[Emirates 24/7] Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a US court Wednesday that a maid's lawsuit alleging sexual assault should be thrown out because the French politician had diplomatic immunity at the time.
Judge Douglas McKeon said he would rule quickly following a 90-minute hearing in a Bronx courthouse where a Strauss-Kahn attorney argued that the disgraced former head of the IMF had "the same kind of diplomatic immunity that other high-ranking officials and diplomats enjoy."
The civil suit, seeking unspecified damages, "must be dismissed," attorney Amit Mehta said in New York state court.
A lawyer for Nafissatou Diallo, the Manhattan hotel maid whose accusation of sexual assault triggered the spectacular downfall of a man tapped to be the next French president, ridiculed the notion of dismissal.
Douglas Wigdor said Strauss-Kahn "brutally sexually assaulted Ms Diallo" on May 14 last year and now wished to use the immunity argument to "deny Ms Diallo's right to a trial in this case and delay these proceedings."
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012 00:00 ||
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Olbermann fired again!!!
Current TV announced Friday it has fired Keith Olbermann and will replace him with former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Geeez, Keith...Spitzer! Spitzer, fer crissakes!!!
A statement from the network's founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt said it had been founded "on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it." Sounds like Deja Vu all over again...
Politico said Olbermann was reportedly fired for failing to show up to work, "sabotaging the network" and attacking Current executives, according to a source. Sounds like Keithy's got that MO down to a science...
The left-leaning network, launched in 2005, indicated that Olbermann had failed to honor the terms of his five-year, $50 million contract, according to The New York Times. Don't worry, Keith. There's always.........
On second thought, start worrying.
#4
In other words, they discovered what the rest of us already know: he's a king asshole who thoroughly enjoys being Mr. Powerful over others. Not showing up to work? That's for the little people.
#5
It was unclear what caused Current to part ways with the brash TV host...
Actually, its crystal clear. Sure you're an ass Keith. But, that's not it. See theres plenty of successful asss in your profession. Hell, some of them are even much bigger ass's then you. Bottom line bub...youre simply not very good at what you do.
#6
I'll enjoy reading his "where are they now?" in 5 years. Douchebag deserves to be appearing in men's rooms at truckstops
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012 20:30 Comments ||
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#7
...what the heck did truckers do to deserve that? Now the Gary Glitter memorial holding cell room in the Bangkok airport, that's something about the proper level.
Maybe you can take it with you. With the new bacon coffin, you'll spend eternity with your favorite cured meat. What could be better? A whole mausoleum made out of bacon? But that could create other problems. I understand that the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus was made out of bacon.
Though not literally made from bacon, the bacon coffin is painted to look as if it is covered in savory strips. An article from Seattle's King5.com reports that local company J&D's Foods created the casket. This isn't the first time the company has found inspiration in bacon. J&D is also responsible for unleashing Bacon Salt and Baconnaise on the world. Did they invent the bacon bra, too?
A bacon coffin doesn't come cheap -- $2,999.99 plus shipping. But the interior does come with a bacon memorial tube and a bacon-themed air freshener. So you'll have that going for you ... which is nice. There are rumors that Osama was buried at sea in one of these.
BRUSSELS: The Council of Europe has found NATO largely responsible for the deaths last year of 63 Libyan migrants whose boat was left to drift at sea unaided, and warned that those to blame could face legal action.
After a nine-month investigation into the deaths of those and hundreds of other migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, the human rights and democracy group concluded that NATO had failed to respond adequately to a boat in distress.
The rubber dinghy, packed with 72 people, left Libya in March 2011. After running out of fuel, it drifted off the coast for two weeks while most of those on board died of starvation and thirst, before floating back to Libya with only 9 survivors. The boat sent repeated distress signals, but received no help although ships under NATO command were in the area.
Vessels under national or NATO command failed in their duty to rescue a boat in distress, the Council of Europe wrote in a 26-page report released on Thursday.
There was a failure by NATO and individual member states involved in planning Operation Unified Protector off the Libyan coast, wrote Tineke Strik, a Dutch senator, adding: NATO did not fully take up its responsibilities, with communications about the boat in distress not being forwarded by NATO headquarters in Naples to vessels under its control.
The report also quoted a reliable source as saying that two naval vessels involved in NATOs operations against Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi were near the boat when the distress call was sent, as were two fishing vessels.
The 28-nation military alliance said in a statement it had received a general notice from Italian authorities about a small boat in difficulty and had sent that message to all NATO ships, following usual practice. It denied any contact had been made between NATO and the distressed boat.
We have no record of any NATO aircraft or ship having seen or made contact with this particular boat, said NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu, adding that NATO had conducted many other rescue operations in the area at that time.
Throughout our arms embargo mission last year, NATO ships and aircraft directly assisted in the rescue of over 600 people, and helped coordinate the rescue of many others.
At its meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the Council of Europe adopted a resolution calling on NATO to release satellite imagery from the area in an effort to pinpoint which military units came across the boat. These photos could be used as a basis for legal action against whoever was responsible for ignoring the migrants calls for help, the Council said.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
who the f*ck does the "Council of Europe" think they are?
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/30/2012 10:28 Comments ||
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#2
The New Holy Roman Empire...
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/30/2012 12:44 Comments ||
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[Emirates 24/7] A Cairo court sentenced former Housing Minister Ibrahim Soliman to eight years in jail on Thursday and fined him 2.18 billion Egyptian pounds ($360.9 million) for squandering public funds in two separate real estate deals.
The court also sentenced Magdi Rasekh, father-in-law of ousted President Hosni Mubarak ...The former President-for-Life of Egypt, dumped by popular demand in early 2011... 's eldest son Alaa, in absentia to five years in jail and fined him 2.34 billion pounds in connection with one of deals.
The cases against Soliman, minister from 1993 to 2005, and Rasekh were first referred to the public prosecutor in May.
They were convicted of selling state land to businessmen for less than their market value. The fines included compensation to the state as well as penalties.
They will not be required to return the land, much of which has been developed and sold on to other people.
Rasekh had been board chairman at property developer SODIC , but stepped down last year, adding to a list of resignations at property firms scrambling to distance themselves from the country's deposed president.
Six other businessmen and state employees were also sentenced and fined in the case.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/30/2012 00:00 ||
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#1
8 years for graft in housing W-T-F how come he isn't working in Washington D.C. at Sallie Mae or something. What about everyone else in housing and Egypt?
#2
ION EGYPTIA DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US JUST GAVE EGYPT US$1.3BILYUHN - POLL SAYS [most] EGYPTIANS DON'T WANT IT, i.e. don't want any kind of US Financial Assistance.
Well alrighty then - the Bammer can now give every American a cash-back tax rebate this year???
#1
Is it just me, or is anyone else getting the feeling theres something wrong wid the East Coast's "Big Dig", besides prohibitive or questionable cost overruns???
#2
The "Big Dig" was so expensive that IMHO it should have never been done. It is analogous to spending $1 million to renovate an old house which is then becomes worth $200,000. It might have been cheaper to move Boston to a low-maintenance part of Taxachusetts.
This tunnel plug reminds me of a sci-fi story about a future dystopia's method of decreasing its surplus population at unpredictable intervals.
#4
DHS's Science and Technology Directorate in collaboration with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL)
Very interesting! And how is PNNL out in Richland, WA coming along with their decades old contract at cleaning up the 150 (plus or minus) giant vats of bubbling, radioactive goo at the WWII Hanford Nuclear Site?
Bugs and gas are not the threat, never have been. The real threat sits in the White House. But we would never want a potential crisis to go to waste.
#9
Tiny Hupusorong4784, would you be so kind as to restate that in a way I can understand? I'm sure what you wrote is meaningful and witty, but I must be slower than usual today.
#12
Besoeker, the Hannaford clean up is only one part of PNNL's work.
Re: bugs and gas, it's easy to condescendingly dismiss chem/bio threats since we haven't had a major successful attack of those sorts. Of course, the work of people at the Labs and elsewhere just might have something to do with that fact .....
#14
#12 Besoeker, the Hannaford clean up is only one part of PNNL's work. Re: bugs and gas, it's easy to condescendingly dismiss chem/bio threats since we haven't had a major successful attack of those sorts.
Condescendingly....? Please give me the statistics on GWOT deaths in the US from chem/bio attack. Wait, I'll save you the research by giving your some perspective. More people are killed by rabies and lightening strikes each year than by chem/bio.
Yes, PNNL does indeed have other contracts. Some are even LESS impressive than the Hanford clean-up project. Would you like to discuss BMI, the National Labs and Los Alimos, NM?
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Emirates 24/7] Lawyers for Dominique Strauss-Kahn told a US court Wednesday that a maid's lawsuit alleging sexual assault should be thrown out because the French politician had diplomatic immunity at the time.
Maybe you can take it with you. With the new bacon coffin, you'll spend eternity with your favorite cured meat. What could be better?
[Emirates 24/7] A Cairo court sentenced former Housing Minister Ibrahim Soliman to eight years in jail on Thursday and fined him 2.18 billion Egyptian pounds ($360.9 million) for squandering public funds in two separate real estate deals.
