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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SPG and the 2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show in pictures

“It is a puzzling thing. The truth knocks on the door and you say, 'Go away, I'm looking for the truth,' and so it goes away. Puzzling.”
~ Robert M. Pirsig

 It’s the annual motorcycle show and thousands of punters are packed into the exhibition hall, barely able to move. All is calm but then suddenly - over by the Honda stand - there is a flurry of movement as a scantily-clad model takes up a very suggestive position and a delirious crowd pushes forward. Everyone cheers as the girl writhes and wriggles by the motorcycle until the hot spotlights and frenetic flashlights become too much for her. She then stands up and departs the stage to thunderous applause. And all this to promote motorcycles like the less-than-macho 125cc Honda Scoopy. I mean seriously, WTF?!!!!

2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show (7)

2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show (11)

2012 Jakarta Motorcycle Show (3)

More pics here.

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