Dominque Strauss-Kahn

    To bring him up, the former head of the IMF is a thorny issue, I know, for some feel that this is a case of a wealthy, powerful man being protected after brutally assaulting and raping a poor, non white hotel maid.

    While I certainly would never deny that powerful men violate the rights of women everyday I have always been suspicious about the case against DSK. That in any case, whatever the facts about Strauss-Kahn are, there is a political dimension to it, that there are some powerful enemies of his who saw this breaking case as  a golden opportunity.

    And what is clear is that Mr. Strauss-Kahn is already damaged severely. While it has lately looked like he will not be charged in this case his political career has taken a major hit-yes I understand that his career is not more important that this woman's rights if she has been violated but his career also effects billions of people globally so there are some moving parts in this to consider.

    I have always had misgivings about this case. For one thing it seemed to me very similar to Anthony Weiner's political assassination-or for that matter even the strange case of Scott Ritter the former head of UNSOM in the 90s who 9 years ago made a powerful -case as someone who knew first hand about Iraq as he oversaw its inspections  at UNSCOM- against the Bush war in Iraq. In recent years Mr. Ritter has been dogged by charges of pedophilia(!)

    As inconvenient as he was to the Bush Administration this just seems way too convenient to me; it is  avery old tactic in the book of Republican dirty tricks to eliminate an enemy not through a policy victory but by via a sexual scandal.

   Of course these 4 sexual scandals-Weiner, DSK, Ritter, let's add Lewinsky-gate, the quintessential Republican pseudo-scandal-are each of very different quality. At the extreme are the accusations against DSK and Ritter which if true is truly heinous. Clinton was accused of something however, which was a private matter between him and his wife; though the allegations at least in the case of Lewinsky were accurate there was no crime committed. Weiner on the other hand didn't even have any sex and yet some reports have him in a sexual addicts anonymous group.

    What makes me suspicious is the case against DSK followed this same predictable script. Stiglitz was a favorite for the Socialist candidate for Prime Minister just as Weiner was on the short list of Democratic candidates for Mayor next year.

     However, nothing crystallized my suspicuons of a political hatchet job more than this quote by Joseph Stilgitz "An effective and fair IMF is essential – an institution that looks not just after creditors in the lending countries but after the well-being of all. And whatever the result of the case against Strauss-Kahn, this much is clear - he was an impressive leader of the IMF and he re-established the credibility of the institution."

     http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/dominique-strauss-kahn/8527773/Joseph-Stiglitz-the-IMF-cannot-afford-to-make-a-mistake-with-Strauss-Kahns-successor.html

    
    "He breathed fresh air into the IMF as he re-examined old doctrines such as those concerning capital controls. He raised new issues as he emphasized the critical role of employment and inequality for stability. He reasserted the role of economic science, including Keynesian economics, over the mishmash of long-discredited Wall Street doctrines, which had been central to the IMF's failures in East Asia, Latin America, and Russia.
He also listened to the increasingly vocal and informed voices of those in emerging markets. He supported the movement for reforms in the institution, including voting rights and governance."

     If he reasserted the role of economic sciences including Keynesian economics it's not hard to see how he had enemies. Certainly might surmise that the accusations against him was welcome news for many bondholders just as Sptizer's were good news from former AIG leader, Hank Greenberg.

     I can't but think of the Biblical saying: By their fruits ye shall know them. In the case of the Right wing hit machine, it's by their positive fruits you will know who is a target.