Well, they have had a century of practice with the "sado" part.

From Spiegel Online (via Drudge) comes the latest doings of earth's erstwhile Master Race.

Berlin is recognized the world over as a beacon of tolerance and sexual promiscuity. So, why all the rancor over mayor Klaus Wowereit's embrace of a sadomasochism festival in the German capital?

Enter Berlin's mayor Klaus Wowereit. Recently crowned "The Glamour Guy" by Time Magazine, the 51-year-old gay man is better known as a partying socialite than as a hard-nosed manager -- all part of his strategy to make Berlin Europe's creative center by attracting the young and hip rather than the old and stodgy.

This time, though, the mayor may have gone too far. Controversy is raging this week over the "Folsom Europe Fest," a European attempt to copy San Francisco's (in)famous sadomasochism fair on Folsom Street. Events begin on Friday, prompting some to fear that a hurricane of leather, handcuffs and undesirables will sweep through the German capital. Not that Berlin is lacking in any of these anyway. Still, Wowereit's gusto and willingness to write the festival's opening greeting has rankled conservative nose-wrinklers. "The first weekend in September will be marked by pure joie de vivre," Wowereit wrote. "The international leather and fetish scene is meeting for the second time in Berlin. ... Welcome to Berlin!"

Welcome indeed. The mega-tabloid Bild goes after "Wowi" on Tuesday with a two-page spread prominently featuring a large picture of the Berlin mayor right next to a cuffed leather boy wearing a gas mask and ready for -- well -- for the Folsom Fest, of course. The accompanying editorial lambasts Wowereit for spending too much time issuing invitations to masters and their sex slaves and too little addressing high unemployment and the city's €60 billion debt. "Wowereit is transforming the problem capital into the sex capital. Berlin doesn't deserve this."

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. Bild, it is worth noting, hardly ever goes a day without a bit of soft porn on its front page -- today the paper's some 4 million readers are greeted by bare-breasted Sylvia staring alluringly from below the fold. Last month, the paper ran a full-page feature on a Dutch dominatrix and her midget sex slave. And last year, the paper went on a virtual headhunt of Turkish actress Sibel Kekilli of "Head On" fame. Before starring in the award-winning film, Kekilli spent a fair amount of time on the porn-flick circuit -- a fact that Bild chewed on -- and lavishly illustrated -- for weeks. Perhaps not surprisingly, Bild is the best-selling paper in Germany.