This is obsenity

Bureaucrats and other public officials are often times held to a higher standard than the rest of the workforce. Usually a dock worker is not going to come under such a huge amount of scrutiny for either being incompetent or having a sorrid personal life. Whether they be on the take in their job or spend their off hours trolling MySpace for seventeen year olds, a government employee can face severe consequences including but no limited to loss of work, humiliation in the press, and can carry an invisible Scarlett Letter for the rest of their lives.

While we here in the US blast Gonzalez for his shoddy memory and other administration officials for being fall guys for a simpleton leader we should step back and think how easy we have it. Take Pakistan for example. Not known for being the bastion of multi-culturalism nor embracing the feminist movement Pakistani tourism minister Nilofar Bakhtiar resigned yesterday under pressure from the nation's Islamic clerics.

What did she do? Did she not promote the idea that Pakistan was a great place to vacation? After all who wouldn't want to spend a holiday in Islamabad? Should be an easy sell.

The woman hugged someone. Yes the woman embraced her skydiving instructor after jumping out of a plane. After the photo of her doing this 'obscene' act was made public Islamic clerics cried out in horror and demanded a reprimand for violating their moral norms. Instead of being stoned (rocks) for being a dirty whore she decided to step down from her position, which is a rarity for a woman to hold such a high office.

I try to embrace the idea of multi-culturalism, but sometimes they make it so damn difficult. I see news stories like this and I wish for omnipotent powers so I could create a rapture of sorts. 40% of the population would vanish. When you think about how terrible you have it in your society think of this, the picture I have posted above, which includes the now un-employed tourism minister in her infamous embrace, would be not safe for work in many areas.

"In Pakistan anti-American protesters set a Kentucky Fried chicken restaurant on fire. The protesters mistakenly thought they were attacking high-ranking U.S. military official Colonel Sanders." - Jimmy Fallon

Female Pakistani Minister Resigns Over Hug