I always love it when someone gets shown to be a massive hypocrite, so I was highly amused by an Italian Member of Parliament recently.
The story revolves around Cosimo Mele, 50, a member of the UDC party in Italy. The UDC are a Christian party who promote family values, as you would expect of any Christian political party.
The trouble started for Mr Mele when he was caught in a hotel room with two prostitutes and a large quantity of cocaine. He's not the first politician to be caught in a situation like this, but what truly makes him him stand out in the world of hypocrites is his attitude after the incident.
Perhaps I should let Mr Mele explain it in his own words:
"I did nothing other than go to dinner with friends who introduced me
to this girl,"
"Since it was late, she came to bed with
me."
"We hit it off... I didn't even know she was a prostitute, I only realised later. I didn't exactly pay her. Instead I gave her a present - some money,"
"So politicians in the UDC do not make love? Of course I recognise
Christian values. But what has that got to do with going with a
prostitute? I cannot be branded a bad father and a bad husband simply
because after five or six days away from home an occasion presented
itself."
He's since resigned as an MP. He denies taking any drugs. Perhaps unsurprisingly the prostitutes don't exactly corroborate his version of events.
New from the Dutch T.V. company Endemol, that brought you Big Brother is a new show in which, (I swear I'm not making this up) a terminally ill women decides which of three "contestants" should get her kidneys when she dies.
Each of the "contestants" need a kidney transplant and the terminally ill woman, known only as Lisa, will decide who gets her kidneys based on the "contestants" history and conversations with friends and family. Viewers will also be able to text in their advice during the show.
Unsurprisingly this has caused a lot of controversy, particularly amongst politicians and those involved in organ donation.
In their defense Endemol have stated that this program is designed to highlight the plight of those who need an organ transplant, especially those needing a kidney transplant. They also point out that the "contestants" have a 33% chance of getting new kidneys, compared to around a 1% or 2% chance on a waiting list.
The problem that I, and many others, have with this program is that the two "contestants" that don't get the kidneys will die unless they get kidneys from someone else. As there are more people on the kidney donation waiting list than there are available kidneys there is a fair chance that they will die if they do not "win" these kidneys.
This is just too much for a television program, choosing who lives and who dies for the sake of entertainment is just wrong.
I would encourage everyone to donate blood, and sign up for bone marrow and organ donation. You can save somebodies life, even if you just donate blood.
