Obama on the Move in Jakarta...

President Barack Obama is not only under pressure 'at home' in the USA but also under pressure in his second home of Indonesia. Obama having spent 4 years living in the Menteng area of Jakarta as a young boy has been adopted, almost, as a native son by some Jakartans. It was interesting to watch Obama-mania sweep Jakarta during the most recent US presidential election cycle.

The fact that Obama is so popular in Indonesia may be testament to the real lack of political heroes and figures worth following in Indonesian politics in the 21st Century, or it might just be simply enough that the man once lived in Jakarta.

The Obama-mania culminated with a statue of the young Barack Hussein Obama II being erected in a local Menteng park (photo above). However, not all the people of Menteng and Jakarta were comfortable with the idea of a statue of Obama being placed in their park. The main issue of contention is that there are many Indonesian heroes worthy of recognition with a statue, and then to have that statue erected in a prominent place in a local park.

The pressure has been building in order to have the statue removed. That pressure has now succeeded in seeing the statue moved. Obama is to be moved to the grounds of the school he attended as a boy, SDN 01 in Menteng. He might find the time to go and visit himself when he is in Jakarta. After all, he has promised to take his wife and children to some of the places he used to 'hang out' in as a kid. So, a visit to a statue might just be on the agenda.

Nevertheless, the Governor of Jakarta, Fauzi Bowo, is now on board with the "we gotta move Obama" movement. Bowo feels that SDN 01 is the most appropriate place for the current president of the USA to 'hang out'. Perhaps Bowo would support a movement to have himself erected in place of Obama in recognition of the leaps and bounds Jakarta has undergone during Bowo's term as Deputy Governor and now Governor?

In any event, it should be a good photo opportunity if Obama was to make a visit to the statue and enjoy a bowl of bakso while chatting with the current students of SDN 01 Menteng.

Michael Jackson and an Egyptian Statue...

This is kind of cool.

When you first look at the statue after you know what you are looking for, then you find yourself doing a double take and going, "yeah, it does a bit, doesn't it?"

The statue is on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. It has been on display since 1988. The statue depicts an unidentified woman and dates to about 1500 BC. Perhaps this is a sign that Michael Jackson has been reincarnated. After all he did make a music video with a very definite Egyptian theme.

The statue's nose looks like it could do with some work.

Public Sex -- Who Cares?

This might be a brazen attempt to boost my blog statistics, at least as they relate to page views and visitors, then again it might just be a funny picture that needs to be posted to ensure that it spreads far and wide.

I have posted a few entries of late on pornography, indecency, obscenity, and the like. However, this picture (perhaps photoshopped) of a man and woman engaging in sexual intercourse through a wall is when it is all said and done a photo of a statue. I wonder what your thoughts on this would be if we were to assume that this is not photoshopped but in fact a real statute commissioned by a government?

Anonymous sex in public places. Sounds like a fantasy that many might harbour to me (although not me anymore as I am happily married -- and I am not making any comments on any pre-marriage fantasies that I may have held)!

This photo / picture I have definitely seen before, but once again I am borrowing from the Boys Night Out blog.

Ernesto "Che" Guevara

The legend of "Che" is not diminishing over time. To the contrary, the legend of Che grows every year as many little people from countries far and wide invoke the ideals of a man who many consider to epitomize the struggle against oppression.

Che may not be a universally loved figure but that does not seem to limit the following that has developed over the years since his death.

This is highlighted in the Argentine city of Romario where the city has decided the best way of honouring one of their native sons is to commission and unveil a statue of Che Guevara. The statue was unveiled on Saturday and attracted thousands of people paying homage to the man on the 80th Anniversary of his birth. The statue is a 4-metre high bronze representation of the former guerrilla (photo courtesy of AP).

Interestingly, the statue was made from 75,000 bronze keys donated by Argentines from across Argentina.

Che was captured and executed in 1967 while in Bolivia while struggling to put together another uprising against brutal oppression.