Trans-Jakarta Busway vs. New York Subway: The Flashers...

The Trans-Jakarta Busway as had a few recent "groping" incidents. These were essentially men grabbing and touching women in places women would not be expecting to be touched in a public bus. The police tended to encourage the women not to pursue their allegations any further as they are too difficult to prove. This resulted in some CCTV equipment being installed as a deterrent.

In contrast, the groping went to a much more extreme level in New York recently with the groper actually being a flasher who thought he would rub his penis up against his victim. Interestingly, no CCTV footage here, but some mobile phone video camera footage of the aftermath.

Perhaps, with the technology available to us in 2010 citizen journalism may capture a whole lot more video evidence than we might have had access to in the past, particularly real-time evidence at the scene of the crime.

Mr. President...

The abuse of Indonesia's migrant workers has been a problem from time immemorial. The reality is that Indonesia's migrant workers of the domestic servant kind are often thrown like lambs to the slaughter (for want of a better analogy) as they are under-skilled for the exploitation that they are about to be subject to. This has always had a high probability of ending badly for the migrant worker. Badly equates to, quite often, physical abuse at the hands of her employers, and sometimes worse.

The case of Sumiati has once again brought this very cold hard reality home.

Sadly, the President, SBY, has decided that a viable option is to equip all migrant workers with a mobile phone and a list of Embassy and Consulate numbers, presumably pre-loaded.

You really do not want to be searching for a business card while getting beaten to within an inch of your life. This is sad because the suggestion so obviously fails to see the reality that any domestic servant fronting up with a visible mobile phone of their own is likely to have it confiscated by the employer, particularly if the employer is the abusive and controlling kind.

Then again, the populist president knows his constituents are watching, so he has to say something.

I have always believed that there were large numbers of Indonesians heading to foreign locales as migrant workers. And, based on this the percentage that were subject violence was relatively small in number. I was not of the impression that there was a majority of migrant workers that were subject to violence. I will now do a little research and see if I can track down some statistics on the level of abuse.

So, it is within this understanding I wonder whether it is possible to eradicate all instances of violence? I am not suggesting that the Indonesian government throw up its hands and say that the numbers of victims considering the sheer numbers of migrant workers is acceptable.

To the contrary, perhaps a more comprehensive, and validated, pre-departure training program needs to be enforced to ensure that those Indonesians heading overseas to work, not only have the job skills necessary to complete their work contracts, but also have sufficient language skills and knowledge of what to do, where to go, and how to navigate the processes when things go wrong.

I have read stories of Indonesian families who lock their domestic servants inside the house when they go out. So, I do wonder how the Indonesian government plans to deal with a similar scenario if it was to occur in Saudi Arabia or Malaysia. I am not convinced that a mobile phone, in and of itself, is the answer.

Sexting...

The internet is a wonderful knowledge tool. The internet is also a place where harm and the potential of harm is ever present. Technology such as mobile phones are also excellent pieces of equipment that allow us to access and share knowledge. Modern mobile phones and instant sound and image communication devices that not only make us more productive, but have the potential to get us into serious trouble.

This is one such case on the serious trouble front.

Sexting is a serious problem. It is a serious problem because of the immediate harm it can do to those involved. It is a serious problem because after the immediate harm there is ongoing and long term harm that must be endured by those involved. Mobile phones link so easily into the internet now days that an image sent from one phone to another can be quickly uploaded to the internet. People need to realise that once an image is online, it is almost impossible for it to 'disappear'. What goes online, stays online...forever!

So, if you send or post a naked picture of yourself, then make sure it is something you will be happy to see when it comes back to haunt you in the future.

Now, that takes care of the sermon angle.

Onto the news.

A young man, Damien Eades, thought he had avoided any serious consequences from his part in soliciting a 13-year-old to post him naked images of herself. For Eades this might have been a little presumptuous. He is now set down to be the first Australian to stand trial in a sexting case.

In March of 2008, an 18-year-old Eades was employed at KFC. He sent the picture to a 13-year-old girl with the message "you like?" Aside from the fact that he is 18 and she is 13, what happens at KFC that employees have time to take off their shirts and pose for a few photos and then start sending them off to people? What ever happened to preparing and cooking chicken?

Anyways, after establishing that the 13-year-old "liked" what she saw, Eades for some reason thought it would be a good idea if she returned the favour, but by sending a shot of her 'bottom half'. The girl agreed and ended up sending a full-frontal nude shot of herself to Eades.

The story might have ended there, except for a rather vigilant father who thought it necessary to check out his daughter's phone. When Dad discovered the messages, it was on the phone to the police.

The case originally went to the Penrith Local Court and was dismissed. It would seem that the magistrate did not think that the charges against Eades, incitement of a person under 16 to commit an act of indecency and possession of child pornography, were worth pursuing at trial.

However, the Director of Public Prosecution was far from satisfied with that outcome and decided to appeal. The appeal was heard by Justice Greg James of the Supreme Court. Justice James agreed with the Director and sent the case back to the local court for trial. According to Justice James, the sexual content of the electronic transaction warranted a trial.


Eades might not be so lucky the second time around.

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!

Kuta Cowboys -- Gigolos, Prostitutes, or Self-Employed Entrepreneurs?

A recent documentary exploring the life and times of Bali's Kuta Cowboys has caused an uproar. An uproar that sees Indonesian police trying to build a criminal case against the film's director, Singaporean, Amit Virmani. The life and times of Kuta Cowboys is not something new nor is it something that is not widely known about. Most Balinese, most Indonesians, and most visitors to Bali are aware of the Kuta Cowboys irrespective of whether they have ever been in need of the special services that these young men provide.

A Kuta Cowboy might be described as a tour guide ++. Generally, the services provided depend on the demands of the respective client; it may be a full-service gig (no allusion to gigolo intended), then again it might be as simple as providing company during a holiday. Are the Kuta Cowboys male prostitutes? No. The service provided is so much more than a pure sexual one. The service might include sex, but the sex is not a core service nor is it the primary service. So, it is pretty hard to sustain an argument that Kuta Cowboys are male prostitutes.

Are they gigolos? Perhaps, but in my mind, No. A gigolo, strictly speaking, is a man supported by a woman in return for attention. This attention is primarily based on sexual encounters. So, once again, it is hard to sustain and maintain an argument that Kuta Cowboys are gigolos as the services provided are much more varied and are not premised solely on sex.

It is more likely that the best way to look at Kuta Cowboys is looking at them as self-employed entrepreneurs. They are generally young men who provide myriad of services that may or may not include sex. These men are then compensated for their time and service.

However, that said, the reality is also one where I have not heard of a Kuta Cowboy that has not provided sexual services as part of the full-service experience. Yet, I have not been actively researching the topic with a view to writing some sort of thesis on the subject.

The police have gone to some lengths to state that they are not pursuing the Kuta Cowboys as criminals, although perhaps they should if there is a belief that they are prostitutes as prostitution is illegal in Indonesia, but rather the police are arresting them as a means of being able to interview them and build a case against Virmani. The police are acting under the provisions of the 1992 Film Law, apparently. The police interpretation is that Virmani has shot a film in Indonesia without first obtaining the correct permits. For this breach of the law he could conceivably be sent to prison for one year and / or fined up to IDR 40 million.

This got me thinking. Would one need a film permit to bring a hand-held video camera into Indonesia and take holiday video footage? What about if this holiday footage is then cobbled together and put on YouTube? Or, heaven forbid, it was cobbled together at some later date and made into a short film and shown at a film festival? Are Indonesians and foreigners going to need to get a film permit to carry mobile phones with cameras? Let's face it, there is a lot of footage on the internet at places like YouTube, LiveLeak, and others that has been shot using the video function of a mobile phone. This video is clearly video that can be cobbled together into a more substantial piece of creative work and published.

It would seem that Indonesia's film law, and the people who drafted it, has not considered the available technology and the widespread use of social networking opportunities quite deeply enough.

Oh well...

Public Lewdness and Masturbating on the Subway...

It takes all sorts to make this world that we live in. And, sometimes you just have got to wonder what makes some people tick. In this age of modern technology and super fast communication, the chances of you doing something stupid and getting away with it are decreasing all the time.

So it was for Kevin Bishop, the subway masturbator. Bishop was snapped on a mobile phone doing the deed and then reported to the police. The police originally said it was not a matter for them. however, they back-tracked rather quickly from this position and on recognizing Bishop from a couple of posters, arrested him.

Bishop is facing up to 90 days in jail for his chicken choking activities. His excuse, "officer, they just fell out and I was trying to put them back in." Maybe, no one ever told bishop that any more than three shakes and it is a wank. I have to say, I have caught a lot of trains over the years and I cannot recall even one time where the family jewels and tackle just fell out by themselves, and then having a hard time (pun intended) in trying to restore some order by getting them back inside my strides.

Nope, definitely not looking good for Mr. Bishop. Another WTF were you thinking moment.

Rape or Porn or Both?

Common sense would suggest that if you are going to commit a crime, then do not film yourself doing it. This might be even more so if you are going to commit a rape and then distribute it amongst your friends via your mobile phone. That said, the footage might also be significant in proving that the sex was consensual and that no rape had taken place.

The gist of this case is that a teenage boy invites a girl to meet and then goes to a friend's house for some reason, presumably to have sex, the sex occurs and the friends that the boy has invited decide that the whole sex scene is worthy of some mobile phone footage and that this footage is worth sharing with others.

The boy's story is that he called the girl and invited her for the rendezvous and she willing agreed to the encounter. However, the parents of the girl have gotten wind of the rendezvous, the encounter, and perhaps even the footage and reported the boy to the police for allegedly raping the daughter.

This is the classic "he said, she said" scenario with a twist, video footage from a mobile phone.

There are a couple on interwoven issues here. Underage premarital sex, sexual violence in the form of rape, privacy issues, pornography, and crime, to name but a few. Perhaps cases like this interest me as it would allow for an exploration of the legal issues and the "how" the law is to be enforced (or implemented).

Mobile Phones and Nudes

My philosophy has always been that if you are going to take naked pictures of yourself, your spouse, your friends, or whoever on a mobile phone, then you want to take extra care not to lose your phone or leave it lying around in public places unattended.

However, this is not the case in Fayettville, Arkansas, where a Mr. Phillip Sherman left his mobile phone in McDonald's. Realizing his misfortune, he called the store and staff apparently agreed to secure the mobile phone until Sherman was able to return to collect it. Secure it they did. It would also seem that they checked out what was on Sherman's mobile phone and found some naked pictures of a woman, who is in fact Sherman's wife.

Theses pictures somehow found their way onto the Internet and their existence was made know to Sherman. In response for the embarrassment he and his wife have suffered, Sherman has filed suit seeking USD 3 million in damages. His claim is against McDonald's, the franchise owner for that part of the world, and the store manager. Sherman wants a jury trial. I am guessing he wants a jury trial because he feels that maybe 12 of his peers will be more sympathetic to his claim than a judge.

The moral of the story, if you are going to take naked pictures of people using your mobile phone then take extra care not to lose the thing! (the photo is from here)

Maid Reliance

It is always fun to listen to people trying to work out how they are going to cope for the week or two that their maid(s) return home to the kampung. It is even funnier to know that those who are a little more well-to-do check into hotels in order to avoid having to do the washing, ironing, cleaning and the like. I, on the other hand, look forward to the maid being back home in her kampung for a week or two.

I was born and raised in Australia. I have been washing and ironing my own clothes for as long as I care to remember. I have been cleaning up after myself for that long as well. I am a good cook (almost became a chef) and I have the basics down on sewing and other things.

Now, that said, I enjoy having a maid and have enjoyed becoming even lazier than I was before.

It is interesting that people panic that their maid(s) will not return after the trip back to their kampung. For me and the missus this was never an issue. When it is all said and done our maid has a pretty cushy gig. It might be as boring as watching the grass grown on a hot summer afternoon but she is well looked after in terms of salary and benefits. And, she is free to pretty much come and go as she pleases.

Sometimes we impose on her to stay at home but that is so rare I cannot even remember the last time that we did it. Generally, it is a security thing in making sure someone is home, but since the missus "retired" there has not been much of an issue on that front.

The wife and I were having a bit of a chuckle this morning about our maid's style as we were sitting in the study. The maid has a mobile phone and it is one that allows hand's free operation and she seems to be all geared-up on that front. The chuckle was to watch the maid go about her business sweeping and mopping while nattering away hands free. It was pretty funny but I guess you would have had to been there to appreciate how funny it was to us.

I guess it was funny to me because I cannot remember the last time I used hands free or the speaker phone. She seemed happy enough though.

Anyway, long story short, the maid had her two weeks off back in the kampung and has returned to resume doing whatever it was that she was doing before. She has been with us a bit over 12 months now so it is time for a raise on the salary front. We are not going to tell her about the raise rather just surprise her with the extra and explain it at the time. It is not mega Rupiah to us but I am sure it will make a difference to her.

Sexting

I guess new technology calls for the creation of new words to explain new phenomenon. I always thought that I was fairly clued in and up-to-date on things. Today I learned that there was such a thing as sexting. The phenomenon is generally about people who utilize all the technological capabilities of their gadgets. In this case their mobile phones.

Most mobile phones now include cameras that have the ability to take still pictures and streaming video. A lot, albeit not all, people enjoy photographing and filming themselves in all their glory or in compromising positions and then sending that to friends and colleagues. This I was aware of but I did not know that this form of communication had a name, sexting.

For me when consenting adults take pictures of themselves and send them to each other is fine with me. Once you do it and then you lose control of those images and they appear on the Internet and end up causing you embarrassment, then so be it. This, I suggest, goes with the territory.

However, teens now also have mobile phones and by default also have the ability to be actively involved in sexting. The question is when kids send naked pictures of themselves to their peers of the same age have they broken the law? Are they involved in child pornography? Can they be charged?

It is clear that when someone over the age of consent encourages someone under the age of consent to photograph themselves and then sext them, then this would be something that would run afoul of prevailing legislation, at least in Australia.

New technology will require new laws to govern new developments and phenomenon.

Pele -- Robbed At Gunpoint

Being arguably one of the world's greatest ever football players and declared a national treasure by your government does not make you immune from crime. It is probably a bit of an understatement to say that there is a crime problem in Brazil but maybe this robbery of Pele might inspire the government to do something about the crime rate. Then again probably not!

The reports are that the crime occurred on 13 June in Santos in the south of Sao Paulo State. In the robbery Pele was robbed of a gold necklace, a watch, and a mobile phone, and presumably any cash that he was carrying.

Now, if the reports are true the man has some serious testicular fortitude. It is reported that Pele was sitting in the front passenger seat of the car when it was stopped by 10 or so youths armed with guns and knives. The report goes on to say that Pele rolled down the window and identified himself but was robbed anyways. I would reckon the last thing that most people would be doing in their panic is rolling down the window.

The reports are not saying why it has taken so long for this to become public. However, it seems that perhaps Pele himself did not bother to report the crime.

Well, I guess that is life in Brazil.

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.