August 02, 2008

An Indonesian Wedding

We went off to an Indonesian wedding this evening, luckily I asked my partner first about the availability of alcohol....

None. Water and icetea only!

right, dug out the hip flask filled it with whiskey.

When we arrived we were greeted with half a dozen sign boards (I've seen this at funerals too, never just one) And they all had sponsor signs on them, upon inquiring this is from companies that wish to publicly congratulate the couple. (and get some free advertising I would think)



The entrance way was then lined with an elaborate arch, and then all their pre-wedding photos.



Sign in books. and a box for envelope with money.

The guy is not looking too happy.



the back of the room had the wedding couple and family on a stage with an MC yelling into the microphone. while everyone else walked around and chatted and ate.





Here was one food cart, plenty around the room, (no pork though)



After the wedding toast, the wedding dance, the wedding cutting cake, we had the wedding photo with friends etc.

Our turn on stage....



and looking back at the (by now much depleted crowd)


June 17, 2008

Diary tales of some minor house repairs.... or so I thought!

May 16th
The false ceiling on the carport had some mold growing, (sorry no pics) so I asked the landlord to send someone around to sort it out.


A couple of hours later, I unsuspectingly arrived home to a construction site, front and back, both floors of the house, they've decided to replace all.

Scaffolding in the front yard and back yard also, not sure how long this is gonna take, they've been at it half a week already.

May 31st
it is still going, 6 days a bladdy week! there's about 10 workers here today banging and crashing and fck knows wot! Grrrrrrrrrrr

June 10th
it is still on going. I recently found out that these workers get paid for the job plus a daily allowance.....
It is not rocket science is it? Surely the landlord thought to give them a maximum time frame to complete the job in.
now they are painting the entire house also

June 17th
Honestly, I could not make this up. They have even dug up all the pebbles in the garden and are washing them.
now they have begun entirely re-landscaping the front and back gardens, and a team has started on the inside upstairs, i think they are rebuilding the attic or something (I haven't gone upstairs to look yet.)

Perhaps my landlord misunderstood me, when i asked her to fix the single damp patch in the carport, she must have thought i said could she rebuild the entire house or something....

June 18th
The maid just told me this morning that they found a snake when cutting the garden.

June 10, 2008

Hardliner Islamic Violence in Indonesia condemned

A group of about 200 FPI goons (Front Pembela Islam which translates as Defenders of Islam Front, or something) violently broke up a peaceful protest/gathering at National Monument because they were the 'wrong' brand of Islam.

YouTube - FPI Ngamuk di Monas

However, the general feeling across Indonesia is one of condemnation and outrage, last week the government arrested 74 of these idiots, including their leader Habib Rizieq Shihab.

FPI are the same goons that smashed up the Indonesian Playboy office a few years ago and also smash pubs, restaurants and nightclubs for being open during Ramadan each year.

No arrests previously caused arguments to range from them enjoying governement protection to the government being afraid of them.

Recent talk is suggesting that the timing helps deflect backlash on the government for the recent oil/food inflation crisis.

here's an article where they are assigning blame for the whole mess, even the CIA and Mossad get a mention

Explanations for the FPI violence at Monas, blaming the victims, the government, and foreign plots.

Ahmadiyah

Head of the Muslim Lawyers’ Team (Tim Pengacara Muslim,TPM), Mahendradatta, says the Monas incident was caused by the AKKBB side making deliberately provocative speeches, saying such as things as
the FPI are Laskar Kafir (Infidels’ Front) and Laskar Setan (Satan’s Front).
Other provocations included the ‘fact’ that the AKKBB gathering was illegal, without police permission, and that one AKKBB person was carrying a weapon. [1] Tgk Faisal M Ali of the Himpunan Ulama Dayah Aceh (HUDA) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) says the government needs to see the incident in a fully formed way, that the root cause is the weakness in the upholding of law in Indonesia, that it still had not banned the Ahmadiyah sect.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng was having none of it however, and said the delay in the publication of the SKB edict concerning Ahmadiyah could not be used as an excuse for assaulting people. [2]

Conspiracies
Faisal Ali, who was also once the leader of the student group Rabithah Thaliban in Aceh, says he condemned the FPI violence but banning the FPI was not the solution, banning Ahmadiyah was, and if the FPI were banned this would mean the government was allowing the foreign conspiracies in Indonesia to ruin Islam to succeed. [3]

Parliamentarian Soeripto, the Vice Chairman of Commission III in the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS/Partai Keadilan Sejahtera), says he suspects the FPI violence was part of an anti-Islam American plot.


Soeripto

Soeripto, who has a long history of work in the intelligence field, said Mossad and CIA had already taken over most militant organisations in the world, so they had probably taken over the FPI, and added that Al Qaeda in Afghanistan remained the only “pure” movement left. [4]
  1. ↑1 beritasore
  2. ↑2 okezone
  3. ↑3 beritasore
  4. ↑4 okezone
http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1805/blaming-victim-others/

May 21, 2008

Science Musuems in Jakarta

This news article Schools can't spare time or dimes for field trips got me thinking (and surfing) about what outside resources we use in our science teaching at our school….. I recall a science meeting earlier in the year my staff and I were going to put this together, and I’m not sure what happened. (marking and teaching and report writing, no doubt).

I also found this website click here on museums in the world and they have 162 listed museums in Indonesia! Actually I added a couple of pics for the Zoological museum in Bogor.

Anyway, we are going to get it sorted again, I'll post the results here.

Name

Address

Opening times & cost

comments

Last visited






BOGOR ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM

Jalan Juanda 9 MUSEUM KEBUN RAYA BOGOR,



www.museum.com


Quite old, poorly maintained.

Several rooms of old stuffed animals and displays.

Has complete blue whale skeleton.

visited term 3 2008






May 01, 2008

Back to Pramuka Island - lack of conservation. It's all about the $ - and who can blame them??


Most tourists to Jakarta may visit Sepa Island, linky However, I took a school group to Pramuka island again, which is not as well set up for tourists. (Though they would like to attract more tourists, obviously for $)

Sadly, many of my Indonesian Students said that this was the first time they had seen a sunset or stars.....

We chatted with the local head guy and he has decided to build another wharf on the other side of the island currently housing sea grass meadows (which happen to be good for the endangered sea turtles.)

When we pointed this out to him he replied that they dont care about sea grasses or the mangroves anymore as tourists only want to see coral reefs, so that is all they need. When one of my students replied with a comment along the lines of sea grasses provided habitats for small fish he replied with they dont need or want small fish only big ones!

I kid you not!

The local rangers were also proudly showing us the new jetski that they had bought. (out of their environmental budget) - the plan was to give tousits rides on it for money (presumably into their pockets) - they were proud as pigs in shit. apparently they had also bought a banana boat as well.

Actually I was in the water and thought they were rehabilitating the reef, which although nice was in pretty crap condition, many broken corals etc.

There was loads and loads of these plastic frames holding small corals in plastic bottles or attached to concrete slabs.

But apparently they sell the corals, so these were coral farms placed on a close to destroyed reef.

In an effort to be mindful of conservation they have to rehabilitate 2 for every 8 they sell/take.


and frankly, having gone back this year, i can see a decline in the conservation efforts of the ppl, and its a little depressing...