Another odd assortment of news this week with a few surprises, well one of them is not really a surprise. Adam Air has finally been grounded after numerous incidents, the latest being Adam Air Plane with 175 people on board skidding off the runway in foul weather in Batam last week. Sources in the Transport Ministry quoted that they decided to revoke Adam Air’s operational specification, effective 12:00 am Wednesday and all of its planes must be automatically grounded. Someone that will never be grounded is alleged Jemaah Islamiah (JI) spiritual leader Abu Bakar Bashir. His legions of followers are growing, even though he was released from prison on terrorism charges little more than a year ago. His close associates said that the cleric travels across the country frequently to give ceramahs or lectures, on Islam at mosques and religious events.
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For centuries, the rich natural resources of the Indonesian archipelago have been exploited. During colonial rule and the Soeharto years, Indonesians had little say about how the assets of this great nation were managed. Today the nation’s ecological health is hanging in the balance. Environmental problems abound throughout the country. Air quality is rapidly diminishing in the big cities, clean water is becoming scarce, coastal areas are being eroded and natural forests are disappearing at an alarming rate. Legislators recognized the need for action years ago and environmental laws have been on the statute books for some years. There has been limited enforcement and the authorities have often turned a blind eye to environmental crimes.
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Mention the word ‘snake’, and generally 95% of people run for the hills!. This is probably the worst thing you could do as you will arouse the snake’s attention. As most bushwalkers will tell you, it’s better to stand still and let the reptile get on with his business and go past you. Of course there are those times when you unavoidably step on one and then shit hits the fan, so to speak. It happened to me in Australia one particular year, and although I was lucky not to be bitten, the partner of the snake underfoot was not impressed. The snake in mention was a King Brown, one of the deadliest snakes in the world, and promptly chased me down a dry gully. In Indonesia on my travels I have come across snakes numerous times and just applied common sense in our meetings. Chances are that you will never come across a snake unless you travel in the jungles or open grasslands. A majority of tourists will never see a snake as they never venture off the beaten track.
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It had to happen eventually. Adam Air has finally been grounded after numerous incidents, the latest being Adam Air Plane with 175 people on board skidding off the runway in foul weather in Batam last week. Sources in the Transporrt Ministry quoted that they decided to revoke Adam Air’s operational specification, effective 12:00 am Wednesday and All of its planes must be automatically grounded. Quarterly safety evaluation found it made violations that could put passengers’ safety at risk. The airline would be grounded until it was evaluated again in another three months, …
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The Bali Natural Resources Conservation Center (BKSDA) runs regular operations to detect the manufacture and sale of tortoiseshell products, its officers say. “We regularly check handicraft shops around Bali for tortoiseshell. If people are caught selling or handling this material, they could receive a five-year maximum jail term, a 10 million Rp fine or both,” says BKSDA licensing coordinator, Budi Utomo. The BKSDA also trains turtle zoo volunteers and workers in turtle protection and the laws covering handling or using any turtle by-product. Balinese Hindus have for centuries used turtles in their religious practices. Under local laws, turtles may still be used during certain religious celebrations, but all turtles used must be registered and licensed by heads of religion and the BKSDA.
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The BootsnAll travel company is, without a doubt, the best source for travellers wishing to know anything about their intended destinations. Besides the very informative Travel Forum, you are able to book tickets, arrange insurance and a multitude of others connected with travel on this planet. BootsnAll also has a family of Logue sites of which Indonesialogue is one. These websites are written by a combination of locals and experts on each location or theme and are on different regions, cities and countries around the world and give you up-to-date information on everything you wish to know …
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From the long white hair to the sarong-style trousers and leather sandals from the West Java town of Garut, everything about Godi Suwarma says “artist”. But the Sundanese writer does not care what people think. He believes in his choice to become an artist, a decision many people find hard to accept. In a writing career spanning more than three decades, perhaps Godi’s greatest achievement has been winning the Rancage Literary Award three times.
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I can walk out into my garden right now and gaze upon extremely large aloe vera plants, and although I was aware to a certain extent of the healing power of the plants, I didn’t realise just how beneficial they were. Candika is always going out there, slicing a piece off, and then rubbing the sap into her hair after washing it. I never questioned her as to why she did this. However, my curiosity got the better of me and I did a quick Google search and was amazed to find tomes of information about this plant. Apparently cosmetic companies add sap or other derivatives from Aloe vera to products such as makeup, tissues, moisturizers, soaps, sunscreens, shampoos and lotions, though the effectiveness of Aloe vera in these products remains unknown. Even more was to surprise me. Aloe vera gel is also alleged to be useful for dry skin conditions such as eczema and sensitive facial skin. Apparently, there is one type of aloe vera that has made those in the medical profession stand up and listen, and farmers in Bali rub their hands with glee.
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Across Indonesia today it is a public holiday in celebration of Muhammad’s birthday. Also called Maulid Nabi, government offices and numerous shops are closed, and, no newspapers are printed for this day.
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Western Australian’s are being urged to take precautions against mosquitoes when travelling to Bali following a sharp outbreak of Dengue fever among travellers returning from the popular holiday island. Acting Director of Communicable Disease Control Dr Gary Dowse said 54 WA travellers contracted the disease last year, three to four times the usual number. The trend has continued in 2008 with a further 16 cases reported in January. Almost 60 per cent of cases reported between January 2007 and February 2008 were associated with travel to Indonesia, with 76 per cent of these being infected in Bali. Smaller numbers of cases were reported among people who travelled to Thailand, Singapore, India, Vietnam, the Phillipines and other South East Asian countries. Dengue fever is an acute mosquito-borne viral infection that can occur 3-14 days after being bitten.
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