The History of Horror Porn In Indonesia...

Hey, the title is a little bit of a misnomer. But, the point of this post is to highlight that comedy horror films starring foreign actresses have quite a long history in Indonesia, and it has not always been a tortured one. Or maybe it was just a matter of there not being an FPI equivalent active at the time when these earlier films were made.

A recent spate of campy Indonesian horror films starring the incredible acting talents of Japanese and US porn stars, such as Maria Ozawa (Miyabi), Rin Sakuragi, and Tera Patrick, has been controversial to say the least. However, campy horror films with foreign stars and Indonesia as a backdrop is not a new phenomenon so it seems. Most of my musings on the subject can be found here.

Read this spiel about the 1992 film Dangerous Seductress:

Fleeing her abusive boyfriend, Susan (Tonya Lawson) jumps on a plane to Indonesia, where her sister lives. There, Susan stumbles across a black-magic book of spells and accidentally raises the spirit of a 1,000-year-old witch with a thirst for blood. This campy horror flick features the special-effects makeup artistry of Steve Prouty, the master behind such films as The Cat in the Hat and the live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

You can actually download the film online here.

I am wondering why the producers of this film chose Indonesia of all the countries in the world that they could of had her sister living in. Indonesia is a beautiful country, the peoples of Indonesia are warm and welcoming, but campy horror films with scantily clad women seems to make Indonesia an odd choice. But, perhaps not seeing the director is none other than H. Tjut Djalil.

I make a point of learning something new about Indonesia every single day of my life. Some of the things I learn are important and useful. Some of the things I learn get filed away in the trivia drawer of my brain. You never know when you might get a trivial pursuit question on Indonesian horror films and foreign actresses!

The film starred Amy Weber, Tonya Lawson, Kristin Anin and Joseph Cassano.

If you do decide to download the film, or if you have already seen it, then feel free to post a review of it here as a comment ;)

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!

Miyabi Makes Her Indonesian Horror Film Debut...

The poor old FPI and any other white-robed thugs that have a problem with foreign porn actresses making horror films in Indonesia must be a little annoyed once again. It seems that the hardliners have missed Maria Ozawa, or Miyabi as she is affectionately known in Indonesia, slipping into the Republic of Indonesia to film a horror film, The Ghost of Tanah Kusir (Hantu Tanah Kusir).

Tanah Kusir is a public cemetery in South Jakarta if one is interested.

Funnily enough it is not only the FPI that have had the wool pulled over their eyes on this one. The majority of the promotional material for the film does not even make mention of Miyabi's role or the fact that she is even in it. But, there is no doubting she is there. Miyabi makes her grand entrance into the film about halfway through it. The rest of the film, I am reliably told, is a procession of Miyabi chest (or is that breasts) shots.

The same production house, Maxima, that was set to film the original foray of Miyabi into Indonesian horror / comedy (does that make the film comically horrific or horrifyingly comical) films. Unfortunately, for a lot of Indonesian Miyabi fans, Kidnapping Miyabi, did not make it into production out of fears that the FPI would violently seek to disrupt filming.

It would appear that the standard operating procedure will now be to sneak the controversial actresses into Indonesia, shoot the film, send the actresses home, and then release the film. Tera Patrick and Rin Sakuragi were recent porn stars to make their film debuts in Indonesia in this way. This is certain to raise the ire of the FPI as they would have been denied a soap-box opportunity to harp about the dangers of using porn actresses in non-pornographic films. This means that the only avenue of protest available to the FPI is to protest the screening of any film involving a foreign porn star. This ensures a stack of free publicity for the film, both in Indonesia and abroad, and guaranteeing success for the producers of the film.

Marketing genius or what?

Anyways, here are some additional Miyabi / Maria Ozawa images. Yes, I know you are expecting them.

Rin Sakuragi -- More Japanese Porn Stars in Indonesia...

Maxima Pictures has played a perfect deception by promoting one movie with a Japanese porn star as the main character while simultaneously shooting another film with another Japanese porn star and releasing it into theatres without too much fan fare to date. Quite a trick in Indonesia.

The previous kerfuffle related to the film Kidnapping Miyabi, which was to star as herself none other than that famous Japanese porn star Maria Ozawa or as she is known in industry circles, Miyabi. However, the latest offering from Maxima Pictures stars another Japanese actress of considerable pornographic talents, Rin Sakuragi.

The film, Sister Keramas (the Hair-Washing Nurse), is billed as a horror-comedy. What is it with porn stars and horror flicks, or more to the point horror-comedy flicks? I have to say, the title of the film is not all that inspiring to me, and besides a horror-comedy flick does not seem like the perfect vehicle for Rin to showcase her obvious talents.

In a move that is sure to see the movie's popularity boosted the MUI in Samarinda has issued a fatwa declaring that the movie must not be watched by Muslims as it lacks any redeeming features. Presumably this means that it is not educative or serves no particular purpose in the public interest. This is true, of course. But, then again it is just a film and it is supposed to, in this instance entertain as opposed to educate.

But, as usual, this post lends itself to some gratuitous posting of pictures of Rin in some of her more tame poses.

Enjoy the pictures and the film if you so desire.

The Menstrating Ghost of Puncak...

Hantu Puncak Datang Bulan is a horror film that includes a rather large number of 'pornographic' scenes. Pornography in this sense is the Indonesian definition of the term and means that the film includes some skin shots and some sex scenes. For most discerning adults the film might not even make it into the soft porn category, but to each their own. The whole premise of a horror movie with some soft porn seems to be tailor-made for controversy in a nation that is predominantly Muslim such as Indonesia.

To their credit the Muslim Ulema Council (Majelis Ulama Indonesia / MUI) did not disappoint. They have been vocal in stating that the film is not in-line with Muslim values. However, they acknowledge that if people choose to make these films and they pass the censors, then it is up to the individual Muslims themselves to decide whether or not to watch it. Nevertheless, the MUI is lobbying hard for the Indonesian Film Censorship Board (Lembaga Sensor Film / LSF) to ban the movie.

However, the Islam Defenders Front (Front Pembela Islam / FPI) has no such reservations. They have threatened to use violence to prevent the screening of the film if movie theatres do not 'voluntarily' opt to not show the film.

The movie has already passed the LSF and can be screened in Indonesia. This suggests that it does not contravene any prevailing laws and regulations according to the peak body tasked with these decisions. The rumor mill and the controversy is sure to see what is reportedly a very poor B-grade horror flick become a bit of a hit.

There is one thing that you can be sure of, when the MUI, LSF, or the FPI get involved in a discussion about a movie then this is likely to become some of the best free marketing a movie studio could hope for. But, then again, it sometimes signals the death knell for other films such as 'Kidnapping Miyabi'. And, then sometimes, the controversy just disappears such as with the film 'Suster Keramas' starring Rin Sakuragi.

Here is a trailer for the film (courtesy of You Tube):

Jakarta -- The Bombing Season Returns

The news that the JW Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton were bombed this morning at about 07.45 Western Indonesian Time was not surprising. The idea that Indonesia was free from the prospect of terrorist activity was naive at best and negligent at worst.

My condolences go out to all of those that have lost loved ones or had loved ones injured in the blasts.

The fact that there are several high profile terror suspects still at large and suspected of being in Indonesia must be enough to ensure that security is taken seriously. In many respects, this morning's tragedy was as much to do with it "being a matter of time" and complacency than it was to good planning by a group of terrorists.

I lived in Indonesia for many, many years and have only recently returned home to Australia. I returned home with my family, this was not because of any fear of terrorist bombings, although now that we have returned to Australia, it seems like it was a wise choice. I still feel Indonesia is generally a safe place to live and we would return in a heartbeat for the right opportunity.

I have been to the Marriott on many occasions and have always found the security presence extreme. It is always an interesting sight and experience seeing young men with high-powered weapons screening visitors. That said, the screening of vehicles although giving the appearance of being strict is quite often not what it seems.

Generally, the checks are cursory and sometimes leave a lot to be desired. I have always wondered if those checking vehicles had actually been properly trained in what to look for. Nevertheless, it is these types of checks that gave rise to the complacency that Indonesia was over the terrorist hump and on the homeward stretch to ever-lasting peace, security, and prosperity.

Nevertheless, back end security is not what might be expected.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks. However, time will tell in terms of where responsibility for this horror will fall. It is unlikely that this is Jemaah Islamiyya for a number of reasons, but paramount among these is that JI is unlikely to have maintained the organizational capability in the period after 2002 and the post Bali bombing. However, this should not rule out a splinter group with some kind of loose affiliation with JI.

In any event, I guess these blasts go to show that Australia's travel advisory warnings were on the money with respect to possible terrorist attacks. (I would add here that if you maintain the tone of the travel advisory and keep it in place for long enough that ultimately the odds of being right would shorten to the point where you actually are right at some point in time.)

It was interesting to hear an interview with Kerry Collison earlier today in which he suggested that the bombings had all the hallmarks of an Indonesian military operation. The implications of military involvement is something that one does not really want to consider as this does not bode well for political stability in Indonesia over the long term.

The time is now for Indonesians to stand up with a united front and say that "enough is enough". It does not matter whether you are Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Animist, or whatever, no sane person can justify the killing of innocents. The simple reality here is that there is absolutely, let me repeat - absolutely, no chance of winning the hearts and minds of people by killing them. When will these terrorists understand that killing your own is just not going to get you the sympathy that you might feel the masses owe you. Stupid!

While Indonesians take a stand against terror in their own land, those of us who can must support our Indonesian brothers and sisters in whatever capacity that we can no matter where we live. I will do whatever it is that I can to help.

Violence is never the answer!

Postscript...

For any how have taken umbrage at some of the content of this post or the point and purpose of travel warnings or the like, irrespective of whether you leave a comment or not, I offer no apologies as it is a blog and these are my opinions and "out loud" thoughts on this issue.

I love Indonesia and her people dearly. The country has been an integral part of my development as a person, and for that I will be eternally grateful. I will always feel I have received more than I have given (although there are probably plenty of Indonesians who might disagree) but I will continue to give until my days end.

The point about terrorism is not what religion the perpetrators follow and I do not talk about Muslim or Christian terrorists, just terrorists, those individuals that would seek to disrupt the peaceful existence that the majority of us try and find in our comparatively short time in this world. The point is that there are those who will go to any length to kill and maim the innocents in pursuit of a cause and despite the in-roads Indonesia has made in getting on top of terrorism and some notable successes this has led to a degree of complacency and the idea of it being "only a matter of time".

I saw it and I was fearful of it in the sense that I truly believed it was only a matter of time.

Those that hate exist in all societies and they will always at some point in time make their presence known. Friday, 17 July 2009, was one of those days in Jakarta.

Celebrities and Drugs -- Sheila Marcia Joseph

The attraction of drugs for some is just too powerful to resist and even more so when you are in a relationship where both people are users (abusers). Drugs and celebrities is not a unique phenomenon in that it is restricted to Indonesia, it can be found throughout the world of celebrities.

Yet, it is sad that Indonesia's younger celebrities are increasingly getting caught up in the world of drugs. The recent arrest of a young rising star, Sheila Marcia (photo), highlights the dangers of letting your demons get the better of you. Sheila Marcia had been making a bit of a name for herself in Indonesian horror films, such as Manggarai Ghost Train (Kereta Hantu Manggarai).

Sheila Marcia was arrested last week allegedly at a drug party in North Jakarta. The party was being held in the Golden Sky Apartment complex in Pluit in room number 8 on the 7th floor. This is the beauty of Indonesia where the information is always available in the scandal pages. I wonder how anyone ever keeps a secret in this part of the world.

Unfortunately, her boyfriend, Roger Danuarta, has gone to ground. It has been suggested that he is in drug rehab. However, this has been denied by his family. Roger is also a celebrity for his Indonesia soap opera appearances. Nevertheless, the going to ground is probably a smart move on his part because if he is using the police will find out. I am sure that this is small comfort to his young girlfriend who could probably do with some support from her man.

However, standard police practice in Indonesia with regards to drug allegations is to do a urine test. He is sure to take some flack for this as he probably will not be paying a visit to his girlfriend anytime soon or at least until any drugs that he has been taking have cleared the system. Although the police have said that they are not looking for him in relation to this case.

The sad part here is that Sheila is only 19 years old. The good thing here is that she is only 19 years old. If she wants to she should be able to recover from this and still have a career. It is being reported that over the last week in detention she has come closer to God. This is always a good ploy but if she really believed in God she probably should have considered getting a little closer a little sooner.

In Australia this offence would probably attract no jail time and perhaps a slap on the wrist in the form of a community service order. As a young starlet she could do a lot of good educating other youngsters about the dangers of drugs and the impact that it can have on your life and the lives of those around you.

Then again, it is Indonesia. I wonder how much jail time she will get?

Defamation in Indonesia -- The Prita Mulyasari Case

This is an interesting case for a number of reasons, but it has become infinitely more interesting now that the Tangerang District Court has handed down its decision on the merits of the case. In essence, the Court has thrown the case out based on the legal reasoning that the law under which Prita was charged has not come into force. This means that the indictment was invalid and the allegations charged on ineffective legal provisions.

There has been much discussion about the legitimacy of the judiciary with respect to the quality of the judges being permitted to sit on the bench. These discussion generally call for immediate reform and a cleaning of the slate. The idea being one where all of the "dead wood" would be swept away and only quality timber would remain. This decision is sure to re-ignite the judicial reform debate, if the debate needs any re-igniting.

A really brief background of the Prita (photo here) case is as follows. Prita went to the Omni International Hospital for treatment. Prita was unhappy with the treatment and wrote to a friend expressing her disappointment and horror at how she was treated. This written account found its way to a mailing list, and the rest is history so to speak, as the account spread like wildfire. Eventually, Omni found out about the claims and sued Prita for defamation.

Defamation in Indonesia is both a civil and criminal offense. The civil case was heard before the criminal case (which has just been thrown out). In the civil case, Omni won a decision against Prita for the defamation. The Court in the civil case ordered Prita to pay damages to Omni to the tune of IDR 312 million. The Office of the Public Prosecutor in Tangerang decided that it was going to pursue the criminal defamation complaint as well and then had Prita placed in the Tangerang prison while awaiting trial.

Indonesia has been in a rather lengthy debate as to whether a democracy such as Indonesia should even have criminal defamation laws on the Statute Books. However, this really is not the issue, as there are democracies elsewhere that have criminal defamation laws on their statute books but also restrictive definitions as to what can be subject to a criminal defamation prosecution.

So, within this framework, the jailing of a mother of two, where one of those children is a breast-feeding infant was sure to cause public outrage. Even better still was that this is an election year, and with a presidential election in early July, this was the perfect time for some political grandstanding. Prita was eventually released from prison after some intervention from at least two of the three presidential candidates; Jusuf Kalla and Megawati Soekarnoputri are never ones to miss an opportunity.

There were even some harsh words from the Attorney General suggesting that the public prosecutors had over-stepped the mark. There was at the time the sense that perhaps the hospital had lobbied hard for the prosecutors to make a move on the criminal defamation and proceed against Prita.

Probably more interesting still was the public response that pre-empted, and perhaps even prompted, the political response and ultimate release of Prita from prison. Cyber space swung into full force and within next to no time there were groups dedicated to Prita's cause and a campaign for her release. The ease and the size of the campaign and are testament to Indonesia's online community and their ability to get organized fast.

Now comes the truly interesting part. I am all for judges who are a little bit activist and judges who are creative and novel in how they approach the law. Yet, there are those times where you simply just have to shake your head and say, "what were they thinking?" This is one of those cases.

For the record, I do not think Prita should have been put in jail pending the criminal defamation trial. The reason I had avoided writing on this subject is that from a strict legal interpretation sense the criminal provisions with respect to defamation are not absolute and there are at least three identifiable get out of defamation free cards; the statements were in the public interest, the statements were uttered in self-defense, and the statements are not defamation but the truth.

It is worth noting that the Constitutional Court has heard arguments on defamation and has held that the criminal defamation provisions are not a breach of the constitutionally guaranteed rights if Indonesian citizens. The Court has also held that any more recent legislation on defamation is to be read in conjunction with any other law or regulation that purports to govern the substantive matter of the allegation. Specifically, this means that the Law on Information and Electronic Transactions (Law No. 11 of 2008), and in particular Article 27, must be read in conjunction with the Indonesian Criminal Code (Kitab Undang-undang Hukum Pidana / KUHP).

Defamation in Indonesia generally requires the insulting of one's honour or reputation. It would seem that Prita's statements to others would in a broad sense fit into this definition. Prita's defense against the allegation would be one or more of the exceptions noted earlier. Most likely here would be the public interest and that the statements are true.

The Tangerang District Court has however decided that Law No. 11 of 2008, which was enacted on 21 April 2008, does not come into force until 21 April 2010. Therefore, by the court's reasoning, the law is not officially in force and people cannot be charged under any provisions that it contains.

This is simply wrong. But, let's examine the rationale. The court relies on Article 54(2), which states the following:

All Government Regulations must be confirmed no later than two years after the enactment of this Law.

The court has therefore held that while there are pending subsidiary legislation to be confirmed the primary law is not in force.

However, this must be contrasted against Article 54(1) of the same Law, which states the following:

This Law comes into force on the date of its enactment.

Clearly, the primary law is in force according to the provisions of the law itself.

The judges have erred in their judgment on the merits of the legal basis of the case. The Office of the Public Prosecutor must appeal this case. The grounds for appeal are that the court has made a mistake of interpretation. Furthermore, the Article on which the Prita case is based, Article 27 of Law No. 11 of 2008, does not require any subsidiary legislation to be confirmed in order to be effective.

The impact of the decision is far-reaching in that all laws that have seen people charged, convicted, and detained based on a primary law where there was pending subsidiary legislation now have cause to go back and revisit the legal foundations of those cases. Lawyers in all pending cases need to look at whether there is a similar provision in the primary laws under which they have clients charged, as if there is pending subsidiary legislation then there are arguments to be made that the primary law is not in force.

There are also some serious questions to be asked where public prosecutors have brought cases to trial based on electronic evidence as defined in Law No. 11 of 2008. The serious questions here include, "if the law is not in force, then can the electronic evidence derived under its definitions be valid?"

Going forward the impact on legislators and drafters is that if they want a law to come into immediate force then the primary law must contain all the necessary provisions or primary laws must be submitted as a package deal with all the subsidiary legislation already prepared.

The decision needs to be overturned on appeal, if for no other reason, just to ensure legal certainty of legislation. The legal rationale and reasoning of the Tangerang District Court is wrong. It is unclear whether they were swayed by public opinion or feelings of "it is the right thing to do", but the decision is misguided. An Indonesian account of the decision can be found at Legal Minded by Ari Juliano Gema.

Once again, for the record, I am not for Prita being jailed. However, I am for the rule of law and proper enforcement of the law, and for all people to be treated equally under the law. The question of whether Prita has defamed Omni is a different question to the one being discussed here with respect to legal interpretation and the making of laws from the safety of the bench.

This is clearly not in the best interests of Prita (particularly if the case gets overturned on appeal), not in the best interests of Indonesia, and not in the best interests of the law.

The appeal is something I will certainly be watching.

No Remorse rather Defiance

The happy-go-lucky murderous trio of Amrozi, Samudra, and Mukhlas (photo is from AP and is of Mukhlas and Amrozi) continue to show no remorse for their actions that resulted in the deaths of 202 innocent children, women, and men.

To the contrary, the trio is proud of the horror that they perpetrated as this is what the infidels deserve. Samudra went as far as to say he would never apologise to the infidel.

In a move that they think will scare the Indonesian government into postponing the executions indefinitely, the three have guaranteed that retribution will be swift and furious if they are ever executed.

My personal opinion is that they have gotten a little carried away with their own celebrity and are overplaying their hand a little bit. The fact that these three convicted mass murderers have not been executed should be a source of embarrassment for the government of Indonesia.

Amrozi is not only not remorseful but confident that if he ever had the chance to do the same again he would without hesitation. The chances of jail ever rehabilitating him and preparing him for re-integration to the community is somewhere between zero and a snowflake's chance in hell.

The other claim these wanna be warriors of Allah are making is that any one involved in the execution will be forever condemned by God. Interesting that God does not condemn three men who ripped away the lives of so many in the name of their religion.

If this thought of eternal condemnation spooks the firing squad, I am sure there will be a line of people willing to take the shots themselves, and with no real care whether the three die quickly or slowly and in considerable pain. For many the pain of their losses on 12 October 2002 is still raw.

These men still believe that there was honour in their actions. I am yet to hear any justification that makes sense that these are the actions of honourable men. More to the point, all the talk now seems to be about avoiding the execution that they have been sentenced to. Where is the bravery now? I would have thought that the sooner the execution the better as you will be with God and a martyr to the cause.

These men are cowards of the highest order they are prepared to send innocents to their deaths but they are not prepared to die in the name of the cause themselves. It is strange that they think themselves to be so special, the chosen ones.

Even more interesting is that the three do not think that they will be executed this year! I wonder do they know something that the rest of us do not know. After all it was the Minister of Law and Human Rights that said that these three would be executed immediately after Eid ul-Fitr. It is time for the Indonesian Government to ante up and do what is required by law to be done.

Kidnapped: Reunited 23 Years Later...

I tend to spend the odd minute or two surfing the internet. Every now and then, a story jumps out for its horror, its tragedy, its bizarreness or, as in this case seemingly, a happy ending. A young woman who was kidnapped 23 years ago has finally been reunited with her birth mother. It is hard to imagine what sort of feelings one must have learning that you had been kidnapped and have in essence lost 23 years of a potential parallel life. So, when Carlina White / Nejdra Nance says it "felt like a dream", you still wonder whether even in your wildest dreams you would have dreamed that such a day would happen.

The story is one that probably happens a lot more than we care to allow ourselves to acknowledge. The kidnap of children is not a new phenomenon or crime. However, it is rare to here of such happy reunions after such a long period of time.

A 19-day-old Carlina was kidnapped in 1987. The story began with a simple fever and a trip to a Harlem hospital. It ended with Carlina being kidnapped by a woman posing as a nurse and spending the next 23 years living with an abusive "parent". Carlina ended-up pregnant herself at 16 and this is when she started connecting the dots of her own life. A request for a birth certificate could not be fulfilled. The suspicions began to come to the fore as to why that might be. Ultimately, Carlina bailed out of the abusive home in Connecticut and headed to Georgia.

While in Georgia, Carlina met up with the Center for Missing and Exploited Children. The Center filled in a few of the blanks and joined the rest of the dots. A DNA test and a few phone calls put Carlina back in contact with her birth mother, Joy White.

The emotions for Joy White and the rest of Carlina's long lost family most be overwhelming too, particularly when they are not only getting back a lost daughter, sister, cousin, aunt or whatever, but Carlina has since had a daughter herself.

Hopefully, this is a story that continues to have a happy ending.

Keddies Lawyers -- An Update

Today's Sydney Morning Herald is reporting that the allegations against Keddies Lawyers for professional misconduct, which includes falsifying documents and overcharging, is drawing many past clients out of the proverbial woodwork and many of these former clients consider themselves to be victims and have supporting evidence to "prove" their claims.

The claims of the clients will still have to go through the mill so to speak. It must be noted that none of the allegations are yet to be proven against Keddies. Nevertheless, the most recent former client to come out of the woodwork, Ms. Hsu Li Ching (photo), who has stated unequivocally that she was asked to sign forms that included blank spaces for compensation amounts to be claimed and paid as well as blank spaces for dates and other important information.

Ms. Hsu has received compensation cheques totalling some AUD 130,000 but she is unsure whether this represents the total amount awarded or it is the amount she receives after Keddies fees and expenses are deducted. I would be guessing this is the net amount after fees and other expenses have been deducted as a final bill was never sent to her with respect to the payout or the fees deducted.

The longer this goes on and the more digging that gets done the more horror stories emerge. Another former Keddies client received less than a third of her AUD 150,000 payout after Keddies fees and expenses were deducted. The client in this case was a Ms. Cissy Chen who after suffering her compensation claimable accident returned to Beijing. Keddies sent its then Chinese Liaison Officer to Beijing to get signatures on documents and Ms. Chen was one of the clients that were alleged to have signed documents.

It must be noted that the Chinese Liaison Officer in this instance is an Australian Citizen, Mr. Lee Sheng. Mr. Lee is now involved in a legal dispute with Keddies as he has since been dismissed from his Keddies employment. However, the signature of Mr. Lee appears on the forms supposedly signed by Ms. Chen but unfortunately when the dates signed are compared to Mr. Lee's passport one finds that Mr. Lee was not even in Beijing on those dates.

In conjunction with the earlier post it is clear that a pattern of overcharging is emerging. It is going to be interesting to see how Keddies justifies fees that are regularly taking upwards of 65% of the compensation payments awarded to Keddies clients.

I guess the Office of the Legal Services Commissioner still has some work to do yet in order to finalize the complaints against Keddies Lawyers and particularly the claim by Russell Keddie that his firm has never demanded that clients sign forms with blank spaces.

Watch this space...

Manohara Odelia Pinot -- Part III

The more I read about the Manohara (photo courtesy of The Jakarta Globe) case the more interesting it becomes in that slowing down as one goes past a car crash kind of a way. The story has all the ingredients for a TV movie, perhaps even a series or soap opera. It seems that these things are all possible with Manohara receiving numerous offers from local production houses in Indonesia. There has even been a suggestion that she will play herself in any movie of her story.

If the allegations of rape, torture, and other abuse is true, I really cannot fathom why you would want to play yourself and relive the horror. But, then again it is not me so I don't really know what motivates either Manohara or her mother, who seems to enjoy being in the spotlight. Although, reports suggest that Manohara is keen to continue her education in a business related field. Good luck to her on that front.

I strongly believe that an education is important. Let's face it, if your entertainment career does not pan out then at least you have other skills on which to fall back on to make ends meet.

No matter what happens, it would appear that Manohara is going to convert her new found fame as a result of her alleged trauma into an entertainment career, according to her mother they are still sifting through the offers and will ultimately choose one of them. Good luck to them both on that front as well.

Manohara's father is an American and her step-father is a Frenchman. Not too drama filled on that front. However, there is drama outside of Manohara's alleged abuse. The drama revolves around her mother, Daisy Fajarina, who it is alleged is subject to an Interpol warrant for her arrest relating to the abuse of a maid while she was living in France. It is being suggested that the reason Manohara and her mother fled France was not only the divorce of Daisy and her French husband, but the pending arrest.

If this is true, and there is a red notice with Interpol for her arrest then it does not make any sense for Daisy to be leaving the country. Also of interest is that the Malaysian authorities apparently know about this red notice. So, I would have figured they would have arrested her had she turned up on their shores.

Daisy would seem to be pretty safe in Indonesia as there is no extradition treaty between Indonesia and France. Nevertheless, the French want her for trial and I have no doubt would have broached the subject with their Indonesian counterparts both in Jakarta and Paris.

Somewhat ironic that Daisy is so vocal about her daughter being allegedly abused but not having too many problems about abusing others (allegedly).

The plot thickens.

Learning Languages...

I have always had a fascination with learning, and in particular learning languages. I guess this stems from the fact that I have always had a knack for picking up languages easily. I once tried to learn Vietnamese, perhaps tried is the wrong word, and after 16 hours of learning my teacher, a South Vietnamese refugee who ended up re-settling in Australia, could not believe that I had never had a lesson before. He seemed to think I was pretty good at it.

I also learned French for a couple of terms in junior high school. I was pretty good at French too. However, much to my mum's horror, I stopped learning French after a couple of terms because I succumbed to peer pressure. My friends were adamant that only "gay" people spoke French, and at 12 I really did not think that I wanted to be gay. Not that I am really sure that I knew what gay was all about back then.

However, I recently bought "French for Dummies" and I am going to teach myself (or re-acquire the limited skills I once had) French. The reason for this undertaking is nothing more than I want to learn and I am keen to learn at least three more languages. At the moment those languages are French, Welsh, and Arabic. I have decided to start with French.

Maybe my next post will be in bad French :D

Sumpah Pocong...

Sumpah Pocong is often referred to as the ultimate oath. However, it is more like an oath of innocence. Sumpah pocong involves the oath taker being wrapped in white cloth and then swearing an oath to their innocence. The white cloth that the oath taker is wrapped in resembles the death robes or shroud that Muslims are buried in. Therefore, the sumpah pocong is considered to be the ultimate oath because one is said to risk death or chronic illness if they lie about their innocence while wrapped up.

The sumpah pocong has always been a part of the Indonesian cultural landscape, and there is many a horror film that uses the pocong as a means of instilling fear. However, the sumpah pocong is coming back to the fore as a means of attempting to clear one's name in legal disputes. Prita Mulyasari, who has been battling the state and public prosecutors in a defamation matter has recently offered to take one, a sumpah pocong that is, as a means of declaring her innocence of a defamation charge.

I am not sure how the sumpah pocong would do this other than perhaps to indicate that Prita did not intend to defame Omni International Hospital. But, a more pertinent question would be, "how long should the courts wait to see whether Prita has told the truth?" This is important because the risk of lying while doing the sumpah pocong is death or chronic illness. It is my understanding that death and chronic illness may not necessarily be instantaneous if the oath taker tells a little fib about their innocence.

In any event, in a case from Banyuwangi in East Java, Rahmatulloh has offered to take a sumpah pocong to prove that he is innocent of charges that he is a shaman (dukun) and that he did not kill his nephew, Hamid, by using black magic on him. Hamid's father, Pon, claimed that Rahmatulloh used black magic to kill his son as his son was healthy one day and then died after suffering from some bizarre symptoms. This presupposes that bizarre symptoms are indicative of black magic. Maybe, the villagers need to sit down and watch a few episodes of House to see that bizarre and weird symptoms are not always indicative of black magic.

TV One carried some coverage of the sumpah pocong being performed. The sumpah pocong oath is usually done in a local mosque under the guidance of an agreed religious leader of the relevant community.

The video is in Indonesian and is embedded below.

Why Are The FPI Anti-Miyabi?

The Islamic Defenders' Front are against all things Miyabi. Generally, they are against all things Miyabi for no other reason than she is a porn star. Yes, she makes films where she takes her clothes off and has sex with men and women. These films do a roaring trade on the streets of Indonesia, usually in their pirated versions.

However, the following photos clearly show that Miyabi, whose real name is Maria Ozawa, is in fact very much sympathetic to all things Indonesian. For example, Miyabi is a firm believer in law and order. She has been photographed here astride a rather large police motorbike to highlight her ongoing support for the difficult job that Indonesian police have. Especially now that it has become an offense to use one's mobile phone while driving, including using it to SMS.

In this screen capture it is obvious that Miyabi is sympathetic to the religious obligations of Muslims during and after the fasting month. So much so that she has worn a headscarf and asked her many fans to resist temptation during the fasting month. In that sense, Miyabi is very much on the same page as the FPI, right? (no need to mind that this is a really good effort on photoshop software).

Finally, Miyabi has become so much a part of Indonesian culture that the biggest noodle producer in the world, Indofood, has honoured her with her own range of instant noodles.

There are just so many more important things for Indonesians to worry about other than whether a foreign porn star comes to Indonesia to make a horror-comedy film. And, for most Indonesians, they realise this. It is too bad that the FPI have this obsession on Miyabi and such an unhealthy fixation on her every move. So, it was mildly amusing to me that the FPI made suggestions that they would be prepared to vet Miyabi's most recent effort on film, Hantu Tanah Kusir, for pornography if the producers of the film facilitated free tickets for them to do so.

Hmmm...Ho Hum!

Postscript
It seems that Firman, the commenter to this post, has been asking why I did not cite the sources. He seemed to think that I was claiming them as images that I had created myself. I did not create these images. I have now added the sources where I pulled them off the internet from. They may or may not have originated on Kaskus. I did not get the images from Kaskus.

Generally, I make it a habit of citing all sources or at least saying something lame like "all images are freely available on the internet". This post was done with a view to getting back to citing the sources at some point this evening. I wrote the post and included the images and then went out. Now that I am back home and have had a little chuckle at the to and fro about where these pictures came from, I have gone back into my files and pulled the sources. The are now cited. Hopefully, this puts Firman's mind at rest with regards to the origins of the versions of the images posted here.

Top of the evening to y'all!

FPI Wants to Study Miyabi's Latest Movie...

For the too funny category!

There are some things that are made to bring humour into our lives and alleviate the boredom that we are sometimes prone to feel. I do not intend to make light of the seriousness of the FPI threat nor the fact that they are a bunch of violence prone white-robed thugs that are more than willing to beat you into compliance with their medieval ways in their desire to see Indonesia become the Arabian Peninsula of the 7th Century. Yet, when their leader, Habib Umar Salim or "Hey Baby", comes out and says that the Islamic Defenders' Front (FPI) must first study Miyabi's first foray into Indonesian horror films to determine if it is pornography, is extremely amusing.

The image of a group of white-robed thugs watching Miyabi while their hands are strategically placed under their flowing robes so as not to embarrass themselves should make even the hardest anti-FPI person chuckle. The whole idea of having to watch the film is reminiscent of the FPI's claims to only be buying the Indonesian version of Playboy Magazine to confirm their suspicions that it was pornographic and not because they were intent on sticking the pages together so no one else could read such filth.

Hey Baby led his goons to the Maxima offices to protest the imminent arrival of Miyabi. Miyabi is supposedly heading to Indonesia to promote her film, Hantu Tanah Kusir. Maybe she has already landed in Bali or somewhere and thus leaving the FPI clutching nothing but their ...! Or maybe the whole idea that Miyabi is coming (no pun intended) to Indonesia is nothing more than a classic controversial marketing campaign.

The FPI definition of pornography is any film that includes kissing scenes with only thin clothing separating the kissers. Obviously, Hey Baby has not heard the term "Clothes Sex", you know, the simulated sex scenes while one is fully clothed (I am sure there is a much coarser word than sex though, I wonder what it is?). Hey Baby, not to be deterred and becoming somewhat emboldened by all the attention, went on to state that striptease scenes are pornographic. A striptease scene might include any scene where the actors (presumably the female ones) are wearing hot pants or skirts that do not come below the knee. If Miyabi's film includes any scenes like those ones described then it satisfies the FPI's definition of a film that is pornographic and morally reprehensible.

Strangely enough, according to Detik.com, the FPI protest did not eventuate because they did not get a permit from the police in time. If only the FPI were that law-abiding all of the time.

Australia Day - Are You a True Blue Aussie?

This is something spotted in the Sydney Morning Herald today and written by Richard Glover. I include it here for no other reason than it made me smile and think of home. I have been based on Jakarta now for the past 15 years on and off with there being more on than off during that time. As I said if you read this and it puts a smile on your dial then perhaps you are more Aussie than you remember...


TODAY you'll probably want to party, celebrating all the things that make us unique. But how do you tell if you are a true Aussie? Here are my 43 top ways to tell if you're a local.

You know you're Australian if …

1. You know the meaning of the word "girt".
2. You believe that stubbies can be either drunk or worn.
3. You think it's normal to have a leader called Kevin.
4. You waddle when you walk due to the 53 expired petrol discount vouchers stuffed in your wallet or purse.
5. You've made a bong out of your garden hose rather than use it for something illegal such as watering the garden.
6. You believe it is appropriate to put a rubber in your son's pencil case when he first attends school.
7. When you hear that an American "roots for his team" you wonder how often and with whom.
8. You understand that the phrase "a group of women wearing black thongs" refers to footwear and may be less alluring than it sounds.
9. You pronounce Melbourne as "Mel-bin".
10. You pronounce Penrith as "Pen-riff".
11. You believe the "l" in the word "Australia" is optional.
12. You can translate: "Dazza and Shazza played Acca Dacca on the way to Maccas."
13. You believe it makes perfect sense for a nation to decorate its highways with large fibreglass bananas, prawns and sheep.
14. You call your best friend "a total bastard" but someone you really, truly despise is just "a bit of a bastard".
15. You think "Woolloomooloo" is a perfectly reasonable name for a place.
16. You're secretly proud of our killer wildlife.
17. You believe it makes sense for a country to have a $1 coin that's twice as big as its $2 coin.
18. You understand that "Wagga Wagga" can be abbreviated to "Wagga" but "Woy Woy" can't be called "Woy".
19. You believe that cooked-down axlegrease makes a good breakfast spread.
20. You believe all famous Kiwis are actually Australian, until they stuff up, at which point they again become Kiwis.
21. Hamburger. Beetroot. Of course.
22. You know that certain words must, by law, be shouted out during any rendition of the Angels' song Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again.
23. You believe, as an article of faith, that the confectionary known as the Wagon Wheel has become smaller with every passing year.
24. You still don't get why the "Labor" in "Australian Labor Party" is not spelt with a "u".
25. You wear ugh boots outside the house.
26. You believe, as an article of faith, that every important discovery in the world was made by an Australian but then sold off to the Yanks for a pittance.
27. You believe that the more you shorten someone's name the more you like them.
28. Whatever your linguistic skills, you find yourself able to order takeaway fluently in every Asian language.
29. You understand that "excuse me" can sound rude, while "scuse me" is always polite.
30. You know what it's like to swallow a fly, on occasion via your nose.
31. You understand that "you" has a plural and that it's "youse".
32. You know it's not summer until the steering wheel is too hot to handle.
33. Your biggest family argument over the summer concerned the rules for beach cricket.
34. You shake your head in horror when companies try to market what they call "Anzac cookies".
35. You still think of Kylie as "that girl off Neighbours".
36. When returning home from overseas, you expect to be brutally strip-searched by Customs - just in case you're trying to sneak in fruit.
37. You believe the phrase "smart casual" refers to a pair of black tracky-daks, suitably laundered.
38. You understand that all train timetables are works of fiction.
39. When working on a bar, you understand male customers will feel the need to offer an excuse whenever they order low-alcohol beer.
40. You get choked up with emotion by the first verse of the national anthem and then have trouble remembering the second.
41. You find yourself ignorant of nearly all the facts deemed essential in the government's new test for migrants.
42. You know, whatever the tourist books say, that no one says "cobber".
43. And you will immediately forward this list to other Australians, here and overseas, realising that only they will understand.


Happy Australia Day.

Indonesian Films and Foreign Porn Stars...

Another Indonesian film and another foreign porn star. I guess it is a matter of if it ain't broke then why fix it? The reality is that it makes good business sense to get a token appearance from a foreign porn star. Let's face it, putting a foreign porn star into your film ensures that you are going to get plenty of press, free press, which is simply advertising that you could not get any other way. Well, you could pay for it, of course.

What is even more amusing than local Indonesian production houses teasing the Islamic Defenders Front (FPI) and other hard-line religious groups is that all the films that the foreign porn stars are getting to star in a comedy-horror (or is that horrific comedy) films. The latest offering is Pocong Mandi Goyang Pinggul (which is in essence a corpse wrapped in a sheet who shakes her hips while she bathes). So, the US porn star that has been offered the part, in this soon to be classic, is Sasha Grey.

The fact that Grey speaks no Indonesia is no hindrance to her playing the lead role. All of Grey's lines are in English. Grey has already filmed her part without every having to leave Los Angeles. So, the production houses, in this instance K2K Production, seem to have learned that it is often easier to shoot the porn actresses scenes overseas and then just edit them into the rest of the film that will be shot on site in Indonesia. And, if there was any need for Indonesian actors to be in the porn stars scenes then they would be flown to the overseas location.

It is expected that the film will be in Indonesian cinemas (bioskop) by 28 April 2011.

So, Sasha Grey has joined Maria Ozawa (Miyabi), Rin Sakuragi, Sora Aoi, and Tera Patrick in an ever-growing line of foreign porn stars who have crossed over from skin flicks on the "blue" screen to the silver screen.

As usual, here are some of the tamer pictures of Sasha Grey that can be pulled from the internet.

Indonesia and Foreign Labor

There are lots of expatriates in Indonesia. However, this is just an impression as I have not yet bothered to enquire of the Indonesian immigration services as to exact numbers but I will over the next couple of days! There are probably many expats who have a horror or perhaps even a funny story related to the trials and tribulations that are working in Indonesia and dealing with Indonesian immigration officials.

However, some of these stories probably relate to the incompetent businesses and companies that often employ them and as often seek to circumvent the applicable rules such as paying the USD 100 per month foreigner tax or employing someone in a different capacity to that which was claimed in the application process.

A recent decision from the Industrial Relations Court had opportunity to canvass some of these issues and the decision that was handed-down apparently does very little to clarify the position of expatriate labor in Indonesia but in fact makes any foreigner employed in Indonesia susceptible to the strong-armed tactics of employers. The applicant in this case is a foreigner and the claim was that more than 30 violations of the Indonesian Employment Law (Law No. 13 of 2003) were committed in the recruiting, hiring, and subsequent firing of this person.

As I said, I have not seen the decision yet and will not comment definitively until I have. But if the grapevine is true to its word, and it usually is, then this is a story I will post more on when I have it. Apparently, the decision is going to be appealed so perhaps there will be more wide-spread media coverage of the nitty gritty details for us to peruse.

More Maria Ozawa (AKA Miyabi) and Her Non-Porn Film Career...

I am a sucker for site visitors, not. But, I could not but help noticing that my blog stats as they relate to visitors searching for particular material and visiting certain pages highlighted that there are a lot of people out there searching for Maria Ozawa and Miyabi. It is also worth noting that the majority of these are from Indonesian IPs.

It seems that Mari Ozawa, the Japanese porn star with Japanese - Canadian heritage, courts as much controversy in keeping her clothes on as she does taking them off. However, this is probably because more people would prefer to see her with her clothes off.

Nevertheless, it appears that Miyabi might be trying to construct a non-porn film career. "Kidnapping Miyabi" is her second clothed film (some might say mainstream film, but who am I to judge) after last year's "Invitation Only", a Taiwanese slasher / horror film.

Now, Kidnapping Miyabi has a very basic story line, Miyabi is in Indonesia as a tourist where some infatuated undergraduates decide to kidnap her. The film has all the potential to become a porn flick. Let's face it these undergraduates are infatuated with Miyabi for one reason only; they have watched all her porno films and have probably self-gratified during a few of them, and on seeing her in the flesh, real life flesh, they figured they probably would not mind a few rounds themselves.

Admittedly, I have not seen the script, and I am unlikely to be bothered watching the film when it comes out. The whole premise seems a little silly to me. Maybe I am just getting old, but there is probably a reason why big name porn stars have not been able to successfully cross over into mainstream films. Perhaps Ron Jeremy or Traci Lords have a view or two on this. But, it seems that for most porn stars they lose their allure and charm when they have their gear on.

Although, to be fair to Lords, she has appeared in a number of mainstream movies and TV shows, such as Tommyknockers, Married...with Children, and MacGyver, among others. Ron Jeremy has also done some non-porn stuff that has tended to capitalize on his porn star fame like: Fuck: A Fuckumentary.

So, to all my happy Miyabi searchers, this one is for you.

Enjoy!