Alterity | Jakarta and Bali

The surest way to corrupt a youth is to instruct him to hold in higher esteem those who think alike than those who think differently Friedrich Nietzsche The global economy is tanking. And it wasn’t so long ago that some mortgage lenders in the US would make loans to people who didn’t even have any income from employment with which to repay the loan! The bet was simply that house prices would continue to go on rising and the borrower could simply remortgage at a later date and use the capital gains to repay the mortgage. But fantasies never last. We all have to wake up. And now many are waking up to a nightmare. How they must wish they were still asleep! However, corporate greed is one thing and even the money-fixated CEOs of the world’s largest corporations could never have dreamed up a corruption scheme that was so grand in scope that its tentacles extended across the whole globe and implicated politicians and ruling elites in every continent. This was the UN’s so-called oil-for-food...

I’ve never liked Fiats: poorly designed rustbuckets with crap engines and a resale value only marginally higher than a 1980s VCR. And I like them even less now. Cos farty old Fiat have only gone and come up with an “advert” to “honor” Aung San Suu Ky’s work (what they really mean is that they are cynically exploiting her status as a highly respected democracy activist to try and sell their “cars” – I use that word in the broadest terms possible – as the global automobile market contracts massively in the current economic slump. It was only a while back of course that Fiat had to embarrassingly apologize to China after Richard Gere pretended to drive to Tibet from Hollywood (I say pretend – can you imagine a Fiat ever going that far!); its ideological “principles” abruptly discarded by the prospect of losing sales in the huge China market. Rickshaw or Fiat? Your guess is as good as mine.

Freedom of speech. It’s what we are told we have but the reality couldn’t be more different – even in the so-called liberal countries of the west. Far-right Dutch politician Geert Wilders currently faces prosecution . And for what? Exercising his freedom of speech! Now we may not agree with what he says, and we may even find his views contemptuous and abhorrent, but does that mean he does not have the right to express his opinion? Heck – the UK even allows the ideas of the 20th century’s greatest mass murderer – Adolf Hitler – to circulate freely through sales of his book Mein Kampf . So why do we try to muzzle Geert Wilders and not Adolf Hitler? Geert Wilders doesn’t like a certain religion. And he accuses that religion of supporting violence. But if what he says is not true, then isn’t the best way we should oppose him is through logical argument and not threats of imprisonment? Is it really a criminal offense to oppose a religion? And don’t religions themselves strongly oppose – oft...

The excellent British film “ In Bruges ” - which features a weird dream sequence - got me thinking about the plight of our undersized brothers – midgets. It’s difficult not to empathize with these poor blighters. They are always looked down on and - whatever their moral standards - are still the lowest of the low. And there’s fuck all they can do about it. Sure they could walk around on stilts, but then they’d just be exchanging the affliction of being short for the affliction of being incredibly ungainly. In short (!), they would be no better off. No wonder we all feel so sorry for them. And God only knows how they piss in a public cubicle! It should be appreciated that midgets are not the same as dwarfs. This is because midgets, although extremely short, are normally proportioned. Dwarfs, on the other hand, have unusually short limbs. Strange then that “dwarf” is the politically correct term rather than “midget”. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Whatever. Unfortunately for midg...

There are six billion people on Earth and there are only a few features that define a human face – nose, mouth, eyes, eyebrows, shape of face, hair etc. So isn’t it surprising that more people don’t look similar? And what about YOU? Have you ever wondered that there could be another person walking around out there who looks exactly – or almost exactly – the same as you? And maybe not just one other person – perhaps many? Well, even if you looked far and wide, you’d probably still never find someone who looks exactly like you (except for identical twins of course and they don’t count!) The human mind has incredible face recognition abilities. We often forget the name of somebody but it’s rare to forget someone’s face – even if you have only met someone for a few fleeting moments. As to HOW we read a face that’s another matter altogether and a hot topic in psychology and neural science: "It's very controversial: How do we see a face?" said Pawan Sinha, professor of vision a...

Is there a difference? Well, I think there is. Both words may both mean the “disbelief or denial of the existence of God or gods” but atheism is a lot harsher, nay even fundamentalist. Bush once said that American atheists should not even be considered as “citizens” of that country . Few other groups – bar terrorists – are regarded so poorly. In short, atheism is a dirty word. Little wonder then that many skeptics prefer to be called agnostic! Richard Dawkins is one of the most famous atheists around today. His book “The God Delusion” makes a very strong case for atheism. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be wrong. And that’s why I think his rather uncompromising and rigid viewpoints can be rather nauseating at times. What Dawkins forgets is that many scientists get it wrong – or at least they don’t get it all right. Take Sir Isaac Newton for example. Probably the most famous scientist that has ever lived and a genius for coming up with a set of basic laws that could explain the motion...

I can hardly believe what I have just read. Let’s say you go out with some friends, get utterly smashed over two hours of voluntary hard drinking, and then decide – voluntarily – to take your nice Audi sportscar for a drive. The problem is, of course, that driving a high performance German sportscar when you are pissed out of your mind is not a very good idea. Especially when it leaves the road, and plunges over a ravine into the Joseph River below. In the old days this would be a Darwin Award story -. i.e. how stupid people kill themselves. But in the year 2009 in good old liberal Canada, what happens? The bartender faces a fine of $100,000 and/or imprisonment of up to one year!!! Now while I have every sympathy with the families of these idiots, to put away a bartender in prison because he sold drinks to a bunch of adults who ordered them is absolutely absurd. After all, hadn’t these idiots heard of coke? Full story here .

Some people say countries should stay the same. I don’t. Can you find Prussia on a map now? Or Yugoslavia? So let’s form a new country. And call it Dawkinsland. The creation of Dawkinsland will not please everyone. But it’s the right thing to do. Those currently living in the area where the new state of Dawkinsland will be formed will only be allowed to live in Dawkinsland if they agree to give up their theistic beliefs. If they don’t they will have to leave. But this shouldn’t be a problem. These people will have plenty of options open to them and could choose to go to countries like the US, Iran or even Saudi Arabia. The nation of Dawkinsland will be a fine place to live. The military budget will be set at zero. Zilch. All weapons will be strictly prohibited: no guns, rocket launchers, bombs, tanks, military aircraft, and any other crap like that. Thesism will be entirely abolished. For far too long now the inhabitants have lived by doctrines which pronounce “Thou shall not kill” but...

LL > Aliens crashed their tentacle shaped spacecraft into a wind turbine Wednesday. This was confirmed by Robert Palmer, Chairman of East Lindsey District Council, who said he saw a strange light in the sky the night before the turbine blade fell off: "There was definitely something there," he said This is pretty much unequivocally shows that the rogue aliens were responsible for the accident. After the 9 foot green alien was captured and arrested by the local police, the alien admitted his mistake. “We have the technology to fly billions of miles across the galaxy, evading meteors, asteroids and other hubris but wind turbines are much more difficult to avoid”, the alien explained. “And besides I had been down the local pub. It was nice and I got carried away talking to the attractive blond barmaid. I must have drunk about 22 pints of the local ale.” Police are holding the aliens for further questioning. Bail of 55 billion pounds worth of kryptonite has been refused. >E...

Cogito, ergo sum (I think, therefore I am). Probably the most famous phrase in philosophy - thanks Descartes - but one which really infuriates me because, well…, it doesn’t really say anything does it? After all, you may think you exist but what if you had never existed in the first place? Because paradoxically enough, the chances that you do exist (and the chances that you have found your way to this blog given the millions of other websites out there) are virtually nil. After all, for you to exist meant that your parents had to have met. Now what was the probability of that? Supposing your father had gone for the blond with the long hair instead? Or perhaps that dorky chick with tortoiseshell glasses? And likewise your mother - what if she had never gone to the seminar where she had met your father? So, let’s face it – the chances of your parents ever meeting up – and then getting married – and then you being the number one swimmer up the mysterious fallopian tubes - are infinitesi...

Recently overheard conversation between a frizzy haired member of the remote Huli Wigmen tribe in Papua New Guinea and the missionary who brought him the “gift” of organised “modern” religion: Huli Tribesman: So, do you think I will now go to Heaven or Hell? Missionary: Oh, Heaven, if you are good. Huli Tribesman: But if you hadn’t come here and told me all about it then I wouldn’t go to Hell would I? Missionary: No you wouldn’t. Huli Tribesman: So, why did you tell me? Think about it.

Nice to see the President's wife is helping out with the gardening...

Your use of this website is subject to these terms and conditions. By accessing this site, you agree to be bound by these terms and conditions. 1. Although the writers of this website go to great lengths to ensure the factual accuracy of the information contained within, we are only human – although our wives may disagree - and mistakes may occur. As such, the writers of this website, in addition to their families (extended or otherwise), employers, pets and household staff - including of course maids - accept no liability for any loss or damage of whatsoever nature including but not limited to direct, indirect, economic, incidental, special, punitive or consequential losses or damages, or for any expenses arising out of, or in connection with the use of or inability to use this site, or in connection with any error, omission, defect, computer virus or system failure, or loss of any profit, goodwill or reputation arising out of or in connection with the access of, use of, performance o...

Hero(es) Day   Diana Krall v.s Kopaja   Hukum mati koruptor   Life in a city where social justice rings hollow   Friday the thirteenth in Jakarta   RIP: Ali Sadikin  Starbucks’ new logo   Vertu Ascent Ti  Immigration in South Jakarta   Taman Impian Jaya Ancol  J akarta Is Bali safe?   The monkey forest sanctuary in Ubud, Bali   Jogyakarta and Nyai Loro Kidul   Archives - 2009   Archives - 2007   Archives - 2006 Archives - 2005