Roman Polanski arrested in Zürich

[Ed Anger]

<Maurice Chevalier laugh>

[Duque de Bragança]

Told you so

Don't worry, that minister is more into Thai young boys.

[DGuller]

 

[Strix]

Cool I look forward to his trial.

He should be sentenced to attending every Baltimore Orioles game next year.

Force him to manage the team. Most of the pitching staff throws like 12-year old girls, so he will fit right in.

[Martinus]

French 'boy sex' minister defiant
A French politician has refused to resign over comments that he enjoyed paying for "young boys" in Thailand.

Frederic Mitterrand, 62, the culture minister, denied that passages of his book, The Bad Life, described sexual encounters with underage boys.

Interviewed on French TV, he condemned sex tourism and paedophilia, saying he had only paid for sex with men his age.

Mr Mitterrand, nephew of late President Francois Mitterrand, faced criticism from left and right in recent weeks.

ANALYSIS
Hugh Schofield, BBC News, Paris Frederic Mitterrand got his key messages over loud and clear: one, he was ineradicably opposed to sex tourism; two, he had never himself paid for sex with underage boys.
He also turned the tables on his attackers - accusing them of conflating homosexuality with paedophilia. From now on, anyone who reopens the attack on Mr Mitterrand risks the stigma of intolerance. Questions are bound to remain about how truthful he was being.

But culture ministers in France always have a certain licence. Most French people will take him at his word.

His book was little-noticed when it was first published in 2005.

However it returned to the headlines after Mr Mitterrand made an impassioned defence of film director Roman Polanski, who was recently arrested in Switzerland on child sex charges.

Mr Mitterrand said the behaviour of the United States, in seeking his extradition, was callous and "horrifying".

His comments in support of Polanski led the right-wing National Front to lead the criticism of Mr Mitterrand over events in his past.

France's Socialist opposition has also been sharply critical of Mr Mitterrand.

'Not a crime'

Mr Mitterrand appeared on a French TV news programme on Thursday evening visibly angry and far from apologetic.

"I absolutely condemn sexual tourism [and] I condemn paedophilia in which I have never in any way participated," Mr Mitterrand said.

FREDERIC MITTERRAND
Born in Paris, 21 August 1947
Nephew of former Socialist President Francois Mitterrand
Former TV presenter, documentary maker and writer
Appointed head of the French Academy in Rome in 2008
Named by Nicolas Sarkozy as culture minister in June 2009
"All the people who accuse me of that type of thing should be ashamed."

People "should not confuse paedophilia and homosexuality", the culture minister insisted, describing his actions in Thailand as an error - "without a doubt" - but not a crime.

"Each time I was with people who were my age, or who were five years younger - there wasn't the slightest ambiguity - and who were consenting," he said.

Mr Mitterrand said he retained the confidence of current President Nicolas Sarkozy and that he had not offered to resign over the controversy.

He had committed what he thought was an "offence against... human dignity", but strongly denied any accusations of illegal sexual activities.

When Mr Mitterrand's book, described by his publishers as a novel based on autobiography, was written, it received literary praise and did not generate controversy.

When he was appointed to the French government in June 2009 Mr Sarkozy described his new minister as "talented and courageous".

Looks like the story with the minister was a bit different than originally reported. Well, assuming he is not lying, this is not a reason to resign and kudos to the French people for not being stuck up puritans. 

[CountDeMoney]

Looks like the story with the minister was a bit different than originally reported.

Not really, no.
But you? Jumping to conclusions? That was originally reported.

[Martinus]

Berkut, speaking of your (and mine) earlier comment, has there been any backlash from feminist organizations in the US?

In Poland, pretty much all feminist, women-rights, anti-discrimination, anti-homophobia and gay rights organizations, as well as a number of various leftist gurus and commentators signed an open letter protesting the trivialization of child abuse and/or calls for special treatment of famous people, and saying that Polanski should get a fair trial - but nothing beyond that.

Kinda cool - my rolemodels haven't failed me.

[Neil]

Judging by the way you behave, if these are your role models and you learned your behavior from them, they're suspect.

[garbon]

Judging by the way you behave, if these are your role models and you learned your behavior from them, they're suspect.

Well they are all Polish.

[Admiral Yi]

He went to Thailand and paid for sex, but he's very opposed to sex tourism?  Is there something lost in the translation?

[Duque de Bragança]

He went to Thailand and paid for sex, but he's very opposed to sex tourism?  Is there something lost in the translation?

Well, yes. He doesn't recommend it and is ashamed of it, now.

[Berkut]

He went to Thailand and paid for sex, but he's very opposed to sex tourism?  Is there something lost in the translation?

Well, yes. He doesn't recommend it and is ashamed of it is a politician, now.

Fixed.

[The Minsky Moment]

Yi - I looked at his original statement in French.  The translation is: "Do as I say, not as I do"

[viper37]

Looks like the story with the minister was a bit different than originally reported. Well, assuming he is not lying, this is not a reason to resign and kudos to the French people for not being stuck up puritans. 

We've been there before:  he was questionned on his book in the past, before the recent events with Polanski and never denied having sex with underage boys.  He never said he did have sex with underage boys either, he deliberately let the question hanging.  But when you're asked if you paid for underage boys and you evade the question instead of saying "NO", you're suspicious.

Besides, let's look at that in all honesty here.  You may think I'm an homophobic puritan, and I tend to think you're leaning to close to Grallon's stance on underage sex for my tastes, but look at the facts in a clear, rational matter:
- You are an older homosexual man with enough money to 'rent' an occasional male prostitute for your pleasure.
- You decide to visit Thailand, a place known for it's underage sex market.
- You write in a book that you like "ephebes".  Ephebes means younger teenage boys.
- You're ask if you slept with underage boys and you never answer.
- You take the defense of someone accused of raping a 13 y.o. girl by calling the accuser "puritans".
- People make the link with your book and your previous answers.
- You then call them "puritans".

I fail to see how it is anybody's fault but Mitterand if people consider you a pedophile given these facts.
Nobody goes in Thailand to sleep with 21 year old male prostitutes.  You can do that in Paris, I'm pretty sure.  What you can't do (safely) in Paris though is sleep with 13-14 year old boys or buy them at a 'market' of sort.

[CountDeMoney]

Viper, you're off-base here.  As Disturbed Pervert has constantly tells us with constant knee-jerk style, there's no such thing as pedophile sex trafficking in Thailand.  It's all in Cambodia.