Bali is suffocating

[gilbert de jong]

I just wanna say everybody's intitled to have their own opinion and views on something.
To be honest i stopped reading after the first paragraph about the trafficjams and what creates them, and started reading again almost at the end, where she's writing about government officials not working on workhours, or using government vehicles for own pleassure. Hard stuff to read and for me it seems like a letter born out of misunderstanding the total culture of Bali..and Bali is a "living" Island, cant reboot and start writing a new program for this Island. And if she or anyone who agrees with her could reboot it...what would the new program look like?feel like? therefor, as she only says and recognize the problems...why not also give some possible sollutions?? Everybody can say whats wrong,, but giving a possible solution that would work(so not reboot) is alot more difficult.
And "change" is not always better...just different
Anyways so far my humble opinion to this thread

 

[JohnnyCool]

I agree with you.

..but giving a possible solution that would work(so not reboot) is a lot more difficult.

What would you suggest?

 

[gilbert de jong]

I have no suggestions on "improvements" 8)
I am happy the way it is, broken roads, corrupt police or goverment institution, I believe it all Adds to the experience what so many people call "paradise". If the road is broke...drive slower, in other countries they "invent" speedbumps to make u drive slower :lol: .
Why should I care if a government official is actually doing his job, or wandering around with a company(government) car? It has no influence on my life here, and also doesn't have an impact on the locals.
Corrupt police men, saves actually alot of money which would be spend on the judicial system, I mean tickets have to be written up, reports have to be filed, And personal "crime" records would have to be made. Time consuming and expensive...result even less police on the streets, as so many countries keep complaining that they have to few blue on the streets. So in my eyes, nothing wrong with the way it is
Friendly greetings....Gilbert

 

[lumumba]

Why should I care if a government official is actually doing his job, or wandering around with a company(government) car? It has no influence on my life here, and also doesn't have an impact on the locals.
Corrupt police men, saves actually alot of money which would be spend on the judicial system, I mean tickets have to be written up, reports have to be filed, And personal "crime" records would have to be made. Time consuming and expensive...result even less police on the streets, as so many countries keep complaining that they have to few blue on the streets. So in my eyes, nothing wrong with the way it is

Did you make your statement out of the blue or did you loose a lot of sleep over it. This is a real piece of work.

Thank God we are not all the same; this is the reason why the world is so wonderful.

Maybe you have to re-think, but not a bad idea after all. :roll:
L.

 

[macantidur]

Now this is an interesting footnote:

While Indonesia has boosted its duty on imported beverages to (correct me if I'm wrong) 300% . . . . Hong Kong has just LOWERED theirs . . . to ZERO percent!



Seems to me the Hong Kong government has a creative approach to easing the impact of the economic crisis.

Any thoughts from all of you?

 

[macantidur]

I certainly hope this comment is a joke:

Why should I care if a government official is actually doing his job, or wandering around with a company(government) car? It has no influence on my life here, and also doesn't have an impact on the locals.
Corrupt police men, saves actually alot of money which would be spend on the judicial system, I mean tickets have to be written up, reports have to be filed, And personal "crime" records would have to be made. Time consuming and expensive...result even less police on the streets, as so many countries keep complaining that they have to few blue on the streets. So in my eyes, nothing wrong with the way it is

If not, then this must be a very self-interested person indeed with little compassion or care for others and their well-being. Sounds a bit cynical. Being cynical can make you seem cool, sure, but ultimately it's destructive and mean spirited.

 

[froggy]

Tell it like it is Gilbert, too funny,,, I see your point,,, cut out a little red tape and get things done,,, I like paying on the spot for my tickets! Saves me court time etc. And last time I was pulled over for no helmet ( no ticket) , I went straight to the shop and bought one.lesson learned and appreciated the cop who let me go... I cant believe the driving death numbers in bali, thats crazy..... I read all of the long winded post and enjoyed it, thx. mac...

 

[ronb]

I cant believe the driving death numbers in bali, thats crazy.....

But as already been pointed out, the traffic accident death rate in Bali is only marginally higher than the traffic accident death rate in US. So can you believe the US figures? Do you find them crazy?

 

[froggy]

Bali seems like such a small island, it doesnt feel or look like millions of people live there.. JMO... so on a percentage point of view its right in line........ I suppose any amount is too much.. :cry:

 

[gilbert de jong]

hi sleeping tiger,

No it was not a joke, it's the way i see things.
How my comment is making me "self-interested" or how you come to that conclusion, is for me a mistery.My comment wasn't ment to be cynical, but it's the reality.I have enough selfconfidence, so I do not worry about being "cool" in somebody else's eyes. Some people try to change the system, and all of them have failed. Who am I to take on the entire Island of Bali. Better to let the system work for you(me), then try to beat it.
Another conclusion based on??? is : that I do not care for others people well-being, or have little compasion for them...Amazing...You dont even know me. If not caring for others, is paying for 8 kids their education, you are right about me, if building a temple in the village I live in,is not caring..again you are right, Lending money to villagers here without charging any interest, is not caring...again you are right.I can go on with examples, but to be honest I dont like to beat my own drum, just wanted to let you know you're wrong.

friendly greetings....Gilbert.

 

[milan]

If I may give my two-cent here. Suzi is right to have recognised and pointed out the problems? But Indonesia is what it is and how it is. Therefore, live and let live

 

[Sumatra]

Hey Ron,

Maybe that's why I don't take notice of the bad driving in Indonesia. In the US it's only "marginally" better. The speed at which motor vehicles can drive here makes it doubly dangerous.

I agree with your statement wholeheartedly.

Don

 

[ronb]

The Jakarta Post has a letter from a Henry in Denpasar in response to Suzi's piece. It starts with

Bali should stay that way
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
I refer to a letter titled "Bali: Serious problems" (The Jakarta Post, Jan 12) by Susi Johnston, who was highly critical of Bali.

Then why does Susi Johnson live in Bali? Why not pack your bags and leave Bali. In my opinion, you are not (completely) right.

The full item is at
http://old.thejakartapost.com/Archives/ArchivesDet2.asp?FileI3D=20090218.S0
but maybe you need an account to follow this link.

 

[tintin]

Thanks rond,

I just had an example as to why, in agreement with a recent statement by an Indonesian MP, Indonesia should not be trusted with more nuclear reactors:A simple, leading newspaper, the Jakarta Post" cannot even run its own website. :lol:

1) I clicked on the URL you posted ---> "Please, Login." Fair enough, and since I am a member (at least I thought I was), I enter my registered name and password. --> it was rejected as "not valid." --> "Please, Register."

2) OK, I re-registered --> I received my new temporary password, and logged-in. It worked!! (I further changed my password with a new permanent one).

3) I again went back to the URL you posted, and again was regected and ask to REGISTER. Since I am in a good mood this morning and was ready to play this game to the end, I registered again (on a different form this time, provided by the JKT Post, using my recent registered name and password) --> it seemed to worked.

4) Back to the URL. click -->I get an uncomprehensible message from JKT P, and no article.

5) I now go to the JKT Post of today (I am still logged-in). I go to "archives" and enter the proper info., including a time interval (Jan - Feb, 2009) and specify "opinions." --> I get couple of dozens of articles from 2002 to 2007 (!?)

6) Now, I specify " Susi Johnston" and change some parameters--> I get 2 letters dated Feb 18, 2009, including the letter you posted, and which mentioned, "Bali: Serious problems" (The Jakarta Post, Jan 12)". GREAT! I am almost home (or so I thought).

7) I now request this particular title and date --> answer: "nothing found."

8 ) I screw around further, varying some of the parameters --> nothing

9) I gave up. :evil: :evil: :evil:

And that is another (small I admit) proof, at least to me, a nuclear physics Ph.D., that Indonesia should not be trusted with nuclear technology. :roll: :lol:

 

[ronb]

Thanks for the amusing details Daniel - I too have run round in circles at times. They have 2 web addresses. The main one Google returns is:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/
and the other one where my account works is
http://old.thejakartapost.com/

They would seem to be distinct web servers using separate databases of users, but possibly sharing the same content database.

In the past I have attempted to register with the main one without success.

 

[mimpimanis]

One of the things that struck me reading Suzi's and others posts are the comments about the traffic jams. I can honestly say I have never been stuck in a traffic jam here that was any worse than my usual daily commute in London.

 

[Bert Vierstra]

Well, I don't go often to the south, but when I am there, wow, the traffic seems to have increased every time.

Its horrible.

 

[chilli]

When i was in Bali December /Janurary, there were traffic jams on a daily basis, even the taxi drivers were commenting on how bad the traffic was. Some suggested it was because of car influx from Jakarta over the Xmas period which also added to the problem.

What would usually take 10 mins in a taxi was taking an hour and more.