Indonesia vs. Gayus...

I will leave it up to you to decide which one is Indonesia and which one is Gayus Tambunan. Or is this RIM and Tifatul Sembiring (TitS)?

Is RIM really going to get away with the cheese?

Thanks to Enver Arslan who has these stop photography images on his posterous page. And, also, thanks to @BrettMcGuire for letting me know about these amazing photos.

Free Days...

For anyone wondering what to do on your "free" days:

Via twitpic.

"I'm Going to Control Your Life!"

Ain't that the truth?

Women's Tennis -- The Tennis or The Fashion?

It would seem that Maria Sharapova's choice of tennis attire gained as much, if not more, attention than the quality of her loss.

I wonder what is more important, what women wear when they play tennis or the quality of tennis that they play?

No one seems to be saying that Sharapova lost her first round match because of a wardrobe malfunction or because her outfit was inappropriate for tennis. The majority just seem to think her fashion sense is poor. Maybe it is time that the focus returns to more substantive matters such as whether the quality of her play justifies the huge endorsement contracts that she has. Or, even more simply, to issues like congratulating the solid play of the young woman who beat her, Maria Kirilenko.

But, a Maria Sharapova post lends itself to some pictures.

Enjoy!

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!

Is Boediono the Man for Veep?

There were quite a few questions asked at the time Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (SBY) chose Boediono as his running mate and Vice President. Not of the Boedi who type, but rather an analysis of why the incumbent president chose the former Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs and, at that time, the Head of the Central / Reserve Bank (Bank Indonesia). Yet, the rationale might have been as simple as, "at least it is not Jusuf Kalla!".

That is not to say that Boediono is not an accomplished individual and worthy of the nomination that turned out to be his ticket to the vice presidency, and a heartbeat from the big chair. However, he is certain not to be a constant pain in the proverbial with off the cuff statements about the state of play in Indonesia. JK was renowned for his ability to produce news bites that did not always show SBY's administration in the best light.

Now, Boediono has stepped into the VP slot, or has he?

This photo is doing the rounds on the internet. It has a "Kompas" tag to it. But, I had a quick squizz on Kompas and could not find the photo to link to. But, it is interesting even if it is a photoshop job. It is interesting for the statement that it makes, particularly if you are a cynical pundit like I sometimes can be.

Hope you have all had a good weekend.

X-Ray Scanners, Naked Images, Child Porn, and Airports...

Manchester Airport is trialling an X-ray machine that is being used to scan passengers before they enter the departure lounge of the airport. The scan takes a few seconds and are expected to do away with the need for a physical frisk of the traveler as they go through security checkpoints. There would apparently be no need to empty your pockets as the scanner would identify all and sundry in your pockets or take off your shoes.

It seems that the scanners can do a little bit more than that, as they will also identify any implants a traveler has. So, anyone with breast implants or a little uplift in the buttocks area will find themselves subject to a few smiles no doubt from knowledgeable scanner operators.

However, in an interesting twist, some child advocacy groups have wondered out loud whether the "naked images" that these scanners are capable of, violate child pornography laws. Airport authorities are saying that they do not, and in any event the images are immediately destroyed if there is no reason for them to be saved. Although, faces and skin color might not be identifiable in the scans, the genitals are clearly outlined in the x-ray scans.

The outlines of a child's genitals would seemingly be a violation of most child protection laws throughout the world. These laws, generally, make it an offense to show or make and indecent image of a child. The outline of a child's genitals would conceivably, and arguably, be an indecent image. The UK child protection statute even includes the term "pseudo-photograph" which a scanner image arguably is.

This story will undoubtedly continue to develop as the legal issues are further explored.

Meghan McCain -- That Twitpic...

Being the daughter of the former Republican presidential candidate, John McCain, probably attracts some unwarranted attention to you. However, posting a self-portrait of yourself with some exceptional cleavage is likely to bring a whole lot more. So much, in fact, that the picture gets removed from your account and you then feel the need to tweet about the "learning" experience you have just endured, and then thank your family and friends profusely for their support.

Welcome to part of the life of Meghan McCain. You can find Meghan McCain and her twitter escapades here.

Ms. McCain is a columnist with The Daily Beast. But, was probably more famous for campaigning on her father's behalf during the most recent US presidential campaign. She, is definitely more famous now and her Yahoo Search is undoubtedly buzzing as punters go in search of the now missing Twitter pic (above).

She said in the text accompanying the Twitpic: "My 'spontaneous' night in is my Andy Warhol biography and takeout." To many, this would most likely be a couple of real endearing characteristics. There are plenty of people that would have, and perhaps are sitting, sat down with an Andy Warhol biography and enjoyed some good Chinese takeout.

McCain further added that this must mean that she is getting old. I would argue the picture does not show someone who is old. Now, if I posted my picture, then that would be a picture of someone looking old.

What this story does show that in our world of instant information, the world has become a much smaller place, and much quicker too. What is nothing more than a simple picture has become in next to no time a bit of a controversy and a lot of news. It also goes to show that we as consumers have an insatiable appetite for celebrity in any form.

The picture though inspired a lot of less than inspiring comments suggesting that she was a 'slut' for posting the picture. To be honest, looking at the picture, the first thing that comes to mind is not the word 'slut'. It shows a lot of narrow-mindedness on the part of commenters who think wearing a tank-top and a pair of sweat pants makes one a slut. But, that is the nature of the world sometimes, people with nothing positive to say still feel the urge to let their fingers get into gear before their brain catches up. Sad!

Keep on tweeting!

Jennifer Dunn -- Drugs Bust

Jennifer Dunn does not sound like your typical Indonesian name however there is no doubt that she is Indonesian. It seems that every now and then a young Indonesian starlet finds herself in trouble with drugs, and I find myself blogging about it. I have in the past posted about Sheila Marcia Joseph and her troubles. I should probably do another post on Sheila now that she is back in jail and pregnant.

However, back to Jennifer Dunn. Police are reporting that Ms. Dunn has been arrested with friends in a boarding house in the Cilandak area of South Jakarta. Apparently, she and her friends were involved in, and by all accounts enjoying, a little get together where drugs were brought out and shared. The police had wind of this little get together and were quick to break it up just as the party was seemingly getting started.

The police have the power to demand a urine test where there is a suspicion of drug use. Generally, being caught with methamphetamine, ecstasy, and other drugs is probably reasonable suspicion for the police to act. The urine tests for Jennifer and her two friends were positive. The urine test for her acting colleague and friend, Vicky Nitinegoro, was negative. The most likely scenario is that the police will now pressure Vicky to testify against the others as a means of avoiding prosecution himself.

This is not the first time Ms. Dunn has be busted for drugs. She was busted back in 2005 as a 16-year-old.

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.

Miyabi / Maria Ozawa and the FPI -- Pornography, Morality, and Comedy...

It seems there are always plenty of people about looking for a controversy to jump into, and if there is not one available to jump into, then make one up. This is the Miyabi controversy. Maria Ozawa goes by the stage name of Miyabi. She is a porn actress, and apparently she is pretty good at what she does. However, she is now looking to branch out and test her acting skills in more mainstream films. She has recently done a slasher / horror film in Taiwan. And, she has signed on to do a comedy in Indonesia, Kidnapping Miyabi.

The premise of the film seems a little silly to me; several horny blokes who have probably "choked" the proverbial chicken one too many times, and when they learn that Miyabi happens to be in Indonesia they set out to kidnap her. You never know, it might work. It will undoubtedly be popular because there are seemingly a whole lot of Indonesians who are familiar with her previous work, and those that were not so familiar with it, are sure to be now.

Anyways, the fact that a Japanese porn star is coming to Indonesia to play a role in a comedy film has irked the usual suspects. The MUI has come out and said that allowing her to come to Indonesia in any capacity to play a role in a film is going to destroy Indonesia's image overseas (I have written about that here and posted a few pictures for your viewing pleasure). Perhaps the MUI might want to have a look a little closer to home to gauge what sort of image destroying material is floating around. Stoning adulterers is probably not a big winner in the image stakes.

To add to the MUI's protests, the Islam Defenders Front or Fron Pembela Islam (FPI) assembled some of their devotees and staged a protest in front of the offices of Maxima Pictures. Maxima Pictures are the ones that are going to shoot and produce the film. It would seem that FPI's beef is that Miyabi is the destroyer of morality. Once again, he who is perfect may cast the first stone. Considering, the number of Indonesian IPs that have swung by this particular blog in search of Miyabi pictures and links to her films is testament to a rather large Indonesian following.

It seems that the FPI would be conducive to the film going ahead if Miyabi was replaced with another actress. Presumably one without any porn on her resume. But, seeing the premise of the script seems to be based on Miyabi having fame as a porn actress then perhaps FPI is lobbying for an Indonesian porn actress to take up the role. Maybe Maxima Pictures could change the name to Kidnapping Jade Marcella.

Maxima entertained the protesters by agreeing to meet with their leader, Habib Fahri Jamalullail, of the Jakarta Branch of FPI. However, the FPI left about 15 minutes later somewhat disappointed, as Maxima refused to say that they would abide by the demands of the FPI and cancel any agreements with Maria Ozawa with respect to her appearing in the film.

Not to be deterred, Fahri is prepared to go to the airport and "intercept" her arrival. Sounds a little bit extreme, it also sounds a little bit scary, and it sounds somewhat illegal to be intercepting foreigners arriving legally into the country.

Fahri is concerned that Miyabi has violated religious prohibitions by doing what she does for a living. Unfortunately, being a porn actress per se does not prohibit one from entering the country, particularly when one considers that she will not be making any porn films while she is here. It is probably forbidden to watch porn films as well. However, this does not seem to stop everyone. Once again, it seems that there are quite a few Indonesians with a voracious appetite for porn, and for Miyabi in particular.

In any event, and the FPI protests aside, according to Maxima it is still not clear if and when Miyabi will be arriving. Apparently, there have been a few bureaucratic issues arise that are still to be sorted out.

With respect to the protests, Maxima is considering relocating the shoot out of Jakarta, perhaps to Bali, or going further abroad still and shooting the film overseas. This is sad because the shooting of a film and the subsequent post-production are normally fairly big contributors to the local economy where the film is shot.

Not that I am inclined to watch the film anyway, but I do hope that Maxima sticks to its guns and shoots the film with Miyabi / Maria Ozawa in the lead role and playing herself.

In any event, the post lends itself to some gratuitous posting of pictures.

Enjoy!

Sharon Stone -- 51 and Topless

I figured if these photos can be published in The Huffington Post, then there is no reason why they cannot be published in The RAB Experience either.

The photos can be found in Paris Match and come with an accompanying article that is in French. I know some of my readers understand that a picture tells a 1000 words and will not therefore need to read the article.

I have often wondered what drives a 51-year-old to pose topless for a magazine. But, Ms. Stone certainly looks pretty good in a bandage corset, black underwear, and a pair of black stilettos.

If you are wondering why this post has appeared, then the answer is simple; a previous post on Madonna which included a nude image of her has been my most visited post over the previous 7 days. So, I am wondering whether a couple of topless shots of Sharon Stone will gain the same kind of interest.

It's all about the visitor statistics :D

Enjoy.

Street Art