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Indonesia plans new morality laws
- Adultery, kissing in public and cohabiting without being
married could become
crimes in Indonesia. (BBC)
'Jilbab' Porno Film Causes a
Stir
A new amateur pornography film of a young
woman wearing a jilbab (Muslim veil) and almost nothing
else while having sex with a man is being widely distributed in
Indonesia, much to the outrage of Islamic groups. DETIK.COM say
the film is being sold under three different titles: the rather
innocent Alam Terbuka Mataram (Mataram Open Scenery);
the more suggestive Lombok Lautan Asmara (Lombok Sea
Lovemaking); and the location/action-derived Goyang Sesaot
(Sesoat Grinding). The film was apparently shot in Sesaot,
a tourist area in West Lombok popular for
nature walks and scenery. (Laksamana)
 Timorese
church opposes Indonesian deal on war crimes
East Timor's new Catholic bishop has opposed a
deal between Timorese and Indonesian leaders to drop trials over
atrocities during the country's 1999 independence process,
saying it lacks public support. (AFP)
 Concern
over Saudi charity in Aceh -
A powerful Saudi charity under scrutiny for
alleged terrorist financing is expanding operations in
tsunami-ravaged areas of Indonesia, importing a hard-line
religious message that the West fears could spread extremist Islam
in the world's most populous Muslim nation. (CNN)
The Saudi charity is helping rebuild mosques in
ravaged Aceh.
Indonesian president to raise issue of Malaysian companies not
paying illegal immigrant workers
Fines reportedly introduced
to protect Indonesian dialect
The culture and tourism office in Indonesia's west Java province
has reportedly introduced fines for employees found misusing the
local dialect. The Pikiran Rakyat daily says the new ruling, which
came into effect last week, is an attempt to to preserve the local
Sunda language. Staff face a fine of about 10 US cents for every
grammatical error or use of the wrong word in the language. Office
head, Budhyatna, says he was fined on the first day for making
seven mistakes during a meeting with his colleagues. Indonesia has
more than 300 separate languages and a Malay tongue widely used in
the archipelago has been declared the country's official language.
But under a law introduced in 2003, local authorities have the
right to include the teaching and use of local dialects in schools
and the partial use of the language at work. (Radio Australia)
Yogyakarta anticipates
tsunami in its southern coastal area
Authorities in Yogyakarta have taken steps to
anticipate a tropical storm in the Indian Ocean hitting its
southern coastal areas by increasing police patrols and installing
warning sirens in Bantul regency. The meteorology section at the
Adisutjipto Air Force Base has
predicted that a tropical storm in the Indian Ocean would
threaten Yogyakarta's coastal area between Wednesday and Friday.
Yogyakarta Governor Sri Sultan Hamengkubuwono X has called on
residents to avoid beaches for the time being. (JKT Post)
FROM THE EDITOR:
 It was in Bali where I met Jan for the first time. Sitting on a
terrace Jan suddenly stood up. Swearing in Dutch he angrily walked
up to a bule man who was sitting on the other side of the road
with his hands around two little Indonesian street boys. 'He you!
Get of my sight, now! And leave this kids alone you damn
pedophile...!' The man looked up in shock to the big Dutchman and
quickly ran off, leaving the two kids in surprise behind. 'Next
time you are finished!' Jan shouted after him. The man was gone
already.
Now I met Jan again, this time in Jakarta. After a number of
drinks in BuGils we decided to go with some regulars to CJ's.
While waving for a taxi Jan said: 'Somehow they know I am new.
Every time they drive me around. I give you the proof now.' Jan
took the front seat. 'CJ's', said Jan. 'You know where that
is?' The taxi driver was silent for a few seconds, but then he
said calmly: 'Oh... I know. That's in Blok M...' Jan instantly
yelled out loud: 'You see!?! You see!?! These damn f.... are all
the same!' The driver, clearly shocked by the angry giant next to
him quickly corrected his earlier words. 'Oh, CJ's in Hotel Mulia?
Tahu, tahu! (i know) Sorry, sorry Mister!'
CJ's was packed and Jan, hitting his tenth vodka-tonic, had his
eyes on a beautiful tall woman. 'She is stunning', Jan said while
staring over the bar to the cool looking beauty. 'I want her', he
said resolute and went up to her. We decided to pull him a
leg. When he came back to our side he was proudly bragging
that she was interested in him. 'Jan. We have to warn you. That's
a bloke. It's a lady boy. A guy.' What!? You are joking!' Jan, his
mouth hanging open, looked at the tall woman at the other side of
the bar. Innocent she smiled friendly in our direction. 'You are
kidding!' he shouted. "No Jan. We are not. Look how tall she is.
Listen to her voice. Go back and look at her toes. If they are big
its definitely a lady boy. We know because we have been here
longer then you.' Jan immediately returned to her. He bowed down
in front of her to have closer look at her feet. The girl was
confused. 'What are you doing?' she asked in surprise. Jan raised
himself up again and concluded straight in her face: 'You are a
guy!' The innocent girl gasped for air. 'What!?!' But
before she could speak Jan was back to our side of the bar.
Feeling embarrassed he thanked us for saving him and quickly
ordered us a round of drinks. Behind his back we cried our eyes
out.
Later that night he noticed that the 'lady-boy' was hanging around
the neck of another expat! Being the straight Dutchman, he went up
to the guy to warn him. The guy looked at him, first in surprise
and then angrily he shouted at Jan. "Go away man, before I
hit you. She has been my girlfriend already for 2 months, you
lunatic!' The girl supported her boyfriend. "Dia gila! (he
is crazy!)' , she shrieked. 'He was trying to kiss me feet an hour
earlier!' The expat stood up ready for a fight, but Jan quickly
apologized and moved away from the couple.
 Embarrassed for the second time he pointed his finger at us, while
we were laughing hard. 'Your humor is sick. And so is everybody
here. Nothing seems for real. Nothing is true.' He took a gulp of
his vodka, smiled to another girl on the dance floor and continued
with a grim: 'but I think I'm actually gonna like it here!'
-- Bartele
(Note: Jan is note his real name. But if you
come to BuGils I will be happy to point out the 'Jan' in the
story. I predict you will hear more of him in future editorials!
On the picture: BuGils waitresses Cattry, Risa and Uci)
More 'real life' stories you can find in the book BULE GILA
(published by Equinox) written by myself. It is for now for sale
in the bookstores (QB, Periplus), BuGils Cafe or Amazon.com.
 On
the picture left: BuGils regulars on a night out in CJ's.
ELSEWHERE IN THE ASIA:
More Japanese think wives need not stay home - According to
the poll conducted, only 4 percent of the respondents said the
husband was
responsible for cleaning the house, 1.2 percent for cooking
and 3.5 percent for washing dishes.
ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD:
 School
Halts Adopt a Sniper Fund-Raiser - A U.S.
university in Wisconsin has blocked an attempt by Republican
students to raise money for a group called "Adopt
a Sniper" that raises money for U.S. sharp-shooters in Iraq
and Afghanistan. (Yahoo)
Budding Jordan cyber love ends in divorce
A budding romance between a Jordanian man and woman turned into
an ugly public divorce when the couple found out that they were in
fact man and wife, state media reported. (AFP)
Cameras, not aces, up their sleeves win trio a year in prison
A
trio of con artists who used miniature cameras hidden up their
sleeves to cheat French casinos out of tens of thousands of euros
was sentenced to a year in jail for their underhanded scam.
British defence ministry won't rule out alien life: report
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