i really don't know, why there is only one publisher (Tempo) got a story about Theo Toemion's amok in Jakarta International School (JIS).

There are only two other 'international papers" had the story on their online versions: The Jakarta Post (TJP) and International Herald Tribune (IHT). I got the news the first time from Koran Tempo, which I read on airplane; then I searched thru google and got some other articles from Tempo Interactive, TJP, and IHT.

Whatever the reasons behind it, Pak Theo, hit a 14-year old boy (!) and several others, including women (!!). He lost his temper after a dispute over a basketball game which his son ( a 7 year old boy) participated. In short, this is a kids-game (!!!) and the most interesting thing is the incident happened on April 17th more than a week ago...and I, an addicted online news searcher, only read it this morning...

anybody knows the story behind the story?

this is a sad thing to read but the most painful part is because almost all media just speak nothing...while some of them are so noisy reporting "who's the father of Pinkan Mambo's baby?"or "a simple girl from Bandung makes thousands dollars from 'internet marketing'"

scoff and sigh..a long one

update 1 (april 28th, 11.36 pm): i just found Detik and Media Indonesia put this story too 

¶ 10:23 PM |

i've just finished reading a book titled "the perfect store: inside ebaY" last week.

as a former ebay active visitors (and bought some stuffs from it), i quite surprised that the book provides a good exposure on this unique company. i used to see ebay as a dotcom that survived the bubble burst in late 90s because of its good "business model"...most of the information, i got from businessweek or fortune magazine ( i once wrote a short paper on ebay here ). furthermore, the business headlines tend to put meg whitman (the CEO) on the spotlight, while pierre omidyar usually just mentioned as just a "founder" of ebay.

adam cohen, the author of the book, gives a quite detail description of ebay's history and it struck me what pierre omidyar's mean to ebay; he is the soul. his emphasis of empowering people is not just a slogan; his idealism on many things is the one that ebay unique. i found it is very rare to find a young entrepreneur who has that kind of idealism in our world today (tips: read the book or search in google to learn more about pierre).

eventhough ebay has transformed from a small company run by geeks and free-spirited people into a powerhouse packed with ivy league MBAs + big investors, at least there are some footprints of pierre's idea are still remained such as ebay's effort to help some villagers in south america to sell stuffs on its site.

so, for now i am convinced that business and idealism could walk hand in hand; business is not always about greed and money, it depends on us.

ps. i also want to make another point here. for me, success is not only about money; it's not just about getting $6,000/month while you are sleeping because of your "internet-marketing (??)" works for you. success does not just mean "retired rich and young".....i'd be glad to have a lot of money, but for me success is more about surviving and acomplishing our idealism

Update May 15, 2005
I put a review on "the perfect store: inside ebaY" here  

¶ 10:40 PM |

while eliminating 50% of the corruption in Indonesia seems an impossible thing to do now, i found a quite optimistic view after reading "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell.

the tipping point: that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.

my perspective is that if there were a point when younger generations in Indonesia view bribing policemen or other government officers as something that is so-not-cool to do, that is the tipping point. if we thought being not inolved in any corruption-related activities as something really cool, that is the tipping point.

the broken window theory: if a window is broken and left unrepaired, people walking by will conclude that no one cares and no one in charge. Soon, more windows will be broken, and the sense of anarchy will spread from the building to the street on which it faces, sending a signal that anything goes. This theory simply says crime is the inevitable result of disorder.

i am thinking of jakarta, and convinced myself that my country will be much a better place just by improving the smallest thing in this capital city (which is according to the late and the great Romo Mangun, jakarta is "the melting pot of all the greedy people in Indonesia").

ps. update (april 22th'05): review tentang buku "the tipping point" ada disini

¶ 9:15 AM |