Revenge of the Molested Maids
Claire Berlinski, Ed. ·
May 30, 2011 at 11:19pm
Exactly how stupid do you have to be to visit Manhattan and molest a chambermaid these days?
The former chairman of one of Egypt's major banks has been arrested on charges of sexually abusing a maid at a Manhattan hotel, just weeks after the arrest of former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn on similar allegations.
Police say Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar was arrested at the Pierre Hotel on Monday morning.
The 74-year-old businessman is accused of sexually abusing the maid and holding her against her will inside his hotel room.
Police say the incident happened Sunday night.
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Jun '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
Claire, there's stupid and then there's habit. These cretins have been doing this sort of thing all their lives. They have also been getting away with this sort of thing all their lives. Ask yourself what are the odds that Bill Clinton was doing a one-off on Monica? Answer: slim to none.
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
I guess. But you'd really think the word would have gone out after DSK ended up doing the Perp Walk that the maids in Manhattan just aren't in the mood.
Sep '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
The spring of the maids.
Jul '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
I agree that this seems to have been something that was going on forever but the perps were used to getting away with it. . . now that one brave maid reported, others are no longer letting it go. Is this just another example of the corruption of power?
Feb '11
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
We will, however, keep insisting on evidence etc. Right?
It would be too easy for this to turn into a season of scams, whether motivated by politics, money or anything else.
Nov '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
Precisely: In the ME, the Filipina housekeepers are unable to complain. In his complacency this old clown failed to see that he's in a country where sharia is not in effect, and the help has human rights.
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
I will. And I had a similar thought--no one could be that stupid at this point, could he? I mean, doesn't this kind of sound like an obvious set-up? Someone thought, "Wow, if you can get rid of Dominique Strauss-Kahn with one little maid indiscretion, you could get rid of anyone?"
Then I thought, "Nah, Claire, you've been living in Turkey too long."
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
MMPadre Precisely: In the ME, the Filipina housekeepers are unable to complain. In his complacency this old clown failed to see that he's in a country where sharia is not in effect, and the help has human rights. · May 31 at 3:27am
I take it you're referring to Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar, not Dominique Strauss-Kahn. I can imagine DSK thinking, "No one is ever going to give me a hard time about this." But it's kind of hard to imagine anyone else almost deliberately recreating that scene, weeks later, without some thought in his head, "Hey, maybe this isn't a great idea. They seem touchy about their chambermaids in this city." Not to put too fine a point on it, but men like that know perfectly well that if they want a woman in a maid's outfit, they can pick up the phone and order one. Running the risk of this kind of charge just seems--well, I don't know much about the guy, but if I were his psychotherapist, I'd be thinking, "Profound unconscious impulse to self-destruction" or "so stupid a rat could beat him in a pellet-maze."
Mar '11
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
I think that, unfortunately, the presumption of innocence, a cornerstone of the legal system, gets short shrift in these stories. The DSK affair demonstrated some great aspects as well as some not so great aspects of the US legal system. The great aspect, to the consternation of my friends on the other side of the Atlantic, is that no matter who you are or how important you are you are treated like anyone else accused for a similar crime under similar circumstances. Europeans were appalled at the images of DSK in handcuffs, unshaven and somewhat disheveled,sitting on a bench and flanked by uniformed police, like ...a common criminal. Of course this would be how anyone else accused for the same crime would appear, except that there would have been no photographers to record the event. Which brings up the not so great aspect: With this much publicity and the accompanying imagery it is very difficult for anyone to keep in mind that DSK has not been convicted of anything yet and he is presumed innocent of any crime, just like the Egyptian gentleman in question.
Jul '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
True, and Israel's point about insisting on evidence is certainly valid.
That said, presumption of innocence is the court's duty, not the public's. The rest of us are free to speculate that New York doesn't lock up a major international executive without some basis beyond a simple allegation.
Oct '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
It's a little more than this - in France for example it has been illegal for some time to publish photographs of any accused, no matter how common or uncommon, in handcuffs. The 'Presumption of Innocence' is to be maintained generally.
Note that I'm not saying the French system is better, but it is more different in lots of ways than many understand.
Jan '11
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
1) "Where there's smoke, .."
2) "If it walks like a duck, looks like a duck, and quacks like a duck..."
On the other hand, I recall Tawana Brawley, and the Duke University Lacrosse scandal.
So, ...
Edited on May 31, 2011 at 6:02amMay '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
Vile and foolish men, acting as if they have no accountability (which most do not). Perhaps the alleged offender was hoping for an honour killing of the victim to quieten the whole episode down.
I patiently await the slatternly "maid walks" to break out across the globe. Or does it only matter when an Canadian policeman speaks foolishly, and not when bankers act violently.
I suggest future hotel guests leave the door propped open onto the hall when the maids arrive. Unfortunate misunderstandings by those with limited self control, may then be avoided.
Edited on May 31, 2011 at 7:32amMay '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
genferei
It's a little more than this - in France for example it has been illegal for some time to publish photographs of any accused, no matter how common or uncommon, in handcuffs. The 'Presumption of Innocence' is to be maintained generally.
Note that I'm not saying the French system is better, but it is more different in lots of ways than many understand. · May 31 at 5:52am
The French system is inquisitorial, and holds a presumption of guilt, whilst common law systems of most Anglophone countries hold the presumption of innocence. (This is a great simplification of both systems of law. )
I imagine the image of an arrested DSK in France would be restricted due in part to his excellent connections to power, and the semi-government owned press of France.
Edited on May 31, 2011 at 7:34amOct '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
Talleyrand The French system is inquisitorial, and holds a presumption of guilt, whilst common law systems of most Anglophone countries hold the presumption of innocence. (This is a great simplification of both systems of law. )
I imagine the image of an arrested DSK in France would be restricted due in part to his excellent connections to power, and the semi-government owned press of France. · May 31 at 7:32am
Not really, no. Under French law everyone has the right to have the presumption of their innocence respected in public. It is an offence for a newspaper to publish pictures of someone in handcuffs.
I hold no torch for the inquisitorial system which can be subject to many abuses (as can any system made up of human beings), but I think it is important to be accurate about who is being objectionable about what in the reaction to the treatment of DSK. The shock of the Parisian/establishment elite to one of their own being held to account is indeed appalling. The disquiet of a normal Frenchperson at seeing someone treated by the State as guilty before trial (as they would see it) is at least understandable.
Nov '10
Re: Revenge of the Molested Maids
No one could be that stupid?
His problem may not be his intellect. The best advice a man can get at a young age and keep close the rest of his life is that thinking is to be done by the brain, exclusively. Allowing any other organ of the body to take over that function may lead to disaster.
Perhaps Mahmoud Abdel Salam Omar never got that advice, or perhaps it doesn’t apply in his culture, or maybe he just didn’t believe it. If the latter, then he is that stupid.