Luna Maya & Cut Tari -- Apologies Made...

The case of Indonesia's first ever celebrity sex tape will not die. Perhaps this is an indication of the Indonesian public's insatiable appetite for all things celebrity, particularly gossip. Then again, it might just be a coordinated attempt by some unknown puppet master designed to keep more pressing and important issues out of the press and out of the minds of most Indonesians. Nevertheless, this is not a post on conspiracy theories or even gossip.

Luna Maya and Cut Tari, the two female stars in the sex tape cases to date have both made public apologies in separate news conferences. What is interesting is that neither admitted to being in the tapes. Both Luna Maya and Cut Tari focused on apologising for the harm that being linked to this scandal has done to their respective families and to their fans.

In essence, Luna Maya (photo from happier times?) apologised to all and sundry. She concluded by hoping that no one would be left worse of by the shenanigans associated with this juicy scandal. To be honest, it is hard to see how this is possible. After all, those involved will be forever associated with the scandal and no matter what the outcome it is something that they will carry with them until their end of days. Funnily enough Luna Maya refers to the news as being unpleasant. I guess that depends on where you are standing, or sitting, as the news was not all that unpleasant for some, I am sure. Judging by the amount of news and other coverage of the events there are seemingly plenty of people still following the events as they unfold.

Cut Tari focused much of her apology on her husband and family. A special mention was given to her husband for standing by her in her time of need. She also indicated that she was leaving the matter in the hands of her lawyer and the national police to sort out. Her lawyer is the noted Indonesian celebrity lawyer, and celebrity in his own right, Hotman Paris.

For Cut Tari there is added intrigue as it would seem that doctors associated with the case are suggesting that they have the necessary evidence to prove that the woman in the second video is Cut Tari. This is presumably based on physical characteristics. I would also be guessing that digital forensic technology has been used here in the form of multi-point comparisons. The sort of fun stuff that you see on CSI when they do fingerprint searches or multi-point facial recognition tests. Otherwise, the certainty is seemingly based on the naked eye (no pun intended) and in this day and age a positive identification might be a little premature.

In any event, it would seem that this case still has a ways to go yet.

Some additional happy snappies of Luna and Cut...

Ariel, Luna Maya, + Cut Tari...

Indonesia and porn, porn and Indonesia seem to go hand-in-hand, don't they? It never ceases to amaze me the level of hypocrisy that exists on this single issue. There are those jumping up and down waving the morality flag demanding that long jail sentences be handed down to people who find the need to film themselves doing the deed and then have this very deed find its way into the public domain. Yet, most surveys and other statistical data pegs Indonesia as one of the biggest consumers of porn on our little globe called earth.

I think Desi Anwar says it best in her opinion piece on the matter when she talks about moral censure, peeping toms and playing god. It is worth a read and you can find it here.

The realities here are that it is against the law, people know it is against the law, and they must certainly know that if they get caught then there is a pretty good chance that the relevant law enforcement agencies will go the whole nine yards to get a conviction. This seems particularly so if you happen to be a celebrity. Ariel, Luna Maya, and Cut Tari are going to find this out in the most public of ways. One arrest has been made and another two seem imminent. The Porn Law and the Criminal Code are destined to get a work out on this one.

It really is sad that this is being played out in the way that it is. There are just so many more important things that politicians could be doing rather than legislating morality. There is in a similar vein so many more important things that the police and other law enforcement agencies could be dealing with rather than a couple of starlets getting the once over by a singer who seems to be afflicted with a little bit of the "Don Juanism" condition.

However, it must be noted that none of this is surprising on any front. All of us who are either Indonesian or who have long associations with the place understand that Indonesians have an insatiable appetite for gossip, particularly celebrity gossip. Indonesian TV is testament to that. We also know that the politicians and law enforcement people often look for any good gossip in order to deflect attention from real issues that need real work and real responses to see them resolved.

Yes, the reality here is that you have a couple of sex videos, pretty tame by most accounts, and nothing to write home about. Yet, it is news that has diverted the attention of a nation, and seen the story picked up by the international press. On the importance scale, the size of Ariel's penis, his sexual prowess, or the preferred methods associated with any climax activity, ranks, at least in my opinion, a very distant last on a long line of really important issues such as the systematic attempts to dissolve the KPK from its current form, the failure of parliament to speed up the legislative process, or myriad of other issues. Then again, I am sure that it will not be too long before we are hearing that Ariel's escapades have directly contributed to an earthquake or a tsunami or some other natural disaster that befalls the innocent in Indonesia. Sad!

As a matter of priority, it is time that people thought about the things that are really important and worked towards resolutions on those fronts.

Then again, good gossip and a sex video is something that most people just need to talk about!

Sexual Violence and Films

A story out of France appears to provide some vindication to those people that advocate there is a connection between the violence and sex that children watch and their behaviour. The argument that we should enact laws that protect our children from sex and violence has been raging for some time. Those advocating restrictions and bans are not just looking at TV and film but also violent video games that seem to glorify gratuitous violence and mayhem.

Back to France. It seems that an 11 year old boy had watched a porno flick with his 12 year old mate and his sister! After having watched this skin flick it was decided that they would try and reproduce some of the scenes. The news reports do not indicate how old the sister was. Presumably, the re-enactments were perpetrated on the sister!

In an era of modern technology, it seems that every kid has a mobile phone. What's more these pieces of equipment are sophisticated and generally include camera and video features. The two boys decided that this was worth filming and decided to film the re-enactment.

It then turns out that having filmed the events as they unfolded it would be silly not to show it at school to all 100 or so of their closest friends. This is one of those "dumb and dumber" moments as the more people you tell the more likely your story is to be uncovered. I guess you do not think about these things when you are 11 or 12.

The boys are getting psychological counselling and apparently under French law they cannot be jailed for their "re-enactment" . However, they can be sentenced apparently to some kind of community service or control order.

Hidden Cameras

A warning for all!

This is a little late for the now former Health Minister in Malaysia but make sure you check your hotel room for hidden cameras before settling down to a romp in the proverbial hay. Dr. Chua Soi Lek has been forced to resign from his post amid the circulation of a sex tape. Unfortunately, Dr. Chua Soi Lek does not seem to be Paris Hilton and is unlikely to turn this into a reality TV career or lucrative appearance fees and events and parties.

I guess the moral of the story here is if you are checking in to a hotel for some on the side sex then either check for hidden cameras or don't hold back and give the performance of your life. You might just be able to parlay it into a career in the porn industry, with movies titled like "Dr. Knows Best!" or "Sexual Health: A Minister's Journey to the Dark Side". I am sure you, my loyal readers can do better on the titling front than me.

The Malaysian Hotels Association has been releasing press releases claiming that Malaysian hotels are safe and your privacy is guaranteed. However, the recording of this video and its subsequent dissemination suggests that privacy is not always guaranteed. The encounter occurred in a four star hotel in Johor State. So, the more stars a hotel has is not necessarily any guarantee of better service, treatment, or privacy.

The age of technology and the Internet ensures that any indiscretion no matter large or small is likely to be caught on tape or memory stick by someone somewhere and then offloaded or uploaded to the highest bidder.

Apparently, the video is doing the rounds in Malaysia. The rest of us might just have to wait for it to be uploaded to the Internet, may be it already is?