The State Department on Friday urged Americans to respect its warning against traveling to North Korea, saying in a cheeky Twitter message that there are not too many former U.S. presidents left available for rescue missions.
Tag: Politics
Australia has its first female Prime Minister
Julia Gillard becomes new Australian Prime Minister after Kevin Rudd resigned. The leadership challenge that was expected to go down this morning did not eventuate as Kevin Rudd elected to step down. Wayne Swann becomes Deputy PM.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd is facing a leadership challenge tonight as his former backers in the Australian Labor Party have deserted him for his deputy, Julia Gillard who moments ago took a position to challenge Rudd. Those keeping an eye in Australian politics are speculating strongly that by tomorrow Australia will have a new Prime Minister ahead of the election later this year.
Mickey Mouse, 47th President of the United States of America
Daring Fireball pointed to this New York Times blog talking about the recent US Supreme Court decision granting corporations First Amendment rights, that is the right to free speech, including determining political allegiances and funding.
Wasting little time, PR company Murray Hill Incorporated decided that the next logical step was for businesses to run for a seat in the US Congress and produced this brilliant campaign video.
As if it’s not enough, here’s a chronological account of what happens following that decision up to January 2029 when Mickey Mouse gets inaugurated as the 47th US President.
Scam of the Century?
What is CenturyGate?
In 2008, Bank Century, a relatively small bank with a small profile went bust. Apparently some of their clientele were not small fry at all that the government agreed to pour Rp 1.3 trillion (USD 1 = IDR 9500) to keep it afloat although the bank remains effectively closed to public. One year later, the government has spent an astonishing Rp 6.7 trillion (more than USD 700 million) seemingly with little effect for no apparent reason.
So, how much is 6.7 trillion rupiahs? Noted filmmaker and activist Joko Anwar asked the question earlier today. More precisely, what can you do with that amount of money. Here are answers from twitter, in Indonesian.
maddypertiwi: Bisa nyekolahin anak2 miskin sampe kuliah se-Indonesia tuh
sirohit: 837,500 iPhone 3G kapasitas 16GB
jokoanwar: Bisa beli Toyota Avanza sebanyak 55,880 biji. Kalo dijejerin lebih dari 100 km
jokoanwar: Bisa bikin 670 sekolah seharga Rp 10 milyar
jokoanwar: Bisa bikin 67 sekolah film seharga 100 milyar. Biar filmmaker Indonesia nggak bodoh-bodoh
sirohit: 1.116.666.666 Kg beras super
risantokilala: bisa beli 2,233,333 BlackBerry Gemini
maddypertiwi: Bisa nyekolahin anak2 miskin sampe kuliah se-Indonesia
anakcerdas: setiap orang di Indonesia bisa makan 2 piring nasi goreng kambing Kebon Sirih
ftnanda: Gak bakal ada yang namanya anak jalanan lagi di indonesia karena udah dibiayain sekolah
madegrazia: 67x bantuan gempa Sumbar dari pemerintah
Wow. 670 well funded schools. There are existing schools with no funding, unpaid teachers, insufficient facilities, some can’t even be called a school if not for students, teachers, and books since they have no building.
1.1 billion Kilograms of rice. There are some unbelievably malnourished and underfed people in Indonesia. This would go a long way towards helping them
800 thousand iPhone 3Gs. Telkomsel would be ecstatic with that number. They can barely sell 20 thousand.
67 times the aid given to the West Sumatra earthquake recovery and rebuilding effort. That is astounding.
You’ll find more on Twitter search.
No shorts, no skirts in Aceh
A local regulation in Aceh now bans Muslim women from wearing tights and men from wearing shorts according to an AFP story in The Jakarta Globe
“If a woman flouts (the rule), her trousers will be cut up on the spot and replaced with a skirt that will be provided free of charge by the West Aceh government,” district chief Ramli Mansur told AFP.
“This rule applies not only to women but also to men, who are prohibited from wearing shorts,” he added.”
Now does that mean the men will have their shorts cut up and replaced with a government issued skirt?
