Lapang Islanders in Indonesia

"A Summary" – Apr 2, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Religion, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Intelligent/Benevolent Design, EU, South America, 5 Currencies, Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Middle East, Internet, Israel, Dictators, Palestine, US, Japan (Quake/Tsunami Disasters , People, Society ...), Nuclear Power Revealed, Hydro Power, Geothermal Power, Moon, Financial Institutes (Recession, Realign integrity values ..) , China, North Korea, Global Unity,..... etc.) -

“ … Here is another one. A change in what Human nature will allow for government. "Careful, Kryon, don't talk about politics. You'll get in trouble." I won't get in trouble. I'm going to tell you to watch for leadership that cares about you. "You mean politics is going to change?" It already has. It's beginning. Watch for it. You're going to see a total phase-out of old energy dictatorships eventually. The potential is that you're going to see that before 2013.

They're going to fall over, you know, because the energy of the population will not sustain an old energy leader ..."

(Live Kryon Channelings was given 7 times within the United Nations building.)


Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Japan's Antarctic whaling hunt ruled 'not scientific'

Japan's Antarctic whaling hunt ruled 'not scientific'
Representatives of Japan and Australia shake hands at the court in The Hague. (NOS/ANP) - 31 March 2014
"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution and a warning about nuclear > 20 Min)

China calls for peaceful settlement of maritime disputes

China calls for peaceful settlement of maritime disputes
Wang Min, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, speaks during a meeting to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the enforcement of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, at the UN headquarters in New York, on June 9, 2014. The Chinese envoy on Monday called for a harmonious maritime order, saying that maritime disputes should be settled through negotiation between the parties directly involved. (Xinhua/Niu Xiaolei)

UNCLOS 200 nautical miles vs China claimed territorial waters

UNCLOS 200 nautical miles vs China claimed territorial waters

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Indonesian ferry catches fire with more than 700 people on board

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Jakarta | Sun, 05/18/2008 5:54 PM

 

More than 700 passengers were safely evacuated after an Indonesian ferry caught fire Sunday as it neared its destination on the island of Borneo, an official said.

 

The ship had reached an inland river and was close to the town of Samuda when flames broke out on the top passenger deck, assistant police Lt. Suwarno told The Associated Press.

 

All passengers were believed to have been evacuated, local police Chief Lt. Col. Jihantono told Indonesian broadcaster MetroTV.

 

"Hopefully, there will be no casualties because it happened during daylight," said Suwarno, who like many Indonesians goes by a single name.

 

The boat was approaching the port of Sampit in the Mentaya river, around 500 miles (800 kilometers) northeast of Jakarta, when the fire started, Suwarno said. The passengers were mostly workers at oil palm plantations.

 

The ferry was sailing from Surabaya, the provincial capital of East Java, to Central Kalimantan on the Indonesian half of Borneo island with at least 706 passengers and 22 crew, district chief Wahyudi Anwar told MetroTV.

 

Boat is a main source of transportation in Indonesia, a vast archipelago with more than 17,000 islands. Overcrowding and poorly enforced safety standards cause frequent accidents.



Thursday, May 15, 2008

Bali builds modern port for cruise ships

The Jakarta Post

 

Antara, Denpasar | Thu, 05/15/2008 6:31 PM

 

A modern port aimed at attracting more foreign cruise ships is under construction in Karangasem district, Bali, Bali transportation agency head Putu Sujana said here Thursday.

 

Once the port is completed, foreign cruise ships passing Indonesian waters could schedule a few days for a port call in Bali, Sujana said.

 

"Luxury cruise ships carrying tourists from other countries to Singapore are expected to come to Bali once the modern, permanent port is ready."

 

Sujana said at least 300 luxury cruise ships arrived in Singapore every year, each carrying around 1,500 to 2,000 tourists.

 

"Floating hotels on their way to a number of countries in Asia usually pass Indonesian waters. They are expected, therefore, to stop in Bali when the port is ready."

 

Even if only a half of the 300 cruise ships stop in Bali, it would have a positive impact on tourism in the province, he said.

 

Financial support for the port is coming from the central government, Bali provincial administration and Karangasem district administration, Sujana said.

 

Construction is expected to finish in 2009.

 

At least 17 cruise ships with thousands of foreign tourists stopped at the old port in Karangasem in 2007 and 15 cruise ships in 2006.

 

One of them was the Italian Costa Marina with 496 tourists, which anchored at Karangasem port for two days.

 

Before the Bali bombing tragedy, said Sujana, more than 20 cruise ships stopped in Bali and in 1995 alone 70 of them with hundreds of thousands of tourists arrived at the resort island.


Tuesday, May 13, 2008

U.S. naval ship arrives in Jakarta on goodwill mission

Lilian Budianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Tue, 05/13/2008 10:39 AM


The U.S. Seventh Fleet's command ship USS Blue Ridge arrived at Jakarta's Tanjung Priok Port on Monday on a goodwill mission and to boost U.S. and Indonesia defense relations.


The flagship came from Thailand as part of its journey around Southeast Asia to build community relations between the U.S. navy and the navies of the Pacific and Indian Ocean countries, including Indonesia.


This is the second time the Blue Ridge has made a port call in Indonesia. The 37-year-old but technologically sophisticated ship is scheduled to sail to its next destination, Malaysia, on Wednesday.


Speaking to reporters on board the flagship, Seventh Fleet commander Vice Admiral Doug Crowder said he would meet leaders of the Indonesian Navy and witness local cultural and art performances, as well as interacting with local citizens.


"Indonesia is an active participant in the Pacific command security cooperation programs, which include exercises, regional workshops and seminars promoting security issues. We are happy to be here again to strengthen our military relationship with Indonesia and also to get better understanding of the local culture."


The Seventh Fleet is the largest U.S. fleet, with 40-50 ships, 120 aircraft and approximately 20,000 sailors and marines assigned at any given time. It supports U.S. goals of strengthening alliances, defeating global terrorism, preventing future terrorist attacks, defusing regional conflicts and securing the free flow of trade.


Following the devastating Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, the 65-year-old fleet played a major role in relief operations off the coast of Sumatra, Indonesia, and Thailand and Sri Lanka.


In regards to the recent cyclone in Myanmar, Crowder said the fleet's three amphibious ships had already headed there for a humanitarian mission but they were not yet granted permission to enter the military-ruled country.


"But we decided to push up those ships up there with marines, helicopters and equipment to provide help," he said.


Commissioned on Nov. 14, 1970, at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Blue Ridge is equipped with one of the most sophisticated command and control systems.


"With a state-of-the-art commercial and military satellite capability coupled with the ability to track land, sea and air movements throughout the region, Blue Ridge is the most technologically advance ships in the world," the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta said in a statement.


The 620-foot-long ship was first operated from San Diego and since October 1979, it has been based in Yokosuka, Japan.


Sunday, May 11, 2008

Sandbags must hold back the tide until July

Tifa Asrianti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 05/10/2008 10:34 AM

Coastal residents in North Jakarta will have to rely on sandbags to hold off tidal waves until July, as the administration continues its tender process for the reconstruction of the embankment that holds water from the Java sea.

"We're still profiling the candidates for the projects. We hope we'll sign contracts with the (tender) winners in July," the head of technology development division of the Public Works Agency, Fakhrurrazi, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.

He said his agency had allocated Rp 15 billion (US$1.6 million) in the 2008 budget to repair several parts of the broken embankment on the northern coast of Jakarta.

The administration plans to renovate sections of the embankment in Luar Batang, Pluit Dam, Muara Karang and Muara Angke, and will work with Nizam Zachman fishing port in Muara Baru and port operator PT Pelindo for the embankment reconstruction.

"We will elevate the sections by one to 1.2 meters from its existing height, so that it will be three to 3.2 meters high," he said.

On Thursday morning, a tidal flood saw the temporary closure of the toll road between Soekarno-Hatta International Airport and Jakarta, resulting in dozens of flight delays.

Since last year, the collapsing part of the embankment near the airport has caused frequent floods on the turnpike each time tidal waves hit the area.

Residents in several areas in Muara Baru and Angke regularly endure flooding outside seasonal tides.

According to Fakhrurrazi, the high tide reached 2.14 meters on Thursday night. In November and December, a 2.20-meter high tide submerged Pluit and Penjaringan subdistricts, causing floods and traffic congestion and forcing residents to flee their homes.

Previously, Deputy Governor Prijanto said Thursday that the embankment repairs are expected to finish in October, four months after the city administration finished the tender procedure.

Prijanto said while waiting for the tender process, the administration would have to stall high tides with sandbags and pumps.

Meanwhile, an operator at the Jakarta Crisis Center, Ade, reported Friday afternoon that the Pluit Dam area was still inundated by 40 centimeters and Pasar Ikan by 90 centimeters of water.

"The water is receding and we recorded no victims on Friday, even though the Indonesian Red Cross and the social welfare agency have set up a public kitchen and tents. There were 30 flood victims on Thursday. Perhaps they have returned to their homes," Ade said.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

RI, Australia coordinate patrols to target illegal fishing

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, Bill Farmer, has described the latest coordinated patrols by Australian and Indonesian authorities as 'concrete evidence' of the seriousness with which both countries were addressing the threat of illegal fishing in the region, according to a press statement of the Australian embassy in Jakarta.

 

Australia's Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus, announced that vessels from the Australian Customs Service and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries have completed a two-week operation (11-25 April) of coordinated patrols targeting illegal fishing in the Arafura Sea north-east of Darwin.

 

The Australian Customs Vessel Triton and Indonesian Fisheries Vessels Hiu Macan 003 and Hiu Macan 004 patrolled their respective Exclusive Economic Zones in this area, with the Indonesian vessels also visiting an Australian port for the first time.

 

Indonesia's Minister for Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Freddy Numberi said, "Our respective maritime zones should be seen as a common resource and both sides are equally responsible for their wise and sustainable use."

 

"We are all committed to the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices in our region. This solid cooperation between Australia and Indonesia is very important in establishing coordinated patrols targeting illegal fishing vessels entering Indonesian waters or at the border area between the two countries," Vice-Admiral (ret) Numberi said.

 

"A dynamic goal of the coordinated patrols is to increase the number of operations annually and to develop a Regional Monitoring Database (RMD) that can be shared between our two respective countries to serve as the back bone for implementing Fisheries Management Policies (FMP) against IUU Fishing," Minister Numberi said.

 

Debus said the operation, which was co-ordinated by Australia's Border Protection Command and included daily aerial surveillance by Coastwatch and RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft, was the second co-ordinated patrol involving both Australian and Indonesian vessels.

 

"While no illegal activity was detected by Australian or Indonesian patrol boats, a number of investigative boardings were undertaken in both Australian and Indonesian waters," Debus said.

 

Debus said illegal fishing was an international problem threatening worldwide fish stocks, the marine environment and the border security of all nations in the region.

 

"The aim of this patrol was to work with Indonesia to detect, board and apprehend any suspected illegal, unlicensed or unreported fishing boats in Australian and Indonesian waters."

 

"It also allowed us to test further communication and operational protocols between Australian and Indonesian patrol boats and surveillance aircraft. These protocols will ensure a more effective response to illegal activities within our respective maritime zones," Debus said.

 

"International co-operation is the key to responding effectively to the illegal fishing problem and I would particularly like to thank the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries, and the crews of the patrol vessels, for their support of this patrol activity," Debus said.


Related Stories:


Australia & Indonesia coordinated patrols target illegal fishing


Foreign fishing crews in Tual liven up island economy


Vague decree gives poachers leeway to plunder sea




Monday, May 5, 2008

Sinking without trace: Australia's climate change victims

Like Kiribati and Tuvalu, the islands of the Torres Strait are slowly being submerged. But unlike their Pacific neighbours, the plight of their inhabitants is being overlooked.

The Independent, KATHY MARKS, Monday, 5 May 2008

Ron and Maria Passi, who operate Murray Island's only taxi, were out driving the night the king tide struck. Neighbours flagged them down, asking for help, and so it was not until some time later that they saw their own grandchildren standing in the road. "They were shouting 'Granddad, stop the car, the water is coming in the house'," says Ron. "I just slammed on the brakes."


Masig Island, one of the low-lying islands of the Torres Strait - Kathy Marks


The couple's son, Sonny, was outside his fibro shack with his five children, watching the monster surf, lashed by north-west winds, rise ever higher. In the commotion, everyone had forgotten that Sedoi, the baby, was still inside. They heard her crying and found her in her cot, covered in sand. Water had surged in after a wave picked up a big wooden pallet and flung it through the front wall.

No one on Murray had ever seen such a high tide before. Other islands in the Torres Strait, which lies between the far north-eastern tip of the Australian mainland and Papua New Guinea, have witnessed similar scenes in recent years. Houses, roads and graveyards have been flooded, and the locals believe they know the reason: climate change.

The low-lying islands that dot the sparkling waters of this region are facing similar challenges to South Pacific nations such as Kiribati and Tuvalu. But while the plight of those countries is well known and is regularly discussed in the international arena, few people outside Australia have even heard of the Torres Strait. Even Australians would have difficulty locating it on the map, and the remote islands – accessible only by light plane – receive few visitors.

Read More ....


Australia & Indonesia coordinated patrols target illegal fishing

Bymnews.com, Friday, 02 May 2008

 

 

Vessels from Australian Customs and the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries have completed a coordinated patrol targeting illegal fishing north of Australia, the Minister for Home Affairs, Bob Debus said today.

 

The Customs Vessel Triton and Indonesian Fisheries Vessels Hiu Macan 003 and Hiu Macan004 patrolled their respective Exclusive Economic Zones in the Arafura Sea north-east of Darwin.

 

The Indonesian vessels also visited an Australian port for the first time.

 

Mr Debus said the operation was the second co-ordinated patrol involving Australian and Indonesian vessels and demonstrated both governments' co-operative approach to the issue of illegal foreign fishing.

 

The two-week operation was co-ordinated by Border Protection Command and included daily aerial surveillance by Coastwatch and RAAF AP-3C Orion aircraft. An Indonesian Fisheries officer on board the Coastwatch aircraft co-ordinated the response of the Indonesian patrol vessels to sightings north of the Australian/Indonesian maritime border.

 

"While no illegal activity was detected by Australian or Indonesian patrol boats, a number of investigative boardings were undertaken in both Australian and Indonesian waters," Mr Debus said.

 

"Illegal fishing is an international problem threatening world wide fish stocks, the marine environment and the border security of all nations in the region.

 

"This is not a problem unique to Australia. The aim of this patrol was to work together to detect, board and apprehend any suspected illegal, unlicensed or unreported fishing boats in Australian and Indonesian waters.

 

"It also allowed BPC to further test communication and operational protocols between Australian and Indonesian patrol boats and surveillance aircraft. These protocols will ensure a more effective response to illegal activities within our maritime zones," Mr Debus said.

 

The Hiu Macan 003 and Hiu Macan 004 were built in 2006 and travelled to Darwin before the patrol for operational planning and briefing activities.

 

"International co-operation is the key to responding effectively to the illegal fishing problem and the success of this operation is due to the co-operation of the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries and the crews of the patrol vessels."


Sunday, May 4, 2008

At least 8 dead after large wave hits South Korea

CNN

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- A sudden high wave crashed into a bulwark near a western coastal beach, leaving at least eight people dead and 12 others injured Sunday, the South Korean Coast Guard said.

The large wave -- believed to be as high as 16 feet -- abruptly jumped the bulwark near a western coastal beach about 120 miles south of Seoul, said Lee Won-il, a local Coast Guard officer.

Among the dead were two children -- a 9-year-old and a 5-year-old, he said.

Lee said about 15 other people were believed missing and the Coast Guard deployed seven boats and a helicopter to rescue them. He said most of the victims were tourists or people fishing there.

The wave was believed to have been caused by regular tidal activity in the Yellow Sea but its exact cause was not known, Lee said.

China's new South Pacific influence

By Nick SquiresBBC, South Pacific

 

As China extends its economic and political potential in the world, nowhere is too remote or too small to merit Beijing's interest, not even the tiny nations which slumber in the South Pacific.

 

These days, though, you might be disappointed.

 

While mangoes and marlin are certainly available in the tourist resorts, in towns and villages it is more likely to be fried rice and springs rolls you would be dining on.



Map of the South Pacific


 

Chinese restaurants have sprung up all over the region, some of them big and grand, most little more than shacks with corrugated-iron roofs.

 

Often they are next door to Chinese-run trade stores, where shopkeepers hunker down behind iron-bar grilles and sell everything from candles to corned beef.

 

The shops and restaurants are the most visible sign of a growing Chinese presence in the South Pacific.

 

New kid on the block

 

Beijing is boosting its political and economic influence in a region which was long dominated by European powers such as France and Britain.

 

Gallic pretensions to world power status ensure it retains three colonies - including New Caledonia and French Polynesia - but Britain's commitment has long since waned.

 

China is the new kid on the block.

 

But why the Chinese interest in a region regarded by most of the world as an obscure backwater?

 

Well, for a start, the Chinese are looking to satisfy their voracious appetite for natural resources.

 

Copper, zinc and nickel from Papua New Guinea, timber from the Solomon Islands, manganese and cobalt from the sea-bed are all vital to feed China's extraordinary pace of development.

 

But it is politics - not business - that is really turning the gaze of the Chinese dragon towards these pearls of the South Seas.

 

Diplomatic war

 

Pacific nations may be miniscule and little known - the likes of Palau and Kiribati (pronounced Kiribass) are hardly household names - but they are vitally important in the diplomatic war between Beijing and Taiwan (which China regards as a breakaway province).

 

Six countries in the Pacific grant official recognition to Taiwan's capital Taipei, and the Taiwanese do all they can to retain their loyalty.

 

Climb out of the plane in remote Tuvalu, for instance, and the first building you notice - because it is the only structure taller than a coconut palm in the entire atoll nation - is the government's new office complex, built with Taiwanese money.

 

On a recent trip to the tiny nation of Nauru, I came across a pungent piggery, again paid for by Taiwan.

 

Taipei maintains one of the very few diplomatic missions on Nauru, a country so small it can be driven around in half an hour.

 

Red carpet treatment

 

The ambassador lives in a little bungalow by the beach, the Taiwanese flag flapping wanly in the tropical breeze from a white pole. It must be one of the loneliest postings in the world.

 

China, of course, is not to be outdone in the cheque-book diplomacy stakes.

 

It, too, has lavished money on its loyal South Pacific allies, paying for everything from sports stadiums to health schemes.

 

Beijing frequently rolls out the red carpet for the leaders of countries like Tonga and Samoa.

 

What makes its aid attractive is that it is bestowed with no strings attached, unlike the assistance received from the European Union or Australia and New Zealand, which rather awkwardly harp on about good governance and other tricky issues.

 

As one Pacific analyst puts it: "Chinese aid is quite different from other countries, it goes straight for the jugular."

 

But with China's increasing presence come tensions.

 

Flinging money around among the political elite can exacerbate already high levels of official corruption.

 

The business acumen of Chinese entrepreneurs stirs intense resentment in the famously laid-back Pacific, where initiative is often stifled by the custom of having to share profits with your extended family.

 

Criminal activity

 

And while the majority of Chinese settlers who have emigrated to the region in recent years are honest and hardworking, there is a criminal element which is involved in people smuggling, prostitution and illegal gambling.

 

Four years ago, police in Fiji busted a massive Chinese-run drug factory described as the biggest of its kind in the southern hemisphere.

 

All of which is a worry for powers like Australia and New Zealand, which regard the South Pacific as their patch.

 

In the last few years, I have watched Australian soldiers and police deploy to hotspots like East Timor, Papua New Guinea and the Solomons.

 

No-one is suggesting China wants to do the same, at least not yet. But the old order is changing.

 

Canberra, Wellington and Washington can no longer take for granted their influence in the South Pacific.

 

It may have a reputation as an earthly paradise of coral reefs and coconut groves, but it is fast becoming a stage on which Beijing flexes its political and economic muscle.

 

Unlike those plates of chicken fried rice and chow mein, that is something which Pacific islanders may find hard to digest.



Saturday, May 3, 2008

Tourists swarm Marunda Beach despite pollution

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Wed, 04/30/2008 1:10 PM

Marunda beach in Cilincing, North Jakarta, is still a weekend haven for many local tourists, despite its poor condition.

Many come to the beach to enjoy sailing and swimming in the Java Sea.

Aisyah and 25 of her relatives visited the beach Sunday morning. They rented a truck to travel from Bekasi to the beach.


PACKED: Large families prefer to spend holidays on the beach because it is free.

"We just want to have fun here. The beach is quite close to our homes. It was about a 30-minute drive to get here," said Aisyah, whose entourage was made up of mostly children under 12.

She only spent Rp 120,000 (US$13.79) to rent the truck and paid no entrance fees.

"We bring a packed lunch for a picnic, so we don't spend any money on food either," she added.

Aisyah and the children spent their time sailing, hanging out on the seashore and swimming.

"The beach is not beautiful and doesn't have many facilities, but we are having quite a good time here. The children can swim as long as they want," she said.

Aisyah's 12-year-old niece, Lia, enjoyed her time swimming in the Java Sea, despite the dirty seawater.

"The seawater is dirty. I also hurt my feet on stones and oyster shells. But that's OK. It's still fun because I can swim and gather shells with my relatives," said Lia.

For those who cannot swim, visitors can rent floating tires for Rp 3,000 for children and Rp 5,000 for adults.

Aisyah preferred to stay dry.

"I'm reluctant to go in the dirty beach. Ten years ago the water was cleaner. There was no garbage scattered around. Now it looks so dirty and there's garbage everywhere," she said.

"To be honest, if I had more money, I'd go to Ancol instead of Marunda because it's cleaner and it offers better facilities," she said.

Isan, another visitor, even forbade her six-year-old son from swimming in the dirty seawater.

"He wanted to go swimming but I didn't let him. Look, the water is not clear and it can be harmful to children. I don't want him to get a rash," said Isan.

Most of the tourists had driven from outside the city to visit the beach, despite its dirty water and poor surrounding roads.

For years, Jakarta has experienced a range of issues across its coastline, including floods, tidal waves and pollution.

Jakarta's coastal area has rapidly deteriorated in the last few years.

According to the Indonesian Forum for the Environment, six of the nine estuaries in Jakarta are heavily polluted and there are just 120 hectares of mangrove thickets left of the 1,300 hectares that existed in the 1960s.

Tourists still visit the beach, mostly because it is free, but have a hard time getting there.

If you use public transport from Cilincing, also in North Jakarta, you still have to walk one kilometer to get to the beach.

If you go by car, you can park in the lot 800 meters from the beach because the road heading to the beach is to narrow for cars.

A motorcycle may be the best bet because you can use the narrow road, although it has many potholes. You can park your vehicle in the parking area near the tourism site for Rp 2,000.

Although the beach has its negatives, a good clean up could help it realize its potential.

Existing food facilities are a little better. Tourists can enjoy seafood and other meals from food stalls run by surrounding residents.

Muslims visitors can pray at the 348-year-old Al Alam mosque near the beach, where many residents believe Pitung, a Betawi hero during the Dutch colonial era, used to pray.

Besides enjoying the panorama, some tourists visit the beach to go fishing. Asep, a Bekasi resident, usually goes fishing on Sundays.

"I like fishing and often doing it in Marunda. It's free. I usually come here in the morning and go home in the afternoon," he said on a trip with his cousin.

"I can catch about a kilogram or between 15 to 20 cichlid fish. My family and I usually eat them," he said.

Although he enjoys fishing in the area, Asep hopes the North Jakarta administration will provide better fishing areas at the beach.

"I heard the administration is going to convert the beach into a recreational area. If they do that, maybe I will bring my wife and kids here," he said, referring to the administration's plan to develop the beach into one like Ancol.

Aisyah shares Asep's opinion.

"I hope the administration will soon repair the roads heading to the beach, clean the area and provide a playground facility for children. After they finish the development, I hope it will still be free," she said.(trw)

Friday, May 2, 2008

SHIP-MAKING


The Jakarta Post | Wed, 04/30/2008 2:33 PM





SHIP-MAKING: Employees of state ship builder PT PAL Indonesia work Monday on Dry Cargo Vessel 18500 DWT, ordered by Sider Navegacao of Portugal. (JP/Indra Harsaputra)



U.S. closes most of West Coast to salmon fishing

Thu May 1, 2008 7:38pm EDT

 

By Teresa Carson

 

PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - The U.S. government on Thursday closed almost all of the ocean off the West Coast to salmon fishing, clearing the way for governors of states hard hit by years of declining catches to seek federal relief aid for losses estimated at $290 million.

 

West Coast salmon populations have declined sharply in the last few years, with experts citing a variety of reasons including climate change and hungry sea lions.

 

"Today NOAA's Fisheries Service will close most of the West Coast salmon fisheries based on the recommendations of the Pacific Fisheries Management Council," James Balsiger, acting assistant administrator of fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said, citing "low returns of fall Chinook salmon to the Sacramento River system."

 

Balsiger said NOAA has not pinpointed the cause of the "sudden" collapse of the Sacramento River run, but "NOAA scientists are suggesting changes in the ocean conditions."

 

NOAA estimates fewer than 60,000 salmon will make it back to the Sacramento River this year -- about one-third the number needed to sustain a healthy fish population.

 

Consumers should brace for higher salmon prices. Balsiger said wild salmon "will cost a lot" at the supermarket, even though salmon supplies from Alaska are expected to be "in pretty good shape."

 

Governors and congressional delegations of the affected states have been working to get relief for fishermen, charter businesses, suppliers, motel operators and others that will be hit by closure of commercial and recreational fishing.

 

"Given skyrocketing gas and food prices, getting aid to these fishing communities quickly is critical," Oregon Senator Gordon Smith said in a statement. "It's a matter of survival. This declaration allows us to begin pushing for funds immediately."

 

(Editing by Lisa Baertlein and David Gregorio)


Global warming could starve oceans of oxygen: study

Thu May 1, 2008 2:31pm EDT

 

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

 

OSLO (Reuters) - Global warming could gradually starve parts of the tropical oceans of oxygen, damaging fisheries and coastal economies, a study showed on Thursday.

 

Areas of the eastern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans with low amounts of dissolved oxygen have expanded in the past 50 years, apparently in line with rising temperatures, according to the scientists based in Germany and the United States.

 

And models of global warming indicate the trend will continue because oxygen in the air mixes less readily with warmer water. Large fish such as tuna or swordfish avoid, or are unable to survive, in regions starved of oxygen.

 

"Reduced oxygen levels may have dramatic consequences for ecosystems and coastal economies," according to the scientists writing in the journal Science.

 

The north of the Indian Ocean, along with the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, is also oxygen-low but the available data showed no substantial change in the size of the oxygen-minimum zone in recent decades.

 

Lothar Stramma, lead author at IFM-GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, said there were signs the oxygen-low bands between 300 and 700 meters depths were getting wider and moving into shallower coastal waters.

 

"The expansion of the oxygen-minimum zones is reaching more to the continental shelf areas," he told Reuters. "It's not just the open ocean." That could disrupt ever more fisheries.

 

Problems of lower oxygen supply add to woes for the oceans led by over-fishing as the world struggles to feed an expanding population. A U.N. conference in 2002 set a goal of trying to reverse declines in fish stocks by 2015.

 

The scientists said levels of dissolved oxygen in the oceans had varied widely in the past and more study was needed. "We are far from knowing exactly what will happen," Stramma said.

 

In the most extreme case, at the end of the Permian period about 250 million years ago, there were mass extinctions on land and at sea linked to high levels of carbon dioxide and extremely low oxygen levels in the waters.

 

The U.N. Climate Panel said last year that global warming, stoked by human use of fossil fuels, would push up temperatures and bring more droughts, floods, heatwaves and rising sea levels. More and more species would be at risk of extinction.

 

Thursday's study showed that a swathe of the eastern Pacific from Chile to the United States and a smaller part of the eastern Atlantic, centered off Angola, were low in oxygen.

 

Stramma said the oxygen-poor regions were away from major ocean currents that help absorb oxygen from the air. And warmer water is less dense and so floats more easily -- that makes it less prone to mix with the deeper levels of the oceans.

 

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(Editing by Matthew Jones)