US requests extradition of Polanski.

(H/T: @MelissaTweets) We finally got around to formally requesting that they hand over the child-raping son of a bitch:

The United States has asked Switzerland to extradite film director Roman Polanski after he fled sentencing for having unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl in 1977, the Swiss Justice Department said on Friday.

Well, that’s unfair, actually: sometimes this stuff takes time to set up, and they were probably waiting for the end of the legal challenge, anyway. Say what you like about this administration – and I say quite a bit, usually with a certain malicious glee – but they were never going to be anything but hard-nosed about this. And they’re probably not upset at all that Polanski will probably fight this, given that it means that he stays in jail while he does (no bail for him).

If for no other reason than because President Obama and AG Holder both have daughters.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Michelle Sullivan (of Perpetual Motion Films) tugs on Patterico’s cape.

With utterly predictable – and funny – results. To those rushed for time: Michelle Sullivan (of Perpetual Motion Films) was an associate producer of the recent attempt to whitewash the reputation of the infamous child-rapist Roman Polanski; and she apparently felt the need to engage in ‘anonymous’ comments on Patterico’s site that attacked him personally.

So Patterico went, as they say, to town. I’ll add that the IP is consistent with an LA email; and that all of this certainly looks like an attempt at libel. But I’m not a lawyer. There’s probably a reason why they can’t prosecute Michelle Sullivan (of Perpetual Motion Films) for that.

(Via Jim Treacher’s Twitter)

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Quit while you’re behind, Anne Applebaum.

Far, far, far behind. Patterico has you dead to rights, and pounding the table and shouting won’t do you a darn bit of good.

I don’t want to really get into the Roman Polanski matter further – I’ve been catching myself indulging in a certain bloodthirsty attitude regarding the child-rapist that I probably shouldn’t be indulging into – so here’s a video of a puppy fighting a robot.

Relax. The puppy wins.

Roman Polanski should have moved to Omelas.

Looking over Salon’s Kate Harding’s possibly too-surprised realization that too many people that she’s presumably normally OK with seem willing to forgive a child-rapist who makes good movies (via Little Miss Attila); The Guardian’s account of the way that Hollywood is forming up to defend said child-rapist (who, by the way, confessed to the crime) (via Big Hollywood); and Patterico’s observation that Anne Applebaum didn’t even read the stories that she linked to while defending the child-rapist (that would be the one who used drugs to rape a 13 year old girl) (via Instapundit)… yeah.  Roman Polanski would have been a perfect fit for Omelas.

And they would have loved to have him, too.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Was the Polanski arrest a smokescreen?

Somebody in the AP thinks it’s plausible, if their accidentally-published notes are any indication (via @calebhowe):

they particularly want to know why now. (has he never set foot in switzerland before?) sheila, theorizes that’s because they’re under intense pressure over ubs and want to throw the U.S. a bone, but can you check with justice department sources there?

UBS is a major Swiss financial institution – and one that’s recently been showing up in a lot of stories about Americans being indicted for tax evasionThe latest one was yesterday, actually – and the timing is interesting.  Not that the UBS issue is really on the public’s radar right now…

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.

Roman Polanski arrested: to be extradited?

(Via @vermontaigne) Amazing how having kids changes a person’s opinions on this sort of thing.

The Swiss Justice Ministry says director Roman Polanski is being held by Swiss authorities ahead of his possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl.

The ministry says in a statement that Polanski was arrested Saturday upon arriving in Zurich. It says U.S. authorities have sought Polanski’s arrest around the world since 2005.

The 76-year-old was flying in to receive an award at the Zurich Film Festival.

And by ‘changes’ I mean ‘intensifies, with the searing focus of a gamma X-ray laser.’  Free piece of advice, to anybody who feels like defending this guy: don’t take it personally when people get to the part about ‘sex with a drugged 13 year old’ and visibly stop caring about mitigating circumstances.  Or when those people look at you in much the same way that they look at canine waste products found stuck to their shoes.

Well, OK, maybe you should take that personally.

Moe Lane

Crossposted to RedState.