Why Indonesians Don't Read More Books ?

 

As I was sitting inside a crowded TransJakarta bus, I reached into my bag and opened a half-read novel. I couldn’t help but feel people staring at me strangely for doing this relatively humdrum thing. I was tempted to tell them, "I’m just reading, everyone, nothing to see here."

Come to think of it, though, reading books is probably not the most common activity that one can be seen doing in public setting in Indonesia. Office employees might still be found perusing newspapers on their way to work or ladies at a beauty salon will be giving instruction to their hairdressers while holding women’s magazines. But why not books?

One of the reasons I mostly heard is the lack of time. Yes, our lives have become more fast-paced and busy now, but this fact shouldn’t avoid you from going to a bookstore and picking an enticing book to read. Busy at work the whole day? You can still read at night one chapter at a time, and before you know it, you will finish a thick memoir.

Meanwhile, some other people seem to prefer other form of media to consume, from the aforementioned newspapers and magazines to television and Internet. They can provide you with faster and more practical information, but there are several features that are not provided by the consumption of such media, especially when you compare them with fictional books. According to this Harvard Business Review article, reading novels can give you various benefits, such as making one better in understanding human emotion.

There is also one of the modern symptoms that I find pervasive: most of us are tethered to our mobile gadgets nowadays and get addicted to social networking sites. This has arguably shortened our attention span, and I have to admit that sometimes I feel that mine is getting shorter by the minute, too. With less than 140 characters per tweet, scrolling through your Twitter timeline sounds more tempting than having to leaf through hundreds of pages.

Probably this is also why some Indonesians are enamored by the concept of "kultwit" (literally means "Twitter lecture"), where a user will explain about a certain object — be it a social phenomenon, current affairs, or even scientific object — through a series of tweets. But at its best, the information you get from Twitter can only enrich your mind so far because everything is being discussed on a superficial level. Meanwhile with books, you can understand a subject matter in a more detailed and thorough manner.

Going all the way to the roots I believe the educational system we have in our country can take the blame to a certain extent on why most Indonesians are not keen of reading books. I was educated in public schools from elementary to high school, and as far as I can remember, I was rarely assigned to read books — in this case, literature — for my English and Bahasa Indonesia courses. Even though my fellow friends and I sometimes encountered passages from famous Indonesian authors’ literary works in our textbook, our teacher never pushed us to dig deeper and read. As a result, most students’ understanding about literature was insufficient and they ended up not appreciating books.

Thankfully, I was raised in a book-loving home — I was one of those kids who prefer to get a gift of books than toys — which turns me into a bibliophile-slash-book-hoarder today. Even if your school never gave you an assignment to read "Catcher in the Rye,” you can read it for yourself and find out who this Holden Caulfield character truly is. Because in its very essence, reading is about self-actualization and making yourself more knowledgeable.

If you are now intrigued to read more, what to do? Go to a bookstore is the most obvious thing to do. And yet I still lament the selection in some Indonesian bookstores. If you pay a visit to stores like Gramedia, the best-seller section is stacked with Indonesian books whose topics make me furious most of the time: self-help motivations, tips on how to get rich fast, or, more horrendously, conspiracy theories that are peppered with the words “Zionist” or “horror secrets.” No worries, though, because Indonesia still has a troupe of excellent writers, such as Dewi "Dee" Lestari and Ayu Utami, whose novels are critically acclaimed.

And if you think that book prices are getting more expensive nowadays, there are always the libraries. Granted, you cannot easily find it in every corner of Jakarta, but there are a number of well-stocked and comfortable libraries you can visit here, including the Freedom Library in Menteng.

Also, there have been some admirable initiatives to foster the love of books. One of them is Drive Books Not Cars, which organizes donation of children’s books for Taman Bacaan Pelangi. They also hold a second-hand book fair several times in a year whose proceed will be donated to the Sahabat Anak foundation.

At the end of the day, I still harbor a hope that more Indonesians will discover the pleasure of books and, along the way, support our own excellent writers.

And if you still have a doubt on why you should read, let me leave you with this quote by the late writer extraordinaire Nora Ephron from her book "I Feel Bad About My Neck":

"Reading is everything. Reading makes me feel like I've accomplished something, learned something, become a better person. Reading makes me smarter. Reading gives me something to talk about later on. Reading is the unbelievably healthy way my attention deficit disorder medicates itself. Reading is escape, and the opposite of escape; it's a way to make contact with reality after a day of making things up, and it's a way of making contact with someone else's imagination after a day that's all too real. Reading is grist. Reading is bliss."

by Nico Novito

After ESEMKA Now Student of SMK Successfully Create Chopper

 

Surabaya – Don’t underestimate the secondary vocational students. After last Esemka exist with cars, there is now a student of SMK PGRI II Ponorogo successfully mix MOGE (big motorcycle like Harley Davidson) chopper valued at IDR 20 million.

Four students sitting in class XII during the 2.5 months of struggling to mix big motorcycle debut work. With imported machines Honda Mini N-350 in 1974, the team successfully modify automobile engine 350 cc to 500 cc.
 

Detik Photo

A unique, they unite function between the starter and the dynamo amperes. This probably resulted moge chopper sound effects smoother than moge brands that have been circulating in the market.
 

When viewed, this chopper wearing size 21 cm for Front wheel and 16 cm for behind wheel. Bottom part and disc assembly is believed created the students selves.

Other than, the engine consists of 2 cylinders. They use 24 mm carburator, smaller than the existing moge. The motorcycle engine is fuel efficient, each one liter of gasoline can be used to travel up to 25 kilometers.

Aji Susilo, Arris Dita, Dwi Purnomo and Dedek Revelation Prasetyo (CMS Nursing Pamardi Siwi II Ngramber, Ngawi) is claimed not yet have plans to mass-produce moge chopper. Because, there are still some points that need more research and modified.

Royal Scandal : Prince Harry to face wrath of Queen when he returns to England after naked photos from Vegas strip-pool romp surface

The Sun Cover at 24th Agust 2012

Prince Harry flew back to England late Tuesday to face a dressing down from his grandmother, the Queen, over photos of the naked noble cavorting around a pool table with some equally uninhibited women in a game of strip billiards that surfaced on TMZ.com.

Sources told the gossip site that Harry and friends invited a bevy of beauties up to his VIP suite at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino last Friday.

A round of strip pool erupted, and apparently everyone lost.

One photo shows Harry in the buff being embraced from behind by a topless woman, while another has him pulling the same move on a nude lass next to the pool table.

Before boarding a London-bound flight from Los Angeles, the red-faced royal still made time to hug a mysterious blonde woman as a photographer snapped pictures.

Reached for comment, Clarence House, Harry's official residence and household, told the Daily News that Harry was “on a private holiday and due back in the UK soon.”

The prince, who is set to resume his military duties upon his return to the United Kingdom, could face censure or be reprimanded by the Army for "social misbehavior," military experts told London's Telegraph.

Security for the Royal Family costs almost $189 million a year, former Metropolitan Police head of protection Dai Davies told the Daily Telegraph.

British taxpayers are “paying huge amounts of money for this young man to be followed everywhere he goes by security," Davies said of the hard-partying prince. “But on the other hand, [royals] have to have a life."

Davies described Harry, 27, as “a young man with lots of testosterone,” but said there is a delicate balance for royals on holiday

"Occasionally that balance slips," he admitted. "There's a responsibility on the person being secured as well as those trying to protect him."

A poll on TMZ, however, showed that Harry seems to be more popular than ever among Americans. Sixty eight percent of the 415,000 respondents called the prince "awesome," compared to 32 percent who found him "disgraceful."

The same weekend Harry was caught nude by the pool table, he took on U.S. Olympic swimming champ Ryan Lochte in a boozy impromptu race in a pool full of bikini-clad women.

As in his game of strip billiards, Harry lost the race.

The third in line to the throne of England had some mellower moments on his Vegas trip. As he and his entourage lounged by the MGM Grand’s pool, one witness told People that the prince was approached by bathing beauties throughout the day, but he preferred to toss a beach ball around with his pals.

"He talked to them briefly, but he didn't really center his attention on anyone," the source said. "He definitely loved the attention, but he looked to be a gentleman with all the women."

Royal Scandal

The Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat - City's Oldest Movie Theaters

Old movie theaters "Grand Keramat"

Jakarta : Going to the movies is one of our favorite pastimes here in Jakarta, just like in any other metropolis around the world. So much so that the words “21” and “Blitz,” the familiar names of Jakarta’s two biggest movie theater chains, have become synonymous with the word “cinema.” Which makes me wonder: How surprised would Jakarta’s hip teens and young adults be if they found out that there were still other movie theaters existing in the capital outside of those two chains?

I’m talking about the only two remaining and fully operational old movie theaters in Jakarta: the Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat. Both located in the the Senen intersection right across from the Senen Atrium. Passing by, you will see big movie posters displayed there with unfamiliar titles such as “Dukun A.S. Misteri Kebun Tebu” (“American Shaman Mystery in the Sugarcane Plantation”).

“But don’t be fooled by the posters — they won’t change anytime soon, since they’re just a teaser to raise people’s interest to come here,” said Darmin, a staff member at Grand Keramat. “We show different films each week, depending on the manager’s choice.”

Until the 1990s, Jakarta had a thriving movie theater industry with hundreds of youths filling up local theaters eager to watch the new movies from legendary comedy troupe Warkop DKI, or the latest romantic drama. Back then there were theaters such as Rivoli, the Djaja theater in Jatinegara and the Orion theater that met its end during the large riots in Jakarta 1998 when Glodok was burned to the ground. There was also the Cempaka Theater, which was closed along with Cempaka Putih Market in 2009, and lastly the Benhil Theater, which closed in April 2010.

Today, only Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat remain. Both theaters are run by the same family business, housed in a single building.

The Mulia Agung and the Grand Keramat

Grand Keramat hosts two theaters on the ground floor, while Mulia Agung has three more one floor up. Built in the 1920s, the building is certainly looking worse for wear. Most of the cement walls are cracked and the floors are caked with dust, since the lobby is exposed to the traffic outside.

But the ticket prices here may very well be the cheapest in town, at only Rp 5,000 (50 cents) in Grand Keramat every day of the week, while Mulia Agung charges Rp 6,000 Monday to Wednesday and Rp 8,000 from Thursday to Sunday. The price differs because Mulia Agung is comparatively cleaner and more convenient, Darmin explained.

There are also two remaining coin-activated arcade games, or what the previous generation liked to call “ding-dong.” These machines are so old I doubt today’s teenagers would even remember them.

Touring through the dusty corridors, it began to feel like a museum until Darmin started shouting “One!” and “Three!” letting visitors know the movies were about to start in those theaters.

Moving into the theater with the rest, I noticed there were no lights on the floor to guide me down the dark aisles. Viewers here can choose to sit wherever they like, so long as they have a ticket. And from looking at the other patrons, it seemed all other kinds of things were permitted there that you couldn’t do elsewhere, like putting your feet up on the seats, or lighting a cigarette.

As for the movies, they are generally for mature audiences only, and are often old titles. Most of the film reels flicker and have dark spots and breaking audio quality.

“The movies are loaned to us by various production houses and Dinas Perfilman [the Indonesian Movie Agency],” Darmin said.

But the biggest problem these two old cinemas face is the negative image that many people in Jakarta associate them with. Through rumors, many people label these two theaters as little more than a front for prostitution. The fact is that yes, there are people taking advantage of this situation to offer their “services.” But these cinemas are far from the dark and dangerous places filled with criminals that some people assume them to be.

In the end, they are just like any other family business. You may even see the children of the owners running around and sometimes even helping out in the ticketing booth.

Like getting into a time machine, Mulia Agung and Grand Keramat hold a lot of good memories for those who grew up in their dark theaters.

“Sure, it brings back old memories,” said Beni, who has been a customer at Grand Keramat for 20 years. “It reminds me of my first date with my wife.”

Jakarta Globe

WASHINGTON : Neil Armstrong, First Man On The Moon, Dead At 82

WASHINGTON // The first man to set foot on the moon, renowned US astronaut Neil Armstrong, has died, his family announced yesterday, prompting glowing tributes to his achievements and notably humble character.

Mr Armstrong, who inspired a generation to reach for the stars, underwent cardiac bypass surgery earlier this month after doctors found blockages in his coronary arteries, but he died following subsequent complications. He was 82.

Praising Mr Armstrong as a “reluctant American hero,” his heartbroken relatives expressed hope his legacy would encourage young people to “work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves.”

Mr Armstrong and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin landed on the moon’s desolate surface on July 20, 1969.

His first words upon stepping on the lunar surface have since been etched in history: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”

The estimated 500 million people who watched the grainy black and white broadcast breathed a sigh of relief when Mr Armstrong told mission control the module had landed safely, saying: “Houston, Tranquility base here. The Eagle has landed.”

But the lunar pioneer, who was decorated by 17 countries and received a slew of US honors, was never comfortable with his worldwide fame, shying away from the limelight.

Mr Armstrong even stopped signing memorabilia after learning his autographs were being sold at exorbitant prices.

John Glenn, the first American to orbit Earth, recalled Armstrong’s legendary humility.
“He didn’t feel that he should be out huckstering himself,” the former Ohio senator told CNN. “He was a humble person, and that’s the way he remained after his lunar flight, as well as before.”

A “deeply saddened” President Barack Obama yesterday hailed Mr Armstrong as “the greatest of American heroes -- not just of his time, but of all time.”

His “legacy will endure -- sparked by a man who taught us the enormous power of one small step,” said President Obama, who was just under eight years old at the time of the historic Apollo 11 mission.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner remembered Armstrong as a “true hero.”
“Ohio has lost one of her proudest sons. Humanity has gained a legend,” Mr Boehner said.

Mr Aldrin said he had hoped that he, Armstrong and Michael Collins, the third astronaut on the mission, would have met up in 2019 for celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. But the occasion will not come to pass.

“Whenever I look at the moon, it reminds me of the moment over four decades ago when I realized that even though we were farther away from Earth than two humans had ever been, we were not alone,” Mr Aldrin said.

Mr Collins, in a statement released by a NASA spokesman, said of Mr Armstrong: “He was the best, and I will miss him terribly.”

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard said the astronaut’s death “marks the end of an amazing era in human progress.”

“His example of service, accomplishment and modesty... will never die.”
Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio on August 5, 1930, Mr Armstrong had an early fascination with aircraft and worked at a nearby airport when he was a teenager.

He took flying lessons at the age of 15 and received his pilot’s license on his 16th birthday.
A US Navy aviator, he flew 78 missions in the Korean War.

Mr Armstrong joined NASA’s predecessor agency, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, in 1955.

As a research pilot at NASA’s Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, he flew on many pioneering high-speed aircraft, eventually flying over 200 different models, including helicopters, gliders, jets and rockets.

He reached astronaut status in 1962, and was assigned as command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission, during which he performed the first successful docking of two vehicles in space.

After retiring from NASA in 1971, Mr Armstrong taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati for nearly a decade and served on the boards of several companies, including Lear Jet, United Airlines and Marathon Oil.

He also worked as deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA headquarters, coordinating and managing the space agency’s aeronautics research and technology tasks.

His family said they had a simple request to people in memory of Armstrong’s life.

“Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink,” it said.

Agence France-Presse

Surakarta batik maker partners with Disney

SURAKARTA: Batik Keris, a Surakarta-based batik producer in Central Java, has partnered with The Walt Disney Company to create colorful batik featuring famous Disney characters in an effort to take batik forward internationally.

“Children are accustomed to seeing and wearing batik clothes, but when they see batik with their favorite animated characters, they will love batik more and more,” said Djongko Rahardjo, a local fashion designer, who is also the head of the Association of Surakarta Fashion Designers, on Monday.

The Disney collection is in the form of printed batik. “Children love bright hues. Therefore we chose to use printed batik instead of hand drawn, because the colors would not come out perfectly if we applied a hand drawing process,” said Lina Handianto, Batik Keris chief commissary.

Heri Santoso of the merchandising division at Batik Keris said that the cooperation was aimed at introducing batik to children.

“Our main goal is to introduce batik to children, while at the same time to take the traditional garment to the international stage,” said Heri, who added that the Disney collection featuring Mickey and Friends was available in T-shirts, dresses and shirts.

Indonesia : The Miracle of Mudik

Illustration Picture

The virtues of mudik, the long-established tradition of returning to hometowns, which millions of Indonesians do to celebrate Idul Fitri with their parents and relatives, are that it rekindles familial ties, fosters solidarity among fellow travelers and regenerates the economies of sleepy towns and villages.

It is predicted that more than 12 million people, most of them workers in big cities across the country, will travel by land, air or sea to their hometowns this year to celebrate Idul Fitri, the holiday that marks the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, which is expected to fall on Aug. 19-20.

An upsurge in the number of travelers means that highways, especially in Java, will be crammed with motorcycles, cars and public buses. That will require the police and transportation officials to undertake extra work to ensure a smooth flow of traffic, security and safety for holiday revelers.

People who can afford it can choose to travel by air or at least book a seat in an executive-class train, reaching in their destinations in a bit more comfort. But those who barely make ends meet have to ride motorcycles — often sharing their seat with their wife and children — covering hundreds of kilometers to get to their villages.

Despite repeated government warnings, thousands of motorcyclists still risk life and limb by piling onto their bikes because they cannot afford bus or train tickets. But, they say, it’s all worth it because they can feel the sheer joy of Idul Fitri when they are among their loved ones.

This shows how important mudik is to the Indonesian people. Like Thanksgiving in the United States, mudik has become an inherent part of people’s lives. Regardless of whether they are white-collar workers or blue-collar ones, they will do everything they can to take part in the exodus.

Morally, mudik is a concrete undertaking to show filial affection to one’s elders and relatives, as well as friendship with former neighbors.

Economically, it is a practical way of distributing wealth from big cities to less-developed towns and rural areas, as the people arriving in their home villages usually bring souvenirs for family and friends, along with money for the rural people.

Mudik is also a good time for migrants to contemplate what they have achieved in the big city after leaving their towns or villages, which are less boisterous and polluted than the surroundings in which they now live. It is also a time when they can share their urban experiences with fellow townspeople and villagers.

Anticipating that this year’s mudik will be much livelier than usual, given that the nation is preparing to celebrate the 67th anniversary of the country’s independence on Aug. 17, just a couple of days before Idul Fitri, the government has made concerted efforts to make travelers comfortable and safe during their journeys.

Dozens of new train cars have been built and more ferries will be operated to accommodate the increasing number of passengers. And the annual repair work on the main roads used in the mudik has been completed on time, which will help minimize delays. In addition, more people are buying travel tickets online, avoiding further hassle.

Thousands of police officers have been deployed at main airports and harbors to keep down the criminal element, and officials from the Transportation Ministry have conducted inspections at bus terminals to make sure buses are safe.

Another measure worthy of praise was taken by the Health Ministry last week when it conducted drug and alcohol tests on bus drivers. Experience shows that most fatal bus accidents happened because of impaired drivers.

All of these steps indicate that the government considers mudik one of those conspicuous yearly activities that help make up the cultural fabric of a peaceful and friendly society.

Because during mudik, people tend to indulge in nostalgia and incline to forgive small wrongful acts inflicted on them.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Oei Eng Goan, a former literature lecturer at National University (UNAS) in Jakarta, is a freelance journalist.

Amazing, Stephen Wiltshire, Draws Picture Of NY Skyline From Memory After 20 Minute Helicopter Ride

The unbelievably intricate picture was drawn at Brooklyn’s prestigious Pratt Institute from Stephen’s memory, with details of every building sketched in to scale.

Landmarks including the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building can be seen towering above smaller buildings after just three days in his spellbinding creation.

Listening intently to his ipod throughout the artistic process – because music helps him – London-born Stephen uses only graphic pens as he commits his photographic memory to the high-grade paper.



Invited by top U.S. television network CBS to display his talents to the American public in a new screen appearance this week, Stephen has dumbfounded art lovers around the globe with sketches of Tokyo, Rome and Hong Kong.

‘Stephen sketches his layout in pencil first and then scales it within the border, first adding in landmarks before filling out in more intricate detail,’ said Iliana Taliotis, who works with Stephen and his family.

‘He works methodically in short sharp bursts and is even being put on webcam by CBS as he puts his art to paper.’

On his third visit to New York, this is Stephen’s first panorama of the world’s most iconic cityscape.

‘Stephen feels this is his spiritual home,’ said Iliana.

‘There are many similarities between his home, London, and New York that he can relate to.

‘The only difference is that everything is on a bigger scale and with taller, more modern buildings.

‘Cities have always been his passion, and he is drawn to cosmopolitan lifestyles.’



Diagnosed with autistism at an early age, Stephen’s talent for drawing emerged as a way of expressing himself.

Using his drawing’s to help him learn and encouraged by his family, Stephen created a series of 26 coded pictures to help him speak, all of which corresponded to a letter in the alphabet.

Going through up to 12 pens during his sketches which can take a week to finish, Stephen also draws heavily on music which he carries everywhere.

He listens to everything through the 70s, 80s, and 90s, including blues, soul, funk, Motown, pop, Back Street Boys, All Saints and even New Kids on the Block.

‘He always listens to music while he works,’ said Iliana.

‘This work will encompass the five boroughs of New York, New Jersey, Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty.

‘This one is extra special and unique.

‘Due to his personal love of New York it contains far more detail and the perspective of the panorama is much more in-depth, giving a more realistic, 3-D view of the city.’

In May 2005, Stephen produced his longest ever panoramic memory drawing of Tokyo on a 52-foot canvas within seven days following a short helicopter ride over the city.

Since then he has drawn Rome, Hong Kong, Frankfurt, Madrid, Dubai, Jerusalem and London on giant canvasses.

When Wiltshire took the helicopter ride over Rome, he drew it in such great detail that he drew the exact number of columns in the Pantheon.

In 2006, Stephen Wiltshire was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire for services to art. He opened his permanent gallery in the Royal Opera Arcade, Pall Mall, the same year.

Elite.

Joko Widodo and Solo Receive Best City Award

Joko Widodo wear Blankon

Bangkok. Solo Mayor and Jakarta gubenatorial hopeful Joko Widodo was honored with the Best City Award at the Delgosea Conference in Bangkok on Thursday.

Joko, or Jokowi, was recognized for rallying Solo citizens to abide by municipal policies, according to Peter Wood, the head of the United Cities and Local Government for Asia Pacific, who spoke at the Delgosea conference.

Delgosea cited Jokowi’s success in negotiating with Solo’s street vendors to convince them to relocate, striking a balance between cleaning up the streets and maintaining traditional businesses.

“I think this is one of the reasons why he was nominated as a candidate for the gubernatorial election in Jakarta, in addition to his concept on transparency and good governance which he has implemented in Solo,” Wood said. Joko was also one of 70 people nominated for the 2012 World Mayor Prize, which will be announced in December, and was recognized by the Ministry of Home Affairs as the Best Mayor of 2011.

Delgosea was launched in March 2010 and was co-funded by the European Commission and funds from the German Ministry for Development Cooperation. The Delgosea Conference recognized the best cities of several Asean member counties, including Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand.

Four Indonesian mayors who attended the two-day conference in Bangkok hailed the resumption of Delgosea in the Asean region as a way to further accelerate the development of their respective municipal areas. Delgosea is known for its network of successful programs such as waste management.

H. Udin Hianggio, the Mayor of Tarakan Municipality, said “Delgosea has actually helped us in solving waste-related problems by adopting the handling of waste already implemented in Marikina city in the Philippines.”

Tarakan was eventually recognized by the Central Government for cleanliness and improved waste management.

Kupang Mayor Yonas Salean said Delgosea also trained his staff on waste management techniques, and in making use of the West Timor capital’s “existing potential.”

Pangkal Pinang Mayor Drs. H Zulkarnain Karim said the guidance provided by Delgosea helped improve the marine environment for the sake of the people and the sustainability of the environment.

Despite its financial hardships, the European Union announced that it will continue to fund Delgosea for at least the next 32 months.

Antara

7 Endangered Sumatran Rhinos Photographed For First Time In 26 Years

In this undated photo released by Leuser International Foundation, a Sumatran rhino roams at Gunung Leuser National Park in Aceh province, Indonesia. A conservationist from the foundation said Thursday, Aug. 9, 2012 that seven of the world's rarest rhinoceroses were photographed at the national park. It is the first sighting there in 26 years.(AP Photo/Leuser International Foundation) NO SALES

The rare and critically endangered Sumatran rhino has once again been sighted in the Leuser forest area of Aceh, 26 years after it was last seen there, conservationists have announced.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Leuser International Foundation said that an LIF forest ranger team had detected the presence of the two-horned animal on Dec. 9, 2011.

The LIF said the sighting was part of a survey it had been conducting since nearly a year ago, one which included the installation of camera traps in various places believed to be rhino sighting areas.

“The team brilliantly acquired more than 1,000 images showing Sumatran rhinos in excellent condition,” the LIF said.

Based on the LIF’s survey in two locations, the number of Sumatran rhinos remaining in the area is estimated at between seven and 25 as of April this year.

“We hope that this number can increase when we finish our survey at several other locations,” said Tarmizi, the project leader and coordinator of the survey.

The survey was conducted jointly by the LIF and the Mount Leuser National Park Agency. It received funding from the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

The foundation noted, however, that it had also found indications of illegal forest activity in the area that could threaten the survival of the rhino and other species native to the Leuser ecosystem.

“While doing the rhino survey, the LIF and [national park] staff also monitored illegal activities that were going on such as poaching, encroachment, illegal logging and other illegal activities inside Mount Leuser National Park, especially around the Sumatran rhino’s habitat area,” it said.

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest and most primitive of all the rhino species in the world. Since 1996, it has been categorized as critically endangered, or just a step away from being extinct, on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

The Leuser ecosystem is home to some 710 animal species, of which 180 have been declared endangered.

It is also the only place where the Sumatran rhino, Sumatran orangutan, Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephant and Malayan sun bears, all endangered species, live side-by-side in the wild.

Video - Vietnam Airline Fined for In-Flight Bikini Show

Hanoi. A Vietnamese airline has been fined for hosting a mid-flight dance by bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants without first gaining permission, state media said on Thursday.

Low-cost carrier VietJet Air was fined $1,000 by the nation’s aviation authorities for organizing the Hawaiian-themed dance to celebrate its maiden flight between Ho Chi Minh City and the tourist hub of Nha Trang, the Tuoi Tre newspaper said.

Five women, all candidates in a local beauty contest, performed the three-minute dance on the Aug. 3 flight while passengers recorded the show on camera phones and later posted clips online, the paper added.

A Vietnamese airline has been fined for hosting a mid-flight dance by bikini-clad beauty pageant contestants without first gaining permission, state media said on Thursday. (YouTube Screenshot)

The airline “violated local aviation regulations” by organizing “an unapproved show on a flight,” Nguyen Trong Thang, chief inspector of the Civil Aviation Administration of Vietnam, was quoted as saying in the report.

Thang added the pictures were taken while mobile phones were in flight-safe mode and did not pose any risk.

The incident has stirred public debate in conservative Vietnam after photographs and video clips of the sultry performance spread on the Internet.

Agence France-Presse

NASA Counts Down to Dramatic Mars Landing

Members of the Mars Science Laboratory test out an engineering model of its next generation Mars rover, dubbed "Curiosity", in the desert near Baker, California. Reuters/Gene Blevins

The Mars rover Curiosity, on a quest for signs the Red Planet once hosted ingredients for life, streaked into the home stretch of its eight-month voyage on Sunday nearing a make-or-break landing attempt that Nasa calls one of the toughest feats of robotic spaceflight.

Curiosity, the first full-fledged mobile science laboratory sent to a distant world, was scheduled to touch down inside a vast, ancient impact crater on Sunday at 10:31pm Pacific time (1:31am EDT on Monday/0531 GMT on Monday).

Mission control engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory near Los Angeles acknowledge that delivering the one-ton, six-wheeled, nuclear-powered vehicle in one piece is a highly risky proposition, with zero margin for error.

In this 2011 file artist's rendering, a "sky crane" lowers the Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover onto the surface of Mars. AP/Nasa/JPL-Caltech

But just 12 hours away from Curiosity's rendezvous with Mars, JPL's team said the spacecraft and its systems were functioning flawlessly, and forecasts called for favorable Martian weather over the landing zone.

After a journey from Earth of more than 350 million miles (567 million km), engineers said they were hopeful the rover, the size of a small sports car, will land precisely as planned near the foot of a tall mountain rising from the floor of Gale Crater in Mars' southern hemisphere.

"We're rationally confident, emotionally terrified," Adam Seltzner, leader of Curiosity's descent and landing team, told reporters at a JPL briefing early on Sunday, as the spacecraft hurtled to within 100,000 miles (161,000 km) of its destination - less than half the distance between Earth and the moon.

A file photo shows Mars photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope on the planet's closest approach to Earth in 60,000 years. AP/Nasa

The vessel was sailing through space at about 8,000 miles (13,000 km) per hour and steadily gaining speed from the tug of Martian gravity.

Flight controllers anticipate clear and calm conditions for touchdown, slated to occur in the Martian late afternoon.

There may be some haze in the planet's pink skies from ice clouds, typical for this time of year, with temperatures at about 10 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 12 Celsius).

Facing deep cuts in its science budget and struggling to regain its footing after cancellation of the space shuttle program - Nasa's centerpiece for 30 years - the agency has much at stake in the outcome of the $2.5 billion mission.

President Barack Obama's top science adviser, John Holdren, was among the dignitaries visiting JPL on Sunday for the landing, along with Nasa Administrator Charles Bolden.

"It's critically important for the nation because it allows us to stay on pace for what the president asked us to, getting humans to Mars in the mid-2030s," Bolden told Reuters.

He added that success also was key to Nasa's international partners in 12 countries in maintaining public and government support abroad for their continued funding.

Mars is the chief component of Nasa's long-term deep space exploration plans. Curiosity, the space agency's first astrobiology mission since the 1970s-era Viking probes, is designed primarily to search for evidence that the planet most similar to Earth may once have harbored the necessary building blocks for microbial life to evolve. 

Packed with gadgets

The rover, formally called the Mars Science Lab, is equipped with an array of sophisticated chemistry and geology instruments capable of analyzing samples of soil, rocks and atmosphere on the spot and beaming results back to scientists on Earth.

One is a laser gun that can zap a rock from 23 feet (7 meters) away to create a spark whose spectral image is analyzed by a special telescope to discern the mineral's chemical composition

For details on Curiosity rover mission, click here.

Speeding toward a landing on Mars

Nearing the end of its journey encased in a capsule-like shell, Curiosity was essentially flying on automatic pilot, guided by a computer packed with pre-programmed instructions.

Mission control activated the craft's backup computer on Saturday night, ensuring it will assume onboard command of the vessel should the primary computer fail during entry into the Martian atmosphere and its tricky descent to the surface.

The ship also began warming up rocket engines that will be used in final descent and landing maneuvers. 
Mission control contemplated sending Curiosity one last "parameter update" on Sunday, hours before atmospheric entry, giving the vessel an exact fix on its position in space.

But Nasa engineers said they would likely forego that transmission because the vessel has varied so little from its ideal course.
Otherwise, controllers will have little to do but anxiously track Curiosity's progress as it flies into Mars' upper atmosphere at 13,000 miles (20,921 km) per hour, 17 times the speed of sound, and begins a descent and landing sequence Nasa refers to as "the seven minutes of terror."

"We're all along for the ride," Seltzner said.
Curiosity's fate will then hinge on a complex series of maneuvers that include a giant, supersonic parachute deployment and a never-before-used jet-powered "sky crane" that must descend to the right spot over the planet, lower the rover to the ground on nylon tethers, cut the cords and fly away.

The sequence also involves 79 pyrotechnic detonations to release exterior ballast weights, open the parachute, separate the heat shield, detach the craft's back shell, jettison the parachute and other functions.

The failure of any of those would foil a successful landing, Seltzner said.
If everything works according to plan, controllers at JPL will know within a minute or two that the Curiosity is safely on the ground, alerted by a terse radio transmission relayed to Earth from the Mars orbiter Odyssey flying overhead.

A satellite relay is necessary because Earth will set beneath the Martian horizon about two minutes before the scheduled landing.

If no landing signal comes, it could take hours or days for scientists to learn if radio communications with the rover were merely disrupted or that it crashed or burned up during descent.

From 154 million miles (248 million kilometers) away, 1,400 scientists, engineers and guests were expected to tensely wait at JPL to learn Curiosity's fate, among them film star Morgan Freeman, television's Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek, comic actor Seth Green and actress June Lockhart of Lost in Space fame.
Another 5,000 people will be watching from the nearby California Institute of Technology, the academic home of JPL.

In a good-luck tradition dating back to the 1970s, engineers in the control room at JPL plan to break out cans of roasted peanuts about an hour before landing.

For details on Mars missions, click here.

Iranian Man Jumps Out of Plane in Bali

Illustration

Denpasar - Qatar Airways crew and staff at the Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport were shocked on Sunday after a man jumped out of an aircraft as soon as it landed.

The man, identified as Iranian national Foroughin Monteza Baratali, was on flight QR 638, which originates from Doha and transits in Singapore before landing in Denpasar.  

As soon as it landed, the man abruptly opened the cabin door and jumped out onto the tarmac.  

Alive but injured, airport officers took him to International Medical Center in Kuta, where he is still staying under police guard.   

“He suffered broken bones in different parts of his body,” physician Yoga Bharata wrote in a medical report for the police.  

The local immigration office said they believed Baratali was trying to avoid going through the immigration desk because his name came up on a travel ban list.  

“We’re still investigating what crime he committed to be put in the travel ban list,” said Wayan Sudana, the head of the Ngurah Rai Immigration Office. “He will be deported after being treated.

Cirebon 'Drunken' cop shoots teenager dead

people came to the police station demanding punishment to the perpetrators

A drunken police officer identified as Brig. Sahidin Jaenudin opened fire on crowds of teenagers and killed 18-year-old Agus bin Waryo in Karangwareng subdistrict, Cirebon, West Java early on Sunday morning.

Agus, a resident of Blender village in Karangwareng subdistrict, was with friends when the fatal accident occurred.

Victim

Agus’s friend, Eka Ramadhani, said that during Ramadhan they played musical instruments around the neighborhood to wake people for predawn meals.

“There was a little argument between youths from different villages. We were asked to go home,” he said.
When the group left for home, Brig. Sahidin from Karangsembung police district fired into the air and then aimed the second shot toward Agus’ back, Eka said.

“The officer asked us to go home and we obeyed. But Agus was shot,” he said.

“I thought it was a firecracker. We heard the same noise again and then Agus collapsed behind me,” said Agus’s friend, Khalim.

Cirebon Regency Police chief Adj. Sr. Comr. Hero H Bachtiar said Jaenudin claimed to have been under the influence of alcohol during the incident. The officer will likely be discharged and face legal consequences regarding his actions.

Once Reviled, Indonesia’s Prabowo May Become Next President

Prabowo Subianto, right, walks with chairman of the Indonesian Student Youth Action Unit (KAPPI) 66, Bambang Heryanto (left) after the former general and Gerindra Party chair announced his candidacy for the 2014 presidential race. (Antara Photo/Heru)

Singapore. Just over 14 years ago, Prabowo Subianto was one of Indonesia’s most reviled men, accused of kidnapping, human rights abuses and a coup attempt.

Now, the former general has emerged as the most popular candidate for president. If elected, he says he will not roll back the democratic reforms that Indonesia embraced after his then father-in-law Suharto was ousted from over three decades of autocratic rule.

“I think the people want strong, decisive leadership,” Prabowo told Reuters in an interview in Singapore.

But he added: “I don’t think it is feasible to turn back the clock. Whatever I would like to do, I don’t think it is feasible. I think we have to work harder to create consensus, work harder to get a mandate from the people.”  

Suharto was thrown out of office in May, 1998 as the country sank into an abyss of rioting and economic upheaval. Prabowo, a general from one of Indonesia’s most prominent families, was accused of instigating the violence.

Incoming president B.J. Habibie said the second night after he was sworn in, Prabowo showed up at the presidential palace, armed and with a squad of special forces soldiers, and tried to stage a coup.

Dismissed from the army soon after, shunned by the Jakarta elite and in self-exile in Jordan for some years, Prabowo has in just over a decade managed a striking transformation.  

While Indonesia has rebounded from the near-chaos of the late 1990s to be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, Prabowo is now a successful businessman and the popular head of a political party.

Opinion polls show him as the leading candidate for the 2014 presidential election, although he himself says a lot can happen before then.

Analysts say his often blunt views on the need for strong leadership and pro-poor and pro-farmer policies have gone down well with the people, for whom the events of 1998 do not matter that much anymore.

“I was a soldier,” Prabowo said, describing that period. “As a soldier, one does not think too much about politics or political correctness or human communications. Maybe my communication was not good enough.”    

A 60-year-old with the square build of the special forces commander he once was, Prabowo said he is still refused a US visa because of the allegations he was involved in violence at that time. He is now divorced from Suharto’s daughter, with whom he has a 28-year-old son.

Asked about the coup charges leveled by Habibie, who took over as Indonesia’s president after Suharto, Prabowo said: “That is part of political jockeying, disinformation. I was just a straight soldier.

“I proved by my actions. Did I take over? Did I carry out a coup d’etat? History speaks for itself.”  

Asked if could have taken power if he wished, he said: “Yes of course. Why not?”  

Prabowo, in Singapore to deliver a lecture on the future of Indonesia, separately told reporters: “Despite controlling nearly one half of Indonesia’s combat units, I stepped down after being asked to step down by the political power.  

“Because I am a constitutionalist. As an officer and a soldier, I swore an oath to serve the Republic of Indonesia. I kept my honor, I kept my oath.”    

An insular Indonesia?  

With the no-nonsense style of a former general, Prabowo’s possible ascent to power is being looked on nervously from several quarters. Investors worry he will bring in protectionist policies and political analysts say his past shows he can easily slip into strong-arm autocratic rule.

“If he won, concerns would arise about the durability of democratization,” says Kevin O’Rourke, a Jakarta-based analyst. “He also advocates an economic agenda that calls for banning rice imports and banning gas exports. He is antagonistic towards investment and market forces.”  

Prabowo, the son of one of Indonesia’s most respected economic planners, has said he is not against foreign investment.

“We want foreign investment, but it must be win-win,” he said. “It must be rational, it must be cognizant of local and environmental needs and it must be on a fair and level playing field.”  

In his speech, he said the country needed to avoid depletion of its energy and other resources, control population growth, improve governance and bring in structural changes in the economy to benefit the poor and the farmers, who form the majority of Indonesia’s 240 million people.

The country was once Asia’s only member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) but left the group and is now a net importer, although it has vast natural gas reserves and has some of the world’s largest coal deposits.

Prabowo’s focus was, however, on agriculture, and he advocated using bio-fuels to back up fossil fuel reserves.

“Sixty percent of our population live on agriculture and are allocated three percent of the national budget in 2012,” he said. “This is not viable. This is not wise, this a formula for misery, for unrest. This will degrade social harmony. This is what we have to have the courage to address.”  

Prabowo is also feared by some of Indonesia’s ethnic Chinese minority, who control much of the country’s $1 trillion economy and were targeted in the 1998 mayhem that was orchestrated by thugs believed to be organized by special forces soldiers.

“I am very committed to a united Indonesia regardless of race, religion and background,” he said in response to a question on his policy towards the ethnic Chinese. “My political party has a lot of members from many, many backgrounds and races. We have a lot of Chinese members but of course most of them are middle class and poor Chinese. We don’t think about race in our party.”      

Not a Socialist  

But Prabowo said government should re-focus spending away from the cities and the elite.

He said he did not wish to criticise President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, with whom he graduated from Indonesia’s military academy, but added that economic managers had blindly adopted Western economic policies in his tenure. Yudhoyono has served two terms as president and cannot run again.

Prabowo, who contested the vice-presidency in 2009 but was defeated by Yudhoyono and his running mate, said he was not a socialist but added that government could not take a hands-off stand.

“In Indonesia, we cannot have a laissez-faire approach to our problems. I am of the conviction that a government must intervene to protect the very poor and the very weak, to stimulate growth.

“In sectors where the private sector is very strong, let the private sector carry on.”  

Ultimately, Prabowo said, what was needed was a strong government.

“There are always leaders and people who will look for reasons not to try anything new. But the Indonesian leadership must have the will, the toughness, the character, the courage, to think and try to look for creative solutions.

“I was brought up with the motto ‘who dares, wins’ and I think it is time for the Indonesian elite to dare.” 

Reuters

Indonesian TV Station Cited Over 'Vulgar' Episode of Renowned Cleric Ustad Solmed's Show

Muslim preacher Sholahudin Mahmoed, better known as Ustad Solmed, hosts the late night talk show 'Akhirnya Aku Tahu' ('I Finally Understand'). (Photo courtesy of ustadsolmed.com)

Indonesian television station Global TV was cited by the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) after renowned Muslim preacher Sholahudin “Ustad Solmed” Mahmoed hosted a sexually-explicit late night talk show.

Ustad Solmed discussed Islam and marital sexual relations on the July 15 episode of  “Akhirnya Aku Tahu” (“I Finally Understand”). The Islamic cleric allegedly discussed intimate details of the audience’s sex lives during what the KPI has called a “vulgar” episode of the show.

“The sex-ridden discussion happened between Ustad Solmed and members of his audience. They discussed contraception, intimate relationships between husbands and wives, the engorgement of genitals, oral sex and other ways to have sex,” the KPI said in a statement published on its website kpi.go.id Monday evening.

The show, which aired at 4 a.m., was rated “teen,” a fact that has drawn ire from the KPI, who alleged that this program violated Indonesia’s child protection laws.

“We classify this as a violation of child protection laws, norms of politeness, restrictions on sexual themes and the broadcast program’s rating,” the statement read.

The KPI urged Global TV to clean the show up and get its broadcasting in line with the commission’s standards in a letter signed by KPI chairman Mochamad Riyanto on July 30.

The commission sought the opinion of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI) before issuing the letter.

“The MUI says the dialog was very vulgar and should never happen again,” the KPI says, adding a letter from the MUI was attached to a warning sent to Global TV. Jakarta Globe