Raped by a Genie -- Indonesia

This is one of those stories where you find yourself sitting back in your chair as you read it and shaking your head incredulous to how creative some people are when they plan to do something wrong or have been caught out having done something wrong. I guess I will never be a novelist because it had never occurred to me that one could blame their raping of a 15-year-old student under their care on a genie that had not been fed in a while.

The story goes that a principle at an Islamic Boarding School in Tangerang, Banten, West of Jakarta, raped and impregnated a 15-year-old girl under his care. The young girl had not revealed the rape to anyone, but it became increasingly difficult for her to conceal her pregnancy.

The girl, who has been identified by the initials KHF, alleges she was raped by the principal. However, the principal has supposedly said that it was not him but rather the genie that did it. The principal, who has been identified with the initials HDN, allegedly told the girl that if she had sex with him or the genie, then the genie would give her special powers. The girl claims she rejected the genie principal's advances and in her embarrassment decided against reporting the incident.

It would seem that the genie was not to be denied. A few days later the girl again found herself alone with the genie principal. However, this time she claims that she became incapacitated in the presence of the genie principal and when she later regained consciousness she was sore in places where she should not have been sore.

This is where the story gets even a little more bizarre. The girl's parents confronted the principal, as you would if your daughter had told you she had been raped by her principal. However, the principal denied that he raped the girl, but apparently confessed to the parents that it was his pet genie that did it. And, that the genie probably did it because he had not been fed in a few months. But what is really weird is that the principal agreed to a DNA test and is seemingly pretty confident that the DNA results will prove that he did not do it and that the genie did.

Nah, if my understanding is correct then the genie sort of appears and takes over the body of the host and then has his way with the girl. If this is the case then I am thinking that perhaps the DNA of the host rather than the genie is likely to turn up in any subsequent DNA test. Then again, I am no scientist, so I do not know for sure how these things work.

I am wondering whether this is a confession that there have been other girls who have fallen victim to the hungry genie in times previous to this account.

Nevertheless, it seems that the principal has realized that the allegation of rape of a minor is a little more serious than he envisaged at first and he is now backing away from the genie claim. The principal is now suggesting that the young girl is pregnant to her boyfriend and in her embarrassment and shame on that front she is seeking to blame the principal for her troubles.

The Indonesian Legal Aid and Human Rights Association (Perhimpunan Bantuan Hukum dan Hak Asasi Manusia Indonesia / PBHI) has taken up the case, and they have reported the alleged crime to the Indonesian police who are now reportedly investigating the claims. Perhaps they need to get a psych report done on the alleged perpetrator who seemingly thinks he is harbouring a genie or two.

Another interesting twist in this story is that the principal's family are now claiming that it is impossible for him to impregnate the young girl because he is a diabetic with extremely high blood sugar levels. And, the family claims, that it is a medical fact that diabetics cannot get erections. The family does not seem to be entertaining the idea that the genie did it either. But there have been no reports as to whether the genie is diabetic as well.

Apparently the DNA tests have been done and when the results come back from the lab, then it is expected that the families of the girl and the principal will have a clearer picture of what transpired or did not transpire. As will the police and just about everyone else following this story.

One For the Record Books -- 8.7kg Baby...

A woman has given birth in a hospital in Medan, North Sumatra. Nothing to shocking or newsworthy about that, except that the baby weighed in at a massive 8.7kg (photo). This makes it the heaviest baby ever born in Indonesia (at least in recorded births). The not so little fella is also some 62cm in length.

There is little surprise that the young one was delivered via caesarean. Apparently, even doing a c-section was a challenge in terms of getting the boy out of the mother's womb.

The boy and his mother are both doing well, according to news reports.

So, how did the young fella end up so large. Apparently, the mother has diabetes, and doctors believe that diabetes in pregnant women impacts on the amount of glucose that the fetus receives during pregnancy. Simple, the boy had too much glucose and this is what caused his massive growth.

I hope all continues to go well for bother mother and son.

A Question of Tea...

If any of you are wondering why I am still up and posting at 02.40 on a Sunday morning, then the answer is probably not anything like you may imagine. I am an old man and fell asleep during the afternoon hours and woke up about 22.00. I will get tired again and then log off and get more beauty sleep.

Onto the post. I drink green tea because it is good for you. The advertising tells me so. It is apparently full of anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants are the scavengers of free radicals. All this scientific analysis seems to me to equate to a really simple deal, drink more green tea and live longer.

Having knocked off three Belgian beers, which has confirmed that I am getting old as I think I have that happy little beer buzz thing going. Yes, it is sad, three beers and I feel the need to drink green tea flavoured with Moroccan mint. I have gotta say at this juncture that the tea tastes pretty good as well. I think I still prefer the beer but I could definitely get used to the tea.

Nevertheless, I have a question about the benefits of green tea. I tend to drink my tea without sugar, although sometimes a good dose of honey makes it into the mug. I am wondering though are the benefits of green tea countered by the amount of sugar one adds to the mug. I ask this because I ordered a green tea in a restaurant (yes there were a variety of teas on offer for the connoisseur of tea) and it came to the table in the Javan style. This is not a criticism of Javanese it is merely noting a tendency to eat and drink sweet things. It is kind of like Padang being the capital of spicy foods.

Simply, are any benefits that might be derived from green tea lost to excessive amounts of sugar which will probably lead to insulin intolerance and the onset of type 2 adult diabetes (what a cheery thought)? Maybe the answer is somewhere out there in cyber space, perhaps I should go and find out for myself.

Testosterone and Depression

An Australian study has highlighted that low levels of free testosterone are linked to increases in the likelihood of depression, heart disease, type-2 diabetes, muscle and bone loss, and decreased sexual performance. Those most at risk are older men, those who are obese, smokers, and anyone in poor health.

In fact the study showed that those with low naturally occurring levels of free testosterone were 271 percent more likely to show signs of depression.

For me this is the perfect example of a loophole in the laws against steroid use. Doctors can prescribe testosterone products to those with a medical need. Therefore, anyone looking to get a happy boost might want to pay a trip to their local doctor.

The report can be found in Archive General Psychiatry, 65: 283-289, 2008.

Factoid -- Diets

For me a diet has always been a case of wanting to "die" with "t". Simply, want to kill yourself on a diet then go drink yourself tea until you pull up stumps and go to the big cricketer's heaven in the sky.

However, I found this interesting little factoid, strangely enough printed on the underside of a cap from a bottle of tea -- how bizarre!

The factoid is this, "about half of all Americans are on a diet on any given day". This got me to thinking, and I will explore further to test my theorem, perhaps this is true for all western or westernized cultures. It is probably true that half of the Australian population or the UK population would also be on a diet on any given day.

However, my real thinking was, would this be true in Indonesia. I wonder if anyone has done any studies on this. I am sure there are studies for things like increasing levels of diabetes, obesity, heart conditions, and respiratory illnesses attributable to such things as change in diet and pollution and the like.

Yet, what relevance would figures like this have in Indonesia anyway when so many of the population live on less that USD 2 per day. The statistics would probably reflect the fact that more than half of the Indonesian population is on a restricted food intake on any given day and this absolutely nothing to do with dieting and body image.

So, if you are a dieter then you should be thanking your lucky stars that you have the luxury to choose to restrict your food intake because there are many that do not have that luxury...

Thus endeth the sermon!