There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Rogerio Paez, who’s ever heard of him?

People have got bored of convicted drug trafficker Schapelle Corby. She’s attractive, it’s true, but the attention span of the media is short. Not only that but the arrival of sexy lingerie model Michelle Leslie has hastened Corby’s demise. 

Michelle is perfect media material, and the fact that she took to wearing an Afghan burka soon got her loads of attention. And it’s an ominous sign for Corby that the Indonesian courts seem to be so ambivalent in deciding her fate. They should already have made an announcement concerning her appeal, but as of yet, nothing. 

So with time running out, Corby’s worst fears seem to be materializing: she will have to spend the next 20 years of her life in Kerobokan jail, long forgotten by the Aussie public. But she did have her moment of fame. Most of the prisoners in Kerobokan didn’t even get that, like this unfortunate blighter. Rogerio Paez, who’s ever heard of him?

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