

Soul-Searching in France After DSK's arrest - Jun8
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17france.html?hp

======
Jun8
What surprises me greatly in this sordid tale is not an aging man chasing
after women (all too common) but the lenience shown to this guy from by the
French in full view of past alleged assaults: he had an affair with a
subordinate ("these things happen to all couples" his wife wrote) and he
allegedly tried to rape Tristane Banon, a young journalist in 2002, among
others. Such stories would finish off any politician in the US, e.g. think of
the famous case of Anita Hill where just the allegation of "inappropriate
discussion of sexual acts and pornographic films after she rebuffed his
invitations to date him" was almost enough to derail Clarance Thomas's Supreme
Court candidacy.

An then, of course, we have Berlusconi, whose affairs with _underage_ girls
are well-known and widely jokes about in Italy.

I think this area, at least, is one where the US leads Europe, but it's hard
to explain why.

~~~
surfingdino
These are all allegations, which need to be proven.

As for Berlusconi, he is being accused of 'paying for sex with young girls'
not for having sex with them--those girls were old enough to engage in sexual
activity, but not old enough to be paid for sex, according to the Italian law.
That doesn't make Berlusconi look any better, but it is worth pointing out
that the media is not telling the whole truth. Therefore, I will wait to see
what the real allegations are in case of the head of the IMF.

The US also leads Europe in getting their knickers in a twist over mothers
breastfeeding their babies in public... it's hard to explain why.

~~~
Jun8
I think this article would be a good eye opener for you:
[http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17secrecy.htm...](http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/17/world/europe/17secrecy.html?_r=1&hp).

French journalists themselves question how in their quest to protect private
life, they are being used by politicians.

