Update From the Boob Belt

If you recall, I wrote a post about a statue of President Barack Obama erected in Jakarta, Indonesia last week. Turns out not everyone in Indonesia is pleased about it:

JAKARTA, Indonesia — A statue of President Barack Obama as a boy erected in a Jakarta park has been targeted in a Facebook campaign by thousands who say it should be removed.

The Facebook group named “Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Taman Menteng Park” had attracted more than 10,000 members by Tuesday since the 43-inch statue of 10-year-old Obama dressed in shorts and a T-shirt was unveiled in the downtown park on Thursday last week.

Now, this is how one should use a social working site! Moving along….

“Everybody knows that Obama is a world leader, but he is not our national hero who deserves to be awarded a statue,” Nugroho said.”This has hurt our national pride because there are many Indonesian figures who gave worthy service to this nation but no statue has been built for them,” he added.

At least this man is honest. He acknowledges that they view Obama as a “world leader”, NOT as “president of the U.S.” Not surprisingly, the man behind the idea for the statue, Ron Mullers, is not very happy with the group:

“It’s ridiculous. I’m shocked,” Mullers, chairman of the local nonpolitical Friends of Obama Foundation, calling the move against the statue political.

Mullers likened the backlash to the controversy over whether Obama deserved the Nobel Peace Prize.

Sorry, Mr. Mullers, you are wrong. The statue is worth far more than the Nobel Piss Prize. Perhaps you should have omitted the medal around young Barry’s neck, then? And if your organization is “nonpolitical”, why is it called “The Friends of Obama Foundation”? Why not call it, “The Friends of Americans Who Lived Briefly in Indonesia”? The best revelation comes at the end:

The statue cost more than $10,000. The money was donated by eight Indonesian patrons, a television station and a disaster relief charity.

The obvious question is, what business does a disaster relief charity have donating money reserved for the needy to build a statue? And more importantly, will Mr. Mullers be spearheading disaster relief efforts in the event of a tragedy in Indonesia?