Ramadan di Belanda Tingkatkan Tali Silaturahim

Sekitar 400 ribu warga Indonesia bermukim di Belanda. Sebagian besar di antara mereka adalah umat Islam. Berpuasa selama 16 jam pada Ramadan ini merupakan tantangan bagi mereka.

Mereka Disebut Gipsi

“Memangnya kami Al-Qaeda? Silahkan tangkap kami jika kami dianggap teroris!” Seraya bercucur air mata, seorang gadis berambut coklat menyerukan kalimat tersebut kepada tiga prajurit bersenjata lengkap yang tengah berpatroli di pelataran Katedral Notre Dame, Paris, Prancis, beberapa pekan lalu.

Romanza Italiana

Siamo angeli con unala sola, solo restando abbracciati possiamo volare.

Masing-masing dari kita adalah malaikat yang cuma memiliki satu sayap; dan kita dapat terbang hanya dengan memeluk satu sama lain.”

Membeli Alat Tempur dari Pengusung HAM

FOTO Perdana Menteri Inggris David Cameron yang berdiri berdampingan dengan PM Kuwait Nasser Mohammed al-Ahmed al-Sabah terpampang di harian The Guardian, 22 Februari lalu. Kala itu, Cameron mengunjungi Kuwait dan beberapa negara Teluk lainnya seraya membawa rombongan petinggi industri senjata Britania Raya. Tujuannya jelas, menjual senjata.

Menilik Wajah Ikhwanul Muslimin

NADA bicara pria itu terdengar lirih. Matanya yang sayu dan pipinya yang tirus menandakan dia sangat kelelahan. Meski demikian, lelaki bernama Anan Kanj tersebut masih mampu menuturkan pengakuan terkait dengan konspirasi di kawasan Timur Tengah.

What Diplomats Say/What Diplomats Mean

Advice Please. ‘I don’t have a clue’.

Bi-lateral. A posh sounding meeting which involves 2 people chatting at the same time.

Comprehensive Review. Same as ‘Review’ but likely to take 18 months by which time what seems important now will seem less important.

Co-ordination Unit. A new unit duplicating the work of an existing unit to inform them of what they already know.

Delivery. Doing everything in your power not to deliver.

Director. More impressive than ‘Head’.

For Information. ‘Don’t even think about commenting on this. I don’t want your advice, but if anything goes wrong I can prove you knew about it’.

Hope This Is Helpful. ‘I know this isn’t helpful. Don’t contact me about it again.’

In Due Course. ‘In a very long time’.

On Board. A delaying tactic requiring lots of emails, cc-ing and possibly even bi-laterals.

Please Deal. ‘Do all the work yourself’.

Quadlateral. Like a bi-lateral, but with 4 people.

Raft Of Measures. ‘None of these ideas are good, but if we put them together it looks like we are trying.’

Strategic Co-Ordination Unit. Unit to co-ordinate the co-ordination units.

Touch Base. ‘Say hello to someone and talk to them.’

Urgent. ‘A decision has already been taken.’

Working Group. 5 or more people sitting in a room failing to achieve anything.

You May Recall. ‘ You won’t recall.’

You Will Recall. ‘ You’d better recall.’

You Should Be Aware. ‘ Really bad news. Not my fault. Honest. ‘

A fruitful discussion.  ‘We achieved nothing whatsoever’

‘The government views with great concern…’. ‘The government will do nothing about it, except pay lip service’
‘We will do everything in our power…’.  ‘There’s nothing we can do about it…

You can find this article on http://blogs.news.sky.com/foreignmatters/Post:6d89b4ac-e524-4b10-abbb-33cd99f103b6

Menjelajahi Buda dan Pest

DERETAN pasang mata kaum ibu menatap kami dari ujung kaki hingga kepala. Pandangan selidik dan raut muka penuh keheranan tidak mampu mereka sembunyikan sejak saya dan enam rekan Indonesia lainnya memasuki gerbong kereta bawah tanah yang meluncur dari stasiun Nepliget menuju stasiun Deak Ferenc Ter, Budapest, Hungaria.