So now it's shoe? Whatever happened to the pen?

This whole thing about a desperate journalist throwing his shoes at Dubbya, I don't get it. No doubt that embarrassing incident will become the "scene of the year". It will appear in every newspaper caleidoscopical cartoons, I bet. But still, why is that guy suddenly a hero? He even missed the target!

I thought the press people took pride in "fighting with pen". Has it changed now to "fight with shoes"? My hypothesis is, that shoe-throwing journalist guy is a lousy one. Because he can not use his pen -- or mouth. He might be better as a dartboard player (ah wait, not really: he missed!), but not as a respectable journalist.

Hey, don't throw me shoes. It's not that I like Bush. I hate him, too. But be civil: "shoot" him! With a pen, in your paper, that is.

Addendum: As you might have expected, some local journalists are excited. Budiarto Shambazy praises the shoe thrower for "proving that shoe is more effective than pen" (can you believe it? That is said by a senior journalist). While Syirikit Syah, a media watch activist, writes that she wishes the shoe-thrower health and freedom (The Jakarta Post, 20/12/2008), even though he, the thrower, expressed his opinion "violently and unprofessionally". Welcome to shoe journalism!

Kids, get up! Traffic is bad out there.

Jakarta's deputy governor Prijanto thinks he can solve Jakarta's traffic problem by not tackling the problem. Instead, he will apply his draconian power to force your kids wake up early and be at schools at 6:30 in the morning. And he won't stop there. He will also force private offices in North and Central Jakarta to start at 7:30am, West 8am and East 9am. (So be very prepared. If your office is right on the border of North and East Jakarta, make sure the meeting room does not share the line! If you work in Central Jakarta and needs to call your colleague in the East first thing in the morning, just hold up; have some coffee and play some game instead until 9).

The deputy governor of course defends his silly idea. Quoted by The Jakarta Post today (25/11/2008), he says "How can people say it won't be effective when we haven't even run the program yet?". Yes, Mr. Deputy. How can people say eating dirt is not good when they haven't even tasted it?

Mr. Deputy also doesn't care with kids' rights: "I heard that some also said that the new regulation was against children's rights. Well, just look at the positive side. Getting up early will make children fresher than before". You're damn right, Pak. In fact, adults need that too. So why not force the lazy civil servants to start at 5am?

Prijanto, you're unbelievable.

Yoga, anyone?

I'm totally speechless.

What's the diff between FPI and WITT?

This is insane. An NGO named Indonesian Women Against Tobacco (WITT) is going to raid smokers in Jakarta's public places. Apparently law enforcers are too weak they need all this militia groups? What next? Another NGO raiding people that chew bubble gum? What if I hate dangdut concerts that ruin my sleep at nights? Will I and my NGO, Indonesian Slumbers Against Noise, be allowed to raid them from the city, too? Ridiculous.