Pointless trying to backpeddle Dick, its obvious what you meant, you are simply trying to justify what you said... don't, its bad enough you made the statement, now you are trying to imply you meant something else by it and you even tried to turn it around onto me....

Ok can we just stop arguing now please and carry on with the thread

Yeh, just the usual source of disruption I suppose.
I should have enough sense to ignore it by now.

Strauss-Khan has been remanded in custody despite a request for bail set at one million dollars which was refused in case he does a runner.
The general opinion seems to be that the French lady would have had great difficulty making a case in her own country, but for this US accusation.
Judging by the pre-hearings the prosecution has a good case and are going for the jugular.
Had the guy been a famous US celeb we may have seen the usual sham trial, but I think this guy could be deep in the brown stuff.
Next court appearance set for the twentieth of May.

Yes he has now been charged and denied bail.

This presumably is after the prosecutors have looked at the DNA evidence and his alleged alibi of having lunch with his daughter.

It doesn't look good for him but in terms of repercussions the Euro has gained nearly a cent against the dollar

Perhaps Gordon will get the job earlier than he was expecting - unless Cameron really blocks it!

Lord forbid.
You cannot be serious man.

I don't know, nobody knows the outcome of the case, but it seems perverse to refuse bail to the leader of the IMF and possible future French president, by a New York court. He has a daughter living in New York and bail conditions could easily have been applied to prevent his flight. And where in the world could he flee to?

Repercussions? Rightly or wrongly, European sentiment against the US is already strong, a lot of people think it's a barbaric country still with the death penalty, which sentenced an 80-year old citizen to 150 years in prison (Madoff), executes people in sovereign states, and blatantly refuses to extradite its own citizens while expecting other countries to send theirs to the US for trial (the UK hacker).

An insignificant event? Or could the world have got finally fed up with the bully across the Atlantic?

America is a hypocrite.

On the other hand would you prefer French justice where a similar accusation was apparently deliberately shoved under the carpet many years ago and would likely have never been considered, had this partiular episode not come to light in the States.

Up to 74 years porridge if he's found guilty !

Apparently had he been in the States on IMF business he could have claimed diplomatic immunity and walked free.
Such policies are surely outdated.

Another interesting aspect is that he made a statement two weeks ago that he was expecting his political opponents to arrange something to stitch him up.

No doubt it will all come out in the wash.

Reading today's news from around the world, it appears that the Frenchman isn't a well-liked person and most people applaud his arrest and pre-trial detention. The American media seem to concentrate on his Frenchness and refer back to the Roman Polanski case from the sixties.

The man's chances of a fair trial in New York? None.

Deadly serious I'm afraid

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13127225

For once I'm in total agreement with Matt ... I would hope they have some hard evidence for them to refuse him bail of $1 million! Very very serious indeed.

I would think its odds on Cameron blocking it.

Quite agree on all counts.
If found guilty in a fair trial he deserves all he gets, as I said in the first instance, however not being an all American Boy or many ppls favourite person will likely make things much more unpleasant for him and lynch mobs already seem to be licking their lips both in the States and Worldwide.

I wonder how he's enjoying his brief dose of American porridge not to mention social life behind bars.
Somehow I think he'll be made about as welcome as a fart in a perfume shop.

Lip licking lynch mobs? you must be watching in a parallel universe.

As for treatment in the US, he seems already to have preferential treatment in that he was not transported to and from the Court room in leg shackles which is standard practice in the US, and is in a cell on his own. Lets not forget he is an alleged rapist.