Some might argue that this particular arrest has been a long time in coming. How does someone kill 21 people so publicly and seem to be immune from prosecution. Ahhh, but no more, the police have bitten the bullet on this one and have arrested Captain Marwoto Komar and charged him with manslaughter in the deaths of 21 passengers in the crash that occurred on 7 March 2007. The arrest came at the end of a 10-hour interrogation. They should also charge him with subsidiary offences relating to the greivous bodily harm he did to many other passengers as well.
His lawyers are claiming that pilots of commercial aircraft should not have to face criminal prosecution for mistakes. I disagree. When you assume the controls of a passenger aircraft and you have the lives of 100s of people in your hands there is a reasonable expectation that you will do your job professionally and in a manner that does not endanger the lives of your passengers or crew. A captain that ignores 15 separate warning indicators and attempts to land a commercial aircraft at twice the recommended speed deserves to be punished.
Interestingly, it would seem that the police have been able to secure independent testimony as the Indonesian National Transportation Safety Committee has said the data contained on the voice recorders and in the black boxes cannot be used in a criminal investigation or prosecution of the Captain. The most likely source of this corroborating evidence is going to be the co-pilot for what was going on in the cockpit at the time. The airforce, who run the Yogyakarta airport (Adi Sucipto), have allowed police to interview air traffic controllers on the proviso that the air traffic controllers are not to become suspects in the investigation. These interviews will also shed some much needed light on what transpired on that fateful day.
The dossier or case file needs to be completed and then handed to the Office of the Public Prosecutor for the purposes of handing down an indictment. This is a case of potentially interesting arguments and one that I will follow so expect some updates as they become available.
05 February 2008
Bali Bombers - An Update
It would appear that the Bali Bombers are not as keen on martyrdom as they have suggested they are or they have failed to convince their lawyers and family to let the law take its course by refusing to have a second judicial review application filed on their behalf.
The Indonesian Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom has decided to accept a second judicial review application from the three Bali Bombers; Amrozi, Imam Samudra, and Ali Ghufron. The second judicial review appears to be premised on the retroactivity of the terrorism law. Criminal laws simply cannot be applied retroactively in Indonesia.
However, this ground of appeal has been attempted before and based on the Constitutional Court decision on whether the terrorism law could be applied retroactively the Court held that it could not. However, in a rather large blow to the applicants the Court went further to say that the law was only invalid from the date of the Constitutional Court decision. Therefore, the convictions stand.
The legal reasoning is flimsy in that when a law is found to be constitutionally invalid then it is invalid from the date of enactment of the law. However, creative decision and law-making here meant that convictions under constitutionally invalid laws would stand. The Constitutional Court has since gone on to make other equally bizarre decisions such as post-dating the invalidity of a law to a date three years into the future (see earlier posts on this craziness).
I am not a supporter of the death penalty and would rather see these cold-blooded murders rot in jail. Unfortunately, any prisoner exchange deal between Australia and Indonesia would not allow for the Bali Bombers to serve their time in an Australian prison. I wonder how long they would last in the general prison population at one of Australia's premier prisons like Silverwater of Goulburn. This is even with the reported explosion in the numbers of prison converts to Islam in Australian prisons.
So, this decision to accept the appeal will delay the inevitable. The Constitutional Court has determined the validity of the provisions of the terrorism law to this case. Even a Supreme Court looking to exert its independence and re-establish its authority as Indonesia's premier court is unlikely to rule in favor of the application. But if it did take the lid of this Pandora's box it would be a case of let the fun & games begin!
The Indonesian Supreme Court in its infinite wisdom has decided to accept a second judicial review application from the three Bali Bombers; Amrozi, Imam Samudra, and Ali Ghufron. The second judicial review appears to be premised on the retroactivity of the terrorism law. Criminal laws simply cannot be applied retroactively in Indonesia.
However, this ground of appeal has been attempted before and based on the Constitutional Court decision on whether the terrorism law could be applied retroactively the Court held that it could not. However, in a rather large blow to the applicants the Court went further to say that the law was only invalid from the date of the Constitutional Court decision. Therefore, the convictions stand.
The legal reasoning is flimsy in that when a law is found to be constitutionally invalid then it is invalid from the date of enactment of the law. However, creative decision and law-making here meant that convictions under constitutionally invalid laws would stand. The Constitutional Court has since gone on to make other equally bizarre decisions such as post-dating the invalidity of a law to a date three years into the future (see earlier posts on this craziness).
I am not a supporter of the death penalty and would rather see these cold-blooded murders rot in jail. Unfortunately, any prisoner exchange deal between Australia and Indonesia would not allow for the Bali Bombers to serve their time in an Australian prison. I wonder how long they would last in the general prison population at one of Australia's premier prisons like Silverwater of Goulburn. This is even with the reported explosion in the numbers of prison converts to Islam in Australian prisons.
So, this decision to accept the appeal will delay the inevitable. The Constitutional Court has determined the validity of the provisions of the terrorism law to this case. Even a Supreme Court looking to exert its independence and re-establish its authority as Indonesia's premier court is unlikely to rule in favor of the application. But if it did take the lid of this Pandora's box it would be a case of let the fun & games begin!
Jihad Sheilas
The Australian and Indonesian connection; radical Islam in Australia and its foundations in Jemaah Islamiah. Interesting, I learn something everyday -- a life-long learner :)
ABC TV in Australia is televising a documentary titled "Jihad Sheilas" on Tuesday night (link here). I guess I will have to wait for it to be televised on Australia Network in Indonesia before I get to have a squiz at the documentary itself. However, there is plenty about it in the newspapers but this is probably as much a matter of coincidence as the appeals of the Bali Bombers have also been accepted for hearing.
Back to the Jihad Sheilas. The documentary focuses on two Australian women both from rural New South Wales; Dubbo and Mudgee respectively. These are not the two country towns that you might think of first as being hot beds of radical Islam or for that matter being very much anything associated with Islam. But Rabiah Hutchinson of Mudgee is known as the grand dame of extremist Jihadis in Australia. Quite a claim to fame for Mudgee. What stirs the pot most are her statements that she has little or no sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings because Australian tourists go their for drugs, sex, and to commit pedophilia.
The Indonesian connection is not the lack of sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings but rather the fact that Rabiah learned her Islam from Abdullar Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir of Jemaah Islamiah fame. She apparently married the Australian head of Jemaah Islamiah in the 1990s.
The other, Raisah, openly supports Osama bin Laden as someone who follows a pure undiluted form of Islam and his actions have awoken Muslims to the oppression that they were suffering at the hands of non-believers.
I look forward to being able to watch the whole documentary to properly critique it. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating link between Australia and Indonesia that I had not known of previously.
The lack of sympathy because of the suggestion that Australian tourists engage in pedophilia and take drugs is taking a broad brush and labelling all the same. If one generalizes in a manner such as this then they can hardly complain when the same things happens in reverse where people label all Muslims as radical fundamentalists.
Both of these are generalizations that simply cannot be sustained. Not all Australian tourists are pedophiles or drug users and not all Muslims are radical fundamentalists. It is high time we got past these generalizations and started addressing the future.
ABC TV in Australia is televising a documentary titled "Jihad Sheilas" on Tuesday night (link here). I guess I will have to wait for it to be televised on Australia Network in Indonesia before I get to have a squiz at the documentary itself. However, there is plenty about it in the newspapers but this is probably as much a matter of coincidence as the appeals of the Bali Bombers have also been accepted for hearing.
Back to the Jihad Sheilas. The documentary focuses on two Australian women both from rural New South Wales; Dubbo and Mudgee respectively. These are not the two country towns that you might think of first as being hot beds of radical Islam or for that matter being very much anything associated with Islam. But Rabiah Hutchinson of Mudgee is known as the grand dame of extremist Jihadis in Australia. Quite a claim to fame for Mudgee. What stirs the pot most are her statements that she has little or no sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings because Australian tourists go their for drugs, sex, and to commit pedophilia.
The Indonesian connection is not the lack of sympathy for the victims of the Bali Bombings but rather the fact that Rabiah learned her Islam from Abdullar Sungkar and Abu Bakar Bashir of Jemaah Islamiah fame. She apparently married the Australian head of Jemaah Islamiah in the 1990s.
The other, Raisah, openly supports Osama bin Laden as someone who follows a pure undiluted form of Islam and his actions have awoken Muslims to the oppression that they were suffering at the hands of non-believers.
I look forward to being able to watch the whole documentary to properly critique it. Nevertheless, it is a fascinating link between Australia and Indonesia that I had not known of previously.
The lack of sympathy because of the suggestion that Australian tourists engage in pedophilia and take drugs is taking a broad brush and labelling all the same. If one generalizes in a manner such as this then they can hardly complain when the same things happens in reverse where people label all Muslims as radical fundamentalists.
Both of these are generalizations that simply cannot be sustained. Not all Australian tourists are pedophiles or drug users and not all Muslims are radical fundamentalists. It is high time we got past these generalizations and started addressing the future.
02 February 2008
Honour Killings
I have been reading this piece about honour killings and what struck me most is that there is no honour in this sort of killing. Perhaps it is time these crimes were labelled for what they are, cold-blooded murder. Men saving face by killing their wives or daughters because they feel that they have been shamed is reprehensible.
There is simply no justification for it and the practice must be stopped, cold. If the communities themselves where honour killings occur cannot prevent the practice or hide behind some claim that this is culturally acceptable then the law should step in and protect those that cannot protect themselves and punish those that prefer to kill rather than lose face.
I am glad I was born where I was born and have the culture that I have. It would not have dawned on me and neither would it have mattered to the degree that I would have felt compelled to kill my sister or throw acid on her to disfigure her in order that she never leave the family if she were to associate with someone I disliked or heaven forbid chatted to some unknown bloke on her mobile phone.
Yet, what did dawn on me reading this article was the following, "men are like gold coins and women are like silk, if you drop a gold coin in the mud it can be polished but if you drop silk in the mud it is stained forever!"...
In the case contained in the article not only was the young women murdered in cold blood because she fell in love with a man other than the man that her family had arranged for her to marry. Yes folks we are indeed in the 21st century and the family had been resident in the UK for many years and yes they maintained the old traditions of arranged marriage.
I can understand arranged marriages and in this case the arranged marriage was a bad one but not all arranged marriages are. The problem here is that this one was bad and there was no recourse to get out of it and getting out of it caused the family to lose face or at least this is what they have claimed. This was made worse when the daughter fell in love with another man deemed to be of lesser status.
But the point is that not only was she murdered for causing her father to lose face but the perpetrators of this heinous crime raped and tortured her before killing her. Where is the honour in that?
There is simply no justification for it and the practice must be stopped, cold. If the communities themselves where honour killings occur cannot prevent the practice or hide behind some claim that this is culturally acceptable then the law should step in and protect those that cannot protect themselves and punish those that prefer to kill rather than lose face.
I am glad I was born where I was born and have the culture that I have. It would not have dawned on me and neither would it have mattered to the degree that I would have felt compelled to kill my sister or throw acid on her to disfigure her in order that she never leave the family if she were to associate with someone I disliked or heaven forbid chatted to some unknown bloke on her mobile phone.
Yet, what did dawn on me reading this article was the following, "men are like gold coins and women are like silk, if you drop a gold coin in the mud it can be polished but if you drop silk in the mud it is stained forever!"...
In the case contained in the article not only was the young women murdered in cold blood because she fell in love with a man other than the man that her family had arranged for her to marry. Yes folks we are indeed in the 21st century and the family had been resident in the UK for many years and yes they maintained the old traditions of arranged marriage.
I can understand arranged marriages and in this case the arranged marriage was a bad one but not all arranged marriages are. The problem here is that this one was bad and there was no recourse to get out of it and getting out of it caused the family to lose face or at least this is what they have claimed. This was made worse when the daughter fell in love with another man deemed to be of lesser status.
But the point is that not only was she murdered for causing her father to lose face but the perpetrators of this heinous crime raped and tortured her before killing her. Where is the honour in that?
01 February 2008
Affordable Apartments in Indonesia
The Government has taken the initiative and decided that one way to promote prosperity in Indonesia and to rid urban areas of their slums is to provide low-cost apartment housing for the masses. This is a two-pronged attack where the prongs represent housing for civil servants and then housing for everybody else.
It seems that the rationale is that happy workers are productive workers and happy workers need happy housing.
With space being a premium in Indonesia's bigger urban centers it is going to take some creative accounting, financing, and incentives to get developers into the game and people into the low cost apartments that the developers build. It reminds me of Kevin Costner in 'Field of Dreams' and the ever-present whisper of 'if you build it they will come'. Hopefully, real life follows the fantasy world of film because Kevin Costner did end up building that baseball field in the middle of his corn field and they, being long dead baseballers, did come!
There is plenty being written and there is plenty of active discussion on the low cost apartment topic. But what is truly amazing is the assumptions that commentators are making about the cost-effectiveness of developing and building low cost housing or apartments for the developers. There is little or no discussion on whether once a low or middle income earner purchases one of these cheap apartments whether or not they will be able to maintain the costs associated with keeping it.
For example, Kompas (p. 52 01/02/08) ordered up their financial wizards to crunch the numbers and not surprisingly found that developers could in fact make a profit on the development of low-cost apartments. The issue is probably not as simplistic as whether or not one would make a profit but rather whether company resources could be used elsewhere and generate even bigger profits. The sad but true answer to that question is yes. When it is all said and done the company's responsibilities are to their shareholders. Shareholders want to see increases in the value of the equity they invested. And this exponential equity value increase is going to be seen at the top end of town and not down the bottom.
Perhaps the Government could allow companies to satisfy their Corporate Social Responsibility obligations by participating in the development of a low-cost apartment scheme.
My other concern is that one of the rationale behind this policy initiative is to reduce the number of slums and other non-formal residential eyesores that dot Indonesia's urban landscapes. Yet, I have always wondered how this might happen as your run of the mill slum dweller is not living where they are because of choice but rather because of lack of choice. Simply, this is the best they can afford. Even if the Government was to subsidize this low-cost housing and apartment sector to keep it affordable the reality is the inhabitants of Indonesia's burgeoning slums are not going to be able to afford to purchase even a low-cost apartment.
The truth is that Indonesia needs to create jobs and with income people will be able to get into the market because they will be able to borrow to finance their apartment purchase. Oops, I made an assumption, I assumed that banks would lend money to a low or medium income earner -- not the case. A bank has no moral problem with throwing credit cards at low income earners and getting them into the perpetual debt cycle of paying off minimum balances...but lend money to a low-income earner and allow them to develop equity, not in this lifetime.
There is no doubt that the Government must take the lead and initiative in this sector but it must do so by putting into place a regulatory framework that not only supports developers but also those people who are the targets of the initiative; those that are going to buy into this segment of the apartment market. Without incentives or facilities this is just another round on the lip service merry-go-round that the Government wheels out when it needs to be seen to be trying to do something...
But this must be read in conjunction with the fact that the Parliament has recently authorized an additional payment of IDR 13 million a month to all of its members to cover accommodation costs while their official residences are renovated -- two points here; this is objectionable when one considers the salaries and allowances already paid, and second on a more personal note, this is more than I earn in a month...Is the Government serious, you decide!
The dream of owning your own home or apartment in Indonesia remains just that for the majority; a dream!
It seems that the rationale is that happy workers are productive workers and happy workers need happy housing.
With space being a premium in Indonesia's bigger urban centers it is going to take some creative accounting, financing, and incentives to get developers into the game and people into the low cost apartments that the developers build. It reminds me of Kevin Costner in 'Field of Dreams' and the ever-present whisper of 'if you build it they will come'. Hopefully, real life follows the fantasy world of film because Kevin Costner did end up building that baseball field in the middle of his corn field and they, being long dead baseballers, did come!
There is plenty being written and there is plenty of active discussion on the low cost apartment topic. But what is truly amazing is the assumptions that commentators are making about the cost-effectiveness of developing and building low cost housing or apartments for the developers. There is little or no discussion on whether once a low or middle income earner purchases one of these cheap apartments whether or not they will be able to maintain the costs associated with keeping it.
For example, Kompas (p. 52 01/02/08) ordered up their financial wizards to crunch the numbers and not surprisingly found that developers could in fact make a profit on the development of low-cost apartments. The issue is probably not as simplistic as whether or not one would make a profit but rather whether company resources could be used elsewhere and generate even bigger profits. The sad but true answer to that question is yes. When it is all said and done the company's responsibilities are to their shareholders. Shareholders want to see increases in the value of the equity they invested. And this exponential equity value increase is going to be seen at the top end of town and not down the bottom.
Perhaps the Government could allow companies to satisfy their Corporate Social Responsibility obligations by participating in the development of a low-cost apartment scheme.
My other concern is that one of the rationale behind this policy initiative is to reduce the number of slums and other non-formal residential eyesores that dot Indonesia's urban landscapes. Yet, I have always wondered how this might happen as your run of the mill slum dweller is not living where they are because of choice but rather because of lack of choice. Simply, this is the best they can afford. Even if the Government was to subsidize this low-cost housing and apartment sector to keep it affordable the reality is the inhabitants of Indonesia's burgeoning slums are not going to be able to afford to purchase even a low-cost apartment.
The truth is that Indonesia needs to create jobs and with income people will be able to get into the market because they will be able to borrow to finance their apartment purchase. Oops, I made an assumption, I assumed that banks would lend money to a low or medium income earner -- not the case. A bank has no moral problem with throwing credit cards at low income earners and getting them into the perpetual debt cycle of paying off minimum balances...but lend money to a low-income earner and allow them to develop equity, not in this lifetime.
There is no doubt that the Government must take the lead and initiative in this sector but it must do so by putting into place a regulatory framework that not only supports developers but also those people who are the targets of the initiative; those that are going to buy into this segment of the apartment market. Without incentives or facilities this is just another round on the lip service merry-go-round that the Government wheels out when it needs to be seen to be trying to do something...
But this must be read in conjunction with the fact that the Parliament has recently authorized an additional payment of IDR 13 million a month to all of its members to cover accommodation costs while their official residences are renovated -- two points here; this is objectionable when one considers the salaries and allowances already paid, and second on a more personal note, this is more than I earn in a month...Is the Government serious, you decide!
The dream of owning your own home or apartment in Indonesia remains just that for the majority; a dream!
31 January 2008
Ryanair - Ads for the Ages
Ryanair has an ever-growing history with its advertisements and its promotional material getting it into trouble! But maybe they are working on the philosophy that all advertising is good advertising even where it should be conceived as being bad!The latest scandal in this string of scandals revolves around a promotional campaign for back to school airfares. The ads were published in print media with a circulation of some 3.5 million and this resulted in 13 complaints being received by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This would seem like a number representing a real minority of readers. But as is always the case in these types of issues it is a vocal minority that gets to dictate to the silent majority!
The offending promo is the picture above...
Let me say this on the record...there were no girls like that at any of the schools I went to! If there was I am sure I would have been a better student! Further, if there were girls like that at any of my schools I would have found a way to convince my folks to buy me a plane ticket to return to school rather than having to get up at 3am in the bitter cold of a winter morning and go and catch a train from Harden station (You wanna know where Harden is -- look it up here)...Then again maybe my parents knew that there were not any girls like that at the school I was going to and that is why they sent me there -- way to go Ma + Pa!
It seems that the minority see this advertisement as indecent as it links teenagers to sexually provocative behaviour and therefore was irresponsible -- hold on a second since when have the world's teenagers decided not be sexually active? Most of the facts and figures I have seen would suggest the opposite is true...besides anyone that looks at this picture is not going to be mistaken that this young girl is a model and looks older than any of the girls I or they went to high school with...I once saw a girl like this on one of the university campuses I was enrolled on!
To each their own but I am sure that there will be plenty of cost conscious travelers wanting to travel with low-cost Ryanair no matter the controversy surrounding this advertisement. Besides anyone who had not heard of Ryanair has heard of it now thanks to the ASA!
Language - A Real Trendsetter...
Now here's one for all you language purists out there in cyberspace from a budding Indonesian soap star of mixed parentage...
I am proud that I am not fluent in Indonesian and I hope that my style of talking (accent - red) will become a trend and my identity...which was followed by this verbatim quote "I do not feel embarassed when I am being teased while I speak, I hope that how I talk can be followed by other kids. This is who I am ... this is natural!"
Sounds like that her parents have her head screwed on pretty well with the 'this is who I am ... this is natural' part of the quote, but all the same, pride in mediocrity? Yet, I guess as a 14 year old you have that kind of self-belief as the big bad and nasty world has yet to bring its full weight onto your young shoulders!
Nah, let's face it Cinta Laura Kiehl is the product of a mixed marriage where her father as a result of his work travelled frequently and much of, if not all, her education was in English. The old man is German so perhaps she speaks German as well, who knows?
Language is a living thing and it changes over time as new words become part of the lexicon. Indonesia is well-known for sub-languages, such as Bahasa Gaul (social or hanging-out language), Bahasa Preman (literally the language of criminals), and amalgamations of all the various languages and dialects that permeate this vast archipelago blended into the national language.
Bahasa Gaul and Bahasa Preman are more languages in their own right than dialects so perhaps Cinta Laura sees herself as being the creator and founder of another kind of sub-language based on the inability to speak proper Indonesian...
I give her credit for the fact that she has learned some Bahasa and obviously this is more than enough to get her a job in an Indonesian soap opera but there is nothing to be proud of in not being fluent in the language of your family on your mother's side. I have no problem with people who speak Bahasa with a foreign accent. Many of my friends who are long-term residents speak as much Bahasa, if not more, than Cinta Laura and they continue to have the inflections and tones of their native languages. But none of them have at least one parent who is Indonesian and none of them are soap stars and none of them are looked up to as model speakers or representatives of Indonesian culture or language. This is not to say that Cinta Laura is viewed in these ways, but when your country tells you it is important to be able to read, write, and speak proper and correct Indonesian then to be proud not to do so seems strange, perhaps even bizarre!
The reality is soap operas are not real but they follow many social norms and dictate others. Is it any wonder that you hear politicians reverting to slang and Bahasa Gaul at official functions? Yet, if soap operas are only to entertain and not to educate then:
Who cares?
I will still get a smile on my dial every time I hear Cinta Laura speak and remember to dedicate myself to the task of making sure my kids, if and when they come along, speak proper Indonesian in the proper places. They can learn the language of their peers from their peers because I am not gonna be able to help them on that front, then again I can always ask for Cinta Laura's help as the language trendsetter for kids of mixed marriages!
I am proud that I am not fluent in Indonesian and I hope that my style of talking (accent - red) will become a trend and my identity...which was followed by this verbatim quote "I do not feel embarassed when I am being teased while I speak, I hope that how I talk can be followed by other kids. This is who I am ... this is natural!"
Sounds like that her parents have her head screwed on pretty well with the 'this is who I am ... this is natural' part of the quote, but all the same, pride in mediocrity? Yet, I guess as a 14 year old you have that kind of self-belief as the big bad and nasty world has yet to bring its full weight onto your young shoulders!
Nah, let's face it Cinta Laura Kiehl is the product of a mixed marriage where her father as a result of his work travelled frequently and much of, if not all, her education was in English. The old man is German so perhaps she speaks German as well, who knows?
Language is a living thing and it changes over time as new words become part of the lexicon. Indonesia is well-known for sub-languages, such as Bahasa Gaul (social or hanging-out language), Bahasa Preman (literally the language of criminals), and amalgamations of all the various languages and dialects that permeate this vast archipelago blended into the national language.
Bahasa Gaul and Bahasa Preman are more languages in their own right than dialects so perhaps Cinta Laura sees herself as being the creator and founder of another kind of sub-language based on the inability to speak proper Indonesian...
I give her credit for the fact that she has learned some Bahasa and obviously this is more than enough to get her a job in an Indonesian soap opera but there is nothing to be proud of in not being fluent in the language of your family on your mother's side. I have no problem with people who speak Bahasa with a foreign accent. Many of my friends who are long-term residents speak as much Bahasa, if not more, than Cinta Laura and they continue to have the inflections and tones of their native languages. But none of them have at least one parent who is Indonesian and none of them are soap stars and none of them are looked up to as model speakers or representatives of Indonesian culture or language. This is not to say that Cinta Laura is viewed in these ways, but when your country tells you it is important to be able to read, write, and speak proper and correct Indonesian then to be proud not to do so seems strange, perhaps even bizarre!
The reality is soap operas are not real but they follow many social norms and dictate others. Is it any wonder that you hear politicians reverting to slang and Bahasa Gaul at official functions? Yet, if soap operas are only to entertain and not to educate then:
Who cares?
I will still get a smile on my dial every time I hear Cinta Laura speak and remember to dedicate myself to the task of making sure my kids, if and when they come along, speak proper Indonesian in the proper places. They can learn the language of their peers from their peers because I am not gonna be able to help them on that front, then again I can always ask for Cinta Laura's help as the language trendsetter for kids of mixed marriages!
Apology Season
Well, Soeharto's kids have decided that they will make, and they have already made, an apology for any mistakes or deficiencies that their father may have had or made. I presume that this apology will also cover all of Soeharto's excesses as well, particularly his part in the misappropriation, some might say theft, of an alleged USD 35 billion from the State coffers and therefore from the good citizens of Indonesia...
Rather than apologizing for and on behalf of their father it is high time they started making these apologies on behalf of themselves. The Soeharto kids each and every one of them became fabulously wealthy under the dictatorial rule of their father...much of this wealth may have disapated with the financial and economic implosion that was the Indonesian economy in 1997 / 1998 but all the same they all remain wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most Indonesians.
But it is going to be fun to watch as the recriminations and debate unfolds as to how history should recall the legacy of Soeharto -- striking a balance between spectacular economic growth over a sustained period of 30 years and the obvious excesses in the abuse of basic human rights is going to be a tough one...
Many people are giving Soeharto the credit for sustained economic growth but no one seems to be discussing that much of this growth was built on unserviceable public and private debt, which culminated in the financial implosion that Indonesia still reels from today some 10 years later...
I wonder how harsh history will be?
Rather than apologizing for and on behalf of their father it is high time they started making these apologies on behalf of themselves. The Soeharto kids each and every one of them became fabulously wealthy under the dictatorial rule of their father...much of this wealth may have disapated with the financial and economic implosion that was the Indonesian economy in 1997 / 1998 but all the same they all remain wealthy beyond the wildest dreams of most Indonesians.
But it is going to be fun to watch as the recriminations and debate unfolds as to how history should recall the legacy of Soeharto -- striking a balance between spectacular economic growth over a sustained period of 30 years and the obvious excesses in the abuse of basic human rights is going to be a tough one...
Many people are giving Soeharto the credit for sustained economic growth but no one seems to be discussing that much of this growth was built on unserviceable public and private debt, which culminated in the financial implosion that Indonesia still reels from today some 10 years later...
I wonder how harsh history will be?
A Cricketing Saga!
The racial vilification saga that plagued the Second Test between India and Australia seems to have been resolved in India's favour...no shock on that one. There should be no shock either in realizing that the International Cricket Council (ICC) caved into the demands of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket India). Nor should there be any confusion that the threats of the Indian management that they would have been required by the BCCI to pull out of the tour and that planes had been chartered to squirrel the team out of Australia in the middle of the night be under-estimated because from all accounts this is true.
Could the result of the appeal gone any other way...I thought that India was a country with a common law tradition and an understanding of an independent judiciary. This is not to say that the judge in the appeal here was threatened or caved into any particular wishes. He did not! But the mere thought of the BCCI jumping up and down on the spot like a petulant child leaves a sour taste in one's mouth.
What suffers here is cricket!
There should be no doubting that the ICC must now vote itself out of existence and let the BCCI run the game particularly if what is being reported is true. That is; Cricket Australia (CA) was more worried about a potential USD 60 million lawsuit than making a principled stand against racism in sport and forcing the players to follow their less than courageous lead supposedly for "the good of the game".
The appeal and review process seems to have set the standard for racism at the "beyond all reasonable doubt" level before a penalty can be imposed. So, the alleged offender had the charge downgraded and eventually was fined 50% of his match fee -- in essence a slap on the wrist and sent home without a ban. The alleged offender as part of the deal did acknowledge that he used offensive language (see an earlier blog entry as to what he said) although at the time this whole sorry saga broke he denied he said anything offensive either...what is the truth, who knows!
So, the BCCI has effectively flexed its muscles and had an umpire replaced and sent home, forced the ICC to alter the rules governing appeals, and forced the ICC to back down on the racism charge...in a boxing analogy this is no mere points decision, this is a first round KO for the BCCI of the ICC. The ICC should not be allowed back into the ring until it gets a medical clearance stating that it is fit to represent the interests of world cricket. I thought these blokes were paid well to have a spine!
The idea that the outcome of the hearing would see India go off and try and establish a separate cricketing organization is fear-mongering at its worst. The reality is that the BCCI has some much financial clout because of international cricket -- the BCCI needs the teams from the rest of the world to remain profitable. It is about time that both the BCCI and the ICC realized this...If the rest of the world was to pack its cricketing kits and tell the BCCI to shove there demands in a place where there aint no sunshine, then BCCI revenues would soon fall.
The World Series of Cricket and rebel cricket tours to South Africa during the hey day of apartheid showed us that rebel leagues have only passing fascination and ultimately the fans return to the real deal.
All in all it has been a sorry saga and a saga hopefully not to be repeated.
Could the result of the appeal gone any other way...I thought that India was a country with a common law tradition and an understanding of an independent judiciary. This is not to say that the judge in the appeal here was threatened or caved into any particular wishes. He did not! But the mere thought of the BCCI jumping up and down on the spot like a petulant child leaves a sour taste in one's mouth.
What suffers here is cricket!
There should be no doubting that the ICC must now vote itself out of existence and let the BCCI run the game particularly if what is being reported is true. That is; Cricket Australia (CA) was more worried about a potential USD 60 million lawsuit than making a principled stand against racism in sport and forcing the players to follow their less than courageous lead supposedly for "the good of the game".
The appeal and review process seems to have set the standard for racism at the "beyond all reasonable doubt" level before a penalty can be imposed. So, the alleged offender had the charge downgraded and eventually was fined 50% of his match fee -- in essence a slap on the wrist and sent home without a ban. The alleged offender as part of the deal did acknowledge that he used offensive language (see an earlier blog entry as to what he said) although at the time this whole sorry saga broke he denied he said anything offensive either...what is the truth, who knows!
So, the BCCI has effectively flexed its muscles and had an umpire replaced and sent home, forced the ICC to alter the rules governing appeals, and forced the ICC to back down on the racism charge...in a boxing analogy this is no mere points decision, this is a first round KO for the BCCI of the ICC. The ICC should not be allowed back into the ring until it gets a medical clearance stating that it is fit to represent the interests of world cricket. I thought these blokes were paid well to have a spine!
The idea that the outcome of the hearing would see India go off and try and establish a separate cricketing organization is fear-mongering at its worst. The reality is that the BCCI has some much financial clout because of international cricket -- the BCCI needs the teams from the rest of the world to remain profitable. It is about time that both the BCCI and the ICC realized this...If the rest of the world was to pack its cricketing kits and tell the BCCI to shove there demands in a place where there aint no sunshine, then BCCI revenues would soon fall.
The World Series of Cricket and rebel cricket tours to South Africa during the hey day of apartheid showed us that rebel leagues have only passing fascination and ultimately the fans return to the real deal.
All in all it has been a sorry saga and a saga hopefully not to be repeated.
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