Head of IMF Arrested for Sexual Assault, Goldman Taking Over ECB, and Zimbabwe Calling for the End of the U.S. Dollar?

Big news last night as the head of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was arrested in New York City for sexually assaulting a hotel maid:

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) – Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was arrested Saturday in New York and charged with sexually assaulting a hotel maid, was expected Sunday to resign as director of the International Monetary Fund following a court appearance, according to media reports.

Strauss-Kahn, 62, reportedly was scheduled for an arraignment late Sunday New York time. New York police said he had been charged with attempted rape, sexual assault and unlawful imprisonment, according to The Wall Street Journal.

A few things to clarify:  For those worrying that this may stop the proceedings for Greece's bailout, no worries:

ATHENS—Greece said that the arrest in New York of the chief of the International Monetary Fund, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, would have no impact on the government's resolve to fix the country's public finances.

"We have a specific program that the IMF also takes part in, and we are continuing to implement that program," Greek government spokesman George Petalotis said. "As such, it is not an issue of individual personalities, it is an issue of institutional arrangements."

And as for diplomatic immunity, don't count on it:

According to the IMF's Articles of Agreement, officials have immunity "with respect to acts performed by them in their official capacity except when the Fund waives this".

The organisation demands that member countries notify it when officials are arrested, so that it can assess whether this applies. It is unclear what Mr Strauss-Kahn was doing in New York.

Under normal circumstances it is the managing director – Mr Strauss-Kahn – who decides whether immunity applies, provided the IMF's executive board does not veto his decision.

In a short statement, the IMF did not mention immunity and referred enquiries to Mr Strauss-Kahn's "personal lawyer and to the local authorities" It also appears that Nicolas Sarkozy's government is not making any attempt to protect Mr Strauss-Kahn.

Despite the fact that the maid Strauss-Kahn assaulted worked at the Sofitel Hotel for three years, some of this doesn't add up.  I mean, Strauss-Kahn is a fairly powerful dude, what stops him from picking up a phone and ordering a call-girl or whatever?  Why go for the maid?  Whatever the story, I feel bad for the woman.  Speaking of conspiracy theories, check out The Independent:

Among the material seized by US Navy Seals at Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, was a "sizeable stash" of pornography, US officials have said.

The statement brought instant ridicule from bloggers, many of whom found the claim either risible, or a further example of unsophisticated briefing which was likely to backfire. A report on the American-owned Associated Press said: "The disclosure that US investigators found pornography... fuels the US narrative that Bin Laden was not the respectable or noble figure that his supporters embraced" – words that bear the imprint of a spin doctor.

Roderick T Long, a professor of philosophy at Auburn University, Alabama, and a mainstream blogger, wrote: "I have no problem believing that Bin Laden was a hypocrite. But I also have no problem believing that the US government is a liar. Hence I have no opinion one way or other as to the existence of Bin Laden's alleged porn collection."

It is being reported that Mario Draghi will be elected to head the European Central Bank tomorrow:

Economic ministers of the eurozone on Monday to elect the current governor of the Bank of Italy, Mario Draghi as the new chairman of the Central Bank (ECB) to replace Jean-Claude Trichet when his term expires on October 31, 2011, as have European sources reported.

Draghi formal appointment will be made at the summit of European leaders held on 23 and 24 June after consulting the European Parliament.

Draghi, as you should well know, used to work for Goldman Sachs.  Mish nails it:

All we need now to complete the picture is for an ex-Goldman employee to run for president of the United States and for another ex-Goldman employee to replace Bernanke at the Fed.

*Correction- Draghi was only endorsed for the position, he wasn't elected.  My bad. He will most likely be elected in June though.

And on the lighter side of news:

The central bank (of Zimbabwe that is) says the country must consider adopting a gold-backed Zimbabwean dollar warning that the US greenback’s days as the world’s reserve currency are numbered.
Government ditched the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after it had been rendered worthless by record inflation levels and adopted multiple foreign currencies with the US dollar, the South African Rand and the Botswana being the most widely used.

Well, I guess Zimbabwe would know what a collapsing currency looks like.  This is surprising though:

“Zimbabwe is sitting on trillions worth of gold-reserves and it is time we start thinking outside the box, for our survival and prosperity.”

I will end by mentioning a great article on AntiWar.com by Tom Mullen highlighting the importance of a "Declaration of War":

For most people, the declaration of war is a formality whereby the president makes sure that Congress agrees to the use of the military. Some might even go so far as to say it is the president “asking permission” from Congress to do so. By this reasoning, both Presidents Bush and Obama have complied, especially considering H.J. Res. 114 of October 2002. With that resolution, Congress authorized the president to use military force in the war on terror. What is the difference between that and a declaration of war? The answer is both intuitive and supported by history. First, a “declaration” has nothing to do with “permission.” Neither is it the same thing as creation or initiation. One can only declare something that already exists. Therefore, a declaration of war does not create a war or initiate a war. A declaration of war is a resolution passed by Congress recognizing that the United States is already at war.

And I haven't gotten a chance to check this out yet (a bit long) but here is a video on the college bubble by the National Inflation Association:

I have written about the college bubble before, so the video probably makes some legitimate points.  I just have to find an hour to watch it.