Of U.S.-Indonesia military ties

The military relationship between the U.S. and Indonesia has always been a bit of a head-scratcher. Under strongman Suharto, it was pretty tight, with joint exercises and copious supplies of military hardware. In recent years it's cooled off, just as a democratic government has taken hold.

Ironic, for a U.S. administration that famously wanted to spread democracy around the world ... especially in Muslim countries. It's as if they were taking revenge for human-rights slights like the East Timor debacle, but long after the fact. Go figure.

At any rate, the Wall Street Journal has an interesting piece on U.S.-Indonesia relations as a crucial test of Barack Obama's leadership. Will he restore joint training between the Pentagon and the Indonesian military, and risk angering some in his own party (like Senators Pat Leahy and Russ Feingold)? Or will he hold off and risk angering Defense Secretary Bob Gates, said to be a fan of restoring ties, and who is being wooed to stay on in the new administration?

Between a rock and a hard place, as they say. Welcome to the presidency.

Today's Top Stories

Slowdown slows some more

Possible interest-rate cut in the offing

EU extends Indonesia flight ban

Even Garuda barred from airspace

Tourism numbers crashing

Visit Indonesia year vs. global economic crisis

Stock up on Johnnie Walker

Liquor shortages plague the nation

Best and Worst Places to do Business

Can you name the best place in Indonesia to do business? How about the worst?

You don't have to guess anymore, because consulting firm KPPOD (with assists to the Asia Foundation and USAID) has come out with its ratings of 243 'regencies' throughout the archipelago. Using criteria like infrastructure, taxes, security, and 'Capacity of Mayor' (I love that one), they've ranked cities from top to bottom.

(Check out the original survey link here, and Reuters' recent take here.)

And so, without further adieu, the winners: Blitar and Magetan in East Java, Prabumulih and Musi Banyuasin in South Sumatra, and Jembrana in Bali. The stinkers on the other end of the spectrum: Rokan Hulu and Rokan Hilir in Riau, Labuhan Batu in North Sumatra, and two different precinct of Nias Island.

I feel particularly bad for Riau, my old stomping ground. But hey, the numbers are the numbers ...!


Today's Top Stories

CIA book to be banned?
Legacy of Ashes claims Adam Malik was an agent

Bloggers under fire
Wordpress being muscled to give up identity

Indonesia takes on Big Pharma
Set up local production or buzz off, says health minister

Dubai gold rush
Indonesian firms want in on the action

Now online: Life Magazine's archive of Indonesia photos

Life Magazine may be dead and gone, another victim of the print-to-digital revolution, but its iconic photos live on. In fact Google is now hosting their entire photo archive, of which there are about 200 shots of Indonesia at critical moments through the country's history.

It's quite an amazing voyage down memory lane. There are photos of Indonesian leaders in the fullness of youth, like Sukarno and Suharto; images of visiting dignitaries, like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and the Soviet Union's Nikita Kruschev; nature shots from decades ago, of Sumatran tigers, Borneo orangutans and Komodo dragons; and regular folks caught in a moment in time, from mosque-goers to Balinese dancers.

In total the Life archive consists of millions of photos dating back to the 1750s, and is helpfully broken down by factors like people, places and events. Most were never even published, so it's well worth a look ... if only for a glimpse of when print journalism was still king, and the public collected Life Magazine photos as the precious specimens they were.

Today's Top Stories

Microchips for AIDS patients?!

Papua forges ahead with controversial plan to monitor disease

Rupiah under attack

Government discusses capital controls to save embattled currency

Plant a tree, or else

An innovative way to combat deforestation

Bonds are a bust

Indonesia turns to World Bank for budget help

Cruise Update: The Spice Islands

If you feel like getting away from it all for a while - far, far from the crashing Dow - reader Michael Corbett sends in word of a unique Indonesian cruise opportunity.

The Orion is Australia's only five-star expedition cruise ship, and usually travels to spots like Oz's Arnham Land, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and Antarctica. But in 2009 they're adding Southeast Asia to the roster, with its Spice Island Adventure.

On the itinerary are islands like the Malukus, Komodo and Sumbawa, and the legendary dive site of Alor, along with rarely-seen spots like the uninhabited isle of Satonda. The nine-night adventure kicks off Sept. 10; prices range from staterooms at $6,365 all the way up to $13,325 for the 'Owner's Suite'.

Not cheap, to be sure. But to be on an expedition ship ranked #2 in the world by Berlitz Cruises (complete with luxury touches like gyms and spas), it could be one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips to tell the grandkids about.

Today's Top Stories

Shoring up the rupiah

Bakrie boss on the outs

Malaysia drug laws net Indonesians

Free stuff! Eat Pray Love giveaway

By now everyone knows about Eat Pray Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia. It's Elizabeth Gilbert's massive Oprah-blessed bestseller about travel and self-discovery, and now the good folks at Viking press have sent along a couple of copies for Everything Indonesia readers.

To enter for the free drawing, send an e-mail to christaylornyc@gmail.com with "Eat Pray Love" in the subject line, and your mailing address in the body of the e-mail. I'll draw a couple of names from a hat and send free copies to the winners. If you're not one of those selected, then help out the author and buy the book at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

For those of you not familiar with the book, here's the review from Publisher's Weekly:

"Gilbert (The Last American Man) grafts the structure of romantic fiction upon the inquiries of reporting in this sprawling yet methodical travelogue of soul-searching and self-discovery. Plagued with despair after a nasty divorce, the author, in her early 30s, divides a year equally among three dissimilar countries, exploring her competing urges for earthly delights and divine transcendence. First, pleasure: savoring Italy's buffet of delights--the world's best pizza, free-flowing wine and dashing conversation partners--Gilbert consumes la dolce vita as spiritual succor. "I came to Italy pinched and thin," she writes, but soon fills out in waist and soul. Then, prayer and ascetic rigor: seeking communion with the divine at a sacred ashram in India, Gilbert emulates the ways of yogis in grueling hours of meditation, struggling to still her churning mind. Finally, a balancing act in Bali, where Gilbert tries for equipoise "betwixt and between" realms, studies with a merry medicine man and plunges into a charged love affair. Sustaining a chatty, conspiratorial tone, Gilbert fully engages readers in the year's cultural and emotional tapestry--conveying rapture with infectious brio, recalling anguish with touching candor--as she details her exotic tableau with history, anecdote and impression."

Today's Top Stories

Indonesia wants a piece of Hambali

Major layoffs coming down the pike

WTF? Smoking raids in Jakarta

Ouch! Jakarta Index falls some more

Here we go again. Another day, another 2% drop for the Jakarta Index. Indonesian stocks are caught in the downdraft of the American market (magnified by the fall of the rupiah), where the Dow is now below 8,000 and basically where it was five years ago. What was that about 10% annual returns, that our financial advisors kept telling us about?

You're probably wondering about where to invest your money, when nowhere is safe. Good thing I just wrote an article for Canada's Globe Investor magazine, on what Ben Graham (the king of value investing) would do right now. The answer is he'd probably be buying.

In a nutshell, Graham looked to buy companies with low price/earnings ratios and low debt, that are selling at a discount to their book value. With the carnage going on right now, it's the first time in a long while that a lot of companies fit that description. Sure, things could go even lower, thanks to investor panic. But it's impossible to predict an absolute bottom, and according to the numbers, plenty of stocks already look pretty darn cheap.

Value investing is a long-term strategy, though, so don't expect to make big money in the next days or months. But if you're holding for many years, those who buy now, when things are at their bleakest, will be nicely rewarded. Consider Ben Graham himself: He almost went bankrupt in the Great Depression when the market lost 90% of its value, but by sticking to his principles, ended up a millionaire who retired in the south of France.


Today's Top Stories

Sulawesi furby gets worldwide attention
Private equity takes a run at Bumi
Final exam for Indo airlines

Accor Hotels cornering the Indonesia market

It's tough times for the hospitality industry, but you wouldn't know it by how Accor Hotels chain is expanding its footprint in Indonesia. My friend Cynthia Dammerer sent an update of what's happening on the ground:

"Accor will open its 7th hotel in Bali in May '09, a five-star Pullman-branded hotel - the first internationally branded complex for the Legian region, that is growing steadily in popularity with tourists. Complete with restaurants, bars and boutique shops, the hotel sits opposite the famed Kuta beach, at the quiet Legian end, and offers five-star luxury in guest rooms and suites; Pullman "welcomer service"; and edgy new standards that is setting the brand apart worldwide.

"General Manager Philippe Battle believes that the Pullman Bali Legian Nirwana will appeal to upscale tourists, wanting to be close to, but not in the heart of the action. For more info check out www.pullmanhotels.com.

"There are also the new pool villas at Novotel Lombok - the original and best resort still in south Lombok. The visionary who selected the Kuta Beach location for the Novotel Lombok could not have forseen just how popular the region would become once it was discovered by the general tourist public, other than surfers and those wanting to truly drop out for a few weeks. Emaar, the Dubai-based conglomerate, has recently invested US$600 million in a 1200-hectare parcel of land on the beachfront behind the Novotel, and plans to open an Armani and Ritz Carlton Hotel there, after the new international airport is built there in 09/10.

Novotel has just built beautiful private pool villas that are proving very popular with honeymooners, coupled with luxury beach candlelit dinners. Once the new development starts and international flights increase, expect huge traffic to the palm-fringed azure sea and white sands. It's Indonesia's best-kept secret."

Sounds fab. Of course if these hotels explode in popularity, they won't be such a secret anymore. So let's keep this to ourselves. :)

Today's Top Stories

Uh oh, more Muslim cartoon controversy
Forest carbon credits taking off
Tempo vs. Bakrie