You are looking at societies where morality has been abandoned to the level that disturbs decent people. After a very few generations of this abandonment of morality in a society (the US beginning in about 1960,) the baser impulses are no longer curbed because the society has lost its moral compass. Once that happens, there are evil forces that have historically engulfed such societies.
Whether it is true that MOST men (this is A-P, so we are basically talking of the US) have learned moral restraint, or that the balance is tipped the other direction already, the path of immoral societies can be tracked through history. We can expect this trend to get worse.
Actually, most studies I've seen show that cheating has not substantially increased since the 60s. Instead, what has changed is that women now have more options, in particular divorce is a much more realistic option now than it was in the 60s. This means that things are no longer hidden to the extent they were 50 years ago; though I suppose it can be argued if that bringing these types of things into the open are better or worse.
Remember what you were told a little while ago: this is not tabloid fodder, it is a story showing up all over, because it is based on a LAWSUIT. In a related story, we see how much worse it is than most people know, and includes more than just the people mentioned in the OP. This is getting to a level of being systemic. Believe me, if your dad's name or husband's name was in the lists that are being exposed, you may have a different attitude toward the significance.
Pedophile Rings & Clinton's Pedophile Pal
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmHsV2s2jF8
Another link:
Billionaire Pedophile Goes Free
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/07/20/jeffrey-epstein-billionaire-pedophile-goes-free.html
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As has been pointed out, this is not pedophilia -- none of the charges amount to that. That is not to minimize the fact that a man was convicted with having sex with minors. But the fact remains these were teen girls, not prepubescent.
As you point out, this is a lawsuit -- not criminal charges. We know the Epstein was charged and made a plea deal -- an exceptionally sweet plea deal -- and that very little of the facts and circumstances were made public. Criminal charges are where the facts should have come out. That he got off so lightly, particularly over local law enforcement's objections, says a lot about the power at play here -- and it was even a Republican president/Justice Department.
Most lawsuits, especially against people with this type of money, are settled quietly out of court. In fact, one of the articles you linked actually confirms this, stating "Seven victims reached a last-minute deal last week, days before a scheduled trial; each received well over $1 millionan amount that will hardly dent Epsteins $2 billion net worth."
Yes, since it is making it into the press, there will be investigations but, unless someone is talking (something most settlements are designed to keep people from doing), these investigations will go nowhere -- and no reputable media outlet is going to publish anything without at least a couple of sources. In this case, a media outlet is going to ensure the have very good and confirmable sources, otherwise they could end up on the wrong end of a very expensive libel lawsuit, with the power and money of the people involved here.
So far, I'm not aware of any "lists" that are being exposed. Instead, all they are doing is going back and finding the names of famous people that met with Epstein in his Caribbean estate. Meeting with Epstein at his estate does not equal guilt -- these people had legitimate reasons for seeking Epstein's "help" (help as in money or business connections).
Though the "list" from the article you linked isn't even people who went to Epstein's Caribbean Estate, instead it is people who flew with Epstein on his private jet. In fact, that "list" is all the evidence their reporter seemed to find on other famous people; just that they flew in Epstein's plane. This reporter confirmed that Epstein is a scumbag and he was given special treatment and nothing more. So why do you think details are suddenly going to be revealed now?
