Now 97, the only living survivor of the disaster is hoping her connection to the legendary liner will come to her rescue.
You would think she had seen enough tragedy for a lifetime. Yet she is in danger of losing the cosy room where she hoped to spend her twilight years.
Determined to remain, devastated Millvina is auctioning the last of her Titanic memorabilia to pay monthly bills of up to £3,000.
The Woodlands Ridge Nursing Home where she lives is on the outskirts of Southampton, from where Millvina set sail aboard the Titanic on April 10, 1912.
When the “unsinkable” vessel struck an iceberg four nights later she was wrapped in a mail sack and loaded on to lifeboat number 13 with her mother, Georgetta.
Moments later the passenger liner slipped under the freezing waters of the Atlantic.
A post bag — the one Millvina thinks kept her warm — is among 17 items she is selling through Henry Aldridge & Son auctioneers in Devizes, Wilts, in April.
They are expected to raise several thousand pounds, possibly running into five figures.
“That happened to be a mail sack. And it did a fine job of keeping me warm and dry. For years my mother held on to such a canvas bag and it could be the one I was put in when the Titanic went down
“I’m also selling a one-off Waterford Crystal Titanic model presented to me when I visited the factory in the late Nineties.
“The Titanic’s builders, Harland & Wolff in Belfast, gave me a large picture of the ship with my name on a plaque below it in April 1996. That’s going too.
“I don’t want to part with my possessions, but given the circumstances, I have no choice.”
Although wheelchair bound, Millvina remains outspoken and spirited — perhaps aided by the shot of Tia Maria liqueur she enjoys in her coffee every morning.
She was eight when her mum first told her about the luxurious ocean liner which hit an iceberg at 11.40pm on Sunday, April 14, 1912. Only 705 of the 2,228 passengers and crew survived.
Love
Before then Georgetta was too traumatised to speak of the events and couldn’t bring herself to mention her darling husband Bertram, 27, whom she lost in the tragedy.
Millvina says: “After later returning to England from the States my mother fell in love with a local vet called Leonard Burden. She married him in 1920.
“She felt I should know he was my step-dad and told me about what happened to the Titanic.”
Millvina’s mum died in 1975 aged 95. By then she had shared all the tragic details of the fateful night in 1912 with her daughter.
Millvina says: “My father got a letter from cousins in Kansas telling him to come to the United States for a better life.
“He sold the pub he owned in London, made a down-payment on a tobacconist’s in Wichita, Kansas, and bought third-class tickets to the New World.
“The night of the sinking my parents were in bed when they heard a crash. Dad rushed up to the deck and came downstairs yelling at Mum to get the children.
“My brother, Vere, was almost two and with the help of a sailor we struggled into the open air.
“There was room in a lifeboat for my mother and I but Dad wouldn’t board because of the ‘women and children first’ policy.
“My parents embraced and Dad said he would see us later. Mum never saw him again.”
Dream
Four hours after receiving the Titanic’s distress calls the Cunard liner Carpathia picked up the lifeboat containing Millvina and her mum.
They had been separated from Vere, so Georgetta was overjoyed to find him already aboard the rescue ship. From there the liner sailed to New York.
Millvina says: “Mum left England with her husband hoping for a new life.
“The situation she faced in New York couldn’t have been more different. We had no father, no money and no clothes.
“The Americans were extremely kind and provided clothing and food but Mum just wanted to get back to England to her family. The dream was well and truly over.
“We spent three weeks in St Luke’s hospital while Mum recuperated.
“We were given tickets back to England aboard the Adriatic, where I became a bit of a celebrity.
“I have a photo of my mother and I on the journey home. It’s something I’d never sell.”
Back in England Millvina was raised on her grandfather George Light’s farm in Bartley, in Hampshire’s New Forest.
She recalls a glorious, outdoors childhood spent looking after animals and making hay bales.
Millvina, who never married, went on to live an unremarkable adult life, working in the Ordnance Survey office and for an engineering firm.
Then, in 1985, Robert Ballard — from Wichita, where Millvina was to have started her new life — discovered the wreck of the Titanic two miles under the Atlantic and Millvina developed a fascination with the ship.
She says: “I got invited to conventions all over the world and travelled to the States, Canada, Germany, France and many other countries.
“Everyone made such a fuss because I was the Titanic’s youngest passenger. That’s how I ended up with so many mementoes. I had emotional meetings with other survivors too. But now I’m the only one left.”
Slipping three heaped sugars into a half cup of tea, Millvina struggles to explain the huge interest still surrounding the ill-fated ship.
“I suppose it’s because it was said to be unsinkable. It was also the most luxurious liner ever.
“Multi-millionaires went to their graves alongside steerage passengers such as my father.
“Naturally I wouldn’t choose to be linked with the Titanic. I would have dearly loved to know my dad, who was such a handsome man.”
Ironically, her connection with the Titanic now provides her only hope of further professional care.
14 Februari, 2009
I'm selling Titanic relics to pay for my nursing care
01 Februari, 2009
10 things to know about internet dating
1. Don't waste your time. According to the US news channel MSNBC, one third of people using online dating services are married, so learn to read between the lines. If your potential date is “separated” but calls you from a mobile only at odd, or set, times, won't give you a landline number, and can't ever seem to meet you on a weekend night, forget it.
2. Talk on the phone before your date. Voice tone and conversational nuances tell you things that e-mail can't.
3. If you don't like what you hear, question whether it is worth meeting. You should bother having face-to-face interactions only with people who have real intellectual, emotional and romantic potential.
4. Meet promising partners sooner rather than later. It will stop you projecting your fantasies on to them. The more you expect, the less likely it is that a person will live up to your expectations.
5. Tread a sensible line between optimism and caution. While there is every reason to believe that your date is a nice, normal person, meet in a public place, tell a friend where you are, carry a mobile phone and never accept a lift home.
6. Avoid bringing your date to your favourite haunts. If things don't work out, he could turn up uninvited at any time.
7. First dates should always take place in daylight. It's safer because there are more people around.
8. And you can see better. Research from Boston University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology shows that about 20 per cent of online daters admit to deception in their physical profile, but if you ask them how many other people are lying, that number jumps to 90 per cent. Nielsen NetRatings estimates that 33 per cent of online daters lie to some degree. Women tend to be more economical with the truth about their weight, height and age.
9. Sharing an activity rather than a coffee can be an easier way to break the ice, but keep it “kitsch” rather than “competitive”. Go for mini golf, not 18 holes; a trip to the zoo, not a ten-mile run.
10. If your date never returns your calls after meeting you, don't take it as a personal rejection because chances are you've either done the same thing to people you've dated in the past, or will do to people you meet online in the future. The great thing about internet dating is that there really are plenty more fish in the sea, so get back online and start over.
19 Januari, 2009
Deadliest weapon so far... the plague
ANTI-TERROR bosses last night hailed their latest ally in the war on terror — the BLACK DEATH.
At least 40 al-Qaeda fanatics died horribly after being struck down with the disease that devastated Europe in the Middle Ages.
The killer bug, also known as the plague, swept through insurgents training at a forest camp in Algeria, North Africa. It came to light when security forces found a body by a roadside.
The victim was a terrorist in AQLIM (al-Qaeda in the Land of the Islamic Maghreb), the largest and most powerful al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East.
It trains Muslim fighters to kill British and US troops.
Now al-Qaeda chiefs fear the plague has been passed to other terror cells — or Taliban fighters in Afghanistan.
One security source said: “This is the deadliest weapon yet in the war against terror. Most of the terrorists do not have the basic medical supplies needed to treat the disease.
“It spreads quickly and kills within hours. This will be really worrying al-Qaeda.”
Black Death comes in various forms.
Bubonic Plague is spread by bites from infected rat fleas. Symptoms include boils in the groin, neck and armpits. In Pneumonic Plague, airborn bacteria spread like flu.
It can be in the body for more than a week — highly contagious but not revealing tell-tale symptoms.
The al-Qaeda epidemic began in the cave hideouts of AQLIM in Tizi Ouzou province, 150km east of the capital Algiers. The group, led by wanted terror boss Abdelmalek Droudkal, was forced to turn its shelters in the Yakouren forest into mass graves and flee.
The extremists supporting madman Osama bin Laden went to Bejaia and Jijel provinces — hoping the plague did not go with them.
A source said: “The emirs (leaders) fear surviving terrorists will surrender to escape a horrible death.”
AQLIM boss Droudkal claims to command around 1,000 insurgents. Training camps are also based in Morocco, Tunisia and Nigeria.
AQLIM bombed the UN headquarters in Algiers in 2007, killing 41. Attacks across Algeria last year killed at least 70 people.
In an interview last July, Droudkal boasted his cell was in constant contact with other al-Qaeda “brothers”. (thesun)
11 Januari, 2009
Laras the butterfly
Kamil was in his masculine prime while Laras was desperately in need of shelter to protect her slim frame dressed in a thin green blouse from the bite of the night wind.
Night brought a different charm from daytime. The whispers of the heart teased a hidden passion. Anything could happen, in the blink of an eye. After the first burst of passion, more suspect seductions would follow, moving through the blood until a sigh was heard. Kamil and Laras felt it.
Laras looked so attractive under the beam of street lamps, Kamil just wanted to embrace her tightly. Moreover, the night wind kept blowing harder, making the air colder. He imagined her soft skin and sweet-smelling long black hair. They would be taste enhancers for his loneliness, especially in the dark nights.
Laras appeared beautiful in Kamil's eyes when they arrived at Kamil's small, dirty rented house. Laras smelled that ordinary musty aroma that hangs in the rooms of economy inns or frugal lodgings.
Laras saw a guitar in the corner of. A sudden urge to hear the strumming of guitar's strings struck her.
"Can you sing?" Laras asked.
"Of course," replied Kamil. "I'm a street singer. I sing every day on the bus."
Laras stood up and walked slowly to the corner. Her soft hand reached for the guitar. She brought it back to Kamil who couldn't keep his eyes from her long black hair. His eyes did not blink, his mouth hung open as he gazed admiringly at her.
"Sing for me," said Laras. Her gaze returned Kamil's unblinking stare. She smiled, her lips red and her teeth pearly white.
As if bewitched, Kamil took the guitar and started to strum a tune. He began singing the lyrics to his favorite song.
That girl with the long black hair Walks under the moonlight, Toward the moon's circle, That will bestow peace upon her. She turned into a butterfly Flitting everywhere 'Cause she belongs to no one.
Laras clapped her hands. Softly she said, "Did you know? That the song is about me, but nobody knows and cares. You sang it very melodiously."
Kamil did not hear what Laras said. He was already blind drunk on love wine, being unable to say a word and staring at every inch of Laras' body.
Seeing Kamil, Laras smiled with pleasure. It was the sweetest smile he had ever seen. He kept staring at her body. Night crawled, he could control his heartbeat no longer. It beat harder and harder, sounding like a wild ox that sees a waving red cloth. The pounding finally left when morning light broke.
"Stay here with me forever." Kamil's voice trembled when there was no more space between their bodies.
"But I am a free creature," said Laras. "I do not serve human beings."
"I don't care," Kamil said.
"And I am a butterfly which is bound up with the moon."
"Still, I don't care," said Kamil. "Even if you are a caterpillar."
Kamil pulled Laras' fingers to his chest so she could feel his heartbeat through her fingertips, which had reached tranquility now. His long-faithful beloved -- loneliness -- had been far away.
Gradually, without raising Laras' fingers from his chest, Kamil brought her fingers to his dark brown lips. He played them around his lips. Laras was simply quiet, giving a chance for Kamil to satisfy his thirst and hunger of a woman. Every night, Kamil dreamt of a woman sleeping beside him.
"I'll do anything you want as long as you stay here with me, becoming my spouse, my soul mate," Kamil begged.
Laras smiled. Her wings understood. It was not yet the right time to flap and fly to the full moon. It was still very far away. So she nodded. Seeing that, Kamil looked as though he had seen heaven unrolled in his future life. He felt he was the real man now.
The next few days became more beautiful for Kamil. Singing songs on the buses seemed more enjoyable. In the morning, there was a glass of coffee before working, and in the evening, arriving at home, he found a plate of rice complete with its side dishes.
His work schedule was already fixed, and he was very delighted when the time to go home had come. His longing always reminded him what time it was. Having a spouse in life was perfect and completed his life, everybody's dream.
Kamil became less choosy about which bus to ride. After he was done busking in one, he moved to another straightaway. There was always money coming into the plastic bag he'd been using for ten years. He thought Laras had brought him luck.
***
Months passed. Laras started to get bored by the unchanging atmosphere of the slum, the cry of neighbor children, quarrels between neighbors. All day was the same: the sound of food vendors and water hawkers, seeing tradespeople selling goods on credit going from one house to another, with vistas of laundry lines decked out with cheap, old and worn-out clothes.
"I'll give you what you want. Just tell me," said Kamil when he saw Laras' gloomy face one morning. Laras was thinking about the musty places which used to imprison her, before she would finally be free when the full moon shone.
"I am a butterfly who came from a caterpillar and a cocoon," she said amid the jangle of cooking pots the next-door neighbor was washing. "Here I feel like going back to the cocoon. It's hot and close. I don't feel at home."
"Don't worry, I'll buy you a fan so you don't feel the heat."
Kamil did not understand.
Ignoring Laras who was trying to say something, Kamil went out carrying his guitar. He thought to work harder to earn more money. He sang very seriously so his voice became sweeter, and the bus passengers started passing him more coins. He economized, eating a simple meal to save more money.
Passing a market, Kamil stopped in at an electronics store and asked the price of a standing fan. It cost more than 100,000 rupiah. Kamil was convinced he could collect that much money in a week if he worked much harder.
Coming out of the store, Kamil met an old friend who worked loading and unloading trucks at the market. Kamil asked him his wage, and got interested because it was more than he made trading song for coin. He would also get free meals and cigarettes. He decided to join his friend.
Inexperienced working by relying on his physical power, after the first few hours Kamil felt aches and pains all over his body. He could shoulder only a few sacks of rice before exhaustion hit.
"You'll get used to it," his friend said.
Because he wanted to buy Laras a fan, Kamil kept at it. In the evening when he got his wages, he felt as if his body had cracked.
"Save this money to buy a fan," Kamil said, passing his earnings to Laras.
Laras just followed Kamil's instructions because she thought it was useless to talk to him. Kamil would never understand who she really was.
Actually, Laras sense her wings would appear soon because the full moon was due to appear in a few more days. The wings had started to irritate her soul, urging her to go to the moon. Her heart had been away in a different place, a place that induced tranquility.
That day, Kamil could not budge from the bed. His body was sore all over, with the slightest movement. In his mind he recounted the money already saved to buy a fan.
The next day, Kamil decided not to keep working as a day laborer. He felt God had created him to be a street singer. Imagining a fan in his mind, Kamil sang so seriously he earned plenty.
At dusk, Kamil counted his bills and coins. His eyes gleamed when he realized the money would be enough to buy a fan along with the savings Laras was holding. He hurried home. Hearing Laras taking a bath, he silently took the savings and went on to the electronics store.
***
Laras finished her bath. Then she stared out the window intently. Her heart pounded as she waited for the full moon to rise.
Slowly her wings grew as the first arc of the moon appeared. The wings opened fully when the moon formed a complete circle above the horizon, radiating its cool light. Moonbeams touched all parts of the room. Laras could not resist letting her wings pump, throb and fill.
That girl with the long black hair Walks under the moonlight, Toward the moon circle, That will bestow peace upon her. She turned into a butterfly Flitting everywhere 'Cause she belongs to no one.
Kamil arrived home and called for Laras, fan in his hands. But the house was quiet. No lights were on. All was dark and dead. Groping in the air, he managed to enter his bedroom.
Opening the door, Kamil saw the trail of moonlight crossing the room. He dashed to the window and pushed it wide open.
Kamil stared at the full moon, its golden light gradually fading. Unconsciously, Kamil's right hand dropped the fan and reached for the butterfly flapping its wings as it rose in the direction of the moon.
"Laras." Kamil's lips trembled, the corner's dripping with tears.
He at last understood Laras was really a butterfly.(jktpst)
03 Januari, 2009
RI condemns Israeli air raids on Gaza Strip
Indonesia has demanded the UN issue a formal resolution to condemn Israeli air raids on the Gaza Strip and urge it to end the strikes that have left more than 300 Palestinians dead.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono joined the chorus of condemnation from leaders around the world over the air attacks that began on Saturday and resulted in the bloodiest days the Palestinians have seen in more than 20 years. Yudhoyono called for immediate action from the world community and the UN to force Israel to stop the attacks.
“I have written a letter to the UN secretary-general and the UN Security Council president condemning the Israeli attacks that are unproportional and have claimed huge numbers of lives and material,” he said at a press briefing, as anti-Israel demonstrators took to the streets nationwide.
The President underlined the need for the Security Council to set up a formal meeting to issue a resolution forcing Israel to stop the attacks and urging both sides to return to peace talks as stipulated in the 2007 Annapolis agreement, which helped maintain an uneasy peace in the region over the past six months.
“I am aware the UN has held an informal meeting, producing a written statement from the Security Council president. But Indonesia wants the council to hold a formal meeting to issue a resolution to force Israel to stop the attacks,” Yudhoyono said.
Indonesia has pledged US$1 million in cash aid, with another $2 million in medical supplies.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon issued a statement saying he “deplored that violence is continuing today”, and strongly urging “once again an immediate stop to all acts of violence”.
The UN Security Council issued a nonbinding statement calling for “an immediate halt to all violence” in the Gaza Strip, where the air strikes are in their third day and Israeli tanks are massing on the border.
Yudhoyono’s statement was welcomed by the House of Representatives, Islamic organizations and civil society groups across the country.
“It’s time for the UN and the world community to get tough on Israel. The attacks can no longer be tolerated,” legislator Theo Sambuaga of the House’s Commission I on foreign affairs said.
Muhammadiyah chairman Din Syamsuddin demanded the UN place sanctions on Israel, which he said had committed gross human right violations.
Suripto, a legislator and the chairman of the National Committee for Palestinian People, also urged the UN Human Rights Council to bring Israel to the International Criminal Court over the attacks.
Anti-Israel demonstrations took place across the country on Monday, with more than a thousand people rallying in Jakarta. Hard-line Islamic groups, including the Islam Defenders Front (FPI), have recruited volunteers to be sent to Palestine to fight.
“Go to hell, Israel! Israel is a terrorist!” the protesters shouted during their rally at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle in Central Jakarta.
Suripto said up to a million people would gather on Tuesday in front of the Egyptian Embassy in Central Jakarta to demand the country open its doors to Palestinian refugees.(jktpst)
28 Desember, 2008
Of death and destruction: Tsunami recalled
Thousands of Aceh residents held communal prayers in places of worship across the province on Friday as they honored the victims of the devastating 2004 tsunami that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
In Banda Aceh, prayers were held at Mesjid Raya Baiturrahman mosque.
In Meulaboh, West Aceh, a ceremony to mark the fourth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami was held at Ujung Karang Beach. The picture (right) shows women praying at a wrecked house on which a boat was left after the tsunami in Lampulo village in Banda Aceh.
Moments after the ceremony, hundreds of students and tsunami survivors, yet to receive housing aid, took part in a rally in front of the West Aceh Legislative Council.
Carrying banners, they demanded the government build them the houses they were promised, saying they were still living in temporary shelters.
They also demanded the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Agency for Aceh and Nias' (BRR) verification team review thoroughly the list of recipients of new homes and take back homes from those who had received more than one.
"We urge donor countries to audit the BRR's performance and seek its accountability," said protest coordinator Edi Candra.
He also called on the authorities to investigate possible corruption within the BRR and local administrations.(jktpst)
30 November, 2008
Indonesian 'ride for peace' Jeffrey Polnaja (Jurig Jalanan)
Indonesian motorbike rider Jeffrey Polnaja has visited over 62 countries among them Iran, Burma, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Egypt and China. He is due to finish 'ride for peace' around the world in 2011.
"I am just a rider, but I hope to see peace in the world. I hope (politicians) will make peace part of their policy," said Polnaja in an interview with Adnkronos International (AKI).
"I want to share peace with all the people in the world. We only have one planet, and it is not for us, it is for our grandchildren," he said.
His journey began in 2006 in Indonesian capital Jakarta after his eight-year-old son asked him why the world is in such a state of war.
His 'peace ride' has already taken him to to 62 countries and by the time he finishes his journey he will have visited 100 countries in all five continents.
Polnaja, who is 45, said he felt particularly close to Afghanistan (photo), where he would hear gunshot wherever he went.
He comes from Bandung in the Indonesian province of West Java.
Polnaja said he was shot three times in a South Asian country, although he declined to name it.
After crossing through the notorious Khyber Pass, which links Afghanistan with Pakistan, he was hit by a drunk driver in the the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, near the border with Iran.
His expensive motorbike was badly damaged, its navigation system destroyed and his right arm was broken in the accident, which left-him stranded in the desert for days.
During that time he recalled having hallucinations and seeing birds fly over his head that he believed would attack him after his death.
"I only had me, my bike and my god," said Polnaja.
"I had an adrenaline rush, and decided to ride as fast as I could," he told AKI.
He then encountered a truck driver who gave him directions to get to the nearest town so he could find food and shelter.
After this near-death experience, he crossed into Iran, where he was escorted through the dangerous border area between Pakistan and Iran, where opium is smuggled from Afghanistan
Polnaja told AKI that although Iran is usually portrayed as being a 'dangerous' and 'bad' country, his experience was quite the opposite.
"Iranians fixed my motorbike at no cost, saying: 'We do not want your money, you are representing us, go for peace, we want peace'," Polnaja told AKI.
He said he is very grateful to Iranians. His sponsors offered him a new motorbike, an offer he refused, preferring to continue his journey on the same bike once it was repaired.
Polnaja has had to get a visa for nearly every country he has visited, and is making the journey alone, with a specially equipped BMW motorbike.
As well as a navigation system, the motorbike has a video camera and extra containers for tools and supplies specially designed for long distance rides.
He has already clocked up 101,000 kilometres and still has nearly 40 more countries to visit on his 'ride for peace'.
During his stay in Rome, he visited the Town Hall and is due to visit Vatican city. He will visit San Marino and Venice on Italy's Adriatic coast, before heading to Austria and Slovenia.(AKI/rideforpeace)
Ride for Peace on Mira Adanja-Polak TV SHOW
Ride for Peace On Jordan TV
28 November, 2008
By The Way: Batik, a symbol of Javanese domination?
The two look elegant and comfortable as they go about the business of managing the country's economy.
Batik is experiencing somewhat of a resurgent lately, with more and more people wearing the designs regularly, even to work. In the past, batik was generally reserved for special occasions, such as wedding ceremonies; most men for example would keep just two or three in their wardrobe.
Today, government agencies, state enterprises and an increasing number of private companies, make Friday "batik day" or "casual wear" day. The batik industry has responded to this by introducing more creative designs and motifs.
Short-sleeve batik shirts, long dismissed as too casual, are now in vogue even for office attire.
Personally, this is important for me. I am one of the few Indonesians who have never felt comfortable wearing batik. And if you don't feel comfortable in something, you just don't look good in it. Thankfully, a short sleeve batik shirt is not as torturous as the long ones.
I felt somewhat unpatriotic at times whenever the nation gets up in arms at Malaysia for promoting their own batik styles, and more recently at China, which has flooded malls in Jakarta with their batiks.
The resurgence in batik in Indonesiais in part a response to this growing intrusion into what Indonesians feel is our heritage. If Japan in the 1970s and 1980s had a slogan "Buy Japanese First", then Indonesians are now being told wear batik if they love their country.
I, for one, don't buy this at all.
Batik is an ancient method of dyeing fabric that was developed in Java -- so it's more correct to say that its part of Javanese heritage.
We Sumatrans have kain or songket and Baju Melayu or Teluk Belanga as traditional costumes for men. Admittedly, I'd never be seen dead in one of those.
I don't think Indonesia has the right to accuse other countries of stealing our batik. Wax printing methods have been around for centuries, which I think makes it a sort of an "open source" style. What we, or rather what the Javanese have done, is to develop the designs into a higher form of artistic expression.
The Javanese claim to batik is more a claim to specific motifs and designs. Indeed, no one can take this away from them, but if you think about it that way, there is no such thing as Indonesian batik in Indonesia, just as there is no such thing as Chinese restaurant in China or a Padang foodstall in Padang.
In Indonesia, batik aficionados recognize Yogya batiks, Solo batiks, Pekalongan batiks or Cirebon batiks for their unique designs. But there is no such thing as Indonesian batik.
The Malaysians, Indians, Chinese and Africans have every right to claim their own batiks, at least as far as motifs and designs are concerned. Incidentally, if Wikipedia is to be believed, Nelson Mandela is not wearing Indonesian batik. He may have worn a few from Iwan Tirta's collections, but apparently most of his Madiba shirts are supplied by a South African designer.
My sorry excuse for not wearing batik is that to me it is just another form of Javanese cultural domination that we other ethnic groups in Indonesia have had to endure.
They already dominate the nation through the sheer size of their numbers, especially among the ruling elite. Their culture permeates our lives, and batik is just another part of this.
But you can't win them all.
We Sumatrans won the language war back in 1928 when the Javanese, the largest cultural group in what is now Indonesia, agreed to use Malay as the root for Bahasa Indonesia, the national language. That's a huge concession on their part that no amount of "Javanization" of our local cultures can ever match.
Perhaps, I'll start wearing that batik shirt after all, if only to preserve Malay's linguistic domination. (jakartapost)
25 November, 2008
Man Jailed for Hannah Murder
Maninder Pal Singh Kohli was convicted at Winchester Crown Court of Hannah's murder, rape, false imprisonment and kidnap in March 2003.
Evil Kohli snatched the 17-year-old from a street just yards from her home in Southampton after she spent a night out with friends.
Hannah had been celebrating getting four predicted A grades in her exams.
The terrified teenager – who wanted to be a doctor – called 999 hoping an operator would hear what was happening but the call was terminated when she did not speak.
Sixteen-stone Kohli took her to a secluded spot where he repeatedly raped slightly-built Hannah in his sandwich delivery van.
Kohli then strangling her when he feared she might identify him.
Four days later, he fled to India as the police net closed in on him.
After years of campaigning by Hannah’s parents Hilary and Trevor Foster, Kohli was finally extradited back to Britain last year to stand trial.
Kohli shook his head only slightly but showed no other emotion as the four unanimous verdicts were delivered.
Hearing the guilty verdict on the first count of murder, Hannah’s sister Sarah and her mother sobbed and hugged each other while Hannah’s father helped comfort them.
Speaking outside the court, Mr and Mrs Foster paid tribute to their murdered daughter describing their “overwhelming sense of relief” at today’s verdict and saying they had “waited six years for this moment”.
Mr Foster said Kohli had shown “not one iota of remorse for his actions”, adding: “Today finally justice has caught up with him."
He thanked the police for their hard work throughout the investigation and the jury for their verdict.
"We have done everything we can in pursuit of justice for Hannah," he said.
Mr Foster added: “The guilty verdict is the culmination of a long but emotional journey, not just for Hilary, Sarah and myself, and not just for our immediate family, close friends and all the people who knew and loved Hannah.
"But also for everyone in the local community who has supported us in so many ways and shown us such kindness through the long ordeal.”
The jury took five-and-a-half hours to reach its decision and the judge, Mr Justice Keith, adjourned the case for ten minutes so everyone in court could regain their composure.
Kohli, dressed in a grey suit and blue shirt and flanked by three security guards, was taken from the court. When he returned he was told he would serve a minimum of 24 years.
In a victim impact statement read to the court by Hannah’s aunt Gill Lewis, Hannah’s mother Hilary said she would feel guilt for the rest of her life that she was not there to protect her daughter when she was murdered.
She said of her daughter’s murderer: “Kohli ripped out my heart and stamped on it.”
Mrs Foster also described the moment she saw Hannah’s body in the mortuary.
She said: “When Trevor and I saw Hannah in the mortuary, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, there must be some mistake.
“The cold, battered and bruised body certainly looked like her, but where was the sparkle in her eyes?”
Mrs Foster also wrote in the statement: “Our lives have revolved around our two girls, their wellbeing, personal interests and hopes for the future.
“On March 14 2003, our lives changed forever.”
Detective Sergeant Alan Betts, who led the operation to hunt down Kohli, later said the six year wait for justice had been a "frustrating process".
He also paid tribute to Hannah's family, the Indian authorities and the work of Hampshire Constabulary for their cooperation and determination in making it happen.
17 November, 2008
Iraq cabinet backs US troops deal
The Iraqi cabinet has approved a security pact with the US governing the future presence of 150,000 US troops in the country, officials have said.
Under the deal, US troops will withdraw from the streets of Iraqi towns next year, leaving Iraq by the end of 2011.
The decision will need to go before Iraq's parliament for a final vote.
America's National Security Council welcomed the cabinet's vote, saying it was "an important and positive step" towards stability and security.
The pact is necessary to determine the role of US military forces in Iraq after their UN mandate expires on 31 December 2008.
In October, Iraq sent a new round of suggested changes to the draft Status of Forces Agreement (Sofa), to which the US responded.
Washington had previously said the pact was "final" and could not be amended.
There are currently about 150,000 US troops deployed in Iraq.
The UK government, which has 4,100 troops in Iraq, is waiting for the US-Iraqi pact to be approved so they can use it as a template for their own bi-lateral deal.
Deal struck
As the Iraqi cabinet met on Sunday, two bomb attacks - in Baghdad and Diyala province - killed at least 18 people and wounded many more.
The cabinet approved the pact after a two-and-a-half hour meeting, government spokesman Ali Dabbagh said.
All but one of the 28 ministers present had voted in favour of the pact, he added, according to the Associated Press news agency.
According to Mr Dabbagh, the agreement's terms include:
* placing US forces in Iraq under the authority of the Iraqi government
* US forces to leave the streets of Iraq's towns and villages by the middle of 2009
* US forces to hand over their bases to Iraq during the course of 2009
* US forces to lose the authority to raid Iraqi homes without an order from an Iraqi judge and permission of the government.
In a statement, US National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the US hoped for a successful vote in the Iraqi parliament:
"We remain hopeful and confident we'll soon have an agreement that serves both the people of Iraq and the United States well and sends a signal to the region and the world that both our governments are committed to a stable, secure and democratic Iraq."
The BBC's Andrew North, in Baghdad, says that a compromise was reached on the key issue of Iraqi jurisdiction over US troops and contractors in the country.
In it, a joint committee will decide if Americans who commit crimes outside US bases should face Iraqi justice.
While many Iraqi politicians publicly oppose the deal, our correspondent says, in private they support it.
They believe it will give the government more power over US troops and will allow the Iraqi military more time to develop into an effective security force.
The agreement is set to be submitted to Iraq's parliament later on Sunday, but it is not clear when the body will vote on it.
It then needs to be ratified by Iraq's presidential council before Prime Minister Nouri Maliki can sign the deal with US President George W Bush.
The BBC's Bob Trevelyan says that Mr Maliki has been trying to build support for the amended pact and the main Shia and Kurdish alliances in parliament have recently agreed to back it.
He also appears to have persuaded the country's most senior Shia cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, not to oppose it publicly.
The cleric is highly influential in Iraq's Shia community. Any public criticism of the pact by him would probably have stopped it winning parliamentary approval, our correspondent says.
Iraqi officials say failure to pass the agreement would be highly damaging for Iraqi security.
US officials have said it would mean suspending their operations in Iraq.
Speaking before Sunday's meeting, Iraq's lead negotiator, Muwafaq al-Rubaie, said he believed the draft agreement was a "very good text" and he expected it to be approved by parliament as well.
Protest call
But the pact has drawn fire from hardline nationalists, especially Iraq's influential Shia cleric, Moqtada Sadr, whose supporters have called for mass demonstrations to oppose any agreement with the US "occupier".
On the streets of Baghdad there was a mixed reaction to the pact.
''We don't want an agreement with America," said Rasheed al-Jumali.
"We don't want an agreement with Israel. We don't want an agreement with Iran. They (the government) should work towards reinforcing the gallant Iraqi army. We fully and totally reject this security pact.''
But Mun'am al-Abadi backed the government, adding: "The Iraqi government knows its people well. We are oppressed people. If the security agreement benefits us, we accept it completely.''
14 November, 2008
Pregnant man Tom having baby no2
Bearded Thomas Beatie is expected to have his new baby around June 12 — less than a year after daughter Susan Juliette was born.
The 34-year-old American told a US chat show yesterday: “I feel good. I’ve had my check-ups. Everything is right on track.”
He stopped taking pills aimed at making him more manly so he could have another tot.
Thomas, from Bend, Oregon, was born a woman called Tracy and had a sex change in 2002 — but kept his womb. Bodybuilder wife Nancy Roberts, 47, artificially inseminated him.
The couple took the controversial step because Nancy had undergone a hysterectomy and they wanted a biological child.
Thomas previously said: “Being pregnant doesn’t make me feel any less of a man.
“I did not feel maternal or motherly or womanly and pregnant. I felt like Nancy’s husband, and I felt like the father of my child.”
He claims he is already explaining the situation to their daughter by reading her books about male seahorses carrying their young.
But Thomas — whose book about his life goes on sale this week — denies that he has been motivated by fame and money offers. (thesun)
