The Awl

Indonesian Government Using Huge, Swinging Balls To Deter Unsafe Train Travel

Dave Bry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:20:51 +0000

"I was really scared when I first heard about these balls. It sounds like it could be really dangerous. But I don't think it will last long. They have tried everything to keep us from riding... but in the end we always win.''
—Twenty-seven-year-old "train surfer" Mulyanto, who rides on the roof of the overcrowded train from Bogor to Jakarta every day for work, on the Indonesian government's installation of large metal balls that hang from chains just above train-level at stations and track crossings. The balls are meant to stop the practice, which led to eleven accidental deaths last year. But, damn, it seems like those balls could kill eleven people the first day they're up.

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President Obama Used To Run Like A Duck

Dave Bry — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 12:10:37 +0000

"While the residents regarded Mr. Obama’s mother as a 'free spirit,' Barry, who was chubby, was referred to as the 'boy who runs like a duck...'"
—Comforting to learn, during his visit to Indonesia, as he rebukes the Israeli government for announcing plans to build 1,000 new housing units in Palestinian East Jerusalem, that the President of the United States used to be like one of my best friends from growing up, Matt McCabe, who everyone in our cub scout troop called "Waddles." The Times story about Obama's childhood years in Jakarta is full of good stuff.

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Pope's Wrist Fallible And Other News

Alex Balk — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:05:20 +0000

My usual Friday attack of Let This Week Be Over Syndrome came early this week (if you're scoring at home, here's exactly when it happened), and I'll try to gut it out and take you through the rest of the day, but man am I finding it hard to care. Still, here are a couple of things you might be interested in.

Delivering a sermon at Friday prayers in Tehran, former Iranian president Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani declared that the country was in crisis; the speech was not televised out of fear that he would do exactly that.
Eight people were killed in Jakarta when two hotels were bombed. "Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, the president of Indonesia, likened the perpetrators to 'death spreaders,' or Dracula."
The situation in Honduras is still in flux. Amid protests, curfews, and negotiations, ousted President Miguel Zelaya is threatening to return next week.
There is not going to be enough of the swine flu vaccine to save us from ALL DYING.
The Pope fractured his wrist.

Okay? Let this week be over already!

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