RI deplores 'rights abuse' in student arrests

Foreign Minister Hassan Wirajuda said Monday he deplored the arrests and alleged torture of four Indonesian students in Cairo, but made no hint whether Indonesia would ask Egypt to apologize and prosecute the perpetrators.

"We have heard the students were not given their basic rights as suspects while being interrogated," he told reporters after opening a workshop on the Indonesian presidential election at the Sheraton Hotel in Tangerang, Banten.

"We want to make sure such an incident does not happen again."

The minister acknowledged, however, that Egypt had been very strict and harsh in implementing its draconian emergency law.

"The political system is different there. The students should be careful...their duty is to study well," he said.

Hassan will depart for Egypt for the Non-Aligned Movement Summit later this month and will raise the issue when meeting with his Egyptian counterpart.

by: THE JAKARTA POST

RI among 10 most corrupt; House worst offender

Indonesia is the equal seventh most corrupt of 69 countries surveyed by Transparency International for its 2009 Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), with the country’s legislative body singled out as the most corrupt public institution.

The survey, titled “Global Corruption Barometer 2009”, polled a total of 73,132 respondents in 69 countries from October last year to March this year on their opinion of six institutions: political parties, parliament or legislative bodies, businesses and the private sector, the media, public officials and the judiciary.

The scale or ranking ranges from most to the least corrupt, with five being the most corrupt and one being the cleanest.

In Indonesia, the organization asked for opinions from 500 people living in Jakarta and Surabaya between Nov. 11 and Nov. 20 last year.

Indonesia scored a 3.7 on average, making it the equal seventh most corrupt country with the United States and Italy.

Indonesia's House of Representatives is considered the most corrupt institution, scoring 4.4 on the survey, followed by the judiciary, with 4.1. The country’s political parties and state officials were ranked an equal 4.0, while the media followed with a ranking of 2.3.

The score was worse than the 2007 GCB, which scored 14 sectors in Indonesia a 3.3 on average. Transparency International did not carry out a GCB survey in 2008.

Out of 12 countries surveyed in the Asia Pacific region, Indonesia was considered more corrupt than Singapore (2.2), Thailand (3.3), Malaysia (3.4) and the Philippines (3.4), but cleaner than Japan (3.9) and South Korea (3.9).

The House was regarded as the most corrupt institution in the country, due to a number of recent corruption cases implicating lawmakers, observers attending the launching of the report said.

Legislator Gayus Lumbuun of the House’s legal commission said he accepted the survey's results, “this institution indeed deserves to be called corrupt”.

The Corruption Court has convicted numerous lawmakers of corruption over the past year, including Yusuf Erwin Faishal, Al Amien Nur Nasution, Sarjan Tahir, Hamka Yandhu and Anthony Zeidra Abidin.

Secretary-general of Indonesia’s chapter of TI, Teten Masduki, however, said the public considered corruption eradication efforts in Indonesia to be quite effective.

A majority of 74 percent of respondents said corruption eradication efforts were effective, 19 percent said it was ineffective; 7 percent abstained.

“This may be related to the Corruption Eradication Commission's [KPK] achievements,” Teten said.
However, he added, if the KPK remains focused on cases involving regents, mayors and regional administration officials, their efforts will be in vain.

“The commission will only aim at scapegoats and not the real perpetrators”.

He expects the survey will be used as a reference point for making policy reforms and improving institutions.

“Basically, all countries in this world cannot escape from corruption, so the question is: How strong is the commitment of a country’s government to eradicate corruption?”

Mozila contemplate the future without Google

IN THE OFFICE center in Mountain View, California, in the executive Mozilla can see Google's headquarters from various directions. Googleplex building, a headquarters for the giant search engine company that dominates the scenery in the area.

"Physically, we are surrounded by Google," said Mitchell Baker, head of the Mozilla Foundation releases Mozilla CEO position last year, cited from Business Week.

More than that, in fact, Google's name is also clearly visible in all balance sheet Mozilla, engine manufacturers Firefox web browser and a number of other software. His course, these two companies agreed to put the Google search engine on the default position in the Firefox toolbar. Google is also really enjoy the position.

Up to now the agreement is still to provide benefits for both parties. Google donated more than 88 percent of income Mozilla, which reached USD75 million in 2007. The Mozilla successfully grab users from Internet Explorer, the larger the opportunity merengkuh market for Google search engine.

Known as plural, Firefox web browser is the most widely used Internet Explorer after Microsoft besutan. Based on the data that belongs to Net Applications, Firefox currently control 22 percent of the browser market, is still far below the Internet Explorer of the 67 per cent.

However, the extent to which relationships both Google and Mozilla will survive since the start is September 2008 ago, when Google introduced garapannya own web browser, Chrome.

The executive at Mozilla are forced to play the brain to think how to get income other than rely on Google. Moreover, the contract with Google will soon be ended in 2011, and likely Google will not memperpanjangnya.

"They can decide the contract or they may decide not to update it," said Baker.

Its position is now increasingly obvious, Firefox needs Google more than Google needs Firefox. "And that will be memorable when Chrome just get more and more users," said Ray Valdes, research director at Gartner (IT).

There are several alternative options other than Google. Mozilla also has to weigh the possibility of menggandeng other search engines such as Yahoo! belonging to Microsoft and MSN. Both are rival Google. "There are likely other search engines that can give us money," said Baker.

Women called complete Winifred Mitchell Baker also confess at this time there are companies that offer themselves to be a substitute for Google. However, he sure was not Microsoft.

Perginya clear that Google will bring the risk for Mozilla. John Battelee, an observer of the Internet, said partnering with search engines is just a way for Mozilla to gain income. There are many ways to get money, which have not been thought. "It is not difficult to get money from the browser business," he said.

Obama The concerns over Sri Lanka National Athletes

WASHINGTON - United States President Barack Obama is concerned over shooting athlete entourage national cricket Sri Lanka Tuesday in Lahore Pakistan yesterday.

Obama mentions the tragedy as "vicious attacks on civilians."

Some 12 people attacked the convoy near the athlete entourage Gaddafi Stadium with a rocket, granad hand, and machine guns. At least six Pakistani police convoy that killed athlete. In addition, six players and a trainer from the UK was reported injured.

Athletes cricket when Sri Lanka is scheduled to conduct trials with the host team.

"Results terperincinya not yet known. I also do not want to talk specifically," Obama said as quoted Reuters, Wednesday (4/3/2009). Obama declares itself after it met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Foreign Affairs earlier said Gordon Duguid, investigate the attack and hope that relations between Sri Lanka and Pakistan does not interfere.

Oppugn join Pakistan to work together in rebellion Bangladesh

Islamabad - Pakistan rebut media reports that India, the military rebellion in Bangladesh last week, has the intelligence of the country.

On Sunday, The Times of India report, a rebel army that reveals the involvement of politicians caught Salaudin Qadeer Chowdhury. He has a close relationship with the Pakistani military intelligence agency.

Press TV be, Tuesday (3/3/2009), on Monday yesterday, Pakistani foreign ministry on the report The Times of India is.

In the report called the rebels receive funds to pay for as much USD140.000 bloody rebellion in the capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka.

Spokesman Menlu Pakistan Abdul Basit statement in Islamabad said intervence does not respect the principles and does not interfere other country's affairs. Both countries, he added, also has a close relationship.

"The report is truly grounded and not painful," Basit firm.

Rebellion that lasted for 35 hours that, as many as 140 military officer allegedly killed by army border guards Bangladesh Rifles (BDR). Action is carried out welfare-related issues they considered to be ignored by the government.

While up to now, victims have been found killed as many as 74 people or half of the initial estimates.

new species in indonesian

Saturday, February 28
Liputan6.com, Ambon: A new species of fish living in waters of Ambon, Maluku. Scientists call these fish psychedelica while people call this common toad fish.



Fish often swim like frogs being drunk, into right and left. Realize that the behavior by a number of dive instructors who work for the middle of a tour company, a year back. At that time, they swim in the shallow waters of Ambon.
The diver also directly contact Ted Pietsch, a famous author journals copeia special about fish. After examining the actual fish frog DNA, the professor from the University of Washington, United States, define this as a new species.

The findings bring the drunken fish scientists, there are many mysteries that are stored in the bottom of Samudera Indonesia, especially in the coral triangle Ambon. Unfortunately, not India alone that scientists find these beautiful species. (OMI)