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I don't know where to start. Holocaust survivor, widower of Sharon Tate, brilliant director, rapist. He is probably going to be extradited back to the US for the 1977 rape charge.
The timing of this is incredible considering the woman who killed his wife and son just died.
On one hand, I love his movies. On another hand, I supported and helped try to pass Dylan's law here (one strike for child sex offenders, named after Dylan Groene, murdered by Joseph Duncan in 2005.)
Brilliant or not, Roman, it's time to face the music.
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(945 of 945)
Nov 26, 2009 11:59 PM
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RapidCreek,
Good points. Having lived in Europe for three years with the USAF (1989-1992), I always wondered how they got away with such blantantly socialist policies with no apparent related social unrest, while here in the US, such shit would start a firestorm.
We're different, that's for sure.
DaN
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(944 of 945)
Nov 26, 2009 7:36 PM
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I'll take that under consideration RC, the next time I decide to change our speeding fine structure. It sounds reasonable, but I think the upper class would object.
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21,005
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(943 of 945)
Nov 26, 2009 9:21 AM
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Let me help you folks. In Switzerland, as in a number of other European countries, bail and penalties are set with consideration of net worth and current earning. This is why people with lots of money have to pay $200,000 speeding fines. Here, the Swiss have determined that the huge amount of $4.6 million is sufficient for bail, since he is unlikely to be able to make that money back should he flee and it is a proportionate amount of his net worth.
I'd really like to see the US adopt at least the speeding fine aspect. It would be real amusing to see the rich and stupid get fined like that.
Carry on.
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(942 of 945)
Nov 26, 2009 8:35 AM
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Enough money, or certain elected and appointed positions.
Yoo and Bybee come to mind, and many more.
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3,280
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(941 of 945)
Nov 25, 2009 11:12 PM
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> From the Associated Press:
>
> Polanski wins $4.5M bail, house arrest likely
> November 25, 2009 10:31 PM EST
>
> By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER (Associated Press Writer)
>
> GENEVA - Roman Polanski has been granted $4.5 million
> bail, clearing the way for the fugitive director to
> move within days from a Swiss jail to house arrest
> and electronic monitoring at his Alpine resort
> chalet.
If you have enough $, you can get away with anything.
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(940 of 945)
Nov 25, 2009 10:12 PM
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From the Associated Press:
Polanski wins $4.5M bail, house arrest likely
November 25, 2009 10:31 PM EST
By BRADLEY S. KLAPPER (Associated Press Writer)
GENEVA - Roman Polanski has been granted $4.5 million bail, clearing the way for the fugitive director to move within days from a Swiss jail to house arrest and electronic monitoring at his Alpine resort chalet.
The justice minister said Wednesday she saw no reason to appeal the surprise decision by the Swiss Criminal Court. Polanski would have to remain in Switzerland as authorities assess whether to extradite him to the U.S. for having sex in Los Angeles in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.
Ministry spokesman Folco Galli said the final decision on transferring Polanski to his chalet in the Swiss resort of Gstaad would be made "quickly."
"The 76-year-old appellant is married and the father of two minors," the court said as it considered Polanski's offer of a cash bail secured by his apartment in Paris. "It can be assumed that as a responsible father he will, especially in view of his advanced age, attach greater importance to the financial security of his family than a younger person."
The court said Polanski would be subjected to "constant electronic surveillance" at his chalet and an alarm would be activated if he leaves the premises or takes off the bracelet, adding that the filmmaker was still viewed as a high flight risk.
Polanski's lawyers Lorenz Erni in Zurich, Herve Temime in Paris and Chad Hummel in Los Angeles declined to comment. The Los Angeles County district attorney's office also had no reaction, spokeswoman Shiara Davila-Morales said.
The decision came as a surprise after a series of setbacks for the director of "Rosemary's Baby," "Chinatown" and "The Pianist."
The Justice Ministry ordered Polanski arrested Sept. 26 as he arrived in Zurich to receive a lifetime achievement award at a film festival.
Swiss legal experts had said earlier that Polanski's chances of bail were slim, and even U.S. authorities expressed confidence that a Swiss court wouldn't grant his release.
The court last month rejected Polanski's first bail offer of his Gstaad chalet as collateral, which the director claimed made up more than half of his personal wealth and would definitely guard against his flight because he has two children he must support through school.
The court demanded cash instead, and this time looked favorably on Polanski's offer of a bank guarantee and the threat of sacrificing his family's home if he fled justice.
"Cash is king," said Peter Cosandey, a former Zurich prosecutor. Still, he said he could "hardly remember a case where bail is granted to someone who isn't even a full-time Swiss resident."
A decision on extraditing Polanski to Los Angeles is still pending, and would also be subject to appeals.
For the duration of the procedures, it appears Polanski will be confined to his $1.6 million chalet surrounded by snowcapped peaks on the outskirts of Gstaad, one of the most exclusive winter resorts in the world. Celebrities such as Elizabeth Taylor and Roger Moore have called the town home, and it remains popular with celebrities and royalty.
Polanski was accused of raping the 13-year-old girl after plying her with champagne and a Quaalude pill during a modeling shoot in 1977. He was initially indicted on six felony counts, including rape by use of drugs, child molesting and sodomy.
Polanski pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. In exchange, the judge agreed to drop the remaining charges and sentence him to prison for a 90-day psychiatric evaluation. The evaluator released Polanski after 42 days, but the judge said he was going to send him back to serve out the 90 days.
Polanski then fled the country on Feb. 1, 1978, the day he was to be sentenced and has lived in France since.
Polanski claims the judge and prosecutors acted improperly. A California appeals court will listen to oral arguments from his attorneys next month. They will be urging the court to order a lower court to decide whether to dismiss charges against the fugitive director, whether he is present or not.
---
AP Writers Alexander G. Higgins, Frank Jordans and Eliane Engeler in Geneva, and Balz Bruppacher in Bern, Switzerland, contributed to this report.
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(939 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 1:52 PM
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> Yes, just 1 of America'sWorst, that is sure.
>
> s2
>
> I like that OIL acronym. 
Jetfuel2,
That exactly what Operation Iraqi Freedom was before they decided it was just too obvious & changed it.
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(938 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 11:39 AM
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> Maybe Monday will be Romans lucky day.
"He said Polanski would accept the extradition decision "whatever it is" and assured his client would never behave "like a fugitive." end quote
Never would? It's what he's been doing for the last 30 years.
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(937 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 11:10 AM
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> Money talks and bullshit walks.
Gore went on a power walk.
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(936 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 11:08 AM
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Money talks and bullshit walks.
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(935 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 11:07 AM
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Maybe Monday will be Romans lucky day.
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(934 of 945)
Nov 1, 2009 9:51 AM
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Yes, just 1 of America'sWorst, that is sure.
s2
I like that OIL acronym.
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(933 of 945)
Oct 31, 2009 3:57 AM
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> AmericaFirst as a moniker here?
Funny. When I type it, it keeps coming out AmericasWorst.
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(932 of 945)
Oct 31, 2009 2:28 AM
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> AmericaFirst as a moniker here?
>
> Kinda reminds me of The USA Patriot Act in terms of
> being utterly misleading and false.
>
> Or, Operation Enduring Freedom. Or.....there are too
> many to count.
Jetfuel2,
Or Operation Iraqi Liberation.
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(931 of 945)
Oct 24, 2009 1:37 AM
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> Update: As of 10/23/2009 about 9 PM
> PDT.
>
> US files Polanski extradition request in sex
> case
>
> Now, they're saying two years in prison is the
> maximum. But that's based on the CA Penal Code as it
> read in August, 1977 and it wasn't the basis for the
> "guilty" plea bargain at that time.
>
> Sentencing him today, could only be done on the basis
> of a trial in court or a renegotiated plea bargain, I
> would think. Neither is likely to happen.
What basis would that be? The sentence was never agreed upon up front, as Polanski agreed,when asked that question directly in the plea agreement. Was he lying then, or when he says they had an agreement?
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