Making Headlines

It all started with the government hiking fuel prices. For the past 40 years, the Government has pursued a policy of making sure that Indonesians have access to cheap gasoline. But as the global oil market reaches record highs, this approach has pushed the government to the brink of fiscal crisis. The government is paying more than $1 billion a month in fuel subsidies through the state-run oil company, in order to maintain $1/gallon. Currently fuel subsidies account for a third of the federal budget. As of yesterday, the national price for gasoline went up 87% and price diesel doubled and kerosene tripled. This have fueled multiple protests across the archipelago.

Then there are the disease. Bird Flu and Dengue Fever. Bird Flu is making headline news these days with the UN/WHO predicting for a pandamic that may kill upward of 150m people worldwide. Indonesia is at the center of attention because the most recent fatal cases have been in Jakarta. There are also many many traditional markets where live birds and chicken are sold. The sanitation standards at these markets are pretty horrid and could act as a potential breeding ground for the disease.

The case of Dengue Fever has doubled and tripled in Singapore and Malaysia. With the proximity of these countries, Indonesia could be next. This guy I know at the UN just went home to Italy yesterday to recover from the Dengue.

Unless you've been living in a hole, you've surely heard about the latest bombing in Bali. The Australian government has issued a travel warning for Australians traveling to Indonesia. I'm sure the US State Department will be issuing their warning soon. It'll probably say something like this: Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens to defer all non-essential travel to the country...terrorist threat in Indonesia remains high...Americans should avoid Aceh...

Then there's the Aceh Peace Accord. That'll merit its own blog entry. Maybe later this week. Stay tuned.

As for personal headlines:

1. As of October 1, I have been in Aceh for 4 months.
2. Congratulations to Karim and Kristi, they're getting married today!
3. Go Bears, they're 5-0.