Searching for Utopia

Large is the realm of Indonesia. But she is acquainted with grief for every wound she has suffered throughout her span. Another day could mean another wound, as today had proven.

‘She is standing upon the ring of fire,’ some wandering men cried. But some others answered, ‘No, this is merely punishment for the folk’s insolence and folly!’ Some sought counsel in their inmost thought and believed that they were doomed to death.

Whatever betides; is there naught we might do? Shall we wait till we all fall lifeless?

Following is a list of some of the disasters to hit Indonesia from Reuters since the Asian tsunami of 2004:

Dec 26, 2004 - Nearly 132,000 Indonesians are killed and more than 37,000 listed as missing after a 9.15 magnitude earthquake off Indonesia and a tsunami triggered by it in the Indian ocean region. The toll in affected Indian Ocean countries reaches 230,000 dead.
Feb 21, 2005 - At least 96 are killed in landslide that sweeps through two West Java villages near a garbage dump.
March 28, 2005 - Nearly 1,000 are believed killed after a quake of magnitude 8.7 hits the coast of Sumatra.
July 20, 2005 - Indonesia confirms first deaths from bird flu. To date the disease has killed 63 people in Indonesia, the world’s highest bird flu death toll.
Sept 1, 2005 - Landslide on island of Sumatra kills 14 and leaves more than a dozen missing.
Sept 5, 2005 - Domestic airliner operated by local carrier Mandala Airlines crashes in residential area of Indonesia’s third biggest city Medan, killing 102 aboard and 47 local residents in an inferno on the ground.
May 15, 2006 - Mount Merapi volcano erupts with clouds of hot gas and rains ash on surrounding areas.
May 27, 2006 - Earthquake rocks area around ancient royal city of Yogyakarta killing at least 5,000 and destroying or damaging 150,000 homes.
July 17, 2006 - A tsunami after a 7.7 magnitude quake in West Java province kills at least 550 people. At least 54,000 people are displaced.
Dec 30, 2006 - A ferry with at least 600 aboard sinks during a stormy night voyage as it traveled between Borneo and Java.
Jan 1, 2007 - An Adam Air passenger plane flying from Surabaya to Manado with 102 people aboard crashes into the sea off the west coast of Sulawesi.
Feb 22, 2007 - At least 42 people are killed when fire breaks out aboard a ferry which was heading from Jakarta to Bangka Island off Sumatra.
March 6, 2007 - Two strong earthquakes kill at least 31 people and injure dozens in the West Sumatra provincial capital of Padang.
March 7, 2007 – Domestic Airliner operated by Garuda Indonesia crashes in Yogyakarta, killing many of its passengers.

It may be a slow news day, but it doesn’t stop us from getting “that” book. So go grab your copy and make sure you don’t miss Chapter 16!

Today I came across a neat review on the Crazy Horse Paris in Singapore:

The show was pure eye-candy and because of the fantastic lights, most of the time, I couldn’t even tell if the performers were nude. The theater is pitch black (no photography allowed!) and the playful lights are perfectly choreographed with the dancers such that you think you’re in a dream. So if you’re expecting porn, stay home and watch a DVD as I think this would get a PG-13 rating.

Yeah, whatever. Folks, in case you’ve been in Mars for the past few days, the topless show is leaving Singapore this Sunday due to financial loss. I actually couldn’t care less about it, particularly because naked chick is not of my interest. What is most interesting, though, is how people seem to put the blame on the government. Since I’m now too lazy to provide you with a link or two, you can just google it if you want. If not, then just trust me. Sheesh.

Eng Wah Organization, the local promoter, mentioned among the reasons of its failure was the publicity restricitions. Ms Goh Min Yen, the managing director said, “For the first eight months, we could advertise only in the newspapers’ movie listings. No images. No pictorials. Even famous brands like Prada or Louis Vuitton have to continuously advertise.” For God’s sake, does the red light district gets better treatment than that? I don’t remember I saw any advertisement for prostitution at the aiport either. Yet I know it survives. And how about cigarette? We have smoking prohibition in public places, age restriction, and even those scary pictures on the packs—but still people are buying it.

I think that it is simply out of place to have Crazy Horse here. I understand that they think Singapore is dull and stoic , and they want to change it. But let’s admit it, most people go to Singapore for its bustling commercial life. We don’t go here for burlesque show. If it’s what we wanted, then we could have gone to Paris, NYC—or maybe Bangkok. Well, maybe you can argue that the last one is a bit different, but you get the point. I don’t think that Crazy Horse would give a significant boost to tourism industry in that way. Well, not for $88 anyway. And I doubt that the locals would spend that much everyday for the show; no matter how great reviews said about it.

I could jump on the bag wagon and blame the publicity restrictions; but I won’t. Call it art, but I’m sure most women would be happier to see their husbands watching Star Wars than Crazy Horse. We like it dull and stoic!

Hungarian soccer legend Ferenc Puskas died today in Budapest’s Kutvolgyi Hospital following six year suffering from Alzheimer. He was 79.

Born in April 1927, he was the brain of the “Magical Magyars”, Hungary’s wonder team which beat England by 6:3 to be the first ever foreign side to win at Wembley. In six years during the 1950s, the team only suffered one loss—that is at the 1954 World Cup final against Germany.

Ferenc Puskas in action

In 1958, he joined Real Madrid, won six domestic titles and conquering Europe afterwards. In 1960, Real won the European Cup for 7-3 over Eintracht Frankfurt. He scored four goals in the particular match. He retired in 1967, went on to coach clubs in several countries. He led Panathanaikos to the European Cup final in 1971.

In 2000, he was admitted to hospital with arteriosclerosis and was later diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, which left him struggling with financial problems since then. On August 14, 2005, Real Madrid travelled to Budapest to play a testimonial in his honor. The game had supposedly been conceived as a means of helping to pay for his treatment. However, Real Madrid reportedly commanded expenses of £892,000 to play the game And when the sums were done, the Puskas family received just £7,000.

Ferenc Puskas Stadion

The International Federation for Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) classed Puskas as the most successful first-division player of all time, having scored 511 goals in 533 first-division matches. We mourn his death and express our condolences to his loved ones.

It reads “koruptor“, which means—if it’s not obvious—corruptor. The accompanying words more or less mean: “don’t keep it wet. Just HANG it! So it will dry faster.” [Kompas]

Spread the words!

If you are a constant visitor to this humble blog of mine you’d notice the recent shrinking of posts. My apologies, that is because we were in the midst of our utopian quest. It is not yet over. The searching will continue yon in a new land that is Singapore: an unknown place for us both, and our suitcase is full of hopes. Kudos to my other-half for all his valiant effort. There were hectic moments in our life, but he has always been my rock. Yes siree.

There are things to let go, and there are things to embrace—and I want to treasure them all in my heart. I’ll keep writing about Hungary, about Indonesia, about Singapore, and just about anything. Thank you for having me, folks.

“Don’t blame George W. Bush: Chaos in U.S. foreign policy is nothing new. But pity those, whether the Hungarians in 1956, or the Shiites in 1991, who take our democracy rhetoric too literally: Sometimes we really mean it — and sometimes we don’t.”

–The Washington Post’s Anne Applebaum

As the days count down to October 23, Budapest is preparing for the highly-anticipated 50th anniversary of its 1956 revolution. Just in case you were under a rock—as I was, on October 23, 1956, university students all over Hungary started peaceful demonstration against the Soviet Union’s occupation. They chanted the censored “National Song” (Nemzeti dal), the refrain of which states: “We vow, we vow, we will no longer remain slaves.” Hundreds of thousands of people then joined them for the cause.

The rally then turned to violence when the State Protection Authority (ÁVH)—an external appendage of the Soviet Union’s secret police forces, stopped them; by force that is. People still believed that help could come from the United States as American-run Radio Free Europe in Germany encouraged them to go all the way against the Kremlin and even broadcast lessons on how to make Molotov cocktails. But their hope failed them as Russian tanks returned to Budapest on November 4. Six thousand guns were said to open fire on the city, raining phosphorous shells. More than 2,500 Hungarians were said to be killed, some 20,000 wounded, and another 200,000 fled, first to Austria then on to America, Canada, and Australia, in Europe’s first big refugee crisis since the second world war.

“Reform Communist” Prime Minister Imre Nagy pleaded for help on the radio: “This is Prime Minister Imre Nagy speaking. At dawn, Soviet troops attacked our country in order to overthrow the legitimate Hungarian democratic government.” Only Red Cross answered the call. American-Hungarian historian Charles Gati wrote earlier this year that the United States was unprepared to help them and that a few high officials even expected some political and foreign policy benefits from a Soviet invasion. Vice President Richard Nixon explained to his colleagues at a top-secret National Security Council meeting in July 1956 that “it wouldn’t be an unmixed evil, from the point of view of U.S. interest, if the Soviet iron fist were to come down again on the Soviet bloc.”

Fifty years later, people are still embittered about what happened; and who could blame them? Historian Pal Germuska said, “This anniversary should be a chance to make a fresh start at a moment where everyone can agree. Unfortunately no one believes this can happen. The freedom fighters and the killers are still living in this society. Fifty years is not enough to sort out all these problems.”

President George W. Bush might want to redeem the past. In a recent White House proclamation issued to mark the anniversary, he said, “The story of Hungarian democracy represents the triumph of liberty over tyranny. In the fall of 1956, the Hungarian people demanded change, and tens of thousands of students, workers, and other citizens bravely marched through the streets to call for freedom. Though Soviet tanks brutally crushed the Hungarian uprising, the thirst for freedom lived on, and in 1989 Hungary became the first communist nation in Europe to make the transition to democracy.”

That was awfully nice of him; while during his stay in Budapest he stated that he saw parallels between Hungary in 1956 and Iraq in 2006. I can tell you that most people here disagree with him. On second thought, maybe he did have a point. Hungary in 1956 was occupied by Soviet Union, while Iraq in 2006 is occupied by you know who. Hm, interesting!

While googling about Paypal in Hungary, I found this interesting piece on Conics.Net:

Click on the picture for the full-sized picture

Okay, I have heard many times about Indonesian credit card scams. Everyone has their own right not to accept payment from Indonesian credit cards. It is I think the same reason as why Paypal is not available there (I suppose Hungary is getting better in fighting the frauds). But is it okay to call the whole nation as terrorists or THEIVES (sic) as the Conics.Net does? In any case, this one goes out to Conics.Net: It’s “thieves”, sir!

Index.hu reported that Paypal is now available in Hungary. I honestly have been waiting for this good news for so long. I was a bit skeptical at first, but it turns out to be true. Paypal’s official website says:

Well then I guess from now on we can also sell Britney Spears’ half eaten sandwich on eBay. Yay!