Readwrotes Blog

Triwik Kurniasari , THE JAKARTA POST , JAKARTA | Sun, 07/12/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines Michael Jackson has a special place in the heart of many Indonesian musicians, including prominent singer Glenn Fredly, who hailed the American entertainer as an inspiration. As a tribute to the King of Pop, Glenn put on a gig Friday night. More than a hundred of music lovers were overcome with nostalgia when Glenn and fellow singers performed at a show called "Tribute to Michael Jackson with My Everything ... Glenn Fredly" at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jakarta. Michael Jackson was pronounced dead on June 25 shortly after being rushed to hospital in Los Angeles. Authorities are investigating the cause of his death. Clad in a red shirt, black pants, a black tie, a black fedora hat and a pair of sneakers, Glenn opened the show with his hit single "You are My Everything". With his excellent and powerful voice, Glenn then delivered 12 pop...

The Jakart Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines Golkar Party chairman Jusuf Kalla reminded the public late Monday night that his party will remain part of the ruling coalition until its term ends on Oct. 20, as doubts over his leadership emerge. Kalla said that when his term as vice president comes to an end it would be up to the next Golkar central executive board to decide whether to seek the renewal of the coalition with President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's Democratic Party or become an opposing force. Asked of his post-October expectations, Kalla quipped, "Golkar is based on decisions, not expectations." Kalla was speaking at a press conference after a party meeting at his official residence on Jl. Mangunsarkoro in Central Jakarta. Golkar is scheduled to hold its national congress in December, but Kalla's defeat in last week's presidential election has led members of the party to call for the mee...

Markus Makur and Dicky Christanto , The Jakarta Post , Timika, Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines The body of a policeman was discovered in a ravine near PT Freeport Indonesia's Grasberg mine on Monday, bringing the death toll from a series of weekend ambushes in the restive Papua province to three, officials have said. The latest victim was identified as Police Mobile Brigade (Brimob) Second Brig. Marsom Patipea, who was assigned to secure the Grasberg mining complex. Australian mining expert Drew Nicholas Grant and security guard Markus Rattealo were also killed over the weekend. Seven others were injured in three shootings incidents within a 3.2-kilometer radius around the Grasberg mine, the world's largest source of gold and copper. Marsom was reported missing Sunday after a gunfight erupted with assailants in hills around mile 51 of a road running through Kuala Kencana district in the direction of Tembagapura, whe...

Aditya Suharmoko , The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 10:27 AM | Headlines The government plans to include an article excluding portfolio investment from its so-called negative list of investments (DNI) in a bid to provide certainties for investors entering the Indonesian market, a ministry official says. Under the revision of the 2007 presidential regulation on DNI, there is a proposal to differentiate investment done through portfolio schemes and direct ways - termed foreign direct investment (FDI), Edy Putra Irawadi, deputy to the coordinating minister for the economy, in charge of industry and trade, said Monday. It is aimed to reaffirm Law No. 25/2007 on investment, which states portfolio investment is not categorized as investment and represents transactions or holdings of securities such as shares, bonds, or other financial assets. "It *the implementation of DNI* hasn't been effective all these times. There is no certa...

Rizal Sukma , Jakarta | Tue, 07/14/2009 10:26 AM | Headlines The peaceful conclusion of the July 8 presidential election - handed the incumbent President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono a clear mandate to govern for a second term - clearly seals Indonesia's status as the third-largest democracy in the world. Those who still doubt Indonesia's ability to travel the path of democracy should now begin to take their skepticism elsewhere. Indeed, what transpired from the recent election in Indonesia is the victory of a decade-long democracy in Indonesia. The international community has once again hailed Indonesia's elections as an example of a dynamic democracy. More than 10 years since the country started the difficult democratization process in 1998, Indonesia can now proudly proclaim it is almost on the verge of becoming a full-fledged democracy. Yes, Indonesia is yet to become a full democracy. At technical level, the elections were still m...

Sun, 07/12/2009 11:09 AM | Headlines SBY's victory is a foregone conclusion. Everybody loves him. Older women are even crazy about his conservative hairstyle. Well, at least one woman. "My mother is a big fan of SBY. She parts my little son's hair on the *left* side so that it looks like SBY's hairstyle," my Acehnese friend complained. She told me many Aceh residents chose SBY as they did not know it was actually JK who played the key role in brokering the peace agreement to end the decades-long conflict. SBY also took the credit for fighting corruption, reforming the tax system and creating security and political stability, despite his failure in handling the Lapindo mudflow tragedy. Above all, SBY is successful in generating a good public image, thanks to his relentless presence in the media. People must love him because they believe in what they saw on TV, even though my high school teacher once told me not to judge...

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 14 July 2009 Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, 14 Jul 2009 President Obama's nominee for the Supreme Court, Sonia Sotomayor, faces a third day of questioning Wednesday before the Senate Judiciary Committee considering her nomination. Judge Sotomayor told lawmakers on Tuesday that she would not allow personal views, sympathies or her ethnic background to influence her decisions if she is confirmed to the high court. It will be another grueling day for Sotomayor as the committee considers her nomination by President Barack Obama to serve on the Supreme Court. On Tuesday, she responded in detail to criticisms by Republicans that some of her past statements indicate she would allow her ethnic background or personal views to influence decisions she would make on the Supreme Court. Committee chairman...

By David Gollust State Department 14 July 2009 Ousted Honduras' President Manuel Zelaya during a press conference at the international airport of Comalapa, El Salvador, 05 Jul 2009 The United States Tuesday that there should be no artificial deadlines in efforts by Costa Rica President Oscar Arias to mediate the Honduran political crisis. Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya says he will quit the talks unless he is reinstated quickly. The Obama administration is standing by its insistence that Mr. Zelaya be returned to office as part of any settlement, but it is counseling patience on the part of the deposed president who was ousted in a coup June 28. With U.S. encouragement, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias - a Nobel Peace Laureate - agreed to mediate the dispute between Mr. Zelaya and interim Honduran President Roberto Micheletti, who was installed by the country's congress after the coup. Costa...

By Dan Robinson Capitol Hill 14 July 2009 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have unveiled their version of health care reform legislation, in an effort to accelerate progress toward meeting achieving one of President Obama's major priorities. Republicans immediately blasted the proposal, which Democrats say they're determined to have the House vote on before the August congressional recess. The effort by majority Democrats to reform the health care system, a goal President Barack Obama says is crucial to speeding economic recovery, ran into problems because of huge initial cost estimates, and the prospect of higher taxes to pay for the changes. The president has pledged that health care reform would be fully paid for and not add to the federal budget deficit, the growth of which experts agree also threatens long-term recovery. But a proposal by majority Democrats to pay for it by increas...

By VOA News 14 July 2009 New European Parliament President Jerzy Buzek of Poland in Strasbourg, 14 Jul 2009 The European Parliament Tuesday elected former Polish Prime Minister Jerzy Buzek as president of the 736-member assembly. Mr. Buzek is the assembly's first president from the former Eastern bloc, which was under Soviet domination for nearly 50 years. He called his election a tribute to the millions of people who he says did not bow to a hostile system. Poland joined the European Union in 2004. Buzek was a member of the Solidarity trade union that helped bring down communism in Poland. He was Polish prime minister from 1997 until 2001. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters.

By Kate Thomas Dakar 14 July 2009 Former Liberian President Charles Taylor sits in the courtroom of the International Criminal Court prior to the beginning of his defense case during his trial in The Hague, 13 Jul 2009 Former Liberian president Charles Taylor has testified for the first time at his war crimes trial in The Hague in the Netherlands, saying the case against him is based on lies. Taylor told the packed courtroom it was "incredible" the prosecution would rely on lies and rumors about his role in Sierra Leone's civil war, which ended in 2002. He is accused of micromanaging that war from neighboring Liberia, and is charged with 11 counts of war crimes, plus murder, rape and mutilation. "It is quite incredible that such descriptions of me would come about," Taylor said. "Very unfortunate that the prosecution, because of disinformation, misinformation, lies, rumors, ...

By VOA News 14 July 2009 Mogadishu's Sahafi Hotel, 14 Jul 2009 Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped two French security advisors from a hotel in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Witnesses say at least 10 men stormed the Sahafi Hotel Tuesday, and grabbed the two foreigners from their rooms. The kidnapped men had registered at the hotel as journalists. But the French foreign ministry says they were on an official mission to help the Somali government with security matters. The ministry says all appropriate French agencies have been mobilized to help find the two. No one has claimed responsibility for the abductions. Several witnesses say some of the gunmen were wearing government uniforms. Sources in Mogadishu tell VOA the kidnapped men were taken into a part of the capital controlled by the Islamist militant group al-Shabab. Al-Shabab is the most powerful of several Islamist groups trying to topple the Somali gover...