TAX AND CIVILIZATION. Tax is the cost of civilization. We come out of a museum, walk while whistling safely, and know that there’s not much in the world for free, and it’s getting more and more expensive. A nation, difficult to walk without taxes. People’s libraries, urban parks, nursing homes, firefighters, public schools, social assistance without taxes are all in jeopardy of budget shortfalls. Continue reading
THE ORIGIN OF THE COFFEE CULTURE IN ACEH. Coffee culture was not found in Aceh until near the end of the 19th Century. An orientalist who became a sociocultural researcher, Snouck Hurgronye wrote in The Achehnese Volume I, during his research of the Acehnese, “For most ordinary people in Aceh, white water is almost the only drink, from time to time (occasionally) it will drink sugar cane juice, squeezed from the trunk only with a very primitive tool.” Continue reading
HOW TO TELL HISTORY. A good historian knows that he is drawing. He tells something, a circumstance, an event, from a situation he might not see, he does not face. Because the material of history is actually like a canvas of memory. Continue reading
PALESTINE IS OUR SADNESS. Palestine is not just a territory, nor are people of a particular ethnicity. Palestine is sadness, facing the forces associated with knowledge and technology, facing sophisticated weapons, the power of money, a very conquering force. Why do we feel the same fate with Palestine? Because we know it feels sad because our hearts feel the same with Palestine. Ever felt how captured, defeated and silenced in the world. Continue reading
HISTORICAL REPETITION. Human life may be written in a different way but the cycle is always the same, so the conclusions are taken by the historians of ancient Persia. But are the conclusions taken by them true? Sometimes we feel had learned from the experiences of people in the past, learn from the mistakes made by people in the past but we subconsciously repeat the behavior of the people before us. Continue reading
CIRCLE OF HATRED. Those who are fearful when pressed turn out (often) to be very fierce when in power, people who are severely tortured by a situation is often a more oppressive ruler harder than its predecessor. If one to get a job to bribe 100 million, then when the grasp of power will ask for a bribe of 200 million and continue. Continue to grow into a snowball from time to time, will never be finished and eventually become a circle of Hatred. Continue reading
Modern times may be cruel, the fate of the Mante tribe as well as the various flora and fauna in the forest, they are powerless in the face of incessant corporations and conglomerate to erode their habitat. Oil palm plantations, rubber and even the most disgusting are deforestations by large companies, especially under the guise of oil palm and rubber plantations. Massive gold mining, gas, and forest exploration have urged them. Continue reading
HOW TO INHERIT THE GREATNESS.
How many great people in the history of the world? When we open the pages of history then pretty much we find the characters with extraordinary glory but how much they leave the people who will continue their brilliance, unfortunately only a few of them are aware. Continue reading
GOLD, INFIDELS, AND DEATH. In the 19th century, Westerners continued their exploration of various parts of Asia to exploit the riches of the so-called colored peoples. In this endeavor, they face various reactions of the local community to which they come. Continue reading
DUSK IN MALACCA. A story of the history of the attack on the Sultanate of Aceh Darussalam under the leadership of Sultan Iskandar Muda to Malacca (Portuguese) in 1629 that failed miserably. According to Portuguese sources, the entire Aceh fleet was destroyed by the loss of 19,000 troops. Continue reading
