Quote Originally Posted by thir View Post
What I am wondering is why is no one discussing the huge political implications? The US wanted him off the IMF. Part of the French wanted him out of the election in France. He was arrested before anyone even knew if there was a case to answer to
Someone made a very serious accusation against him. When the police responded to the complaint, they found him getting on a plane to France. What would you have had them do? Say "Someone claims you raped her, will you promise to come back in a few weeks to stand trial? Normally we'd lock you up, but we can see you're an important man so we'll let you go off on your important business?"

Police don't have the luxury of waiting till all the lawyers have finished arguing before they act. They have to decide on the spot, and take the shit if they decide wrong. Faced with a weeping woman and a man about to fly away, they did what any honest cop would do and stopped him.
, and condemned in the papers - immediately.
And is now being exonerated in those same papers, perhaps just as prematurely, and his accuser condemned. That's the media business.
The results of this accusation has decided the presidential election in France,
From what I read, it may well have decided it in SK's favour. Even before he was released, 60% of the French thought he was framed. That has probably increased massively since the the media were filled with questions about his accuser. If he's cleared, he could gather massive support as the man the might of the US tried to crush and failed.
and possibly destroyed the monetary union in EU.
At last report (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/04/bu...al/04euro.html) the IMF had approved the new loans to Greece, which the conspiracy theory holds that SK was removed to prevent. The European Monetary Union may still be hanging by a thread, but the IMF's policy towards it doesn't appear to have changed with the change of leadership.

I still say, for a conspiracy, this one seems pretty incompetent.

On the gender-political front, most articles I have seen are bemoaning the fact that this case will make it harder to bring rapists to court. Yes, that is true. But also what about a man being put in jail for 25 years for something he did not do? (IF he did not do it?)
There are two very different things here: a man put in jail after arrest because there is reason to think he might flee justice (and from the way he rushed to the plane, I'd have worried about that in the police's shoes), and him being jailed as the result of a court case. Which seems pretty unlikely unless the prosecution have some killer evidence they have not yet disclosed.

You've seen plenty of crimies where someone looks guilty as hell at the time of the first accusation, but is cleared on investigation. That's why we have courts, and don't let the police decide who's guilty.
What about false accusations, if they can be proved to be so? Wouldn't it be justice to sentence the false accuser to the same sentence that the person falsely accused would have got - both for the sake of potential male and female victims?
The problem is, finding someone not guilty, and finding their accuser guilty of a false charge, are two very different things. Evidence to prove the first doesn't necessarily prove the second, to the standards of a criminal conviction. And a good thing too. Who would dare lodge a complaint, if they knew they would take the rap if the defendant got off?

It now looks as if the accuser is probably going to be deported back to Africa, maybe after serving time for perjury in her immigration application. Regardless of the outcome of the rape case. That should warn other black immigrants to keep quiet about abuse by rich white men.