Breaking news: Airport taxis might not be legit!

From the "No shit, Sherlock" department:

The UK Foreign Office sent out an alert recently, that unlicensed cabs at Indonesian airports might - gasp! - be charging people too much money. Not only that, they're "in poor condition, are unmetered, and don't have a dashboard identity license." Sacre bleu!

First of all, sounds like most New York City cabs. (As Jerry Seinfeld once famously said, all you need to get a cab license is to have a face.) Secondly, as Lonely Planet or any other handy travel guidebook will advise, quasi-airport-cab leeches are a common sight in Jakarta and around the world. Get into a car with some schlump in his cousin's beat-up '89 Tercel, and you deserve to be charged more money.

In other breaking news, the sun rises in the east.


Today's Top Stories

New Pertamina chief was former Halliburton flunkie
Darth Vader's - sorry, Dick Cheney's - favorite firm

Ponzi scheme blew through $65 million
Supposedly invested in Indonesian oilfields

Hillary Indonesia-bound
Confirmed: Clinton, State Dept. officials book trip

Indonesians blow off smoking, yoga bans
Clerics not so powerful after all?

Read more »

And justice for some ...

Here's a Zen koan: When the Supreme Court screws you over, where do you turn for justice?

Presumably the answer is nowhere, since they're the highest authority in the land. Which makes it such an unbeatable location for graft. So says the Corruption Eradication Commission, or KPK, whose new survey just singled out the Indonesian Supreme Court as the most corruption-ridden institution in the land. In fact, 65% of respondents said they had to fork over bribes when dealing with the nation's highest court.

What balls! More ballsy, even, than the U.S. Court handing over the presidency in Bush v. Gore ... but I digress.

Other fascinating tidbits from the survey: Bandung is the most graft-mired city in the country, and the national police only came in eighth in corruption. Indonesian cops have to take it up a notch, and start taking big bribes and knocking some heads. Haven't they seen all those movies, that feature plotlines about corrupt cops? Hollywood needs you!


Today's Top Stories

New Pertamina head takes charge
Cranking up production despite low prices; OPEC faints

Obamamania at prayer breakfast
Kalla in US, sucks up to chief exec

Tempo co-founder passes away
Yusril Djalinus felled by stroke

Hillary Clinton on way?
Could visit Indonesia in Feb.

Read more »

Cheap money! Rates cut again

Welcome, Indonesia, to the brethren of panicked central banks. Monetary-policy wonks around the globe are slashing interest rates as fast as they can, to keep just ahead of the brutal recession that's already hit most nations.

Indonesia's the latest contestant, cutting rates another half-point to 8.25%. Granted, still relatively high, compared to America which has already cut rates to near-zero in an effort to stimulate a dead economy. But the Indonesian central bank in particular is between a rock and a hard place, having to simultaneously support the feeble rupiah, which is (like most emerging-market currencies) abandonded by investors in times of financial turmoil.

Let's hope that this policy of cheaper money jumpstarts more lending and investment. But beware the beast looming on the horizon: Inflation, which can be just as traumatic to populations (if not more) than steep stock-market losses. At some point central banks will have to hike interest rates in a hurry, to protect their devalued currencies. The U.S. in particular, to prevent the Chinese from fleeing Treasury bonds and thereby creating a run on the dollar.


Today's Top Stories

Missing hikers found alive
Seven students rescued from Java's Mt. Halimun

And pastries for all ...
Indonesian foundation funds Gaza bakery

Divorces up tenfold
One reason: Political differences?!

Shhh ... VP Jusuf Kalla meeting US intelligence director
Secret meeting not so secret

Read more »

Cricket in Indonesia?!

Sport is an intensely cultural thing. No matter how much you try to interest Americans in soccer, it'll never happen, because it's just not part of their culture. They'll always come back to their beloved baseball, NFL football and basketball.

Same thing with Canadians. If it's not hockey, they could care less.

Which is why I take this article on cricket in Indonesia with a big grain of salt. Given how obsessed Indonesians are with sports like soccer and badminton, I find it highly unlikely that they'll jump ship in favor of the sport of bowlers and wickets.

Now local expats, like Indians and Australians: That's another story. It's in their blood, and they'll never give up the passion until they're six feet under. Heck, I bet they even understood that cricket reference at the pivotal moment of the movie Slumdog Millionaire.

As for me, a red-blooded Canadian who thinks solely in terms of frozen rinks and hockey pucks ... I've never even heard of Ricky Ponting!

Today's Top Stories

Just how many boat people are there?

More Burmese being rescued by the day

WTF? Indonesia seizes Afghans

Presumably being smuggled to Australia

Three fighter jets delivered

Oil-smacked Russians thankful for the cash

Sun, sand - and rabies

Bali tries to stamp out diseased dogs

Read more »

Spotlight: Oberoi Lombok

The island of Lombok may have long been seen as Bali's kid sister, but it boasts some serious five-star luxuriousness of its own.

Exhibit A, the Oberoi Lombok, a 24-acre garden paradise dotted with thatched guest villas fronting a white-sand private beach. Its spa features open-air massage pavilions, its villas house marble sunken baths and four-poster teak beds, and everyone enjoys exclusive 'butler service'.

The luxury chain has 30 hotels worldwide, most in India (including the unfortunate one in Mumbai). As for the Oberoi Lombok, it's racked up multiple awards from the mag Conde Nast Traveler, including Top 10 Asia Pacific Resorts and Best Overseas Leisure Hotels. Current prices range from $250 per night for the luxury pavilion to $780 a night for the Royal Villa.

As much as I'd like to keep Lombok under the radar, with award-winning accomodations like those, Bali's little cousin isn't likely to remain much of a secret ...


Today's Top Stories

Yoga ban ridiculed as "pointless"
Resistance growing to MUI edicts

SBY support growing
Election seen as his to lose

Indonesia exports tanking
Biggest drop in seven years

Obama: So far so good
Relations improving with Muslim world

Read more »

RIP, Bhinneka Tunggal Ika

Now it's just getting silly.

After the head-scratching news that yoga was posing a dangerous risk to the Indonesian population, now comes word of another target. Specifically Lions and Rotary clubs, those fraternal associations chiefly known for their charitable works.

Such outfits aren't really helping the needy, but are actually "fronts for Freemasonry and the world Zionist movement," according to the ultra-conservative Islamic group FUU. Oy vey. Where are the voices of moderation, pushing back against this nonsense?

As a glorious cauldron of hundreds of cultures, languages and ethnicities, Indonesia is a shining example of 'Unity in Diversity,' the national motto. Don't let the nation slip backwards into the sclerotic hatreds of the rest of the planet. That would be too sad for words.

Today's Top Stories

Indonesia creates rainy-day fund

$5.6 billion worth of emergency credit

Tourism numbers up for 2008

Still fall short of lofty goals

Tackling the HIV epidemic

The health crisis no one wants to talk about

Polygamy problems

Multiple wives? Be careful what you wish for

Read more »