BMTH live in Jakarta 2024

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This time around Ravel gets it right and BMTH (Bring Me The Horizon) are headlining the Nexfest festival in Jakarta which also features Babymetal. In this format there is no seating - which makes for a much more intimate experience - although you do have to arrive really early if you want to pick a spot right up close to the stage.  We arrived about six hours before BMTH were scheduled to start their performance and bought plenty of drinks to stay hydrated in the tropical afternoon heat (mind you, some of those were Iceland vodka mix!) This was a gig I had long been looking forward to - especially after the debacle last year. Not everyone likes BMTH of course. For deathcore fans the band sold out. For metal heads the band is not purist enough. And for the wider mainstream audience, the band is too heavy. You can't please everyone of course but there are few bands in the rock world which can match the sheer emotional velocity of BMTH. To bring metal and even aspects of metalcore t...
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10 most amazing Wikileaks on Indonesia

It’s been quite a laborious task, but I’ve managed to go through a fair chunk of the many hundreds of cables emanating from the US Embassy in Jakarta.

A lot of it is fairly standard stuff but there are some notable gems.

Here are my favorites!

1.“SEMI-UNHINGED PALESTINIAN AMBASSADOR ALLEGES "EMBASSY COUP D'ETAT" …The hijinx continued in an April 18 press conference in which Awad brandished a pistol, glowered at a pack of chortling journalists, and demanded that he be accorded ambassadorial status until he departs Indonesia, a day that apparently cannot come soon enough for the Indonesian Foreign Ministry. http://bit.ly/piGJps Satire at its very best!

2.Minangkabau reject Abu Bakar Ba'asyir http://bit.ly/qgK2q0

3. YES! Very important this one – LAPINDO MUD FLOW CLEARLY A MAN MADE DISASTER!!!! http://bit.ly/okKrqx

4. Sinar Mas does not have responsible management, says the Embassy, criticizes Greenpeace http://bit.ly/oqGREO Another blow for APP?

5. More satire. CUPID'S COMEBACK!!!! http://bit.ly/qNDC1H Who said Embassy staff don’t have a sense of humor?

6. How’s this for irony? US assists Indonesia and MUI on HALAL certification http://bit.ly/oF4Yj8

7. How the US utilized rock band SLANK to create a positive and welcoming image of the US and fight corruption http://bit.ly/mP1WW9

8. It's Better to Eat Pork than Vote for a Kaffir: Election politics in Bangka http://bit.ly/pg6ahq Wonderful stuff.

9. FBI agents in Indonesia http://bit.ly/qf2LdM

10. US government “embeds” its personnel directly into Indonesian government offices. http://bit.ly/n7xxmn

All in all, I find the Wikileaks quite reassuring. They depict the US as a good friend of Indonesia which is helping to promote economic development, human rights and democracy in the country.

If only they’d be a bit more open about it!

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