Stories about Indonesia from October, 2005
Indonesian blogosphere: Season of forgiveness, Indonesian poor and parliament member salary increase
Next week on Thursday, million of Indonesian are going to celebrate Eid ul-Fitr that mark the end of Ramadan, the month of fasting, this simply the biggest holiday in Indonesia the most populous Muslim country in the world.
Indonesia: Poor Credentials
Indonesia Now lists the credentials you need to qualify for government handouts to offset the impact of fuel price rises. Some of them: no electricity, a house made of bamboo, a mud floor and meals only once or twice a day.
Indonesia, South Korea, Turkey: Inside Nobel Information
Kotaji claims to have inside information on the Nobel Prize for Literature discussions, which he says came down to Indonesia's Pramoedya Ananta Toer, Turkey's Orham Pamuk and South Korea's Hwang Sok-yong as finalists. But Britain's Harold Pinter emerged as the compromise choice.
Effect Measure on Facing the Global Bird Flu Threat
With recent reports of avian flu in Western Europe, the disease is clearly no longer East Asia's problem. It's a dilemma for the world. Last week I emailed Revere, the pseudonymous leader of Effect Measure, a public health group blog. Since its inception in late 2004, Effect Measure has been covering the global response to avian flu. My goal was to discuss the pandemic fears and what the world -- and ordinary people -- can do to prepare for it.
Revere, an environmental epidemiologist in a senior faculty position at a major research university, has 40 years of experience in medicine and public health. He is also one of the individuals behind the Flu Wiki, an Internet-based experiment in community mobilization and knowledge-pooling to face the feared epidemic. He paints an alarming picture. "If a pandemic is going to happen (and we don't know how to predict if it will or not with certainty), it will happen whatever we do," he writes. "There will be no "outside" for help to come from, so each community needs to prepare to cope on its own." In previous flu pandemics, hundreds of thousands of people went sick or died, leading to massive disruptions as workers failed to show up to work and instead surged into ill-equipped and ill-prepared hospitals ill-prepared.
Revere sees two big tasks ahead: managing the consequences of a potential pandemic, and building (or rebuilding) the world's rotting public health infrastructure.
East Asia: Bird Flu Fowl
Effect Measure is a blog run by public health experts and epidemiologists. They are very worried about what they call the bird flu iceberg.
Indonesia: Fuel Dominos
“What a year it's been,” says Macam-macam of Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono's first year in power. Corruption and rising fuel prices bedevil the country, Sarapan Ekonomi notes. Meanwhile, Myanmar appears to be the next fuel domino in Southeast Asia to fall: Burma Watch.com observes that fuel prices there have...
Indonesia: More Babies
To shoulder Indonesia's debt burden, tedy at tedsta.com makes the Swiftian suggestion that Indonesians ought to have more babies.
Indonesian blogs: Top blogs, taxpayer, reshuffling and acquisitions
Top 100 Indonesian blogs Indonesian blogosphere buzzing yesterday when Priyadi release his list of top 100 Indonesian blogs. Sorted by how many blogs/pages links to your blog, Priyadi showed 100 most popular Indonesian blogs from 460 blogs that he compiled. The list is not perfect but it's a start. He...
Indonesia: International Muslims
Jakartass writes about being a Westerner who converted to Islam to marry his wife, and posts an e-mail he received about a charity drive at Ramadan from the Jakarta International Moslem Society.
Indonesia: Why blog?
Must be something in the blogowaters. A. Fatih Syuhud, an Indonesian student based in India, is also moved to share his blogger's philosophy.
Indonesia: Bali sentence reduced
BaliBlog reports on the reduction to 15 from 20 years of the jail term handed down by a Denpasar court to Australian national Schapelle Corby, convicted of smuggling marijuana into the holiday island earlier this year.
Indonesia: Corruption charges
Jakartass says the suspension from duty of Indonesian Chief Justice Bagir Manan “could well be an event of cataclysmic importance in the burgeoning democracy of Indonesia”. Meanwhile, Indonesia Today reports on the sentencing of businessman and politician Adiwarsita Adinegoro to six years’ imprisonment for Rp100 billion (U.S.$10 million) worth of...
Indonesia: Just around the Riverbend
Nad's Notes speculates on the Ulysses Awards for Reportage, wondering why so many contenders are writing about war and other horrors, and tipping the blog Baghdad Burning as a likely winner.
Indonesia: Bombing theory deconstructed
Paras Indonesia posts a long essay deconstructing prevailing views of Bali as the “natural” location for Islamist suicide bombers to attack Western tourists in their reactions against the forces of imperialism. Kemal Taruc writes: “Many people may choose their preferred explanation as long as they can have peace in their...
Indonesia: Fuel subsidy reductions
Nad's Notes posts a summary of the Indonesian government's plans to replace fuel subsidies with more targeted spending on health, education and low-income households. Via A. Fatih Syuhud.
Indonesia: Army comment reaction
Jakartass analyzes reactions to a recent suggestion by military chief Gen. Endriartono Sutarto that it might be good to restore the military's internal territorial command structure, in response to the threat of terrorism.
Indonesia: Military role
Jakartass analyzes a recent presidential speech, and wonders if the Indonesian military may take a higher profile following the Bali bombings.
Indonesia: Why Bali is quiet
Bali Blog says that while the MSM will say tourists have fled following the suicide bombings, the Kuta and Seminyak tourist areas of Bali are quiet because of Galungan, a period of 10 days when the ancestors return to earth and are feted with offerings.
Indonesia: Month of fasting
A. Fatih Syuhud wishes Muslims a happy Ramadan, as fasting begins around the world with the sighting of the moon. He provides some background and links to further essays on the practice.
Indonesia: Where democratic minds meet
A. Fatih Syuhud is in a low mood following the Bali bombings, but finds the energy to recommend a blog recently added to his directory: Paras Indonesia. “Where democratic minds meet.”
Bali bombings 2: Suicide bombers captured on camera
Indonesian bloggers reacted almost instantly hearing the news of another bombs explodes in Bali. Google Blogsearch recorded 157 blogs in Indonesian language posting about Bali Bombing on 1st October just after the series of bombs exploded on 6.50 pm Jakarta's time or 7.50 Bali's time. Most offers condolences for the...
