What do high-ranking officials, including the President, think
\nupon seeing the floods that have hit many areas in the country?<\/p>\n
Recent reports gave the impression that they considered the
\nflooding a trivial problem -- an annual event in the rainy
\nseason.<\/p>\n
There has been no special discussion by Cabinet ministers,
\nfocusing on the floods. Yet, Vice President Hamzah Haz has made a
\ntrip to the holy land of Mecca for the haj pilgrimage. It's not
\nthe pilgrimage that we are criticizing, but the Vice President is
\nin a high-profile position, which carries public responsibility.<\/p>\n
Members of the House of Representatives? They have acted as if
\nthey were not representing the people. Both the executive and
\nlegislators have no sense of crisis and seem to be more
\ninterested in political affairs.<\/p>\n
The recent natural disasters, including landslides and floods
\nin East and Central Java, Jambi, Bengkulu and West Java, have
\nclaimed several lives and displaced thousands of survivors.<\/p>\n
In Jakarta and Bekasi hundreds of homes have been submerged by
\nfloodwaters.<\/p>\n
The disasters have simply emphasized the suffering of ordinary
\npeople. For the people, who are suffering from the economic
\ncrisis, life means now, while the managers of the country are
\nfocusing on the 2004 elections.<\/p>\n
-- Republika, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Exonerated by the court,
\narrested by the police<\/p>\n
The Tangerang District Court exonerated on Wednesday three
\npeople from African countries, Kholisan Nkomo, alias Izuchukwu
\nOkoloaja, Michel Titus Igweh and Hilary K. Chimieze, charged with
\ndrug dealing, for technical reasons.<\/p>\n
Police officers arrested the three as they were leaving the
\npenitentiary gate -- on a previous allegation -- for possession
\nof drugs.<\/p>\n
The trial of the three started after the police found 50 grams
\nof heroin believed to belong to Okoloaja's girlfriend at a house
\nin the Regensi Melati Mas housing complex in Tangerang, and
\nanother 5.9 kilograms of heroin at a Kelapa Gading apartment
\nrented by Chimieze.<\/p>\n
However, the court freed the three on Wednesday because the
\nnames on the dossiers were different to the names the court had.<\/p>\n
The court decision has apparently incited the anger of Regensi
\nMelati Mas housing complex residents. The residents said they
\nwere disappointed by the prosecutors' indictments, which proved
\nto be weak. The police were also disappointed with the court
\nproceedings. This gave a strong impression that cooperation among
\nlaw enforcers were very poor.<\/p>\n
-- Warta Kota, Jakarta<\/p>\n
The rush to war<\/p>\n
There is great temptation - especially for those opposed to
\nmilitary action in Iraq - to blame the upcoming adventure on
\nAmericans to control oil in that part of the world. It is an
\ninterpretation also embraced by most of the Arab and Muslim
\nworld.<\/p>\n
Then there is the even shallower argument that the rush to war
\nis all about this president's desire to get the man his father
\nfailed to nail.<\/p>\n
Most of the world loves a simple answer.<\/p>\n
The truth is more complex. This is not only about oil,
\nalthough it certainly plays a part, and it isn't about a son's
\nrevenge. This is about enormously complicated geopolitics. It is
\nabout maintaining and slowly altering a delicate balance of power
\nin the Middle East and it is about disarming a disgusting
\ndictator.<\/p>\n
So, let us not be shallow about the reasons for war in Iraq.
\nThey are many and they are deep.<\/p>\n
That, however, does not answer the question of why and why
\nnow.<\/p>\n
Why, after tolerating the nonsense of Saddam Hussein for a
\ndecade, must we send 100,000 troops into war now? Why must we
\nexpend the wealth of the nation at a time when most Americans are
\nstruggling with a stagnate economy? Why must we delve into this
\nfirestorm knowing it will bring on the wrath of most the Arab
\nnations and feed the trough of terrorists worldwide? ...<\/p>\n
The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama<\/p>\n
Shuttle Columbia<\/p>\n
The outpouring of international sympathy, grief and scientific
\nsolidarity for the United States space authorities after the
\ntragic disaster with the Columbia shuttle is vivid testimony to
\nthe esteem their work enjoys throughout the world. ...<\/p>\n
The 80 pieces of research work the crew was doing, ranging
\nfrom analysis of Saharan dust to the nature of high altitude
\nflashes in the earth's most upper atmosphere, are reported and
\ncommented on in this newspaper today. They draw unusual public
\nattention to a basic feature of the world we inhabit and take for
\ngranted. The death of these seven crew members will delay
\nconstruction of the International Space Station. It is already
\nsubstantially behind schedule and dogged with controversy; but
\nthis tragedy should not stop it.<\/p>\n
Yesterday's responses by U.S. political leaders and scientific
\nrepresentatives underlined their determination not to let the
\ntragedy affect their commitment to the basic work involved - nor
\nto let it affect morale in other spheres. Such exploration is
\nvery expensive. Nevertheless, the basic research\/scientific,
\npractical\/economic, and military\/security benefits and payoffs
\ninvolved should ensure the program goes on despite this grave
\nupset. It is a genuinely international endeavor in a globalizing
\nworld more and more reliant on space-based research and
\ncommunications. This work must continue after the Columbia
\ndisaster.<\/p>\n
-- The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/what-do-high-ranking-officials-including-the-president-think-1447899208", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }