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Indonesia
firm urged to up payout over mud disaster
 An
Indonesian energy firm blamed for a torrent
of hot mud gushing from
the ground after a drilling accident should pay out higher than
normal compensation, the country's vice president was quoted on
Friday as saying. An attempt by Energi to sell controlling stakes
in Lapindo to to Freehold Group Ltd., a firm incorporated in the
British Virgin Islands, collapsed this week because of
controversy over the deal.
(Reuters)
Stuck in the Mud
The Lapindo mudflow disaster has become, once again, a divisive
issue in the cabinet. Two ministers, Aburizal Bakrie and Sri
Mulyani Indrawati, have opposing views. Bakrie’s sidestepping
attempts to sell Lapindo have been thwarted by Bapepam. The
concern is that
no one will cover the costs
of the disaster after the company changes hands. (tempo)
Indonesia's Energi drops plan to sell
Lapindo
Reuters AlertNetTimor truth commission to question
Indonesian generals over 1999 violence
Indonesia pulls US wrestling programs
after boy's death
Boston Globe
Strong
quake hits Indonesia's north Sumatra
"It felt
like a big truck just passed by in Banda Aceh and Meulaboh. I am
confused why a quake in North Sumatra could be felt in those
cities when people near
the epicentre were not
affected," Sobri told Reuters by phone from Banda Aceh, about 500
km (310 miles) from the epicentre. (Reuters)
 POPULAR
BAR IN MEGA KUNINGAN LAUNCHES LADIES NIGHT!
Just one week after celebrating its one year existence, Cazbar is
throwing a new surprise into the Jakarta Nightlife. Ladies drink
for free from 18.00 till 24.00 on every Saturday. The sports bar upstairs shows LIVE
cricket on a big screen from 07.00AM onwards while serving an
excellent English breakfast. For more info, call 0811169234.
FROM
THE EDITOR:
 It
must have been to the amusement of my old customer that I
spent a full working day at the police station. I was summoned to
the office of the RESKRIMSUS at the Polda Metro Jaya
office, and expected things to be slow, but a whole day? Having
said that, I did notice much improvement in the police handling of
affairs. Their offices were cleaner, everything computerized and
in general they seemed to be more professional. Things are
improving.
Luckily Komisaris Barnabas had a TV in the corner showing a nature
channel with a program about monkeys. A scientist was trying to
teach them words. The few reserse officers in room E23 did
not find it interesting or maybe had seen the program too many
times already. 'We are all undercover', the man said proudly while
showing his ID. There were three other undercover officers, all
dressed in white shirts and 'made in Korea' ties, lazily
hanging back in their chairs. They didn't pay much attention to
me; one was reading the Pos Kota, another was playing with the lid
of his tea manis that was served in a beer mug. A third
officer was staring at me. 'Dari mana?' he asked
unfriendly. The name on his nametag ended with an 'O', so I
suspected him to be a Javanese. I tried my luck and answered in
the Javanese language that I was from Holland. It worked. One
stopped playing with the tea lid, the other abruptly lowered his
newspaper. 'Koh, iso omong Jovo!? Wong Londo?!?' The man
who was to interrogate me showed a great relief from his face. He
did not have to look for the interpreter. He could speak his own
language. If it would be to my advantage, I was not sure.
First I did not want to write about this. My newsletter should be
a fun source, not a tool to confront or challenge people. But
after spending 8 hours of interrogation I felt a very strong need
to warn other people for the practices that some people, in this
case an expat, use to get rich quickly. It was all about the name
BuGils, my brainchild. BuGils, the name that brought so
much enjoyment in my life and in the life of so many others. I
will not use the persons' name, just that he comes from a country
somewhere to the southeast of Australia.
The officer offered me tea. His colleague reached out some
gorengan that were unfolded from an old Kompas newspaper. It
was a front cover with a picture of the Lapindo mudflow. It
made the tempe and pisang goreng even look greasier.
'So you say he gave you the poster for free after you refused to
pay 750 US for it? Does the neon sign above the entrance of BuGils
look like the neon sign that he pictured in the poster?' I could only
admit. It was exactly the same. The man certainly was good at his
job. I had copied it from the poster that he had given to me and I
used the logo design to make a huge neon lettering. This was in
January 2006. 'What you've done is tantamount to stealing and
infringes on intellectual copyright!' he wrote me in an email.
I apologized, not really awa re of the copyright laws and offered
compensation. I wrote that I was willing to pay 5 juta in cash or
7,5 juta in entertainment bills as I had used his design without
his permission. I reminded him it was more then I had paid him a
few months earlier, for similar design, but then for the Cazbar
logo. He didn't care. He wanted money and he wanted a lot. His
emails became threatening and he even gave me deadlines. It was
clear that he was not in the mood for a reasonable solution. He
obvious had forgotten all the nights I had given him and his wife
free entertainment in return for the free poster and some other
smaller design work.
On the picture: the poster
with the logo design that was given for free. The woman adoring Mr
Heineken standing next to it could not be identified.
The officer typed slow. So slow that after every sentence I made,
I could read one full page of the newspaper. 'Who came up with the
name 'BuGils'? When and where did you have this idea for the name
BuGils? Who were there when you said the name BuGils for the first
time?' It went on and on. His colleagues had left already; they
had to carry out an raid on illegal CD's. I took a short but
pleasant break (the nasi rames was excellent) in the only warung
on the complex with AC. 'The owner is Kolonel Carlo!'
whispered the cashier. I didn't ask anything, she just gave me
this information. I had no idea why, but from the way she said it,
I could understand that Colonel Carlo was a respected man. I tried
to look impressed and went back to the little room of the
RESKRIMSUS. I couldn't find out where the 'SUS' stood for. I also
couldn't find out where they all had empty gun holster on their
desks. 'Where were the guns if they were not in the holsters?' I
wondered.
I didn't hear from the man until his pro-bono lawyer called
me a few months ago. A 'pro-bono' lawyer is a lawyer for
those who cannot afford a 'normal' one. They normally only get
paid in case of success, often a 50% commission. 'His lawyer
informed me he wanted 100 juta rupiah'. I leaned back and read
another page of a newspaper. 'What did you reply?' the police man asked. 'I told
him I was prepared to pay 10 juta. But if he would not agree
within one week, I would lower my offer to 5 juta. Since then I
never heard from him or his lawyer again until you sent me this
subpoena'. I went too fast. The officer indicated me to slow down
and to repeat things slowly. I looked at the clock. Even the clock
was slow. Finally, just before five, he had finished his questions
and I had to sign four copies of my statements. 'In your opinion,
what are my changes?', I asked the police man. 'We only report
statements that will be judged by the Hak Cipta (copy rights)
officer in Daan Mogot. But I think he has more rights, because he
has now registered the name BuGils...'. This surprised me. He had
registered the trademark BuGils!? Since when? The officer closed
his maps and stood up. 'Since July'. It suddenly became clear to
me. First he had asked for 15 juta back in January, then shortly after he
registered 'my' name BuGils, he hired a lawyer and became
'brani' enough to ask for 100 juta! He was looking for the
jackpot....
BuGils has overcome almost everything imaginable in its seven
years of existence. Nevertheless we got a new challenge ahead,
strayed upon me by a creative expat. Creative in his work, but
also creative in getting paid for his work. Be warned dear friends. BuGils
Forever.
TO BE CONTINUED...
This weekend there will some great
entertainment on offer in Jakarta, but you will find
me in BuGils on Saturday, where Dora will play her crazy piano. A
relaxed but entertaining show. For more info, you can always sms
me at 0811169234 . Cheers, Bartele
FRIDAY DECEMBER 8TH - THE OPENING OF THE ONE TREE BAR!
Free Flow of Beer
and a LIVE performance of the famous:
IVAN
NESTORMAN !
(for more info on Ivan, click
here)
PS. Starting from Monday Dec
4th onwards ONE TREE is OPEN FOR LUNCH!
The best PEA SOUP and SHOARMA
(KEBAB) in TOWN!
(One Tree is located next to Oscars)
========================
In EASTERN PROMISE THIS FRIDAY (under a tent in the music
garden):
TIMEWARP!
Get your Blues Brothers Experience
this Friday, with 13 piece band Time
Warp!!
This is Big! This is a must see! Starts at
8.30pm
On SATURDAY:
ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD:
Man allegedly tries to put wife in oven
A man has been arrested after allegedly trying to force
his estranged wife into an
oven on Thanksgiving in front of their five children. (Yahoo)
 Fancy
a cuppa? Just plug in a Rooney
The energy generated by football dynamo Wayne Rooney as he sprints
around the pitch during a match is
enough to boil water for 16
cups of tea, according to research published on Tuesday. (Yahoo)
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Funky
fare for Muslim fashionistas at
Jakarta show
