Marriott Hotel -- Pakistan

Look at the size of that crater! It is not surprising that more than 200 have been injured in this terrorist attack. However, what is surprising is that there have only been about 60 deaths.

What I fail to understand is how this kind of violence wins the "hearts and minds" of the people you want to convince of the justness of your cause? It might scare them but it certainly does not convince them!

Bombings like this one do not discriminate, they kill anything in their path. I find it hard to fathom that there was a legitimate target at the Marriott Hotel to warrant this kind of indiscriminate attack.

No one has claimed responsibility yet. However, if this is ultimately claimed by the Taliban or al-Qaeda, then it would be worth getting a breakdown of the victim's religions. To see how many Muslims were killed, this would in turn emphasize my earlier point of winning the 'hearts and minds'.

Yet, for me the abhorrence of such actions are that the victims are the innocent. I find it amazing that anyone can justify the killing of innocents in the name of independence, let alone in the name of religion.

This was a planned and premeditated attack on innocent civilians.

For me this is just plain wrong on all fronts.

A Miserable Index

There has been much in the blogosphere in Indonesia at least examining how miserable expats are in Indonesia and if expats are so miserable why don't they just go back to wherever they have come from.

This got me thinking as to whether there was come kind of miserable index that could be used to give a verifiable and measurable number for how miserable someone is.

It seems that the miserable index is based on one criteria alone, namely: if you criticize the place you are living in, then you must be miserable.

I often criticize Indonesia and the way things are done. I often criticize my home country of Australia too. I am not miserable on Indonesia and I am not miserable on Australia either. I think as a resident and as a citizen this is a right that I have. My criticisms are constructive and aimed at seeing things get better.

However, I wonder whether other people wonder when an Indonesian criticizes Indonesia whether they are doing so because they are miserable or whether they are doing it because they lack patriotism? My personal opinion is that when an Indonesian criticizes Indonesia they do so because they see something that the do not agree with and would like to see it changed for the better. Therefore, to suggest that criticizing your country is tantamount to a lack of patriotism is ludicrous.

I am not miserable! I am not going to stop criticizing the things that I see to be wrong in Indonesia because some anonymous poster (maybe using a pen name maybe not) thinks that I am unhappy.

Thus endeth today's sermon!

Ahmadinejad and Israel

History is often said to repeat itself and perhaps is does so because people fail to learn the lessons of the past. I am not sure that there is any history to repeat on this one, but it is a good example of a one trick pony and a bloke that will never learn. Unfortunately, as much as one would like to dismiss this bloke as a raving lunatic, he cannot be dismissed so easily. This is particularly the case where the Iranian state is looking to develop nuclear capacity and the ongoing rhetoric of hatred leveled at Israel and all states that support the existence of Israel.

The latest salvo across the bow of the West is that Israel will not survive in any form and the restatement regarding the holocaust as being a fake and that the only holocaust that the Israelis have been involved in is the perpetration of a holocaust against the Palestinians.

What Israel has done in the Palestinian territories is perhaps sufficient for a claim of genocide and there have been legal arguments advanced in support of such a claim. This though does not prove that the holocaust perpetrated against the Jews during WWII is fake or a beat up. The holocaust against the Jews occurred and there is sufficient documentary evidence to support such a conclusion. Whether it was six million, or five million, of 4 million, or 1 million Jews that were murdered is irrelevant, it was still an organized, planned, systematic extermination of a group of people.

It is more likely though that Ahmadinejad's latest outburst has more to do with domestic politics in Iran. It seems that Ahmadinejad's grip is slipping as he and his policies fail to deliver for the Iranian people. This may be nothing more than an attempt at diverting attention from the failings at home.

I guess you cannot teach an old dog new tricks after all.

Jewel of Medina

It seems that a Serbian Publisher, BeoBook, is going to start publishing again the book by Sherry Jones, Jewel of Medina. BeoBook started publishing the book in August, but like Random House folded to pressure that the book was anti-Islam and offensive because it slighted Muhammad.

As keen as I am to read the book, I am not going to be booking flights to Serbia. I might see if I can track down a BeoBook website and then see if I can order it online.

Of if any of my readers are going to Serbia and can pick up a copy let me know.

Smudges and Alby

This is a photo of the (in)famous Smudges. When Smudges returned, he returned with another cat in tow. The other cat, now named Alby, is an even smaller kitten than Smudges, and he probably needs a bath as well.

Smudges is the cat in the front and Alby is the little bugger at the back who looks like he is dead, but really is fast asleep.

Ahmadiyya in Pakistan

Ahmadiyya in Indonesia has sort off gone of the radar since the issue of a Ministerial Regulation that to all intents and purposes bans the Islamic sect by prohibiting the ritual practices of believers and the violence perpetrated against people rallying in support of religious pluralism. The propensity for violence exhibited by some towards Ahmadiyya certainly needs no encouragement.

At the time in Indonesia there were videos posted on you tube of calls to jihad (some might argue that Jihad is not about violence but rather it is a personal struggle designed to bring a person closer to God) in order to exterminate the Ahmadi. However, in Pakistan this has gone one step further with Aalim Online presenter Aamir Liaqat Hussain, the former Federal Minister for Religious Affairs in Pakistan, calling the Ahmadi's "kaffirs" and deserving of being killed.

Within days, two prominent Pakistani Ahmadi had been murdered.

Interestingly, the show also airs in the UK, the USA, and Canada. I wonder whether broadcasting standards in these countries are tolerant of such incitement to murder over the public airwaves.

I wonder how Indonesia would deal with a popular TV presenter issuing a call to violence and murder or even genocide?

Going Home

I read a lot of blogs and this is probably because I like to see what others are doing and their take on the big things like life. Blogs tend to be personal, kind of like an open journal, that allows people to comment on your life and your experiences. This undoubtedly has pros and cons attached. Some people will take issue with your experiences, the manner in which you process them, and the conclusions you may draw from those experiences. This was certainly the case over at David Goldsworthy's blog when he wrote about his personal experiences as they relate to living in Indonesia and his return to Australia early next year.

The topic was very much one of experience and perception. It was personal. It reflected on stereotypes and the ability to talk about and have others understand one's experiences.

Stereotypes are what they are. I always find it interesting that people believe that the best way to defeat a stereotype is to ignore it. If you ignore it then is somehow ceases to be real or ceases to exist. I, on the other hand, think that the best way to breakdown stereotypes is to confront them head on and prove that they are false. To confront a stereotype we have to raise it and discuss it. Simple really.

On the personal experience front. I often wonder about how people will understand my experiences here. It is one thing to talk about an experience it is another thing altogether for that person (the one you are talking to) to understand the experience.

The wife and I are intending to head to Australia sometime in the future. Probably late next year, and it is interesting for me for two reasons; most of the people I know here are like "why would you want to go home when life in Indonesia is so easy?" and "Australia is a different place to the one you left".

It is interesting that people seem to think the life of a foreigner is so easy in Indonesia (this in itself is a stereotype, is it not?). I am an expat in the sense of being a foreigner living in Indonesia. However, I am not on an expat package that includes all the fringe benefits in addition to a large salary. I work for a local company, on a local wage, and with local conditions. I would guess that whacks me somewhere in the middle of the middle class in Indonesia. This should not be construed as a complaint as these are my choices.

The point though is that the wife and I have the same struggles as everyone else such as budgeting and the like. So, is life easier than it is or would be in Australia? No. In many ways perhaps life would be easier in Australia than in Indonesia. Just one example would be not having to run the immigration gauntlet every 12 months to renew a working and living permit.

The idea that Australia is a different place to the one I left presupposes so many things. I am also a different person to the one that left. I am married for example, I have a kid on the way, my priorities and expectations are different. Time changes many things, not just places but people too!

I am looking forward to getting home. I am hoping that the wife is looking forward to moving to Australia. I am sure that moving back home is not the end of the Indonesian story for me or my family. My wife will always be Indonesian and the Kid will always be part Indonesian and carrying an Indonesia passport until he is 21 at least. I have deep connections to and in both countries.

My experience is telling me that it is both hard to leave and hard to stay. I wonder whether people can understand that dilemma as easily as I can.

OJ Simpson

I just watched this program on OJ Simpson on the Australia Network here in Indonesia. It had interviews with all the players in the trial with regards to the defense team and a lot of the news people involved as well. It was a really interesting program.

There were lots of interesting questions posed on race, race relations, police, fabricating evidence, the role of defense counsel in defending guilty clients, and the main one, did he do it?

The two questions that I was most interested in were the last two. As a lawyer who has worked in criminal defense it is an interesting question to ponder with regards to defending guilty clients. There are plenty of strategies for defending a client. I generally ask my clients if they did it. If they say, no, then that is the end of it. I construct the defense strategy based on the assumption that the client is innocent of the charges being alleged.

If a client answers by saying, yes, then the strategy requires careful considerations in terms of ethical obligations. A defense lawyer must not advance an alternative scenario where they know that the scenario is not possible.

It is worth remembering that it is the prosecution in an adversarial system that must prove the case. The defense's main job is to highlight that there is reasonable doubt in the case being made by the prosecution that would render a guilty verdict unjust. It is not the defense's obligation to prove the prosecutions case for them.

Onto the biggest question of them all, did OJ do it?

Yes.

Harley Davidson, Women, and God

Something that came into the inbox (from my mother of all people)...

The Harley-Davidson Facts The inventor of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle, Arthur Davidson , died and went to heaven. At the gates, St. Peter told Arthur. 'Since you've been such a good man and your motorcycles have changed the world, your reward is, you can hang out with anyone you want to in heaven.' Arthur thought about it for a minute and then said, ' I want to hang out with God.' St. Peter took Arthur to the Throne Room, and introduced him to God. God recognized Arthur and commented, 'Okay, so you were the one who invented the Harley-Davidson motorcycle? ' Arthur said, 'Yeah, that's me...' God commented: 'Well, what's the big deal in inventing something that's pretty unstable, makes noise and pollution and can't run without a road?' Arthur was a bit embarrassed, but finally spoke, 'Excuse me, but aren't you the inventor of woman?' God said, 'Ah, yes.' 'Well,' said Arthur, 'professional to professional, you have some major design flaws in your invention ! 1. There's too much inconsistency in the front-end suspension 2. It chatters constantly at high speeds 3. Most rear ends are too soft and wobble about too much 4. The intake is placed way too close to the exhaust 5. The maintenance costs are outrageous!!!! 'Hmmmmm, you may have some good points there,' replied God, 'hold on.' God went to his Celestial supercomputer, typed in a few words and waited for the results. The computer printed out a slip of paper and God read it. 'Well, it may be true that my invention is flawed,' God said to Arthur, 'but according to these numbers, more men are riding my invention than yours'.