Cinemas Face Threat of US Movie Boycott

Elisabeth Oktofani | February 18, 2011
Cinema screens across the country may soon have little to show except local movies if a new threat by American film producers to boycott exports to Indonesia is carried out.

The warning has come from the Motion Picture Association,*the international counterpart of the Motion Picture Association of America,*which has apparently been angered by a proposed levy slapped on imported films.

Freelance film reviewer Bobby Batara told the Jakarta Globe that Frank Rittman, MPA’s vice president for the Asia Pacific, aired the warning after a preview screening for journalists on Thursday of the Oscar-nominated US film “Black Swan.”

Bobby, who attended the event, said Rittman had complained about a new tax that would soon be applied by Indonesia’s customs office.

Rittman was quoted by a number of journalists at the screening as saying that the new government regulation on film importation could force big American studios to stop sending movies to Indonesian cinemas.

MPA representatives could not be reached for confirmation.

Titis Sapto Raharjo, editor in chief of Flick Online Magazine, a film review site, was also at the screening and said the rumor was that the government planned to impose a levy of 43 cents per meter of film imported.

Government officials involved in the matter declined to confirm the figure, saying only that talks were still ongoing.

Syamsul Lussa, a representative from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said he did not want to comment because the levy had not been finalized yet. “We will discuss it with the tax and customs directorate as there is a high demand for imported films in Indonesia,” he told the Globe.

Bambang Permadi Brodjonegoro, head of fiscal policy at the Ministry of Finance, said the details had not been finalized because negotiations with the MPA were still ongoing.

“I can’t provide any details until it has been discussed at the fiscal policy body. Please wait until next week,” he said in a message to the Globe. “It’s better to wait until after we have met with [officials from] customs and duties.”

Titis criticized the MPA for bringing up the issue before talks had been completed. “This is an internal discussion between the government and the MPA,” he said. “Therefore, it is very important that Frank not bring this case up to the public.”

Nauval Yazid, manager of the annual Jakarta International Film Festival (JiFFest), said if the threat were carried out, it would deal a significant blow to cinemas and filmgoers across the country.

“Stopping film exports to Indonesia would affect many people,” he said. “Besides, the Indonesian film industry is grappling with piracy, which cannot be stopped. It’s very important that the MPA discuss and resolve this problem with customs.”

Members of the MPA include some of the biggest studios in the United States, including Walt Disney Pictures, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Twentieth Century Fox Film, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

Indonesia’s film industry has suffered a downturn in recent years. In 2009, six local films sold more than a million tickets each at the box office. In 2010, only one movie broke the million mark.

Last year, 81 Indonesian films had cinema releases, slightly down from 83 films in 2009, although a significant decline from 91 big-screen releases in 2008 

Aquino to probe corruption charge against Arroyo

MANILA, June 29: Incoming Philippine president Benigno Aquino announced today he would set up a "truth commission" to investigate the alleged crimes of outgoing leader Gloria Arroyo and her allies, reports AFP. 

He said the commission would look into a wide range of controversies surrounding Arroyo''s nine-and-a-half years in power, including allegations she cheated to win the 2004 presidential election.
"This truth commission is the body that I promised the people I would set up to put a closure to so many issues," Aquino told reporters a day ahead of his inauguration.
"(It) will as necessary, prepare and prosecute the cases to make sure that those who committed crimes against the people will be made to pay."
Arroyo, who is required by constitutional term limits to step down, will leave office as one of the nation''s most unpopular leaders after being hounded by accusations of vote rigging and massive corruption.
She has consistently denied any wrongdoing and avoided three impeachment attempts against her, although this was due to her party''s control of parliament. Aquino, one of Arroyo''s fiercest critics, said the truth commission would look into "any and all" controversies surrounding the departing president.
He specifically named three issues, the first being allegations she rigged the 2004 elections.
He said the commission would also look into a 329-million-dollar Internet broadband deal with a Chinese company that was eventually derailed following accusations Arroyo''s allies had illegally profited from the planned contract.
He also said it would probe the alleged misuse by Arroyo''s political allies of a 728-million- peso (15.68-million-dollar) government fertiliser fund.
Aquino emphasised that he wanted the commission to file criminal cases as soon as it had enough evidence, rather than engaging in lengthy studies. 

Kashmir on the boil again over killing of eight young men

SRINAGAR, June 29: Indian Kashmir is on the boil again: this time over the killing of eight young Kashmiris in less than three weeks allegedly at the hands of Indian security forces, report agencies.

The deaths have brought thousands of war-weary residents out onto the streets chanting "Blood for Blood!" and "Freedom for Kashmir!". Authorities have responded with bullets, tear gas, curfews and arrests.
The latest wave of unrest started on June 11 when a 17-year old student died after being hit by a teargas shell fired by police during an anti-India demonstration in Srinagar, Indian Kashmir''s summer capital.
Tufail Matoo was not part of the protest and was carrying his school bag when he was hit, his family said.
Since then seven other young Kashmiris have been killed during protests and another has died from serious skull injuries after being allegedly beaten-up by paramilitary soldiers.
The strikes, protests and growing ill-will are putting pressure on the young, British-born chief minister of the volatile Muslim-majority region, Omar Abdullah, a scion of Kashmir''s main political dynasty.
He came to office last year, promising to reduce the estimated 500,000 Indian troops in the Himalayan state and also to improve human rights. 

After violence, Bahrain crown prince calls for restraint

Manama, Bahrain (CNN) -- Violence flared again in the center of Bahrain's capital Friday evening, as a confrontation between security forces and protesters resulted in several deaths and dozens of injuries. The government's actions prompted sympathy from the crown prince himself, who called for calm in a nationally televised address.
"I offer my condolences to the people of Bahrain for the painful days they are living," said Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa in a release sent to the news media by the royal family's public relations firm. "Good morals have to prevail and everybody should exercise self-restraint at this moment. This applies to the military forces, the security forces and the citizens of Bahrain."
He promised that calm will return. "We just need to sit and talk," he said. "Enough lives have been lost."
He added, "Mistakes and escalation had been made, but we have fixed them. Today, we are at a crossroad. I do not ever accept that the sons of the same nation fight one another."
After Prince Salman's TV appearance, King Hamad announced that the crown prince is to lead a dialogue "with all parties and sections of Bahrain, without exception," the release said.
But a leading member of parliament from Bahrain's main Shiite opposition party, al-Wifaq, told CNN that there can be no dialogue with the government while the military controls the streets of Bahrain. Jamil Kathem said the protests had emerged spontaneously, especially after funeral processions. He noted that there would be further funeral processions on Saturday.
The violence was criticized by Washington and London. "I am deeply concerned by reports of violence," President Barack Obama said, mentioning Yemen and Libya as well as Bahrain. "The United States condemns the use of violence by governments against peaceful protesters in those countries and wherever else it may occur."

WAJAH MATAHARI

Usaha Antariksa Nasional Amerika Serikat (AS) atau NASA menggeser posisi dua satelit pengintai terbaiknya ternyata tidak sia-sia.

Terbukti, dua satelit senilai US500 juta itu berhasil membidik rupa pusat tata surya dari berbagai penjuru. Dua satelit Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (Stereo) berada pada posisi yang tepat.Berada pada posisi hasil pergeseran, keduanya justru sanggup meneropong matahari dengan hasil yang sangat menakjubkan. Matahari, bintang yang setia sebagai pusat tata surya yang tampak kekuningkuningan bila dilihat dari bumi, kini tergambar jelas. Pada Minggu (6/2), matahari tepat berada di tengah-tengah kedua satelit Stereo.Dengan posisi seperti itu, menurut NASA, kedua satelit bisa membidik rupa fisik matahari lebih jelas dari sebelumnya. NASA berharap kedua satelit dapat mengambil potret matahari dengan putaran 360 derajat.

Kalau berhasil, hasil itu akan menjadi potret putaran 360 derajat matahari yang pertama sepanjang sejarah program antariksa. Diluncurkan pada 2006,dua satelit kembar pada awalnya diposisikan terpisah dalam rentang jarak tertentu. Misi utama keduanya adalah untuk mempelajari ledakan besar yang diciptakan matahari. Konon, ledakan itu mampu menyemburkan miliaran ton partikel ke arah bumi. Partikel-partikel yang tersembur dari pusat tata surya barangkali indah kalau diteropong lewat kamera khusus. Meski demikian, semburan partikel tetap memiliki efek negatif. Dipaparkan NASA, semburan partikel kerap mengaburkan pandangan astronot atau hanya pesawat antariksa yang tengah menjelajah dekat matahari.

penemuan baru bidang fisika

Belum lama berselang, tepatnya tanggal 5 Juni yang lalu, suatu berita
besar iptek muncul dari sebuah konperensi fisika “Neutrino 98″ yang
berlangsung di Jepang. Neutrino, salah satu partikel dasar yang jauh lebih
kecil daripada elektron, ternyata memiliki massa, demikian laporan dari
suatu tim internasional yang tergabung dalam eksperimen
Super-Kamiokande. Tim ahli-ahli fisika yang terdiri dari kurang lebih 120 orang dari
berbagai negara termasuk AS, Jepang, Jerman, dan Polandia tersebut
melakukan penelitian terhadap data-data yang dikumpulkan selama setahun oleh
sebuah laboratorium penelitian neutrino bawah tanah di Jepang.

Jika laporan ini terbukti benar dan dapat dikonfirmasi kembali oleh tim
lainnya maka akan membawa dampak yang sangat luas terhadap beberapa
teori fisika, terutama pembahasan mengenai interaksi partikel dasar, teori
asal mula daripada alam semesta ini serta problema kehilangan massa
(missing mass problem) maupun teori neutrino matahari.

Neutrino, atau neutron kecil, adalah suatu nama yang diberikan oleh
fisikawan dan pemenang hadiah Nobel terkenal dari Jerman: Wolfgang Pauli.
Neutrino adalah partikel yang sangat menarik perhatian para fisikawan
karena kemisteriusannya. Neutrino juga merupakan salah satu bangunan
dasar daripada alam semesta yang bersama-sama dengan elektron, muon, dan
tau, termasuk dalam suatu kelas partikel yang disebut lepton. Lepton
bersama-sama dengan enam 

excavator buatan indonesia

Ternyata bukan hanya China saja yang mempunyai pabrik Construction Machinery, Tetapi di Indonesia juga ada gan. namanya PT. Sumitomo S.H.I.

Pabrik yang bertempat di Kawasan Industri Karawang itu di bangun dengan dana awal pembangunan sebesar 3 milyar yen diatas tanah seluas 100,000 meter persegi, perusahaan produksi excavator yang dibangun dibawah pengawasan Kajima Overseas Asia PTE Ltd. sejak September lalu ini, rencananya akan menjadi pusat produksi kedua setelah Cina.
Produksi Excavator itu dimulai bulan September 2010, dengan kapasitas awal produksi sebanyak 1,000 unit excavator seberat 21 ton. Namun pihak Sumitomo menegaskan akan memproduksi 4 jenis excavator mulai dari 12 ton, 21 ton, 24 ton, dan 35 ton, serta akan meningkatkan produksi mencapai 2,000 unit setiap tahunnya.

Dalam acara ini, turut hadir pula Wakil Direktur Sumitomo Construction Machinery yang didatangkan langsung dari Jepang, Sumi Akio, Presiden Direktur PT. Sumitomo Construction Machinery Indonesia Iwata Shuji, Manager Kajima Overseas Asia PTE Ltd., Koizumi Hiroyoshi, Direktur Kajima Indonesia Hayashi Kenji, serta Perwakilan dari KIIC Iwama Masayuki.

Tidak hanya itu, dalam kesempatan yang sama, PT. Sumitomo juga mengungkapkan akan membangun perusahaan produksi excavator lainnya di India, serta perusahaan penjualan di Jakarta sebagai pusat pasar di Asia Tenggara dalam waktu dekat.