Luna Maya Returns to Twitter...

What is it with this grabbing the dog from behind picture. Everywhere one goes looking for a Luna Maya picture, this is one of the first ones to appear...





Luna Maya (@lunmay) has returned to the Twittering fold and reactivated her account on the microblogging site. I guess this means you cannot keep a good woman down, even if you lodge a criminal defamation complaint against her?

The Luna Maya fiasco erupted when some infotainment journalists became a little over-zealous in their pursuit of the interview and photo that we mere mortals crave in our daily celebrity fix. During the ensuing free-for-all Ariel's (the boyfriend of LM) little girl was clocked in the head with a camera or something. This led to the famous tweet comparing infotainment journalists to prostitutes and murderers. Subsequently, the Luna Maya Twitter account disappeared after a short apology was posted.

But, it is back! There have been no new tweets apparently. Apparently is because I do not tweet or twitter and I am going on what others have said. Ah, the beauty of second hand information.

What is interesting is that the Minister of Communication and Information, Tifatul Sembiring, has come out and said that the Information and Electronic Transactions Law that the Indonesian Journalists Association (PWI) is using as the basis of its criminal defamation claim was not drafted not designed for this sort of criminal defamation action.

According to Sembiring, the ITE Law was drafted and is designed to prevent computer related crimes such as credit card fraud and hacking., That said, it would seem that Article 27 also seems to open the door for arguments that the ITE Law also conceives that criminal defamation might also be a crime within the scope of the law.

As usual, a Luna Maya post lends itself to some gratuitous picture posting.

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.

Gus Dur - RIP

Abdurrahman Wahid or Gus Dur as he was affectionately known has passed away. Gus Dur dies Wednesday at 18.45 at the Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital in Jakarta.

He was 69.

Gus Dur led the Nahdlatul Ulama. He was also President of the Republic of Indonesia from October 1999 through October 2001.

He is survived by a wife and four daughters.

Merry Christmas!

Dear All (for those who celebrate this time of year)...

I hope that you and yours had a very Merry Christmas!

Santa was good to us, and we had a wonderful day with family. We are already looking forward to next year.

How Bad is Kerobokan Prison?

I want to see the word laogai in every dictionary in every language in the world. I want to see the laogai ended. Before 1974, the word 'gulag' did not appear in any dictionary. Today, this single word conveys the meaning of Soviet political violence and its labour camp system. 'Laogai' also deserves a place in our dictionaries.

-- Harry Wu
the laogai are Chinese labour camps.

Kerobokan prison has been the subject of a recent book by Kathryn Bonella titled 'Hotel K'. The prison has been described and characterized as a veritable hellhole that people battle to survive in. However, as Bonella notes in her book, the guards are corrupt and life's little luxuries are always available for the right price.

Kerobokan houses Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine.

Yet, what inspired this post, aside from the above quote, was that I read recently that Kerobokan makes Guantanamo Bay look like a five star resort. Now, I have not been to Cuba so I cannot say with authority however it strikes me as unlikely that favours and better conditions are for sale there.

The reality of Kerobokan is that prisoners with resources can purchase a cell 'upgrade' and enjoy some of the finer things of prison life such as delivered food and freedom to roam.

Prison is not supposed to be summer camp. You are supposed to be punished for crimes that you have committed. I am sure that Kerobokan is not a nice place, and I am sure that I am glad I am not inside. However, to compare it to places like Guantanamo Bay or to suggest it is the worst prison in Asia or the world undermines the credibility of those making such comments. It also serves to shine light on the ways in which prisoners of means can play the system and garner more favourable conditions during they forced stay.

Is Kerobokan the worst prison in Indonesia? No. Is Kerobokan the worst prison in Asia? No. Is Kerobkan the worst prison in the world? No. Is it a fun place to be? No!

I wonder if Schapelle has benefited from the 'corruption' of Kerobokan and upgraded her cell or enjoyed any other benefits that money can buy?

Schapelle Corby -- Depressed and Desperate?

It has been a while since I last wrote a Schapelle Corby related post. There has been no reason for this, other than not being bothered. I am planning on writing a couple (I might do them all in a row now that I am onto it). This particular post was inspired by some email I received asking me what I thought about her deteriorating mental state and whether she should be repatriated to Australia for treatment. It was also inspired by the above recent New Idea cover.

The picture, as they say, tells a thousand words. So, I won't bore you with a thousand more analyzing, but rather, I will just bore you with a few observations.

1. Why is it that New Idea has an exclusive deal with new tidbits of Schapelle Corby related information? Is there a media deal in place? Is Schapelle profiting from this exclusive deal?

2. How does this exclusive deal advance the campaign to bring Schapelle Corby home?

3. A recent report from Dr. Jonathon Phillips stated that Schapelle Corby was severely depressed, harming herself (allegedly cutting herself with a piece of glass), had regressed into a child like state, and who is not likely to survive prison. However, this picture (above) does not paint that scenario, of a desperate and depressed woman, does it?

4. In contrast, her regular doctor, Dr. Thong, has argued that Schapelle Corby is depressed and anxious. But, with medication that is taken as it is prescribed to be, Schapelle Corby can function normally and within the parameters of what is expected of a person in her situation.

5. I have argued pretty consistently that Schapelle Corby has been found guilty and exhausted her appeals, and no amount of rearguing and rehashing the evidence is likely to change this fact. The focus must now be on how to speed up the process of repatriation. I firmly believe that five years is more than enough time for the crime that she has been convicted of. However, a cover such as this one and an open letter to Australians has not seemed to endear her to the wider Australian populace. In fact, popular support seems to be running along the lines of, if you do the crime you must do the time. This is sad, sad for Schapelle Corby.

6. If part of the strategy is to generate support for the idea that Schapelle Corby has done enough time for the crime she has been convicted of, then it is time to broaden the base of appeal. It should not matter whether you think she is innocent or guilty in order to join the movement for repatriation. As long as you think she has done enough time and deserves to be repatriated, then that is enough. Unfortunately, this is not the case. It seems that in order to be a supporter you have to be a true believer in that Schapelle Corby is an innocent victim; a political porn in some geo-political game, where you must toe the single party line.

Perhaps this is why I have not written more frequently. I support the idea that Schapelle Corby has done enough time, but I cannot bring myself to ascribe to the party line. I wonder how many more people like me are out there; people wanting to help, but also turned off by the constant derision from true believers if you are not prepared to declare your support for innocence.

Sad really, very sad.

Barongsai / Lion Dance Banned in Aceh...

The Religious Affairs Office in Aceh has decided in its infinite wisdom to ban the barongsai dance from Aceh. The reason, Acehnese will not understand it, and therefore any new things must be introduced slowly and explained. It seems that the Religious Affairs Office was worried that the majority of Muslim Acehnese would not like the lion dance, and to allow it to be performed would be tantamount to sowing the seeds of conflict in the province.

The barongsai or lion dance is a traditional Chinese cultural performance. In commemorations of the fifth anniversary of the 2004 tsunami tragedy that devastated Aceh and other places, Acehnese Buddhists were going to perform a series of lion dances throughout Aceh.

It is worth noting that the lion dance is not a religious event, but rather it is a cultural one. Those that believe in the dance believe that it may help in calming restless spirits. My guess, if you believe in that sort of thing, is that there probably are a few restless spirits out there considering the nature of the tragedy that unfolded on that fateful day.

Aceh has special autonomy and this affords them a large degree of flexibility in governing their own affairs. This special autonomy also includes special privileges with respect to implementing religious laws. However, it would seem that the decision was not, at least in the official sense, based on religious concerns, but rather basic law and order ones.

If this is the case, then the national prohibitions regarding the lion dance and its performance have been expunged since 2000. Therefore, the government, via the Department of Religious Affairs, needs to step in and have a few words to the local Religious Affairs Office about how best to execute their responsibilities.

Then again, Aceh has been on a bit of a role lately with local government action on the legislation front including enacting legislation to stone adulterers.

Oh well.

Liberty...

Every law is contrary to liberty.

-- Jeremy Bentham (1748 - 1832)
Principles of the Civil Code (1843)

This undoubtedly applies to every nation and every individual in the world. However, I post it here as I have been thinking about the pending criminal trial of Prita Mulyasari and the recent Twitter spat of Luna Maya and the use of the Information and Electronic Transactions Law (ITE Law) in Indonesia.

I am particularly interested in the different ways that journalists view this law as a restriction on free speech. The Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI) in Indonesia has campaigned against the law whereas the Indonesian Association of Journalists (PWI) has decided to use the provisions of the law to file a criminal defamation complaint.

These are indeed interesting times in which we live.

Will, Santa, and Christmas 2009...

Happy holidays to all.

For those celebrating Christmas, may it be a wonderful time for you all shared with family and friends.

This photo of Will was taken on Saturday. We had been enjoying a day at the markets at Warwick Farm and Liverpool. While we were at Liverpool, Santa was doing the rounds. So, we thought it as good a time as any to get a happy snappy of Will with Santa. However, it seems that Will is not so sure that the fat man in the red suit is all that cool.

I am sure that over time Will will come to appreciate Santa and Mrs. Claus, especially if the Christmas stocking continues to be filled in the same way that it is this year!