Jakarta Volcanoes

The air pollution has been unusually "good" in Jakarta for the past several weeks. I guess it can be attributed to a number of factors including the economic slowdown, as well as some days with lots of rain combined with high winds. This has led to some spectacular views of the volcanoes to the south of the city. In the above photo taken 17Dec08, one can clearly see the large Salak Volcano, which is currently considered dormant. Six school children were killed at Salak volcano on 7th July 2007. The children were camping at the volcano and were possibly poisoned by gas from the crater. The victims were between the ages of 14 and 16, were among about 50 students spending the weekend on the mountain. To the far right, one can clearly see in this photo what look like puffs of smoke. These are actually from the fumaroles of the smaller Kiraberes-Gagak volcano. As I understand it, fumaroles are cracks in the crust of a volcano which allow hot gases and steam to escape from deep within the volcano.

Some more interesting English signage from China

I saw this one transiting through Guangzhou's Baiyun Airport. Signage aside, where are the cops??






While I'm not trying to criticize Guangzhou's Baiyun Airport, but the city does arguably have one of China's top rated foreign language universities. Why not pay a few students to correct the English?



















Kunming doesn't seem much better in the English department:
















Another from the Kunming Bus Station. The English may be poor, but I got the message and was on my best behaviour. Honest!

Idul Adha or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims in Indonesia in commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to Allah. The devil tempted Ibrahim by saying he should disobey Allah and spare his son. As Ibrahim was about to sacrifice his son, Allah intervened and instead provided a lamb as the sacrifice. This is why today all over the world Muslims who have the means to, sacrifice an animal (usually a goat or a sheep), as a reminder of Ibrahim's obedience to Allah. The meat is then shared out with family, friends, as well as the poor members of the community. The wealthier in Indonesia tend to use cattle.

The mosques in my neighbourhood we're active all night. This is a typical mosque near where I live:















The day before, this fellow seemed to sense what was in store for him. Having someone's name scrawled on his hide seems to have given the plan away:


On Idul Adha, folks from all over the neighbourhood, or "kampung", gathered to watch the sacrifice:












The cow was then taken away to a less public location where the meat would be divided up for distribution:
Those of lesser means, tended to use goats instead:


















Other animals such as dogs and cats didn't seem to celebrate as much, or perhaps they just wanted to keep a low profile:

Dumbest Sign

Strolling through one of Jakarta's swankiest malls recently, I came across the following sign placed outside the premises of a high-end fashion retailer, which shall remain nameless:

"We may not offer discounts, but we offer a lifestyle".

If some people believe such drivel, then they deserve to pay through the nose!

Cost of the Conflict in Iraq and Afghanistan

In August 2007, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimated the cost of the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts at US$1,000,000,000,000 (US$1 Trillion).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/16/AR2007111600865.html

The US population is approximately 301,139,947 (July 2007 est.) (CIA World Fact Book).

According to my calculator, that works out to over US$3,320 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

Diarrhea and Preventable Deaths due to Dehydration

According to UNICEF, 4,500 children die each DAY from unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation facilities.

Almost half of the nearly two million deaths from diarrhea each year could be prevented through an understanding of basic hygiene.

According to the Centre for Global Development, currently, 1 out of every 200 children who contract diarrhea will die of its consequences, including particularly dehydration. Almost all of these deaths could be prevented with the timely use of a simple and low-cost treatment for dehydration.

Cost and Cost-Effectiveness: The average cost per child treated with oral rehydration therapy was estimated at $6. The cost per death averted was between $100 and $200.