What is it with politicians and technology? They either don’t know how to use it or even what it is, taking a leaf out of judges’ books in being ignorant to the real world, or they get caught out by it.
Politicians have been being caught out by technology for years now. Whether it’s by phone tapping, camera surveillance, or computer, politicians have a nasty habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, only to be trapped by the traces they, as all of us do, leave in their wake as they go about their business.
The latest Australian politician to be caught out by technology is New South Wales Ports and Waterways Minister Paul McLeay. According to ZDNet, he’s been forced to resign after having to admit to accessing porn and gambling websites on a parliamentary computer.
McLeay reportedly gave an uncomfortable press conference outside Parliament House, during which he admitted he had acted in a standard not expected of cabinet ministers. He refused to enter into detailed discussions over the sites he visited but did bravely admit that it wasn’t a one off.
This news comes on the same day that Christian Democrat Reverend Fred Nile, known as a moral crusader, had been found to have accessed more than 200,000 adult websites on parliamentary computers. The Daily Telegraph claims he was caught out when the Department of Parliamentary Services conducted an Internet history audit.
Nile denies it was him that viewed the sites, and that one of his staff had done so in order to “research the activities of the Australian Sex Party and also the proposed Internet filter”. But we’ve all used that excuse once in a while, haven’t we?
It’s not the nature of the sites these guys have visited so much as the fact they’ve done so using parliamentary computers. If they did it at home I’d guess most of us wouldn’t care less. After all, politicians are only human. Most of the time.
Note to self. Should I ever, as a result of some disastrous misjudgment, become a politician, at all times be discreet when it comes to matters sexual, and buy a dummies guide to the Internet, so that I know that yes, everything I do on the Internet CAN be tracked.
seriously, it’s stuff like this that makes people feel so disillusioned about politicians.
No I don’t mean the fact that a politician is viewing pornography. I mean the fact that it is somehow viewed as such a scandal and the guy has lost his job over it.
Why has he resigned? No doubt because he was being blackmailed – threatened with exposure anyway.
How many times have we seen john howard for example defending absolute corruption and abuse of positions of power – and yet the slightest hint of a perfectly natural human foible like appreciation of porn, and an occasional slip-up leading to viewing it at work (for example curiosity after receving an email froma friend with a link in it), and the guy is forced to resign and show humility etc. to show the public that he ‘knows he did a wrong thing’ etc etc.
We really need to ask ourselves – what is worse -
a. someone extorting this guy, blackmailing him or threatening to expose his actions, presumably for their own gain,
b. a male of the species looking at some pictures of a female of the species and getting his rocks off so that he could go back to work with full concentration.
This kind of stuff happens all the time and no-one questions it.
Recently in australia there was a scandal on TV where it was revealed that many employees at the some government department that manages deceased estates etc ( ‘office of trustees’ or something like that) had consistently been emailing around funny pictures and soft porn pics (topless chicks with motorbikes etc) to each other over a course of 6 months.
A big deal was made about this on tv, but NOTHING WAS SAID about the 55 year old RETARD who had discovered these emails by HACKING into his friends email account.
Again – what is a worse crime?
– a. some guys emailing like-minded guys some soft porn during lunch time etc
– b. some old retard thinking it is OK to hack other peoples email accounts and then shame and humiliate 40 employees of different organisations on television based on those emails
Wanking over porn?
So who doesn’t / hasn’t?
I stopped checking out people “being people” online because it got tedious and unfulfilling.
And it doesn’t reflect the kinds of relationships that I want to be having.
Other than that….
At least I didn’t get down on my hands and knees and say, “Come into me Jesus”.