(Subjects: Religion/Worship, Lightworkers, Food, Health, Prescription Drugs, Homeopathy, Innate (Body intelligence), New Age movement, Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)

“…… Should I use Doctors and Drugs to Heal Me or Spiritual Methods?

"Dear Kryon, I have heard that you should stay natural and not use the science on the planet for healing. It does not honor God to go to a doctor. After all, don't you say that we can heal with our minds? So why should we ever go to a doctor if we can do it ourselves? Not only that, my doctor isn't enlightened, so he has no idea about my innate or my spiritual body needs. What should I do?"

First, Human Being, why do you wish to put so many things in boxes? You continue to want a yes and no answer for complex situations due to your 3D, linear outlook on almost everything. Learn to think out of the 3D box! Look at the heading of this section [above]. It asks which one should you do. It already assumes you can't do both because they seem dichotomous.

Let's use some spiritual logic: Here is a hypothetical answer, "Don't go to a doctor, for you can heal everything with your mind." So now I will ask: How many of you can do that in this room right now? How many readers can do that with efficiency right now? All of you are old souls, but are you really ready to do that? Do you know how? Do you have really good results with it? Can you rid disease and chemical imbalance with your mind right now?

I'm going to give you a truth, whether you choose to see it or not. You're not ready for that! You are not yet prepared to take on the task of full healing using your spiritual tools. Lemurians could do that, because Pleiadians taught them how! It's one of the promises of God, that there'll come a day when your DNA works that efficiently and you will be able to walk away from drug chemistry and the medical industry forever, for you'll have the creator's energy working at 100 percent, something you saw within the great masters who walked the earth.

This will be possible within the ascended earth that you are looking forward to, dear one. Have you seen the news lately? Look out the window. Is that where you are now? We are telling you that the energy is going in that direction, but you are not there yet.

Let those who feel that they can heal themselves begin the process of learning how. Many will be appreciative of the fact that you have some of the gifts for this now. Let the process begin, but don't think for a moment that you have arrived at a place where every health issue can be healed with your own power. You are students of a grand process that eventually will be yours if you wish to begin the quantum process of talking to your cells. Some will be good at this, and some will just be planting the seeds of it.

Now, I would like to tell you how Spirit works and the potentials of what's going to happen in the next few years. We're going to give the doctors of the planet new inventions and new science. These will be major discoveries about the Human body and of the quantum attributes therein.

Look at what has already happened, for some of this science has already been given to you and you are actually using it. Imagine a science that would allow the heart to be transplanted because the one you have is failing. Of course! It's an operation done many times a month on this planet. That information came from the creator, did you realize that? It didn't drop off the shelf of some dark energy library to be used in evil ways.

So, if you need a new heart, Lightworker, should you go to the doctor or create one with your mind? Until you feel comfortable that you can replace your heart with a new one by yourself, then you might consider using the God-given information that is in the hands of the surgeon. For it will save your life, and create a situation where you stay and continue to send your light to the earth! Do you see what we're saying?

You can also alter that which is medicine [drugs] and begin a process that is spectacular in its design, but not very 3D. I challenge you to begin to use what I would call the homeopathic principle with major drugs. If some of you are taking major drugs in order to alter your chemistry so that you can live better and longer, you might feel you have no choice. "Well, this is keeping me alive," you might say. "I don't yet have the ability to do this with my consciousness, so I take the drugs."

In this new energy, there is something else that you can try if you are in this category. Do the following with safety, intelligence, common sense and logic. Here is the challenge: The principle of homeopathy is that an almost invisible tincture of a substance is ingested and is seen by your innate. Innate "sees" what you are trying to do and then adjusts the body's chemistry in response. Therefore, you might say that you are sending the body a "signal for balance." The actual tincture is not large enough to affect anything chemically - yet it works!

The body [innate] sees what you're trying to do and then cooperates. In a sense, you might say the body is healing itself because you were able to give it instructions through the homeopathic substance of what to do. So, why not do it with a major drug? Start reducing the dosage and start talking to your cells, and see what happens. If you're not successful, then stop the reduction. However, to your own amazement, you may often be successful over time.

You might be able to take the dosage that you're used to and cut it to at least a quarter of what it was. It is the homeopathy principle and it allows you to keep the purpose of the drug, but reduce it to a fraction of a common 3D dosage. You're still taking it internally, but now it's also signaling in addition to working chemically. The signal is sent, the body cooperates, and you reduce the chance of side effects.

You can't put things in boxes of yes or no when it comes to the grand system of Spirit. You can instead use spiritual logic and see the things that God has given you on the planet within the inventions and processes. Have an operation, save your life, and stand and say, "Thank you, God, for this and for my being born where these things are possible." It's a complicated subject, is it not? Each of you is so different! You'll know what to do, dear one. Never stress over that decision, because your innate will tell you what is appropriate for you if you're willing to listen. ….”

Monsanto / GMO - Global Health


(Subjects: Big pharma [the drug companies of America] are going to have to change very soon or collapse. When you have an industry that keeps people sick for money, it cannot survive in the new consciousness., Global Unity, ... etc.) - (Text version)
"Recalibration of Free Choice"– Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Lose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth, 4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Pedal wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical) 8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)
"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)
"THE BRIDGE OF SWORDS" – Sep 29, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: ... I'm in Canada and I know it, but I will tell those listening and reading in the American audience the following: Get ready! Because there are some institutions that are yet to fall, ones that don't have integrity and that could never be helped with a bail out. Again, we tell you the biggest one is big pharma, and we told you that before. It's inevitable. If not now, then in a decade. It's inevitable and they will fight to stay alive and they will not be crossing the bridge. For on the other side of the bridge is a new way, not just for medicine but for care. ....) - (Text Version)

Pharmaceutical Fraud / Corruption cases

Health Care

Health Care
Happy birthday to Percy Julian, a pioneer in plant-drug synthesis. His research produced steroids like cortisone. (11 April 2014)

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Seven Babel residents die of dengue fever

Antara News, Wednesday, December 30, 2009 18:31 WIB

Pangkalpinang, Bangka Belitung (ANTARA News) - Seven residents of Bangka Belitung (Babel) have died of dengue fever, according to a local official.

Fogging had been conducted in 20 houses to prevent the further spread of the disease, Helmi Soefie, head of the Babel health service`s disease control section, said here on Wednesday.

He also urged local residents to follow a healthy life style in order to prevent the breeding of the mosquitoes that spread the disease.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne infection which n recent decades has become a major international public health concern. Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world, predominantly in urban and semi-urban areas.

Dengue haemorrhagic fever (DHF), a potentially lethal complication, was first recognized in the 1950s during dengue epidemics in the Philippines and Thailand.

The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. Some 2.5 billion people, two fifths of the world`s population, are now at risk from dengue. WHO currently estimates there may be 50 million dengue infections worldwide every year.

In 2007 alone, there were more than 890 000 reported cases of dengue in the Americas, of which 26 000 cases were DHF.


Free, but not for all

The Jakarta Post, Wed, 12/30/2009 3:51 PM


A grandmother holds her sick grandchild while waiting for free health services in Makassar in South Sulawesi on Wednesday. People have complained as not all residents have access to the limited service. (Antara/Sahrul Manda Tikupadang)


Woman on trial for allegedly stealing Rp19,000 worth of cookies

Antara News, Wednesday, December 30, 2009 05:48 WIB

Surabaya (ANTARA News) - A laid-off female worker accused of stealing Rp19,000 worth of cookies at her work place is awaiting sentencing by the Bangil District Court after the prosecution recently requested a three-month suspended jail term for her.

"Initially, I was to be sentenced right after New Year but the court session has been postponed to January 6, 2010 because the judges are on vacation," Sulfiana (35) said at the local Legal Aid Institute (LBH) here Tuesday.

Sulfiana was reported to the police by the company she worked for, PT United Tobacco Processing (UTP), and subsequently put on trial for having allegedly "embezzled" afternoon-tea cookies intended for 16 co-workers.

She had been working for the company since 1999 but on March 2, 2009 she was suddenly confronted by a personnel department officer who accused her of the theft.

Sulfina was given two options : being reported to the police or resign out of her own accord. She rejected the ultimatum because she felt she had not done anything wrong.

On March 16. she was suspended from her job and on October 24, 2009 entirely fired without more. Since then Sulfina had no regular job and survived by selling drinks and tutoring school students.

In facing her court trials, Sulfina is being assisted by Surabaya`s Protesting Workers Alliance (ABM) and each time she has to face the court, hundreds of workers always attend the session to give her moral support.

"On Thursday (Dec 31), 500 workers from different parts of East Java are to stage a rally of solidarity with Sulfina. We will be wearing bracelets of fake cookies to protest the criminilization of workers," ABM coordinator Jamaludin Malik said.


Justice for all

The Jakarta Post | Tue, 12/29/2009 8:22 AM



Grandma Minah, a villager living near Purwokerto, Central Java is embraced by actor Butet Kertaredjasa after receiving a cacao seedling from the anticorruption organization Kompak in Jakarta on Monday. The woman, who made newspaper headlines after a local court sentenced her to 45 days in jail for stealing three cacao pods from a plantation company, was named one of Kompak’s People of the Year. JP/Nurhayati


Related Article:

Woman on trial for allegedly stealing Rp19,000 worth of cookies


Tuesday, December 29, 2009

First Lady calls for intensified Posyandu activities

Antara News, Tuesday, December 29, 2009 20:07 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - First Lady Ani Yudhoyono has asked members of the Family Welfare and Empowerment (PKK) team to intensify the activities of integrated health posts (Posyandu).

"Intensify innovative activities (of Posyandu) in accordance with local conditions," she said when visiting Matahari II posyandu at Lubang Buaya , Cipayung sub district, East Jakarta, Tuesday.

The First Lady was accompanied by Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo, National PKK Team Chief Vita Gamawan Fauzi, Jakarta`s PKK Team Tatiek Fauzi Bowo and members of the United Indonesia Cabinet Ministers` Wives Solidarity (SIKIB).

She said around 50 percent of Posyandu`s health funds was contributed by the public.

Meanwhile, the health minister reported that the number of Posyandus had increased from 232,000 in 2004 to 267,000 in 2007.

The maternal mortality rate in 2007 had dropped to 228 per 100 thousand and would continue to be cut to 118 per 100 thousand live births by 2015.

The mortality rate is expected to be reduced from 34 per 1000 live births in 2007 to 24 per 1000 live births in 2015.

"And the number of malnourished infants will be down from 18.4 percent in 2007 to less than 15 percent in 2015," the health minister said.


Noordin's father-in-law, brother-in-law named suspects for hiding terrorist

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 12/29/2009 6:08 PM

Baridin Latief and Ata, the father-in-law and brother-in-law of high-profile terrorist Noordin M. Top have been named as suspects for allegedly hiding the terrorist during his runaway from the National Police counterterrorism unit.

Police chief detective Comr. Gen. Ito Sumardi confirmed the status Tuesday.

Ito said that the police had accused Baridin of violating article 13b of the 2003 Law on antiterrorism for hiding the Malaysian terrorist.

“Besides, he allegedly hid bombing material in the yard of his house in Cilacap when the team raided his home,” Ito told kompas.com.

“The suspects are in Jakarta. We are developing the case to discover a possible terrorism network,” he said.

Baridin and Ata were arrested by the team in his home in Banyuasih village of Garut, West Java, last Thursday. Baridin's daughter Arina is Noordin's third wife. Noordin was killed during a search by the team last September in Surakarta. (ewd)

47 Sri Lankan Asylum Seekers Leave Indonesia for Australia, Romania

Flying for freedom: Sri Lankan asylum seekers wait for their departure at an airport in Tanjung Pinang, Bintan island, on Tuesday. An Indonesian official says 47 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers who were among 78 ethnic Tamils rescued from a ship by Australian Customs officials in October, are being flown to Romania and Australia for resettlement. AP/Syaifullah

An Indonesian official says 47 Sri Lankan asylum-seekers are being flown to Romania and Australia for resettlement.

Law and Human Rights Chief I Gde Widiarta of the western province of Riau Kepulauan says the 47 were among 78 ethnic Tamils rescued from a ship by Australian Customs officials in October.

The boat’s engine broke down in international waters near Indonesia. Scores of boats have been intercepted in the region this year.

Romania was accepting 16 asylum seekers and Australia was taking 31.

Widiarta said 15 Tamils from the same ship were resettled in Canada and Australia earlier this month.

Indonesia is a major launching point for Sri Lankans, Afghans and Iraqis seeking refuge in Australia.

Associated Press



Prita Mulyasari Cleared of All Charges

The Jakarta Globe, Heru Andriyanto

Prita Mulysari on trial at Tangerang District Court. (Photo: Ismar Patrizki, Antara)

Indonesian woman Prita Mulyasari has been cleared of criminal defamation charges by Tangerang District Court on Tuesday in the case brought against her by doctors from Omni Hospital, concluding a lengthy trial that has lasted more than four months.

Presiding judge, Arthur Harnewa, delivered the verdict and said that Prita’s good name would now be restored. All charges against her have now been dropped.

The audience shouted “Allahu Akbar” (“God is great”) as Arthur Hangewa finished reading the verdict.

The panel of judges ruled that the email sent by Prita didn’t carry defamatory intent and was instead meant as a ‘constructive criticism’ for the sake of the public interest.

Prosecutors will now consider whether or not to appeal the verdict in a higher court. Any appeal must be lodged within 14 days.

“We respect the verdict, but asked for 14 days of time to consider our stance,” prosecutor Riyadi said.

Four months ago, the same court acquitted Prita in a preliminary ruling but she was retried on order by the Banten High Court.

Currently three months pregnant with her third child, Prita was accused of defaming the upscale hospital in Tangerang through an e-mail she sent to 20 of her friends.

The criminal case was brought against her by two doctors working at Omni, while the hospital sued her in a separate civil case.

Her case sparked public outrage after she was detained for three weeks ahead of her criminal trial and the court fined her Rp 312 million ($33,000) in the civil case.

The Banten High Court recently upheld the civil case verdict, although the fine was reduced to Rp 204 million.

Supporters from all walks of life, ranging from schoolchildren to top officials of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s Democratic Party, collected donations amounting to more than Rp 800 million to help Prita pay the fine, but the hospital later dropped the civil suit.

The case stirred a media uproar after the defense team showed evidence that Omni had offered free medical checkups for Tangerang prosecutors, who neither denied nor confirmed the report.

The Attorney General’s Office has launched inquiries into prosecutors at the district office and the Banten provincial office amid reports that they used the Electronic Information and Transaction (ITE) law as the basis to detain Prita ahead of her trial.

Tuesday’s hearing started at 9 a.m. Officials from National Commission for Human Rights and the Judicial Commission were among the attendees, as well as around 40 women who claimed to be Prita’s supporters.

Free: Libel defendant Prita Mulyasari hugs her sister who accompanied her during her trial against Omni International Hospital. The Tangerang District Court acquitted Prita's charge of defamation on Tuesday filed by the hospital. JP/Multa Fidrus


Related Articles:

Prosecution to appeal Prita`s acquittal

Prita acquitted

Indonesian Facebook Mum Wins Hospital Defamation Case

Hundreds attend concert for Prita, but Kalla absent

'People's champion' battles legal system

Prita's Coins Will Be Exchanged at Bank Indonesia

NU, Muhammadiyah call on govt to prioritize national interest ("Halal Living")

In Indonesia, Middlemen Mold Outcome of Justice

Oversight of Indonesia's Hospitals Deficient: Expert

Omni drops civil suit against Prita

Omni agrees to withdraw lawsuit

Pennies for Prita Campaign Pulls In Rp 500 Million

Prita Mulyasari to Seek Damages of Over Rp 1t In Ongoing Court Saga


Prita Takes Firm Stand With Omni Over Suit

Prita Mulyasari on trial at the Tangerang District Court.
(Photo: Ismar Patrizki, Antara)

Bali Airport Officials Arrest Australian Man for Marijuana Possession

The Jakarta Globe,

Officers at Bali’s Ngurah Rai Airport arrested an Australian citizen for marijuana possession on Monday.

The man, 48-year-old Robert Paul McJannett, was arrested after disembarking from a Virgin Blue flight from Perth on Monday at 11:30 p.m.

“We found two grams of marijuana in his luggage,” airport custom official Bagus Endro Wibowo said on Tuesday.

According to Bagus, McJannett arrived in Bali with his 21-year-old son. When his luggage was passed through an airport X-ray machine, officers detected a piece of metal inside his bag. Officers thought the metal piece was gold, but when they opened the luggage, they found plastic-wrapped marijuana hidden inside one of his socks.

Officers confiscated McJannet’s Australian and British passports.

When he was questioned at the immigration office, McJannett was not cooperative and once tried to flush the marijuana to the toilet. He refused to have an urine test and sign an investigation report.

“The suspect has been handed over to Bali Police for further processing,” Bagus said.

PMI receives Rp1.5 B from capital market community

Antara News, Tuesday, December 29, 2009 02:38 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) has received Rp1.5 billion in aid from the Indonesian capital market community for earthquake victims in West Sumatra and Tasikmalaya.

Indonesia Stock Exchange (BEI) President Director Ito Warsito handed over the aid to new PMI Chief M Jusuf Kalla at the PMI Headquarters here on Sunday, the PMI said in a press statement on Monday.

Kalla expressed gratitude to the capital market community for trusting the PMI to channel the aid to quake victims in the two areas.

The aid would no longer be used for an emergency response phase but for a recovery one, Kalla said.

Realizing that Indonesia was highly vulnerable to natural disasters, the nation must keep watch against various natural disasters, particularly those caused by human activities, he said.

The one-time president said the PMI had committed itself to providing maximum services to victims of natural disasters by training more volunteers to achieve the goal.

"To that end, we will always cooperate with all partners to support the PMI`s activities," he said.

Ito Warsito meanwhile said his side had chosen PMI to channel the humanitarian aid because the agency had a better knowledge of the quake victims` needs, and was quick in channeling aid.

PMI data show the agency has so far channeled aid to 25,020 families and distributed more than 4 million liters of clean water among quake victims in West Sumatra.

An earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale rocked West Sumatra province on September 30 this year, killing more than 1,100 people and injuring thousands of others.


Two Climbers Dead From Cold On Indonesia's Mt. Lawu

Search and Rescue team members carry the body of a victim from Mt. Lawu on Monday. A coordinated effort saved many other hikers. (JG Photo/Ali Lutfi).

Karanganyar, Central Java. A major tragedy was averted on Monday evening, with all but two of a group of 125 inexperienced mountain climbers making it off the treacherous Mount Lawu alive.

Emergency services at the scene of the major rescue operation told the Jakarta Globe that the deceased had been identified as Jumain, 32, from Demak and Muji Rohman, 18, from Blora. Both victims had been part of a 125-strong party from the Condro Mowo Muslim boarding school in Blora, Central Java, who early on Saturday began climbing the 3,265-meter-tall mountain to celebrate Javanese New Year.

An additional six climbers had gone missing in the same area as the deceased, but they were found alive and evacuated from the mountain.

Aji Pratama Heru Kristanto, head of the natural disaster mitigation task force based in Karanganyar, said reports about the deceased climbers came in on Sunday evening. “Dozens of climbers are also in a weak condition. But the rescue team could only leave at dawn on Monday because of the harsh weather,” Aji said.

The remainder of the group, many likely suffering from hypothermia, had been evacuated by early Monday evening. Conditions near the peak were described as being just 4 degrees Celsius, with heavy winds and rain.

The inexperienced and ill-prepared group were reportedly taking a forbidden and unmonitored route in their attempt to reach the summit of the mountain, approaching from Ngawi in East Java.

The party had split into three groups that were scheduled to meet up in Argo Dalem, a sacred site some 200 meters from the peak, to perform traditional Javanese New Year rites there.

“We dispatched hundreds of personnel to comb the Argo Dalem area, at a height of 3,000 [meters] above sea level to search for the lost climbers and evacuate the two dead climbers,” Aji said.

The task force included an evacuation team, searchers, miners, and health and logistics personnel. They were also backed up by volunteers from the Anak Gunung Lawu search-and-rescue team as well as the local police.

Adj. Chief Comr. Edi Suroso, head of the Karanganyar Police, said the number of climbers on the mountain always increased markedly during the Islamic month of Muharram or the Javanese month of Suro. The top of Mount Lawu is considered to be very sacred according to traditional Javanese beliefs.

“Besides in Argo Dalem, victim evacuation was also conducted in the Bulak Peperangan area. There was also another group which planned to hold a ritual at the top of the mountain.”

The climbers are usually ill-prepared logistically, and many climb the mountain while fasting as part of the Javanese rituals. The climb to the top usually takes between five and six hours.


Autopsy Shows Bali Murder More Brutal Than Thought

The Jakarta Globe, Made Arya Kencana

An autopsy has revealed that the brutal murder of a Japanese tourist in Bali was even more frenzied than first believed.

Bali Police on Sunday said they believed Hiromi Shimada, 41, from Saitama prefecture, had been bound and stabbed 10 times in the stomach and chest but on Monday, that figure was revised upwards.

“She was stabbed 25 times and also hit several times with a blunt object on her stomach and chest,” said Ida Bagus Putu Alit, head of forensic medicine at Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar.

Shimada’s body was found in her rented home on Jalan Sada Sari, about one kilometer from Kuta Beach, on Sunday morning. Ida said the victim had been dead for 12 to 24 hours before being discovered.

He said the autopsy also showed that Shimada did not resist her attacker, and that she had died relatively quickly.

Ida said he was still waiting on the results of laboratory tests to determine whether she had consensual sex or was raped prior to her death.

“The victim’s body is still being kept in the morgue because none of her family have come to claim her,” he said.

Denpasar Police Chief Sr. Comr. Gede Alit Widana said officers had questioned 15 witnesses, including Shimada’s ex-husbands Agus and Harianto, whom she married in 2000 and 2007, respectively.

“So far, there is no prime suspect for this murder,” Gede said.

Shimada’s murder comes after the half-naked body of another Japanese woman, Rika Kasano, 33, was found in nearby Tuban on Sept. 28.

Ngurah Wijaya, head of the Bali Tourism Board, said the murders had damaged the resort island’s image.

“The publicity about the cases was massive and it really hurts our image,” he said.

Ngurah said police must move quickly to solve the case to ensure Bali does not lose its reputation as a safe place to visit.

“It would be even better if the police could prevent such cases from happening in Bali,” he said.

Ngurah also said immigration authorities should be more careful because many foreigners had misused their visas in Bali.

“The permit is only as a visitor but they do business in Bali instead and some have overstayed their visas. We don’t need that kind of tourist,” he said.

Related Articles:

Robbery, Rape Behind Killing of Japanese Woman

Japanese woman was murdered by close acquaintances: Police


Monday, December 28, 2009

Thirty Eight Iranian Smugglers Face Death Penalty

Tempo Interactive, Monday, 28 December, 2009 | 20:11 WIB

TEMPO Interactive, Jakarta: A total of thirty eight Iranians rounded during 2009 for smuggling drugs are facing death sentence the National Narcotics Agency said on Monday (28/12). During a publication of the latest catch made last week at the Soekarno-Hatta Airport, a spokesman for the agency said the Iranians were those caught at Soekarno-Hatta (Jakarta), Djuanda (Surabaya), Ngurah Rai (Bali).

Sumirat Dwiyanto head of the Public Communication Division of the Tactical Unit said the Iranians were death penalty threat for carrying more than five grams of category-one drug, based on the newly introduced Law No.35 of 2009 in mid October. Methampethamine is a category-one drug according to the law with possible sentence of life imprisonment, death penalty and up to Rp10 billion fine.

Police did not specified the total amount of illegal drugs seized from all the catches this year.

JONIANSYAH


Two more Iranian men nabbed at airport with drugs

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Mon, 12/28/2009 5:36 PM

The Interdiction Task Force at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport has arrested two Iranian men smuggling crystal methamphetamine worth Rp 2.1 billion (US$ 210,000) into the country.

Bahaduri Wijayanta, chief of the airport customs office identified the two men as Muhamad Reza Ashabi, 25, who was working as a shoe vendor and Abdullah Haidar, 34, a taxi driver from Tehran.

Both Abdullah and Muhammad Reza were promised US$3000 if they delivered the drug to a contact in Jakarta.

“As of today, we have arrested 28 Iranians for smuggling drugs into the country through the airport this year,” Bahaduri said in a press conference on Monday.

The Interdiction Task Force is a joint effort established at the airport to curb drugs being smuggled into the country. The task force consists of customs and excise officers, the police, the National Narcotic Body (BNN), immigration and quarantine.

The officers found a total 101 capsules in the men’s stomachs, which contained 948 grams of crystal meth.

On December 13, seven Iranian men were also arrested in two separate cases under similar circumstances.

Three men in the first case were identified as Taheri Shahram, 27, Mahdi Moghaddamkouhi Rezaali, 25, and Abbaspour Morteza, 26.

On the same day, officers also detained four other Iranian men identified as Mirzaein Rasoul, 25, Alimoradi Mohsen, 25, Hajebi Shahab, 40 and Goodarzi Ghola Hassan at terminal II E.


Two die, six missing in Mt. Lawu

The Jakarta Post | Mon, 12/28/2009 10:46 AM

Two people died and six others were still missing during a weekend climbing activity in Mount Lawu, Central Java.

The dead were identified as 23-year-old Jumain from Demak, Central Java, and 18-year-old Muji Rachman from Blora, Central Java.

Search and rescue team coordinator Aji Pratama Heru said Monday his team was still searching for the missing climbers who are mostly from Central Java such as Nur Achmad from Kudus, Fauji (Cilacap), Puji (Pati), Arif (Blora), and Muchlis (Bojonegoro), Antara news agency reported.

One missing person, known as Eko Supriyanto, was from Jambi, Heru added.

The victims were among 125 Blora's Condromowo Association members, who climbed Mount Lawu on Saturday morning in sunny weather. However, the rain poured the mountain on the afternoon and only stopped on Sunday.


Body of Teenage Girl Found Near Elite South Jakarta School Still Unidentified

The Jakarta Globe

The body of a teenage girl found under the TB Simatupang toll road in front of South Jakarta’s High Scope School remained unidentified on Monday as police planned to conduct an autopsy to discover the cause of death.

“An autopsy will take place on Monday afternoon,” Cilandak Police Chief Comr. Doni Aditya Warman said on Monday.

The autopsy would be conducted at Fatmawati Hospital in South Jakarta.

The body was found by a passing scavenger on Sunday morning. Police predicted the girl had already been dead for two or three days when the body was found.

The victim was estimated to be between 15 and 18 years of age. She wore a tight short pants and a white sleeveless t-shirt. There were bruises on her forehead and her nose. She had lost six front teeth. Near her body were a pair of pink sneakers, a red jacket, a green shirt, a pair of high school uniform trousers, a belt and blood-soaked lacy underwear.

Police encouraged members of the public to come to Cilandak Police if they had a missing relative with similar physical traits.

“Anyone who has a teenage girl relative missing, please come and report to us,” Doni said.

The police also predicted that the girl had been killed by multiple suspects in another location and then dumped under the toll road.

“It is possible that there was more than one suspect because her position suggested that she was carried and put on the ground, not thrown (from a car). It is very hard for one person alone to carry a dead body,” Doni said.

JG

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Malaria hits Pandeglang

The Jakarta Post, Mon, 12/28/2009 9:24 AM

More than 152 people in Cikeusik and Cibitung, Pandeglang regency, Banten have contracted malaria over the past three months.

Five local people also reportedly died during the Malaria outbreak period, but health officials were unable to confirm the cause of their death yet, Kompas.com reported.

The two districts are located near a river.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

Toddler dies after being denied treatment

Multa Fidrus, The Jakarta Post, Tangerang | Sun, 12/27/2009 8:16 PM

Zainudin, from West Jurang Mangu in Pondok Aren district, South Tangerang, could not hide his deep regret at the death of his 2-year-old daughter Naila because she could not get the proper medical treatment.

Zainudin said he could not make the down payment to get his daughter into a pediatric intensive care unit (ICU).

“The hospitals that had ICUs for children were asking for millions of rupiah as a down payment, and I couldn’t afford to pay,” Zainudin said Sunday.

His story began when he took his daughter to Aqidah Hospital in Ciledug late Thursday after she suffered a complication.

The family declined to say what that complication was.

Because the hospital lacked an ICU, it referred them to Bhakti Asih Hospital, also in Ciledug and also without an ICU.

The doctor on duty at Bhakti Asih then referred the family to the much bigger Bintaro International Hospital.

Zainudin said he then called up the hospital for confirmation about the ICU, and was told he would have to pay Rp 10 million in advance and Rp 8 million a day for the treatment in the pediatric ICU.

Because he had no money, he went on, he then contacted JMC Hospital on Jl. Buncit Raya, South Jakarta.

The hospital demanded a down payment of Rp 15 million and daily treatment fees of Rp 4 million.

A call to another hospital, Harapan Kita in West Jakarta, netted a quote for an advance payment of Rp 18 million, Zainudin said.

Flustered with the runaround, he finally decided to leave Naila at Bhakti Asih, putting her fate, as he said, “in God’s hands”.

She died the next morning.

Two die as dengue hits West Kutai

Nurni Sulaiman, The Jakarta Post, Balikpapan, East Kalimantan | Sun, 12/27/2009 4:29 PM

Dengue fevers have hit West Kutai, East Kalimantan, killing two people in the past week and infected hundreds this month.

Beatrix, a nurse at the Long Hubung health center, West Kutai, said dengue fevers mostly attacked kids under 12 years old.

"This month, hundreds of local people may have contracted dengue fever," she said.

She called on the villagers to be vigilant of flood during this rainy season, which is usually followed by a widespread dengue.


Indonesian Maid Leaps to her Death in Taipei

The Jakarta Globe,

Taipei. An Indonesian maid leapt to her death from the 12th floor of a Taipei apartment building after quarreling with her husband on the phone, a newspaper reported on Sunday.

Wasiah, 30, jumped from the apartment of her Taiwanese employer Saturday around noon after receiving a phone call from her husband in Indonesia, the United Daily News said.

"She quarreled with her husband on the phone. When she hung up, she dashed to the balcony and I heard the sound of vomiting. I saw that she was about to leap off and I rushed to the balcony to stop her, but it was too late," the employer's younger sister, who was using a computer in the sitting room, was quoted as saying.

She said she did not know what the quarrel was about, because Wasiah was talking in Indonesian, "but she was shouting on the

phone," the newspaper reported.

Wasiah landed on a parked car, smashed the back window of the car, and tumbled to the ground. She was rushed to the June Ai Hospital but died from her injuries.

The maid had arrived in Taiwan in April to work for the local family through arrangement by a job placement company.

Police ruled out foul play, and notified Wasiah's family.

DPA

Japanese Woman Found Dead in Bali

The Jakarta Globe,

The body of a Japanese woman has been found naked and bound on the Indonesian holiday island of Bali, police said Sunday. Hiromi Shimada, 41, had been stabbed repeatedly in the stomach.

Her body was discovered in a rented house near the popular tourist beach of Kuta on Saturday evening, provincial police spokesman I Gede Sugianyar told AFP.

"The victim was found with several stab wounds on her stomach. Her legs were tied with cloth and she was naked," he said." The motive for the crime is still being investigated," Sugianyar said.

In September, the partially decomposed body of another Japanese tourist, 33-year-old Rika Sano, was found near her scattered belongings in the same area after a suspected kidnapping.

An Indonesian man has been arrested and is being investigated for the earlier case, Bali police spokeswoman Sri Harmiti said.

AFP

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Dozens of foreigners arrested in East Java

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 12/27/2009 3:47 PM

A total of 17 foreigners have been arrested in Sidoarjo, East Java for illegally staying in the city.

Four of them were Iraqis and the rest were Afghans.

"They are now being questioned in the Surabaya Police headquarters," Surabaya Police Chief Sr. Comr. Ike Edwin said as quoted by Antara news agency on Sunday. "But the case will be soon transferred to the East Java Police."

Ike said the foreigners stayed in Sidoarjo after feeling unsafe in their last two stops, Jakarta and Surabaya.

"They were arrested when they are about to take a boat to Bali," he added.

Post-reconstruction Aceh: Leftover problems

The Jakarta Post, Sat, 12/26/2009 12:48 PM | Special Report

On this day five years ago, a 9.1-magnitude undersea earthquake occurred in the Indian Ocean, unleashing an enormous tsunami that swept across the region. Vice President Boediono is scheduled to lead a commemoration ceremony of the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami this Saturday in Banda Aceh with several ministers attending. The Jakarta Post's Hotli Simanjuntak reviews how physical reconstruction work and recovery and assistance programs for tsunami victims have been implemented in Aceh.

A building with a unique architectural design stands right on the heart of Banda Aceh, Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam, to commemorate the devastating tsunami both to local and international communities.

Apart from this museum, thousands of houses of the same style and hundreds of public facilities have also been built from the Sumatra's outermost cape of Ujung Batee to West Aceh, once flattened to the ground by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunami.

Data from the Aceh Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Agency (BRR) shows that during the five-year reconstruction process the agency has built 140,304 houses, 1,759 schools, 1,115 health facilities, 996 government institution buildings, 363 bridges, 23 ports, 13 airports and reconstructed 3,696 kilometers of roads.

"Aceh has completely changed in comparison to before the tsunami. There is no other place in Indonesia that is capable of developing and changing that fast," Aceh Judicial Monitoring Institute chairman Hendra Budian said.

Hendra said the extraordinary change was not just physical but occurred in the local's psyche and behavior. Additionally their language capacity has altered.

"It's now easy to find foreign terminology used among NGO activists used among the local community to communicate with each other," Hendra said.

Other positive things, he added, included the openness among the local community that had long been known as closed and suspicious toward newcomers as the result of years of conflicts.

"The five year reconstruction process has enabled them to become more open, thanks to the cultural penetration by both international humanitarian communities and aid from other Indonesian regions," Hendra said.

He added it was not difficult these days to find Acehnese sitting at cafes, browsing the Internet with their laptops and using free Internet services. This excluded other business opportunities opened for Acehnese including restaurants or Western eateries.

"This has also influenced the way the Acehnese community think," he said.

Hendra, however, expressed concerns that the condition might change when the NGOs left the region as their term to work there was also finished.

Currently, he said, there are still about 200 domestic and international NGOs working in Aceh. But they will end their programs in between 2010 and 2015, leaving only some of the UN organizations for a few more years to finish their rehabilitation and reconstruction programs.

"Acehnese have been too dependant on NGOs and other donor institution aid.

"They tend to have NGOs solve their problems once they encounter ones without trying to solve them by themselves," Hendra said.

This, he added, would be a problem for the community if the local administration did not deploy exit strategies to eliminate their dependence on NGO aid.

"Five years of rehabilitation should have given the Acehnese enough time to become independent, with the help of their respective regional administrations," he said.

Unfortunately, according to Hendra, the Aceh administration seemed to have failed to create the right exits when the NGOs left the region. In fact, the reconstruction process has left many potential problems that could anytime surface and explode.

Among others include the unfinished distribution of houses to tsunami survivors and the not-yet finished development of the main road connecting Banda Aceh and Meulaboh that has been funded by USAID.

Due to uncompleted road construction, in many places people are forced to cross rivers on traditional rafts because there are no bridges.

The BRR has similarly been criticized for building infrastructure or facilities considered as providing no benefits to the wider community. Among others are the development of a tsunami museum and other public facilities that have yet to function well.

"All the economic sectors have been moved using the fund from the reconstruction and rehabilitation programs. Once the programs are over, we are not sure what will move the wheel of economy in Aceh in the future," Hendra said.

He added that the Aceh administration as well as the Aceh Reconstruction Sustainability Agency (BKRA) realized that the fund would not last forever and prepared for economic recovery programs for the survivors, for example, by inviting investors to invest in the province.

"So far, however, no investors are coming to Aceh for long-term investment," he said.

Many have also expressed concern about the negative impact of both national and international NGO activist presence, saying that many Acehnese have developed materialist, money-oriented attitudes, valuing everything with money.

"Even when we have a social program to help the community, it is money focused," Mulyani said, former Red Cross staff in Aceh.

Mulyani said such pattern of thinking had been developed among almost all the tsunami survivors. Providing an example, Mulyani said if an NGO was to have a community gathering to decide on the future, they would not show up if they knew no money would be distributed during the meeting.

It has been a public secret that NGOs wanting to gather the community have to have incentives for those coming to the meeting.

This is believed to be reminiscent of the post-tsunami reconstruction process, where hundreds of humanitarian organizations came to Aceh and created thousands of job opportunities for the community.

To help create professional positions, many NGOs employed staff officers recruited from other regions as well as expatriates from around the world with relatively high salaries. Many of the Acehnese became instantly rich.

"Prices were skyrocketing as the result of high inflation rate in Aceh," Mulyani said, who has been applying for an NGO position after the Red Cross she formerly worked for ended its mission in the province.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

Health Ministry to Extend Insurance to Disaster Victims, Institutionalized Poor

The Jakarta Globe,

Health authorities are planning not only to continue a health security scheme for the poor, known as Jamkesmas, but will broaden its coverage, officials said.

“I would like to make it clear that Jamkesmas will be continued, and the word ‘insurance’ should be taken as another form of social security,” Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih said on Tuesday.

Speaking during a visit to the Suara Pembaruan evening newspaper, a sister company of the Jakarta Globe, Endang also said that the categories of those eligible to be covered by the health security scheme would be extended.

Chalik Masulili, the Health Ministry’s director for Jamkesmas, cited the new categories as victims of natural disasters and the inhabitants of social institutions such as orphanages, nursing homes, houses for the disabled, drug rehabilitation centers and prison inmates.

He said that victims of natural disasters were often suddenly dispossessed while the majority of those in the other categories were also poor.

“We would also like to streamline the bureaucratic procedure for these people to be covered,” Chalik said.

Disaster victims and those living in social institutions will only need a letter from their local social service officer to become eligible for the Jamkesmas while inmates just needed a letter from their prison directors.

He said the initiative has gained the support from the ministries of Home Affairs, Social Affairs and Law and Human Rights.

The scheme’s expansion, Chalik said, was officially launched at the Cipinang Penitentiary in East Jakarta on Monday.

Apart from the new additions, he added, the Health Ministry was working to include the poor and disabled not living in institutions and employees in the informal sector.

Endang said that in view of the high cost of health care that had to be borne by the state, she intended to encourage the some 8,000 health community centers at the village level across the archipelago to be more active in preventive measures.

“So far 10 percent of the 76.4 million [eligible] people have made use of Jamkesmas. Covering that many people is costly, that is why we are also working toward preventive measures and schemes on financing diversification,” she said.

She said the health costs of employees were the responsibility of their employers, while those of civil servants and the poor were the responsibilities of the government.

“The insurance scheme means that fees collected by its members are used to pay for those in need,” she said.

“For Jamkesmas, the money is given to each districts and is disbursed via several procedures,” she added.

Originally, funds for Jamkesmas were to be disbursed by a special implementing agency but that institution has yet to be established, Chalik said.

“The implementing agency would have to be a non-profit body. And it also has to be active, effective, transparent and accountable,” he explained.

Friday, December 25, 2009

Some Struggles, Great Hope for Aceh's Tsunami Orphans

The Jakarta Globe, Ben Stocking


Aceh's tsunami orphans are growing up and moving on with their lives. (AP Photo)

The 2004 tsunami obliterated Pipit's village, wiped out her family and swept her through churning waters, cascading debris and hurtling bodies.

On her first night as an orphan, at the age of 13, she slept next to a row of corpses.

Five years later, she still has moments of sadness, especially during holidays. But like many of Indonesia's more than 5,200 known tsunami orphans, she is making a life for herself. She has enrolled in university, plays the violin and plans to tackle German.

``Most of the time, I don't think about the tsunami,'' said Pipit, who lives in a comfortable orphanage in Banda Aceh, the capital of Aceh province and close to the epicenter of the earthquake that unleashed one of the worst natural disasters in history.

``I'm trying to be strong,'' said Pipit, who like many Indonesians uses one name.

The December 26, 2004, quake registered at least 9.1 on the Richter scale and unleashed towering waves that leveled communities from Indonesia to Thailand, India and Sri Lanka. About 230,000 people died, more than half of them in Aceh on the island of Sumatra.

More than $13 billion in donations poured in from around the world, nearly half for Aceh. In some Indonesian communities, only the mosque was left standing. They have been rebuilt. Destroyed homes have been replaced by sturdier ones, new schools have gone up and freshly paved roads crisscross the region.

There are few visible reminders of the tsunami in Banda Aceh today, with one glaring exception: a 5,000-ton ship that was hurled into a residential neighborhood roughly 1 1/2 kilometers (one mile) inland. It has become a tourist attraction.

The emotional recovery of the tsunami's orphans hasn't been as complete. Some continue to struggle with loneliness and anger, and flounder in school.

Eight-year-old Arif Munandar lives in a picturesque neighborhood, at the water's edge and ringed by mountains, that has been completely restored with help from international and Indonesian donors.

He lost his parents and two sisters in the tsunami and was later adopted by his mother's sister, Jamilah. They live in a family compound teeming with aunts, uncles and cousins who share three adjacent houses.

Arif has trouble concentrating at school and often gets into scuffles. Jamilah tries to teach him about the Quran, but he doesn't want to listen. ``I don't know what to do,'' she said.

In the immediate aftermath, Arif cried for his mother all the time. It took his aunt a month before she worked up the courage to tell him that his parents were dead.

At his school, rebuilt by Plan International, a British-based nonprofit, 80 percent of the children lost a family member in the tsunami and about a quarter lost a parent.

``Five years later, they've almost forgotten it happened,'' said Nurhayati, the vice principal. ``They look cheerful again.''

Only a handful, she said, are still clearly haunted by it, including Arif.

``He's a loner,'' Nurhayati said. ``He daydreams a lot.''

The count of 5,200 orphans may seem low, considering more than 100,000 people died in Aceh. That's partly because so many children died, and partly because many were taken in by family and left out of the official statistics.

Most seem to be coping well, said Justin Curry, psycho-social technical adviser for the American Red Cross tsunami recovery program. ``The great thing about kids is that they are resilient,'' he said. ``They can handle a tremendous amount.''

Many of Aceh's children had already suffered emotional scars from the province's 30-year war of independence, which orphaned many children before the two sides agreed to lay down their arms after the tsunami.

In some ways, coping with the fallout of war helped Aceh deal with the aftermath of the tsunami, said Peter La Raus, Save the Children's chief in Banda Aceh. People had already developed extensive family and social networks to help them deal with hardship.

``The tsunami was devastating, but they didn't have to develop a new social network from scratch,'' La Raus said.

On the other hand, the tsunami was a new trauma layered over that of war, said Curry, of the Red Cross.

``You had a population that was living in a chronically stressful situation and then another major stresser occurred,'' he said.

Some, like Pipit, live in the Muslim region's many religious boarding schools or orphanages, which proliferated as international aid poured in.

At her orphanage, the 93 females, all of them clad in Muslim head scarves, appear to be well behaved and happy, needing only four adults to supervise the two dormitories. The facilities include a basketball and volleyball court, an outdoor cafe and a mosque.

Pipit's close friend, Intan, chose to live in the orphanage, funded by a Turkish nonprofit, because she found it more appealing than living with her strict grandmother, who took her in after Intan's parents died.

``I can be independent here,'' said the 13-year-old, who also lost a brother and a sister in the tsunami. ``I have lots of sisters here. We study together. We travel together. I didn't have any friends at my grandmother's.''

Her choice is not the one favored by international agencies such as UNICEF and Save the Children. They say it is far better for children to stay with extended family than to live in an institution, where staffing is often thin and close relationships with adults are difficult to forge.

The groups have been working with the provincial government to develop closer oversight for orphanages and ensure that children only enter them when absolutely necessary.

On the day of the disaster, hundreds of people sought refuge on the second floor of Sekolah Dasar 20 elementary school, near the center of Banda Aceh. The water rose to within two feet of them, carrying bicycles, cars and hundreds of dead bodies.

Since then, the school has been rebuilt by World Vision, a U.S.-based nonprofit. It is decorated with artwork made by tsunami victims, part of a Red Cross program aimed at letting children express their sorrow. The paintings show cowering children in front of a crushing wave.

One student, Haurana Aiman, lost both parents. The fifth grader appears to have put those memories behind her. She recently scored second-highest on a school exam.

When she went to her former village, everything was gone: the neighbors, her house, the family photographs.

Five years after the tsunami, she says, ``I can still remember my mother's face. She had big eyes. I think I look like her.''

AP