tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-72438716860126269322024-02-18T02:17:22.378-08:00Everything IndonesiaA unique spotlight on Indonesian travel, culture, religion, politics and investment.Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.comBlogger174125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-90799387757706687362009-05-12T07:43:00.000-07:002009-05-12T08:02:13.908-07:00Of politics and sausage<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8M0W5T4taFaMIss1r-affnFyVGT0oedPrxlqww03479Lpk-iy4MtAPyLBzvV12scOA1TAKGStFQGKq2Uu9FKPPJowO7z-wS05A1OS_bkYwiECJeZC-t9YXqx1nkDBB2V551Ls27uW6M8/s1600-h/politicians.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5334952650043595378" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 115px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8M0W5T4taFaMIss1r-affnFyVGT0oedPrxlqww03479Lpk-iy4MtAPyLBzvV12scOA1TAKGStFQGKq2Uu9FKPPJowO7z-wS05A1OS_bkYwiECJeZC-t9YXqx1nkDBB2V551Ls27uW6M8/s320/politicians.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>As they say, making legislation is like making sausage. There's a final product, but you surely don't want to see the ugly process of it being made.</div><br /><div>I'm reminded of that old adage thanks to the political <a href="http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Southeast_Asia/KE13Ae01.html">horse-trading that's going on</a>, now that the election numbers are in and the presidential wannabes are all jostling for position. Kalla and Wiranto, SBY and take your pick of Boediono, Megawati, Prabowo, or even the Sultan of Yogyakarta.</div><br /><div>It's all a bit unseemly, much like New York Governor David Paterson's recent botched selection of a senator to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. In fact the governor was so damaged by the affair that his career may never recover.</div><br /><div>Food for thought, that such political negotiations should always be delicate and behind closed doors, never conducted as a virtual wrestling match. The public may know that politicians are craven and grasping creatures, but we'd rather not witness it in action.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/12/pdip-officials-deny-megawati039s-involvement-pt-rni-graft-scandal.html">Megawati graft scandal?</a><br /></div><div><em>Talk about bad timing</em><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/06/house-calls-new-anticorruption-chief.html">This week in irony news ...</a><br /></div><div><em>Anticorruption chief up on murder charges</em><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/05/08/rupiah%E2%80%99s-upward-trend-may-be-temporary.html">It's alive!</a><br /></div><div><em>The rupiah, back from the dead</em></div><br /><div><a href="http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/19412.html">A car company that's not going out of business?!</a><br /></div><div><em>VW plans new Indonesia plant</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-67107056441600968612009-05-01T07:33:00.000-07:002009-05-01T07:48:06.084-07:00Lombok, getting on my nerves<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYRaMO5C2Jz2rTtWurH13yrBQissByo-oWg0uKBzw9Q12lwAnpShGLBZx9E3vg8Xi02LZuh90MWwYA07JumE3kMniCAP7ZOd1T8ZxM00bcXOD-DHp9hD2sgcH_iz22zlvPF7lIDWpnhA/s1600-h/lombok.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5330865562513996210" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 130px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 88px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXYRaMO5C2Jz2rTtWurH13yrBQissByo-oWg0uKBzw9Q12lwAnpShGLBZx9E3vg8Xi02LZuh90MWwYA07JumE3kMniCAP7ZOd1T8ZxM00bcXOD-DHp9hD2sgcH_iz22zlvPF7lIDWpnhA/s320/lombok.jpg" border="0" /></a>Someone please stab me in the eye.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Look, I love Lombok as much as the next guy. But the western media's obsession with 'The Next Bali' story is starting to rub me the wrong way. To wit, here's the <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/04/27/f-forbes-travel-southeast-asia.html">latest version</a> from Forbes. The trope goes thusly: Bali and its execrable Kuta Beach are overrun with hammered (usually Australian) tourists, therefore it's time to look to other undiscovered islands in the archipelago ... and hey, there's Lombok right next door. Write it up!</div><div></div><br /><div>If I see one more article like this I'm going to go postal. First of all, Lombok is not as 'undiscovered' as clueless feature editors would have you believe. Second, this story is about 20 years old. Third, there are 14,000 other islands that could use a bit of the spotlight (and accompanying tourist dollars), not just Lombok.</div><br /><div>So editors of the world, take note. Of course print journalism is dying a quick death anyways, so this message may get to you a little too late.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gw_mR3H4S-_ei0S6s7kNWHziteCAD97TB95G1">Asian Development Bank meets in Bali</a></div><div><em>World crisis slamming poor</em></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/05/01/afx6366393.html">Indo tourism numbers up</a></div><div><em>Impressive showing during economic catastrophe</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-28-voa14.cfm">Three jailed on terror charges</a></div><div><em>Botched cafe bombing snares Osama wannabes</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-05/01/content_11294416.htm">Parties ganging up on SBY</a></div><div><em>Golkar, PDI-P, PPP, others form big coalition</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-43285614223965951422009-04-28T07:18:00.000-07:002009-04-28T07:31:44.371-07:00Election 2009: Lessons Learned<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEYxk7_e_wwrXm_027dO729adwbCPjzo3G3ucEBnDzcfP-bVGqiDrL8ev4qu5eNsnlxj9ZhoJjTmaxFl17Dr1891i2S8aY2BB94k-yjIV8oJYXQvE-kg5disNYPVhPR708WFqzraOTBA/s1600-h/indo+election.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329748337276041122" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 122px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 78px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxEYxk7_e_wwrXm_027dO729adwbCPjzo3G3ucEBnDzcfP-bVGqiDrL8ev4qu5eNsnlxj9ZhoJjTmaxFl17Dr1891i2S8aY2BB94k-yjIV8oJYXQvE-kg5disNYPVhPR708WFqzraOTBA/s320/indo+election.jpg" border="0" /></a>Now that we've had some time to digest the numbers - 'quantitative analysis,' they call it in the investment world - we can draw some conclusions from the recent Indonesian elections. And perhaps the biggest surprise of all was that there was no real surprise.<br /><div></div><br /><div>President SBY's party <a href="http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13496470">came out on top</a>, an event predicted by most polls in the runup. What wasn't quite as foreseen was the significant slump borne by the main opposition parties, like Golkar and Megawati's PDI-P. Late in election seasons most populations shift back to the status quo instead of the great unknown, and this time was no different. But the sub-20% showings were particularly crippling.</div><div></div><br /><div>No wonder it looks like Megawati is reaching out to former <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/04/25/pdip-hails-prabowo-megawati039s-running-mate.html">Gen. Prabowo Subianto</a> as a running mate, desperate to glean any possible support. But unless a political earthquake arrives in short order, SBY looks to cruise to victory.</div><div> </div><div> <br /><br /></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.tempointeractive.com/hg/nasional/2009/04/27/brk,20090427-172931,uk.html">Watch out for swine</a></div><div><em>Indonesia on alert for flu pandemic</em></div><div> <br /></div><div><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/28/content_11274802.htm">Someone's got gas</a></div><div><em>Indo is region's worst greenhouse-gas emitter, says ADB</em></div><div><em></em> </div><br /><div><a href="http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/25/Islamic-parties-fading-in-Indonesia-voting/UPI-82181240685112/">Islamic parties stumble in elections</a></div><div><em>Global caliphate will have to wait</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/04/24/sbykalla-rivalry-over-presidency-will-%E2%80%98ruin-administration%E2%80%99.html">SBY-Kalla relations frosty</a></div><div><em>Presidential challenge leads to rift</em></div><div> </div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-75369025054653300092009-04-06T07:30:00.001-07:002009-04-06T07:43:31.943-07:00Election 2009: It's he-ere!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtx4arFxv_zcbHujD_e7Z5YtVVzZUhufx3MsxCiMt9dl4uFblnHvw7YRSGpDz-T4aZAzZe4kqJ755mopW2iJsucr9GuF-hMmhFrZOT9cQQyEVhMde_kgu1mj7aWmXHOCfOsPSr750ekWI/s1600-h/rally.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321588654924978226" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 103px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtx4arFxv_zcbHujD_e7Z5YtVVzZUhufx3MsxCiMt9dl4uFblnHvw7YRSGpDz-T4aZAzZe4kqJ755mopW2iJsucr9GuF-hMmhFrZOT9cQQyEVhMde_kgu1mj7aWmXHOCfOsPSr750ekWI/s320/rally.jpg" border="0" /></a>It seems like the buildup has been forever- although not quite as long as the interminable American version - but the elections are finally imminent. Glory glory hallelujah.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Consensus is that the party of the generally inoffensive SBY will prevail, although polls have been fairly close in recent weeks. The 'Intelligence Unit' of the venerable Economist magazine predicts as much <a href="http://m.economist.com/h/daily_news_13355940.php">here,</a> although noting that he'll be under rising pressure in coming months thanks to a global economy that's been brought to its knees.</div><br /><div>The electoral process will likely be a messy event, given the huge population and the thousands of far-flung islands we're talking about. But let's have a glass-half-full moment, and appreciate the fact that Indonesia has evolved from a longtime dictatorship to a thriving democracy within a few short years. Not many countries in the world can pull off such a jarring transition - witness Russia, which has backslid to the times of yore - but Indonesia has. In that spirit, hats off to the victors, whoever that turns out to be.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hCWnUklq2zhmbkOgxZoP5NakGoiQ">Military plane crash in West Java</a><br /></div><div><em>24 perish in fireball</em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/04/05/afx6257062.html">Campaigning wraps up</a><br /></div><div><em>SBY crosses his fingers</em><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123874513316586233.html">Interest rates cut to 7.5%</a><br /></div><div><em>Indonesia trying to stay ahead of global slowdown</em><br /></div><div><em></em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSJAK436313">Police shoot Papuan protesters</a><br /></div><div><em>Tensions simmering in eastern province</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-88408065650965187292009-04-02T07:40:00.000-07:002009-04-02T07:55:30.058-07:00And the winner is ... Megawati's party?!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyx1scNAQIlKpxN-k3DDTNMHYFdevkMZPrP8Q_F23olibctOrBmrPoDafvk9DbOGVVbRLvQeJ2HWmPeFWxRtaamqeTJt08qLu5znbm_8zNKsb9YJdGJxqi63XX0ni3C5Y54RAG2JwfBc/s1600-h/megawati.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5320105724860657106" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 88px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 130px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdyx1scNAQIlKpxN-k3DDTNMHYFdevkMZPrP8Q_F23olibctOrBmrPoDafvk9DbOGVVbRLvQeJ2HWmPeFWxRtaamqeTJt08qLu5znbm_8zNKsb9YJdGJxqi63XX0ni3C5Y54RAG2JwfBc/s320/megawati.jpg" border="0" /></a>Heed well the old children's fable of the tortoise and the hare. Because with just a week to go before the general elections, a <a href="http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20090402-132817.html">new poll bombshell</a> has Megawati's party pulling ahead.<br /><div></div><br /><div>For months President SBY and his Democratic party have been mopping the floor with rivals in most polls. But this survey by the Strategic Centre for Development and Policy Review has the party of Sukarno's daughter - noted for her particular fondness for cooking and gardening, not so much for her policy brilliance - ahead by a half-point, with SBY's cohorts second and Golkar a close third.</div><br /><div>All of them, crucially, fall short of the 20% barrier to nominate a presidential candidate on their own. So may the horse-trading begin in the nation's political backrooms, because it looks like we're in for some delicious chaos. That's democracy, in all its beautiful messiness.</div><div> <br /><br /></div><div> </div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div> <br /></div><div><a href="http://living.oneindia.in/yoga-spirituality/faith-mysticism/2009/antique-ganesha-statue-indonesia-020409.html">12th-century stone Ganesh recovered in Indonesia</a></div><div><em>Don't mess with the God of Good Luck</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/article.aspx?id=3546">Dangdut concert, anyone?</a></div><div><em>Elections more about music than smart policy</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aqYHrqLZkcCY&refer=asia">The rupiah continues its slide</a></div><div><em>Suitable for lining birdcages</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iRlAJx1GtkRHYx3QqSFVaKyoKbTgD978VCQG1">Sumatran elephants shot dead</a></div><div><em>Poachers win; only 3,000 left in wild</em></div><div> </div><div><em></em> </div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-54415642029667932102009-03-30T05:34:00.001-07:002009-03-30T06:49:36.113-07:00Favorite Place on Earth<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07VVdV-ifhy5Qpkmu6aVwzN-wPKvWPUMStaKI_z_I3mmEg6SpQDU3vAMBLt9lxxtPlbb_vEHL8jT9yvPTz1VWMdjSvZt-eOu2eEqxKov4gWrsiIg3ArZ1BLzCRvWzomH1aVtTk3Wf7P4/s1600-h/bali.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5318960193043935682" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 143px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh07VVdV-ifhy5Qpkmu6aVwzN-wPKvWPUMStaKI_z_I3mmEg6SpQDU3vAMBLt9lxxtPlbb_vEHL8jT9yvPTz1VWMdjSvZt-eOu2eEqxKov4gWrsiIg3ArZ1BLzCRvWzomH1aVtTk3Wf7P4/s320/bali.jpg" border="0" /></a>If there's anyone who knows something about travel, it's Arthur Frommer. The creator of the Frommer's travel-guide series has been to just about every nook and cranny in the world. His favorite of them all, though? None other than <a href="http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2009-03/30/content_7630221.htm">Bali</a>.<br /><br /><div>We find this out courtesy of a new book from National Geographic, "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Favorite-Place-Earth-Celebrated-Discoveries/dp/142620230X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1238420880&sr=8-1">My Favorite Place on Earth</a>," where assorted celebrities let us in on their secret haunts. Other favored spots: The Simpsons creator Matt Groening likes Kauai, Hawaii, while Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler prefers Nepal - and designer Isaac Mizrahi singles out good old Brooklyn. (Big ups!)</div><br /><div>As for myself, I'd have to say Cambodia's Angkor Wat, Martinique in the Caribbean, and India's Varanasi. And, of course, my hometown of Vancouver, Canada and my host village of Kota Intan in Indonesia's Riau province.<br /><br />So, how about you?</div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/29/by-way-being-indonesian-and-proud-it.html">Indonesian and proud of it</a></div><div><em>No to changing nationalities</em></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/30/ri-attend-washington-meeting-next-month.html">Climate change summit to host RI</a></div><div><em>Environment minister headed to DC</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/14588.html">Dam death toll rises to 98</a></div><div><em>Overseer offers to resign</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/14585.html">Indonesia hacked by China?!</a></div><div><em>Secret spy network hit 103 countries</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-75301256744566342612009-03-27T06:30:00.000-07:002009-03-27T06:48:19.089-07:00Food riots as global phenomenon?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr11H_WwUn16hA0sRA3M6xpeymqo0dRsTyuNjQ7uUplQwzEJHQZdldpaymHl5R94Mm7zqPvyrpqYVTCNqWlba2TTcuo95xkyS7hZuXFjfBXaT3l-_aMwXlGSMucODCiaUDgQv_NiuKvhM/s1600-h/food.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317863693358587826" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 143px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 78px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjr11H_WwUn16hA0sRA3M6xpeymqo0dRsTyuNjQ7uUplQwzEJHQZdldpaymHl5R94Mm7zqPvyrpqYVTCNqWlba2TTcuo95xkyS7hZuXFjfBXaT3l-_aMwXlGSMucODCiaUDgQv_NiuKvhM/s320/food.jpg" border="0" /></a>The global economic crisis has made "pessimism porn" something of a favorite pastime these days. More and more publications are talking up apocalyptic scenarios like food and water shortages, devalued currencies, and huge spikes in crime rates as old orders break down. (Great piece in the New Yorker recently that should be required reading.)<br /><div></div><br /><div>Poorer countries have some familiarity with phenomena like food riots, since when you're living close to the poverty line, even slight changes in commodity prices can be the difference between eating and not eating. Hence situations like Haiti, where elements of the government fell when food prices got out of hand.</div><br /><div>Indonesia too has seen some isolated food rioting in recent years, and there could be more to come depending on how deep this crisis goes. But when you hear experts talking about such possibilities in America, it's time to rethink your assumptions about the world. Here's forecaster <a href="http://www.infowars.com/celente-predicts-revolution-food-riots-tax-rebellions-by-2012/">Gerald Celente</a> on the possibility of social breakdown in the US itself, not just the so-called Third World.</div><br /><div>Even level-headed writers like <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123689292159011723.html">Peggy Noonan</a> are being told by expert buddies to start growing their own food and stockpile gold coins. Rewind to 2007, and who would've thought any of this craziness would come to pass?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-indonesia-dam28-2009mar28,0,607224.story">Colonial dam bursts in Jakarta</a><br /></div><div><em>52 killed, search for missing underway</em><br /></div><div><em></em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aAX46LfGPVf4&refer=home">Global currency gets traction</a><br /></div><div><em>Indonesia likes Chinese idea</em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/03/27/afx6221649.html">Growth forecast cut, again</a><br /></div><div><em>Second time in just a month</em><br /></div><div></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/25/asia/papua.php">Separate or not?</a><br /></div><div><em>Rebel leader in Papua raises passions</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-69242174160322047592009-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:002009-03-26T08:32:46.618-07:00Of slow blogging, and the reasons for it<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5FjJz3NysoelcfPRNTXuxk4oPhczNFZt5_uFhQxaoVaXNCDd4GpmjzVkHP23m2YsiZOQ57rrfSvvyy5nrbNBqEoEGVJWpIiM_cAad154cj5LBBWds64OxMBi2m-MFL_DCHSoKgNVnSY/s1600-h/inkwell.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5317518126905782930" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 113px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 93px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5FjJz3NysoelcfPRNTXuxk4oPhczNFZt5_uFhQxaoVaXNCDd4GpmjzVkHP23m2YsiZOQ57rrfSvvyy5nrbNBqEoEGVJWpIiM_cAad154cj5LBBWds64OxMBi2m-MFL_DCHSoKgNVnSY/s320/inkwell.jpg" border="0" /></a>Sorry for not posting for a while. In this economy-from-hell, I had to go and make some money while I still could!<br /><div></div><br /><div>But by way of an excuse, here's an interesting <a href="http://toddsieling.com/slowblog/?page_id=10">Slow Blogging Manifesto</a> that I came across, and that nicely justifies my absence. Should blogging be about multiple daily posts, or should it be about more occasional worthy insights? Should bloggers work with a mindset of ever-passing deadlines, or with a goal of deeper breakthroughs?</div><br /><div>The author's position is obvious ... here's a sample: "Slow Blogging is a rejection of immediacy. It is an affirmation that not all things worth reading are written quickly, and that many thoughts are best served after being fully baked and worded in an even temperament."</div><br /><div>When time passes and we're all six feet under, is an ephemeral blog any kind of legacy to leave? Perhaps we should all return to the writerly habits of yore, and write personal letters in longhand. At least it would be something tangible to hold on to ...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/26/world/asia/26indo.html?ref=world">Papua simmers on rebel's return</a></div><div><em>Leader Nicolas Jouwe offers mixed messages</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2009/03/komodo-dragon-a.html">When Komodo dragons attack!</a></div><div><em>Poor fruit picker on the receiving end</em></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/fdc/welcome_mjx.shtml">More Islamic bonds on the way</a></div><div><em>Hey, anything's better than stocks</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/03/25/indonesia.election/">Islam the election's wild card</a></div><div><em>Won't get a prez candidate, but will shape results </em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-3896976475574064382009-03-19T15:34:00.000-07:002009-03-19T15:43:23.671-07:00Whither Papua?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC37FLG5KpwBfSmUKjqbe5svffpUJ6NlNi7raYreVRVX9KFw28PVp6dqk7PWr-GU_-QbwKC5SitdN0LH7ZCHoMSkue9DRiNLfz0OrQl-pZKuXFD11nd1JdTnQOLx36-SfMLPGOoPVujNc/s1600-h/papua.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5315032591405464898" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 118px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 79px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC37FLG5KpwBfSmUKjqbe5svffpUJ6NlNi7raYreVRVX9KFw28PVp6dqk7PWr-GU_-QbwKC5SitdN0LH7ZCHoMSkue9DRiNLfz0OrQl-pZKuXFD11nd1JdTnQOLx36-SfMLPGOoPVujNc/s320/papua.jpg" border="0" /></a>Word that a key leader of the Free Papua movement is finally <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/19/free-papua-founder-hold-039peace-talk039-with-govt.html">warming up to the idea of Indonesia</a>.<br /><br />Somewhat of a mystery, for beliefs that have been decades in the making for Nicolas Jouwe. A feint to wrest more powers from the government, and prevent much-needed funds from leaking back to Jakarta? An admission that a tiny country, alone, might not reach the promised land via independence alone (viz: East Timor)? Or a personal power grab, since he apparently would like to advise SBY on Papuan affairs?<br /><br />Perhaps a combination of the three. Or, even, a touch of well-timed propaganda from the government - he was meeting with Minister Bakrie, after all, who might not be the most trustworthy mouthpiece in the world.Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-91109799362084922912009-03-14T12:20:00.000-07:002009-03-14T12:36:32.231-07:00Currency's new world order<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhRAg2GedL8MnAamFTmjo_UBiZYIq8e8tbBEUvAKz5HvEWnYTedk712Q6lMUeazkgoTc2MckjvB1pMR-VHSpui5QkBIVMT4Gr8UZDEzfYWweWl7kfduBXYTToz-Vr0vRGmQ4jscIgtsQ/s1600-h/dollar.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5313129453890566786" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 84px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 127px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBhRAg2GedL8MnAamFTmjo_UBiZYIq8e8tbBEUvAKz5HvEWnYTedk712Q6lMUeazkgoTc2MckjvB1pMR-VHSpui5QkBIVMT4Gr8UZDEzfYWweWl7kfduBXYTToz-Vr0vRGmQ4jscIgtsQ/s320/dollar.jpg" border="0" /></a>And you thought the rupiah had problems?<br /><div></div><br /><div>It almost went unnoticed, but this week we saw the first hints of a major global shift in finance and geopolitics. The Chinese are <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/mar/14/china-us-economy">wringing their hands </a>about their massive (read: trillion-dollar) investment in US Treasury bonds, say their leaders. Huge government spending in response to the financial meltdown, leading to the full-speed printing of money, leading to the eventual devaluation of American currency, is what's causing the nervousness. Seems rational to me.<br /><br />Presumably this Chinese trial balloon will lead to a shift in how they invest their money, i.e. not US Treasuries as the default investment of choice. That, in turn, will put major pressure on American currency in years to come, and a significantly ramped-up inflation level. Not Zimbabwe, hopefully, but something to which Americans haven't been accustomed since the early 1980s when inflation reached double-digits.<br /><br />Perhaps the only thing saving the US dollar right now is that a major alternative, the Euro, is also a major basket case, as they figure out how to prop up horrendous Eastern European economies. Long-term, though, remember this week as an early sign of the end of America's currency hegemony.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hIKepp5m2RUOlEBrWuibiOIqnexAD96TP0300">World Cup: The bid is in</a><br /><em>Indonesia wants football's greatest event</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/14/obama-asks-indonesia-âjoin-handsâ.html">Obama says, Apa kabar?</a><br /><em>Talks to SBY on the phone</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/14/content_11010371.htm">iPhone 3G on the way to Indonesia</a><br /><em>Get ready for the addiction</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/14/sby’s-party-seek-stronger-coalition.html">SBY figuring out new coalitions</a><br /><em>What to do after Golkar defection?</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-50561900006566025622009-03-13T06:46:00.001-07:002009-03-13T07:00:54.368-07:00Forbes: Indonesia's top billionaires<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DQ-0YhyBzmAilLxpb4NiSLVIJrWMKnONN2fxAYx8Cxv43ctbLRBRH4LRNB-9M9ZTd1d9w81-fyTxqoSd0nQkG9ec62IpLFS3R-DsFdOnNhA13gUlgVOXhPBLFbKoD560z6J2Bmbn8D0/s1600-h/djarum.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5312670187444199474" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 99px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 118px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3DQ-0YhyBzmAilLxpb4NiSLVIJrWMKnONN2fxAYx8Cxv43ctbLRBRH4LRNB-9M9ZTd1d9w81-fyTxqoSd0nQkG9ec62IpLFS3R-DsFdOnNhA13gUlgVOXhPBLFbKoD560z6J2Bmbn8D0/s320/djarum.jpg" border="0" /></a>I thought we were all broke by now. But apparently there are still a few billionaires left in the world, according to <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/13/five-indonesians-shine-%E2%80%98forbes%E2%80%99-billionaire-list.html">Forbes magazine's new list</a>.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Five Indonesians among them, in fact, close on the nerdy heels of Microsoft's Bill Gates. (Sorry, Warren Buffett, you can apply for social assistance now.) The winners: The Hartono brothers, Michael and Budi, whose love goes into every clove cigarette you suck down. The result: $1.7 billion. I haven't done the conversion, but that's a whole lot of rupiah.<br /><br /></div><div>Others with enough money to pay their mortgage include Sukanto Tanoto, of paper-construction-and-palm-oil fame; Martua Sitorus, another palm-oil magnate; Peter Sondakh, a telecommunications-and-hotels king (what's with the strange combinations?). If palm oil is such a sure path to enormous wealth, no wonder they're cutting down forests with abandon. Sorry, orangutans ...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/13/indonesia-named-asia039s-second-best-travel-destination.html">We're second best!</a></div><div><em>Indonesia runner-up for Asia's top travel destination</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iOiixMsvG1JwomH0htMNpyZ8iJrg">SBY falls ill from 'stomach ache'</a></div><div><em>Whispers of stroke in advance of elections</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/asiapacific/news/article_1464207.php/Horse_bites_off_mans_testicle_in_Indonesia_">Ouch: Horse bites off man's balls</a></div><div><em>Bad day in Gorontalo province</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aU8a4zB2Z1xo&refer=asia">Indonesia among cheapest stocks in world</a></div><div><em>No wonder after Jakarta Index falls straight into toilet</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-34862153330258680472009-03-11T07:06:00.000-07:002009-03-11T07:21:20.182-07:00In breaking Buddha news ...<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmP-sRl2omJmO5KqXlDV_jxQmTWjhXeMZlGitAa-p-IXzBqiKoV4-CGiOGJaPQCICY-YwDJMAnBTAxpS1BJbIw6U6QZmMX4pkwpg6PlI3-a1NMKZmTExTPbCe26AAh1SLsBZz59OEAKU/s1600-h/buddhabar_0311.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311933303096430834" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 307px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWmP-sRl2omJmO5KqXlDV_jxQmTWjhXeMZlGitAa-p-IXzBqiKoV4-CGiOGJaPQCICY-YwDJMAnBTAxpS1BJbIw6U6QZmMX4pkwpg6PlI3-a1NMKZmTExTPbCe26AAh1SLsBZz59OEAKU/s320/buddhabar_0311.jpg" border="0" /></a>Pop quiz: How long would it take for a bar featuring a huge Muhammad statue, overlooking all the tasty drinks and appetizers, to be burned down? My guess is between five and seven seconds.<br /><br />Even normally laid-back Buddhists, though, have got their backs up over Jakarta's Buddha Bar. Hence the new ruling that the <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1884205,00.html">trendy spot be shuttered</a>, as offensive to the religion's followers. Fair enough, I suppose, since a massive Christ looming over one's mai-tai would probably be considered offensive too.<br /><br />But note well that this Buddha Bar chain has a New York City outpost, which has gobbled up tourists' money for years now, with nary a peep from the local community. I suppose with ultimate enlightenment on their minds, true Buddhists have greater things to think about than who's misusing their religious iconography ...<br /><br /><br /><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSBKK36696220090311">Stocks can go up? Hallelujah</a><br /><em>US financials show signs of life</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-38434820090310">Aussies freed from Indo jail</a><br /><em>Silly Papuan trip sparked international crisis</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/11/president-indonesia-rich-war-doctrines.html">SBY kicks off Defense University</a><br /><em>Praises warfare of all kinds</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/11/content_10992474.htm">Not the way to woo EU</a><br /><em>MD-90s keep crashing</em>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-36088009330241963342009-03-09T08:19:00.000-07:002009-03-09T08:34:12.275-07:00Help Nila Tanzil!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iWovVt3bdUiU8NTPD-IcXg5714b6OcLBbMmfbFJP6uPxMszriqmjMy2jRAfz4x5OSXSoLOVXbMESxrWDF2qzG2G2_siFqZmp2n6XOrTrlRzIyYEMO8qgDddN0w2iMctXbyHi05AmV_g/s1600-h/nilabambooisland.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311209063034501858" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 100px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7iWovVt3bdUiU8NTPD-IcXg5714b6OcLBbMmfbFJP6uPxMszriqmjMy2jRAfz4x5OSXSoLOVXbMESxrWDF2qzG2G2_siFqZmp2n6XOrTrlRzIyYEMO8qgDddN0w2iMctXbyHi05AmV_g/s320/nilabambooisland.jpg" border="0" /></a>When I wrote about Tourism Queensland's brilliant marketing campaign a while back, promoting the <a href="http://everythingindonesia.blogspot.com/2009/01/alert-best-job-in-world.html">Best Job in the World</a>, I had no idea that someone familiar might actually get it.<br /><div></div><br /><div>It's basically a stint blogging from a gorgeous island off the Great Barrier Reef. Snorkel, scuba, hike, fish, and write about how great your life is, thereby promoting the wonders of Australia. Oh, and you get $100,000 a year too. Not a bad gig.</div><br /><div>Anyhow, it looks like the terrific Indonesian blogger Nila Tanzil actually has a shot at it. She's been <a href="http://nilatanzil.blogspot.com/">writing about her travels for ages</a>, so it's a perfect fit. Of course there are others who want it, too, and apparently there's public voting involved. So go to <a href="http://www.islandreefjob.com/Nila">this link</a>, and vote your ass off for her. It'd be fabulous to see a worthy Indonesian came out on top of an intense global competition.</div><div><br /></div><div>Good luck Nila!</div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/12306.html">Hambali homesick?!</a></div><div><em>Bomber wants out of Hotel Gitmo, please</em></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/12309.html">Aviation chief suddenly canned</a></div><div><em>Presumably to woo fickle EU </em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/08/golkar-party-and-ppp-‘-cooperate’-votes.html">Golkar, PPP secret deal</a></div><div><em>Scrambling for votes in advance of elections</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/08/by-way-if-white-might-stop-watching-your-tv.html">Down with whitey</a></div><div><em>Shocker: Ads promote unrealistic body image</em></div><div></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-80597227773041255792009-03-08T13:25:00.001-07:002009-03-08T13:44:14.861-07:00Obama snacks and postmodernism<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vxVCPUDLdlFbzrZbxWn3rjBLrPvSQ2fATg4hF_JpFw2YT2q5insID0cm7z_EORL5afcZeG22KlYQG3agD8NuelrOw3S9m65XCeIRC1drPMTKu0JK1I7Kl8NeO5oxy7MjMEU12u2B5O4/s1600-h/obama+snack.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5310918547808336610" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 186px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 123px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9vxVCPUDLdlFbzrZbxWn3rjBLrPvSQ2fATg4hF_JpFw2YT2q5insID0cm7z_EORL5afcZeG22KlYQG3agD8NuelrOw3S9m65XCeIRC1drPMTKu0JK1I7Kl8NeO5oxy7MjMEU12u2B5O4/s320/obama+snack.jpg" border="0" /></a>Somehow I love the fact that "<a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jRJmwV1yCRfDs5fn6Rtkx_oQJGBg">Obama snacks</a>" are hitting the Indonesian streets. Not because they're nutritious (I assume not) or even legal (ripoff of likeness), but because they're a perfect distillation of messed-up postmodern society.<br /><br />Something real, hopeful, and meaningful transformed and reworked into something cheap, throwaway and probably harmful. A powerful image taken over and destroyed by being associated with typical consumer emptiness. Postmodern theorists like Jean Beaudrillard might posit that nothing in our society is real or meaningful anyways (viz. his book <em>The Gulf War Did Not Take Place</em>), so a takedown of a particularly hopeful image - that of the new leader of the free world - by a little street-level capitalist hustling is perfectly appropriate.<br /><br />If everything these days exists in a media simulacrum, a mirror of a mirror of a mirror of something else, a clever pastiche of things that were once original, isn't an Obama-branded snack part of that glorious and totally degraded mosaic?<br /><br />A bit heavy, I know. But kudos to the Obama snack-sellers for their unintentional but brilliant contribution to postmodern debate.<br /><br /><br /><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aA921K4DLqH4&refer=asia">Central bank predicts rupiah will strengthen</a><br /><em>In related news, L.A. Clippers plan to win NBA championship</em><br /><br /><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-03/08/content_10971943.htm">The return of Golkar?</a><br /><em>VP Kalla taking big, compensating for something</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/08/risouth-korea-work-together-converting-seaweed-energy.html">World energy solution: Seaweed?!</a><br /><em>Sure, why the hell not</em><br /><br /><a href="http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Asia/Story/A1Story20090307-126905.html">Most Indonesian domestic violence related to cash woes</a><br /><em>Financial crunch only going to get worse </em>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-27358954956349470032009-03-05T06:48:00.000-08:002009-03-05T07:00:00.576-08:00Kalla: Indonesia's Cheney<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaUenMWHQPULHTtdmFCauZrTuniNEr59kRUsCPe5MsW5ZE3Qe6a_qhtHm6SsuWUfmcenhFd1KjBK6sp0Y4rw-rqmyNLXzVfCuMqkws-sFnQilppG1wnPyD6Zw3sWkBblw21yvMMb5bQE/s1600-h/kalla.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5309717220723307634" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAaUenMWHQPULHTtdmFCauZrTuniNEr59kRUsCPe5MsW5ZE3Qe6a_qhtHm6SsuWUfmcenhFd1KjBK6sp0Y4rw-rqmyNLXzVfCuMqkws-sFnQilppG1wnPyD6Zw3sWkBblw21yvMMb5bQE/s320/kalla.jpg" border="0" /></a>Media wags have long called him Indonesia's version of Dick Cheney, but VP Jusuf Kalla's <a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/413310/1/.html">decision to take on President SBY</a> is taking his Cheney-ness to a new level.<br /><div></div><br /><div>American VP Cheney demonstrated a certain Machiavellian brilliance, nominating himself to be George W. Bush's VP after supposedly leading the search. (Um, I decide ... on me!) Once in office, he essentially ran the White House, thanks to his deep knowledge of how to work the bureaucratic levers of government. Poor old Dubya didn't have a chance.</div><br /><div>But even Cheney didn't have the brass balls to take on the sitting president who had made him VP in the first place. But such is the goal of Golkar's Kalla, who modestly claims that provincial leaders came to him in supplication. Nothing to do with his own ambition, of course.</div><br /><div>The Greek tragedies all had core lessons in hubris, or overweening ambition, that ultimately brought down their heroes. Given the latest polls, Kalla is going to get a brutal lesson in the dangers of hubris very soon.</div><div></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/03/04/afx6122604.html">Interest rates cut yet again</a></div><div><em>To 7.75%, as world economy goes into crapper</em></div><div> <br /></div><div><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/mar/05/javan-rhino-wwf-footage">Javan rhino gets own reality show</a></div><div><em>World's most endangered mammal</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/world/indonesia-flushes-target-down-carbon-sink-20090305-8q2j.html">The environmental answer: More logging!</a></div><div><em>Curious logic from Indo government</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/003200903051746.htm">New yoga association forms</a></div><div><em>Who's afraid of fatwas?</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-55267854591834919312009-03-03T08:12:00.000-08:002009-03-03T08:34:10.236-08:00Spotlight: Hotel Sedona Manado<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwN-qI6R51T5fR7ilb762NzlDxZiEYpuSdvqjL4dXJNci4-N-a4Ftcia807UslGPpRbVIeN77FKONu1hKesUh_zBHtUaR7QGiIDqwgd89s-xj30Z3r8yGYHcUw99SxKniZuWRziVekf-0/s1600-h/manado.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308995848871725922" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwN-qI6R51T5fR7ilb762NzlDxZiEYpuSdvqjL4dXJNci4-N-a4Ftcia807UslGPpRbVIeN77FKONu1hKesUh_zBHtUaR7QGiIDqwgd89s-xj30Z3r8yGYHcUw99SxKniZuWRziVekf-0/s320/manado.jpg" border="0" /></a>Time for a guessing game. The newest winner of Indonesia's best resort, from the World Travel Awards?<br /><div></div><br /><div>Seems I gave it away by the title of the post, but it's the <a href="http://www.sedonahotels.com.sg/oh_ina_ma_loc.asp">Hotel Sedona</a> in the diving Mecca of Manado, beating out a number of better-known luxury chains. Those rival general managers must be gnashing their teeth.</div><div><br /></div><div>Perched at the top of North Sulawesi, far from Jakarta's bustle and smog, Manado is known mainly by scuba divers and snorkelers for its rich undersea life. The hotel and its 247 suites are only a couple of years old, part of a hotel network that's prominent in Asian locales like Myanmar and Vietnam.</div><div><br /></div><div>I don't know much about the Sedona chain, but given that its Manado resort fronts a fabulous private lagoon, and boasts diving that's perhaps unparalleled on the planet, I can only assume that the World Travel Awards know what they're talking about.</div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/europeCrisis/idUSJAK264055">Beware of Indonesian birds</a></div><div><em>Death toll from bird flu climbs to 119</em></div><div><em></em></div><br /><div><a href="http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/southeastasia/view/412593/1/.html">Indo proposes new Islamic fund</a></div><div><em>To help impoverished Muslim nations</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/02/kalla-says-he%E2%80%99s-better-yudhoyono.html">Kalla ramps up the rhetoric</a></div><div><em>I'm better than just OK, says ungrateful VP</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/03/indonesia-go-digital-2015.html">Indonesia digital by 2015!</a></div><div><em>By then it'll be some new technology anyways</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-3538396975643197292009-03-02T12:08:00.001-08:002009-03-02T12:23:01.061-08:00Let's create an Indonesia bubble!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sYanZVW1YHy2Tw7YWjFZ3-epjhj0rC7Qa3dhq5ErSm4TvKZdykHFsGx4eXtWPG8nuwBz6HedJvuhvyJSVc-827_VaKzagyO5fugRsOyKzoWZ2AZKp2fzWDPF_Pbom8m8yBRlftXvxeg/s1600-h/bubble.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308686859662265394" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 126px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 127px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6sYanZVW1YHy2Tw7YWjFZ3-epjhj0rC7Qa3dhq5ErSm4TvKZdykHFsGx4eXtWPG8nuwBz6HedJvuhvyJSVc-827_VaKzagyO5fugRsOyKzoWZ2AZKp2fzWDPF_Pbom8m8yBRlftXvxeg/s320/bubble.jpg" border="0" /></a>As the Dow sinks into oblivion today, it strikes me that the only real money is ever made during ridiculous asset bubbles. The dot-com bubble of 1999-2000, the home-price bubble of 2002-2007, the grand old South Sea and Dutch Tulip bubbles. As long as you got out in time, you made serious coin.<br /><div></div><br /><div>After all, regular savers always seem to get shafted. The Protestant ethic of work-hard-and-save seems to have been blown apart in this latest meltdown, when savings-account interest rates have approached zero and stock portfolios have been totally obliterated. Bubbles even destroy those who haven't really participated in them.<br /><br /></div><div>Well, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Let's create a crazy asset bubble, and then get out while the getting is good. And why not Indonesia? Let's pump the idea that Indonesia is the Next Big Thing, drive the Jakarta Index into the stratosphere, and then cash in our chips and go live on a private island somewhere with a lifetime supply of mai-tais. Who's with me?</div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jrBIteP6Y1Mrs85wmCSjRx5wI7OwD96LE2A00">Sumatran tiger catchers on red alert</a></div><div><em>Species more endangered than ever</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a0FXz3Y9mUVE&refer=asia">Exports plunge most in 22 years</a></div><div><em>Put the money under your mattress, everybody</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/27/letter-sby-jk-mega-or.html">Backstabbers unite!</a></div><div><em>Kalla runs for prez, hurts SBY's feelings</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/02/sby-future-sharia-banking-indonesia.html">Sharia banking on the rise</a></div><div><em>Mainly because no other banks are left</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-1346896430690823272009-03-01T11:41:00.001-08:002009-03-01T11:58:01.609-08:00Random musings on rice for breakfast<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjab2ixTwM2nQd70AFFHmy7fDVGbBw3uSiNAD3lSO52fBd0Z2Yrc1xPvtrd8u6Y8d2yQWgx8z0DnRSqYpaB6q7TKMjsPeABjqhDUIN8M_HvKQlYoIyufQxL6xDK2Nw8yZ4UnFtJEE-cZ3U/s1600-h/rice.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5308308954477324418" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 135px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 90px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjab2ixTwM2nQd70AFFHmy7fDVGbBw3uSiNAD3lSO52fBd0Z2Yrc1xPvtrd8u6Y8d2yQWgx8z0DnRSqYpaB6q7TKMjsPeABjqhDUIN8M_HvKQlYoIyufQxL6xDK2Nw8yZ4UnFtJEE-cZ3U/s320/rice.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div>I like to think of myself as pretty attuned to the Indonesian psyche ... as much as any white Canadian can be, anyways. But one leap I was never able to make: Having rice for breakfast.</div><br /><div>Now, I know it's far healthier than any sugar-laden product from Kellogg's, or the deadly bacon-and-eggs combo that clogs up most Western arteries. But I could never wrap my mind around rice in the morning. In fact I was so psychologically damaged after my first stint in Indonesia, that I couldn't eat (or even look at) rice - at any time of day - for at least six months afterwards.</div><br /><div>Now, I suppose since much of the country is around or below the poverty line, you eat what you've got. Which, with that climate and terrain, is usually rice. Understood. And perhaps one day I'll get beyond my biases, and enjoy some basmati or jasmine varieties as the sun comes up. But until then, nasi goreng in the a.m. is one cultural bridge too far ...</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5h9Xtit7HQV-BcjiDCIzzFeaZMCyQ">Chris John keeps WBA crown</a></div><div><em>Battles Juarez to a draw</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.sportsnetwork.com/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=sportsnetwork&page=golf-e/news/news.aspx?id=4216458">Thongchai Jaidee wins Indonesia Open</a></div><div><em>Thai star takes golf tourney by two strokes</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div></div><div><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aet_2fwekgUI&refer=home">Bonds at 10%? I'll take it</a></div><div><em>Indonesia leads successful $3 billion issue</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/01/prabowo-offers-pluralism-election-campaign.html">Prabowo Subianto kicks off presidential campaign</a></div><div><em>Former general lags badly in polls</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-3669585400486523722009-02-26T08:11:00.001-08:002009-02-26T08:25:54.208-08:00World's Best Featherweight?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIxdIpqaeeVXK8WZZd9D1ymPoTIUCe2Tw5gW2WuTV6SuO5NMT7AT0mlEkfhdNbDoeiy-v3mOIE5__QuruB-foTE7eDkD7I-_ERX4irgL2RiEL9A6dcRE31KYXruDhnCJ-maUesNf-CjE/s1600-h/john.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5307140813112305938" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 138px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjIxdIpqaeeVXK8WZZd9D1ymPoTIUCe2Tw5gW2WuTV6SuO5NMT7AT0mlEkfhdNbDoeiy-v3mOIE5__QuruB-foTE7eDkD7I-_ERX4irgL2RiEL9A6dcRE31KYXruDhnCJ-maUesNf-CjE/s320/john.jpg" border="0" /></a>Indonesia isn't known for its boxing traditions, but you wouldn't know it by Chris John's massive success.<br /><div></div><br /><div>The 29-year-old is 42-0 with 22 knockouts, and is <a href="http://www.boxingscene.com/?m=show&id=18645">defending his WBA title</a> this Saturday against American tomato can Rocky Juarez. With a Marciano-like record like that you'd think John would be more known worldwide, but this will actually be the first time many boxing fans have seen him take to the ring.</div><br /><div>He's still on the undercard, as a setup to the larger Lightweight match between Juan Manual Marquez and Juan Diaz. But after this week's bout, one of only a handful he's fought outside of Indonesia, maybe John will be the main draw in boxing matches to come.</div><div> </div><div><br /><br /> </div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div> <br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/26/comments-kalla-ready-challenge-sby.html">So much for loyalty</a></div><div><em>Kalla to challenge SBY?</em></div><div> <br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/26/airport-gets-ambassadors-rollerblades.html">Ambassador coming through!</a></div><div><em>Jakarta airport will dispatch staff on rollerblades</em></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/26/stimulus-can-absorb-3m-new-workers.html">Line up for government cash</a></div><div><em>Indonesia gets on stimulus bandwagon</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://thejakartaglobe.com/home/article/11228.html">Bad timing award</a></div><div><em>Plane crash greets EU audit team</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-59068593343714510502009-02-25T13:12:00.000-08:002009-02-25T13:34:11.680-08:00Islamic bonds hit paydirt<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XgQwSUsjHvThYHVlhUFzDr0itNu4i0dBTonUML8trzUDiC78vUzoWLQejn-n57da2NFmIT7dxrAxH2-BNxWJT70zL5iF_qY1VoYBgb0Wzry317ymKVfcqZRJtrqQJLojBwY6S0J8hLA/s1600-h/sukuk.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306850254831749074" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 116px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 116px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1XgQwSUsjHvThYHVlhUFzDr0itNu4i0dBTonUML8trzUDiC78vUzoWLQejn-n57da2NFmIT7dxrAxH2-BNxWJT70zL5iF_qY1VoYBgb0Wzry317ymKVfcqZRJtrqQJLojBwY6S0J8hLA/s320/sukuk.jpg" border="0" /></a>Well, the rest of global finance may be going up in flames, but at least there's one bright spot: The Indonesian government's <a href="http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/business/article/10903.html">successful issue </a>of Islamic 'sukuk' bonds.<br /><br />They'd been aiming for a 1.77 trillion issue, but ended up at a cool 5.56 trillion ($467 million). And not in any old economic environment, but the worst crisis since the Great Depression, when pretty much everyone is afraid of virtually everything - other than US Treasuries. Not a bad showing.<br /><br />The sticky thing is how to issue bonds in the first place when Islam bans the charging or issuing of of interest. Sukuk represent an end-run around that problem by being structured as profit-sharing arrangements, drawing cash from underlying physical assets like rental income.<br /><br />Now that the first issue has been snapped up, you know the government is going to be holding sukuk sales as often as people want to buy 'em. Like, how about tomorrow? This may not be the most politically correct salutation, but to the Finance Ministry wonks who pulled this off: Mazel tov!<br /><br /><br /><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong><br /><br /><a href="http://features.csmonitor.com/discoveries/2009/02/25/mysterious-yawning-fish-species-discovered-off-indonesia/">Yawning fish discovered off Indonesian coast</a><br /><em>New species rocks scientific world</em><br /><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jKGSctnevG9LndlMcz4Twj6Kt4jwD96IJOG80">ASEAN rights: Um, later</a><br /><em>Financial crash first order of business</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jeadITpyH5Xc1DTnH6hSLDcAI4HQ">Aceh peace in trouble</a><br /><em>So says Finnish Nobel Prize winner</em><br /><em></em><br /><a href="http://australianetworknews.com/stories/200902/2501507.htm?desktop">Mud volcano a human rights violation<br /></a><em>Driller in big trouble for Java disaster</em>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-41477114135038689082009-02-24T06:02:00.001-08:002009-02-24T06:18:57.677-08:00The Sultan Goes Online<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNtE73u9GT4VLL7q9LFunEinw5DHFEansxryewzwrK7O4CDkcnjPwbzgLG6AgOnUM8qS2YsCOUc8y4xpfJl45fdQrvHax1O9k9poLJPgqOZhUQ5GjFL8x2YRAG9rQkB62fnlp7uUe4u0/s1600-h/sultan.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306365941994302338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsNtE73u9GT4VLL7q9LFunEinw5DHFEansxryewzwrK7O4CDkcnjPwbzgLG6AgOnUM8qS2YsCOUc8y4xpfJl45fdQrvHax1O9k9poLJPgqOZhUQ5GjFL8x2YRAG9rQkB62fnlp7uUe4u0/s320/sultan.jpg" border="0" /></a>I've always wondered how divine religious figures throughout history - Jesus, Buddha, Muhammad, etc. - would cope with modern society. Would they be on Facebook? Would they Twitter?<br /><div></div><br /><div>I'm being facetious of course, but here's a real-world example. Java's divine Sultan, Hamengkubuwono X (related to Malcolm X?), is aiming for the country's presidency, and has set up a <a href="http://www.hbforri.com/pages/id/beranda.php">website</a> to help him get there. </div><br /><div>Nothing technologically Earth-shattering here - the usual tidbits like a 'Statement of the Day,' a smattering of bad campaign photos, and a boring news feed. But I do like that they have a contact page for someone who's supposedly semi-divine. Does God send e-mail? I hope his missives don't go into my bulk folder ...</div><br /><div>As for the his connection to the heavens, given that SBY is leading in the polls by such a healthy margin, the Sultan might need all the help he can get.</div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/24/porn-law-‘endangers-country’s-pluralism’.html">Porn law under fire</a></div><div><em>What about the Papuan penis gourd, dammit</em></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/24/bi-banking-sector-still-safe-crisis.html">Wishful thinking department</a></div><div><em>Banking sector is fine shape, says BI</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-02/24/content_10886929.htm">Kuwait wants your oil</a></div><div><em>$300m investment, fending off Chinese buying spree?</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://in.reuters.com/article/asiaCompanyAndMarkets/idINJAK38014820090224">Sukuk a hit with investors</a></div><div><em>Government's Islamic bond sale exceeds expectations</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-23372667208877369202009-02-23T06:36:00.000-08:002009-02-23T06:56:48.032-08:00Spotlight: Le Meridien Nirwana Bali<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxGmnTdDGFW-qPEoTIQ0qGw_VE2LszvD8ALT22L-d37vimNwb1GDkZF9-sfeNeAi3mzzi1CWq8QC3IjTwexeGgk-GUf8flo9rAOxNlZDeA6H38zUFLJOoxRPYle87sRIhQ6ORvgtbxQg/s1600-h/meridien.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5306003703480464066" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 215px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUxGmnTdDGFW-qPEoTIQ0qGw_VE2LszvD8ALT22L-d37vimNwb1GDkZF9-sfeNeAi3mzzi1CWq8QC3IjTwexeGgk-GUf8flo9rAOxNlZDeA6H38zUFLJOoxRPYle87sRIhQ6ORvgtbxQg/s320/meridien.jpg" border="0" /></a>Think of Indonesia, and you don't automatically think of golf. But maybe you should.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Specifically if you stay at <a href="http://www.starwoodhotels.com/lemeridien/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=1836">Le Meridien Nirwana Bali,</a> whose Greg Norman-designed course has been awarded the best golf course in Asia for the fourth year in a row. For golf-addicted business travellers, of which there are many, having 18 holes alongside your luxury resort is something close to perfection.</div><div></div><br /><div>Le Meridien isn't the most well-known hotel brand in the world, but the Starwood-owned group does have some standout locations like their New York City outpost on 57th St., whose recent renovation has a sleek modernist feel. In Bali the Meridien is near the Tanah Lot Sea Temple, removed from the usual Kuta craziness, and its unique golf course (one of only four on the island) winds through 30 hectares of terraced rice fields.</div><div><br /></div><div>The top accommodation option, for those who still have a job and some savings (or, even better, a corporate expense account): The over 200-square-metre Presidential Suite, completely done in authentic Balinese decor. But its the links that are the resort's real draw for the golf-obsessed. As Asia's Leading Golf Resort (so named by the World Travel Awards), what's not to love?</div><div><br /><br /></div><div></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSJAK437648">Garuda pilot under fire</a></div><div><em>Could get four years for 2007 Yogyakarta crash</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSJAK114088">Sumatran tigers on the rampage</a></div><div><em>Not many left, but they're not happy</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7905770.stm">Tsunami museum opens in Aceh</a></div><div><em>Worthy but depressing travel option</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://old.thejakartapost.com/detailnational.asp?fileid=20090223.C06&irec=5">Kalla: In praise of thugs</a></div><div>VP goes off-message, disses bureaucrats</div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-76033360591179186942009-02-20T10:14:00.000-08:002009-02-20T10:32:47.660-08:00Hillary postmortem: Indonesia as 'cornerstone'<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcC1qrDCZtIgLaAmADAhP-kdUcS0cRYIpmPxUZFRUv2G6TJLS7cfesOhQz8TuXX74x-bia3aGHCIZeyS0CPPuB64FGkSj9AkPmy55eR6-1IY-fG1zM63nxL_iWvx9iNXDXMbDp4mKazyM/s1600-h/hill.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304947839753523298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 81px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcC1qrDCZtIgLaAmADAhP-kdUcS0cRYIpmPxUZFRUv2G6TJLS7cfesOhQz8TuXX74x-bia3aGHCIZeyS0CPPuB64FGkSj9AkPmy55eR6-1IY-fG1zM63nxL_iWvx9iNXDXMbDp4mKazyM/s320/hill.jpg" border="0" /></a>Off she goes, to put out other diplomatic fires around the globe. Iran's nascent nuclear program, North Korea's usual swaggering, all converging at once, as if the world didn't have enough to deal with.<br /><div></div><br /><div>But before Secretary of State Hillary Clinton departed Jakarta, she helped write a <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jkP2kJ1UHYtK0K7Nf7aSnpalUAhA">new chapter in U.S.-Indonesia relations</a>. Long-dormant mutual interests are being revived, with Indonesia free of all the old Suharto associations that had chilled relations initially, and the U.S. free of the unilateralist course it charted over the last eight years.</div><br /><div>In fact many are citing Indonesia as a "cornerstone" of new-and-improved American foreign policy, both a symbol (of Muslim rapprochement) and a gathering force in population and resources. The question, then: Will Indonesia seize this historic moment, and come to the fore to exhibit leadership and moral principle, bringing disparate nations together? Or will it recede into its own messiness and complexities, content to let other countries take the lead?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><br /><div></div><div><a href="http://uk.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUKBKK32237520090220">Jakarta Index back at historic lows</a></div><div><em>Dragged down by world troubles</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i93cWy557iywifGXgQSzV6bFi_JQ">Subianto sleeps easy at night</a></div><div><em>Special-forces atrocities don't trouble Prez hopeful</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.forbes.com/feeds/afx/2009/02/20/afx6074938.html">Buy the rupiah, please</a></div><div><em>Central bank doesn't have any other choice</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/asiapac/stories/200902/s2497475.htm">Crisis fund for emerging nations?</a></div><div><em>Indonesia leads efforts</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-71258533367093514402009-02-19T10:25:00.001-08:002009-02-19T10:43:00.194-08:00Hillary in Jakarta: The lovefest begins<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw2xgmLAsgbwWMiYg40uYguDFnpHWLHCwu0xqFXjyzJa2cPuidjrtzjJNMhO0L9h762Y0PvgLZotUsRzjl_y_Q4NrM_2l-RigKxh1YyyWS8t_C2-iNjBeaU7oA6DrG5tcLto-foaRSVA/s1600-h/clinton+indo.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304578794653548258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 131px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 88px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNw2xgmLAsgbwWMiYg40uYguDFnpHWLHCwu0xqFXjyzJa2cPuidjrtzjJNMhO0L9h762Y0PvgLZotUsRzjl_y_Q4NrM_2l-RigKxh1YyyWS8t_C2-iNjBeaU7oA6DrG5tcLto-foaRSVA/s320/clinton+indo.jpg" border="0" /></a>And so, with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's <a href="http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/02/19/us-ri-pledge-closer-comprehensive-ties.html">visit to Indonesia</a>, starts a new era in American foreign policy. A lot less unilateral arrogance, a lot more inclusiveness and so-called smart power. Hillary famously kicked off her Senate run with a 'listening tour,' and in her new position she seems to be taking a similar tack.<br /><div></div><br /><div>Indonesia's a logical place for the Obama administration to start, as a kind of translator to the larger Muslim world. With its traditions of democracy and tolerance, not so steeped in reactionary Wahhabist thought like much of the Mideast, and with its personal links to America's head of state, it's proving itself as a critical bridge for the State Department.</div><br /><div>Unfortunately her Indonesian counterpart Hassan Wirajuda took the occasion to bring up the issue of a $5-billion lifeline, to help get Indonesia through the coming economic storms. In itself, nothing Earth-shattering. But mentioned in conjunction with improving ties, it gives off a certain whiff of pay-to-play politics. New ambassador, Roland Burris?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/vcCandidateFeed1/idUSJAK207049">America must lead on climate change</a></div><div><em>Indonesia urages US to fill leadership vacuum</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123500483975818111.html?mod=googlenews_wsj">Islamic hardliners losing ground</a></div><div><em>New polls show power of moderates</em></div><div><br /> </div><div><a href="http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2009/2/19/us-will-consult-with-indonesia-in-facing-myanmar/">Indonesia as bridge to Myanmar?</a></div><div><em>US will consult about strategy</em></div><br /><div><em></em> </div><div><a href="http://www.antara.co.id/en/arc/2009/2/19/indonesia-may-send-officials-to-visit-hambali-in-guantanamao/">Hambali, you're getting visitors!</a></div><div><em>Guantanamo inmate could meet with government officials</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7243871686012626932.post-53194607272267574732009-02-18T04:00:00.000-08:002009-02-18T04:48:45.320-08:00Total Stock Market Surrender<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuf6AlJHxj3QZEJEz0Lp7S29eeFm-05Z1Ea5gI_nMTI91tYN8fJLrswEI9y3tWo-F0Lpyim2eIp7BzDQBF60k8rdWfdbPTv5FMt8corMHSBriPcvQLlkRk6RBmqQYRsDKA2eNbomkDuo/s1600-h/money.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5303870249631444338" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 124px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 110px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUuf6AlJHxj3QZEJEz0Lp7S29eeFm-05Z1Ea5gI_nMTI91tYN8fJLrswEI9y3tWo-F0Lpyim2eIp7BzDQBF60k8rdWfdbPTv5FMt8corMHSBriPcvQLlkRk6RBmqQYRsDKA2eNbomkDuo/s320/money.jpg" border="0" /></a>In the investing biz it's called 'capitulation,' when people simply give up. Investors throw up their hands, sell what they've got, and put their cash under a mattress. We may be at that point now.<br /><div></div><br /><div>The crisis of confidence wracking global financial markets has become so deep and profound, that some observers are questioning the long-term viability of pure capitalism. Even pro-market forces like French President Nicolas Sarkozy have mused that laissez-faire capitalism, as a concept, is essentially dead.</div><br /><div>What a shift from recent times, even just last year. The author Nassim Taleb (<em>The Black Swan</em>) has opined that the stock market itself is a kind of mild Ponzi scheme, in that if people lose faith and start pulling their money out, it all falls apart like a house of cards. That's the historical moment we're in, when the Jakarta Index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and every other benchmark out there is being beseiged by an utter lack of confidence.</div><br /><div>For good reason, since many American banks are now effectively insolvent, owing more than they're worth. But given that equities are priced for Armageddon, for those with a cash pile and a long time horizon, it could be a time when fortunes are made.</div><div></div><div><br /><br /></div><div><strong>Today's Top Stories</strong></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2009/02/17/business/AS-Indonesia-Economy.php">Indonesian budget, take two</a></div><div><em>Anyone got some Liquid Paper?</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/02/17/ST2009021700968.html?hpid=moreheadlines">Clinton charm offensive starts now</a></div><div><em>Sec. of State wooing Muslim nations</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentNews/idUSTRE51F26920090216">Orangutans in peril</a></div><div><em>Government opening up more land for plantations</em></div><br /><div><em></em></div><div><a href="http://old.thejakartapost.com/detaileditorial.asp?fileid=20090217.E02&irec=3">U.S. and Indonesia, BFFs</a></div><div><em>Strategic partnership coming together</em></div>Christopher Taylorhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00846133852085608581noreply@blogger.com6