Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia

Oleh P. Mutiara Andalas, S.J.[1]

Saat mencari judul buku yang dibedah hari ini, perbincangan dengan seorang rekan perempuan dari Indonesia yang mendalami teologi feminis berkelebat dalam benak. Ia dengan bangga memperlihatkan t-shirt The Vagina Monologues sambil menawarkan tiket pertunjukan yang semua pemerannya dari sebuah sekolah teologi Kristen di Berkeley. Meskipun akhirnya absen dari pertunjukan karena menghadiri acara lain, Eve Ensler mencuri perhatian sampai saya mengoleksi tulisan-tulisannya. Tuturan lugasnya pada bagian My Vagina is My Village memaku saya pada keterpukauan.

There is something between my legs. Read the rest of this entry »

Judul: Solusi Bisnis dari Seberang
Penulis: Dr. Beni Bevly dan Jennie S Bev, DBA
Penerbit: Afton Asia, Jakarta
Genre: Bisnis
Jumlah Halaman: 194
Dimensi: 15,24 x 22,86 cm
ISBN: 978-602-97885-01
Edisi: I, Januari 2011
Harga: Rp. 58.500,-

Berbisnis adalah salah satu cara untuk mencapai kesejahteraan bagi diri sendiri, keluarga, komunitas dan negara yang bisa dipelajari dengan mudah bila mendapatkan dan menggunakan sumber yang tepat.

Tidak seperti buku bisnis lainnya yang secara umum hanya membahas teori, tetapi buku “Solusi Bisnis dari Seberang” adalah sumber pengetahuan yang aplikatif dan jitu untuk berbisnis yang secara langsung dituangkan oleh dua praktisi, professional dan pakar bisnis yang bermukim di Silicon Valley, USA, yaitu Dr. Beni Bevly dan Jennie S Bev, DBA. Di tengah guncangan perekonomian USA, mereka masih banyak menemukan model bisnis yang sukses.

Dengan ketajaman pengetahuan bisnis praktis, akademis dan gaya bahasanya yang ngepop, mereka berhasil membuat isi buku ini mudah untuk dipahami dan diterapkan. Selain bagi para pebisnis dan calon pebisnis, ini adalah buku wajib bagi para eksekutif, pengamat, dosen, pengambil keputusan dari pihak swasta dan pemerintah, mahasiswa, karyawan dan pelajar.

Dengan memiliki buku ini berarti Anda telah membantu para korban bencana alam dan pendidikan putra-putri Indonesia yang akan disalurkan melalui Bevly Foundation.

Pemesanan dari Indonesia

Dapatkan dan milikilah segera buku ini dengan mengirimkan Rp. 58.500,- kepada akun BCA atas nama Siat Ching Mij dengan akun nomor 028 3840988. Konfirmasikan bukti transfer Anda melalui email kepada afton.asia@gmail.com atau fax (021) 319-27651. Setelah menerima konfirmasi bukti transfer, buku akan segera dikirimkan ke alamat Anda di Indonesia tanpa dikenakan biaya pengiriman dengan menggunakan TIKI (Titipan Kilat).

Pemesanan dari Amerika Serikat, Kanada dan negara lain

Buku Solusi Bisnis dari Seberang juga telah diterbitkan di Amerika Serikat. Untuk itu peminat yang menetap di AS, Kanada dan negara lain bisa memesannya dengan klik di sini.

Oleh: Muhammadun AS*

Judul buku : Politik Para Teroris
Penulis : Mutiara Andalas
Pengantar : AM. Hendropriyono
Penerbit : Kanisius Yogyakarta
Cetakan : 1, 2010
Tebal : 132 halaman

Terorisme merupakan epifeni terburuk paling tragis yang terjadi di langit milenium abad ke-21 sekarang ini. Hampir manusia sejagat disibukkan dengan gelombang terorisme yang terus menyeruak hampir di sekujur tubuh benua di dunia ini. Amerika Serikat (AS) menjadi negara pertama yang terlibat paling serius dengan skandal dan tragedi terorisme. Read the rest of this entry »

Beberapa waktu yang lalu, stasiun radio VOA (Voice of America) melalui reporternya Jimmy Manan menginterview Dr. Beni Bevly, salah satu analis dari OTTI (Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia) dalam kaitannya dengan diterbitkannya buku “Aku Orang China?” untuk dimuat dalam program Breakfast VOA Newsmaker.

Untuk mendengar program ini silakan klik Breakfast VOA Newsmaker with Dr. Beni Bevly.

Menembus Kejiwaan Kaum Radikal
Dimuat di Koran Jakarta, Kamis 12 Maret 2010

Judul : Politik Para Teroris
Penulis : Mutiara Andalas
Penerbit : Kanisius
Tahun : I, Februari 2010
Tebal : 132 halaman

Fenomena teroris(me) sungguh menjadi hantu menakutkan di tengah-tengah kehidupan masyarakat dunia. Sebab tidak terbayangkan, perilaku anti kemanusiaan dengan, seperti meledakkan tempat-tempat umum, bom bunuh diri, dan serangkaian aksi teror ditunjukkan di depan mata kita. Read the rest of this entry »

Diresensi oleh: Abda’iyah Alhadi

Judul : Lahir dari Rahim: Wacana Perempuan Asia tentang Allah di Era Globalisasi
Penulis : P. Mutiara Andalas, SJ
Kata Pengantar: Jennie S. Bevly dan Ulil Abshar Abdalla
Penerbit : Kanisius, Yogyakarta
Edisi : I, Juni 2009
Harga : Rp 55.000,00

Membahas permasalahan gender adalah menganalisis hubungan peran laki-laki dan perempuan dalam kehidupan sosialnya. Bukan permasalahan kodrat laki-laki yang memproduksi sperma dan perempuan melahirkan. Sebagai manusia keduanya memiliki hak dan kewajiban yang sama dalam menjalankan perannya sebagai makhluk sosial. Akan tetapi yang menjadi permasalahan adalah struktur soaial yang timpang, bias gender yang menyebar luas dan mempengaruhi pola pikir, tindakan dan bentuk kehidupan sosial di negeri ini. Read the rest of this entry »

Beberapa saat yang lalu, salah satu analyst dari Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia, Dr. Beni Bevly mendapat kesempatan yang berharga untuk memenuhi undangan Drs. Eddie Lembong, Pendiri dan Ketua Yayasan MEL untuk Nation Building, dan berdiskusi dengan para raksasa, begitulah istilah yang dikenalkan oleh Drs. Eddie Lembong. Yang ia maksudkan adalah para cendikiawan yang sangat disegani dan dihormati yang hadir dalam pertemuan ini. Mereka adalah Myra Sidarta, Melly G. Tan, Ph.D, Dr. Asvi Warman Adam, Dr. Yudi Latif, dan Didi Kwartanada, Ph.D. Read the rest of this entry »

Judul: Aku Orang China? Narasi Pemikiran Politik Plus dari Seorang Tionghoa Muda
Penulis: Dr. Beni Bevly
Penerbit: Yayasan Nation Building/NABIL
Editor Edisi Indonesia: Dr. Didi Kwartanada
Genre: Politik
Spesiifikasi: xii+214 hlm; 15.5×22 cm; soft cover
Harga: Rp. 45.000

Sumber: BUKU BARU Aku Orang China (Kolom Tropong Pustakaloka, Kompas)

Jumat, 5 Maret 2010 | 05:31 WIB

Buku Aku Orang China? Narasi Pemikiran Politik Plus dari Seorang Tionghoa Muda memperkenalkan pandangan dan persepsi pemikiran politik dari salah satu di antara sekian juta etnik Tionghoa yang beragam di Indonesia.

Sesuai dengan kata plus di judul buku ini, penulis tidak hanya menarasikan pemikiran politik, tetapi juga menuturkan pemikiran ekonomi, manajemen, dan kepemimpinan organisasi dan aplikasinya di Indonesia. Read the rest of this entry »

Title: BRIDGING ISLAM AND THE WEST: An Indonesian View
Author: Dr. Muhamad Ali
Language: English
Publisher: Penerbit Ushul Press, Fakultas Ushuluddin, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah Jakarta
Genre: Anthology
Specification: xiv, 192 hlm: 14×21 cm; soft cover

INTRODUCTION

This book, which is a collection of articles and essays written and published in the Jakarta Post daily and other newspapers and journals over the last six years from 2002, is a product of a continued interest in the relationship between Muslims and the West. The 9/11/2001 terrorist attack in New York has marked a new phase of global history particularly as regards to the West and Muslim societies not only in the center of Islam, the Middle East, but also in Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and the United States. The relationship between East and West which since the World War II to the collapse of the Soviet Union (USSR) was especially dominated by the Cold War between the two world powers – the capitalist United States and the communist Soviet Union (USSR) – has now shifted into new and different players, involving the state, international organizations, and civil associations as well as individuals. Read the rest of this entry »

Judul: Just for You: Mutiara-Mutiara Kehidupan
Penulis: P. Mutiara Andalas, SJ
Penerbit: Kanisius, Yogyakarta, 2009
Ukuran: 150×150
Beli: Klik di sini

Kata Pengantar

Buku di tangan pembaca sejatinya sebuah kado ulang tahun. Saya mempersembahkannya untuk seorang remaja yang baru saja menginjak usia 17 tahun. Kisah hidupnya seringkali membawa ingatan saya kembali pada Aya dalam drama serial Ichi Ritoru no Namida. Di balik drama 1 Liter Air Mata, saya menemukan harapan akan kehidupan yang senantiasa bernyala. Harapan hidup ditemukan saat keduanya bergumul dengan sakit. Nafas tulisan berasal dari perjumpaan dengan pribadi-pribadi istimewa seperti penerima persembahan buku. Saya terngiang penuturan A. Alvarez yang mengaku jatuh cinta pada bahasa lebih dari setengah abad. Read the rest of this entry »

Buku berjudul Lahir dari Rahim ini memotret kehidupan perempuan yang terpasung sepanjang zaman khususnya di Asia. Mulai dari perjuangan teolog perempuan Boyung Lee di Korea Selatan, Suciwati Munir, Sumarsih di Indonesia, hingga korban perkosaan tragedi Mei 1998.

Judul : Lahir dari Rahim
Penulis : P. Mutiara Andalas, SJ
Penerbit : Kanisius, Yogyakarta
Edisi : I, Juni 2009
Harga : Rp 55.000,00

Buku berjudul Lahir dari Rahim ini memotret kehidupan perempuan yang terpasung sepanjang zaman khususnya di Asia. Mulai dari perjuangan teolog perempuan Boyung Lee di Korea Selatan, Suciwati Munir, Sumarsih di Indonesia, hingga korban perkosaan tragedi Mei 1998.

Lahir dengan kodrat perempuan dengan sendirinya membawa pembatasan dalam dirinya termasuk dari budaya dan agama. Dilahirkan sebagai perempuan membawa stigmatisasi tersendiri. Read the rest of this entry »

Title: From Golden Bridge to Golden Monument: Essays on Humanity, Fairness, and Peace
Author: Jennie Siat Bev
Language: English
Publisher: Afton Asia & Afton Institute
Genre: Anthology
Specification: 221 pages, 6 x 9 inch; soft cover
Price: $21.95 (BUY)

We live in an interesting time.

We could be nearing the end of time but intelligent optimists believe that we are embarking on a new beginning, which is more hopeful and meaningful. After all, everything comes in cycles. In grand epic A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens wrote, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us.” Paradoxes are looming and one has full discretion to stand for anything he or she believes in.

I believe that with conviction and consistency, we can make the world slightly better than yesterday. Thus, we should stand on the side of wisdom, belief, light, hope and abundance rather than on the side of foolishness, incredulity, darkness, despair and nihilism. From time to time, we should remind ourselves to be intelligent optimists, regardless of the current state of the world. Through writing, I believe that I have this option. Read the rest of this entry »

Dirensensi oleh Mutiara Andalas, S.J.

Informasi Buku

Judul Buku : Saatnya Korban Bicara: Menata Derap Merajut Langkah
Pengarang : Jaringan Solidaritas Korban untuk Keadilan
Kata Pengantar : I. Sandyawan Sumardi, S.J.
Penerbit : Yayasan TIFA, Jaringan Relawan Kemanusiaan, dan Jaringan Solidaritas Korban untuk Keadilan
Tahun : 2009
Halaman : 200 + xxiii

Simon dari Kirene dan Veronika hadir sepintas dalam lintasan jalan salib. Prajurit menarik paksa Simon dari Kirene dari tengah massa untuk membantu memanggul salib Yesus menuju Golgotha. Menyeruak dari kerumunan massa dan menerobos penjagaan prajurit, Veronica mengusap paras Yesus. Kahlil Gibran (1883 – 1931), dalam The Prophet, menggubah dialog imajiner antara Yesus dan Simon dari Kirene. “Engkau turut meminum cawan penderitaan. Engkau akan besertaku mereguk piala keselamatan.” “Tangan-Mu di bahu mengangkat salib berat yang kupanggul.” Di mata Kardinal Yosef Bernardin (1928 – 1996), Veronica merupakan pewahyuan sakramental dari perempuan yang berperan penting dalam kehidupan Yesus dengan keberanian lembutnya. Ketukan panggilan yang menggerakkan Simon dari Kirene dan Veronika di jalan salib Yesus terdengar lagi saat membaca Saatnya Korban Bicara. Read the rest of this entry »

Image sources: www.librarything.com and news.harvard.edu

By Evan A. Laksmana

“Clausewitz does not say much about civil-military relations in On War. Where he does address the subject, [he] is not talking about not politicians or civilians, per se.”Antulio J. Echevarria1

“Clausewitz did write a lot about civil-military relations. Even in On War.” Peter Paret2

“Clausewitz did NOT write about civil-military relations, and… There is a silence in On War, except to tell us that war is the servant and ‘Politik’ is the master.”Colin S. Gray3 Read the rest of this entry »

Title: Sky without Limit: Fifteen Self-Challenges to Realize Your Visions
Author: Dr. Beni Bevly
Language: English
Publisher: Afton Institute
Genre: Empowerment
Specification: 173 pages, 4.25″ x 6.88″, and soft cover
Price: $18.00 (BUY)

Introduction

My tai chi master used to teach the way of life by telling stories. I remember one of them:

A long time ago, a very wealthy man and his family lived in harmony in the Far East Kingdom. On his birthday, he invited many people, including one renowned calligrapher who was also a tai chi master. He presented his calligraphy as a gift to that wealthy man.

The man thought it must be a very valuable gift, so he unwrapped it in front of his guests. However, he and the guests were shocked when they read:

Grandfather and grandmother die.
Father and mother die.
Children die.
Then grandchildren die.

Of course the wealthy man was angry. However, the tai chi master explained, “What if I wrote instead: First, grandchildren die. Second, children die. Third, father and mother die. And last, grandfather and grandmother die. Wouldn’t that be very sad? Because the younger people die first. But if the older people die first, then followed by the younger, that would be a natural and happy family.”

In this book, you will find a lot of words, sentences, and challenges that are as blunt as this story. But behind the bluntness lies a proven method that will drive you to realize you visions.
If you want to find the easy, instant, and comfortable way to realize those visions, this is not the right book for you. Please close it now and put it back on the shelf, because through this book, I won’t be showing you an easy and instant way to become a successful person.

Instead, you will be asked to challenge yourself to do things you don’t want to do, and even to create a rival for yourself. Behind all these challenges, basically you will be driven to become the best person you can be and to live out your visions for your life.

In many publications, the authors use the word dream to describe a lifelong wish and aspiration in doing and becoming. Here, I refrain from using dream because I will be talking about how to work towards your goals by doing. Doing itself is an action based on perseverance and endurance, not a passive and simplistic activity such as dreaming.

As we make this journey together, I will often tell you what you don’t want to hear, I will show you what you don’t want to see, and I will ask you to do what you don’t want to do. You will be challenged along the way to do more than you now believe you can, and you will begin to find in yourself the courage and commitment to make your life into what you now only wish it could be. By learning to meet these new challenges, you will find in yourself greater power that you ever imagined.

Why do I challenge you instead of acting like a traditional coach who encourages you with a pat on the back and leads you along a predefined road?

First, because I have learned from my own experience that challenging works better than coaching. Presenting you with a challenge lets you explore your own power to achieve your goals instead of depending on someone else to keep motivating you to do better. When that other person isn’t available, your motivation can disappear too, because it’s being fueled by someone else.

Second, our society teaches us all independence from an early age, which explains why many of us aren’t so coachable. Some people hire coaches to help them succeed, yet the results aren’t very pretty because there’s a conflict as to who is in charge of your independence.
An external coach can become a crutch to lean on, creating dependency and resentment—not to mention the belief you need help to succeed. Instead you should want to learn how to motivate yourself and to see what you can achieve under your own power. In this book, I’m going to show you how to be your own coach and rely on yourself for the motivation to succeed while challenging you to fly alone.

As we explore new challenges together, you’ll receive far more than just encouragement to fulfill your aspirations. Instead, I’ll be your personal guide, showing you how to challenge yourself. By meeting these challenges, you’ll develop the ability to coach yourself to success. You already have inside you the strength and will to make yourself a winner—and to realize your visions. I’ll be with you as you learn how to tap into that power and use it for yourself. It won’t always be easy, but the rewards will be great.

In the following chapters, you will challenge yourself to:

1. Walk through fire to pursue what you passionately want.
2. Do what you do not want to do to accomplish the important things that you must do to pursue your visions.
3. Declare your success by creating a statement of your goals.
4. Create your own inner rival so you can measure how you are doing.
5. Create your next rivals so that you can achieve more, above and beyond your present goals.

You will learn that the sky is not the limit—the only limit is yourself. And you will learn how to remove all your limitations, then create a sky without limit by:

1. Killing the dragon within, becoming selfless by eliminating arrogance.
2. Giving more without selfishness, gaining the power of giving and teaching.
3. Walking endlessly, showing determination and perseverance instead of quitting.
4. Being militant about what you want, learning that there is no in-between—there is only doubt and compromise or total confidence.
5. Becoming “Achilles,” acting courageously instead of being fearful.
6. Being antiestablishmentarian, turning crisis to opportunity.

You will also be asked to forget the typical notion of the American Dream because we’ll redefine what it actually is: not just a dream per se, but more about committing yourself to talk loudly about what you’re going to do and to act upon it. In so doing, you’ll find out that there is more than one road to success.

You’ll also learn the lesson of a volcano: choosing the right moment and the right place to make the greatest impact, one that nobody will ever forget.

Finally, you will push harder and live stronger in every aspect of your life.

In the words of Joyce Wycroft:

To know what you do not know, you must go where you have not gone, see what you have not seen, do what you have not done, and be what you have not been.

Because, after all, success is not a destination—it is an adventure to realize your visions.

Are you ready? Let’s begin.

(BUY)

____
Dr. Beni Bevly is an analyst Overseas Think Tank for Indonesia, Northern California. His educational backgrounds are organizational leadership, marketing, and political science. His proven organizational and management skills have propelled him to management positions in one of Fortune 500’s corporations. He is a life coach, a certified fitness trainer, a specialist in martial arts conditioning, and an international martial arts black belt holder.