Hurlstone Agricultural High School...

The HAHS Class of 1987 get together every now and then for a social gathering and a few drinks. This follows on from a reunion that was held a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the reunion as Will was deciding whether or not he wanted to come early.

But, I did manage to get to the most recent one at the Sussex Hotel. I must confess to never having been to the Sussex Hotel before. It was a pleasant little place on the Darling Harbour end of Sussex street. It is probably not a place for those looking to kick on as it does last drinks at 11.00pm. Anyways, back to the gathering, the latest gathering was a small affair in comparison to those of the past. Nevertheless, it was interesting to catch up with the few that did make it. With a bit of luck more will happen in the future and more people will be able to make it.

Abu Bakar Bashir & The Australian Embassy Bombing...

The pathological hatred that Abu Bakar Bashir (Ba'asyir) has for Australia is legendary. But, from where does it stem? Is it a simple hating of all things Western of which Australia is the closest and most convenient outlet for his vitriol dressed up as representing "real" Islam? Or is there something more there? This post is not really seeking to answer those questions.

Nevertheless, perhaps this time the police can make the charges stick with respect to his involvement in the most recent plotting to bomb foreign embassies in Jakarta, hotels, and assassinate high-ranking Indonesian political figures. The plans were at the "early stages" according to police.

Ba'asyir is the spiritual leader of violent anti-West Jihadis hell-bent on destroying anything that does not conform to his very warped interpretation of Islam and the mission of the Prophet Muhammad. What is more intriguing this time around is that having splintered from Jemaah Islamiyya (Islamiah) it would seem that Indonesians and Indonesian interests have become legitimate targets in his war on everything.

The police case seems to rest on Ba'asyir organising and funding the most recent development of "sleeper" cells based in Aceh. The police have said that they have a strong case. The police have said this before, only to see Teflon Ba'asyir have all the charges fall by the wayside like a piece of bacon from a Teflon pan!

Ba'asyir is not representative of Islam nor is he representative of Indonesian Islam. We should not forget that in analysing what has transpired here and what will transpire in any subsequent investigation, prosecution, trial, and sentencing. Ba'asyir's brand of radical, fundamental, and violent Islam harms the perception of Indonesians as tolerant people. Indonesians recognise this,and it will be Indonesians themselves that will show that there is a groundswell for tolerance...

Now, if the government would just be a little more pro-active on disbanding those goons pretending to be righteous Muslims who call themselves the FPI!

Ho hum...

Hotel Kerobokan -- Kathryn Bonella

Kathryn Bonella has released a new book through Pan Macmillan Australia, Hotel Kerobokan. According to the blurb on the Pan Macmillan site the book's release date for sale is 1 November 2009. I might have to trundle down to the nearest book store and grab me a copy. Until then I can only ponder what the book might include based on the release issued by Pan Macmillan and perhaps past performance.

Bonella helped Schapelle Corby co-write Schapelle's autobiography, My Story.

Hotel Kerobokan is the name, apparently, given to the Kerobohkan prison in Bali. Kerobokan is home for a good number of Australians, among them Schapelle Corby and the Bali Nine. The gist of the book, according to the blurb, is the fact that murderers sleep along side petty criminals, drugs and alcohol are freely available which in turn leads to devastating addictions, and guards who are on the take for all manner of things. The corruption of the place making it a hell hole.

The book focuses on the inmates stories of life on the inside of Kerobokan and the contrast to the holiday wonder world that is Bali, and which exists on the other side of the prison walls. The book should be a good read considering Bonella has apparently had daily access to the prison and the inmates for the purposes of gathering their stories. This suggests that the book was written with the full knowledge of the prison authorities if she has been granted this level of access to prisoners / inmates. So much so, that the Pan Macmillan review states that "the truth about Hotel Kerobokan explodes off the page."

To get the readers in, the review ends with, "Hotel Kerobokan paints a confronting picture. Everything you've heard is true. And there's much, much more than you ever imagined there could be."

The spiel on the author over at Pan Macmillan is this:

Since studying journalism at RMIT in Melbourne, Kathryn Bonella has worked as a journalist in television and print. She moved to London 18 months after graduating and spent several years freelancing for 60 Minutes as well as numerous English and American television programs, magazines and newspapers. She returned to Australia in 2000 to work as a full-time producer for 60 Minutes. She moved to Bali in 2005 to research and write Schapelle Corby's autobiography, My Story.

On a side note. I have been taking a fair bit of flak on another thread on this blog about Robin Tampoe (here), as seemingly anyone who writes a blog that includes posts on Schapelle Corby must be doing it because they are motivated by the prospect of making money off of her misery in Kerobokan. I can state unequivocally that I have made no money of posts about Schapelle Corby. This blog is not a commercial venture in a money making sense.

However, I wonder whether anyone would similarly question Bonella's motivations by suggesting that she is capitalizing on the misery of those whom she interviews for Hotel Kerobokan.

In the bigger scheme of things, I wonder how the sordid details and descriptions of squalor that are apparently the focus of the book benefit those that remain behind Kerobokan's bars. This is particularly so if some of those interviewed have been expressly candid regarding the conditions of the prison and the manner in which it is run.

My final point of wondering here is whether Schapelle Corby has been re-interviewed for this book. I am particularly interested in what she has to say considering there is a growing movement seeking to have her released on the grounds of her ongoing depression and claims of innocence.

As I said, I will head down to the bookshop and see if I can get a copy, unless Pan Macmillan or Bonella would like to send me an advance copy for me to review?

The Terror Master Plan for Indonesia -- Noordin M. Top

The idea of a terrorism master plan for Indonesia being in existence since at least 2002 and known to anti-terror authorities since 2005 is hardly surprising. The master plan was found on the computer of Azahari bin Husin who was shot dead by police in November of 2005. Azahari and Noordin M. Top worked closely together in the planning and carrying out of terrorist bombings in Indonesia. And, they are both Malaysian.

What is surprising is that it is only being made much more fully public in 2009. Even if one were to give the relevant authorities the benefit of the doubt that parts of this master plan had to be kept secret in the immediate aftermath of its discovery, does not justify it being kept secret through to 2009.

The master plan allegedly shows that the perpetrators of the most recent bombings, who are now being directly linked to Top, are part of this plan. The master plan also suggests that there is more public exposure on an international scale if places that are world-renowned are targeted or the victims are high-profile. High profile in this context notes explicitly that business executives will provide as much, if not more, media coverage for the cause than a couple of tourists.

The suggestion here is clearly that James Castle's business round table was the target of the suicide bomber. The intent being to kill and maim as many of the business people in attendance there as possible. By all accounts the terrorists fulfilled that mission.

Furthermore, the master plan also makes it clear that Bali remains a viable target. The viability of Bali is that it will provide large-scale media exposure. The Bali Bombings of 2002 shows this to be true. Probably scarier still is that the master plan suggests that prime tourist targets include fast food restaurants (such as KFC, McDonalds, among others), taxi queues at airports and other places where tourists congregate in order to travel, art markets (with the art market at Ubud being specifically singled out), open-air restaurants, movie theatres, shopping centers, and the Kuta beach.

This is scary because most people just figured that terrorists would be targeting hotels and nightclubs, or other places of late night entertainment. However, this is clearly not the case if the master plan is to be believed.

My folks go to Bali every year. If anyone asks them about terrorism and do they feel threatened, the answer is always a resounding, no! The rationale or justification for their confidence is that they do not visit bars and pretty much only sleep at the hotel in amongst trips to the beach and some shopping. Their most recent trips to Bali have seen them staying with friends and not in a hotel.

This might no longer be a sensible rationale for those that stay in hotels and go to Bali just to shop and laze around on the beach.

The bombing at the Ritz-Carlton clearly showed that the bombers were targeting the Airlannga restaurant. It is one of the restaurants where guests can have their complimentary included breakfast for staying at the hotel. If the plan is to target breakfast time at major hotels in Bali, then the potential for mass casualties is a real one.

The fact that this master plan exists, and assuming that Australian authorities were aware of it, then the travel advisories issued by the Australian government and other governments were accurate when they stated things such as "intelligence exists that Bali remains a target for terrorists" (or words to that effect).

What this all means? To each their own. I would not hesitate to return to Indonesia, anywhere in Indonesia, Bali included. My philosophy on life has always been, "if your numbers up, then your numbers up!" Nevertheless, that said, it is always important to be aware of your own personal safety and make sure that you do everything you can to ensure that you do not put yourself in harms way.

Yet, when it is all said and done, if we let the terrorists dictate our lives through the use of fear, then we may still have our lives but we do not have our freedom.

Faecal Ice Cream

The Coogee Bay Hotel is just across the road from where I once managed a Dominos pizza shop. I know the street and the hotel well. However, it seems the hotel is in the shit for well, serving shit. I am not one to mince words so if you are offended by the more plain language term for faecal matter the my apologies to you.

It is not uncommon for people to say their food tastes like shit, but how many of you have ever really been served shit? It turns out that one such family claims they were. The story goes that they were enjoying a Grand Final day out in the now more family friendly Coogee Bay Hotel. It never used to be so family friendly, I guess time changes all things eventually.

Anyways, the family orders a bowl of ice cream and at the bottom of the bowl is what seems to be compacted chocolate. However, this was certain to be like no other chocolate this family had ever eaten.

The chocolate has been tested by the Federal Government's National Measurement Institute confirms that the matter "has an offensive odour and physical properties similar to human excreta ... and to contain fragments of a variety of plant matter typical of excreta".

Interestingly, the Hotel owner Chris Cheung and general manager Tony Williams have offered the family AUD 5000 without admitting liability, which is like saying that it probably is what you said but we will never admit it, the family has rejected the offer as it seems to think it is on a winner. There are claims that hte family is demanding a cool million or so.

The family has now retained the law firm Slater&Gordon which seems to suggest that this might get messier still.

There are pretty stiff penalties for knowingly breaching NSW food laws. These include prosecutions, fines, and jail time for individuals. Now that the allegations have been made and the compacted chocolate tested and found to be consistent with faecal matter, I am not sure that you can sweep this under the carpet so to speak even if the family and the hotel settle out of court.

It seems that the Primary Industries Minister, Ian Macdonald, is looking to get in on the action and has suggested that the family contact the NSW Food Authority so McDonald can start an investigation.

Hidden Cameras

A warning for all!

This is a little late for the now former Health Minister in Malaysia but make sure you check your hotel room for hidden cameras before settling down to a romp in the proverbial hay. Dr. Chua Soi Lek has been forced to resign from his post amid the circulation of a sex tape. Unfortunately, Dr. Chua Soi Lek does not seem to be Paris Hilton and is unlikely to turn this into a reality TV career or lucrative appearance fees and events and parties.

I guess the moral of the story here is if you are checking in to a hotel for some on the side sex then either check for hidden cameras or don't hold back and give the performance of your life. You might just be able to parlay it into a career in the porn industry, with movies titled like "Dr. Knows Best!" or "Sexual Health: A Minister's Journey to the Dark Side". I am sure you, my loyal readers can do better on the titling front than me.

The Malaysian Hotels Association has been releasing press releases claiming that Malaysian hotels are safe and your privacy is guaranteed. However, the recording of this video and its subsequent dissemination suggests that privacy is not always guaranteed. The encounter occurred in a four star hotel in Johor State. So, the more stars a hotel has is not necessarily any guarantee of better service, treatment, or privacy.

The age of technology and the Internet ensures that any indiscretion no matter large or small is likely to be caught on tape or memory stick by someone somewhere and then offloaded or uploaded to the highest bidder.

Apparently, the video is doing the rounds in Malaysia. The rest of us might just have to wait for it to be uploaded to the Internet, may be it already is?