'Looking for Madonna' Teater Utan Kayu will screen on Aug. 13 Looking for Madonna, a film by John de Rantau about the life of young people in Papua. The film, which premiered at the 18th Singapore International Film Festival last May, tells about youth in Papua. One of the young people is living with AIDS and seeks a solution from Madonna, a Javanese woman who just arrived in Papua. Actress Clara Sinta plays Madonna in the film, which was produced in 2004 by renowned filmmaker Garin Nugroho.

Aging rock band recaptures past glory in talent show M. Taufiqurrahman, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta What would be the best way to resuscitate the career of a rock band, whose life was brought to an abrupt halt with the death of their charismatic lead singer almost a decade ago, and whose last big hit was ten years before the untimely death?

Maintaining uniqueness by conserving biodiversity Dipti R. Kamath, Grade 10, TDIS Our school recently (on May 21, 2005) took us on an educational trip to Taman Safari, Bogor. We were to identify the unique features of various animals such as tigers, elephants, hippopotamuses and several such mammals, crocodiles, snakes and other reptiles, and colorful birds such as flamingos and hornbills, which are well protected there at Taman Safari.

Chris John favored to beat back Browne Associated Press, Sydney, Australia With World Boxing Association featherweight champion Chris John the firm favorite for their bout on Sunday, Australian boxer Tommy Browne says he will rely on a mixture of aggression and skill to overcome his opponent. Browne, 22, who lost a 12-round points decision to South Korea's World Boxing Council champion Chi In-jin in Seoul in January, will take on the Indonesian at the Penrith Panthers club in western Sydney.

TV Program: Sunday, August 7, 2005 .TB.30" .90" TVRI 5:00 a.m. Religious Teachings 5:30 Indonesia 10K 7:30 Hero Classic 8:00 Children Show: Arena 123 8:30 Children Drama 9:00 Music 10:00 Sports: Antar Gelanggang 11:30 English for Fun 12:30 p.m.

Cutting down fireworks for cleaner air Shilpi Gupta, Grade 9, Texmaco DPS International School (TDIS) Bright and colorful fireworks attract many people. Many families, as well as mine, enjoy the tradition of going to their favorite fireworks display or holding their own fireworks show. But the school took important measures to reduce the usage of firecrackers, and an anti-firecracker campaign was launched.

Seafood and Jazz at Bruschetta For those who would like to enjoy seafood, while listening to jazz music, Bruschetta Italian Restaurant at the Borobudur Hotel would be a great place to visit throughout this month. The restaurant offers a selection of succulent seafood using the finest and freshest ingredients, prepared in front of your eyes by the restaurant's Italian chef every Friday. While guests enjoy their food, a jazz band will play their best tunes to ensure a lively evening. Until Aug.

High decibels are no music to our ears R. Sai Harisha, Grade 9/TDIS The traffic din on roads, ear-splitting "music" roaring at concerts, resounding music at discos and deafening noise at videogame arcades are common in Indonesia and in many other countries. Though this may be seem enjoyable at first, few seem to realize that this adds to the already high level of noise pollution in Indonesia.

Govt should provide incentives to promote donations The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Charity is not, and should not be, about getting something in return. Based on this premise, it is not surprising that there are no laws or regulations in Indonesia that offer incentives to individuals and corporations for setting aside some of their profits for social activities.

Dance festival at GKJ Dance troupes from 29 provinces will perform at Jakarta Art House (GKJ) at a national dance festival from Aug. 8 through Aug. 12, 2005. The annual festival is organized to commemorate the 60th anniversary of independence and to boost patriotism and heroism. All the dance performances are new creations based on local traditions.

Electronics prices still falling Prices of audio-video sets are still falling despite the decline of the rupiah against major foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar. As the new school year has just started, much money has been spent on education, which, for many families, simply means postponing their plans to purchase new audio-video sets despite their downward price trends.

Jeffrey Sachs: Poverty must end Most likely the most sought-after economic advisor in the world, Jeffrey David Sachs effused once again high-octane confidence that "poverty could and should be history" during the recent Regional Ministerial Meeting on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in the Asia Pacific from Aug. 3 to Aug. 5 in Jakarta. Many naturally find it hard to resist his "trade and aid development" theory that has drawn both praise and skepticism.

Clearing the way to create philanthropic society Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta The spirit of philanthropy has long been enshrined in Indonesian culture and is still cherished by many Indonesians, even if not all people here are familiar with the English term. In Bahasa Indonesia, there is the term gotong royong, literally meaning "mutual cooperation", which means about the same thing as "philanthropy". The term is famous as all Indonesians are taught about it at school.

Talking Turkey and tourism I Christianto, Contributor, Istanbul People from Indonesia, particularly Jakartans, may feel at home when they visit big cities in Turkey like Istanbul, Ankara or Izmir.

Jun Njan offers cuisine and ambience Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta "How many persons, sir?" a waitress asked politely. She raises her eyebrows on knowing that I was all alone. But, with a kindly manner and a big smile she quickly escorted me to a table. For various reasons, people sometimes want -- or need -- to eat meals alone, as I did that evening. However, the Jun Njan Seafood Restaurant is definitely not a good place to eat alone.

Sailendra offers Indonesian food With almost all of the country's ethnic groups having their own traditional food, there is no shortage of exotic dishes available in the country. It may take months to taste each of the dishes. Yet, JW Marriott Jakarta Hotel is organizing an event at its Sailendra restaurant where people can taste an array of dishes from across the archipelago. The Indonesian Food Festival, from Aug. 7 to Aug.

Govt encouragement for philanthropy needed Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Traditionally, Indonesians are quite familiar with charitable activities in their everyday life. They often give alms to the needy or help their neighbors in times of need. The enthusiasm of people to give charity can be seen from the numerous donations given by Indonesians for survivors of disasters. In a short period between Feb. 6 to Feb.

Mini compo: instant solution for home theater Doharto J. Simatupang, Contributor, Jakarta With a mini compo set in his possession now, a friend of mine no longer feels an urge to go to the movie cinema. He prefers to spend his whole weekend at home, watching films on his DVD player, a built-in facility in his compo. He enjoys watching the films, especially because this gadget is provided with a Dolby Surround AC3 sound system and six satellite speakers with a capacity of 7,000 PMPO!

JP/7/price Electronics prices still falling Prices of audio-video sets are still falling despite the decline of the rupiah against major foreign currencies, including the U.S. dollar. As the new school year has just started, much money has been spent on education, which, for many families, simply means postponing their plans to purchase new audio-video sets despite their downward price trends.

Used goods give the needy hope Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Philanthropy has long been a part of Indonesian culture. People have always donated eagerly to help the poor or victims of natural disasters. The potential is huge for raising funds from the public for various charity programs. However, the lack of government support leaves a lot of funds untapped. This week's cover story highlights the issue. "We'd need tons of money to go to another school, but here we pay nothing.

Acehnese beat drums for peace The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Thousands of Acehnese are expected to participate in the two-day rapa i pase drum festival starting on Sunday as part of their support for the signing of the long-awaited peace deal between the government and Free Aceh Movement (GAM) next week. The festival will include a massive prayer gathering and the beating of 144 rapa i pase, Aceh's traditional drum, by 288 players for 24 consecutive hours.

'Vivre a Taman Sari' The Indonesia France Institute (LIP) in Yogyakarta is organizing a photography exhibition titled Vivre a Taman Sari (Life at Taman Sari) in Surabaya, describing people's lives in Taman Sari, a famous area in Yogyakarta. The exhibition that runs from July 25 through Aug. 27 features the work of French photographer Nicolas Cornet and eight young Indonesian photographers from Yogyakarta, Surakarta and Purwokerto.

JP/1/Blurb Poverty must end Poor people are still among us. Yet, noted economist Jeffrey David Sachs, who is visiting Indonesia, says poverty could and should be history. Page 4 Cinema at home Anyone wanting to enjoy a cinema experience at home may wish to choose a mini compo set, which are cheaper and no less superior than home theater sets. Page 7

South East Asia, soccer insanity and Sir Alex. He's football crazy, he's football mad, football has gone and robbed him of the sense he ever had. These lyrics, taken from a popular British song from the 1960s, are an apposite reflection of the Jakartan mindset at the beginning of the third millennium.

FPI denies planned attack JAKARTA, Indonesia: Responding to a heated situation outside the Utan Kayu Community complex on Friday, the Islam Defenders Front (FPI) denied planning to attack a group of liberal Muslims. "If people keep on blowing up issues like that, we might attack for real," FPI commander Jaffar Sidik was quoted as saying by Tempointeraktif.com.

Ba'asyir to seek case review after verdict The Jakarta Post, Jakarta Controversial Muslim cleric Abu Bakar Ba'asyir plans to file for a case review after his appeal was recently overturned by the Supreme Court, the cleric's lawyer, M. Assegaf, said over the weekend.

Nur Mahmudi's supporters protest court decision In simultaneous rallies in Depok and Jakarta, hundreds of supporters of Nur Mahmudi Ismail on Saturday staged protests over the West Java High Court verdict overturning election results for the first directly elected Depok mayor.