[crikkett]

Publicity. Miss Kiss' name as a creep-friendly whore is now spread as far and wide as her legs. Not that there's anything wrong with that. She claims to enjoy what she does for money.

and she just may run the world

OT/Respect. Last time I tried to switch my hips like that, in heels like those, I twisted an ankle.

On edit (and back to topic)

'He tried to attract the attention of an older distinguished lady but she gave him a look which said she was not interested so he just smiled back at her. He tried with others but with no luck.... He then approached me and he got it together with a friend and myself.'

'A look which said she was not interested' sounds like an understatement.
Miss Kiss was like, 5th choice. Her advertisement here is that she'll have you when noone else will.