Saturday, November 01, 2003
Personal:
Found out that HAAJ group is still alive :-) Joined the mail list and hope to find old members... its been almost 20 years since I first singed up.
We use to be able to see colours of the Orion nebulae with the naked eye in Jakarta. Now? Not a chance. The pollution is so thick, there is always a permanent haze hanging over the city. Actually its been a tad better lately since unleaded gasoline was subsidised.
Found out that HAAJ group is still alive :-) Joined the mail list and hope to find old members... its been almost 20 years since I first singed up.
We use to be able to see colours of the Orion nebulae with the naked eye in Jakarta. Now? Not a chance. The pollution is so thick, there is always a permanent haze hanging over the city. Actually its been a tad better lately since unleaded gasoline was subsidised.
Drawing board:
The plan is still very fluid at this point. Key elements are still missing. Havent got in touch with F, no email reply from RD and FH. AU promised a bunch of local newspaper clippings and local contacts, reminds me to call him again later. Need to talk to SD, GM about past reports.
Actualities: sea sounds, speed boat motor, fishermen chatting in local language...
Thought of doing a forest finance package for next project... tie it up with Tanjung Puting and illegal logging.
The plan is still very fluid at this point. Key elements are still missing. Havent got in touch with F, no email reply from RD and FH. AU promised a bunch of local newspaper clippings and local contacts, reminds me to call him again later. Need to talk to SD, GM about past reports.
Actualities: sea sounds, speed boat motor, fishermen chatting in local language...
Thought of doing a forest finance package for next project... tie it up with Tanjung Puting and illegal logging.
In Focus:
Malaysia has a new PM today. Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi replaced Dr. M, until an election at the end of 2004. Mahathir was welcomed by a lawsuit by Anwar's group for misusing his position as PM and US Congress condemning his Jews comment after a similar complaint earlier by the Senate.
Police found two active bombs at the house left by Dr Azahari dan Noor Din Mohammad Top in Bandung. The two Malaysian suspects of JW Marriott bombing are still at large. Are we to expect more bombs with them out there?
Poor BNI directors, they havent been getting any rest since the loan scam story broke. They will all be dismissed soon and receive Central Bank sanctions pending investigation.
("Calls rise for dismissal of BNI directors" , The Jakarta Post, November 1, 2003) "The scandal concerns the publicly listed bank's failure to conduct a proper credit appraisal before allowing its Kebayoran Baru branch to disburse export credits to a number of local companies. The companies claimed to be exporting select commodities to the Congo and Kenya in Africa. The companies, identified by BNI as the Petindo Group and the Gramarindo Group, used as collateral letters of credit guaranteed by banks in Kenya, Switzerland and the Cook Islands. The credits were valued at Rp 1.7 trillion and disbursed from December 2002 to July 2003. However, it was later discovered that the export activities had never materialized. "
Malaysia has a new PM today. Dato Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi replaced Dr. M, until an election at the end of 2004. Mahathir was welcomed by a lawsuit by Anwar's group for misusing his position as PM and US Congress condemning his Jews comment after a similar complaint earlier by the Senate.
Police found two active bombs at the house left by Dr Azahari dan Noor Din Mohammad Top in Bandung. The two Malaysian suspects of JW Marriott bombing are still at large. Are we to expect more bombs with them out there?
Poor BNI directors, they havent been getting any rest since the loan scam story broke. They will all be dismissed soon and receive Central Bank sanctions pending investigation.
("Calls rise for dismissal of BNI directors" , The Jakarta Post, November 1, 2003) "The scandal concerns the publicly listed bank's failure to conduct a proper credit appraisal before allowing its Kebayoran Baru branch to disburse export credits to a number of local companies. The companies claimed to be exporting select commodities to the Congo and Kenya in Africa. The companies, identified by BNI as the Petindo Group and the Gramarindo Group, used as collateral letters of credit guaranteed by banks in Kenya, Switzerland and the Cook Islands. The credits were valued at Rp 1.7 trillion and disbursed from December 2002 to July 2003. However, it was later discovered that the export activities had never materialized. "
Friday, October 31, 2003
Home Front:
Peace and quiet at last, well, relatively that is... Nafisah's children stayed with their father after he arrived last Monday, while Nafisah stayed with the baby, Widad. Starting to fast yesterday.
We had big rains two days in a row. BMG forecast torrential rain and storm, worst than last year. Flooding in areas not normally flooded. Scary image.
Peace and quiet at last, well, relatively that is... Nafisah's children stayed with their father after he arrived last Monday, while Nafisah stayed with the baby, Widad. Starting to fast yesterday.
We had big rains two days in a row. BMG forecast torrential rain and storm, worst than last year. Flooding in areas not normally flooded. Scary image.
Drawing board:
The Komodo project is still in the pipeline. Trying to put together a story on the Komodo National Park. Doing research on the background. Lining up interviews with TNC, Walhi, community advocates in Labuan Bajo. Hope to do more story on ecotourism. If this works out, next project will be Bunaken.
The Komodo project is still in the pipeline. Trying to put together a story on the Komodo National Park. Doing research on the background. Lining up interviews with TNC, Walhi, community advocates in Labuan Bajo. Hope to do more story on ecotourism. If this works out, next project will be Bunaken.
In Focus:
Headlines are all about yesterday's APP Master Restructural Agreement signing. IBRA and export-credit agencies of Japan and several European nations ratified the plan to restructure part of it's $13.9 billion in debt. The deal was signed by APP and holders of 40% of it's $6.7 billion in Indonesian debt.
Time Mapes of AWSJ (APP Plan Faces U.S. Challenge, Thursday, October 30, 2003) wrote: "Rejecting the Indonesian deal, the Ex-Im Bank said Wednesday that the U.S. attorney's office in New York filed suit on its behalf against APP and three Indonesian subsidiaries. The suit seeks to recover about $104 million in debt, some of which was guaranteed by APP, Ex-Im Bank said. "We believe that the final debt-restructuring proposal is not fair and equitable to APP's creditors, and its repayment structure does not adequately reflect APP's ability to service its debts," said James Hess, Ex-Im Bank's chief financial officer."
Headlines are all about yesterday's APP Master Restructural Agreement signing. IBRA and export-credit agencies of Japan and several European nations ratified the plan to restructure part of it's $13.9 billion in debt. The deal was signed by APP and holders of 40% of it's $6.7 billion in Indonesian debt.
Time Mapes of AWSJ (APP Plan Faces U.S. Challenge, Thursday, October 30, 2003) wrote: "Rejecting the Indonesian deal, the Ex-Im Bank said Wednesday that the U.S. attorney's office in New York filed suit on its behalf against APP and three Indonesian subsidiaries. The suit seeks to recover about $104 million in debt, some of which was guaranteed by APP, Ex-Im Bank said. "We believe that the final debt-restructuring proposal is not fair and equitable to APP's creditors, and its repayment structure does not adequately reflect APP's ability to service its debts," said James Hess, Ex-Im Bank's chief financial officer."
