Serahkan pada ahlinya: Jakarta Mampet Parah

Tadi malem macetnya parah banget. Mahakam-Barito-Melawai udah jadi lautan mobil kayak got mampet. Cilandak-Ampera-Panglima Polim (nyambung ke Melawai) juga mampet. Darmawangsa-Antasari juga. Ngga usah ditanya kalo Radio Dalam dan jalanan2 yg biasa macet, udah pasti lebih parah. Denger2 dari supir taxi 2 hari yg lalu juga kayak gitu. Kalo diliat2, restoran pada penuh & banyak mobil parkir di pinggir jalan. Kayaknya jalanan penuh dg orang2 yg bikin acara makan malam (a.k.a. buka puasa) bersama. Gw nyari taxi susah banget. Lewat telpon gak nyambung2, nyetop di pinggir jalan pun susah. Begitu ada taxi kosong, supirnya ngga mau ngangkut penumpang (itu pun gw pilih2 taxi yg reputasinya bagus aja & biasanya bersih & gak bau. Apalagi guru yoga gw cerita temennya pernah dirampog di taxi, ditodong piso 'n pake acara dipukul segala).

Karena Didi stuck di Ampera, kita janjian ketemu di Kemang. Tapi gw gak dapet taxi. Akhirnya gw jalan kaki dari Mahakam utk nunggu Didi di Tamani Melawai. Itu pun gak dapet meja--restoran penuh! Untung masih ada kursi tunggu yg empuk. Tapi krn gak jelas, Didi minta gw pindah ke Starbucks aja biar bisa sekalian beliin dia minum...kasian dia blum buka puasa. Fortunately Starbucks relatif kosong. Sejam kemudian Didi baru nyampe tapi gak bisa parkir (penuh), dan jln Melawai masih lautan mobil. Jadi gw lsg naik waktu mobilnya nyampe depan Starbucks.

Had to find a place to eat--kita kelaperan, sedangkan perjalanan masih jauh apalagi dg macet parah banget kayak gitu. Akhirnya kita ke langganan kita di deket situ, Sate Blora Pak Yono :) Abis makan lanjut jalan, berusaha cari jalan yg gak [terlalu] macet. Tapi kita selalu ketemu macet lautan mobil.

Nyampe rumah jam 10:30 dlm keadaan exhausted. Kalo HP udah low battery & bunyi2 alert tuh... Cape banget... Rasanya gak rela ngebayangin besoknya pagi2 udah harus berangkat ke kantor lagi..... bener2 kayak gak ngerasain punya rumah... cuma numpang tidur dowang... Sedangkan wiken harus bersih2 rumah.... menikmatinya cuma beberapa jam aja kalo setelah rumah bersih kita gak ke mana2.......

Jerman: Cuti Melahirkan 3 Tahun?

Bener gak nih?

Link: "Cuti Melahirkan 3 Tahun"

Memang beda negara yg udah maju... Mereka sudah memikirkan perlunya mempersiapkan generasi muda yg berkualitas. Sedangkan di sini, para ibu sudah harus meninggalkan bayi yg masih sangat kecil, sangat butuh ASI maupun sentuhan sang ibu (peraturan Depnaker tentang Cuti Melahirkan: 3 bulan dengan 1.5 bln sebelum ekspektasi kelahiran bayi + 1.5 bln setelah bayi lahir).

Ini tulisannya:

Peraturan Pemerintah Jerman mengatakan, setiap wanita yang menjadi pegawai Pemerintah (pegawai negeri), mendapatkan hak cuti melahirkan yang lamanya … tiga tahun! Pada masa cuti tersebut, ia tetap menerima gaji utuh. Selain itu, bila ia masuk kerja setelah masa cuti habis, dijamin kursinya tidak ditempati orang lain.

Sementara bagi wanita yang memang “rela” tidak bekerja di luar rumah, alias menjadi housewife, akan menerima tunjangan khusus. Tunjangan dimaksudkan untuk mencukupi keperluan si ibu dan bayinya.

Perlakuan istimewa itu juga berlaku bagi wanita warganegara asing yang kebetulan mempunyai balita. Keponakan saya yang mendapat beasiswa belajar di Jerman, mengajak istri dan anaknya yang baru berumur tiga tahun. Saat melapor pemberi beasiswa bertanya tentang anak-istrinya. Keponakan saya menjawab, anaknya masih balita dan istrinya memang berniat khusus mengasuh anaknya. Seketika pemberi beasiswa melapor ke Pemerintah Daerah, bulan berikut ia sudah menerima tunjangan khusus tersebut.

Terlepas dari kondisi keuangan yang memang mencukupi, Pemerintah Jerman beralasan, seorang ibu yang bisa seratus persen mencurahkan perhatian dan kasih sayang pada anaknya dianggap sangat berjasa dalam mempersiapkan generasi penerus yang berkualitas. Cuti melahirkan selama tiga tahun pun berdasarkan pertimbangan bahwa pada usia empat tahun, si anak sudah bisa masuk Taman Kanak-kanak. Artinya si anak tidak lagi sepenuhnya memerlukan perhatian ibu. (Darwinto)

Pink rose

Pink rose, originally uploaded by zags.

Glad to be looking at this pink rose when I'm home today. Gives me the feeling of beauty and youthful spirit.
He brought it yesterday evening. Although it's not for some romantic reason, I'm happy to see that pretty thing. :-) what a sight for sore eyes...

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Jogja

Jogja, originally uploaded by zags.

Staying at a hotel on Malioboro street. Ate Gudeg, Jogja's typical food. These are pictures of the atmosphere along Malioboro street.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Jogja

Jogja, originally uploaded by zags.

Staying at a hotel on Malioboro street. Ate Gudeg, Jogja's typical food. These are pictures of the atmosphere along Malioboro street.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Jogja

Jogja, originally uploaded by zags.

Staying at a hotel on Malioboro street. Ate Gudeg, Jogja's typical food. These are pictures of the atmosphere along Malioboro street.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Solo: Batik hunt!

Solo: Batik hunt!, originally uploaded by zags.

Solo is one place in Central Java where we can find various beautiful batik. Batik is traditional Javanese printed/hand painted cloths. The cloths are painted with hot wax then soaked in coloring solution, then the wax is melted and washed away. There are many kinds of batik prints, including types of prada (golden color painted) prints. These are two samples of prada types called Sido Mukti.

More photos will be uploaded when i'm back.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Solo: Batik hunt!

Solo: Batik hunt!, originally uploaded by zags.

Solo is one place in Central Java where we can find various beautiful batik. Batik is traditional Javanese printed/hand painted cloths. The cloths are painted with hot wax then soaked in coloring solution, then the wax is melted and washed away. There are many kinds of batik prints, including types of prada (golden color painted) prints. These are two samples of prada types called Sido Mukti.

More photos will be uploaded when i'm back.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Blora

Central Java: Blora, originally uploaded by zags.

First thing we did when we arrived in Blora last night was eating Bloranese satay! Yum! Not all places serve tasty satay. This one's our favorite. For you who didn't know it yet, satay is small pieces of meat (chicken, beef, or lamb) in wooden stick, grilled on charcoal. In Blora we eat while the satay man keeps grilling satays and putting them in the plate when they're done. And we keep picking them and put them into our plates and eat them until we decide to stop eating. We eat them with rice put on Jati leaves (you can also choose to eat them on plate).

We spent a night here and we'll leave for Solo then Jogja.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Blora

Central Java: Blora, originally uploaded by zags.

First thing we did when we arrived in Blora last night was eating Bloranese satay! Yum! Not all places serve tasty satay. This one's our favorite. For you who didn't know it yet, satay is small pieces of meat (chicken, beef, or lamb) in wooden stick, grilled on charcoal. In Blora we eat while the satay man keeps grilling satays and putting them in the plate when they're done. And we keep picking them and put them into our plates and eat them until we decide to stop eating. We eat them with rice put on Jati leaves (you can also choose to eat them on plate).

We spent a night here and we'll leave for Solo then Jogja.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Blora

Central Java: Blora, originally uploaded by zags.

First thing we did when we arrived in Blora last night was eating Bloranese satay! Yum! Not all places serve tasty satay. This one's our favorite. For you who didn't know it yet, satay is small pieces of meat (chicken, beef, or lamb) in wooden stick, grilled on charcoal. In Blora we eat while the satay man keeps grilling satays and putting them in the plate when they're done. And we keep picking them and put them into our plates and eat them until we decide to stop eating. We eat them with rice put on Jati leaves (you can also choose to eat them on plate).

We spent a night here and we'll leave for Solo then Jogja.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Central Java: Semarang

Central Java: Semarang, originally uploaded by zags.

After the long, long ride yesterday, with traffic jam in Kandanghaur village in the area of Indramayu, stop by for very late lunch in the town of Cirebon, continuing through the bad road, we arrived in Semarang late in the evening. Now we're taking a little trip around before going to our next destination, Blora.

We went to buy lunpia, a typical Semarang Now we're at Sam Po Kong, a chinese temple built by Cheng Ho's men. Some say it was originally a small mosque, as Cheng Ho's man was a Muslim. But after he died, local chinese people worship him and made the building a temple. More photos and probably about the history will follow later when i'm back home (hopefully will have the chance to finish this entry).

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Permen jadul

Permen jadul, originally uploaded by zags.

Tadi pagi gw n Didi sarapan di rumah makan Soto Madura Asli arah Ps. Baru. Aneh rasanya jam segitu ada dh daerah itu :-P. Enw, ada yg menarik selain temboknya yg terlalu byk informasi dari foto2 dan kesan2 public figures yg pernah makan di sana--di bingkai2 menuhin hampir seluruh tembok--iklan tour'n'travel, gw nemu permen jadul. "Kopi hopjes" n permen sarsaparilla. Kemasannya jadul berattt...

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Japanese curry

Japanese curry, originally uploaded by zags.

Kare jepun buatan didi... Umai (^O^)

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Hukuman buat Koruptor (a.k.a. Maling)

Ada tulisan menarik tentang cara Cina meningkatkan perekonomiannya. Apakah Indonesia nggak terinspirasi dengan prinsip yang udah terbukti efektif ini?

Pada prinsipnya cara yang dijalankan Zhu ini ("bunuh seekor ayam untuk menakut-nakuti seribu kera") mirip dengan hukum potong tangan dalam Islam. Coba deh, kalo para maling (koruptor masuk kategori maling lho) dihukum potong tangan aja (ngga usah hukum mati dulu deh), itu saja pasti sudah membuat banyak orang ketakutan. Mereka akan mikir beribu kali untuk mencuri. Andaikan hukum dijalankan dengan tegas dan juga adil tentunya.

Selamat membaca!

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Bangsa Ini Memerlukan Zhu?
Oleh: Asro Kamal Rokan (Republika Online)

Amazing!
Dari tahun 2001 sampai 2005 Cina telah menghukum mati 4000 orang karena korupsi, dan menurut Amnesti Internasional (AI) fakta sesungguhnya masih lebih banyak lagi. Orang bilang komunis itu kejam, tapi cara tsb terbukti sukses memberantas korupsi dan hasilnya terlihat indikator perekonomian Cina melesat. Bunuhlah seekor ayam untuk menakuti seribu ekor kera, beranikah Indonesia meniru?

Xiao Hongbo telah dihukum mati pekan lalu. Delapan orang pacarnya -- yang dibiayai dalam kehidupan mewah-- mungkin hanya menangisi lelaki berusia 37 tahun. Tidak ada yang bisa membantunya. Deputi manajer cabang Bank Konstruksi China, salah satu bank milik negara, di Dacheng, Provinsi Sichuan, itu dihukum mati karena korupsi. Xiao telah merugikan bank sebesar 4 juta yuan atau sekitar Rp 3,9 miliar sejak 1998 hingga 2001. Uang itu digunakan untuk membiayai kehidupan delapan pacarnya.

Xiao Hongbo satu di antara lebih dari empat ribu orang di Cina yang telah dihukum mati sejak 2001 karena terbukti melakukan kejahatan, termasuk korupsi. Angka empat ribu itu, menurut Amnesti Internasional (AI), jauh lebih kecil dari fakta sesungguhnya. AI mengutuk cara-cara Cina itu, yang mereka sebut sebagai suatu yang mengerikan. Tapi, bagi Perdana Menteri Zhu Rongji inilah jalan menyelamatkan Cina dari kehancuran. Ketika dilantik menjadi perdana menteri pada 1998, Zhu dengan lantang mengatakan, "Berikan kepada saya seratus peti mati, sembilan puluh sembilan untuk koruptor, satu untuk saya jika saya
melakukan hal yang sama."

Zhu tidak main-main. Cheng Kejie, pejabat tinggi Partai Komunis Cina, dihukum mati karena menerima suap lima juta dolar AS. Tidak ada tawar-menawar. Permohonan banding wakil ketua Kongres Rakyat Nasional itu ditolak pengadilan. Bahkan istrinya, Li Ping, yang membantu suaminya meminta uang suap, dihukum penjara.

Wakil Gubernur Provinsi Jiangxi, Hu Chang-ging, pun tak luput dari peti mati. Hu terbukti menerima suap berupa mobil dan permata senilai Rp 5 miliar. Ratusan bahkan mungkin ribuan peti mati telah terisi, tidak hanya oleh para pejabat korup, tapi juga pengusaha, bahkan wartawan. Selama empat bulan pada 2003 lalu, 33.761 polisi dipecat. Mereka dipecat tidak hanya karena menerima suap, tapi juga berjudi, mabuk-mabukan, membawa senjata di luar tugas, dan kualitas di bawah standar. Agaknya Zhu Rongji paham betul pepatah Cina: bunuhlah seekor ayam untuk menakuti seribu ekor kera. Dan, sejak ayam-ayam dibunuh, kera-kera menjadi takut, kini pertumbuhan ekonomi Cina mencapai 9 persen per tahun dengan nilai pendapatan domestic bruto sebesar 1.000 dolar AS. Cadangan devisa mereka sudah mencapai 300 miliar dolar AS.

Sukses Cina itu, menurut guru besar Universitas Peking, Prof Kong Yuanzhi, karena Zhu serius memberantas korupsi. Perang terhadap korupsi diikuti dengan peningkatan kualitas sumber daya manusia. Zhu mengeluarkan dana besar untuk pendidikan manajemen, mengirim ribuan siswa belajar ke luar negeri, dan juga mengundang pakar bisnis berbicara di Cina.

Kini, lihatlah apa yang terjadi di Indonesia...

Pengangguran terus bertambah, anak-anak gadis dari desa terpaksa menjadi pelacur di kota, lulusan SMU menjadi pengamen, anak-anak SD yang malu tidak dapat membayar uang sekolah, bunuh diri. Ratusan ribu orang tumpah ke kota-kota karena di desa tidak ada harapan. Ratusan ribu orang menjadi tenaga kerja di luar negeri, ditipu calo dan disiksa majikannya. Mereka adalah korban. Koruptor menghisap hidup mereka, bertahun-tahun tanpa ada yang menolong. Koruptor mengambil hak mereka atas tanah, hak mereka atas air, hak mereka untuk sekolah, hak mereka untuk berdagang, hak mereka untuk bekerja, hak mereka untuk mendapatkan layanan, hak mereka untuk kesehatan.

Apalagi hak yang tersisa untuk orang-orang miskin itu? Pemerintah bukan penolong orang-orang miskin, terkadang mereka juga mengambil uang dari orang-orang miskin. Bangsa ini memerlukan orang seperti Zhu Rongji, bukan pecundang atau pesolek yang tiap kali berbicara atau mengambil kebijakan selalu mwngutip kalimat "atas nama rakyat", tetapi hasil yang didapat jauh panggang dari api.

Inilah Indonesia saat ini!

Jatuhkanlah tiga buah batu dari pesawat udara di wilayah Indonesia, maka, yakinlah satu di antara batu itu akan mengenai kepala koruptor
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Tapi batu yang 2 lagi kena ke orang gak bersalah...?

Kalau aparat hukumnya aja udah gampang disuap, rakyat kehilangan kepercayaan (trust) terhadap pemerintah dan aparat hukum, ..... どうすればいい？ Harus bagaimana ya?