As Time Goes Bye

Just stopping by for a breather, but not really into posting yet just thought I would pop in and see if I missed much in the world's most dysfunctional democracy (?!).

I see its been a fairly interesting TIME here, while I have been away. We all knew things were not going so well, but Indonesia really has come the full circle since the heady hopes brought about by the student led Indonesian 1998 Revolution. A revolution of hope, which pushed the autocratic President Suharto of Indonesia kicking and screaming from power (but not for long, it seems).

After some fits, starts and farts, aspirations were high when the current president took power with the vast support of the the people. Finally, here was a man who had the moral mandate and the peoples support to clean out the corrupt, the evil and the insane who seem to make up the vast majority of the political and the elite of Indonesia. Unfortunately, like so many things in Indonesia it was only surface gloss and the opportunity has slipped away along with the chances of better life for the average Indonesian.

As Time magazine (only read the previous link, if you have an extermely developed sense of the absurb) and the people of Jakarta have found out, the more things change, the more they stay the same. Still was good to see such revered (?) institutions as the Supreme Court willing to take a stand in the face overwhelming good sense, shame they are not so proactive in demanding justice for ..say the Mud Lovers in Surabuya . You really should get a copy of this piece of classic television soapie. The series is in Bahasa Indonesia but that should not stop you, bizzare transends language. A bigger shame is in the early days of Independence the Supreme Court really was a defender of Justice..where did all the good people go?

For a quick read on just how far the hopes of of 1998 have fallen try here.

Meanwhile close to our quaint little village, well away from the mainstream eight people died in recent floods. Our local religious nutters (RN's)...we grow our own here, its more organic and nothing warms the cockles of your heart more than seeing little kids clad head to toe in black, sorry I digrese. Our RN's declared the flood was God's Wrath as people were not observing Ramadam with due piety. Of course it had nothing to with the fact that a bunch of new developments have blocked off natural water runoffs or the majority of the streams are treated as waste disposal pits.

Speaking of things religious, I have never really got the hang of religion since our nice (but crazy) old Grandma,grabbed my little sister by the ear and held her in front of a picture of Jesus and yelled at her the tears in Jesus's eye's were becuase she was naughty (now even at that tender age, I could tell the tears probably had a lot more to do with the nails than us dropping a bottle of lemonade).

I can't help but think, if there was a GOD, he/she would be much more impressed if we cleansed things like THIS before we decided to cleanse ourselves during this holy month of Ramadam. But as I said I just don't get it...or maybe I will come judgement day.

Have a good one..