Berlusconi Indicted
Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi was indicted today on charges of Prostitution and Abuse of Power. Take a look here and tell me was it worth it?
The Berlusconi saga brings up yet another parallel or paradigm in the America vs. Europe approach to living, breathing, thinking and acting.
It's barely been two years since then NYS Governor Elliot Spitzer dipped his pen with taxpayer ink and the affair has been largely forgotten. Spitzer did, however, pay a pretty hefty price.
Spitzer's a pundit these days and the event seems a lifetime ago, but it's highly unlikely he'll ever make it back to D.C.
Berlusconi on the other hand, is the most powerful man in a country with a far less punitive history where unsavory characters are involved. I sincerely doubt he's stepping down as a result of this situation.
Who disagrees with me? I am curious to hear your rationale.
It's nothing new that the rich and powerful get away with crimes most of us plebs would suffer for, though lately it seems to be getting more ridiculous than usual.
My question for the forum, is how does this sort of event influence your own thinking as you develop in the world?
I guess what I am really asking is...
Secretly...
Deep down...
Do you want to be like the Berlusconis of the world?
Not for the power...
Not for the money...
But for the getting away with it factor...
Did Silvio really do something wrong?
If so...what?
If not...how so?
Does the country of transgression regulate the morality or legality of a given situation when you're in a position of power?
Would you behave like him if you were in his position?
With the Hosni Mubarak situation still in limbo, the actions of the top 0.0001% have become far more interesting lately...especially when you consider Silvio thought that young Karima was Mubarak's niece on their first meeting.
I don't think he was indicted for prostitution...I think he was indicted for using an underage prostitute...dude wasn't selling the rights to the First Italian Sausage...
you are correct sir, you are also strangely preoccupied with legal minutiae in times of visual feastery...
yes, it is a word
I was just jealous of a guy who could charge top dollar for a hoe to slob on his knob like corn on the cob...thats all
you have 50 years to get to that level, just keep the knob from rusting out and you're purchase power will do you well.
I'm gonna pull the Hank Moody defense here... and suggest you all watch the first few minutes of the episode entitled "Freeze Frame", in which his "Underage Sexcapades" were resolved due to a poor deposition on behalf of the girl he slept with. A deposition that goes yoru way is all you need in this case.
mama mia! Midas as a world traveller I am even appalled you would compare America´s knee jerk ways to any european country and for that matter Italy on one side with its grotesque ways and Swiss on the other hand with their refined system. As someone who has spent sometime in Padua, Firenze & Roma as a young kid I would be disgusted to compare US anywhere in EU(except maybe French quarter of New Orleans). Isn´t the US, the only western country with no nude beaches?Think about it? Why is it thee?
Switzerland
As for getting away with breaking the underage girl rule, I suspect he will get away with it. People with power are more likely to get away with shit in Europe, or pretty much anywhere outside of the US, because, well, we enforce the rules here to a greater extent. SEE: putin's secret castle on the Black Sea to help illustrate this point, or maybe open up the books of those nice Swiss banks....America is far from perfect, but shit on that scale would never fly here at this point. Over there, they just accept it, rationalize it, and keep going. If this were an earlier era, say Kennedy's time, yeah, he would get away with it here......
My perception of Burlusconi is a guy who may or may not care about power or money.....he likes the THINGS that they get him: attention, hot chicks, good food, etc.... This is all he cares about.
Nice pic.
Innept. Let me refer you to Gunnison, New Jersey.
There's the nude beach for ya.
That girl DOES NOT look 17. I would have guesses late 20s early 30s...
Do all Moroccan 17 year olds look like they're the 28?
I don't know guys...it looks like they make'em pretty mature looking in those parts.
Yea the bone structure is so strong/developed, I can't believe that is a face of a 17/18 year old girl. She is hot though that is for sure.
Honestly I dont think anything is going to happen to him, but you never know. Its more a media thing than anything else and even though he owns most of the media this one is obviously not put out there by himself.
Lesson learned, always ask those girls for an ID, I mean this shit happens to celebrities quite often.
I'm no puritan by any stretch of the imagination, but neither am I a libertine. That said, I find the pervasive attitude toward sex in North America a bad joke. You know what happens with a sexually repressed population? The U.S. and Canada wind up on the Top Ten list of countries with the highest per capita rape statistics, along with countries like South Africa and Zimbabwe.
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/cri_rap_percap-crime-rapes-per-capita
I don't think Berlusconi will skate because there's too much momentum against him. But I don't think he's going to be found guilty of sex with a minor or something like that either.
She doesn't look like she is 17. If he knew at the time, more power to him, but she looks older and has the features of 28 year old female.
Would I want to be Berlusconi? No. Do I think he was wrong? No. America is oversexed yet we will go straigh up ape shit when we find out that our president is adding some protein in an interns diet or if a NY governor is renting some pulo for night. Sex is every where in America, yet we are forced, in public, to scold others for pointing it out.
If it were up to me, prostitution would be legal.
Definitely worth it. Next vacation is to Morocco.
Exactly Eddie you have hit the nail on my point. Something is not right in a country where Guns are permitted and free mongering & to large extent Amsterdamianism is not allowed!!!! As for Marakesh....props..
All I have to say....
http://www.youtube.com/embed/GlN3oEjMpUQ
I'm Italian, and all I say about Berlusconi is take a look at these videos
just in case you already haven't and you get the picture of this grotesque man.
Too bad the italian speaking parts are not subtitled in english.
UFO, you're from Jersey? Damn son! The Jersey contingent grows.
I already suggested the guy go to Gunnison. Never been myself, but I hear it's a blast if you like nude beaches. I avoid the shore for the most part.
You don't burp at a nice dinner. You don't slurp your soup. You don't get blown by a fat pollock in the oval office.
Manners people.
Besides. Bill cheated on his wife. Normal guys that do this get raped in court and called scumbags. Let's not make it sound like cheating on your wife is accepted, except when your a Democrat president.
you're in the wrong business my friend, you don't need to be a president for it to be accepted...
I'm WSO's self proclaimed Jersey guy. Haven't you seen any of my posts were I repeatedly reference the NJEA, Christie and other things of the sort?
Bunga Bunga !!!!
yes, Bunga Bunga parties, invented by his friend, the lybian colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
Moroccan girls are known for their talent throughout the Middle-East, it's no wonder that a lot of Saudis go to Morocco for "business" trips
+1 on the Kip Winger reference, MMB. He looks like death these days, though.
Yea some of the 80s musicians haven't aged too gracefully...look at Glenn Danzig, Vince Neil, Steven Tyler, David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar or (worst of all) Mick Mars. But then again, they weren't like GIANT sex symbols in the 80s hair metal scene like Kip Winger.
Sorry bro, I'm no moralist, nor do I care, but if you think rudeness and unbecoming behavior is acceptable and the norm you are woefully misinformed. I like Clinton a lot, but the office of president is not the same as Larry the cable guy. Getting blown in the oval office is like wiping your mouth with the constitution. The office of president should be almost holy.
Also, FYI, cheating on your wife is not something people generally brag about. Once again, I personally don't judge, but in general, it isn't a fucking joke.
I'm not judging what should be right or wrong. Some people would brag about it, depends which country you live in. In France, it's not a shame to have a "maitresse", in China, businessmen from Hong Kong have their "concubine(s)" in the Mainland and it's actually a status symbol as when you drive a fancy sportscar...
As they say, in the East, they have polygamy, in the West, we have adultery
You (I'm talking to you, Mr. Magoo), always say be ready to walk out on everything in your life in 30 seconds. You can walk out on the girls, the money, your family, whatever, but you cannot escape your own character and integrity.
Somebody's been awake in class. +1 for you, sir. You also cannot escape a lack of character and integrity.
Berlusconi is the greatest man alive.
Self made billionaire? Check. Prime minister of an important country? Check. Still banging underage bitches? Check.
The guy is a hero.
Perhaps Berlusconi is a Winger fan and he wanted to reenact the song?
If this happened in the U.S., this would result: SUE KIP WINGER FOR ENCOURAGING UNDERAGE PROMISCUITY!!! I'm sure Tipper Gore would be more than happy to take up the case...
Dude, the talent here is SICK.
I remember when Tim Schultz was interviewing me for the Playboy piece, he was just blown away. He kept saying, "I can't believe how much nine-age there is in this town! Jesus, every single one of them is a solid nine or better. I've never seen anything like it."
There's kind of a running joke here in Paris that if a girl on the street is any bigger than a size 4, she's not French - she's Belgian.
Funny story, the "European" girl is actually a model in LA ( or rather was, since this pic is quite old)
Also, what's the point of banging a 17 year old that looks like she is pushing 30?
In his case it would be soliciting prostitution, she doesn't look 17 at all, and yeah, can't blame him -totally hot
It's legal to buy prostitutes in Italy if they are over 18. I see this as just a PR debacle, I doubt he will go to jail, especially since the chick seems to be corroborating his story and/or lying.
Fake lashes - particularly noted in Pics #2 & 3.
We're obviously paying attention to very different things......
Ad totam magnam eum magni. Sed quos commodi molestiae ut impedit molestiae. Suscipit nesciunt natus sit porro. Quae eveniet vero reprehenderit blanditiis. Atque nemo veniam architecto maxime vel. Vel quis commodi fuga rem a.
Repellat ut sit ut quas. Non ipsam qui quaerat est consectetur molestiae itaque dolores. Quaerat enim et nostrum reiciendis.
Ad voluptates error debitis cumque ullam eum ipsam. Quia voluptatibus vel reiciendis ad error qui repellendus nemo. Optio suscipit labore quasi labore nemo aut officia. Quod non deleniti harum in. Sequi quis qui necessitatibus laboriosam. Et perferendis qui quis id ullam nesciunt et a.
Error in dolores quod saepe. Omnis aliquid soluta consequatur blanditiis tempora et rerum. Veniam similique unde minima repellat recusandae quibusdam est. Soluta facilis eius dolores vel.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Sit distinctio harum quod similique est tenetur aut. Eveniet sapiente aut eligendi quia vero est doloribus. Facere labore sequi nostrum eum et alias nostrum dignissimos.
Ipsa saepe mollitia ipsam eaque et. Saepe voluptas voluptatem nostrum aut labore occaecati pariatur. In accusamus debitis inventore enim velit iusto voluptate. Quis officiis sequi sit tempore rerum est ipsam ratione.
Est ut aut quia neque odio explicabo. Voluptas sequi id ad. Autem ut molestiae ipsum. Aspernatur aut ut nobis nulla totam officia. Ipsam expedita qui libero ut sequi. Praesentium qui ducimus totam est unde illum reiciendis.
Dignissimos ipsum architecto nihil quisquam possimus. Atque itaque exercitationem cumque. Aut excepturi est et quos ex ullam. Neque nulla incidunt eos minima repellat. Recusandae sed recusandae et ab rerum illo nihil. Eum voluptatem fugiat sit a.