Official gets tough treatment

http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/2473/genimageaspxuri20061027ci9.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

BOGOTA, Colombia (Reuters) - Beware Colombian bureaucrats, your president is watching.

Famed for his tough approach, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe went one step further Thursday when he ordered a local official suspected of corruption arrested as he sat in the audience listening to the presidential speech.

Uribe, who has led a U.S.-backed crackdown on leftist rebels and the cocaine trade, has earned a no-nonsense reputation since first coming to office more than four years ago with a promise to crush the country's four-decade insurgency.

Speaking in the port city of Buenaventura, Uribe accused the city mayor's secretary of trying to get a naval officer to hand over a captured stash of cocaine and ordered police to detain the shocked official sitting in front of him.

"You are unworthy to carry out your duties," Uribe said wagging his finger as two plainclothes officers escorted the official out of the hall. "The government cannot do battle when someone in a position as important as yours lacks patriotism."

Police later released the man pending an investigation into the charges.

Uribe, whose father was killed during a rebel kidnap attempt, was re-elected in May after Colombians praised him for reducing violence. The bespectacled, U.S.-trained lawyer backed off from possible talks with guerrillas after charging them with setting off a car bomb in Bogota last week.

Critics say Uribe has not done enough to curb human rights abuses and corruption in the military and wonder whether his hardline stance can really end the country's conflict.

Source (http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-10-27T124001Z_01_N26360939_RTRUKOC_0_US-COLOMBIA-URIBE.xml&WTmodLoc=NewsArt-L3-Oddly+Enough+NewsNews-4)

Know what I think would be kinda fun?

If every politician had to go to congress/parliament/whatever and always be sitting in a plexiglass tube; sorta like an oversized bucket. And, of course, this bucket would be transparent, so they could see eachother. And they'd have microphones in there, so they could talk and conduct their normal political business.

Except, every time they lied, or cheated, or stole, someone would just add about 5 gallons of water to the tube.
So, the first time, your feet are just uncomfortable and wet. Except, the water level would not go down at the end of the day, oh no. And so, if they were to ever lie or cheat or steal again, they'd get another 5 or so gallons added.
And that sort of behaviour is in the very nature of politicians, so I don't mind that it would take some time for the tube to fill, but every single lie would bring them just a little bit closer to drowning.

And it seems to me that, eventually, they'd have to choose between either finally learning how to tell the truth (which would be fine by me), or resign (also fine by me), or they'd end up drowning (oopsies).

I know, it isn't feasible. And it'd probably only be funny after the first one or two politicians. (well. after the first dozen or so anyways)

But still, for a while, it'd be fun.