3/30/2010

JURIST - Paper Chase: Indonesia constitutional court rejects challenge to broad anti-pornography law

JURIST - Paper Chase: Indonesia constitutional court rejects challenge to broad anti-pornography law
[JURIST] The Indonesian Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a controversial anti-pornography law. The law was purportedly designed to protect younger generations from pornographic and lewd materials. Critics challenged the bill for being too broad, discriminating against women, and targeting aspects of Indonesian tradition and culture, but the court rejected those arguments.

Intense lobbying behind health reform - Chris Frates - POLITICO.com

Intense lobbying behind health reform - Chris Frates - POLITICO.com

Behind President Barack Obama’s public push to pass sweeping health care reform, there was an equally intense behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign to influence the legislation and the outcome of Sunday’s historic vote. Powerful interest groups worked almost around the clock last week, meeting with wavering Democratic lawmakers and huddling with leadership staff to push reform over the finish line.

Regenerasi PDIP Masih Andalkan Trah Soekarno

Regenerasi PDIP Masih Andalkan Trah Soekarno
"Sebenarnya, selama ini Megawati menggadang-gadang Puan yang akan dipersiapkan menjadi pemimpin PDIP, namun belakangan Megawati dan orang-orang ideologis kecewa terhadap sikap politik Puan yang lebih pragmatis. Ini membuat Megawati dan kelompok ideologis mencari jalan tengah dengan mengusung Prananda untuk menempati posisi wakil ketua umum," kata peneliti senior Lembaga Survei Indonesia (LSI) Burhanudin Muhtadi, di Jakarta, Selasa (30/3).

3/22/2010

What's the Point of Nuclear Weapons on Instant Alert? - ABC News

What's the Point of Nuclear Weapons on Instant Alert? - ABC News

In the next few weeks, President Barack Obama will publish his delayed Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), setting out the role nuclear weapons play in US defence.
Photo: What's the point of nuclear weapons on instant alert?
A Minuteman II intercontinental ballistic missile launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.,... Expand
(USAF/Getty Images)
This is Obama's opportunity to end one of the most dangerous legacies of the cold war: the nuclear missiles the US and Russia keep ready to fly in minutes. The signs are that he is unlikely to take it.
This leaves the questions why does the US keep its nuclear weapons "on alert", and are they really needed?
The NPR is expected to state that the US will not use its nukes to attack a country that does not itself have nuclear weapons - as long as that country complies with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty - and it may renounce nuclear weapons as a response to chemical or biological attack. It may also say 2500 "spare" US nuclear warheads will be destroyed.

Blood given for democracy

Blood given for democracy

BANGKOK - 'I DID this to show the spirit of Thai people fighting injustice,' said Chuleeporn Ruangsinprasert, 52, as a syringe of her blood was poured into a bottle for a messy show of political defiance.
Standing in a white tent littered with dirty cotton swabs, the retired university worker had joined thousands of red-clad protesters taking part in a mass blood collection to be spilled at the gate of the premier's office. 'This is special, it is coming from my heart. I want to give my blood for society so we are no longer controlled by the elites who have all the power,' added Ms Chuleeporn, as she pressed her small puncture wound.

3/20/2010

On health vote, Democrats are polls apart - Josh Kraushaar and James Hohmann - POLITICO.com

On health vote, Democrats are polls apart - Josh Kraushaar and James Hohmann - POLITICO.com

So far, none of the Democrats agonizing about how to vote on health care reform has announced, “I’m just going to do whatever is most politically expedient.”
But on the chance — call it a hypothetical — that this might actually be the decisive factor, wavering lawmakers find themselves confronted with a disorienting barrage of polls and even more disorienting arguments about what the polls really mean.
It’s been an odd sideshow to this week’s climactic showdown on Capitol Hill: Even in a city obsessed with polls, they have rarely played such a public role — openly wielded as weapons or shields by both sides — in the final stages of a legislative debate.


Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34680.html#ixzz0iduiumgz

3/17/2010

The Center for Public Integrity | PaperTrail Blog - MONEY

The Center for Public Integrity | PaperTrail Blog - MONEY & POLITICS: Health Reform Lobbyist Mistakenly Errs on Side of Transparency

If numbers are to be trusted, longtime advertising lobbyist Jim Davidson of Polsinelli Shughart is the top dog of the 2009 health care reform battle. Davidson’s name shows up 88 times, more than any other lobbyist, in a Center for Public Integrity database of health reform lobbyists compiled from U.S. Senate lobby disclosure records.
But, as is often the case when trying to nail down influence peddling in Washington, Davidson’s records are both accurate — and misleading. Davidson comes out first, because unlike other lobbyists, he did not take advantage of a loophole shielding individual company names from disclosure when lobby dollars are channeled through nonprofit associations. The case illustrates the complexity of tracking money spent by industry to protect its interests on the Hill.



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Broadband plan alarms broadcasters - Jeanne Cummings - POLITICO.com

Broadband plan alarms broadcasters - Jeanne Cummings - POLITICO.com

The Federal Communications Commission’s long-awaited plan for expanding broadband access nationally is raising concerns from the National Association of Broadcasters, whose members could be asked to give up control of some airwaves to make the system work.
“We were pleased by initial indications from FCC members that any spectrum reallocation would be voluntary, and were therefore prepared to move forward in a constructive fashion on that basis,” said NAB Executive Vice President Dennis Wharton in a statement.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0310/34445.html#ixzz0iMNocr5j

Indonesia urges US to reconsider ban on training | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC

Indonesia urges US to reconsider ban on training | Fort Mill Times - Fort Mill, SC

JAKARTA, Indonesia --
Indonesia urged the U.S. on Monday to consider lifting a ban on working with a commando unit accused of human rights abuses a decade ago, saying the country's military has undergone significant reform.
Indonesia's special forces have concentrated on counterinsurgency issues in recent years, but were accused of major abuses in the former Indonesian province of East Timor in the late 1990s. East Timor has since become independent.
Several countries, including the U.S. and Australia, suspended joint military training in the wake of the allegations, though Australia resumed training in 2005.

3/16/2010

US-Indonesia military deal uncertain

US-Indonesia military deal uncertain

WASHINGTON - THE United States said on Monday it could not predict when it would resume full military ties with Indonesia, as it laid out the details of President Barack Obama's trip to Jakarta and Bali next week.
President Obama spent four years as a boy in Indonesia with his late mother, but the trip is more geared to business, focusing on trade, security and diplomacy rather than his biography or his childhood haunts.

China Without Google: 'A Lose-Lose Scenario' - ABC News

China Without Google: 'A Lose-Lose Scenario' - ABC News

China without Google — a prospect that looks increasingly likely — could mean no more maps on mobile phones. A free music service that has helped to fight piracy might be in jeopardy. China's fledgling Web outfits would face less pressure to improve, eroding their ability to one day compete abroad.
The extent of a possible Google Inc. pullout from China in its dispute with the communist government over censorship and hacking is unclear. But on top of a local search site that Google says it may close, services that might be affected range from advertising support for Chinese companies to online entertainment.
"If Google leaves, it's a lose-lose scenario, instead of Google loses and others gain," said Edward Yu, president of Analysys International, a Beijing research firm.

3/12/2010

Boikot Wujud Konsistensi DPR

Boikot Wujud Konsistensi DPR
JAKARTA--MI: Wacana DPR untuk memboikot Menteri Keuangan Sri Mulyani Indrawati, meski bukanlah suatu hal yang baik, tapi tegas menunjukkan konsistensi DPR atas keputusan di Sidang Paripurna DPR.

Pengamat Politik UIN Bachtiar Effendi mempertanyakan kewibawaan dan konsistensi politik DPR jika masih menerima kehadiran Sri Mulyani dalam sidang-sidang DPR. Pasalnya, dengan diterimanya opsi C dalam Sidang Paripurna DPR (4/3), menurut Bachtiar, kredibilitas Sri Mulyani di mata DPR sudah jatuh. "Dia (Sri Mulyani) kan sudah dinyatakan bersalah secara politik. Kalau kemudian, DPR masih berhubungan dengan Ibu Sri Mulyani, kewibawaan DPR di mana, konsistensi politiknya di mana," tegas Bachtiar di Jakarta, Jumat (12/3).

Dalam situasi normal, lanjut Bachtiar, memang menteri keuangan yang harus menyampaikan RAPBN ke DPR, tapi dalam situasi ini, seharusnya presiden tidak memaksakan untuk mendelegasikan tugas ini ke menteri keuangan. Sebagai alternatif, presiden bisa saja mendelegasikan tugas ini kepada menko perekonomian, dirjen anggaran, atau wakil menteri keuangan.

3/10/2010

Megawati Tolak Barter Century Suap PDIP

Megawati Tolak Barter Century Suap PDIP
Meski dibantah, aroma barter tetap saja menyengat dalam pertemuan Taufiq Kiemas dengan Syarief Hassan.

KETUA Umum PDIP Megawati Soekarnoputri tidak akan membarterkan penyelesaian skandal Bank Century dengan kasus cek perjalanan yang diduga melibatkan 19 anggota Fraksi PDIP DPR.

Nama 19 anggota Fraksi PDIP itu disebut oleh jaksa dalam sidang perdana di Pengadilan Tipikor Jakarta, kemarin, dengan terdakwa Dudhie Makmun Murod.

Mereka disebut menerima suap dalam bentuk 'traveller's cheque' seusai pemilihan Deputi Gubernur Senior Bank Indonesia Miranda Goeltom pada 2004.

Sidang kasus suap itu digelar hanya lima hari setelah Rapat Paripurna DPR memutuskan kebijakan 'bailout' Century bermasalah, serta merekomendasikan agar sejumlah nama yang bertanggung jawab, termasuk mantan Gubernur BI Boediono dan Ketua KSSK Sri Mulyani, diproses lebih lanjut.

Pembagian Cek Disingung di Rapat Internal PDIP

Pembagian Cek Disingung di Rapat Internal PDIP
JAKARTA--MI: Mantan politisi PDI Perjuangan yang menjadi pelapor kasus penerimaan cek perjalanan ke Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) Agus Condro mengungkapkan, pembagian cek dalam pemilihan Deputi Senior Gubernur Bank Indonesia, pernah disinggung dalam rapat internal partai.

Ia mengungkapkan, jauh sebelum pemilihan Deputi Gubernur Senior yang digelar pada 8 Juni 2004, telah beredar rumor bahwa setelah pemilihan Miranda, tiap-tiap anggota Komisi IX akan diberi uang. Topik cek perjalanan mengemuka, kata Agus, dalam rapat internal yang digelar sebelum pertemuan di Hotel Dharmawangsa yang dihadiri Miranda pada 29 Mei 2004.

3/09/2010

Barter Perkara Fakta atau Fiksi

Barter Perkara Fakta atau Fiksi
KEPUTUSAN angket kasus Bank Century oleh Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat sudah final dan telah menjadi dokumen negara. Dalam dokumen itu jelas tertulis sejumlah nama yang dianggap bersalah dan karena itu harus bertanggung jawab.
Sejauh legitimasi di ranah hak angket (politik) keputusan DPR itu mengikat, akan tetap tercatat dalam dokumen politik bahwa Boediono yang kini wakil presiden dan Sri Mulyani yang sekarang menteri keuangan menjadi dua dari sekian banyak nama yang harus bertanggung jawab atas indikasi pelanggaran.
Tetapi, kita tahu bahwa kebenaran politik itu elastis. Karenanya tidak ada supremasi politik. Yang ada cuma supremasi hukum. Itulah sebabnya kebenaran hukum itulah yang diakui sebagai kebenaran mengikat.
Karena elastis, kebenaran politik menjadi subjek perundingan. Terbuka ruang tawar-menawar untuk mengompromikan kebenaran itu sebelum dia berproses ke ruang hukum.
Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, Wakil Presiden Boediono, dan Sri Mulyani telah menolak vonis politik yang ditetapkan DPR. Sebaliknya, DPR berkukuh vonis politik memiliki fakta-fakta kuat untuk dilanjutkan ke ruang hukum.

Indonesia lawmakers back criminal probe on bailout - Financial Markets - SanLuisObispo.com

Indonesia lawmakers back criminal probe on bailout - Financial Markets - SanLuisObispo.com

Indonesian's parliament called for a criminal investigation into a $715 million government bank bailout in a vote that a newspaper described Thursday as a major blow to President Suslio Bambang Yudhoyono.
Indonesia's independent anti-corruption commission already has been looking into the November 2008 bailout of Bank Century, so the parliamentary vote late Wednesday was a largely symbolic gesture on an issue that has dominated the country's politics in recent months. Still, the move could undermine Yudhoyono's governing coalition.
The Jakarta Post newspaper described the vote "as a major blow" to Yudhoyono, adding it was "a resounding vote of no confidence in the government's decision to bail out Bank Century."

Ambruknya Komunikasi Gertak Sambal

Ambruknya Komunikasi Gertak Sambal
'Fear-arousing communication' (FAC) bisa diterjemahkan komunikasi gertak sambal. Komunikator mengancam, atau menggertak, komunikan untuk melakukan suatu tindakan yang dikehendakinya. Jika tidak dituruti, komunikator mengancam akan mengenakan hukuman terhadap komunikan. Jika komunikan merasa takut, apalagi amat takut, sebab ancaman tersebut, ia diharapkan akan memenuhi tuntutan komunikator. Komunikasi yang membangkitkan rasa takut di pihak komunikan.

Di kalangan ilmuwan komunikasi Amerika, banyak penelitian dilakukan tentang jenis komunikasi yang satu ini, terutama terkait dengan efektivitasnya. Seberapa jauh komunikan atau orang banyak akan takluk terhadap ancaman komunikator?

Iklan-iklan antirokok sebenarnya merupakan contoh FAC yang gamblang. "Jangan merokok. Jika Anda bandel, nyawa Anda akan pendek," bunyi iklan antirokok. Di mana-mana kita juga membaca slogan memerangi narkotika dan seks bebas. "Narkotika berarti maut!" "Awas! Seks bebas berarti AIDS. Dan AIDS ujungnya kematian!"

3/08/2010

Panda Nababan Perintahkan Pembagian Cek Perjalanan Rp98 miliar

Panda Nababan Perintahkan Pembagian Cek Perjalanan Rp98 miliar
JAKARTA--MI: Dalam sidang perdana terdakwa kasus dugaan tindak pidana korupsi penerimaan cek perjalanan (traveler cheque) pada pemilihan Deputi Senior Bank Indonesia Miranda Goeltom, Dudhie Makmun Murod, tim Jaksa Penuntut Umum (JPU) membeberkan aliran cek ke sejumlah politisi PDI Perjuangan.

Atas arahan Panda Nababan, Dudhie Makmun Murod membagikan uang sejumlah Rp9,8 miliar kepada 16 rekan lainnya. Hal tersebut dikemukakan Tim JPU KPK yang diketuai Jaksa Mochamad Rum dalam persidangan yang dipimpin hakim Nani Indrawati.

Dalam dakwaan sebanyak 10 halaman tersebut, JPU menjelaskan, penerbitan traveler cheque bermula pada Juni 2004. Saat itu, dalam rapat internal fraksi PDIP, Ketua fraksi PDIP Tjahjo Kumolo menyampaikan untuk pemilihan Deputi Gubernur Senior Bank Indonesia, Fraksi PDIP mencalonkan dan mendukung Miranda Swaray Goeltom. "Sekretaris Fraksi PDIP Panda Nababan kemudian ditunjuk sebagai koordinator pemenangan," ujar Mochamad Rum.

Sidang Perdana Dudhie Makmun Murod Digelar

Sidang Perdana Dudhie Makmun Murod Digelar
JAKARTA--MI: Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi (Tipikor) dijadwalkan menggelar sidang perdana terhadap politisi PDI Perjuangan Dudhie Makmun Murod. Sidang yang diketuai hakim Nani Indrawati ini dimulai pukul 09.00 WIB dengan agenda pembacaan dakwaan.

Dudhie Makmun Murod terjerat kasus dugaan tindak pidana korupsi dalam penerimaan/pemberian traveller cheque oleh anggota DPR RI periode 1999-2004 dalam pemilihan Deputi Senior Bank Indonesia Miranda Goeltom. Ia disangkakan melanggar Pasal 5 ayat (2) atau pasal 11 UU tentang pemberantasan tindak pidana korupsi. Selain itu, ia juga dikenakan Pasal 55 ayat (1) ke 1 Kitab Undang-Undang Hukum Pidana (KUHP).

3/07/2010

Kejagung Lindungi Kakak dan Adik Ayin

Kejagung Lindungi Kakak dan Adik Ayin
JAKARTA--MI: LSM Masyarakat Anti Korupsi Indonesia (MAKI) menduga Kejaksaan Agung (Kejagung) melindungi kakak dan adik Arthalyta Suryani alias Ayin, Aman Susilo dan Simon Susilo yang tersangkut perkara penipuan dan pemalsuan surat.

Pasalnya berkas kasus kedua tersangka itu sejak 2007 sudah dinyatakan lengkap (P21) oleh Kejaksaan Tinggi (Kejati) Lampung, namun sampai sekarang belum dilimpahkan ke pengadilan.

Koordinator LSM MAKI Boyamin Saiman, di Jakarta, Minggu (7/3), menyatakan, dengan tidak segera diajukannya berkas kedua tersangka itu ke pengadilan, maka dapat diartikan Kejagung telah melindungi dan menjadi pembela kakak beradik terpidana suap terhadap Jaksa Urip Tri Gunawan.

"Untuk menghindari dugaan KKN dalam perkara ini, sudah seharusnya Kejagung melimpahkan perkara ke pengadilan," katanya.

Besok Sidang Praperadilan KPK soal Century

Besok Sidang Praperadilan KPK soal Century
JAKARTA--MI: Sidang praperadilan Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) terkait penanganan kasus Bank Century akan digelar di Pengadilan Negeri (PN) Jakarta Selatan, Senin (7/3).

Praperadilan tersebut diajukan oleh LSM Masyarakat Anti Korupsi Indonesia (MAKI) yang mempertanyakan penanganan kasus tersebut oleh KPK dianggap berlarut-larut. "Sidang praperadilan akan digelar di PN Jaksel pada Senin (7/3) pagi," kata Koordinator LSM MAKI Boyamin Saiman di Jakarta, Minggu (7/3).

Conservatism: the heart of progressive reform

Conservatism: the heart of progressive reform
Teddy Roosevelt was by any measure a monstrous buffoon,an avowed racist and imperialist who saw war as a societal tonic -- only for the victor, presumably -- and fervently believed in American exceptionalism, empire and the flaunting of military might as the path to national greatness.

3/06/2010

Indonesian students protest Barack Obama's visit - Boston.com

Indonesian students protest Barack Obama's visit - Boston.com
JAKARTA, Indonesia—Scores of Islamic students staged protests outside Jakarta's parliament and in at least three other major Indonesian cities on Friday against President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to this predominantly Muslim country.
The students carried banners branding Obama as an enemy of Islam and an imperialist in downtown Jakarta as well as in the provincial capitals Padang, Yogyakarta and Surabaya.


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Daftar Top Pemilik Vila Liar di Gunung Halimun

Daftar Top Pemilik Vila Liar di Gunung Halimun

BOGOR--MI: Berdasar dari data atau dokumen yang dikeluarkan DTBP Kabupaten Bogor, jumlah bangunan vila atas nama/milik pribadi yang terbanyak adalah milik atau atas nama Linda Meiliawati warga Pamulang, Ciputat, Tanggerang.

Di kawasan lahan negara dan hutan lindung itu, Linda memiliki 20 unit/lokal bangunan vila di Kampung Ciparay RT 03/08, Desa Gunungsari. Total luas bangunan dari 20 unit/lokal bangunan vila tersebut tercantum 1.200 meter persegi dengan total luas lahan 12.000 meter atau 1,2 hektare. Lantas, disusul bangunan atas nama pemilik Rusdi, warga Pulo Gadung, Jakarta Timur. Ada 11 bangunan di Kampung Pasir Reungit, RT 04/09, Desa Gunungsari dengan total luas bangunan 5.000 meter persegi, di atas lahan seluas 20.000 meter persegi atau 2 hektare.
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