Activists Slam Basuki for Tobacco Sponsorship Comments

Tobacco control activists slammed Jakarta’s deputy governor after he said tobacco industry sponsorships should be permitted since they benefit students and the general public alike.
“It was very unwise of him to make such a statement on World No Tobacco Day. The statement is contradictory to Jakarta’s recent adoption of tobacco control measures, which were initiated before [Jakarta Governor] Joko Widodo’s tenure,”Arist Merdeka Sirait, the chairman of the chairman of the National Commission on Children Protection (Komnas Anak), told the Jakarta Globe on Friday.
“Jakarta is the barometer for other provinces in Indonesia. It is the international world’s gateway to Indonesia. If Jakarta is not free of cigarette smoke, we will be ostracized by the whole world,” he said.
On Friday, Jakarta Deputy Governor Basuki Tjahaja Purnama said that Jakarta will still permit the tobacco industry to fund public activities.
“We have decided that if a tobacco company wants to donate money or become a sponsor, we will allow it. If they want to donate money to ‘Rain Water Harvest’ in schools, [they can],” he said.
“They will want to display their logos. We know it’s a risk.”
Basuki, however, insisted that displaying cigarette logos would not hamper efforts to curb smoking in the capital.
“It is indeed better that we cooperate with non-tobacco companies, but it doesn’t mean we are against tobacco. We are only controlling it, so sponsorships for student or school activities are normal. The companies make profit — that’s why they donate,” he said.
Basuki argued that Jakarta has been very active in promoting tobacco control programs by implementing smoke-free zones and banning indoor smoking rooms.
Tubagus Haryo Karbyanto, the chief campaigner for the National Commission on Tobacco Control (Komnas PT), said Basuki’s statement revealed that he was not familiar with a recent regulation that imposed certain restrictions on cigarette advertising, promotion and sponsorships.
“As the deputy governor, Basuki should have read the government regulation issued in January this year. Sponsorship is indeed allowed, but it cannot be published and the logos cannot be displayed,” he said.
Tubagus said that by allowing tobacco sponsorship, the government would put many people, especially children, at risk.
“Sponsorship, or corporate social responsibility, is basically a marketing trick used to target young customers. It doesn’t matter how generous they seem — as the manager of the town, Basuki should have known this,” he said.

Source : JakartaGlobe

Govt to Contestants: Wear Kebaya, Not Bikinis During Miss World

Denpasar. While it cannot technically prohibit Miss World contestants from donning bikinis during the event’s final in Bali, the Indonesian government has suggested that contestants wear kebaya or batik instead of skimpy swimsuits.
“We suggest that they not [wear bikinis],” Sapta Nirwanda, the deputy minister of tourism and creative economy, said on Friday. “But even if they do wear one, it should be in a closed room.”
Sapta said the government made a deal with the organizers of the Miss World competition to minimize bikini usage during the Bali event. If contestants must wear bikinis, Sapta said they should only be seen by the jury.
He suggested, however, that participants wear traditional Indonesian outfits instead.
Conservative Muslim groups have been criticizing the event as disrespectful to Indonesian values.
Abdusommad Bukhori, the chief of the East Java branch of the Indonesian Council of Ulema (MUI), said recently that as a Muslim country, Indonesia should not have anything to do with the event.
Sapta demanded that the controversy over bikinis end immediately.
“Those who are protesting are only seeking attention,” Sapta said. “We have been staging Miss Indonesia, Putri Indonesia and other beauty pageants for a long time.”
He added that the Miss World event should be used to promote Indonesian tourism.
“It is being broadcast in 170 countries, which means Indonesia will be seen by 170 countries,” he said.

Source : JakartaGlobe

Indonesian leader gets religious 'statesman' award

Indonesia's president has accepted a statesmanship award from a U.S. interfaith foundation that says it hopes to encourage him to promote freedom of worship and tolerance in the world's most populous Muslim-majority nation.
Human rights groups and Indonesian religious organizations were appalled by Thursday's award, saying President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has done too little to suppress a rising tide of violence against minority faiths.
Rabbi Arthur Schneier with the Appeal of Conscience Foundation implicitly noted the controversy, saying, "You fully understand that the work is not complete. This is just a step in the right direction."
Yudhoyono, who did not mention religious rights, accepted the award in the name of all of Indonesia, saying "statesmanship can be collective." He said he hoped for "a harmonious society founded in peace and prosperity."
The foundation has handed out its "world statesman" award for decades, without controversy, to leaders such as British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
Kissinger handed the award to Yudhoyono. President Barack Obama sent him a letter praising his award, as did East Timor's former president, Jose Ramos-Horta, who guided the country to independence from Indonesian rule in 1999.
But Usman Hamid, a noted activist with the Indonesian human rights group Kontras, questioned the foundation's credibility in giving the award to the Indonesian president, who he said "is still far from protecting minorities from intolerance."
Indonesia is a secular country. The majority of its 210 million Muslims are Sunni, and most practice a moderate form of the faith. But the country's religious affairs minister, Suryadharma Ali, called for the Ahmadiyah to be banned in 2011 and proposed last year that Shia Muslims convert to Sunni Islam.
A researcher with Human Rights Watch, Andreas Harsono, said Yudhoyono's administration has basically laid down the legal infrastructure that discriminates among religious minorities. "He makes them second-class citizens," Harsono said.
Human Rights Watch has reported a steady increase in brutal attacks over the past few years due to the Indonesian government's failure to confront harassment of Christians, Shia Muslims and the Ahmadiyah, an Islamic sect. The group cited reports from the Jakarta-based nonprofit Setara Institute, which recorded 264 religious attacks last year, up from 244 the previous year and 216 in 2010.
A senior U.S. State Department official, Dan Baer, last week expressed concern over such attacks and ineffective Indonesian government responses, saying it threatens to tarnish the nation's reputation for religious tolerance. He also referred to a "disturbing trend" in forcible closures of churches — including 50 in 2012 alone — and of Ahmadiyah mosques.
Human Right Watch's Asia advocacy director, John Sifton, said the problem is Yudhoyono's "religious affairs minister and his home minister are pretty conservative Sunni Muslim politicians who were brought into the government as a political compromise."
Sifton added, "The problem is the attitude where a Sunni extremist group professes extremist interpretations and advocates persecution and hostility toward a religious minority. A lot of politicians don't have the spine or guts to stand up to them."
___
Associated Press writers Margie Mason and Niniek Karmini in Jakarta contributed to this report.

Source : JakartaPos

Traffic offender beats up policeman

A policeman stopped a motorcyclist for not wearing a helmet only to end up with a severe beating.
The beating started when Brig. Sunardi spotted a teenager identified as Jatra Resa Aditya riding a motorcycle without wearing a helmet in front of a pawnshop in Wonosari, Gunung Kidul, on Thursday.
Sunardi then stopped Jatra and told him to get off his motorcycle. Surprisingly, Jatra reacted by punching Sunardi four times in the face.
"When I asked for his vehicle documents, he suddenly hit me in the face," Sunardi said.
Nearby residents then flocked to stop the attack.
A relative of Jatra said that he suffered from a mental condition.
Jatra and Sunardi are now being questioned at the Gunungkidul Police precinct.

Source : JakartaPos

MRT construction to start in July

Mass rapid transit (MRT) project operator city-owned PT MRT Jakarta plans to start construction in July.
"[On Thursday] the board of directors will start negotiations with the project winners. Should the discussions go smoothly, we will sign the contract and start the construction in July as planned," Company president commissioner Erry Riyana Hardjapamekas said at City Hall on Wednesday evening.
In the first phase of construction, the contractors are expected to start the underground construction from Bundaran HI circle in Central Jakarta to Blok M in South Jakarta.
Erry said that the contract negotiations were expected to conclude within two weeks.
Deputy Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama said that the city administration would soon issue a gubernatorial decree regarding the project's financing. "The issuance of such a decree won't take a long time."
The construction of the first MRT track, which is planned to connect Lebak Bulus in South Jakarta and the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta, will be funded with a ¥125 billion (US$1.27 million) soft loan from JICA.

Source : JakartaPos

Commuter train progressive tariff rate delayed

State-owned train operator PT Kereta Commuter Jabodetabek (KCJ) has decided to delay the implementation of the planned progressive tariff rate, which was initially scheduled to start on June 1.
KCJ President Director Tri Handoyo said as quoted by kompas.com that the decision to delay the progressive tariff rate was based on the fact that most consumers were still unaware about the policy.
"We will inform consumers about the new policy within one month.
Hopefully, we can apply the new rate in July," he said.
Based on the progressive tariff rate, consumers will pay Rp 3,000 for the first five stations and each station afterwards will cost Rp 1,000.

Source : JakartaPos

TOEFL® Paper-based Test to Be Phased Out

he TOEFL® PBT test, administered in a paper-based format, will be phased out starting in mid-2012. In some regions, the last TOEFL PBT test administration will be in May 2012. You can take the TOEFL PBT test until that time and submit your scores to institutions and agencies for two years after your test date.

When the TOEFL iBT® test was launched in 2005, ETS established a transition period to allow continued use of the paper-based test in countries where infrastructure issues limited our ability to offer the TOEFL iBT test. These issues included unreliable electrical service, Internet connectivity issues and other factors.

Currently, 96 percent of TOEFL test takers worldwide take the TOEFL iBT test and access continues to expand. Also, the TOEFL iBT test is desired by universities because it measures all four communication skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking. For these and other reasons, we feel it is time to end paper-based testing.

ETS remains committed to providing access for anyone who wants to take the TOEFL test. Please be assured that ETS is making every effort to ensure that individuals living in areas where the TOEFL PBT test is currently administered will be able to test.

Source : http://www.ets.org/toefl/important_update/pbt_ending

Money Can’t Buy Happiness Or Can It?

Many people get sucked into the belief that having more money is the key to a better life. But it’s not.

The key to a better life is increased happiness. For some people, that does mean more money. But according to research Tal Ben-Shahar shares in his book Happier, most of us would be better served by:
Creating rituals around the things we love to do.
Expressing gratitude for the good things in our lives.
Setting meaningful goals that reflect our values and interests.
Playing to our strengths instead of dwelling on weaknesses.
Simplifying our lives — not just the stuff, but the time.

                We’re more likely to lead happy lives by putting these principles into practice than by getting another raise at work — especially if the increased income would only lead to increased spending. When we focus on monetary goals, we run the risk of becoming trapped on the “hedonic treadmill,” working harder and harder to make more and more money. This does not lead to happiness.
                Wealth and happiness aren’t mutually exclusive, of course. Sometimes money does buy happiness. According to financial writer Jonathan Clements, financial stability improves well-being in three ways:

If you have money, you don’t have to worry about it.
Money can give you the freedom to pursue your passions.
Money can buy you time with friends and family.
(MORE: Will a Global ‘Happiness’ Index Ever Beat Out GDP?)

In five years of writing about personal finance, I’ve read a lot about the relationship between money and happiness. Here are five of the most important lessons I’ve learned:

People who are materialistic tend to be less happy than those who aren’t. If your aim is to have more money and more stuff, you’ll be less content than others whose goals are built around relationships or mental/spiritual fulfillment.
                Oversaving does not lead to happiness. While it’s important to save for the future (and to cope with current emergencies), research shows that oversaving can actually have a negative impact on your quality of life. If you’re meeting your goals for saving, it’s okay to spend some on the things that make you happy.
                Experiences tend to make us happier than material things. We have different reactions to the money we spend on experiences and the money we spend on material goods: When we spend on experiences, our perceptions are magnified (meaning we feel happier or sadder than when we spend on stuff), and the feelings tend to linger longer. And since most of our experiences are positive, spending on activities instead of things generally makes us happier.
                When we lower our expectations, our happiness increases. High expectations come when we compare ourselves to others or when we’re bombarded by advertising. We come to accept the things we see on TV as “normal,” and because we don’t have these things, we feel inadequate. Our expectations rise, and before long we’re caught up in lifestyle inflation. But if we can consciously manage our expectations — both financial and otherwise — we can increase our sense of well-being.
True wealth isn’t about money. True wealth is about relationships, about good health, and about continued self-improvement. True wealth is about happiness. Ultimately, it’s more important to be happy than it is to be rich.

http://moneyland.time.com/2011/06/24...%94-or-can-it/

Money Can’t Buy Happiness  Or Can It? What your opinion?

Source : Kaskus

‘Slavery’ practice in Tangerang revealed

The Commission for Missing Persons and Victims of Violence (Kontras),in cooperation with the police , revealed an alleged  “slavery”practice at a kitchen utensils factory in Sepatan Timur, Tangerang,
arresting the owner, identified as JK and five cohorts.
The arrests were made after receiving reports from two runaway workers, Andi and Junaedi. According to the reports, the workers were forced to work from 6 a.m. until 12 p.m. everyday with only two meals a day and received no pay, Kompas.com reported on Friday.
The reports also said that the workers were not allowed to go outside, and if they did, the supervisors would chase them and accuse them of stealing or using drugs.
The police found 30 workers, mostly hailing from Lampung,Bandung and Cianjur, in a 40 square-meter room with only one bathroom and no windows.
“[The workers] slept in a small space. They were beaten when they were sick. Their wallets and
cell phones were taken away when they arrived at the factory,” said Syamsul Munir, a Kontras activist.
Syamsul said that Andi and Junaedi had managed to escape and then reported the situation to Kontras, which then coordinated with the police.

Source : JakartaPos

7 Tips for speaking English Fluently

RULE 1: Always Study and Review Phrases, Not Individual Words

Never study a single, individual word. Never. When you find a new word, always write down The Phrase it is in. Always.

When you review, always review all of the phrase,.. not the word.

Collect phrases.
Your speaking and grammar will improve 4-5 times faster. Always write the
complete phrase.

Never again study a single word. Never write a single word in your notebook,
Learn Phrases Only.Phrases are GROUPS of words that naturally go together. 

**RULE 2: Don't Study Grammar

Stop studying grammar.
Stop studying grammar.

Right now. Stop. Put away your grammar books and textbooks. Grammar rules
teach you to think about English, you want to speak automatically-- without
thinking!

So Rule 2 is: Don't Study Grammar!

**RULE 3: The Most Important Rule-- Listen First

What is the rule that Humberto found? Simple. The rule is listening.

Listening, listening, listening.

You must listen to UNDERSTANDABLE English. You must listen to English EVERYDAY. Don't read textbooks. Listen to English.

Its simple. That is the key to your English success. Stop reading textbooks.

Start listening everyday.

**Learn With Your Ears, Not Your Eyes

In most schools, you learn English with your eyes. You read textbooks. You
study grammar rules.

Spend most of your study time listening- that is the key to great speaking 

**RULE 4: Slow, Deep Learning Is Best
The secret to speaking easily is to learn every word & phrase DEEPLY. Its not enough to know a definition. Its not enough to remember for a test.
You must put the word deep into your brain.
To speak English easily, you must repeat each lesson many times.
You must learn English deeply.
Learn deeply, speak easily.
Learn deeply, speak easily.
How do you learn deeply? Easy-- just repeat all lessons or listening many times. For example, if you have an audio book, listen to the first chapter 30 times before you go to the second chapter. You could listen to the first chapter 3 times each day, for 10 days.

**RULE 5: Use Point Of View Mini-Stories


I call these stories "Point Of View Mini-Stories". They are the most powerful
way to learn and use English grammar automatically.


Use Point of View Stories for Automatic Grammar
Use Point of View Stories for Automatic Grammar

You must learn grammar by listening to real English. The best way is to listen to the same story... told in different times (points of view): Past, Perfect, Present, Future.

How do you do this? Easy! Find a story or article in the present tense.

Then ask your native speaker tutor to write it again in the Past, with Perfect
tenses, and in the Future. Finally, ask him to read and record these stories
for you.

Then you can listen to stories with many different kinds of grammar. You
don't need to know the grammar rules. Just listen to the Point of View stories and you will improve grammar automatically! 

**RULE 6: Only Use Real English Lessons & Materials


You learn real English if you want to understand native speakers and speak easily. Use real magazines, audio articles, TV shows, movies, radio talk shows, and audio books.

Learn Real English, Not Textbook English
Learn Real English, Not Textbook English

To learn real English, you must listen to English that native speakers listen to. You must watch what they watch. You must read what they read.

Listen only to real English
Listen only to real English
Listen only to real English

How do you learn Real English? It's easy. Stop using textbooks. Instead, listen only to real English movies, TV shows, audio books, audio articles, stories, and talk radio shows. Use real English materials.


**RULE 7: Listen and Answer, not Listen and Repeat


Use Listen & Answer Mini-Story Lessons
Use Listen & Answer Mini-Story Lessons

In each Mini-Story Lesson, a speaker tells a short simple story. He also asks
a lot of easy questions. Every time you hear a question, you pause and
answer it.

You learn to answer questions quickly-- without thinking. Your English
becomes automatic.

How can you use Listen & Answer Stories? Easy! Find a native speaker tutor.

Ask him to use this method: Ask him to tell a story... and to constantly ask
you easy questions about it. This will teach you to think quickly in English!

You can also find Listen & Answer lessons. They will teach you to think quickly in English.