Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Sounds good. 463 wrecks and counting? 10,000 on the ocean floor? Time to loot! (klfy – Indonesia)
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Indonesia produces the third most cocoa in the world, but they hardly consume it. Belgian chocolate maker simply thought why not, and opened a chocolate company using local cocoa and making high end product. The bad thing is that now the chocolatier intends to triple consumption which has to mean worse teeth, bigger waist lines, and as some people believe, pimples. Jokes aside, there’s a lot to the chocolate industry in Asia, and if you like chocolate, you’ll enjoy what you read. It’s rising in consumption all over Asia including India with their 600 air conditioned malls, but where there’s production problems in terms of bad weather, the government is kicking in. Doesn’t the Monggo Chocolate look good? (Reuters – Monggo)
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The Raid. For it’s upcoming release the score is supposed to be done by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park. From his YouTube site… The film looks like fun and it’s probably done with the smallest budget. “For a long time, I have been wanting to score a film. In order for it to work, it would have to have a great story, stunning visuals, and the timing would have to work out in a way that didn’t distract from all the things I want to do with Linkin Park. I’m really excited to have finally found the right project. The movie is called The Raid. Its intense martial arts choreography, amazing cinematography, and great story have been inspiring all kinds of new music. I’m excited for all of you to see—and hear—this film.” [youtube]5SjAfIAeGZ4[/youtube]
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Urban legends, rural legends, folk medicines, you’ve probably heard about tons of such things over the years. True or, more likely, untrue events and cures which may, but probably don’t, have legitimate and verifiable scientific bases for capturing the imagination and curing medical symptoms. No, this isn’t a rant about people’s odd beliefs or half the shows on the Syfy Channel. It’s merely an introduction to the latest dubious medical craze in Indonesia. It seems folks in that country are intentionally trying to electrocute themselves on railroad tracks in the belief that it will cure various diseases, both mental and physical. It is a new trend which Indonesian government officials are trying desperately to stop before it causes a wave of accidental deaths. This railroad shock therapy started, as such things always do, with a rumor that a man who actually tried using train rails to commit suicide ended up having his paralysis and chronic depression shocked away by the electric current in the tracks. Although this miraculous tale cannot be verified, it has spread all over Indonesia and given people the courage to try electrocution by rail in order to cure everything from sleeping disord ers to diabetes. In our book, this is just crazy stuff, and a greater risk to human life than the legendary poodle in the microwave. (Wall Street Journal Asia – Indonesian Rail Shock Treatment)
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For most us, the idea of a woman having a child without any kind of health insurance to cover the costs is irresponsible. But it certainly is not uncommon and it isn’t something for which mother or child should be made to suffer. And certainly the notion of keeping a mother from her newborn baby until she can pay the bill is one which we could never consider. Well, in Indonesia they don’t feel the same way about that last sentiment. Unfortunately, Indonesia does not yet have universal healthcare for pregnant women. So in order to safely give birth, the majority of Indonesian women rely on private clinics, hospitals and midwives to see them through births and deliver healthy babies. However, problems arise if new mothers and their relatives do not have the money to pay these clinics, hospitals or midwives the fees incurred while bringing their children into the world. As you will read at the link, in at least one case this has meant a new mother of twins had one of her identical children held hostage in lieu of payment of the birthing bill. Is this a huge problem, something that happens every day? No. In 2010, only 36 cases of baby hostages were reported to the Indonesian National Commission for Child Protection. But it is cause for concern, and something to keep in mind the next time you find yourself griping about your HMO (BBC News Asia-Pacific – Indonesian Babies Held Hostage)
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