TitS: Kena Deh...

A recent viewpoint from the Economist "In Praise of a Twit" must be a high water mark in Indonesian history for a serving minister of the Indonesian government. But, when one thinks about it, it is a wonder that it has taken this long for Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS) to be recognised for his wonderful work. TitS is desperate to always be relevant and this is the driving force in his populist nationalist rhetoric invading the Twitter-sphere (the picture reflects his desire to his need to be relevant!)

TitS has a skill that many Indonesian politicians crave for but rarely achieve, the ability to unite liberals and conservatives alike. Sadly, this is not uniting them together but positioning them as diametrically opposed extremes on the pornography debate. There really seems to be little middle ground here as the debate has morphed into one of "you are either with us or you are against us".

There has been plenty of commentary about the TitS vs. RIM / BlackBerry shenanigans. One of the best pieces has been written by Treespotter. It is in Indonesian which makes it for an Indonesian-reading audience. However, many of the points have been made by him in the past in English and you will also find many of those points here.

It appears that TitS has had a bit of a victory. RIM the makers of the BlackBerry Smartphone have agreed to block porn on their devices for the Indonesian market. RIM will be up for considerable expense in reconfiguring their devices to comply with the TitS demand. However, it is worth noting that this has to be done in conjunction with the local providers of BlackBerry services. It will be interesting to see how much of the "cost" local providers are willing to bear in order to see compliance happen. Or is the expectation that RIM will cover all the costs?

Some would consider this victory one for censorship and perhaps point out that this reflects the growing power of more conservative Islamic political forces. To be honest, I am not sure that the arguments here are being made on purely religious or political grounds. Anyways, a Google search using the terms BlackBerry, Islam, and Censorship turned up this image (no offense intended so hopefully none is taken).

Once again, RIM should have just stood its ground and said "No". If TitS had of pushed through with his ban he would have only ensured his legacy as a good source of comedic material for comedians around the world, including the likes of Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, David Letterman, Jay Leno and the like in the US. I am sure there are comedians in Europe who are also "taking the piss". But, even more so, all of the politicians and other high-ranking public officials would have begun jumping up and down demanding that TitS pull his head in and do something worthwhile with his time as it is becoming increasingly obvious that the man is getting blinded by the sunshine that he thinks is shining out of his arse.

The reality is that even if RIM blocks porn to its BlackBerry devices there is going to be a negligible effect on overall supply of pornography to the Indonesian consumer. Let's face it, people can still go down to Block M or over to Glodok and buy pirated local and foreign pornographic DVDs until their collective hearts are content or stop beating because of the shock of the sudden release of all that sexual tension. The truly sad thing is that TitS still does not get that a national internet filter is not ever going to happen until such time as their is only one government controlled entry point to the Indonesian marketplace.

Probably more worrisome than RIM's capitulation on the porn filters is that TitS is touting that RIM has also agreed to allow the Indonesian government to intercept messages and other communications on BlackBerry devices. There is no need for BlackBerry to make any such concessions to TitS. The reality is that if there was a lawful reason for an interception to occur then a warrant issued by a legitimate court would see RIM comply. Besides, there is little doubt that Indonesia has agencies both public and spook-like that would already  have the capabilities to intercept communications without the communicator knowing about it so there really is no need or reason for the Minister of [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information to have this power as well.

There will be a time in the future, perhaps it is now, that Indonesians when they think of TitS will collectively sigh and say in a most colloquial of ways "kena deh!"

Dewi Persik [Not] Nude...

Another day, another FPI led controversy of insignificant proportions. The FPI and their anti-porn 'crusade' has reached another level of absurdity. The Islamic Defenders' Front has decided that a couple of topless photos of Dewi Persik are so obscene that it is time to pay her a visit at home and toss rotten eggs at her house. There is without a doubt some tossing going on, but it is not rotten eggs!

The arbiters of all things moral, the FPI, has decided to report Dewi Persik (sometimes spelled Perssik) to the police because their are nude photos of her on the internet. First things first. The FPI knows this how? Someone told them so? Or do they have a dedicated department of porn surfers in their ranks whose sole task is to surf the internet and find Indonesian porn? If the second option is the go, and apparently it is, then the FPI should be looking to contract out their services to the Ministry of [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information. I am sure their polygamous leader and world-renowned porn expert, Tifatul Sembiring (TitS), will be most interested.

Dewi Persik's claim to fame has always been her sexy image. She has built her entire dangdut career around the concept of "if you have it, flaunt it". And, that has worked very well for her. Her personal life might not be an encyclopedia of success stories, but then again whose is? However, professionally she seems to be doing very well, thank you very much!

The FPI claim that they had to make the report because that is what the community wanted and because the Indonesian Koranic Recital Council demanded it. So, what were the Indonesian Koranic Recital Council doing looking at porn anyway? Or if they are just going on the hearsay or others, then it is about time these crotchety old men in white robes took the time to have a sneak peek at what it is they are complaining about and demanding police action on.

Seriously, Dewi Persik's breasts, no matter how perfect, are not going to damage the moral fabric of the Republic of Indonesia. Let's face it, a sustained assault on Indonesia's morality and ethics by the New Order took care of any lingering questions on that front. Quite simply, the world, and Indonesia, as we know it, is not going to end because of a topless photo of Dewi Persik appears online, particularly one where her breasts are covered by her rather long hair. Maybe if she was wearing a jilbab it would have been all OK?

There are four pictures that form the basis of the report. Three of them apparently nude and one with her kissing Ahmad Dhani. All images freely available on the internet.

This is so much a non-issue, but it does explain why there has been a run on my blog today of visitors looking for porn images of Dewi Persik. I have heard that there are a few full-frontal shots out there, but the above images will have to do for now.

Emma Watson Fakes -- A Harry Potter Fantasy...

I am going to write this post and put the pictures in at the end. If you are reading this, then I have decided to post it.

At the moment, the post has been written purely to preserve the links to the fake and real photos of Emma Watson.

I have said many times that I am kind of glad that I am not a celebrity. Although, even if I was and looking like I do,  I am pretty sure I would not have to worry about the sorts of things that the beautiful people do. Emma Watson made her fame and started her fortune courtesy of the Harry Potter film franchise. I, personally, think that she is going to develop into a fine young actor and have a long career in the film business, if she wants it. Yet, there is nothing like the possibility of a scandal, even a manufactured one, to dent one's career prospects.

My guess is, now that she is of age, that there will be a constant stream of "fakes" flooding the market trying to capitalise on her fame. Nothing quite like riding on the coattails of others in order to score your very own 15 minutes of fame.

Ms. Watson is currently studying at Brown University in the USA. Good Ivy League school. If I had had the money at the time, it might have been a school that I considered. Yet, when push comes to shove, I am more likely to head to a school like Columbia University. Maybe with a bit of luck, and before I get too much older, I might do some post-graduate work there in law. Perhaps, my thesis can be on fake porn and the legal consequences of it and the development of virtual porn. But, I digress, this is a post about Emma Watson and fake pictures of her breasts.

Here are the "fake" and "real" pictures for your perusal. The picture is not of a near-naked Emma Watson standing next to a spa. Some people have some real skills with Photoshop when it comes to manipulating images. I am sure that even a fake shot will be more than enough for some Harry Potter fans.

What? The FPI Have A Problem With Tera Patrick...

The FPI make it too easy for me to find reasons to post pictures of porn stars. The fact that none of the pictures I post are technically porn in any other sense than the FPI one, it is still worth writing about the FPI and the free advertising they provide for porn movies and porn stars.

The beauty of this latest spat is that the FPI have not been the erstwhile premature ejaculators they have been in the past. These white robed hoodlums missed the boat on this one until after the horse bolted. It sort of reminds me of that nasty little phrase that one might hear in their youth of "have you cum yet?", to only hear in response "I have already been! What's holding you up?" Boys, Miss Patrick has been and gone or came and went, whichever you prefer.

The film is scheduled for release on 14 October 2010. This, if I am not mistaken, is tomorrow. Hmmm, so how did Ms. Patrick get into the country shoot the film and get out again without anyone knowing?

I am not quite sure what the attraction is between local movie producers, horror movies and international porn stars outside of the controversy and free advertising that the FPI and other hardliners are likely to bring. Nevertheless, a film titled Rintihan Kuntilanak Perawan (or the Moans of a Virgin Ghost) is undoubtedly going to pique the interest of the white-robed initiators of violence in the name of Islam (aka embarrassment plus plus).

The title gets the imaginative juices flowing in trying to work out exactly why a virgin ghost is moaning anyways. And, how do we know she is a virgin? And, how could Tera Patrick ever play a virgin? Maybe she is not in the lead role. Can the other stars, Catherine Wilson or Angelique, of this horror flick play virgins either? Just thinking that Angelique has a role is too funny for words. I wonder how her former husband, the King of Dangdut, Mr. Rhoma Irama, is handling the good news.

But even funnier than the prospect of a Rhoma Irama meltdown is the response of Habib "Hey Baby" Salim Alatas, the Head of the Jakarta Branch of the white-robed hoods, who is stressed because he did not even know that Ms. Patrick had come into the country and shot a film. It appears Hey Baby is stressed because the film producers had been so covert. Let me say this Hey Baby, Film Producers = 1 and FPI a big fat 0!


On the scary front though, Hey Baby is threatening to bring out the FPI masses in protest. This is not good. When the FPI get into large groups they have more trouble than a 14-year-old with a Hustler magazine with respect to the self-control stakes. The FPI seem to get off on violence and scaring the crap out of people.

Now, you really do have to give it to the film production house responsible for this little film coup, K2K. According to them, the negotiations to get Tera Patrick to do this here horror flick was a 16-month process that involved four or five approaches before agreement was secured. It was a hell of a job to go that long, seal the deal, shoot the film, and get Ms. Patrick out of the country without anyone being any the wiser over at FPI-ville. How do you keep a secret like this one from not being outed on Twitter or Facebook or somewhere?

Getting back to the funny. It would seem that while Tifatul Sembiring was talking up the shutting down of all porn sites coming into or operating out of Indonesia, one of the world's biggest porn stars had come into J-Town in the weeks before Ramadan and shot a film and departed again. Mr. Minister, how does that happen?

Well, it seems that the international porn actress shooting low-budget horror films will continue...it is time for the FPI to loosen up a little and let Miyabi come back and shoot her horror film!

The only decision I had with respect to this post was should the pictures be at the front-end or the back-end of the post...the back-end!

Christina Santika Tju...

I really do need to be paying much more attention to the Indonesian celebrity scene. To be honest I had not heard of Christine Santika Tju before undertaking a little research for the purpose of this series of Indonesian celebrity posts. It did not register that she was one of the stars in the film "Virgin 2". To be perfectly honest I do not recall that there was even a "Virgin 1".

Nevertheless, at just 19-years-old she is off to a flying start in the celebrity gossip stakes courtesy of some webcam shots of her in a singlet and what appears to be some underwear (is all women's underwear properly referred to as 'lingerie'?).

Anyways, enjoy!

Julia Perez -- Too Bad!

It is too bad that Julia Perez opted out of a political career. Just imagine where her political posters and advertising might have gone to from here! First, Pacitan, and then the World!

When it is all said and done she could not be doing any worse than the majority of elected politicians to date!

Naked Celebrities and the Internet...

Having just signed up for Twitter, I figured that I needed to get a little bit informed of the "dos" and "don'ts" of the Twitterverse. And, perhaps, the internet more generally. My travels today in internet-ville have led me to many places already, but in pursuit of celebrity gossip I can across this site called "Celebrity fix" and a current slide show they are running on naked celebrities. Much of it full-frontal but with all the naughty bits hidden under a "too rude" star.

So, some of the celebrities making themselves available in their full birthday suit glory to their grateful fans include Jamie Foxx, Peaches Geldof, Vanessa Hudgens, Rihanna, Jessica Origliasso, Hayley Williams, Ke$ha (which includes what seems to be male ejaculatory fluid on her chest - too much information, right?), Geri Halliwell, Pete Wendtz, the former Mrs. Paul McCartney (Heather Mills), Kate Pierson, and Cassie. Oh, and Lara Bingle.

I am sure that if one was to look hard enough that you would find the uncensored images out there in cyberspace. Happy hunting.

Is there a moral to this story? I wonder, all of these individuals continue to maintain their celebrity and would appear to have emerged pretty much unscathed from the experience of having their naughty bits paraded for all to see on the internet.

This whole phenomenon of sexting is an interesting one. It is also one that I am finding out is an issue in Australian schools today. That said, I am finding that cyber-bullying is a really really big problem in schools.

Indonesian Porn Reporters -- Rewarded

There is nothing quite like getting the public involved in your own personal porn crusade. The Minister for Communication and Information, Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS), has decided that the best way of ratcheting up his porn eradication scheme is to enlist the public and to reward them for their participation as social media experts.

The scheme seems simple enough; the public report to the Ministry any porn site that they know of and receive a reward from the Ministry. Any prospective reward hunters can contact the Ministry of (+62 21) 3899-7800 or at aduankonten@depkominfo.go.id. But you can only call between 09.00 and 14.00.

Nah, this is where it gets a little problematic by my reckoning. The Ministry has not exactly said how it plans to reward the porn finders, specifically it has not said whether this is a cash-based incentive scheme or perhaps something a little more sinister, like jail time.

When it is all said and done, how do you report a pornographic internet site if you have not had a sneak peak to check out whether the content is actually pornographic or not. I can see a lot of emails starting off "Well, a friend of a friend of a friend of a friend of mine told me about www.xxx. blah, blah, blah dot com."

I am not in Indonesia, so I cannot rightly say, but according to TitS, but Indonesia has supposedly blocked 90% of the internet pornographic sites that were once available to Indonesians. Nevertheless, I am sure some of my Indonesian based commenters might be able to enlighten us on the true state of play. But, to be honest, if 90% of internet porn sights are already cactus with respect to access from Indonesia, then the reporting role of the public really is nothing more than tidying up a few loose ends to get it up to 100%.

Personally, I think TitS is kidding himself on the block rates, but hey to each their own.

A Little Fun With Sunglasses...

It is funny how small things amuse small minds. But, when I saw this picture again I found myself once again shaking my head because I would never have thought about a connection between sunglasses breast size and over-compensation linking the two.

I have posted this picture before.

Sheyla Hershey and M-Cup Breasts...

Yep, I make this post for no other reason than I found myself shaking my head when I read this story (and I can post a few photos).

This post is not exclusively made to be eye candy for the men who might pass by here. Maybe this post is for my female readers as well, in that perhaps they can provide some insight as to why a woman wants, or what drives a woman, to feel the need to have an M-cup size set of breasts. My philosophy has always been that anymore than a handful is tending to the wasteful side of the equation.

Nevertheless, and back to the Sheyla Hershey story.

It would seem that the continual process to enlarge her natural breasts to the M-cup size has left Hershey constantly battling staph and strep infections. Both of these can be fatal blood infections. So, as a young mother with young children, Hershey has decided to get the implants removed and go with a much smaller version of herself. To be honest, with an M-cup starting point it is not going to be too hard to get a smaller version happening.

She has her own website at sheylahershey.net, if anyone is interested in seeing the rest of the happy snappies.

Just a question to end this one...why?

Cut Tari and Ariel Peterporn -- Part II...

Not to be outdone, someone has gone to some pretty serious lengths to positively identify Cut Tari through a skin imperfection on her arm. This is, I am guessing, a little more solid that a watch that could be owned by Ariel of someone who looks like him. This is probably why I never graduated from the police academy (along with the fact that I never enrolled).

Once again, the suggestion is that the happy snappies don't lie!

Personally, I am a little partial to the artistic talent displayed in the body paint work done on the second photo.

Cut Tari and Ariel Peterporn...

The proof of the deed is in the "watches". Or, more specifically in the "watch" of Nazriel "Ariel" Irham, amateur pornographer and wannabe porn star.

The attached image is supposedly proof positive that the fellow wearing the watch and making a rear entry into the scene is none other than Ariel. The photo really is a little to grainy for my liking. It would be so much easier if there was a much more obvious distinguishing feature' like a tattoo or a mole on the end of his penis or something (not that I would be looking, of course), just something that the police could grab on to might help in resolving this case...

In any event, if the case is this easy, why is it taking the police so long to lay the charges, complete the case file, and hand this thing off to the prosecutors?

Ho hum...

The FPI and Promises of a Raid-Free Ramadan...

Now, here's a deal...the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) has informed the government of Jakarta that they will not undertake any raids of nightspots or entertainment venues provided that the government uphold the prevailing laws and regulations that apply during Ramadan. In particular, the FPI have been referring to a 2004 bylaw which regulates trading hours for bars, clubs, and other entertainment venues, such as pool halls.

The problem with this claim by the FPI is that it just is simply not going to be the case for the whole month. Hopefully, I will be eating humble pie come the end of Ramadan and stating unequivocally that the FPI have done as they said and kept their robes, balaclavas, sticks and stones in the cupboard and let law enforcement do their job. Truth be told, law enforcement do their job every year, but it has never been enough to satisfy the FPI in the past so it is hard to imagine that it will be any different this year.

Traditionally, and almost like clockwork, the FPI goons come out en masse and select an entertainment venue to trash based on a bogus claim that the venue is operating outside the provisions of the law.

If Ramadan is about restraint and purification of one's soul through reflection and prayer, then it would make more sense for the FPI to show a little tolerance and restraint, and rather than smashing up bars and clubs spend a little more time on reflection and prayer.

Meanwhile, here are a few photos for your viewing pleasure of various venues and random people in bars and clubs throughout Jakarta. And a couple of photos of the FPI in action throughout the archipelago.






These are the viewing pleasure photos...

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Banning Pornography in Indonesia Proves a Real Challenge -- NYT

The idea of banning pornography in Indonesia is one that no-one would have the testicular fortitude (or ovarian fortitude, whatever the case maybe) to oppose the ban. The reality is that banning objectionable content is going to be much harder than the Minister for Communication and Information, Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS), has imagined, and particularly so before the fasting month of Ramadan.

There is a good article in the New York Times which quotes a resident Indonesian business consultant, Hasan Yahya, who highlights what some of the difficulties might  be.

What is certain is that Indonesia is no Singapore or China. So, it is going to be just that much more difficult to control access to the porn sites that the Minister so desperately wants to ban. Perhaps the Minister needs to think about cleaning up the DPR first, as the DPR seems to be a purveyor of porn.

The best part of the article for me was this little exchange, which I have cut and paste for your reading pleasure:


Making service providers assume the burden of screening will squeeze smaller operators hard, Mr. Yahya said.

Mr. Sembiring “is a Taliban copying what he thinks he knows from China,” Mr. Yahya said. “It’s hardly the example that we want to copy for this young and fragile democracy.”

Ouch! A Taliban trying to adopt the strict censorship of the Chinese. Ouch! To be fair, TitS would be at his very best (or is it worst?) Taliban Lite or "T-Lite" as he has not exhibited anything that would give him the gravitas of being labeled a full-on Taliban. There is always time, perhaps this is the first step in some grand plan, but in all honesty that is a conspiracy theory for another day.

However, and although I agree that it won't happen before Ramadan, I do not know that I would be betting any body parts on it:

“I’d bet you my little finger nobody could make it happen,” Mr. Yahya said. “Not in the next few months, not in the time frame the minister wants, before Ramadan.”

So, for those who have needs, it might be an opportune time to stock up and complete your collections before TitS wins the day.

The journey to a porn free Indonesia continues!