Lea Michele of Glee Fame: Too Sexy For Her Teenage Fans?

It is confession time. I have not yet sat down and watched anything Glee related. That said, I have an idea of what it is about based on my travels through cyber space. So, it is interesting that at least one Glee star, Lea Michele, finds herself the subject of a little more controversy.

The main characters of Glee did a very sexy high-school themed photo shoot for GQ. The GQ shoot ruffled quite a few feathers and was slammed for promoting pedophilia. However, this latest storm is a storm in a tea cup and is not really worth the space that will be devoted to it.

Here is the nuts and bolts of the latest controversy/ Glee is a high-school themed show where the lead actors are not high school students but adult actors playing teenage roles. One of those actors, Lea Michele, recently did a sexy cover shoot for Cosmopolitan Magazine. It was only sexy because the cover shot was Michele in a plunging neckline dress which accentuated her breasts. Sadly, this has left some 11, 12 and 13-year-olds dazed and confused as to why none of their classmates are so sexy and able to carry off a dress of that calibre. Parents are up in arms all over the place. It is almost as if the principal sat down with Kindergarten and told them that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny are not real.

Lea Michele is a 24-year-old adult. If she wants to pose in a plunging neckline dress that accentuates her assets, then so be it. She is an adult and the target audience of Cosmo magazine is contemporary adult.

Any parents with confused teenagers, rather than blaming Michele, how about you sit them down and explain a few things. Perhaps, one could start with Glee being fiction and that the people playing the parts are actors, and some of those actors are in fact adults.

Ho hum...

Treespotter: Anonymity and World Domination...

It is interesting to see interviews with anonymous people, particularly bloggers, become newsworthy. The Treespotter is certainly an anonymous blogger that is worthy of an interview of this kind.

I ummmed and ahhhhed about posting this only cause I did not want to seem like I was piggy backing on his fame. Yet, I like the man's work and I enjoy reading his views as he works on his plan of world domination.

Perhaps the "Puff Doggy" avatar by Daniel Peacock has more to do with the laid back plan of world domination than it does with anything else. According to the interview, but I knew this already, the "treespotting" moniker has to do with using trees as land marks or simply just as markers. The idea that a distinctive tree can guide you from place to place as you meander your way through this existence is an excellent one. As human beings we use markers all the time to measure and evaluate our progress.

It is also an apt choice because the Treespotter himself is a marker of sorts to many people. There are at least 13,000 Twitterers who use him as a marker for all things commentary on social, political, economic, technology and media issues.

So, it goes without saying that I subscribe to his blog and Twitter feeds. There is nothing quite like watching the to and fro on Twitter and other places once the Treespotter gets into the game.

The man has an innate ability to pose the real tricky questions, you know, the ones that everyone is thinking about but unsure of where or how to ask it. The man has no obvious fear of putting it out there. Yet, that is what probably attracts people, or "followers", to him. It is the idea that there is someone out there trying to "keep the bastards honest".

I once read a book, although I cannot remember the name of it, but the storyline is one where the world is run by this man who many people know, but nobody knows. To all intents and purposes a regular man with absolute power. I often remember that story line when I think of the Treespotter. I think I would be happy to live in a "treespotting" world.

Special Privileges in Indonesian Prisons...

Sometimes it pays to keep things quiet, particularly if you are enjoying the benefits of paying a little extra for better prison living conditions and other special privileges that are not being enjoyed by the masses.

Artalyta Suryani and a couple of other inmates of the Pondok Bambu Women's Prison in East Jakarta were discovered to be enjoying special privileges and living conditions which they were supposedly self-funding. However, that game came to a rather abrupt end when the Minister of Law and Human Rights, Patrialis Akbar, determined through his Department to transfer Suryani, and two others, Aling and Darmawati, to the women's prison at Tangerang where they will share a 2.5m x 3m cell with another woman.

The days of flat screen televisions, karaoke machines, refrigerators, spa treatments, and the like are over, at least for the foreseeable future for these women.

The moral of this story might simply be that sometimes it is better not to talk about the advantages one enjoys during their incarceration for the fear of losing those privileges permanently and much more quickly than they took to acquire in the first place.

The Corby family and her supporters are quick to note that they have partaken of the "system" in order to facilitate better conditions for Schapelle during her incarceration in Kerobokan prison in Bali. The photos and videos of Schapelle's living quarters show a spartan but relatively clean existence. Nevertheless, maybe it might not be in Schapelle's best interests to wage a very public media campaign regarding the ability to purchase better conditions and favours.

Perhaps Suryani and her fellow formerly 'lucky' prisoners wish that they had kept a lid on the luxuries that they were enjoying.

Just a thought.

Schapelle Corby -- Depressed and Desperate?

It has been a while since I last wrote a Schapelle Corby related post. There has been no reason for this, other than not being bothered. I am planning on writing a couple (I might do them all in a row now that I am onto it). This particular post was inspired by some email I received asking me what I thought about her deteriorating mental state and whether she should be repatriated to Australia for treatment. It was also inspired by the above recent New Idea cover.

The picture, as they say, tells a thousand words. So, I won't bore you with a thousand more analyzing, but rather, I will just bore you with a few observations.

1. Why is it that New Idea has an exclusive deal with new tidbits of Schapelle Corby related information? Is there a media deal in place? Is Schapelle profiting from this exclusive deal?

2. How does this exclusive deal advance the campaign to bring Schapelle Corby home?

3. A recent report from Dr. Jonathon Phillips stated that Schapelle Corby was severely depressed, harming herself (allegedly cutting herself with a piece of glass), had regressed into a child like state, and who is not likely to survive prison. However, this picture (above) does not paint that scenario, of a desperate and depressed woman, does it?

4. In contrast, her regular doctor, Dr. Thong, has argued that Schapelle Corby is depressed and anxious. But, with medication that is taken as it is prescribed to be, Schapelle Corby can function normally and within the parameters of what is expected of a person in her situation.

5. I have argued pretty consistently that Schapelle Corby has been found guilty and exhausted her appeals, and no amount of rearguing and rehashing the evidence is likely to change this fact. The focus must now be on how to speed up the process of repatriation. I firmly believe that five years is more than enough time for the crime that she has been convicted of. However, a cover such as this one and an open letter to Australians has not seemed to endear her to the wider Australian populace. In fact, popular support seems to be running along the lines of, if you do the crime you must do the time. This is sad, sad for Schapelle Corby.

6. If part of the strategy is to generate support for the idea that Schapelle Corby has done enough time for the crime she has been convicted of, then it is time to broaden the base of appeal. It should not matter whether you think she is innocent or guilty in order to join the movement for repatriation. As long as you think she has done enough time and deserves to be repatriated, then that is enough. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It seems that in order to be a supporter you have to be a true believer in that Schapelle Corby is an innocent victim; a political porn in some geo-political game, where you must toe the single party line.

Perhaps this is why I have not written more frequently. I support the idea that Schapelle Corby has done enough time, but I cannot bring myself to ascribe to the party line. I wonder how many more people like me are out there; people wanting to help, but also turned off by the constant derision from true believers if you are not prepared to declare your support for innocence.

Sad really, very sad.

Chandra on Al Jazeera...

This is a brief video, but provides a little insight into what the issues are and the supposed proof that the police have.

Worth watching. It looks like the Daniel S. Lev Law Library in the background.

Enjoy!

Maia, Dhani, Krisdayanti, and Divorce...

Ahmad Dhani is not one to miss an opportunity to see his name up in lights or in the press. He was most certainly aware that as soon as he said that Krisdayanti was involved in his divorce that he would attract plenty of media attention. According to Dhani there were three people who busted up his marriage, and one of these three was Krisdayanti or KD.

Dhani has gone on TV to offer his support to Anang and has provided some advice. This advice included finding himself a younger wife and leaving the old one behind.

Maia in response has, in essence, called Dhani's claims garbage, and has stated unequivocally that KD had no bearing on her divorce from Dhani. To the contrary, she seems to suggest that it was an internal conflict between her and Dhani that led to an irretrievable breakdown of the marriage.

The Maia vs. Dhani divorce has been messy and very ugly from the outset. It has quite often, almost always played out on national TV, and sadly the children of the marriage have seemingly been used as pawns in the whole affair. Dhani, even claims that Maia has tried to indoctrinate his children against him but has failed in her attempts.

I wonder if there is anything that Krisdayanti can learn from Maia's experience?

The video is in Indonesian.

Miss Indonesia, Miss Universe, and Swimsuits

Zivanna Letisha Siregar is Indonesia's representative in the Miss Universe 2009 competition currently being held at Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas. The coveted title of Miss Universe is to be announced on 23 August 2009.

The above is a photo is of Zivanna in her swimsuit. Normally, Indonesian contestants in these competitions generally attract lots of criticism form local Indonesian media and religious organizations.

The primary complaint being that beautiful Indonesian women and swimsuits do not mix. Although, I have not read too much about the issue this year, at least, in the Indonesian press. I wonder whether this means attitudes are changing or is it simply a case of there being too much other news worthy stuff in need of reporting? Let's hope that Zivanna and her choice of swimsuit do not overshadow her achievements in the competition.

The main controversy to-date seems to have been over Miss Peru's national costume, "la diablada". The costume has offended Bolivia because Bolivia claims that the costume is a manifestation of their folklore and not that of Peru.

Indonesian and Malaysian Relations -- Part II

The Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia, Dato Zainal Abidin Zain, wanted the Indonesian press to write more favourable pieces on the goodness of Malaysians and their generosity to Indonesians on the whole. To this end, the Ambassador has decided he might have to force the Indonesian media's hand. He has attempted to do this by making a very public display of handing over financial compensation (or assistance packages) to former maids who were abused by their Malaysian employers.

One has to start somewhere.

Indonesian and Malaysian Relations

It seems that the Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia has a few issues with the manner in which the Indonesian press cover Malaysia. Specifically, the issue is that the Indonesian press are, more often than not, portraying Malaysia in a negative light.

The focus of much of the Indonesian media when it comes to Malaysia relates to abuse. The abuse of Indonesian migrant workers, and more recently of the social-climbing starlet wanna be, Manohara Odelia Pinot.

The Ambassador's beef is that violence towards Indonesian migrant workers does not only happen in Malaysia. This is true. The Ambassador is right in pointing out that violence against Indonesia's migrant workers also occurs in Saudi Arabia and even in Indonesia before the prospective migrant workers get a chance to be abused overseas. This hardly seems like a viable excuse to cut Malaysia some slack.

The Ambassador, in essence, states that it is not Malaysian government policy to allow Indonesia's migrant workers to be abused on arrival in Malaysia or for the course of their working placement. This would seem to be a no-brainer, as if it was a government policy then the media coverage would undoubtedly be even more negative than it is now.

According to the Ambassador, anyone who is alleged to have abused someone, Indonesian migrant workers included, would be charged and prosecuted, and if convicted punished to the full extent permissible under Malaysian law.

The reason this is an issue is that Indonesia has ceased sending migrant workers to Malaysia until the issues relating to abuse are more fully resolved, particularly with respect to protections afforded to vulnerable migrant workers. A deal on this matter seems far from assured at the present point in time.

However, where it gets really interesting is that the Ambassador offers up the following example of why the coverage by the Indonesian media is negative: "Please don't portray us as bad people. Fifty percent of prisoners in Malaysia are Indonesians, why do we never hear about this in the news?"

Reading between the lines here; Indonesians that come to Malaysia are bad people because 50% of the total number of prisoners in Malaysian jails are Indonesians. So, we are clearly not as bad as Indonesians. Although, an alternative reading might be that Malaysians have a real problem with Indonesia and Indonesians, and whenever they get the chance will preferably put an Indonesian in jail.

I would have figured that good news is a two-way street. What is good for the goose has got to be good for the gander as well. Perhaps if Malaysian media reported a more balanced picture of Indonesia then perhaps Indonesian media would be equally forthcoming in portraying a more balanced picture of Malaysia.

Facebook, Suppression Orders, and Arsonists

Facebook and other social networking sites are more prevalent than ever and in most instances groups that spring up on these networking sites are hard to regulate other than for the owners of the sites to delete the groups as they appear. There might be some free speech issues here that I am not going to go into in detail. There are also some big picture issues with regards to how we view matters such as a fair trial, innocent until proven guilty, and the like.

This is the case after the recent spate of deadly bush fires in the southern Australian state of Victoria. Some of these fires are alleged to be deliberately lit with the aim of destroying property. The police made an arrest and there was an immediate suppression order slapped on the identity, address, and image of the alleged arsonist. A magistrate has since lifted the suppression order on the publication of the alleged arsonists name, Brendan Sokaluk, but the suppression order remained with respect to his address and image.

Nevertheless, the publication of his name meant that somewhere someone would know who he is. As soon as his name was published two Facebook groups were created publishing both his address and image. The man has been remanded in custody, and by all accounts is in protective custody in order to protect him from others that might be inclined to do him harm.

Interestingly, aside from the arson causing death and intentionally starting a bush fire charges, the man has been charged with a child pornography possession charge. It would seem that the police have found evidence to suggest that aside from a penchant for burning things, he is also into the collection of kiddie porn. Strange bedfellows, arson and child porn.

The problem with the Facebook groups is that they violate the suppression order. It is not a difficult argument to make that the Facebook groups would fall under the suppression order even if Facebook is not considered to be traditional media. If this was indeed to be made out then Facebook might find itself in contempt of court as the publisher, along with the author. And, the lawyers would undoubtedly be arguing that their client cannot get a fair trial because of the exposure.

I can understand that people need to vent their anger after such a tragic loss of life and property. However, in the aftermath I would also imagine that people would like to see justice done, and perhaps not vigilante justice, but that kind of justice that sees the perpetrator do the time for his crimes. If this is the case, then it is a risky proposition to breach the suppression order. Sometimes we just have to have faith in our judicial system that it will work and work well.

Freedom of Speech

I am following some interesting threads at the moment on this very topic. The discussion is at times heated and personal. It is rarely focused on the legal issues except in abstract ways and generalizations. The discussion is multi-jurisdictional and therefore comparative in nature.

Although the topic in a more general sense is the freedom of speech, the heart of the issue seems to be more focused on defamation, slander, and libel.

I tend to believe that the Internet has developed very much as an anything goes forum. The law is lagging behind and it does so as old style media laws are trying to be remodelled to fit new style media. Defamation gets tricky in this scenario. For example, does defamation occur at the point of upload or download when we are talking about electronic publishing? How much liability can be attributed to webmasters or bloggers that do not censor third party material? How anonymous are anonymous bloggers?

In terms of anonymous bloggers. This is an old debate and one that cyclically, at least, raises its head every now and then. Most of you reading this will know that I am not an anonymous blogger. The ugly mugshot you see in my profile is indeed me. Anonymous bloggers would also include those using pen names. I am for anonymous bloggers. My point on anonymous blogging relates to how anonymous you really are. I have learned that you can be truly anonymous if you are familiar with the technology and know what you're doing. For the rest of us not so techno-gadgety (amateurs) blogging using a pen name or just the title anonymous is probably not affording you the degree of anonymity that you think.

But back to freedom of speech. Are the questioning of people's sex lives or their preferences, whether it be sexual or political, or making disparaging remarks about specific individuals know or anonymous, or the threatening of physical violence off limits? Do people have a right to be offended?

I generally believe the trading of insults is an attempt to mark deficiencies in sound sustainable arguments. The insults are simply detracting from the arguments. Nevertheless, to each their own. However, when you start writing about particular people on your blog then I consider this to be an open invitation to the other party to comment. If the post is personal and disparaging of the other then I think you have an obligation to allow the targeted person to comment.

Defamation normally occurs where what is said is untrue, factually inaccurate. Does defamation occur on the Internet? Yes, there is case law to say that it does. In terms of precedent and interpretation of the prevailing laws this is still a much more fluid situation.

With great power comes great responsibility. The Internet provides us, the regular people, with a vast and wide forum. We have an obligation to exercise a degree of caution when wielding this power. After all, I am sure that I read somewhere that "the pen is mightier than the sword!"

Have a good weekend!

hukumonline.com

The hukumonline.com experience is a unique and fascinating view into the mind of successful individuals giving back to the community that has provided for them over their professional and personal journeys.

The hukumonline.com journey started with a desire to build a repository of Indonesian laws and regulations that were easily accessible at a central location. Considering, this is the age of technology it made sense to make this central and easily accessible repository one that was available online. Thus was born the www.hukumonline.com concept. Seven years into the future this concept has evolved and grown into Indonesia's premier legal news, information, and legislation database.

This past 14 July 2007 was hukumonline.com's 7th birthday and the celebrations are set to culminate with a re-launching of new products and new ventures, in essence a re-visioning of that original dream into the realities of 2007. This will see the launch of an English language version of the hukumonline.com site and a vast range of new interactive and collaborative ventures that will allow hukumonline.com's more than 70,000 registered users and subscribers to add their very own content to the hukumonline.com site, a sort of hukumpedia if you prefer.

The successes over the years have been mounting and within legal professional, government, and business circles where there is a need for real time legal news and analysis hukumonline.com has already become synonymous with accurate and telling analysis of issues that effect the way law is practiced in Indonesia. It is the goal of hukumonline.com to build and expand on this success to continue to influence the way law is practiced in Indonesia and to continually provide a forum for a greater understanding of Indonesian law, not only for Indonesians but for anyone with an interest in the law.

So, Happy 7th Birthday hukumonline.com, may it be the first in a long line of many more to follow.