Is Obama Eligible to be President of the United States of America?

Yes, he is!

Nevertheless, it would seem that a group of "Birthers" will not be satisfied until such time as the president provides an original birth certificate. Yet, considering the manner in which birthers have gone about their task to date, an original birth certificate is unlikely to close off their beliefs. The cold, hard reality for birthers is that the State of Hawaii, the State where Barack Hussein Obama II was born, has already released enough data in its public records to put this to bed.

To be honest a certificate of live birth and the corresponding birth notices, both of which are contemporary to the event, should be more than enough. It is a truly bizarre claim that Obama is in essence a "Manchurian Candidate" that has been groomed since birth for this task of destroying the US from within as her president.

Interestingly, the Governor of Hawaii, Neil Abercrombie, wanted to assist in putting this matter to bed. However, the State's Attorney General, David Louie, has instructed the Governor that the Governor is barred by law from releasing the private birth certificates of individuals without their consent. Simply, the only person who can consent to the release of the Obama birth certificate is Barack Obama  himself. So, if Obama remains true to past form, it would seem unlikely that a birth certificate will be forthcoming. And, to be honest it is not necessary.

Hawaii has confirmed that the original documents have been cited and confirmed and that information is contained in the State's vital records. So, to all intents and purposes, Hawaii is satisfied that Barack Hussein Obama II was born at Kapiolani Maternity and Gynecological Hospital in Honolulu on 4 August 1961.

Then again, Hawaii's failure to release the originals is obviously, as the birthers will contend, all part of the grand conspiracy. After all, Obama was born in Kenya, is an Indonesian citizen and a practicing Muslim, right?

Ho hum...

Kidnapped: Reunited 23 Years Later...

I tend to spend the odd minute or two surfing the internet. Every now and then, a story jumps out for its horror, its tragedy, its bizarreness or, as in this case seemingly, a happy ending. A young woman who was kidnapped 23 years ago has finally been reunited with her birth mother. It is hard to imagine what sort of feelings one must have learning that you had been kidnapped and have in essence lost 23 years of a potential parallel life. So, when Carlina White / Nejdra Nance says it "felt like a dream", you still wonder whether even in your wildest dreams you would have dreamed that such a day would happen.

The story is one that probably happens a lot more than we care to allow ourselves to acknowledge. The kidnap of children is not a new phenomenon or crime. However, it is rare to here of such happy reunions after such a long period of time.

A 19-day-old Carlina was kidnapped in 1987. The story began with a simple fever and a trip to a Harlem hospital. It ended with Carlina being kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse and spending the next 23 years living with an abusive "parent". Carlina ended-up pregnant herself at 16 and this is when she started connecting the dots of her own life. A request for a birth certificate could not be fulfilled. The suspicions began to come to the fore as to why that might be. Ultimately, Carlina bailed out of the abusive home in Connecticut and headed to Georgia.

While in Georgia, Carlina met up with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center filled in a few of the blanks and joined the rest of the dots. A DNA test and a few phone calls put Carlina back in contact with her birth mother, Joy White.

The emotions for Joy White and the rest of Carlina's long lost family most be overwhelming too, particularly when they are not only getting back a lost daughter, sister, cousin, aunt or whatever, but Carlina has since had a daughter herself.

Hopefully, this is a story that continues to have a happy ending.

The Power of Journalism, Citizen Journalists, and Bloggers...

Poor old SBY has got his talking heads out trying to spin the rebuff he gave to Susi Haryani and her badly burnt son, Ridho Januar.

The president's men, in this case the talking head is Julian Aldrin Pasha, are now telling us that they are responsible for the treatment that young Ridho is getting because they coordinated the response with Pertamina and the Cipto Mangunkusumo hospital.

This may be true, but it only became true after the poor treatment was exposed in the press, initially by the Jakarta Globe, and then picked up on by new media types like bloggers, twitterers, Facebookers, and the like.

This is damage control, this is reactive and not pro-active. SBY and his merry men and women had a choice. They made a bad choice and are now trying to save a little face. Sad!

The outpouring of support for Susi and Ridho was immediate and large. There were quite a number of donors ready to stump up much-needed cash to see Ridho get the treatment he needs to recover from his very serious burns. However, to her credit, Susi has been unequivocal in stating that she does not want the money and she does not want to manage it. Her choice is to send it to the hospital and they can sort out how much the cost is and how much of it the donors have covered.

Perhaps, a trust fund of some description managed by an independent party would be a better choice, but at least it would seem that through the generous giving of donors the treatment costs are covered. Unfortunately, this means that PT Pertamina will look to shirk its responsibility and pass of the expenses to donors.

It has not been surprising that both the president and Pertamina have been trying to pass the buck to each other on this one. Pertamina claiming that the exploding gas cylinders are the result of poor and rushed policy making on the run. And, the government claiming that Pertamina are cutting corners and putting out inferior product into the market. Well, maybe it is not quite that simple, but a cursory reading gets one to that point.

Well, Mr. President, if you really do care and you really are responsible for all this coordination, why is it that these gas cylinders are still exploding and maiming innocents like young Ridho? Sometimes a president has to make the hard calls and do what has to be done, perhaps now is one of those times. Time to harden up and face down the special interests and start being presidential.

Ho hum...

Hospital Forces Mother to Sell Child...Indonesia

Are you kidding me?

This is a crime, is it not? By my reckoning the Child Protection Law (No. 23 of 2002) would prohibit the buying and selling of children for any purpose. The idea of buying a child would also be in violation of the provisions of Law No. 21 of 2007 on Human Trafficking.

A hospital has forced a mother of twins to sell one of the twins to a hospital employee in order for her to pay her bills. This is just so wrong on so many levels. The fact that the hospital condones this as a method of paying patient medical expenses is criminal. All those involved must be punished to the fullest extent permissible under the applicable law. If there is no laws that make this kind of action criminally punishable, then parliament needs to focus on this issue immediately and put a legal framework in place that makes it impossible for hospitals and hospital staff to take advantage of, and exploit, the poor in this way.

I find myself shaking my head and thinking, why do seemingly educated people working in hospitals think that this is OK?

Let's "Save the Children"

Hmmmm...

A change of pace. I figured that a photo to make you smile would make an interesting change from what I have been posting of late; for you and for me.

This photo was sent to me as part of an Irish joke. It also included a sentence about it being a 'real' photograph. I am always a little weary of real photographs and the internet. The cold hard reality is that there are some real masters out there of the technology and software who can manufacture 'real' photos.

I cannot make the writing out on the street signs so the photo could really be anywhere. Maybe someone recognizes the buildings or the signs. Supposedly the footpath is the one outside the Royal Hospital in Belfast.

It is kind of funny and put a smile on my dial. People really cannot be that silly can they? Those bollards, at least one of them, must lift out and then can be replaced and then locked, right?

Oh well!

Hospitals, Living Wills, and the Law...

This is a slightly edited version from what was posted here at hukumonline.com's English website.

The Bill on Hospitals was always destined to be. Simply, the regulatory framework for such an important and critical component of Indonesian life needed to be regulated in the form of a law. The deficiencies of the current regulatory regime in the modern era highlighted that there were insufficient provisions to govern matters such as malpractice, discrimination in the provisions of medical services, poor safety procedures, and even poorer procedures for patient complaints to be heard.

Perhaps if the hospital bill had been passed earlier in the year Prita Mulyasari would have had an avenue to complain about the service she received as a patient, rather than resorting to telling her friends about it, and then being sued for defamation.

It was clear that the government was keen to see the hospital bill passed before the end of the current parliamentary session.

The bill is pro-patient in many respects. The Health Minister, Siti Fadilah Supari, has gone to great lengths to highlight this fact. However, it is also important to note that the bill focuses on four key medical practices, namely: promotion, prevention, cure (treatment), and rehabilitation. The bill is comprehensive in that it also sets out specifications for hospitals with respect to buildings and facilities that must be provided to satisfy minimum standards. For example, hospitals must have an emergency room, operation theatre, radiology room, and a morgue, among others.

Hospitals can employ foreign staff. However, this is premised on need. Generally, it is expected that Indonesian hospitals will utilize Indonesian expertise where the expertise exists. Foreign medical staff will need to prove that they are qualified and licensed in their country of origin. It is also expected that any foreign medical staff engaged will transfer their skills and knowledge to local doctors and staff.

The bill also sets out the types and classifications of hospitals. Public hospitals are to be classifies across four levels, A to D. Article 29 of the bill deals explicitly with the obligations incumbent upon hospitals. The idea that the bill is pro-patient finds support in this article. Hospitals are required to provide medical treatment to the level of their capabilities without discrimination.

Furthermore, all hospitals must provide services to those who are unable to pay or who are poor and cannot pay set rates for services. The services must be provided to the poor and unable to pay in emergency situations without a requirement to pay any upfront fees. It would seem that the days of emergency treatment only being rendered after a down payment is made have passed.

The bill also sets out the obligations and rights of patients. As was noted earlier this Charter of Rights for both the hospitals and the patients may have allowed Prita Mulyasari and Omni International Hospital to avoid the defamation litigation that they continue to find themselves in. Patients have a right to a second opinion, either from another hospital doctor where they are or to get another doctor from outside the hospital to provide that opinion.

Patients also have explicit rights to their complete medical records. Patients also have the right to sue hospitals either as a civil or as a criminal matter if they believe the services provided to them breach any of the prevailing laws ans regulations in this sector.

Hospital fees will be set out in a national fee document. It is expected that the fee pattern will provide guidelines for fees based on actual cost of the services provided. And, hospitals are required to set their fees at levels commensurate with what is stipulated in the fee pattern as determined by the Minister.

The bill also sets out a new independent body called the National Hospital Supervisory Agency to maintain and supervise hospitals. The Agency is set up by the Health Minister in order to guarantee any matters relating to hospitals. It has the function to not only maintain and supervise the rights and obligations of patients and hospitals, but also receive complaints, and to settle disputes.

However, it must be noted that the bill includes a provision in Article 44 for the hospital to breach doctor / patient privilege and confidentiality where the patient sues the hospital and then goes public with their claim. Any patient that goes public is to be deemed to have released the hospital and relevant doctors from any confidentiality obligations regarding a patient’s medical records.

Furthermore, Article 45(1) absolves a hospital and doctors from responsibility for a patient’s death in care if the patient or the patient’s family refuses treatment or medical care. However, the provision requires that the hospital explains the consequences of refusing any such treatment or care. This is the concept of a living will. A living will allows people to set out whether or not they want to be treated or resuscitated by medical staff and doctors.

There is currently an interesting case in the United Kingdom. Doctors refused to treat a suicidal woman who had a living will. The woman drank poison in order to kill herself. The woman was still conscious and called an ambulance. Medical staff and doctors refused to treat her because they believed that if they did treat her and save her life, then they could be sued for assault.

The Elucidation to this provision states that treatment and care cannot be stopped for financial reasons alone. If a patient or the patient’s family is no longer able to afford treatment or care, then the government will guarantee treatment and care.

Article 45(2) states that hospitals, and presumably doctors, cannot be sued or prosecuted for attempting to save the life of a person, if that person is to later die.

All current hospitals are given a two-year grace period to come into compliance with the provisions of the bill once it is enacted into law.

The bill comes into immediate force once it is enacted. Enactment requires the signature of the President. If the President fails to sign the bill into law then the bill will self-enact after 30 days pursuant to the 1945 Constitution.

Pranks -- A Pain in the Arse?

The mere reporting of stories such as this one are likely to lead to a number of copycats. However, it might also lead to people give the toilet seat the once over before sitting down and getting down to business.

A story out of Cairns, Queensland, has a man glued to the seat of a public toilet in a shopping centre. Unfortunately, the man went to the male bathroom in the shopping centre only to find himself glued to the seat. An embarrassing prank for sure, inconvenient as well, and painful too.

When he was finally able to attract attention, an ambulance was called. The ambulance arrived and managed to get the man off the toilet but with the toilet seat still glued to his behind. The toilet seat was finally removed once the man arrived at Cairns base Hospital.

The hospital is reporting the man sustained minor injuries. Police are continuing their investigation.

This post probably lends itself to a picture but I have not yet found one that suits the subject matter.

Schapelle Corby and Depression...

It has been a while since I found time to update on the Schapelle Corby (photo) saga. It is a saga because the media keeps it in the news and people, like me, are still reading about the comings and goings of an Australian languishing in an Indonesian prison.

Corby is coming up to her fourth year in prison. However, it seems pretty clear that prison is taking its toll on her physically and emotionally and mentally. Corby now has a history of depression. She was hospitalized for it last year and has recently been hospitalized again. It is sad in many ways because if she had committed the same crime in Australia she probably would have received a much shorter prison term. Maybe she might not have been jailed at all.

The rumours are that she is struggling and that she is not taking her medication. This only exacerbates the problems she is suffering from. The results are apparently difficulty in sleeping and generally not looking after herself. Apparently, she is also having real difficulty in communicating with others and there is a general inability to answer questions or stay focused for any length of time. It has been reported that she is taking comfort in a doll.

A hospital stay is just what the doctor ordered. However, it is clearly a case that Corby would be better served with a long-term treatment regime in a psychiatric facility where she can be properly monitored and treated. This, though, seems unlikely. Unfortunately, if the authorities do not come to the party and allow Corby to get specialized and proper treatment then this is going to become a vicious circle of periodic hospital treatments for depression.

That said, prison time has never been designed as a holiday. It is tough and as such people handle it in different ways and some people do not handle it well.

On the legal front, Corby has hired a new lawyer. The lawyer, Iskandar Nawing, has been given a mandate of getting Corby out of jail. Nawing has admitted that there is no new evidence in the case so there is no likelihood that the case will be reopened. On this front it would seem that the 16 years that remain, minus any remissions, will be served.

However, Corby has until now rejected all overtures with respect to seeking clemency from the Indonesian president. A clemency request requires Corby to admit guilt. It would be an interesting call to admit guilt at this stage. It seems very unlikely that the president would be receptive to the idea of granting clemency and releasing Corby. Even if one assumes that the incumbent is re-elected it still seems highly unlikely that he would look favourably on a clemency request.

Indonesia has always taken a hard stance on drugs and drug smuggling. To grant Corby clemency after four years of a twenty year sentence just does not seem likely. Nevertheless, the ongoing serious depression she is suffering, the paranoia, and a psychological report that states she is a danger to herself might be a tick in the column for clemency.

When it is all said and done I think there are more ticks in the rejection of clemency column than there are in the clemency column.

A Trip To The Doctor -- Will and His Dad...

Photos taken on a mobile phone...

The Bule Factor

Kind of like fear factor but only funnier. I had been tossing up whether to post this recent experience of last Monday. Not for any particular reason other than perhaps some people will not see the "funny" in this one.

Besides there has been a little bit of bule bashing going on in the Indonesian blogosphere of late. Hold on, it goes on all the time. It won't be long and there will be three certainties in life; death, taxes, and bule bashing in the Indonesian blogosphere.

Most people I think make to big of a deal of the whole bule thing. If people don't like what I blog about or my opinions of things, then that is their right. The want to verbally bash me through their blog or on mine, so be it!

Nah, back to the bule factor story.

The wife and I are now onto a fortnightly check-up routine for the pregnancy. So, every two weeks we make the trip to the hospital. Generally, we do the check which is a USG then go to the pharmacy to get whatever the doctor prescribes. After that it is off to do some shopping, proper or window, doesn't matter. We have lunch and then head home and I head off to work.

Anyways, we were sitting in the waiting room, funnily enough waiting for the doctor to arrive. We were sitting across from a woman and her pregnant daughter. The woman engages the wife in some conversation. I am translating stuff so I am tapping away on the laptop.

It is always fun for me to sit back and watch Indonesians assume that I do not speak Indonesian. It is also a good way to avoid having to talk to people as I can just whack on the blank stare look and then they give up.

The conversation was all pretty much small talk until this pearler came bubbling forth, " dapat bule dimana?" Essentially, "so, where did you get the white guy?" I almost fell out of my seat and had to do everything that I could to control myself. I was not angry, upset, or offended, rather I was doing everything that I could to not burst out laughing. I am sure the wife knew what was going on and the question is probably more tiresome for her than it is funny for me.

I was sitting there like an attentive school kid ready to put his hand up in order to answer this super question.

Some of the possible answers that crossed my mind were, "Bu, there was this competition that I entered and the first prize was a bule" or "Wah, it was a little difficult but I ordered him through an online catalogue but they wouldn't courier him so I had to go to Australia and pick him up. He looks a little different in real life than he did in the catalogue!" or "he was just wondering around lost on the street so I took him home and fed him and then he would not leave".

I think the question was generic and harmless and nothing sinister was meant by it. It is just funny to hear it and then think about the possible answers I could have used.

It did make my day though! Perhaps it is a case of small things amusing small minds.