Indonesia, Immigration, and a New Law...

It has been a while since I have bothered to write on any Indonesian laws. I continue to read them regularly, perhaps daily might be a more accurate description. I read for two reasons: to keep up-to-date and to keep my language skills up to speed. However, I figured I might jot down a few points about the new immigration law. I thought that I would do this for no other reason than having a

Indonesian Nationals and Foreign Spouses...

Whenever I have had an extended break from posting I always feel the need to apologise for my absence. I am not sure why that is. Maybe it is that I really enjoy posting odds and ends on my blog, and the fact that I have been way so irregular in doing that probably bothers me more than it bothers anyone else. But hey, duty or work calls and I have been busy doing the thing that pays my

The Evolution Of A Corruptor...

Something that I picked up off Facebook...Good to see that Indonesians, even in these testing times, have a sense of humour.

Watching Porn and Thoughts of Rape and Pedophilia...

It is interesting how an argument that links pornography to all sorts of society ills is trotted out to justify a crackdown. There is a distinct difference between arguments regarding the morality of porn and arguments about porn leading to increases in occurrences of rape and pedophilia. So, when high ranking individuals in government ministries, agencies, or the police force make statements to

How Much Time Should Ariel Do For A Sex Tape?

Here is the crux of this case: "have the prosecutors proved that Ariel was involved in the distribution of either the tape of him having sex with Luna Maya or the tape of him having sex with Cut Tari?" The answer must inform the judges when making their decision. Based on the evidence which has been adduced in court, the answer to this question is "no". The prosecutors have not satisfied the

Who Owns Facebook and What is it Really Worth?

The ongoing spat between the Minister for [Mis]Communication and [Mis]Information, Tifatul Sembiring (aka TitS), and RIM over porn and taxes (whoever it was that said the two certain things in life were 'death and taxes' had not met TitS) got me thinking about over companies that could conceivably be making pots of cash out of their Indonesian presence and not paying a Rupiah for the pleasure.So,

Foreign Sex Tourism to Bali..

I read this the other day and sort of pondered whether to write about it or not. I pondered because writing about how the system fails so enormously might encourage pedophiles to chance their hand in the wild frontiers of child sex tourism that are the poor provinces of Eastern Bali. The most impoverished of the provinces; Singaraja, Buleleng, and Karangasem, are those that are most at risk.Sadly

BlackBerry, Blocking Porn, and a Threat from TitS...

Tifatul Sembiring (TitS) has a problem with porn. He does not like it. He wants the porn industry shutdown in Indonesia and he wants to make sure the heathens and infidels in other lands who are the purveyors of porn and hell-bent on the destruction of the Indonesian way of life, can no longer see their objectionable content available to the Indonesian masses who crave it.According to TitS, his

Luna Maya Is Sad...

I abominate all honourable respectable toils, trials, and tribulations of every kind whatsoever. It is quite as much as I can do to take care of myself ...- Ishmael (From Moby Dick)It is the essence of gossip that there are so many personal struggles that would be time better spent that gloating over the trials and tribulations of others as we watch their lives unravel on national TV and in the

Has Obama Quit Smoking?

Robert Gibbs, the White House Press Secretary, has said he has not seen the "Boss" on the cancer sticks for some nine months. However, he knows that the smoking habit (or addiction) is one that the President struggles with on a  daily basis. Yet, there has been some suggestion that Obama has gone "cold turkey" and no longer smokes. Let's face it, if the man was not smoking, he would surely be

Muslim Women Travelling Without Male Kin...

The fact that Indonesian migrant workers, especially women, are abused overseas is a tragedy. However, the fact that some would use this to push an agenda that says Muslim women should not travel far from home without male relatives by their side almost reads like, "well, you travel alone and against the wishes of Allah, then you get what you deserve!"To then say that you are more interested in

Ariel: The Trial Continues...

The trial continues...The latest hearing of the "Ariel Does Indonesian Celebrities" trial was a public one. The fact that the hearing was a public one was not all that surprising in the big scheme of things. In essence, the hearing was merely a formality in that the judges were handing down their decision on the objections (eksepsi) of the defense to the prosecution's case. From what I can tell,