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| Galliano blames drugs, booze for racist slur Posted: British fashion designer John Galliano told a Paris court that he cannot recall making alleged anti-Semitic, racist slurs in a bar earlier this year because of his addictions to alcohol and drugs.
Galliano claims he was under the influnce of valium and alcohol and does not believe in the words he uttered
The former Dior designer could face up to six months in prison and a fine of as much as �21,000 (Rs 15 lakh) if the court finds him guilty.
When the judge asked Galliano about the incident on February 24 when a French couple at a Paris bar claimed he repeatedly insulted them with lines including 'dirty Jewish face', 'f*****g ugly Jewish b***h' and 'f*****g Asian b*****d', the designer said that he remembered nothing of the alleged charge.
The flamboyant couturier also told judges that he had been 'pushed to the edge' by financial and emotional pressures.
"I have no recollection," he was quoted as saying.
Triple addiction
Asked why he couldn't remember, he said he had a three-fold addiction to alcohol, sleeping tablets and valium.
He said there were many reasons for his addiction, including the success of Dior. He started drinking "in a cyclical way" in 2007.
"After every creative high I would crash and the drink would help me to escape. At this point I had managed to turn creativity into a billion dollar business at Dior. Then the financial crash happened," he said.
Galliano, who was immediately sacked from the top job as creative director of French fashion house Dior, could face charges of making "public insults" based on origin, religion, race or ethnicity.
His lawyer said, "Some things may have come out of his mouth that didn't come from his brain.
Every witness at the cafe has said he was acting out of character." Galliano said, "They're not views I hold or believe in.
I see someone who needs help. All my life I have fought against prejudice and discrimination, having been subjected to it myself."
Rs 15 lakh
Amount Galliano will have to pay if the court finds him guilty 
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| Winklevoss twins end Facebook row Posted: Mark Zuckerberg's former business partners say they will accept 2008 deal
It's been a long time coming, but the Social Network twins taking on Facebook have finally decided to throw in the towel in their legal dispute.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss claimed Harvard University classmate and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg stole their idea for the website.
Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss have finally decided to throw in the towel in their legal dispute with Facebook and its founder Mark Zuckerberg
Now the Olympic rowing twins have decided against appealing to the Supreme Court over a ruling upholding their $65 million (Rs 292 crore) settlement.
The good news for them is that in the settlement of $20 million (Rs 9 crore) cash and $45 million (Rs 202 crore) stock, the stock is now worth more than $100 million.
The Winklevoss brothers competed in the 2008 Olympics and their battle with Zuckerberg was dramatised in 2010 film The Social Network.
The twins had claimed three years ago that Zuckerberg stole the idea for what became the world's most popular social networking website.
They tried to undo an accord agreement and claim more money by suggesting it was fraudulent because Facebook hid information from them.
The 6'5" twins wanted to appeal an April ruling by a San Francisco federal appeals court upholding the settlement, which it called 'quite favourable'.
But in a filing on Wednesday with that court, they said that after 'careful consideration' they had decided not to seek Supreme Court review.
The California case had been brought by ConnectU, which they set up with Harvard student Divya Narendra, who joined in Wednesday's filing.
Zuckerberg (27) created Facebook in 2004 in his Harvard University dormitory room and he is now worth
$13.5 billion.
A Facebook spokesman said, "We've considered this case closed for a long time, and we're pleased to see the other party now agrees."
No reason has yet been given for the Winklevoss twins' decision and their lawyer Jerome Falk has not yet commented.
Analysts estimate Facebook could be worth more than $100 billion should it conduct an initial public offering, perhaps in early 2012.
Another lawsuit
Even while Zuckerberg won the case against the Winklevoss duo, Paul Ceglia claims he owns half of the social networking site.
He also passed a lie detector test and has demanded that Zuckerberg go through one. 
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