Month: November 2009

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Quote from President Barack Obama’s Speech on launch of “Educate to Innovate”

Presiden Amerika Serikat Barack Obama dalam pidato peluncuran program “Educate to Innovate” :

“The leadership of tomorrow depends on how we educate our students, especially in those fields who hold promise of future innovations and innovators. That’s why education in math and science is so important.”

“Time and again, we have let partisan and petty bickering, stand in the way of progress. Time and again, we have let our children down.”

Jadi dapatkah kita sejenak menaruh drama politik di belakang (seberapa pun pentingnya pemberantasan korupsi) untuk juga memberi energi yang sama untuk perbaikan pendidikan? Apalagi bila pendidikan yang baik juga dapat menghasilkan orang-orang yang tidak korupsi?

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The Heart is not Rational

About five years ago, a certain “event” caused to me to utter the phrase “Matter of the hearts is never rational”.

And how true that is. While biologically, the Heart (Bahasa Indonesia: “Jantung”) is the major organ in our body which distributes absolutely important oxygen to our cells, we often use the word “heart” (Bahasa Indonesia: “Hati”) when we feel something we can’t really explain with our rational and logic. Falling in love is never logical. The question “What do you see in him/her?” always appears in conversation as we stumble in trying to explain why we love him/her.

So as I ponder some news that has upset me today, I can only seek comfort that based on previous experience (that’s the work of the brain :-)) the brain will understand the heart, eventually.

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Between a Rock and a Hard Place

DISCLAIMER: VERY PERSONAL INDIVIDUAL POINT OF VIEW. IT’S MY BLOG, GET YOUR OWN BLOG IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH ME & WANT TO THROW ROCKS AT THE PRESIDENT 🙂

Boy I bet that’s how our President feels right now, between a rock and a hard place…

Some things are more obvious than others, and the general consensus is that he could’ve and should’ve dealt with it sooner but (and this is a rhetorical question) can you really blame the guy? Remember, rhetorical 🙂 And to rub salt on his wound, he’s being compared to the former no 2, but that’s okay, he can take it (I think). He is after all, the President 🙂

Now… :::getting on soapbox:::

In a country where people get jailed for a civil case (you mean Prita M was a flight risk? Seriously?) or dragged to court for 3 measly pieces of cacao (those with law degrees should be ashamed for not flying directly to defend Mbok Minah at her trial), or charged for charging (pun intended) their mobiles in the corridor of their apartment, do you really wonder why Bibit & Chandra was arrested? Yeah I know that the case against them reeked of set-up so bad you could probably smell it in the North Pole. But praising KPK to the skies is not really my idea trying to create a corruption free country. Not diminishing their accomplishments but KPK is not (in my very humble opinion) the be-all-end-all solution of eradicating corruption. They are very advanced, and seem to learn from prior experiences how to get the guy, and they managed to build strong cases against some suspects, but again, they are only one piece of the puzzle. However, if you read, listen and watch the media right now, you would think they’ve descended from the heavens to save us mere mortals 🙂

I work in a place that uses government money, and just learning about the budgeting system can make you stomach churn and you will understand how people can “work” the system to their liking. That’s just an example, and the horror story that came out of the recordings is also an example. I’m not saying anything more or pointing fingers, but my point is that there needs to be an overhaul of the budgeting system (which I hear is currently planned for 2011?) in order to reduce the opportunities for corruption. Without that, I don’t think we have a real chance of a corruption free country no matter who the President is, so for those playing the “what if” game…well, keep playing if it makes you happy. No objection from me :-D.

And whose job is it to blow away corruption and make sure the country isn’t robbed? For me, it’s all of us. Although social networking is sometimes seen as a time waster, I love the increase in awareness of society for serious issues that has come up as a result of all the social networks (now, if we could reduce the addiction to farmville it’s icing on the cake hahahaha… don’t hate me, farmers! I love you all!) Hopefully, we can create the change and make our country as great as it could be!

:::getting off soapbox:::

REPEAT DISCLAIMER: VERY PERSONAL INDIVIDUAL POINT OF VIEW. IT’S MY BLOG, GET YOUR OWN BLOG IF YOU DON’T AGREE WITH ME & WANT TO THROW ROCKS AT THE PRESIDENT 🙂