Mumbai Bomb Blasts India

At 19.24 just a few moment after I’ve done my Ashr prayer, Mr. Amar Makruf, Minister Councillor KBRI (Indonesia Embassy) New Delhi sms-ed me telling me about several bomb blasts just took place in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), the industrial capital of India with 22 deaths and 150 injured and he offered the condolences to those victims and families and hoped that it would not occur in any other parts of Indian cities including in New Delhi where many Indonesians reside.

I quickly turned the TV on and watched the continuous LIVE coverage of Indian local news channels. So, the serial bomb blast occurred between 18.00 - 18.30 local time (+5.30 GMT)
 Read more

Grateful Being Far Away from Israel

Grateful Being Far Away from IsraelI love my country Indonesia simply because it’s geographically far away from Israel. How could you imagine, all of a sudden in the middle of the night an Israeli bomb are falling down like rain on monsoon season as what happens in the Gaza strip.

As it is also happening in Lebanon now. And what will you do if that happens? Nothing. Nobody, no institution even like UN can defend your sovereignty or at least your legitimate right. Because, when Israel has the appetite to kill you, in which case you are in a second away from eternity, you just simply surrender and nothing you can do about it.

Read more

Corrupt Democracy or “Clean” Tyranny?

coup thailand People in developing countries are facing many challenges the most basic of which are corruption, injustices and poverty; widening gap between the rich and the poor; the deficit of trust between the ruler and the subject. In Indonesia, with life is getting harder on grass root level, many start murmurming about and romanticizing the “good old days” when Suharto’s tyrannical rule was prevalent.

In other words, for those downtrodden people who are facing difficulties to get their daily basic need, a meal a day for them and their kids, tyrannical system is relatively better as far as it can fulfill their basic needs than the so-called democratic system with its full-fledged idealistic yet unapplicative values. Former autocratic ruler of Indonesia, President Suharto, once said, “What the people need is good economy. As far they can afford to buy their daily needs, they will keep quiet.”
 Read more

Blogger Indonesia of the Week (43): Anymatters

These days have been a difficult days for Yogyakarta people and Indonesian bloggers are swiftly and aptly expressing their condolences and solidarities with their own various ways. The most common is by posting something relating to do with the 6.2 earthquake. Anymatters who is studying finance at Victoria University of Wellington are one of those.

In his latest entry, he posts the details and the causes of the quake in Jogjakarta from scientific point of view based on his “interview” with an Indonesian scientist who are doing a PhD in New Zealand.He wrote

Read more

Blogger Indonesia of the Week (41): Martin Manurung

Indonesia Political-Economy Blog

Indonesia blogs are growing. And grow fast. One thing that doesn’t grow, or grows so slowly is ’serious’ content, especially when we talk about English-speaking Indonesian blogger. When I talk about serious topic, it means politics and economy. Two most important components as far as a country or a nation goes, apart from culture.

There are of course many Indonesia blogs which discuss those two serious topics all of which unfortunately in Bahasa Indonesia a language that can be understood only by limited audience in a few neighboring countries like Malaysia, Brunei, southern part of Thailand and small part of Malay-Singaporean.There are at least two reasons behind the reluctant tendency on the part of our economist and political scientist to blog in their expertise and in English. First, the lack of appreciation or support from their Indonesian (blogger) counterparts. Second, the Indonesian bloggers’ reluctance to visit and/or make a comment to their posting.

Read more

Iraqi Teenager Raped and Murdered by US Soldiers

Four US soldiers have been charged with raping and murdering a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and killing her family.

Documents showed that the rape victim was aged 14, and not over 20 as US officials had said.

Court documents had given the raped girl’s estimated age as 25, although US military officials in Iraq say their documents have her as 20.
 Read more

Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s Death

Would the death of Al Qaeda leader in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, make any difference at all as far as the civil war in Iraq is concerned? Unlikely. But as far as President Bush poll rating goes, it certainly does make an impact one way or another. For Bush and Blair to some extent, that’s what matters.
Read more

Nuclear Iran

Iran is going nuclear, as announced by Iranian President Ahmadinejad yesterday broadcast live on CNN. Not nuclear weapons, mind you. It’s nuclear energy. And it will remain so for at least 10 years time even if Iran wanna to make it (Iran insist it does not). But why so much hype in international media around the uranium enrichment Iran has started producing?

See the mainstream world media and headlines and world politicians reactions: “Time for Strong steps over Iran”, says Condoleezza Rice. “World criticism mounts over Iran’s nuclear step,” a title from REUTERS. And no less than Israel most “liberal” newspapers doesnt want to be left behind in the blaming game “A nuclear Iran is a threat to the free world.” (Haareetz, 12/04/06)
 Read more

Hamid Awaluddin: They are Paid Protesters

Note from the meeting with Minister of Justice Hamid Awaluddin

Before question & answer session, Ambassador Donillo Anwar requested the Minister to brief us regarding the latest information on current events in Indonesia. Interesting to note that the first word he said was regarding the intense protests currently prevailing in Indonesia and media.
Read more

← Previous Page — Next Page →