May 16, 2011

"Shock. Political Bomb. Thunderclap."

So read the headline in left-leaning newspaper Libération.
The deputy editor, Vincent Giret, wrote sadly on Sunday that [Dominique] Strauss-Kahn seemed “best-armed to respond to the disarray of the French, exhausted by the crisis and disoriented by the crazy reign of Sarkozy.” But Mr. Strauss-Kahn apparently believed he could win the presidency “without fighting,” Mr. Giret said, and so did not follow a path of “renunciation and abnegation.”
A path of renunciation and abnegation... Some French way to say don't rape anybody... when you're running for the highest office and the hopes of a political party are resting on you.

Socialistes pauvres!
Some of Mr. Strauss-Kahn’s allies said that he must have been the victim of a setup. Christine Boutin, head of the small Christian Democratic Party, told French television: “That he could be taken in like that seems astounding, so he must have been trapped.”
Trapped... in a $3,000 a night hotel room... by the maid....

Yes. It could happen. The French are onto the machinations of the maids.
As for suggestions that Mr. Strauss-Kahn might have fallen into an elaborate sting, [Gérard Grunberg, a respected political scientist who studies the left] was dismissive. “If all this was a trap, he wouldn’t have fled in a panic”....

80 comments:

KCFleming said...

Apparently he predicted such false accusations 3 weeks ago, according to their news reports.

Novel cover story for a serial philanderer or rapist.

David said...

If this were a setup, his nickname would not not be lapin chaud. (Hot rabbit.)

David said...

not not not be

Seeing Red said...

PFFFFFFFFFFTTT!!!

Those Americains & their puritanism/prudishness/sexual repressiveness. Didn't they learn anything from Mr. Cleeenton?

Now where's my whine, cheese & stinky cancer stick?

Peter V. Bella said...

Probably not the first time. Just the first time he got caught.

Mark said...

It's good to be King (of the IMF).

Dust Bunny Queen said...

And so the mighty have fallen.....tripped on his dick.

Shouting Thomas said...

Ok, here's the story as told by the AP:

The 32-year-old maid told authorities that when she entered his spacious, $3,000-a-night suite early Saturday afternoon, she thought it was unoccupied. Instead, Strauss-Kahn emerged from the bathroom naked, chased her down a hallway and pulled her into a bedroom, where he sexually assaulted her, New York Police Department spokesman Paul J. Browne said.

The woman told police she fought him off, but then he dragged her into the bathroom, where he forced her to perform oral sex on him and tried to remove her underwear. The woman was able to break free again, escaped the room and told hotel staff what had happened, authorities said.

This nearly 60 year old guy, somehow "forced" a 32 year old African immigrant (nee black) woman from the Bronx to perform oral sex on him!

Old guy sticks his dick in black woman's mouth? She's 30 years young than him. He risks her biting his dick off?

Sorry, but there's something to this story that is just pure bunk. I have no idea what really happened, but the story as reported is nonsense.

Shouting Thomas said...

Remember, no weapon reported.

And, I'll repeat, this nearly 60 year old guy somehow is reported to be able to force his dick into the mouth of a 32 year old black woman (recent African immigrant) from the Bronx.

Anybody besides me smell scam?

Fred4Pres said...

The Euro slumped to a seven month low against the dollar.

That is not the only thing that has slumped.

Patrick said...

$3000 a night hotel.
$3,500 suit.
First class air travel.
Socialist.

"You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means..."

Fred4Pres said...

At 2000 Euros a night he apparently wanted more than the complementary fruit bowl.

Scott M said...

Didn't he flee (he's French, remember) leaving behind a lot of personal items like his cell phone?

Scott M said...

Gives a new meaning to the term "IMF head", doesn't it?

Shouting Thomas said...

Actually, this story is even dumber than I thought.

The alleged rapist is 62 years old.

I repeat... this old soft bureaucrat was somehow able to force a 32 year old black woman from the Bronx to perform oral sex.

He dragged her into the bathroom and stuck his dick in her mouth (which she could have easily bit off), but he couldn't remove her underwear.

Huh? Come on, folks. This did not happen this way.

rhhardin said...

Armstrong and Getty on the IMF, "First we rape your economy, then your women."

traditionalguy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott M said...

Did the manager of the hotel, upon hearing the story from his maid, look at the ceiling and scream, "KAAAAAAHN!!!!" ?

traditionalguy said...

OK, the Socialist Brahmins of the incipient New World Order are not that into women's rights. My guess is that he got confused on which financial capital he was staying in. If NYC had been in Europe or Africa, then his lust for power expressed through sexual assault of a woman would have been ignored.

Mark said...

ST, you're getting a lot more details from that story than I am.

- Where does it say the maid was an African immigrant? (Why, for that matter, wouldn't a physically fit 62 year old white man be able to subdue a 32 year old woman? Because Black women are all huge and scary? Come on.)

- Where does it say she's from the Bronx? Not seeing it.

- Just because the story says she gave him oral, I wouldn't read it as accurate. Without seeing the complaint, my guess is that it's just as likely that he slapped her around the face and head with his coq.

The story also makes clear this isn't the first time he's been accused of attempted rape. This time he made the mistake of acting thusly in a classless society.

John said...

At least they aren't saying she was wearing a French Maid's Costume from Fredericks of Hollywood. Or are they?

I can't believe the word verification for this post: "pokedici" I think someone at Google is messing with me.

Seeing Red said...

I'm confused.

Is oral sex actually sex again?

YoungHegelian said...

@ST

If he was caught in a setup or if the story didn't go down as reported, then why did he run from the hotel room, leaving his phone and other personal items behind?

I think you underestimate the level of self-entitlement folks of DSK's stratum feel. Sofitel is a French-owned firm, and I'm sure that DSK felt that any troubles he caused in their hotel would be smoothed over by his buds at Sofitel corporate in France. After all, what's more important to Sofitel --- the feelings of some piddling negresse chambermaid, or relations with its socialist union workers, hmmmm?

Shouting Thomas said...

This is the story that identifies the accuser as a recent African immigrant who lives in the Bronx.

So, the accuser, I think we can assume, is recently arrived from a very rough culture where duking it out is commonplace.

She lives in the Bronx, which in some neighborhoods is as tough as a 3rd world country in Africa.

And, she is easily pushed around by a fat, soft old bureaucrat, and just succumbs to giving him a blowjob in the bathroom.

I find this hard to believe, and I do share the general belief that this French guy is a gold plated asshole.

ndspinelli said...

My hope is the DA who handles this case is tough[preferably female but not necessarily] who can stand up for this victim. I've worked cases where the accused is wealthy and the victim poor. Class is more powerful than anything..even race. This woman has a shitstorm heading her way..I pray for her.

Shouting Thomas said...

My hope is the DA who handles this case is tough[preferably female but not necessarily] who can stand up for this victim. I've worked cases where the accused is wealthy and the victim poor. Class is more powerful than anything..even race. This woman has a shitstorm heading her way..I pray for her.

This is rank bullshit. New York City is full of leftist activist lawyers, many of whom work for the DA's office, all of them eager to nail the occasional white male defendant that comes their way.

Haven't you read Bonfire of the Vanities?

The commie lawyers are going to have a field day with this one!

Scott M said...

Class is more powerful than anything..even race.

Class wouldn't have saved the Duke Lacrosse guys if it hadn't been for the shining light of the truth. Hell, it was nearly a case of race trumping truth, for that matter. If the woman hadn't been such a complete scumbag, who knows what would have happened to those guys in the end.

Seeing Red said...

African immigrant who lives in the Bronx.

The flipside would be she's a recent immigrant and it might depend on cultural aspects. What did she fear?

Shouting Thomas said...

Any predictions on the outcome?

My cynical prediction:

Charges mysteriously dropped after large payoff to maid.

Anonymous said...

@ST

"Recent African immigrant" means she could be a anything from a 6 ft Somali woman to a 4 ft San. You are making a big assumption that the victim was physically stronger than a rapacious 60-year-old bureaucrat.

Fred4Pres said...

Shouting Thomas, those allegations (if those are the allegations) are somewhat questionable.

windbag said...

It is not difficult to imagine that a woman, who just moved to this country, and who works in a luxurious hotel, would be intimidated by the sexual advances of a rich, famous, and powerful guest, and thus hesitant to forcefully defend herself.

Shouting Thomas said...

... You are making a big assumption that the victim was physically stronger than a rapacious 60-year-old bureaucrat.

No, I making an assumption based on having spent considerable time in a couple of third world countries.

Even a four foot tall Mexican or Filipino girl will know self defense, because she will be constantly victimized if she doesn't.

I just don't buy this story. The story as reported is not what happened. I don't know what happened, buy the reported story is bunk.

James said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
James said...

Come on now... we all know its impossible for a black/African woman to be raped/sexually assaulted by an older white man.

The bitch was looking for it.

William said...

In their native continent, African women have not been especially successful in warding off rapists. Indeed, the fact that she was African may have increased this pompbag's sense of entitlement. Maybe there's more to the story, but for now my sympathies are with the chambermaid.

Tank said...

Patrick said...

$3000 a night hotel.
$3,500 suit.
First class air travel.
Socialist.

"You keep using that word. I don't think it means what you think it means..."


Pat, ya need to go back to your Animal Farm. Some animals are more equal than others.

Fits the whole scenario perfectly. He's a "more equal" Piggy, and he can do what he wants with less equal maids.

PaulV said...

Jennifer Lopez will play maid in movie, will win at Cannes and win Academy award

Shouting Thomas said...

The bitch was looking for it.

James, you've been exceedingly well indoctrinated. What fine institution of higher learning drilled the bullshit into you?

Dust Bunny Queen said...

The flipside would be she's a recent immigrant and it might depend on cultural aspects. What did she fear?

Deportation? It isn't clear what her immigration status is. Since most liberal newspapers and reporters refuse to acknowledge illegal immigration exists or differentiate between legal and illegal status, so we do not know.

If her status is illegal (, then the maid's fears could have been compounded by not only being attacked but by the fear of being forced back to Africa and away from her family here.

Nevertheless, her immigration status should be immaterial to the crime of being sexually assaulted.

The cultural aspects are a big consideration as well.

I take exception to Shouting's characterization of a 62 year old white man being unable to 'subdue' a younger black woman. Frankly, that assumption reeks of racism to me. Not to mention also ageism :-)

Scott M said...

What fine institution of higher learning drilled the bullshit into you?

ST, I think you need to update your sarcasm-detection software.

Scott M said...

Frankly, that assumption reeks of racism to me. Not to mention also ageism :-)

Agreed. My grandfather was 65 when he did a Second-Hand-Lion on a group of twenty-something men that were assaulting a woman outside a gas station.

Seeing Red said...

Via The Belmont Club from The Grauniad:

Strauss-Kahn’s alleged womanising appears to have been an open secret in French political circles for years. Thierry Saussez, a former adviser to Sarkozy, who took part in the TV show with Banon, said: “All this stupefaction from people is sheer hypocrisy. Everyone in Paris has known for years he had something of a problem. Not many female journalists are prepared to interview him alone these days.” …

A local official of the Socialist party claimed that Strauss-Kahn had attacked her daughter, who is goddaughter to Strauss-Kahn’s second wife, in 2002.

Tristane Banon was in her 20s and writing a book when she approached Strauss-Kahn for an interview in 2002. In a TV programme in 2007, in which Strauss-Kahn’s name had been bleeped out, Banon allegedly described him as a “rutting chimpanzee” and described how she was forced to fight him off. “It finished badly … very violently … I kicked him,” Banon said. “When we were fighting, I mentioned the word ‘rape’ to make him afraid, but it didn’t have any effect. I managed to get out.”

Banon consulted a lawyer, but did not press charges. “I didn’t want to be known to the end of my days as the girl who had a problem with the politician.”

Banon’s mother, Anne Mansouret, told journalists on Sunday night she had dissuaded her daughter from legal action because she believed Strauss-Kahn’s behaviour had been out of character and because of close links with his family. “Today I am sorry to have discouraged my daughter from complaining. I bear a heavy responsibility,” she said.

James said...

James, you've been exceedingly well indoctrinated. What fine institution of higher learning drilled the bullshit into you?


It could have happened at several places. In fact the indoctrination was subtle yet very thorough that I can't identify when exactly it occurred.

AllenS said...

It doesn't sound like rape-rape to me.

Patrick said...

rdkraus: "Pat, ya need to go back to your Animal Farm. Some animals are more equal than others."

D'oh! I keep forgetting. When they are trying to good, it doesn't actually matter what they are doing.

Titus said...

He certainly isn't physically fit.

Look at his picture.

I tend to agree with ST on this. Something fishy about the story.

Seeing Red said...

Wretchard writes:

...I think you may find that the mission to get Osama bin Laden and the arrest of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has raised American prestige in the Third World to heights unprecedented since the invasion of Iraq quite unintentionally. I know the conventional wisdom says that America was hated from the moment it invaded Iraq, but as Lee Smith recounts in his book, the Strong Horse and as I myself witnessed in Lebanon, it positively thrilled much of the Arab street, only they will only confess it in secret.

If you go down to the Times of India you will read comment after comment that says “only in America could such a powerful man be taken off an airplane and made to parade in a police lineup”; “this is true democracy” and “my faith in the world has been restored”. For a world that is accustomed to watching the powerful stamp on the faces of the common man, this the arrest is wonderous, almost unbelievable and nearly on par with the sight of SEALs fleeting through Abbottabad.

I do not say this to prejudge DSK, who may be innocent, only to point out that this is the way much of the world likes to see America; mighty, confident and meting out almost magical justice with seeming effortlessness....

Tank said...

Har

Now you've got it.

Snark said...

It's silly to make assumptions about how the victim of any crime would respond in the moment. Things like fear, shock, anger, basic personality and gut assessments of the immediate circumstances that can't hope to be accurately apprehended by armchair babblers who weren't there are hugely more influential than the neighborhood one lives in or the country one comes from. Really, how much of a slobbering ideologue can one be?

Fred4Pres said...

I am not defending this socialist frog who loves the fine things in life and want us to pay for them. That is why this story has legs from a media perspective.

But if you are accused of a crime you are presumed innocent. So this guy deserves a fair and objective investigation and the right to defend himself. I am not saying he didn't do it (I was not there, nor have I had the chance to judge the credibility of the witnesses or evidence). But we have to recognize the possibility he did not.

O2BNAZ said...

Doesn’t all of this really make sense? The progressive left is all about a class[less] society. They claim they want an end to human social classes, but to do this you have to believe they exist in the first place...and don't they??...don't they claim an intellectual superiority, a moral superiority, a political superiority…isn’t it this supremist sensibility, this belief of moral and intellectual superiority that allows this white man to subjugate a woman of “lesser class”??

Fred4Pres said...

Seeing Red:

Of course you probably won't be seeing Don Rumsfeld or Dick Cheney going to Europe anytime soon, because the Europeans would love to arrest them on "war crimes."

But it is true, the rick and powerful usually do get a pass when it comes to crimes like this (if a crime in fact occurred).

AllenS said...

The guy is a socialist. I hope he fries. Who cares if he's innocent.

Shouting Thomas said...

The guy is a socialist. I hope he fries. Who cares if he's innocent.

There's that, too.

Seeing Red said...

Via Belmont Club:

Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn have proof the IMF chief was at a restaurant having lunch with his daughter at the time he was alleged to be sexually assaulting a hotel maid, France’s RMC radio reported on Monday.

Steve Koch said...

ST,

There are lots of guys in their 60's who are still quite strong, especially nowadays that so many older guys are working out. It is not impossible or even extremely unlikely that a 62 year old man could physically subdue a 32 year old black woman.

If they find this guy's DNA under the finger nails of the maid or if he has a bunch of recent scratches, he is toast.

You are probably right that he will pay off the maid. He will also probably work out a plea bargain deal.

Anonymous said...

IMF CHIEF HAS IRONCLAD ALIBI, His Lawyers Say

FTA: "IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, better known as DSK, was having lunch with his daughter at the time when the sexual assault he is alleged to have committed supposedly took place, his lawyers say, according to French radio RMC.

According to this item, DSK checked out of the hotel at noon, hours before the events allegedly took place. He was scheduled to have lunch with his daughter, a graduate student at Columbia University in New York, that day."

The DNA will tell the tale.

The Dude said...

I read that his suits are much more expensive, that he pays at least $7,000 per. Even that seems a bit low - cheap California politicians and two bit actors pay more than that for a suit. My guess is that he paid tens of thousands of dollars per suit.

He is a socialist and the world owes that to the IMF head, or something.

garage mahal said...

The guy is a socialist. I hope he fries. Who cares if he's innocent.

There's that, too.


That's freedom to a wingnut.

Chuck66 said...

A $3,000 a night hotel room? That's the kind of socialist I could be.

James said...

As I said yesterday I spent nearly 10 years working for the U.N. in New York and while I make no determinations of guilt or innocence, the allegations themselves do not surprise me in the least.

There are three categories of staff; D or diplomats who were political apointees, P or Professional who were the technocrats/bureaucrats and GS or general service support staff.

Much of the General Service staff is hired on 6 or 12-month renewable contracts. One of the perks (apart from tax-free income) is that the U.N. converts your current visa to a G-4 visa. Since a large percentage of the GS staff entered the U.S. on B-1 visitors visas and overstayed their time, a G-4 visa was probably the only way to regularize their visa status.

The system encourages a lot of abuse since without a G-4 visa you lost the right to remain in the U.S. It was my observation that the D's and the P's preyed on the GS staff. Although the jobs were supposed to be distributed on a geographic basis, a large percentage of the GS staff were Filipina women.

Shouting Thomas said...

The system encourages a lot of abuse since without a G-4 visa you lost the right to remain in the U.S. It was my observation that the D's and the P's preyed on the GS staff. Although the jobs were supposed to be distributed on a geographic basis, a large percentage of the GS staff were Filipina women.

My late wife, a Filipina, acted in sexual harassment videos for the UN back in the late 90s.

Certainly, what you way is true. Diplomatic immunity encouraged the diplomatic staff to act like complete assholes, and there was very little that could be done about it.

Freeman Hunt said...

Assuming this is true, my first thought for this guy is,

"You may be used to wholly corrupt backwaters, but this ain't one."

If he did it, I hope they throw the book at him.

Where are some of you getting the idea that 62 year old men are weaklings? That's crazy.

Freeman Hunt said...

Diplomats visiting the US are notorious for their poor behavior.

KCFleming said...

He merely wanted to release his second chakra.

All the world's great men ask for it.

Trooper York said...

Hey do they play lacrosse in France?

Shouting Thomas said...

Where are some of you getting the idea that 62 year old men are weaklings? That's crazy.

In general, I don't believe that 62 year old men are weaklings.

However, this is a obviously soft bureaucrat.

Also to consider. I am 61 years old and I'm extremely strong. But, unlike when I was young, I know that in any skirmish in which I take a blow I'll spend months recovering from bruises or injuries. I don't recover quickly, and I'll suffer from acute arthritis also as the result of bruises or injuries.

This is a powerful incentive to avoid any conflict that might produce bruises or injury. Whenever I think about retaliating against some jerk, I remember that I'll be hurting for months afterward, win or lose.

edutcher said...

I thought the Lefties always did the PC thing.

I mean, the were against going into Iraq, weren't they?

I can't believe they don't take this poor woman's word.

That's so ... bitter clinger.

Fred4Pres said...

I saw plenty of pigs in Turtle Bay when I lived in New York. Just sayin'. James sums it up well.

Of course, if this guy has diplomatic status, he is going back to France. The State Department will intervene. That is just the way it is.

A guy in his sixties can easily over power most women. But given the Duke case, I hope that the NYC detectives are doing their jobs. I assume they are. They know in a high profile case like this everything they do will be double and tripled checked. NYPD has dealt with out of control diplomats many times before.

I am for having a fair trial, objective review of evidence and testimony, and if proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, giving him a very long opportunity to study the New York State penal system.

Fred4Pres said...

Shouting Thomas, if the guy has a reputation for this in France, he may be mentally out of control. Not legally insane, but a self destructive sociopath (as opposed to the type who try to cover their tracks) who will keep pushing the issue, getting more and more reckless, until he goes to far. That may be the case here.

Or maybe Strauss-Kahn has an iron clad alibi and their is no DNA to tie him to a crime.

We do not know that yet. The evidence will tell us.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"Where are some of you getting the idea that 62 year old men are weaklings? That's crazy."

No kidding. Ill be in my prime at 62.

write_effort said...

DSK apparently told the mother of the journalist he allegedly attacked in 2002 that he "went crazy." He is likely a predator and wired a bit differently than, I hope, most men on this thread. That said, men are still quite strong way past 60.

RuyDiaz said...

At Shouting Thomas and Titus:

You guys are pathetic. Do you guys realize how much stroger men are than women, on average? Don't you know the role of aggression--that the aggressor has the advantage?

Jesus frigging Christ.

Hoosier Daddy said...

"You guys are pathetic. Do you guys realize how much stroger men are than women, on average? Don't you know the role of aggression--that the aggressor has the advantage"

A swift kick to the balls followed by a knee to the jaw will drop any guy no matter what his size. All it takes is a willingness to violence.

jerryofva said...

ST:

I am insulted. I am 61 years old. Do you want to go a couple of rounds with me? How about a little 5-10 mile run through the woods with a rifle chasing a pack of coonhounds?

The guy's behvaior is that of a perp and not someone who was set up.

Mark said...

A swift kick to the balls followed by a knee to the jaw will drop any guy no matter what his size. All it takes is a willingness to violence.

Which an immigrant making minimum wage in a fancy hotel chock full of influential patrons (i.e. self-important assholes) might not have in the confusion and fear of the moment.

Anybody want to take bets on whether, when we see pictures of the victim, that her face is significantly messed up? I'd put a 20% chance on it, because something made her go to authorities pretty quickly, and made the coq do a runner pretty quickly too.

Jose_K said...

Is shouting thomas shouting non senses to put a tra to Althouse?
he is balming the victim.
Defending a person with prior accusations
And even if was a trap , he attacked here and that is what count

showbiz111 said...

We must have Inspector Clousseau investigate this 'trap'. What is almost as disturbing as the criminal allegations are the fact that a socialist/communist (French 'socialists' are really marxists) is heading/was heading the IMF. How much confidence does that give you in the IMF's ability to ensure productive and prosperous economies? Less than zero. Then we have the socialist/
marxist in a $3,000 night room and flying first class on airlines. How's that for a paradox-commie enjoys bourgeois lifestyle. Holy hypocrisy Batman!
Next we have an egalitarian marxist (who can't be racist because socialists are proletarian saviours), attempting to rape and commit anal penetration to a single mother African American. We all know that commies want to do that to the public, but never has it been so graphically depicted.

Carol_Herman said...

Sodomy is not a blow job. Different hole. And, since the made thought the room was empty, she was shocked to see a naked man. Who had the advantage.

Or as a french woman said, "he is a raving chimpanzee."

After running out of the hotel room, he ran to JFK. Where he can board any Air France flight to Paris. Riding First Class. But he didn't have his sell phone.

So, DSK calls the hotel's front desk and asks if his cell phone has been found. The front desk person replies "yes." And, someone will bring him the phone. But do tell "where are you."

The NY cops, and the district attorney's office are very media savvy.

They got the ball rollilng off to the press. And, DNA evidence was taken from DSK. Who probably thought "diplomatic immunity" would show up in no time.

And, in no time, did it show up.

For the time being, DSK is being held without bail. On Riker's.

This isn't the first time this chap stayed at this hotel. You might ask has DSK done this before?

Most women are too embarrassed to complain. And, this woman had no idea Drudge would be headlining this story. And, the media has gone with it full tilt!