Watching Porn and Thoughts of Rape and Pedophilia...

It is interesting how an argument that links pornography to all sorts of society ills is trotted out to justify a crackdown. There is a distinct difference between arguments regarding the morality of porn and arguments about porn leading to increases in occurrences of rape and pedophilia. So, when high ranking individuals in government ministries, agencies, or the police force make statements to the effect that watching porn promotes thoughts of rape and pedophilia then they have a moral obligation to evidence support for those assertions.

It was always going to be the case in the post TitS vs. RIM battle that TitS would be ratcheting-up his anti-porn agenda and putting the hard word on other institutions of state, like the police force, to pull their collective fingers out and fight porn on their own turf.

Now, Sr. Comr. Baharudin Djafar, a spokesman for the National Police Force in Jakarta has labelled pornography "a disease" and then gone on to say this:

“The raid was conducted so that there would be no more porn videos circulating among the public, because they can ruin society — especially children”, and “From watching porn, [a person can get ideas that can] lead him to rape someone or commit [pedophilia] with the neighbor’s children” (as quoted in The Jakarta Globe).

This is not a new argument in Indonesia. It is one that is offered up by all manner of individuals and institutions. The linking of porn to rape and other serious sexual assaults is a favourite of the Indonesian National Commission for the Protection of Children, and was especially so in the aftermath of the Ariel sex tape scandal, which is now coming to a conclusion in the courts.

A final point. Perhaps, now is a good time that TitS and others start to provide some statistics and data that highlight how the war on porn has provided tangible benefits to the community. For example, how it has lowered the frequency and numbers of rapes and serious sexual assaults or how it has contributed to raising the standard of living and getting any of the estimated 50% of Indonesians living on or below the poverty line to a position where they are able to provide a sustainable future for themselves and their children.

I appreciate that TitS views his "war on porn" as a simple law enforcement issue. To a certain degree it is, there are plenty of laws and regulations in place in Indonesia governing pornography. The point is whether this is the sole task of the Ministry of Communication and Information in the sense of devoting so much of a limited amount of resources to defeating. 

On a personal level, I have no objection to the government protecting children from pornography and the ability to access it, However, I do wonder whether or not the government has a right to invade the private sphere of two, or more, consenting adults who wish to make or view pornography within the confines of their own homes with the curtains drawn.

To each their own!

Miyabi: Is She or Isn't She in Indonesia?

Nothing like a little bit of controversy to promote a film. Whether Maria Ozawa's latest Indonesian film, Hantu Tanah Kusir, is any good or not is almost irrelevant now. Simply, the controversy and mystery surrounding the use of a Japanese porn star in an Indonesian movie combined with the fact that Maxima pictures, the film production company, says she is here, but for security reasons will not disclose where ensures maximum attendance at theaters where the film is scheduled to be screened. This is particularly so when Maxima seems to be playing up the idea that Miyabi is going to be doing some meet and greet the fans at select movie theaters throughout the country.

To be honest, it seems unlikely that security will ever be tight enough to warrant a "meet and greet" with Miyabi. It is certain that if the white-robed thugs and proponents of religious tolerance, the FPI, ever got wind of a Miyabi appearance that they would be there in a heartbeat and looking to stop the heartbeats of a few attendees. In any event, the FPI have made it clear that there intent is to effect a citizen's arrest on Miyabi and then take her to the nearest airport and forcibly deport her. No, they do not have the right to effect a citizen's arrest against a foreign national legally visiting or resident in Indonesia who has not broken any laws.

Miyabi has broken no laws. She would be, assuming she is, in the country legally. Maxima would have ensured that they dotted all the "i's" and crossed all the "t's" on this one. Yet, it is worth noting that this means nothing to the FPI and the law enforcement officials charged with maintaining law and order would almost certainly let the FPI get away with any outrage of this nature.

What is really interesting is the outrage that the FPI projects against the presence of Miyabi is seemingly so disproportionate for other foreign porn stars that have recently made films in Indonesia. Among the more well-known porn stars to grace the Indonesian silver screen of late have included Rin Sakuragi, Leah Yuzuki and Tera Patrick. Yes, the pictures will appear below. After all, it is important to know what you are protesting against, right? And, all these photos are freely available on the internet with a simple search of the relevant actresses names. These are not my pictures!

A major Indonesian language newspaper, Republika, has suggested that the government needs to put an end to the practice of permitting foreign porn stars from appearing in Indonesian films. However, it would seem that the Indonesian Minister for Culture and Tourism, Jaco Wacik, is of the opinion that providing these individuals are not breaking any Indonesian laws and regulations, then it is impossible under the current framework to prevent them. He has a point in that the films to date where these foreign porn stars have cut their non-porn acting teeth have been, well, non-pornographic. In fact, they have all been passed without any issues being raised by the Indonesian Film Censorship Board (Lembaga Sensor Film / LSF).  

The pictures:

Leah Yuzuki

Rin Sakuragi

Tera Patrick

I have already posted heaps of Maria Ozawa / Miyabi photos in the past. So, feel free to search for them here. My guess is that a simple Maria Ozawa or Miyabi search will find them all.

Why Are The FPI Anti-Miyabi?

The Islamic Defenders' Front are against all things Miyabi. Generally, they are against all things Miyabi for no other reason than she is a porn star. Yes, she makes films where she takes her clothes off and has sex with men and women. These films do a roaring trade on the streets of Indonesia, usually in their pirated versions.

However, the following photos clearly show that Miyabi, whose real name is Maria Ozawa, is in fact very much sympathetic to all things Indonesian. For example, Miyabi is a firm believer in law and order. She has been photographed here astride a rather large police motorbike to highlight her ongoing support for the difficult job that Indonesian police have. Especially now that it has become an offense to use one's mobile phone while driving, including using it to SMS.

In this screen capture it is obvious that Miyabi is sympathetic to the religious obligations of Muslims during and after the fasting month. So much so that she has worn a headscarf and asked her many fans to resist temptation during the fasting month. In that sense, Miyabi is very much on the same page as the FPI, right? (no need to mind that this is a really good effort on photoshop software).

Finally, Miyabi has become so much a part of Indonesian culture that the biggest noodle producer in the world, Indofood, has honoured her with her own range of instant noodles.

There are just so many more important things for Indonesians to worry about other than whether a foreign porn star comes to Indonesia to make a horror-comedy film. And, for most Indonesians, they realise this. It is too bad that the FPI have this obsession on Miyabi and such an unhealthy fixation on her every move. So, it was mildly amusing to me that the FPI made suggestions that they would be prepared to vet Miyabi's most recent effort on film, Hantu Tanah Kusir, for pornography if the producers of the film facilitated free tickets for them to do so.

Hmmm...Ho Hum!

Postscript
It seems that Firman, the commenter to this post, has been asking why I did not cite the sources. He seemed to think that I was claiming them as images that I had created myself. I did not create these images. I have now added the sources where I pulled them off the internet from. They may or may not have originated on Kaskus. I did not get the images from Kaskus.

Generally, I make it a habit of citing all sources or at least saying something lame like "all images are freely available on the internet". This post was done with a view to getting back to citing the sources at some point this evening. I wrote the post and included the images and then went out. Now that I am back home and have had a little chuckle at the to and fro about where these pictures came from, I have gone back into my files and pulled the sources. The are now cited. Hopefully, this puts Firman's mind at rest with regards to the origins of the versions of the images posted here.

Top of the evening to y'all!

FPI Wants to Study Miyabi's Latest Movie...

For the too funny category!

There are some things that are made to bring humour into our lives and alleviate the boredom that we are sometimes prone to feel. I do not intend to make light of the seriousness of the FPI threat nor the fact that they are a bunch of violence prone white-robed thugs that are more than willing to beat you into compliance with their medieval ways in their desire to see Indonesia become the Arabian Peninsula of the 7th Century. Yet, when their leader, Habib Umar Salim or "Hey Baby", comes out and says that the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) must first study Miyabi's first foray into Indonesian horror films to determine if it is pornography, is extremely amusing.

The image of a group of white-robed thugs watching Miyabi while their hands are strategically placed under their flowing robes so as not to embarrass themselves should make even the hardest anti-FPI person chuckle. The whole idea of having to watch the film is reminiscent of the FPI's claims to only be buying the Indonesian version of Playboy Magazine to confirm their suspicions that it was pornographic and not because they were intent on sticking the pages together so no one else could read such filth.

Hey Baby led his goons to the Maxima offices to protest the imminent arrival of Miyabi. Miyabi is supposedly heading to Indonesia to promote her film, Hantu Tanah Kusir. Maybe she has already landed in Bali or somewhere and thus leaving the FPI clutching nothing but their ...! Or maybe the whole idea that Miyabi is coming (no pun intended) to Indonesia is nothing more than a classic controversial marketing campaign.

The FPI definition of pornography is any film that includes kissing scenes with only thin clothing separating the kissers. Obviously, Hey Baby has not heard the term "Clothes Sex", you know, the simulated sex scenes while one is fully clothed (I am sure there is a much coarser word than sex though, I wonder what it is?). Hey Baby, not to be deterred and becoming somewhat emboldened by all the attention, went on to state that striptease scenes are pornographic. A striptease scene might include any scene where the actors (presumably the female ones) are wearing hot pants or skirts that do not come below the knee. If Miyabi's film includes any scenes like those ones described then it satisfies the FPI's definition of a film that is pornographic and morally reprehensible.

Strangely enough, according to Detik.com, the FPI protest did not eventuate because they did not get a permit from the police in time. If only the FPI were that law-abiding all of the time.

Ariel: Round 2 of Peterporn in Bandung...

The death penalty for distributing pornographic videos seems a little bit harsh. Let's face it, a self-confessed pedophile claiming the religious protections of Islam was sentenced to a mere four years in the slammer for sexually violating a 12-year-old girl. On the balance of things, Ariel's case should have been tossed eons ago as he really should not be seeing any more time on the inside than he has already seen in waiting for this trial to get underway.

At best Ariel is guilty of being naive and maybe even a little stupid that he could make a couple of sex tapes that would never see the light of day. In this day and age of instant communication and advanced technology, it was only a simple matter of losing his laptop or having it stolen and the anonymity of these sex-capades was gone.

As it turns out, he lost possession of his laptop and the rest is history, as they say.

To be honest, this really is not the best test case for establishing how well the provisions of the 2008 Anti-Pornography Law work. It is difficult to see how the prosecution will be able to successfully establish the elements of the crime. It just does not seem likely that the prosecution will make out the actus reus or the mens rea of the criminal indictment.

Yet, the prosecutors have opted to pursue this case for reasons that remain unclear. But, now that they have, there is a course of action that must be completed. Hopefully, it does not result in a conviction and then even more embarrassment for Indonesia and the public prosecutors as the case wends its way through the appeal courts.

More exciting than the legal arguments doing the rounds in the court room are the divergent and extreme opinions present outside of the Bandung District Court. Most interesting was the call by the Islamic Reformist Movement (Garis) who is calling for the death penalty to be imposed on Ariel.

Unfortunately, or is that fortunately, for Garis the death penalty is not an option in this case. This is not a Sharia Law court and Ariel is not being tried for adultery. In any event, Ariel would be unlikely to be stone to death for his sexual liaison with Cut Tari. Although, in Sharia Law conducive circumstances, Cut Tari might fall victim to such an antiquated and barbaric form of punishment. This assumes of course that the prosecutors could established when the sex tapes were made and / or where they were made.

I would add that there is nothing reformist about calling for the death penalty in this case.

The base reality here is that this case has become bigger than it needed to be as a result of the self-righteousness of some of the police and prosecutors involved being pushed forward by others, including the white-robed thug brigade (aka FPI), to pursue this. Any self-respecting law enforcement agency would have done the "likely to convict" assessment on this case and determined that the likelihood of a conviction was remote and then decided it is better not to pursue it at all.

It is time to call it quits on this one. Let the man go. He has suffered much more on the public humiliation front than any subsequent jail term will exact. And, he will still have to explain to his child / children (whatever the case might be in the future) what daddy got up to in his younger years. I would love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation (although, if I had a choice, I think I would rather be the fly on the wall in the Tiger Woods household when he has a similar conversation with his kids).

I wonder if Miyabi (aka Maria Ozawa) makes it to Indonesia whether she will swing by Bandung and catch up with Ariel. After all, she would get tongues wagging and there remains a remote chance that an Ariel and Miyabi tape could find its way into the public domain.

Release Ariel! Release Ariel Now!

Miyabi Heading to Jakarta: Will She or Won't She?

Miyabi is supposedly headed to Jakarta and will be landing some time this evening Jakarta-time. This is "supposedly" because the proof of the pudding in this case is seeing the porn star coming through the gates of the immigration checkpoint and out into the swarming masses of her fans and her haters at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The cynical would automatically see that this is a Maxima stunt designed to generate a whole lot of free publicity for the film that they have made that stars Maria Ozawa. Ozawa is known more popularly in Indonesia by her working name, Miyabi. Miyabi is a legend in Indonesia. Anecdotally, at least, Miyabi is Indonesia's most popular porn star. Her status as a true legend of her genre means that she is a true legend among the white-robed thugs of the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) as they claim that they will do anything that they can to ensure that she no longer has the opportunity to harm the youth of Indonesia with her filth and immorality.

If Miyabi does come to Indonesia to promote her most recent film, the very non-pornographic Hantu Tanah Kusir, then it is likely that it will be done with much less fanfare. This is because wherever she goes she is likely to be targeted by the FPI. Quite simply the producers of the film from Maxima will be outlaying more on security than they would have on putting the film together.

It is amusing to see that the producer of the film, Ody Mulya Hidayat, says he did not think that there would be this much controversy about Miyabi's return to promote the film. Yeah, right! He was expecting this controversy. It is, plain and simple, a crass attempt to milk as much attention as he can from the Miyabi phenomenon.

The reality is that Miyabi visiting Indonesia does not breach any specific laws and regulations with respect to immigration. Provided Maxima has completed all the necessary paperwork and the immigration department has signed off on it, then she is free to travel in Indonesia.

The perversely funny here is that if the FPI pulled their collective heads in, then the Miyabi visit is likely to pass without too much fanfare. The film she is appearing in is not a pornographic film. Her many Indonesian fans are going to be bitterly disappointed in the lack of skin that they get to see. The film was not destined to be a blockbuster. The hope was that the FPI would get involved and make this film a water-cooler discussion point and by default boost ticket sales as people went along to see what all the fuss was about.

The other perversely funny on this topic is that the majority of her fan base in Indonesia are followers of Islam.

The fact that the FPI are beside themselves over a non-pornographic film serves to highlight how little real controversy is out there for them to protest about.

Ho hum...

Miyabi Makes Her Indonesian Horror Film Debut...

The poor old FPI and any other white-robed thugs that have a problem with foreign porn actresses making horror films in Indonesia must be a little annoyed once again. It seems that the hardliners have missed Maria Ozawa, or Miyabi as she is affectionately known in Indonesia, slipping into the Republic of Indonesia to film a horror film, The Ghost of Tanah Kusir (Hantu Tanah Kusir).

Tanah Kusir is a public cemetery in South Jakarta if one is interested.

Funnily enough it is not only the FPI that have had the wool pulled over their eyes on this one. The majority of the promotional material for the film does not even make mention of Miyabi's role or the fact that she is even in it. But, there is no doubting she is there. Miyabi makes her grand entrance into the film about halfway through it. The rest of the film, I am reliably told, is a procession of Miyabi chest (or is that breasts) shots.

The same production house, Maxima, that was set to film the original foray of Miyabi into Indonesian horror / comedy (does that make the film comically horrific or horrifyingly comical) films. Unfortunately, for a lot of Indonesian Miyabi fans, Kidnapping Miyabi, did not make it into production out of fears that the FPI would violently seek to disrupt filming.

It would appear that the standard operating procedure will now be to sneak the controversial actresses into Indonesia, shoot the film, send the actresses home, and then release the film. Tera Patrick and Rin Sakuragi were recent porn stars to make their film debuts in Indonesia in this way. This is certain to raise the ire of the FPI as they would have been denied a soap-box opportunity to harp about the dangers of using porn actresses in non-pornographic films. This means that the only avenue of protest available to the FPI is to protest the screening of any film involving a foreign porn star. This ensures a stack of free publicity for the film, both in Indonesia and abroad, and guaranteeing success for the producers of the film.

Marketing genius or what?

Anyways, here are some additional Miyabi / Maria Ozawa images. Yes, I know you are expecting them.

Ariel and Miyabi (and Luna Maya and Cut Tari -- Possibilities)...

No, no, no!

It is not what you are thinking or what you are hoping for. There is no new tape of Ariel and Miyabi to add to the "Ariel Does Everyone He Can" collection. This is a story about Ariel getting some support from someone all to familiar with the attitudes of some Indonesians to sex and sex tapes, particularly for celebrities. Although, to be fair, Miyabi (aka Maria Ozawa) makes making sex tapes her professional calling. As far as I can tell, Ariel is still an amateur film maker and producer learning the trade.

If you want to read about Miyabi and her exploits, or lack thereof, in Indonesia, then I suggest you use the search feature for this blog. There are plenty of posts and plenty of photos, happy hunting. If you want to read a little about Ariel and his sex-capades then you will find most of them have been posted this month, so just look in the right hand column under 'July 2010', happy hunting there as well.

This post includes some 'safe' screencaps of some of the sex tapes out there at the moment. They are available over at Asia One.

Now, according to Miyabi, the moral police should not be judging Ariel or his exploits too harshly. In fact, she has used Twitter and 'tweeted' that people should not judge a book by its cover. I am not sure what she means by that, but perhaps she is referring to Ariel's sexual prowess and abilities as highlighted rather explicitly on the tapes. Or she might be referring to something else.

The best part about the Miyabi tweets is that she has expressed an interest in getting to know Ariel better. So, it seems that if things do not work out in Indonesia, there seems to be an opening in Japan that Ariel might be able to fill (no pun intended). Miyabi does think that Ariel is handsome and that "his girls" are good looking. This does sound like it has potential for a major film!

Kidnapping Julia?

Now that it seems Maria Ozawa (aka Miyabi) has pulled the plug on coming to Indonesia to play the lead role in the film "Kidnapping Miyabi" out of fear for her life, or perhaps it's just because she cannot be bothered to go toe-to-toe with the Indonesian Ulama Council (Majelis Ulema Indonesia / MUI) or Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI). Either way, the Japanese porn star that was looking to expand her portfolio of film work into the comedy genre, Maria is now history.

So, rather than write the concept off altogether perhaps the people at Maxima Productions can come to an arrangement with a suitable Indonesian replacement. Perhaps this might be a series of suggestions of possible "stars" to take on the role that was to formerly be played by Miyabi.

It would seem that the MUI and the FPI could not possibly have a problem with a local starlet taking the lead role in an Indonesian comedy. Furthermore, it would seem that the relevant Minister would not be able to make up some lame excuse that might prevent Julia from getting a visa. Although, stranger things have happened. The film, being a comedy and all, should not run foul of the relevant authorities that are now tasked with ensuring that all Indonesian film meet exacting moral and educational standards.

First cab off the rank, so to speak, is Julia Perez. Ms. Perez has quite a following in Indonesia. At least she does in my anecdotal studies on the issue. She might not be a porn star of the magnitude of Miyabi, but nonetheless she does have the image of being a bit of a sexy rebel (unfortunately this is usually without a cause). Simply, suggestion one; "Kidnapping Julia".

I think it is a surefire hit. Just so you can see why, I have included a few "promotional" shots (all pictures freely available on the internet).

Suggestion two...stay tuned! I am thinking Jade Marcella...

Maria Ozawa, Miyabi, and Instant Noodles...

This post is obviously much lighter fare than the couple of posts previous. However, people with a sense of humor and photoshop skills are never boring. This is something that I found floating around the internet during my travels from here to there. I find it very amusing. Perhaps it is a case of small things amuse small minds. But, I do wish I had the photoshop skills to do these sorts of things myself.

Instant noodles usually feed quite a good proportion of the population on any one day. So, this is a very funny and excellent tongue in cheek job.

I am not sure what would be a good translation of "rasa ayam kampus". But, a loose translation would be "tastes like a campus [college] girl".

Maria Ozawa -- Victim?

You all know by now that the only reason I do posts on Maria Ozawa, or Miyabi as she is known affectionately by her fans, is that it gives me a reason to post some pictures of the young woman.

I have posted a few times, four to be exact, on Maria Ozawa and a film to be shot in Indonesia titled, "Kidnapping Miyabi". Besides getting to post some pictures of the young woman, there are also some interesting social and legal issues worthy of a bit of discussion.

On the social side of the equation, the questions of morality and profession are interesting. It would seem that the shenanigans that went on here say, once a porn star always a porn star. Seemingly, one never escapes their past. The film that Ozawa was to star in Indonesia was a comedy. It included no nudity and ultimately no sex scenes. This probably would have been disappointing to her many, many, many fans in Indonesia who have been snaffling up her DVDs for years.

On the legal front. It is worth discussing whether the Minister of Tourism and Culture has the power to issue directives that in essence blacklist certain individuals from entering the country. More specifically, can the minister issue a directive to a film production house setting out which actors maybe used in a film? Is this a sign of things to come as the new film law starts to see more vigorous enforcement?

The entry and exit of people to and from Indonesia is at the discretion of immigration. They are the front line enforcers in this field. Immigration works cooperatively with all parties. Most recently we have seen them work cooperatively with the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) with respect to the furore that led to charges of a misuse of authority with respect to blacklisting a couple of businessmen from leaving the country.

Best case scenario is that the Minister of Tourism and Culture can approach the relevant authorities with their concerns and then immigration will consider whether a blacklisting is possible.

Even more interesting is the precedent that this sets in a broader sense. Maria Ozawa is not a criminal. She has broken no laws in Indonesia. She was being sponsored to star in a film, and this was by all accounts being done based on the prevailing labor laws and regulations.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that Maria Ozawa has quite a following in Indonesia. And, that most people who did not know of her before, now do courtesy of the protests by the MUI and the FPI.

So, the question is, "has the government bowed to pressure from a vocal minority in preventing Miyabi from starring in an Indonesian comedy?" (Some might argue that she has already starred in a comedy -- the events surrounding whether or not she would make it to Indonesian shores)

Maria Ozawa In Kidnapping Miyabi -- Cancelled

The reason for another Maria Ozawa (AKA Miyabi) post is simple. It allows me the opportunity to post a few more pictures (all freely available on the Internet) of her under the guise of a more serious discussion on the pros and cons of bowing to pressure from special interest religious groups.

Into the substance...

It seems that Maxima Pictures came under government pressure to abandon the idea of using Maria Ozawa in the lead role of the film "Kidnapping Miyabi". This is in spite of assurances from Maxima that they saw no reason to bow to any pressure despite the uproar and protests that ensued once it was announced that the Japanese porn star would be playing herself in the lead role.

The film is a comedy. Loosely the story is of a couple of horny college students with a Miyabi fetish deciding to kidnap her while she is on holiday in Indonesia. I am not sure that the premise of the film is all that good, but to each their own with respect to what sort of films one wants to make, and even more so with respect to what films people want to watch.

However, it would seem that the Indonesian Council of Ulemas (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) and the Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI) have coopted the Minister of Culture and Tourism to jump on board and pressure Maxima Pictures into retreating from their original plan. I wonder if this is a sign of things to come once the new film law gets up an running (assuming it survives in tact after any Constitutional Court challenge to its constitutionality).

The whole idea of the film Kidnapping Miyabi is to have Maria Ozawa in the lead role. The film just would not seem to work if you had an Indonesian actress playing the lead role. It would not work even if that Indonesian actress was a porn star in her own right. If Miyabi was to be replaced with one of Indonesia's more famous porn starlets, such as Jade Marcella, then the film may as well be entitled Kidnapping Jade. Maybe that is the way to go for Maxima.

However, it would be a reasonable guess to say that the MUI and the FPI would undoubtedly have a problem or two with that scenario as well.

In a more general sense, does this decision mean that foreign porn stars cannot even travel to Indonesia as tourists? Or is it just a simple case of foreign porn stars cannot be sponsored to work in Indonesia in any capacity even if it does not relate to their regular income generating employment? This is particularly so if the sponsored employment does not involve them "performing" their standard roles.

I wonder what does more harm to Indonesia's standing and reputation in the world; a Japanese porn actress acting in a comedy or the ongoing institutionalized corruption that plagues business and government or, perhaps, a regional ordinance that permits the stoning of adulterers and the caning of homosexuals?

A bit of a no brainer when you think about it.