Saturday, November 08, 2003
In Focus:
The news was quite shocking although not entirely surpirsing. Four elder women died while fighting for a piece of sarung an Rp 20,000.- worth of sadaqah. ('Empat Ibu Meninggal Saat Antre Sedekah', Kompas, Sabtu, 08 November 2003) Siti Fatimah (50), Halimah (45), and Rodiyah (43) died on site, while Sarmanah (41) died later at RS Siaga for her injuries. Habib Ismet Al-Habsyi, owner of the house and chairmen of the South Jakarta Rabithah was on umrah when it happened. There needs to be a better system of distributing sadaqah to avoid this terrible incident from happening again.
The news was quite shocking although not entirely surpirsing. Four elder women died while fighting for a piece of sarung an Rp 20,000.- worth of sadaqah. ('Empat Ibu Meninggal Saat Antre Sedekah', Kompas, Sabtu, 08 November 2003) Siti Fatimah (50), Halimah (45), and Rodiyah (43) died on site, while Sarmanah (41) died later at RS Siaga for her injuries. Habib Ismet Al-Habsyi, owner of the house and chairmen of the South Jakarta Rabithah was on umrah when it happened. There needs to be a better system of distributing sadaqah to avoid this terrible incident from happening again.
In Focus:
Its our right to make life difficult for our people, who are you? ('RI attacks donors over Aceh War', The Jakarta Post, November 8, 2003) "Indonesia is bristling over what it sees as meddling remarks by the European Union, Japan and the United States over the government's decision to extend martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The three parties' joint statement had also called on transparency in the implementation of martial law."
Well... I'm glad they freed this guy. He must've plead insanity when he gave 'the bird' to SBY. ('German who gave finger to bureaucrat freed', The Jakarta Post, November 8, 2003) "German citizen Robert Massmeyer, 70, was driving down Jl. Jend. Sudirman on Thursday when he was ordered to pull over by police escorting a convoy of cars carrying Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his entourage. The top security minister was heading to his office on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta. Massmeyer allegedly extended his middle finger in the direction of police and the motorcade. It is believed he was not trying to teach Susilo how to count to one in German. He later attempted to evade arrest, including by fending police off with an umbrella in the parking lot of the famed Hotel Indonesia. "
Its our right to make life difficult for our people, who are you? ('RI attacks donors over Aceh War', The Jakarta Post, November 8, 2003) "Indonesia is bristling over what it sees as meddling remarks by the European Union, Japan and the United States over the government's decision to extend martial law in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam. The three parties' joint statement had also called on transparency in the implementation of martial law."
Well... I'm glad they freed this guy. He must've plead insanity when he gave 'the bird' to SBY. ('German who gave finger to bureaucrat freed', The Jakarta Post, November 8, 2003) "German citizen Robert Massmeyer, 70, was driving down Jl. Jend. Sudirman on Thursday when he was ordered to pull over by police escorting a convoy of cars carrying Coordinating Minister for Security and Political Affairs Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and his entourage. The top security minister was heading to his office on Jl. Medan Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta. Massmeyer allegedly extended his middle finger in the direction of police and the motorcade. It is believed he was not trying to teach Susilo how to count to one in German. He later attempted to evade arrest, including by fending police off with an umbrella in the parking lot of the famed Hotel Indonesia. "
Friday, November 07, 2003
In Focus:
Fakta sued Komnas Ham for neglecting to act in stopping evictions -- or at least for the city to do it in a more humane way. Well its about time somebody said something about this. It's true that in many places infrastructure in this city of paradox cannot support this many people -- floods, congestion, pollution is what we collectively suffer as a result. But bulldozing people's houses with less than a month's notice, no options and no negotiations is down right barbarous. ('Evictees sue rights body for failing to act', The Jakarta Post, November 7, 2003) "Fakta accused Komnas HAM of condoning the violations of citizens' rights to shelter, when it should be upholding the rights of the people against the city administration.
More than 22,000 people lost their homes, two people died and a little girl raped by city officials during the evictions. A joint team of public order officers, police and thugs drove the squatters from private and government land."
Fakta sued Komnas Ham for neglecting to act in stopping evictions -- or at least for the city to do it in a more humane way. Well its about time somebody said something about this. It's true that in many places infrastructure in this city of paradox cannot support this many people -- floods, congestion, pollution is what we collectively suffer as a result. But bulldozing people's houses with less than a month's notice, no options and no negotiations is down right barbarous. ('Evictees sue rights body for failing to act', The Jakarta Post, November 7, 2003) "Fakta accused Komnas HAM of condoning the violations of citizens' rights to shelter, when it should be upholding the rights of the people against the city administration.
More than 22,000 people lost their homes, two people died and a little girl raped by city officials during the evictions. A joint team of public order officers, police and thugs drove the squatters from private and government land."
Thursday, November 06, 2003
Personal:
Earlier I was asked if I have any complaints about my PDA. Not really. I am quite happy with my iPAQ 3970 and haven't had the need to upgrade yet. I was eyeing the 5450, but I dont really hang out hotspots that often and besides its been replaced by the 555x. Buy one for the sake of trying? Hmm... It will be the removable battery that may be the strongest reason when I do finally swap my old 3970 ...and I can still use the MemPlug. But then again reviews said that 3970 still have longer battery life, with no need for WiFi, and no complaints on battery life... I still cant find any reason for replacing the good old 3970! ...well... at least no chance of swapping it with a 5450. iPAQ 5550 is another story, it runs on PPC2003 OS with XScale processor minus all the 5450 bugs, 128M memory. What about the 5150? Its the same as the 5555 minus WiFi and biometric fingerprint scanner and less memory... but its only $100 less... too expensive... 5550 still appeals more.
Earlier I was asked if I have any complaints about my PDA. Not really. I am quite happy with my iPAQ 3970 and haven't had the need to upgrade yet. I was eyeing the 5450, but I dont really hang out hotspots that often and besides its been replaced by the 555x. Buy one for the sake of trying? Hmm... It will be the removable battery that may be the strongest reason when I do finally swap my old 3970 ...and I can still use the MemPlug. But then again reviews said that 3970 still have longer battery life, with no need for WiFi, and no complaints on battery life... I still cant find any reason for replacing the good old 3970! ...well... at least no chance of swapping it with a 5450. iPAQ 5550 is another story, it runs on PPC2003 OS with XScale processor minus all the 5450 bugs, 128M memory. What about the 5150? Its the same as the 5555 minus WiFi and biometric fingerprint scanner and less memory... but its only $100 less... too expensive... 5550 still appeals more.
Wednesday, November 05, 2003
In Focus:
More money to spend in Iraq... feeling healthy at home? Imagine if that amount of money is used to create jobs... ('Congress Sends Iraq Bill to Bush', FoxNews, Tuesday, November 04, 2003) "Congress forwarded the bill on Tuesday after the Senate approved the $87 billion by voice vote on Monday, which was three days after the House voted 298-121 to a compromise bill that gives the president much of the conditions he sought in September when he first made the request.
The bill provides $51 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and $18.6 billion for reconstruction projects there, including rebuilding the oil industry, training police officers and re-establishing an infrastructure, banking system and government among other things."
('7.2% GDP growth fastest in 19 years', USA Today, 10/30/2003)"The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two decades in the third quarter, signaling the three-year slowdown that has left millions of Americans jobless might finally be over... The biggest risk for the economy and Bush's re-election prospects is the employment picture. There have been few solid signs that hiring is picking up despite the improvement in the economy. Democratic presidential contenders have faulted Bush for the loss of 2.6 million jobs during his tenure. "
More money to spend in Iraq... feeling healthy at home? Imagine if that amount of money is used to create jobs... ('Congress Sends Iraq Bill to Bush', FoxNews, Tuesday, November 04, 2003) "Congress forwarded the bill on Tuesday after the Senate approved the $87 billion by voice vote on Monday, which was three days after the House voted 298-121 to a compromise bill that gives the president much of the conditions he sought in September when he first made the request.
The bill provides $51 billion for U.S. military operations in Iraq and $18.6 billion for reconstruction projects there, including rebuilding the oil industry, training police officers and re-establishing an infrastructure, banking system and government among other things."
('7.2% GDP growth fastest in 19 years', USA Today, 10/30/2003)"The U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in nearly two decades in the third quarter, signaling the three-year slowdown that has left millions of Americans jobless might finally be over... The biggest risk for the economy and Bush's re-election prospects is the employment picture. There have been few solid signs that hiring is picking up despite the improvement in the economy. Democratic presidential contenders have faulted Bush for the loss of 2.6 million jobs during his tenure. "
In Focus:
The Government counted possible risk of litigation for closing down 22 mining companies operating inside protected forests and the number comes down to US$31 billion. A lot of money indeed, but what are the consequences of letting the companies operate? Another Langkat? Another Mojokerto? This morning's headlines said about 200 people are dead or missing. Incidents like logs storming down at 70 km/h along with landslides sweeping whole villages in 20 minutes wouldnt happen unless these people get it into their thick skulls that National Parks are protected for a reason! And logs are not there for grabs by the first person with a chainsaw!
The Government counted possible risk of litigation for closing down 22 mining companies operating inside protected forests and the number comes down to US$31 billion. A lot of money indeed, but what are the consequences of letting the companies operate? Another Langkat? Another Mojokerto? This morning's headlines said about 200 people are dead or missing. Incidents like logs storming down at 70 km/h along with landslides sweeping whole villages in 20 minutes wouldnt happen unless these people get it into their thick skulls that National Parks are protected for a reason! And logs are not there for grabs by the first person with a chainsaw!
Tuesday, November 04, 2003
In Focus:
92 people killed and scores injured so far as the floods hit Langkat. Log theft is pretty bad and a bit of rain can cause major damage. ("Floods hit Langkat, 92 killed", The Jakarta Post, Nov 4, 2003). "...Langkat Regent Syamsul Arifin visited the scene and expressed condolences to the victims, saying the floods were the worst ever to hit the town. He blamed the disaster on severe deforestation in Mount Leuser National Park. 'The deforestation has continued unchecked by loggers from within and outside Langkat. We have several times tried to stop them, but illegal logging continues,' Arifin said."
A similar incident happened last year (December 2002) in East Java, killing unsuspected visitors in the Mojokerto hotsprings.
Meanwhile, Pak Bush believes that he can still afford his expensive game in Iraq: ("Bush: 'America Will Never Run' in Iraq", AP, Mon, Nov 3, 2003) "A day after guerrillas shot down a helicopter in Iraq and killed 16 Americans, President Bush said Monday that attackers are trying to drive away coalition forces but that 'America will never run.'
Bush did not mention Sunday's casualties as he addressed a group of small business owners and community leaders at an Alabama factory. However, he spoke of U.S. casualties and said, 'Some of the best have fallen in service to our fellow Americans.' "
92 people killed and scores injured so far as the floods hit Langkat. Log theft is pretty bad and a bit of rain can cause major damage. ("Floods hit Langkat, 92 killed", The Jakarta Post, Nov 4, 2003). "...Langkat Regent Syamsul Arifin visited the scene and expressed condolences to the victims, saying the floods were the worst ever to hit the town. He blamed the disaster on severe deforestation in Mount Leuser National Park. 'The deforestation has continued unchecked by loggers from within and outside Langkat. We have several times tried to stop them, but illegal logging continues,' Arifin said."
A similar incident happened last year (December 2002) in East Java, killing unsuspected visitors in the Mojokerto hotsprings.
Meanwhile, Pak Bush believes that he can still afford his expensive game in Iraq: ("Bush: 'America Will Never Run' in Iraq", AP, Mon, Nov 3, 2003) "A day after guerrillas shot down a helicopter in Iraq and killed 16 Americans, President Bush said Monday that attackers are trying to drive away coalition forces but that 'America will never run.'
Bush did not mention Sunday's casualties as he addressed a group of small business owners and community leaders at an Alabama factory. However, he spoke of U.S. casualties and said, 'Some of the best have fallen in service to our fellow Americans.' "
