Considering the countless desiccating remains of politicians' careers throughout the course of history, each new case involving an elected official's gross impropriety (with an emphasis on "gross") coupled with blatant hypocrisy seems like satire.
That trend continued this week.
Not content with leaving such gaffes to western politicians, a lawmaker in Indonesia was caught with his pants down (figuratively) watching people with their pants down (literally) on a handheld tablet while at work.
Arifinto, a member of Indonesia's Prosperous Justice Party (free PR tip: a name change might be in order) and supporter of strict anti-pornography laws, was photographed last week during a Parliament meeting viewing the very content his country has deemed illegal, the AP reported.
The photo, which displays the politician hunched over in his chair holding the tablet not quite furtively enough, sparked calls for his resignation (which he willingly tendered on Monday) and even brought up the notion that he should be prosecuted. He did after all break the law. And so did the photographer, though he maintained no reports have been filed by police.
In Time's original coverage of the 2008 anti-pornography law, it pointed out the penalties facing those who break it: steep fines and even jail time for anything from provocative public displays to erotic dancing -- the latter demonstrated when exotic dancers in the city of Bandung were apprehended in 2009 prior to performing.
As for the ousted Arifinto, perhaps he'll travel the road traveled by many other politicians brought low by scandal: book-writing. There's an app for that, after all. (Via TechDirt)
