Politicizing Indonesia's military By Fabio Scarpello JAKARTA - Indonesia's renewed "war on terror" in the wake of the latest round of bombings on Bali could pave the way for renewed politicization of the country's military, analysts believe. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has already called on the Indonesian Military (TNI) to be more active, and there are fears this could lead to possible abuse and halt the process of reform begun after the end of the Suharto era in 1998.

Gordon Max shows new collections Singapore-based jeweler Gordon Max introduced new Fall and Winter collections of its lab-grown diamonds in a fashion show at Circa restaurant, Wisma BNI 46, in Central Jakarta on Tuesday. The jeweler, which recently opened its first store in Dharmawangsa Square, South Jakarta, displayed the diamonds of various types and designs, including necklaces, earing and rings.

ALSA members to raise funds "ALSA Care -- Let's Care Together for A Better Future" - that's the theme chosen by the students of the University of Indonesia (UI) who are participating in the Asian Law Students Association (ALSA) charity program. The students will hold an event on Oct. 23, 2005, in the auditorium of the UI's School of Law to raise scholarship funds for high achieving pupils of public elementary school Ratu Jaya 3 in Pancoran Mas, Depok.

Seasons Cafe: A trip through Egypt Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta At 5 p.m. at the Seasons Cafe, activity increases as the chefs and waiters get busy preparing dishes for the break-the-fast dinner. Work is more hectic than usual because the Egyptian restaurant is offering a wide selection of traditional dishes in a food festival called "A Touch of Egypt".

Shop and enjoy music at La Piazza For those who want to find a place to hangout with live music, you could try a visit to La Piazza shopping mall in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta. During the fasting month of Ramadhan, visitors can enjoy a performance of nasheed, a light orchestra and children's choir involving 30 musicians and 30 children. Many restaurants in the mall provide snacks and dishes for break-the-fast meals.

A short cut to Paris Syahmedi Dean, Contributor, Jakarta Everyone making their career in the fashion world wants to carve out a place for himself or herself in Paris, one of the world's great fashion capitals. Unfortunately, the roads to Paris are few and far between for young designers.

Patching into the 'Buzz' CampusBuzz was created by The Jakarta Post to better serve our readership, and is dedicated to young adults attending universities, vocational colleges and other tertiary or advanced learning institutions. This new page, which will appear biweekly in the Sunday issue, is intended to develop as a conduit of communication and a forum for sharing ideas through the contributions of tertiary students.

Fasting requires the power of mind over body In this holy month of Ramadhan, like my Indonesian Muslim friends, I ventured to observe the fast during daylight hours. Apart from the need to count my calories and drop a few pounds, my aim in observing the fast this year was to experience hunger. The poor cannot afford to have two square meals a day. The rest of us, on the other hand, never need to crave for food.

JP/9/dean A short cut to Paris Everyone making their career in the fashion world wants to carve out a place for himself or herself in Paris, one of the world's great fashion capitals. Unfortunately, the roads to Paris are few and far between for young designers.

Samudra Suki offers special dessert Samudra Suki at Mulia Hotel offers an invigorating dessert after your break-the-fast meal or dinner with Shabu-Shabu or buffet at an affordable price. Starting from klepon (steamed flour balls with sugar), gethuk (steamed cassava with grated coconut), onde-onde (fried flour balls with sesame) to a variety of cakes. Thai cendol (milk coconut with sugar sauce) is also available. The prices at Samudra Suki are relatively affordable.

Enjoy the weekend with children Sudibyo M. Wiradji, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Fun and children. Can you separate the two? It is no surprise that children's arenas, game centers, food courts and toy stores in most big cities in Indonesia are packed with children every weekend and holiday. Since video games arrived in the country several years ago, they have remained popular with children and adults, who enjoy the challenge and stimulation they provide.

Bahasa or English, 'Saman' an addictive, powerful read A. Junaidi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Saman Ayu Utami Pamela Allen, trans. Equinox Publishing, August 2005 180 pp Although it has been seven years since its debut publication in Bahasa Indonesia, Ayu Utami's novel Saman -- now available for the first time in English from local boutique publisher Equinox Publishing -- is difficult to put down.

VNC opens outlet at PIM II PT Vinncindo Asia Sepatu (VAS) recently opened a second outlet selling the Malaysian VNC brand of women's shoes at the Pondok Indah Mall (PIM) II. Offering new designs at prices of between Rp 125,000 and Rp 380,000, the firm targets customers who are already or not yet familiar with the brand. As a matter of fact, many Indonesians are in fact familiar with the brand produced by Malaysian company Vincci Ladies Specialities Sdn.

Seeking Mat Keling by Muram Batu Mat Keling was dead. The gampong had no hero anymore, and everybody was behaving awkwardly. They had lost the one person they could to turn to at times of trouble. Troubles they could not share to the government agents who were roaming the gampong now, strangers who were too proud, too concerned with their uniforms that they failed to discern the real needs of the people. Nothing could replace the people's trust and reliance in Mat Keling.

Testimony (Kesaksian) by Maskirbi The people vow, witness calamity then hold revenge in a chest wounded under bloody skies the people weep while they dig their own graves the people are forced to shut their mouths to save truth. but calamities are being designed more and more for the weak and downtrodden.

Blue Birds of Paradise Well, we're deep into Ramadhan now and all seems pretty peaceful after the bombers' violent prologue. The FPI (Islamic Defenders Front) have been up to their old tricks to a certain extent although, interestingly, local people finding themselves under the FPI cosh seem to be fighting back this time around. Two other clouds on the horizon though, threatening to dampen people's holiday spirits, are the price hikes and spiraling inflation.

Neighborhood chief murdered INDONESIA: The chief of a neighborhood unit in Jambi province was stabbed to death on Friday night by a resident infuriated by the "unfair" disbursement of cash aid. The aid is being disbursed to the nation's poorest people under a government scheme to offset the effects of the Oct. 1 fuel price increases. The murder follows a spate of violent attacks directed at local government officials in other areas across the nation over the cash assistance.

JP/ / Model Davina Veronica workes out regularly to keep her stamina and the posture of her body in good shape.

Choir provides opportunity for travel, fun and song Gamila Mustika, The Jakarta Post, Bandung As I entered the room at the arranged time, everyone was already in their positions, sitting in groups and waiting for more people to arrive. A grand piano stood in the corner, waiting for someone to play upon it.

Picturing a new world As part of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival 2005, which closed on Oct. 11, Finnish-born art teacher Riita Thezar hosted the Between Worlds Art Workshop for children. "The everyday reality in Bali is that they meet children from different worlds, from foreign countries," said Thezar, who has lived on the resort island for 18 years with her Chinese- Sundanese painter husband, Delly Thezar.

Seminar on animal production at UGM Yogyakarta's Gadjah Mada University (UGM)'s School of Animal Husbandry will hold an international seminar on animal production in the tropics. Titled "Animal Production and Sustainable Agriculture in the Tropics", the seminar, from Nov. 8 to Nov. 9, at the university's campus, is intended to serve as a forum for exchanging new information and technology on animal production.

Wrestling team putting youth over experience Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta While familiar faces predominate in other sports, leading to repeated warnings of the lack of regeneration in national sports, the country's wrestling team has youth firmly on its side. Only one of the 11-strong team, 27-year-old Andrianto, is above 25 years of age.

Poets share legacy of courage Acehnese poets Rosni Idham, D. Kemalawati and Azhari took to the open-air Balinese stage of Puri Saraswati on the evening of Oct. 7 in Tribute to Aceh, the opening event of the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF) 2005. The poets were accompanied by Robin Lim of Bali-based Yayasan Bumi Sehat, a midwife, maternity and birthing care foundation working on a social rehabilitation project in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam.

Young Balinese writers shine at Ubud festival Susi Andrini, Contributor, Ubud, Bali World-famous authors packed the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival earlier this month, from Oct. 6 through Oct. 11, enlivening the Indonesian literary scene. Amid the glittering figures, a score of young Balinese women writers stole participants' attention with their fresh -- and -- sometimes shocking idioms and language. The new kids on the block are Maliana, Pranita Dewi and Kadek Sonia Piscayanti.

Curtain call: CP Biennale The CP Biennale-2, in line with its vision, included a hodgepodge of elements rooted in traditions of agricultural village life, elitist modernity, habits of non-Indonesians, avant-garde techniques and many more. Hundreds of participants were involved, encompassing 312 artists from Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, China, Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, The Philippines and Pakistan.

'Cake of the Month' from Nikko Hotel This October, the Olive Tree Bake Shop presents its 'cake of the month' called Fruits Yogurt Cake. Decorated lavishly with sliced fresh fruit, combining cream yogurt and egg yolk, this special cake is offered at Rp 15,000 (US$1.50) per slice, or Rp 150,000 for the whole cake.

'Apple' seminar at Tarumanagara Want to get a free Ipod while improving your knowledge on a new computer operating system? Join a two-day seminar from Oct. 24 on Apple computers at Tarumanagara University, and get the chance of winning an Ipod as a door prize. At the university campus in Grogol, West Jakarta, experts from the Apple computer company will share their knowledge during the seminar, which is titled "Apple Road to Campus".

U.S. PR chief visits Aceh market U.S. image builder Karen Hughes lifts a baby as a Banda Aceh resident looks on. Hughes made a brief visit to Aceh on Saturday at the end of her three-day trip to Indonesia. During her visit to the tsunami-wrecked area, the goodwill envoy strolled through a market to get a firsthand look at recovery efforts. She also mingled with traders at the local market. The traditional market was destroyed in the Dec.

GlobaCulture 2005 at UI The University of Indonesia's Students of International Relations Association will hold a five-day event titled "GlobaCulture 2005" at the university's Center for Japanese Studies in Depok from Nov. 21 to Nov. 25. During the event, there will be exhibitions by foreign embassies and non-governmental organizations.

Donations, art mark Ramadhan at universities To welcome Ramadhan, many colleges with large Muslim student bodies in the country have organized some special activities, such as giving donations to poor children, opening art festivals as well as eating dinner together. Dozens of children from poor families and orphanages were seen on Thursday at As-Syuhada Mosque on the campus of Trisakti University in West Jakarta.

Indonesia's finest export Artist : Anggun Album : Luminescence Label : Universal Music Rating : *** out of ***** Standout tracks: Undress Me Most of Anggun's fans in the world outside Indonesia probably do not know that the Jakarta-born chanteuse was once a rock singer whose greatest hit in the early 1990s was a crappy song titled Tua Tua Keladi (Misbehaving Old Man). Little did people realize then that Anggun would soon morph into a pop diva who would score hits on the far side of the world.

Sad, tragic demise of CP Biennale The CP (Open) Biennale, an invention of well-known curator Jim Supangkat and businessman Tjianan Djie, was one that put Indonesia on the map, according to the New York Times 3 years ago. But the undertaking that was based on great idealism regrettably only made it to the 2nd time. Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta The second CP Biennale opened in festive mood on Sept. 5, bringing to life the beautiful old Bank Indonesia building in Kota.

Staying in shape, making friends at fitness centers Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Clad in casual attire, dozens of people including models Davina Veronica and Catherine Wilson gathered at a spacious hall in the basement of Pondok Indah Mall II in South Jakarta recently. Most of them were listening to a speech by Celebrity Fitness director John Franklin, while others were chatting with their associates. It was the opening of the Celebrity Fitness outlet in the new mall.