'Simpsons' creator: Real Springfield is in Oregon

'Simpsons' creator: Real Springfield is in Oregon

One of the best-kept secrets in television history has been revealed, with "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening pointing to Springfield, Oregon, as the inspiration for the animated hometown of Homer and family.

Groening told Smithsonian magazine, published online Tuesday, that he was inspired by the television show "Father Knows Best," which took place in a place called Springfield. He figured out that "Springfield" was one of the most common city names in the U.S.

"In anticipation of the success of the show, I thought, 'This will be cool; everyone will think it's their Springfield.' And they do," he said.

Minister calls for modernizing air force

Defense Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Tuesday that three things were needed to enhance the capabilities of the Indonesian Air Force.

Delivering the keynote speech of an international power seminar, Purnomo said the first is weapons systems, which have been shown by a number of procurements for new aircraft over the past few years.

Second is the so-called Revolution in Military Affairs (RMA), which Purnomo described as moving towards capital and technology-intensive military power. The third is information and communication technology.

TNI-AU could rival China, US by 2045, expert says

Indonesia is expected to have an Air Force that is on par with China and the United States in dominating Southeast Asia by 2045, University of Indonesia defense expert from Andi Widjajanto said Tuesday.

Speaking at the International Air Power Seminar 2012, Andi said that the Indonesian Air Force (TNI-AU) capacity for air force dominance in 2012 was slightly below that of Malaysia, with the strongest being the US, quoting Jane’s Southeast Asia Air Force Inventory 2012.

If Indonesia goes to war with the US, the TNI-AU would be put in a state of paralysis against the superpower, being air subordinate relative to the super power.

Air subordination refers to the weakness of a country's air force relative to other countries. As of 2012, Indonesia is considered subordinate to countries like China, but is considered air superior to countries such as East Timor.

If Indonesia fights against Malaysia, the two countries would be on equal grounds in terms of air force dominance capabilities, or what in military terminology is referred to as air parity.

“We already have strategic plans [for the air force] for at least until 2024. The government has already planned that and we will reach the country’s minimum essential force requirement by that year,” Andi said. “By that year, we will reach air parity with Singapore and Malaysia.”

“We will have air dominance throughout Southeast Asia by 2045.”

Andi said Indonesia would have air parity with countries such as China, the Five Power Defense Arrangements (FPDA) and the US.

“But we still don’t know how we will be in the position of air dominance with those countries,” he said.

China, for example, has bombers which can reach Australia, he said. (png)