24 November 2008

Pirates of Somalia

Beside the financial crisis, western countries have another difficult job. It is the Pirates of Somalia job. Many ships have been captured and so far there is no appropriate solutions. Analysts said that military solutions will not work and actualy do not work that well. Below attached articles are in Bahasa Indonesia. They were taken from Kompas daily newspaper (hope you can read bahasa). They are telling about the root of the problems and possible solution for that.


This article mentions the fact that military operations cannot handle the pirates. There problem is not on the sea, it is on the land of Somalia. Western countries (especially UK and US, as mentioned in the second article) should accomodate all components Somalia to create long lasting peace there. If not, the pirates will just operate longer and there will be more casualties and more money has to be spent or burned to the air.

The second article clearly mentioned that actually western countries, Kompas mentioned UK and US, are the responsible parties in this. Maybe, it is time to admit their policy failure and make corrective actions as soon as possible especially on land of Somalia.

14 November 2008

And the Winner is.....

Receiving 1st Prize from pak Bayu, Deputy Coordinating Minister of Social Welfare (photo: MHPP - GTZ)

Thursday 13th of November will be the most memorable day for pak Linggih. Pak Linggih is the Major of Batang Uru village in West Sulawesi Province. Beside his Major duties, he also has a turbine workshop. His dedication for rural electrification is uncomparable. He works alot and does not speak much. He does it not just speaks about it. He is a true leader. The Kecamatan Development Project (KDP - Now is named PNMP) has involved him in many micro hydro projects. The projects under his supervision is undeniably very succesful.

Rural Electrification in Batang Uru, look at the wooden poles (Photo: DGEEU - Ministry of Energy GOI)

Enough with background info. On 13th of November pak Linggih and especially Batang Uru Village has won the first prize of Desa Mandiri Energy (DME) Competition 2008. Desa Mandiri Energi or Energy Self Sufficient Villages is defined as a village that can supply its own energy need (at least 60%) with local resources. Community participation is very important in DME and in Batang Uru community participation is number one. There are some supports from KDP but people put their efforts and money more than KDP's. This can be a serious sign of sustainability (especially social aspect). I hope government projects are done in this manner (although not all are as successful as pak Linggih's).

Pak Linggih's Workshop (Photo: DGEEU - Ministry of Energy GOI)

Anyway, congratulation to Pak Linggih and especially to KDP staffs in West Sulawesi. This is a sign of good integrated work between many institutions.

5 November 2008

I am wrong

It is time to admit the mistake. My prediction did not come true. I hope this will be a totally new era for the world. Like it or not, the US is very influential in the world politic and economy. I admirer the fastness of votes calculation. I hope KPU (komisi pemilihan umum, the electoral committee of Indonesia) can do the same.

There is a positive progress in the US. People did not lie in the voting booth. I might change my views towards the Americans, especially the Democrats.

4 November 2008

Obama or McCain? oder McCain or Obama?

I say, McCain will win the election. Why? Because the white American will actually make up their minds in the voting booth. Obama might have better pre-election results (that should politically correct - e.g. not against black candidate) but he still is not 100% white. In the voting booth everyone is nameless. One will not feel guilty if his choice is politically correct or not. One can deny his/her logic and suddenly support the white ego and make racial choice. I do not say that all white Americans are racial but Tom Bradley in 1982 was the first victim of this hypocrisy (you conclude it yourself). McCain will win and if I consider the educated Americans then he will only win with very small winning margin.

I do not really care who will win because anyhow Indonesia should not be politically too dependent on one or two countries. In the current economic turmoil, Indonesians should be strong and supports the nation 100%. Buy Indonesian products, do not make any speculation of foreign exchanges (especially US$ and those who do it should be sent to jail for good), reduce unnecessary fuel consumption, efficient use of energy, keep working hard and if possible keep exporting "unique" products that cannot be substituted by any products from other countries (don't say exporting oil ya? oil is not a product).

What if I am wrong and Obama win the election. No problem, everyone makes mistakes including myself. I might change my views towards the Americans.