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lodibet 688 The Miami Hurricanes, who once appeared to be a near-lock for the College Football Playoff, are not playing for a national title. Instead, they will play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando. That bowl berth against Iowa State is a let-down for fans with dreams of a sixth national title in their minds, as well as players hoping to compete for a championship. However, Miami’s trip to Orlando and the lead-up to it are still crucial periods for the Hurricanes for multiple reasons. First, it’s a chance for the program to achieve something it has not done in more than two decades: win 11 games. Although the 11th win won’t get them closer to a championship, it is a good sign of the program’s progress over Mario Cristobal’s tenure. It would also end UM’s five-game losing streak in bowls. “We’re not satisfied,” Cristobal said. “We want to win every single game. We won 10. We were close on the other two, but close isn’t good enough. We want progress. We’re hungry and driven to get better, and so that’s what our focus is on: to improving as a football program, to getting better, to moving into the postseason with an opportunity against a great football team like this and putting our best on the field.” People are also reading... There are signs the Hurricanes will show up at close to full strength for the bowl game. Running back Damien Martinez announced he was going to play, and star quarterback Cam Ward said in a video call posted on social media that he intends to play, as well. “We’re trying to win our first bowl game in 20 years,” Ward said in the video, mistaking the length of UM’s long bowl losing streak. “We’re going hard.” Playing in the bowl game also provides the opportunity for the Hurricanes to get in several practices between now and the game. That means Miami can develop its young players and prepare them for next season during both the practices and the bowl game itself. “It’s extremely valuable,” Cristobal said. “You really don’t have many opportunities throughout the course of the year — time is limited more and more each season with your student-athletes. I want to state this and be very clear: it’s very important, it’s ultra-important for the University of Miami to continue to develop and grow and progress by stressing the importance of offseason opportunities ... You learn a lot about your team and learn a lot about your people and your program when you head to the postseason.” Of course, there are potential negatives. Players can get hurt; Mark Fletcher Jr. suffered a foot injury in the Pinstripe Bowl last year that cost him all of spring practice. A poor performance can also potentially set the tone for next season, like how Florida State, fresh off a playoff snub last year, suffered a devastating loss against Georgia in the Orange Bowl and went on to a dismal 2-10 season this year. “This is the ending of ’24 and the beginning of ’25,” Cristobal said. “This is the last opportunity to be on the field and carry some momentum into the offseason. So it is, in essence, it is the most important game because it’s the next game. “There’s a lot of excitement in the form of opportunity for our guys. Our guys love to play football. The chance to play one more time with this special group — this is a special group of guys now. They’ve worked hard to really change the trajectory of the University of Miami, and they want to continue to elevate the status and the culture at the University of Miami. So certainly a ton to play for.” ____ Get local news delivered to your inbox!Beyoncé’s Mom Details ‘Unbelievable’ Prep for NFL Halftime Show, Has ‘No Worries’ About Possible Netflix Glitches: ‘We Got Some Prayer Going on’Pearl Harbor Day: See photos of the attack that brought the US into World War II

JAKARTA: When Mr Prabowo Subianto arrived for his inauguration at the Indonesian parliament complex in Jakarta on Oct 20, he was seen using a white Toyota Alphard multi-purpose vehicle (MPV). But by the time he emerged as Indonesia’s eighth president, a different ride was waiting for him at the lobby: a Maung Garuda. With its imposing size and boxy shape, the white tactical sport utility vehicle (SUV) – dubbed the RI1 – looked more at home in combat zones than the busy streets of Jakarta. The resemblance comes as no surprise as the Maung Garuda is produced by Pindad, a state-owned company that makes weapons, armaments and tactical vehicles for the Indonesian military and police force. Mr Prabowo has made the Maung Garuda his presidential car and a week after he took office, he instructed all ministers, vice-ministers, government agency chiefs and senior government officials to also make the SUV their official vehicle. The choice is a departure from the stretch Mercedes-Benz limousines used by previous presidents and the Toyota MPVs and SUVs favoured by ministers. Presidential spokesman Hasan Nasbi said on Oct 28 that Mr Prabowo, a former military general and defence minister, wanted his cabinet members to use locally-produced cars as opposed to imported ones. “(Mr Prabowo) is proud to be using Maung Garuda Limousine as his official car,” he said, as quoted by Detik news website. The president has also said that he wants Indonesia to be self-sufficient and push for a homegrown automotive industry, among other things. “To be honest, in my heart, I refuse to accept that the world’s fourth (most populous) nation, a nation blessed by God with tremendous (natural) wealth... cannot produce its own cars, cannot produce its own motorcycles, cannot produce its own computers,” Mr Prabowo told a regional leaders’ convention on the outskirts of Jakarta on Nov 7. One of Mr Prabowo’s campaign promises is to create 19 million jobs during his presidency and a way to do that is to boost Indonesia’s manufacturing sector. “A president prioritising the use of local brands is a positive step,” said Dr Tauhid Ahmad, a senior researcher at the Jakarta-based think tank Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF). “This is not only about national pride. Maximising the use of local brands can also invigorate the domestic industry and ultimately create a multiplier effect which spurs growth in multiple sectors.” Pindad has sourced 70 per cent of Maung components locally, according to Presidential Chief of Staff Anto Mukti Putranto, as quoted by news outlet The Jakarta Post. Remaining parts including the chassis, engine and base frame are sourced from foreign companies including South Korea’s Ssangyong, Japan’s Toyota and Germany’s Mercedes-Benz, it reported. Although electric vehicles (EVs) are catching on in Indonesia, the company mainly produces internal combustion engine military vehicles and does not have experience in making EVs. The road to a viable national car industry will be strewn with challenges, analysts warned, and many countries have tried and failed to build products that can compete with more established global brands. Can a munitions company with little experience in the car industry live up to these challenges? A HISTORY OF FAILED VENTURES Mr Prabowo is not the only Indonesian president with dreams of building a local car brand. Indonesia’s first president Sukarno, for example, established PT Industri Mobil Indonesia in 1962 with the goal of producing Indonesia’s first national car. However, before production began, Indonesia descended into a widespread civil unrest in 1965 which saw the killing of more than 500,000 members and sympathisers of the Indonesian Communist Party. Attempts to produce a national car were revived under Suharto, who in the 1990s offered tax exemptions for cars that were entirely built domestically. The move was panned both at home and abroad as Indonesian car brands that enjoyed the exemption were found to be rebranded versions of popular models developed by foreign companies. After Suharto stepped down in 1998, Indonesia made several attempts at producing a national car. Most stopped at the prototype stage. After Suharto, there has been very little support given to Indonesian companies developing their own cars, said Mr Bebin Djuana, an automotive industry expert. “These companies need the government’s support. If these companies are told to fend for themselves amid stiff competition from more established brands, they are done for,” said Mr Bebin, a retired car company executive who has written several books on Indonesia’s car industry. He said other countries have been giving local players anything from fiscal incentives and better access to loans and subsidies, to fast-tracking permit issuance and certification. They also created demand for the products before they successfully developed their national car industry. Malaysia, for example, provided RM13.9 billion (US$3.1 billion) in research and development grants, stimulus packages and tax incentives to Proton since its establishment between 1983 and 2017. These benefits allowed Proton to develop new models at prices lower than its competitors, which had to pay import taxes for fully assembled units or parts shipped from overseas. “Some countries give huge subsidies to first-time car owners if they buy local brands. Some governments buy the cars produced by local companies and use them as official cars and operational vehicles,” Mr Bebin told CNA. These government incentives remain available through regime changes, something that is missing in Indonesia, where leaders tend to focus on their own policies instead of continuing their predecessors’ legacies. “These countries remain consistent (in their support) particularly during the critical early stages of these local companies. Without (consistency) these companies would collapse and they would have to start from scratch,” Mr Bebin said. The Malaysian government continued to provide grants and tax incentives after Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional divested its Proton stake to conglomerate DRB-HICOM for RM1.29 billion in 2012. However, the benefits stopped after the latter sold its 49.9 per cent Proton stake to Chinese manufacturer Zhejiang Geely Automobile Holdings in 2017. Dr Tauhid of INDEF believed that Pindad will enjoy similar support from the Indonesian government. “As a state-owned company, it will have the full support of the government in terms of regulatory protection (from competition) and various incentives. It will have access to government funding or low interest loans from state-owned banks,” he said. “This is what sets Pindad apart from private companies of the past which tried to develop their own car brands.” It is still not clear what financial support Indonesia will provide to Pindad, which can currently only produce a small batch of several thousand cars a year, in order to become a well-established car brand. “The government needs to formulate a long-term strategy to help Pindad grow. So far, we haven’t seen such a strategy,” Dr Tauhid said. COMPLEX CHALLENGES But government support alone does not guarantee success in the cut-throat automotive business. “Building a car involves a complex supply chain of parts and raw material. It involves acquiring cutting-edge technologies and production techniques which may be patented,” said Dr Piter Abdullah, director of the think tank Segara Research Institute. Building a car also takes years of research and development, he continued, and such workers need to be attracted with big salaries and bonuses. Vietnam’s VinFast was able to overcome these challenges because it has the backing of the country’s biggest conglomerate Vingroup and its founder, Vietnam’s richest man Pham Nhat Vuong. Since its inception in 2017, VinFast has received capital injections totalling US$13.5 billion from its parent company, Mr Vuong and his affiliates. VinGroup has pledged to invest US$3.4 billion more over the next two years. The huge investment allowed the company to become a key player in Vietnam’s electric car market in a short period of time. The company also expanded its reach beyond the domestic market and now has a presence in North America, Europe and several Asian countries. But even after the investment and aggressive expansion, VinFast is still operating at a loss. According to a December 2023 filing with the United States’ Security Exchange Commission, the Nasdaq-listed company reported net losses of US$2.4 billion last year, up 14.7 per cent from 2022. Losing money is a risk Indonesia has to take if it wants to realise its national car ambition through a munitions company with little experience in selling consumer vehicles. “It is not easy to build a car that sells, especially given the fact that it has to compete with other foreign brands which have dominated the market for decades,” Mr Bebin said. To do this, Pindad must either recruit people with deep understanding of what the mass market wants, or partner with more established manufacturers. Before a 49.9 per cent stake of Malaysia’s Proton was sold to Chinese manufacturer Geely in 2017, it engaged in manufacturing and components sharing partnership with Mitsubishi and a co-branding deal with Suzuki. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s second national car manufacturer Perodua is currently partnering with Daihatsu for the production and sales of one of its compact SUV models. BABY STEPS There are only four Maung Garuda SUVs roaming Indonesia’s streets today: Two belonging to Mr Prabowo and two used by vice-president Gibran Rakabuming Raka. The presidential vehicles are equipped with an armoured body capable of stopping a 7.62mm round and a set of anti-flat tires along other amenities such as two 12-inch flat screen televisions and electric footsteps for easy access. According to Pindad’s website, the Maung Garuda weighs 2.9 tonnes. It is 5.1 metres long, 2 metres wide and 1.8 metres tall. Its 2.5-litre engine is capable of producing 199 horse power with a top speed of 100kph. It is not known how much the vehicle costs, although several media outlets predicted that the presidential version should cost at least 1.2 billion rupiah (US$75,310). It is not known if Pindad is keeping the same specification for the 10,000 or so cars to be produced for ministers and senior government officials. Pindad president director Abraham Mose said he is grateful Mr Prabowo has chosen the Maung Garuda as the official vehicle for himself and his officials. “President Prabowo Subianto has shown his commitment to local industry by providing Pindad with the opportunity to enter the automotive industry,” Mr Abraham said in a statement on Nov 3. On top of the 10,000 units commissioned by the presidential office, the defence ministry has also placed an order of 4,600 Maung Garuda vehicles for its operational needs. Indonesia’s state-owned enterprises minister Erick Thohir said at its current production capacity, it would take Pindad two years to meet these orders. “(Pindad’s) production line needs managing,” he said on Nov 3, as quoted by CNBC Indonesia, adding that the government is ready to give Pindad what it needs to upgrade its production capacity. While the orders will keep Pindad busy for the next two years, Pindad needs to constantly improve its product if it wants to one day sell its vehicles to the general public. The Maung Garuda is its only civilian car model, while the rest of its line-up comprises specialised military and police vehicles with thick metal platings and machine gun mounts and turrets. In March, Detik reported that Pindad had struck a deal with a Jakarta-based car dealership to exclusively sell the Maung Garuda but it is not yet known when the SUV will be available to the general public. The only other Indonesian car brand in production today is Solo Manufaktur Kreasi, better known as Esemka. The company produces vans and small pick-up trucks which are rebrands of China’s Shangan and Shineray. “Pindad will get feedback from their users on what features to add or how their product compares to Japanese or European cars. With improvements and adjustments, Pindad will in time be ready to enter the public market,” Dr Tauhid of INDEF said. “But first, it needs to keep making cars and be profitable, and the government needs to keep the orders coming.”We must think historically to cool down our post-election emotions. Historical perspectives clarify our recent presidential election and lower its post-election temperature. Let’s start with feudalism, of kings and lords, which we inherited from our Anglo-European past which had ruled the known world for over a millennium. Then, the American Revolution came and overthrew feudalism and ushered in a new democratic system, governed by ourselves and leaders chosen by us according to our own precepts of freedom. This post-feudal new world lasted for over two centuries — until this past Nov. 5. Contrary to its conventional images of the Dark Ages and oppression, a few scholars have considered feudalism as an ideal system of social order and as a pre-modern community of peace and harmony. As historical fact, this idyllic feudalism, where lords and peasants lived in good order and harmony, came to its end: Earth-shaking events were coming in waves, most notably in scientific discoveries, religious revolts, radical perspectives in Renaissance and Enlightenment, and the emboldening New World — which told feudal rulers that their time was up. Two types of responses, quite fateful for their historic consequences, emerged from feudal societies to face the inevitable “modern” world: One from the Old World and the other from the New World. The Old World, mostly European, decided to welcome the new developments by prudently combining their existing tradition, religion and habits with the new ways of thinking — half-feudal and half-democratic — that would accommodate the changes without destroying their old system. With this new combination, where society is modern but people think traditional, the Old World kept its community and social order in a form generally known as “social democracy” which continues today in most European nations. The New World produced a rather different response. With the backdrop of open land and physical distance from the Old World, the American colonies chose a completely radical break from feudalism. Following the Revolution, the New World realized humanity’s fondest dream of “liberal democracy” (emphasizing individual liberty, unlike Europe’s social democracy), as the new model for idealized self-governance and America’s own self-image as “the Shining City on a Hill.” Liberal democracy satisfied the restless American soul for nearly two centuries, first with wide open frontier society of freedom and equality and later with consumer capitalism to its heart’s content. No nation on Earth or in history had enjoyed the range of physical comfort and convenience like post-World War II American consumers. The age of affluence was upon America, which created an entirely new kind of human generations and personality: The typically solitary American consumer lived in a post-human society, always restless in search of something better for himself. He wanted everything he consumed to be better than before, faster and louder, more thrilling and pleasing. Article continues after... Cross|Word Flipart Typeshift SpellTower Really Bad Chess Hollywood responded with the entertainment revolution, expanding three television channels to 3,000 with cable TV, then to three million with the internet to meet the new demands. America even conquered the time-and-space limitations of nature: entertainment was now always available across time and space — night or day, here or yonder, at will. Upon the consumer’s instant command, movie stars sang, danced, and told jokes and athletes ran and jumped — all to please the new lord. In this society where everything seemed possible and available, the line of sanity between reality and fantasy blurred, and the largely frivolous “choices” covered up the harsh conditions of powerlessness for the masses under the liberal-democratic version of the American Dream. Liberal democracy is both a blessing and a curse. As a blessing, it allows maximum individual indulgences. As the curse, the very nature of individual choice makes it difficult for us to control the consequences of our own choice. Such a system requires a high degree of citizen intelligence and social consciousness. It’s like giving a child a loaded gun and expecting a happy ending. With the gun, the child already possesses the power not to be responsible, like those who struggle with credit cards, even with pre-set limits. No such systems ever survived their own indulgences, and America’s libertine (woke?) anything-goes culture — expertly orchestrated by America’s best and brightest — could not moderate its own civic degeneration. These master psychologists, working for politicians and corporations, kept us deep in our own cesspool, flailing with minor daily irritations that morphed into major political wraths. Under Democrats, life was a sweet dream only in illusion or hypocrisy as our economic cruelty did not (and does not) allow such fantasies to become reality. With the world’s largest wealth-poverty gap, individual lives can improve indefinitely only in Hollywood dreams and Disney fantasies. Soon Democrats, already characterized as an “elitist” party, were seen as largely unrelated to the actual daily lives of working Americans. Still dreaming of the pre-capitalist era, liberal America had become ungovernable and its lives unlivable. The stage was now set for Donald Trump who promised to clear the liberal swamp with his imperial magic wand. Back in power, he is remaking everything in America except money and entertainment. This way, Trump is having the best of both worlds — populist and capitalist: He gets votes from dumb masses and dollars from smart billionaires. Democrats are just in shock and awe of his genius. As democracy replaced feudalism, Trump’s imperial democracy is replacing liberal democracy. In this new era that began on Nov. 5, we have taken our first baby steps, like Adam and Eve after the fall, toward an entirely unknown future — both foreboding and expectant. There, waiting for us is the judgment on the liberal fruit of indulgence that we had picked and consumed, a gift from the capitalist-serpent who whispered to us that we could live “as gods.” Historians would write the rest. Jon Huer, columnist for the Recorder and retired professor, lives in Greenfield and writes for posterity.

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Republican U.S. Sen.-elect Tim Sheehy this week claimed a firework-ignited grass fire set near his campaign sign west of Livingston was a politically motivated arson. A Park County sheriff’s deputy on Dec. 21 notified dispatchers of a fire near Interstate 90 and West End Road. On social media, the sheriff’s office said winds that night were clocked at 50-to-60 mph and helped push the fire out to 26 acres. Image of the area west of Livingston burned by someone discharging fireworks into the grass on Dec. 21, 2024. (courtesy Park County Sheriff's Office) Authorities issued evacuations for the nearby residents and firefighters knocked the blaze down in roughly an hour and a half, according to the sheriff’s office post. The fire "definitely" started near a Sheehy campaign sign, the rural fire district chief told the Livingston Enterprise . And while law enforcement has obtained video of the suspect's vehicle fleeing the area after starting the fire, it appeared Friday that no one had been charged yet. Republican U.S. Senate candidate Tim Sheehy addresses supporters early Wednesday morning at the Kimpton Armory Hotel in Bozeman. On Tuesday Sheehy appeared near the scorched scene and issued a social media post of appreciation for the responders, which, according to the Enterprise , included neighbors to the threatened properties. He also posted a picture with two Montana Department of Transportation employees, whose facility was adjacent to the burned area, as well as a photo of a blackened building. Initial reports from the sheriff’s office did say the incident was being investigated as a criminal act but did not imply political motivations, although Sheehy appeared certain of it in a video posted to his social media. "We just visited with the Jensen family here, four beautiful young kids, it was actually their third daughter’s birthday the night that these arsonists started the fire to burn down our sign and started about a 30-acre wildfire, burned their grazing land, harmed their property and its just sad that would happen here," Sheehy said. "We can still disagree, we can still respect each other in this country. We don't have to do things like this." Grateful to the Montanans who helped respond to this fire on Saturday before it did even more damage. While the investigation remains underway, this type of dangerous, reckless violence has no place in Montana. Terrible way for these folks to start the Christmas week, but they... pic.twitter.com/djsWv013TT The Park County Sheriff's Office said on Facebook on Monday it had obtained video evidence of a person shooting a firework out of a moving vehicle and igniting the dry grass before heading west on I-190. "It was definitely someone setting off fireworks at the sign," Park County Rural Fire District Chief Dann Babcox told the Enterprise , referencing law enforcement reports. A call to the sheriff's office on Friday seeking any update or arrest information was not immediately returned. "Very disappointing, really tough way for these families to enter the Christmas week," Sheehy continued in his video. "It's effected several families here, including some structures, its a tough way for these people to have to start the holiday season." Seaborn Larson has worked for the Montana State News Bureau since 2020. His past work includes local crime and courts reporting at the Missoulian and Great Falls Tribune, and daily news reporting at the Daily Inter Lake in Kalispell. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. State Bureau Reporter {{description}} Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.