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A statue of President Barack Obama as a boy erected in a Jakarta park has been targeted in a Facebook campaign by thousands who say it should be removed.Many Indonesians are proud of the fact that Obama lived in Jakarta from 1967 to 1971 with his American mother, his Indonesian stepfather and his half-sister. He went by the name "Barry," attended the local elementary school near where his statue now stands and owned a pet monkey.

A bronze statue of a young Barack Obama in shorts and a T-shirt — and what appears to be a Nobel medal around his neck — has been erected at a park in Jakarta, Indonesia, near the school where the future U.S. president studied as a child, according to news reports. The likeness of a 10-year-old Obama — his hand extended with what appears to be a butterfly resting on it — cost $10,600 and now stands in a corner of Menteng Park, according to the Jakarta Globe and AP.

26 August 2009 INDONESIAN BOMBING SUSPECT A JIHAD MAGAZINE PUBLISHER AND WEBMASTER As of today he's in the custody of Detachment 88. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy. First the news reports: • Preacher's son arrested: Mohammad Jibril runs his father's company, Ar-rahmah Media, which publishes religious books and JihadMagz, a glossy 148-page magazine devoted to Islamic fighters and wars across the world. He also set up the militant website, arrahmah.com, which posts news in Bahasa Indonesia and English on the Islamic struggle to preserve and spread their religion.

TWO body bags were seen being taken from a suspected hideout of terror suspect Noordin Top in Indonesia after a raid by police special forces. He was killed during a raid on his hideout, local television reported. The television station did not disclose its sources and police have not confirmed the report, which came as ambulances arrived at the suspected hideout following a 17-hour siege involving heavy gunfire and explosions. A witness said that two body bags were taken from the house. Elite police carrying assault rifles entered the house in Central Java after it had been besieged as part...

Besides being the First Sister Maya has a HawaiiaCertification of Live Birth despite be born in Jakarta Indonesia.

Tributes are left for those killed in the hotel attacks Indonesian officials say there are "strong indications" a key wanted fugitive was behind Friday's deadly attacks on two hotels in Jakarta. Noordin Mohamed Top is wanted for plotting the Bali bombings of 2002 and 2005 and other Indonesian attacks. Nine people, including two suicide bombers, died in the attacks on the Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott. At least four of Friday's victims are said to be foreigners but have not all been formally identified. See map of area Police in the Indonesian capital are studying DNA and other evidence to...

Jakarta, Indonesia (AP) - Explosive material recovered from the scene of two suicide bombings at hotels in the Indonesian capital is "identical" to that used by the Southeast Asian terrorist network Jemaah Islamiyah in earlier attacks, police said. An unexploded bomb left in a room of the J.W. Marriott in Jakarta resembled devices used in attacks on Bali and one found in a recent raid against the network on an Islamic boarding school in Central Java, national police spokesman told a news conference Sunday.

Why is that only CNN is able to immediately bring video footage of internationally occurring events? As usual Fox News is caught flat-footed and keep running their regular programs.

Jakarta bombers may have been guests at Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels, police say Michel Maas in Jakarta and Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia Editor Suicide bombers posing as hotel guests are believed to have been responsible for the explosions in two hotels that killed at least eight people in Jakarta yesterday and wounded more than 50, in the first such attack in Indonesia for almost four years. Bleeding victims, some of them foreign businessmen who, moments earlier, had been engaged in breakfast meetings, limped or crawled out of the JW Marriott hotel and the neighbouring Ritz-Carlton in Jakarta’s Mega Kuningan business...

U.S. intelligence officials were caught "off-guard" by the Friday terror attacks against two U.S.-based hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia. A senior U.S. official told ABC News the attacks came as a "surprise." A second U.S. counter-terrorism official said the CIA and other intelligence agencies had given no indication to the White House of "any threat reporting in the last 18 months" involving the Indonesian al Qaeda affiliate, Jemaah Islamiyah. "Any suggestion that the CIA has not taken the JI threat seriously in recent years is wrong," said a CIA spokesman. "No one from the CIA has ever said that this terrorist...

Six months into US President Barack Obama’s tenure, his administration has indicated an interest to enter into a “comprehensive partnership” with Indonesia, forge better relations with the Muslim world and reassert America’s commitment to Southeast Asia. The policies — all relevant to Indonesia — appear worthwhile enough, but the Obama administration’s self-adulation in pursuing them is not. No one is surprised that Obama, the son of a Muslim man from Kenya, wishes to make a concerted effort to reach out to the Muslim world. In Cairo on June 4, 2009, he condemned “some” in the United States who view Islam...

Captured on camera: The moment suicide bomber blew himself up in luxury Indonesian hotel killing eight DAVID WILLIAMS 17th July 2009 Terror group Jemmiah Islamiah blamed for first terror attack in Indonesia in four years CCTV images emerge of one of bombers planting explosive device inside hotel These are the last seconds in the life of one of the two suicide bombers today brought death and carnage to two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta. Captured on CCTV in the reception of the five-star Ritz Carlton hotel, the man in a baseball cap pulls a small wheelie-bag behind him...

Here is Security Video from inside the Jakarta, Indonesia Marriott Hotel showing the terrorist bomb explosion there yesterday. A bomb also exploded across the street at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. At least 8 people were killed in the explosions, believed to be terrorist suicide bombings. . . . . . (Watch Video)

Here is video of the head of security for the Marriott Hotel in Jakarta talking to CNN about the deadly hotel blasts that have killed either eight or nine people, depending on the report you hear. The Marriott and the Ritz-Carlton were both hit by what appears to be terrorist suicide bombers. Indonesian President Bambang Yudhoyono condemned the attacks . . . . Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world. Jemaah Islamiyah is a radical Islamic network that has been tied to Al-Qaeda. They were behind the Bali bombings - two blasts - that killed 202 people...

At least four people have been killed in two separate explosions at luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, say reports. The country's Metro TV reported that one blast hit the Ritz-Carlton and the other, the Marriott Hotel. Television footage showed the facade of one of the hotels had been torn off by the blast. The BBC's Karishma Vaswani, outside the Marriott, said ambulances are present and security is extremely tight. South Jakarta police Col Firman Bundi said the four who died were foreigners, reported AP. "There were explosions heard from two separate places, one the JW Marriott, the other...

Explosions have hit two luxury hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, say police reports. The country's Metro TV reported that one blast was heard and felt at the Ritz-Carlton and another hit the Marriott Hotel. At least three people were injured in the Marriott blast, the Associated Press quoted police as saying. One witness told Reuters some windows on the lowers floors of the Ritz-Carlton hotel had been shattered.

UPDATE 1 10:52 pm cst: CNN now reporting at least two Americans being treated at hospitals; may be more American casualties. Here is video from the scene of two hotel bombings in Jakarta, Indonesia, where bombs have gone off at the Ritz-Carlton and the Marriott Hotels in Indonesia's Capital City. As of 10:44 PM CST, reports say 9 people are dead, and 50 wounded. Those totals are expected to rise. . . . . . (Watch Video)Indonesia is the largest Muslim nation in the world, with the population being more than 90% Islamic. Jemaah Islamiyah is a radical Islamic group...

JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Bombs have exploded at the Ritz-Carlton and Marriott hotels in the Indonesian capital on Friday, ripping the facade off the Ritz. Police say at least four people are injured. Debris and shattered glass littered the street outside the neighboring hotels in an upscale Jakarta neighborhood. Ambulances were being shuttled into the area. A man jogging by the hotels said he first heard a loud explosion at the Marriott. Five minutes later, a bomb followed at the Ritz. Alex Asmasubrata said he saw four bodies inside the Marriott. One had its stomach blown out. An Associated Press reporter...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- Three militants awaiting execution for the 2002 Bali bombings plan to challenge the legality of death by firing squad, but it was unclear if the move would lead to a last-minute stay, their lawyer said Tuesday. Imam Samudra, one of three militants sentenced to death over the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings. Mahendradatta, who goes by a single name, said he would file a petition next week at the Constitutional Court arguing that convicts who go before a firing squad sometimes do not die immediately, causing unnecessary suffering. "We're seeking an execution without pain," said the lawyer,...

What a bunch of whiners we are! (Part 2) In What a bunch of whiners we are, I reported on some really shameful poll numbers describing an America where people think things are just soooooooo terrible. I tried to get the point across that things are NOT so terrible, and that we should all stop whining. Apparently, America didn't get the message, otherwise Mr. I'll give you hope and change never mind what it will be I said change damn it change wouldn't be riding so high in the polls.So let me say it again. The fact that Jen wasn't...

via translation - ALERT - Death of former Indonesian dictator Suharto JAKARTA - Former President Suharto, who has held an iron fist in Indonesia for 32 years, died Sunday in Jakarta at the age of 86, announced a senior official of the police.

Bloomberg is link only.STORY.

Indonesia plans to make ministers from around the world use bicycles to get about at the U.N. talks on climate change in Bali to help offset the event's carbon emissions... Delegates from nearly 190 countries will gather on the resort island on Monday to launch a concentrated effort to hammer out a new deal to replace the Kyoto Protocol, a pact to curb global warming that expires in 2012. To help offset an estimated 47,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide expected to be emitted during the 12-day event... "We want people to leave their cars at the main gate and switch...

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend the world's largest Islamic Caliphate conference to be held in Jakarta on Sunday. According to Hizb ut-Tahrir, the pan-Islamist political party staging the conference, people will come from all over the world to hear speakers from England, Australia, Palestine, Japan and the Sudan. Abu Bakar Bashir, the controversial leader of Indonesia's Mujahiddin Council, who is committed to transforming Indonesia into an Islamic state will address the conference. He is the alleged spiritual leader of Jemaah Islamiyah jailed for his role in the 2002 Bali bombings. Considered by many to be the mastermind...

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- The U.S. Geological Survey says a powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.3 has hit Indonesia, near the capital of Jakarta.

The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) is warning of imminent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, possibly in Bali. Australians are being urged not to travel there with intelligence reports suggesting terrorists are planning attacks against western targets. The Department warns the attacks could happen at any time and Australians in Indonesia should avoid known targets. "There have been recent arrests of high level terrorist operatives in Indonesia, but we assess terrorists are continuing active planning of attacks," the Department said in a statement. "These attacks could take place at any time and could be imminent. Australians should consider this information...

Muslims force home church to close down by Benteng Reges In West Java yesterday, a crowd of local residents and Islamic activists broke into the home of a Christian that was being used as a church. The owner ceded to their requests and stopped the religious service. The revision of a Decree on places of worship has proved to be insufficient to guarantee Indonesian Christians the right to worship Jakarta (AsiaNews) – A crowd of Muslims has forced the closure of another home church in Bandung regency in the Indonesian province of West Java. Yesterday, 11 February, around 100 people...

Indonesian school still smarts from Obama link JAKARTA, Feb 7 : The school that US presidential candidate Barack Obama attended in a posh, leafy district of Jakarta was founded by Indonesia's former colonial rulers as a school for Europeans and the Indonesian nobility. A spire, common in Dutch-made churches in Indonesia, still tops its roof. Parents whose children study at Menteng 01 today include ministers, lawyers and tycoons. Grandchildren of former president Suharto, who still lives in Menteng, attended. So the school was surprised -- and not a little put out -- to find itself painted as a hotbed of...

340,000 flee deadly floods in Jakarta By Tim Hall and agencies Last Updated: 5:16pm GMT 04/02/2007 At least 20 people have been killed and 340,000 have been left homeless after a massive flood hit Indonesia's capital. Rescue workers evacuate a child from a rooftop At least 20 people died and many remain missing after rivers burst their banks in the county’s capital, Jakarta, following three days of torrential rain. Rescue workers and volunteers are searching for missing people and trying to find shelter for the hundreds of thousands who have lost their homes. Authorities have put the city of nine...

Jakarta bird ban ends 'way of life' By Lucy Williamson BBC News, Jakarta Jakarta's streets have been cleared of birds Jakarta's first poultry patrol was anything but a surprise to the residents of Kemayoran district. The red and white banner strung across the narrow street read "You are entering a chicken-free zone". Under it, sheltering from the rain in coffee shops and doorways, dozens of police and officials waited for the governor's arrival. "He'll go down that road", one shop owner said, "and he'll be stopping off at the house to your right." The city's Governor Sutiyoso came to stamp...

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Widodo AS said here on Saturday the government would not tolerate anarchy in any demonstration to protest US President Bush`s visit on Monday. "Security personnel in carrying out their duties to maintain security will be professional, procedural and proportional but will not tolerate any anarchy," he said after a coordination meeting. He said the government was appealing to all parties wishing to convey their aspirations on President Bush`s visit to help maintain order and security. "Security personnel will take action in case anarchy happens," he said. National...

If the Democrats think the Islamic Jihadists will respect them more than President Bush then read this! This is an article everyone needs to read. If you think that because you refuse to be politically incorrect and see these inhuman animals for what they are that they will somehow respect you enough not to do to you what they did to these young girls, then think again! It will get worse. Beheaded girls were Ramadan ?trophies? THREE Christian high school girls were beheaded as a Ramadan ?trophy? by Indonesian militants who conceived the idea after a visit to Philippines jihadists,...

Five years after the 9/11 attacks in the US and the start of the global war on terror, the Southeast Asian terrorist group, Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), which aims to create an Islamic caliphate in the region, has been weakened but remains a serious threat. "The group is much more fragmented," Sidney Jones, Southeast Asia director for the International Crisis Group told Adnkronos International (AKI). "But it is important to remember that part of JI is still intact and it is trying to regroup," said Jones. "The group is very adaptable and it still is a very serious threat," she added.

Militant Islamic Cleric Released from Indonesian Prison Tuesday , June 13, 2006 JAKARTA, Indonesia — A hardline cleric alleged to be a top leader in the Al Qaeda-linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group was released from prison Wednesday to cries of "God is great" from scores of cheering supporters. Abu Bakar Bashir, 68, had served 26 months for conspiracy in the 2002 Bali bombings, which killed 202 people and thrust Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, onto the front lines of the war on terror. "I thank Allah that I am free today," a smiling and waving Bashir said after...

JAKARTA, Indonesia - The U.N. health agency described the deaths of six Indonesian family members from bird flu as the most important development in the spread of the virus since 2003, saying it is investigating whether the disease has spread from person to person. "We have a team down there, they are examining what is going on and they can't find an animal source of this infection," said Peter Cordingley, spokesman for the Western Pacific region of the World Health Organization. "This is the first time that we've been completely stumped" by a source for the infection, he said. Six...

JAKARTA, Indonesia May 13, 2006 (AP)— Indonesian authorities on Saturday ordered the immediate evacuation of thousands of people who for weeks have refused to heed the ominous rumblings of Mount Merapi and the burning lava oozing from its mouth. Hundreds of people began fleeing the 9,700-foot peak after authorities put the area on highest alert, having observed two days of steady lava flow. Bambang Dwiyanto, the head of the region's volcanology center, said an eruption may be imminent. "Because there has been constant lava flows that cause hot gases, we have raised the status to the highest level," Dwiyanto...

Islamic extremists in Jakarta gave the publishers of Playboy a seven-day ultimatum to withdraw a new Indonesian edition of the magazine when it was launched today in the world's most populous Muslim nation. But the threat of violence was just part of the cacophany, as radio call-in shows, newspapers and websites in the Indonesian capital hummed with the excitement and moral opprobrium that have accompanied the publication of the magazine's 18th international edition.

Feb 3, 2:26 AM (ET) Muslims attack Danish embassy building in Jakarta JAKARTA (Reuters) - Up to 300 militant Indonesian Muslims went on a rampage inside the lobby of a Jakarta building housing the Danish embassy on Friday in protest over cartoons that Muslims say insult Islam and the Prophet Mohammad. Shouting "Allahu Akbar" (God is Greatest), the white-clad protesters from the hardline Islamic Defender's Front (FPI) smashed lamps with bamboo sticks and threw chairs around in anger at cartoons originally published by a Danish daily. They threw rotten eggs and tomatoes at the Danish embassy symbol and tore up...

Hardline Muslims barged into a high-rise building housing the Danish Embassy on Friday to protest the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Mohammad. They then tore and burnt the country's white and red flag. The rowdy protest was one of the first in the world's most populous Muslim nation against the 12 cartoons, which first appeared in September in a Danish newspaper. They were reprinted in several other European newspapers this week in a gesture of press freedom.

Warning sent via text messaging announces Kupang will suffer the same fate as Bali on New Year's Eve. The area is largely Catholic and Protestant. More than 2,000 soldiers and police officers are deployed. Jakarta (AsiaNews) – Police are on a high state of alert in the predominantly Christian province of Nusa Tenggara Timur (East Tenggara Timor or NTT, the eastern part of the island of Timor) after a series of threats was made against local churches to coincide with New Year celebrations.On December 28, Radio Timor Voice received an anonymous text message (SMS) via cellphone announcing imminent bombings on...

Four men have been arrested in connection with the beheadings of three schoolgirls in Indonesia last month. The Indonesian military said the men, who have not been identified, were being held for questioning. The teenagers were attacked on their way to their Christian school near the city of Poso, in the eastern province of Sulawesi, on 29 October. Jakarta said recent attacks on the island were an attempt to foment religious hostility. 'Masked attackers' A girl who survived the attack reportedly told police there were six machete-wielding attackers, dressed in black and wearing masks. About 400 police and 600 troops...

Death for embassy bombing ringleader Rob Taylor 14sep05 AN Indonesian Muslim militant will be put to death for his role in last year's suicide bombing that killed 11 people at the Australian embassy in Jakarta. It was the toughest anti-terror punishment handed down by an Indonesian court since the Bali nightclub bombings three years ago. The trial's three judges found that Iwan Darmawan, also known as Rois, recruited and psychologically groomed the suicide bomber who detonated a 580kg truck bomb in front of the embassy on September 9, 2004. They said Rois acted as right-hand man for the fugitive mastermind...

An Indonesian court has sentenced to death the main defendant on trial over last year's suicide car bombing outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta that killed 10 people. Iwan Dharmawan, alias Rois, stood up waving his fist in the air and shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greatest) after the verdict was read out. Prosecutors had accused Rois of buying the vehicle and other materials used in the bombing, and of recruiting the driver who drove the vehicle. They had also said Rois, 30, worked closely with the accused masterminds of the strike, Malaysians Azahari bin Husin and Noordin M...

Osama bin Laden funded last year's bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the man who led the attack has told Indonesian police. A courier had delivered the cash to Malaysian master bomber Azahari bin Husin and it came directly from bin Laden, Rois, who is on trial in Jakarta on terrorism charges in connection with the attack which killed 11 people, and who also goes by the name of Iwan Dharmawan, told police. Rois said Australia had been chosen as a target for the bombing because of its support for the US in Iraq, according to a transcript of...

OSAMA bin Laden sent a bundle of Australian dollars to fund last year's bombing attack on the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the terrorist who led the attack has told Indonesian police. Rois, who also goes under the name of Iwan Dharmawan, told police under interrogation that a courier had delivered the cash to Malaysian master bomber Azahari bin Husin and it came directly from bin Laden. Rois said Australia had been chosen as a target for the bombing because of its support for the US in Iraq, according to a transcript of his police interview. As the right-hand man of...

OSAMA bin Laden sent a bundle of Australian dollars to fund last year's bombing of the Australian embassy in Jakarta, the terrorist who led the attack has told Indonesian police. Rois, who also goes under the name of Iwan Dharmawan, told police under interrogation that a courier had delivered the cash to Malaysian master bomber Azahari bin Husin and it came directly from bin Laden. Rois said Australia had been chosen as a target for the bombing because of its support for the US in Iraq, according to a transcript of his police interview seen by The Australian. As the...

Call it the terrorists' War on Tourism -- a war waged by jihadists that long predates 9-11, Afghanistan and Iraq. Last week's terror attacks on Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resorts left nearly 90 dead. The attacks also sent an economic and political shockwave throughout the rest of Egypt. Jihadist terrorists wage a war to create and maintain poverty. In Egypt, damaging the tourist industry does just that. Tourists climbing the Pyramids, sailing on the Nile and sipping coffee in Cairo are a source of very good jobs. In 1992, the jihadists launched an "insurrection" against the Egyptian government, and the tourist...

The bloody attack on July 7 in London was a warning to the world to wake up against the evil of terrorism in all its forms. We have been hearing the cries of innocent victims of terrorism in so many countries, New York City, Karachi, Madrid, Beirut, Bosnia, Jakarta, Israel, Palestine and now London. Iraq is suffering from the sickness of suicide bombings every day. In 150 major terrorist attacks in the last 3 months, 2,400 Iraqis died and thousands more were wounded or handicapped. Mainstream Muslims helplessly find themselves as the main victims of terrorism. We still grieve the...

Jakarta, 3 June (AKI) - All five star hotels in the Indonesian capital Jakarta have been put on full alert after the US embassy indicated in a statement released on Friday morning that they are among the targets of an imminent terrorist attack in the city. "We are in a state of maximum alert," Indaha Saddler, executive director of the Jakarta International Hotel Association, confirmed to Adnkronos International (AKI). But Saddler, whose association counts most of the capital's luxury hotels among its members, wanted to reassure hotel guests, explaining that security is guaranteed by close cooperation between the police and...

  JAKARTA, June 3 (Xinhuanet) -- The US embassy in Jakarta said Friday it has learned that as of June 1, there were plans by extremists to conduct bomb attacks in the capital city.     The planned attacks target "the lobbies of hotels frequented by westerners in Jakarta," the embassy said in a statement.     "The attacks were to occur circa noon on an unspecified date," it said, adding that there is no additional information on the timing for or the method of the attacks.     The warning was the second issued by the embassy in the last ten days. The embassy on May...