Modern lifestyle is known to be quite monotonous and routine. Many people work, live, and even breathe on cruise-control auto-pilot mode. Those who follow the rules are oftentimes stamped as “good gatekeepers” and those who despise and challenge the rules are known as “rebels” and “dissidents.” Just like a driving recommendation by California State’s Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV), in which a driver must follow the current freeway traffic speed to avoid accidents regardless of the official speed limit, living has been more or less quite like that.

Living a drone-like existence might not be inevitable, but human beings are, by nature, restless creatures, who would need to find a balance between mind and heart, between righteousness and wickedness, between banality and pertinence, and between savagery and compassion. When it is time to choose, oftentimes theology comes into play. Without a balanced perspective between intellect and affection in understanding theology, which is oftentimes regarded as the “divine voices”, many people have been victimized by dogmatic elements, leaving helplessness and restlessness to widespread even deeper.

The phrase “banality of evil” was coined by Hannah Arendt in 1963 to describe the notion of ordinary people who have consciously or subconsciously accepted the premises of their state and participated actively without questioning the overlaying principles. A corrupt and self-righteous world that we live in today is a clear example of how the majority of human beings have accepted this concept without much reservation, or at least, without much contemplation on the true purposes of life.

And it is saddening that in this 21^st century, in which humankind has proven the heresy by Galileo that the earth is not the center of the universe to be true, to hear from those who are fluent and call themselves “experts” in theology approving the killings of and hating our neighbors as if they were the only ones who are entitled to the world. Good thing is, we do not need to simply be silent and accept banality as the norm to follow without any reservation. After all, human beings are both intellect and affective beings. We think and feel at the same time and we have strong empathy towards others, whoever they are.

Karen Armstrong, a prolific author in religion once wrote in The Spiral Staircase (pg. 293), “The one and only test of a valid religious idea, doctrinal statement, spiritual experience, or devotional practice was that it must lead directly to practical compassion. If your understanding of the divine made you kinder, more empathetic, and impelled you to express this sympathy in concrete acts of loving-kindness, this was good theology. But if your notion of God made you unkind, belligerent, cruel, or self-righteous, or if it led you to kill in God’s name, it was bad theology”.

And faith, whatever ours is, was designed to unfold our childlike innocent, positive, and upbeat qualities, regardless of our age and experiences. Good theology would assist in our journey to find our inner child. A child who is accepting to goodness and believes in the goodness of others and him or herself. After all, we were designed to operate on old-fashioned manual mode: by thinking, reflecting, and contemplating, not on cruise-control automated mode.

Whether you believe in Judgment Day, Reincarnation, or Nirvana, think before saying or doing anything. Those Neuro Linguistic Programmers (NLP) might call it re-wiring our mind through thoughts. Whatever you believe, do not disappoint yourself now or later. “You only live once, if you do it right, once is enough,” said the late silver screen actress, playwright, and screenwriter siren Mae West.

Today’s clashes of things, a terminology coined by the famous and, at the same time, notorious Samuel Huntington, might not need to occur in the first place provided that we were aware of the choices we could have made as the most intelligent creature on planet earth. And it is still not too late to criticize ourselves and to make amends when it is still possible. The clashes can and will be stopped because there are no other alternatives if we are to prevail as human race without being self-destructive.

It might be hard to criticize ourselves without criticizing others, but it can be done with awareness and peaceful opened heart and mind. Any preconceived notion of anything should not be used against our future, but should be consciously constructed to channel our inner wisdom. It certainly does not require a degree in theology to practice good theology. A simple common sense would do just fine.

At last, do not preach, just do good things. Be good ambassadors of our faiths and communities. Be aware and be mindful of consequences. And whenever you are in doubt, do not choose banality. Choose compassion.

Note: Show our solidarity to victims and survivors of May 1998 Tragedy in Indonesia by signing the petition at PeacefulIndonesia.com/petition/

Indonesian culture and laws reflect a utopian message that men and women live in harmony, in an environment that each gender understands and executes their responsibilities wisely. In this notion, men serve as the heads of the family, the protectors, and the breadwinners, while women as the caretakers of the family members and caring mothers. Alas, not everyone is wise both as a person and an individual of a certain gender, the world is not perfect, and Indonesia is not a utopia, thus such image of perfection is merely a mirage, which comes with consequences.

Today is the 21st century, the era of globalization that Joseph E. Stiglitz has been advocating for fair trade. It is the era in which Web 2.0 citizen journalism has emerged into citizen diplomacy with its real-time technological apparatus that have changed the global culture on digerati and quotidian communities’ levels. It is the era in which women have to work as hard as, or even harder than men, to make differences at world level, not merely for their own families. It is the era that women are equally important politically, socially, economically, and individually.

Yet we can see clearly that Indonesia has not reached a point where both genders unite as one to thrust the nation’s well-being through individual contributions, as there are discriminatory laws and discriminatory actions against women based on various imbalanced, unjust, and unfair fundamentals. Such conditions hinder Indonesia as a nation to strive forward by optimizing, if not maximizing its human capital, of which half of the population are females, as cited from CIA Factbook.

According to the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), Indonesia’s constitution guarantees the equality of women, which is good news. However, there are many laws that clearly discriminate women from the other gender. Cited from UNIFEM, “These laws include family and marriage, including polygamy; age for marriage; divorce and the requirement that a wife obtain her husband’s consent for a passport; economic rights, including ownership and inheritance of land; access to loans and credits; entitlement to social, health and other benefits in the labor sector and the requirement that a wife obtain her husband’s consent for night employment; health, including the requirement that the wife obtain her husband’s consent with regard to sterilization or abortion, even when her life is in danger. As workers, women generally receive lower wages than men; in some industries, female employees are hired as daily laborers, allowing employers to avoid the extension of benefits. Women’s literacy rates and health status are generally lower than men’s. Muslim women face particular obstacles to equality before shari’a courts.”

Working women of all socio-economic-religio statuses also must face higher taxation according to Law no. 17/2000, in which they will be paying the undeducted tax rate as “singles” unless they can show a proof, which must be signed and approved by their husbands and sub-district authorities that they indeed carry the financial burden of the family.

Based on the required consent from husbands for married women to engage in public and private agreements while men have full authority to act on their own without any restrictions, it is evident that the Indonesian law, which is a reflection of the culture, places men’s status above women. In short, women in Indonesia are “the other gender.” The sidekick. The helper. The assistant. The one who must obey.

Does it make any sense in today’s world? There are some arguments as of why women are placed “under the protection” of men. Women have reproductive functions that should be protected. Women are “weaker” biologically. Women are destined by the Divine Power, whoever or whatever the definition is, to be the gatekeeper and the caretaker of homes and families. Women are men’s lovers; women are men’s sweethearts whom they adore so much, thus should always be within the protection, care, and supervision of men so they can make sure that women are taken care for.

Those arguments may sound making some sense to those who romanticize gender relationship. Nonetheless, they place women in the so-called “golden cage,” or better yet “invisible cage.” Such arguments usually serve as the foundations of religious, legal, and cultural acts against women, be they acknowledged officially, consciously, or not. And such cage is confinement in its full meaning of the word.

Indonesia has ratified UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1980. CEDAW itself is adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and often described as an international bill of rights for women. It consists of a preamble and 30 articles, and defines what constitutes discrimination against women. In addition, it sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.

Cited from the United Nation’s site, The Convention defines discrimination against women as “…any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”

Thus, the logical and legal consequence of accepting the Convention is committing itself to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms.

First, to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women. Second, to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination. At last, to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises. We are yet to see the first measure to take place.

At last, while it may take years for Indonesian government to make changes and adjustments to existing laws, the society should be aware of shifting roles between the two genders. The old paradigm that the man of the house is the sole provider and the sole protector of the family should be mindfully and wisely changed, even though not in all families. Many women have to become breadwinners, be they choose so or not. And whatever their reasons are, it is time for the society to accept this phenomenon and to acknowledge them as equal partners.

It is not about being feminists, but more urgently, is about being acknowledged as equal human beings. In addition, today’s men should also be aware of their share in the role shift: the rise of masculinism.

A true man is not one who loves his woman by confining her with his authority, but one who frees her and wishes her a responsible independence.

Having been here for over 3 years, seeing the reality that is beyond bites, I must say that it has never been easy to be women in Liberia. With all sort of task to keep the family in one piece and at often times playing the role of a bread-winner, struggling to make a living.

Some whom I met have lost their spouse, because of the war or never came back for a lot of different reasons. Those who decided to comeback from being refugees, has to start from scratch back to square one building what the can get one day at a time. Truly an amazing test, the strong will and determination made them capable and later on succeeded in making things better. Some started to open a small business selling stuffs, or similar - like this lady with her breakfast stand, catering scrambled egg and a cup of hot-choco in the morning for those left the house without breakfast while wait for the public transportation they go for a quick bite and gulp.

I see many women taking their kids along to their daily dwelling; babies are often carried on their back. I guess mommy has to do some work to make a living. Some shots below could tell of how the trouble and difficulties women have to make in their daily life.

This situation was once a dark-traumatic one. As Liberia went through a brutal armed conflict, violence against women was beyond belief.

Violence against women is defined by the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by the General Assembly on 20 December 1993, as “any act of gender-based violence (GBV) that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life”. It is a form of gender-based violence and includes sexual violence.

A story from the DR Congo from IRIN Website:

As Elizabeth and her captors arrived at the militia camp, she realized that dozens of other girls had also been kidnapped. “When we got there we were so many,” she said. “We were taken into the bush, when a big man came and took me.”

Life with the Mayi Mayi, an ethnic milita, was a nightmare of almost continuous abuse. “All they did was come and ‘take’ us often. They used to tie up the women and tie their husbands to trees then take us [the girls],” the 17-year-old told IRIN.” I stayed with them for so long and it didn’t matter any more who took me.”

Elizabeth’s ordeal happened in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), but it could well have been in Sierra Leone, Liberia or a variety of other countries. Wherever there is armed conflict, there are stories like hers, stories of rape, of trauma; stories of unimaginable horror, of girls and women who have been gang-raped, held indefinitely as sex-slaves, beaten, mutilated, killed. Sometimes the victims are in their 70s or 80s, sometimes they are younger women, or teenagers. Some are as young as six months old.

It is indeed a very tragic and awful experience.

In Liberia, nowadays more attention has been given to the empowerment of women, which to include protection to women’s right against domestic violence and gender-based violence. As public campaign has been actively promoted through the media, more women are now understands of their rights and education to girls are actively encouraged.

Sexual violence includes sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. It refers to any act, attempt, or threat of a sexual nature that result, or is likely to result in, physical, psychological and emotional harm. Sexual violence is a form of gender-based violence.

Expanded Definition of Sexual and Gender-based Violence used by the UNHCR and implementing partners, Article 2 of the UN General Assembly Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women (1993):

“Violence against women shall be understood to encompass, but not be limited to, the following:

1. Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring in the family, including battering, sexual abuse of female children in the household, dowry-related violence, marital rape, female genital mutilation and other traditional practices harmful to women, non-spousal violence and violence related to exploitation;
2. Physical, sexual and psychological violence occurring within the general community, including rape, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and intimidation at work, in educational institutions and elsewhere, trafficking in women and forced prostitution;
3. Physical, sexual and psychological violence perpetrated or condoned by the State, wherever it occurs.”

As UN staff working in the mission, we are also being given training on GBV and related issues. I am confident that days to come, Liberia will get much better and the women will be well empowered.

Such occurrences are understandable, even when fundamentalism and radicalism movements find it an opportunity to use the momentum in making their marks. The fall of Suharto in 1998, which was believed to be the best thing that ever happened to Indonesia at that time, has not been able to create a more trustworthy government today, despite the recent Democracy Award.

Today, it is very hard for citizens to trust their well-being in the hands of central and local government officials whose integrity is questionable. It is known that not all Indonesian officials are corrupt or untrustworthy, but a simple poll or survey could have been proven the assertion that many, if not most, of them are. It is an embarrassing fact that many officials, including those who are posted in foreign countries –thus are assumed to be of “international standard” in handling diplomatic issues with the host country and Indonesian community members residing there—have yet to show their best qualities.

Last year, in a World Affairs Forum seminar in San Francisco, in which Prof. Donald Emmerson of Stanford University’s SEAF was present, the current Indonesian Ambassador to the United States Sudjadnan Parnohadingningrat, was asked a simple question, “How is the current state of minorities in Indonesia?” He answered in an astonishing manner, which was an affront to his own intelligence, “There is no more minority issue, we now have Imlek (Chinese New Year) celebration.” Sure, it is a good point and it is well taken.

Another question was asked on the raise of radicalism and fundamentalism movements in Indonesia, which he answered, “Only one percent of radicals and fundamentalists in the midst of more than 230 million people who are moderates, so why bother? Let ‘the market’ determines.” As concerned citizens, the seminar participants were astonished. One of them was surprised, “Does it mean anarchy?” Still, he reiterated his answer.

Many of the seminar participants were politically literate people and we were disappointed to hear that. We know what to expect when one asks such a question. Alas, the Excellency Mr. Ambassador perhaps has been used to with constituents who are not politically literate, which could be in the number of hundreds of millions in Indonesia.

For us all, the citizens of Indonesia and the world, to understand how we are represented by the government, we need to educate ourselves to become literate politically. At this point, it might be a wishful thinking for Indonesian government to educate us because, apparently, many of the officials are not statesmen in the truest meaning of the word. It is very hard to find honest statesmen like the late founding father Dr. Muhammad Hatta and Prof. Dr. Daoed Joesoef nowadays.

Educating ourselves to be politically literate in a democratic country is quite simple. And by “political literacy,” it refers to a set of skills necessary for citizens to participate in society’s government. In short, there are abilities what we all need to master, so we can stand tall in front of those government officials who may have prejudices against their constituents and behave not in a respectable manner. It does not mean we aim to be a career politician, but to think and to act as an informed constituent. After all, those government officials cannot become who they are without us.

First and foremost, representation. A citizen is the one with power, hence being a constituent. The notion of a “government official” should be separated from the notion a “government.” In the minds of constituents, it is imperative that we see the “government” as a group of people who have received a special mandate from the people to act on their behalf. Thus, the real power lies in the hands of the people, in our hands.

Second, participation. In a democratic country, no matter how patriarchy the culture is, every individual regardless of age, gender, and other social backgrounds is equal before the law. Thus, when there are laws that do not adhere to this fundamental principle, they are not acceptable and we can change them with a strong will that are channeled properly. In the United States, the power of writing is one of the most useful. With people-managed petitions, there are many things that can be accomplished. Perseverance, of course, is likely to pay off. The key is a winner’s mentality in attesting our conviction.

Third, recognizing bias and “framing” statements. Politicians are notorious for their ability to say things with metaphors and pretentious dictions, as George Orwell said in his masterpiece Politics and the English Language. He said, “If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation, even among people who should and do know better.”

Fourth, the rule of law and legal systems. The simplest form of the rule of law is that no one is above the law. And the highest form of ethics is the truth. Truth must be honored in the highest manner, not dishonesty in any manner. In Indonesia, there are three legal systems –western continental, Islamic, and native adat — that clearly show how the society is not only stratified but compartmentalized. Horizontally and vertically. Understanding the history and how each legal system came into existence is key in understanding the current and predicting the future state of Indonesian laws and regulations. After all, a civilized society is one that is ruled by law.

At last, let me cite John Wayne who said to John F. Kennedy, the elected president whom he did not vote, “I didn’t vote for him, but he is my president. I hope he does a good job.” And by being politically literate constituents, we are one step closer to a more just society where people’s equality is not merely rhetoric but a reality for all to enjoy.

A good female (non-American) friend I have not seen in a long time sent me three text messages out of the blue:

Wimar, what is this! I’m pro-hilary!

Despite being the hottest man in modern politics, obama is a pling-plang flip flopper!

:-) everyone has gone obama crazy!

Obama FAQ by Wimar Witoelar

• Who do you like, Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama?
  Both, actually. Anyone other than George W. Bush gives me relief. But the further away from Bush we can get, the better. That is why Obama is better than Clinton and Clinton is better than McCain.
• What would be the most important message from an Obama victory?
  That the majority of Americans do have common sense after all.
• Do you think Obama is a great man?
  He is an extremely skilled politician and a polished public speaker. He will be a great man if greatness is thrust upon him by the American people.
• Are you excited that someone who lived in Indonesia could be the next US president?
  To be honest it gives us quite a thrill. We find it difficult to produce great leaders for ourselves so it will be great to produce a President of the USA. I hope he will invite an Indonesian to his inauguration, and I hope it will be me.
• How will Obama be a better US president because of his Indonesian experience?
  We are sure he will be conscious of the fact that Indonesia is a place of people, of pluralistic values which no doubt have contributed to Obama’s own pluralistic values. He will respect the Indonesian people as much as the Indonesian government.
• Do you mind terribly that Obama’s Indonesian background is being used against him?
  I don’t take it personally. It is part of the barrier of exclusivity that President George W. Bush built up since September 11.
• What effect do you think Obama’s election would have on the US image?
  It would immediately improve America’s popularity rating. The George W. Bush years will seem like a bad dream. It will reaffirm our faith that America is the land of great people and great ideas.
• So how emotional do you get over Obama?
  He gives me a nice feeling of hope and world peace. But personally I am more driven my issues which are not in the realm of politics, let alone American elections where I am not a voter. Let Americans get back to their senses and I will accept the results happily. In the meantime, we have plenty of problems around here. Not to mention my own complicated, albeit happy, life. :)

So, dear J, chill out.

This article was firstly published by Perspektif Online. Re-posted for Asia Blogging with permission. Thank you Pak Wimar!

According to media reports, the state-sanctioned Persatuan Wartawan Indonesia, or the Indonesian Journalists Association, organized the event and invited Suharto to deliver the keynote address.

“If there are values, that are against ours, succeeded in penetrating (our society), the press should increase national awareness about their danger and show ways how to end them,” said Suharto. He talked at length about what he called “Pancasila journalism.”

What the media didn’t relate was that three years earlier, Suharto had ordered the closure of three news weeklies: Detik, Editor and Tempo. Suharto also jailed some journalists protesting the closure. He won many street protests and international condemnation. But the PWI issued a statement, saying that it “understood” the banning rationale. A PWI executive also blacklisted 13 journalists, who signed a declaration to establish an independent journalist union.

As if trying to lick the ass of the dictator, PWI executives asked Suharto to lecture the media executives on the “National Press Day.” Suharto happily asked the media to impose self-censorship, saying that the media should filter “foreign values” and enhance “national awareness.”

But Suharto was at the end of his rule. The Asian economic crisis hit Indonesia five months later. In May 1998, Suharto was forced to step down from his 32-year dictatorship amidst massive street protests and spiraling rupiahs.

Now let’s move forward to February 2008. A new president was also invited to deliver a keynote speech at the same “National Press Day,” by the same journalists association: the PWI. This time, the commemoration was held in Semarang.

Suharto is already dead in his mausoleum in Solo. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, also an (retired) army general and a former aide to Suharto, is now the president.

In his speech, President Yudhoyono asked the media to exercise “self-censorship,” saying that it should be improved by only reporting “appropriate” news.

“Bans and (state) censorship of the press no longer exist in our country. The press has achieved the freedom it fought for, but the freedom is not absolute,” he told some 500 top editors.

“It is the press that should control itself for the good of the nation. The people want the press to provide accurate and objective information,” Yudhoyono said.

He criticized some media. “They only think of practical interests. Please don’t be like that. Don’t be too partisan because the word ‘too’ is clearly not good.” He added the media should maintain its independence by not getting involved in business or political interests.

Interestingly, Tarman Azzam, the PWI president who hosted Yudhoyono, is also a politician. Azzam is a Golkar legislator. In 1994, Azzam was also the PWI executive who blacklisted the 13 journalists and asked the police to jail three reporters.

Probably both Yudhoyono and the editors should learn from Bill Moyers, a New York television host, who said that what’s important for journalists is not how close they are to power but how close they are to reality. As long as journalists and politicians don’t practice that, I’m afraid, history will repeat itself.

Experiences in bottom up community based approaches through self-finance empowerment and technical knowledge spreading will be described. In an unfriendly regulatory environment commonly found in developing countries, such as, Indonesia, a community-based distributed infrastructure may survive the evolution processes easily rather than rely on a centralized commercial services commonly found in the west. The approach is very much bias on the Author’s 12+ years experience in deploying a movement of community based WiFi infrastructure in Indonesia. It results in an alternate strategy to deploy ICT infrastructure that rely heavily on community ability to provide such service suited for developing countries.

Community education and empowerment processes would be the key in the whole process. It takes 12+ years through books, articles, newspaper, magazine, seminars, demo, workshop and roadshows to convince a lot a people, all done without financial support from the government. Ability to connect schools to the Internet funded by the communities would be the key of success.

Today, we witness about 600 dedicated community broadcasting radios out of 1000-2000 community radios. Many of these radios are in remote Indonesia. Futhermore, we witness 20-25.000 Wireless Internet nodes with an increasing 2000-3000 new Wireless Internet nodes per month. Many of these nodes are now spreading towards remote Indonesia. Starting the beginning of 2006, a community based Internete Telephony VoIP Rakyat at http://www.voiprakyat.or.id is the dawn of Indonesian People’s Telco. In 2007, more than 60.000 VoIP Rakyat subscriber is registered.

Some of the formal facts that are download-able from the Indonesian statistical bureau at http://www.bps.go.id. A glimpse of these formal facts are:

• About 100+ million Indonesians are living without proper electricity.
• About 105.8 million Indonesian of the age of 15+ years are in the work force. More than 95 million are working, the rest are still looking for work.
• On average, Indonesian stays about 7.4 years in school. On average, about 91% can read.
• About 56% of Indonesian population received a maximum of primary school education out of which 9% never received any education.

Some of the facts in ICT sector are:

• 64Kbps 24 hour Internet connection via Telco infrastructure would cost US$400 / month.
• After 10+ years of struggle, WiFi 2.4GHz band is unlicensed in January 2005.
• WiFi band 5.8GHz is still licensed, taxed at approximately US$2200/year/node.
• In 1993, there were not many ICT books in local Indonesian language.
• In 1993, there were few Indonesian Internet users.

Some encouraging facts:

• As of 2007, there are 15+ million Indonesians on the Internet.
• There are a total of 215.200+ schools all over the country in which 46.5+ million students are studied. At high school and university level, we are looking at 17.5 million students in 45.800+ high school & universities.

Deploying a community-based ICT infrastructure in an unfriendly environment is an art. It is nearly impossible to initially run a professional and commercial based ICT infrastructure as known in developed countries. Low cost community based approach through community empowerment may provide self-finance ICT infrastructure in Indonesian remote areas.

Basically, the strategy used in the last 12+ years of struggle is a creating a movement within the communities to build community based infrastructure invested by community own funding. Through self-finance capacity building and community empowerment is the community based ICT development. It is an art in itself to be able to create a countrywide community based self-finance self-motivated ICT movement with minimal support from the government and no loan from World Bank & IMF. Such movement can only be created as community believe in its benefit. It is an art to build such believe within the community.

If we focus to a negative thing, it will become a reality. We often did this unintentionally. It’s either our nature, or influenced by our environment. An example: You are having problems starting your own business. You reasoned that this is because most of your time are already taken by your full-time office job.

What will happen is your business will never take off, because you’re focusing on a REASON which is stopping you from moving forward.

When we’re focusing on problem, instead of the solution, what will happen is the problem will add up. Focus to the reason, and the barrier will increase. Focus to our weakness, and we’ll become weaker. That’s the power of thought.

The problem (or advantage) of our subconsciousness is that it’s not able to differentiate between negative & positive things. To it, everything is positive. If you don’t believe it, try this: I want you NOT to imagine an elephant.

What will happen? You will still think about an elephant anyway.

So we’ll need to do the reverse. Focus to the positive things instead, and it shall be. When we’re focusing on becoming rich, we will be. If we’re focusing on living healthily, we will be. When we focus on loving, we will be loved. When we focus on giving, we will be receiving. Therefore we shall commit our focus to the positives : wealth, health, happiness, and so on.

Unfortunately, there’s one more obstacle - our environment. It tend to drive us to focus negatively. Starting from news on the media, TV, radio. How many positive news are we seeing daily? You can bet that the negative ones far outweigh the positive. So we’ll need to leave those.

Some of our friends also tend to be very negative. They’re only complaining, gossiping, while doing nothing about it. We’ll need to leave these people, and find new friends which will help our quest for success. Those who are positive, productive, and support each other.

I have been pulled to these negative focus myself many times without me realizing it. When this happened, one after another will continue to pop up. After a while, it will start to affect us physically. Our body will feel weak and tired, while we’re doing nothing. Too long, and it may fell ill.

When this happened, I usually realized something is wrong, and started to focus on positive things to do. My mind soon becomes clear, and I feel energized again to start doing what I should be doing.

So come on, let’s focus positively. Befriend positive people. Read, hear, see things positively. Change the negative into positive. Read books which discusses opportunities, innovation, inspiration, and drives us to the solution. The glass is half full, and there’s so much we can do about it.

Let’s change. Right now!

Recently I received spam in my inbox from the website www.hporiginalsupplies.com, in Indonesian, inviting me to the HP Original Supplies Zone, where it said I could receive information about original HP products. (The email said I had received it because I had participated in HP promotions before. The only way that they could have received that particular email address was through my official dealings with HP, when at no time do I recall giving permission to be spammed — which raises its own concerns.)

The email itself contained some links to HP.com but its images etc were mostly hosted on the hporiginalsupplies.com website. I could find no easy way of confirming this was a legit HP site — the website was registered by a local webhosting company called Master Web Network. So no way of telling there. And as you may have found if you clicked on the link, the home URL itself throws up only a blank page; only this one, for unsubscribing, seems to.

It took a while for the HP guys to figure it out too: They came back to me today to tell me it is legit. It’s a website for an “electronic direct mailer” or eDM for “the HP Original Rewards program in Indonesia…. HP Original Rewards is an HP loyalty program designed for Small and Medium Businesses (SMB) for the purchase of original HP print cartridges.”

To their credit, HP acknowledge that the “eDM doesn’t comply with HP’s brand standards” and have promised to do something about it. But that’s not really what troubles me. What troubles me is this:

• Why is HP setting up website addresses with its brand name in without following the usual brand procedures — a way for consumers to check whether it is, indeed, an HP site through the usual methods.
• Why is HP sending out spam, sorry, eDMs? OK, this is just Indonesia, but hey, we’re still people, right? I don’t like being spammed at any hour of the day by anyone, but especially not by a big player who doesn’t even bother to identify themselves properly.
• What makes this worse is that we’re talking about HP trying to persuade people to buy non-fake, non-refilled disposables. But how would I know that isn’t a company pretending to sell legit goods? The malls and streets here are full of exactly that: HP boxes and containers full of goods that aren’t, or are no longer, legit HP products.

I can understand HP’s difficulties here. It must be hard to launch these kinds of promotions while keeping an eagle eye on agencies and promoters you may outsource the work to. But if you’re trying to get the message across to consumers that they should be buying your genuine products and not falling for fakes and knock-offs, you shouldn’t be spamming them from a domain that itself looks fake and dodgy.

Based on his works, many researchers have used it as the foundation of other fascinating theories, such as Daniel Goleman’s Emotional Intelligence: Why It May Be More Important than IQ. One of the latest works that has been receiving numerous accolades is Karl Albrecht’s Social Intelligence: The New Science of Success. (Note: This Karl Albrecht is not the 87-year old #15 billionaire in 2007 according to Forbes, however. Same name, different person.)

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