Whilst the police are saying little in their hunt for the hotel bombers, a group calling itself Tandzim Al Qo'idah Indonesia has emerged to claim responsibility.
What pisses me off is that they announced this through the medium of Blogger, my medium, and to make matters worse, their blog is now the most popular in Indonesia. This has had the inevitable result of lowering my standing as one of the best blogs in the country, damn them.
I'm tempted to add to the 2,000 or so comments they've already received, but then I don't think I could add to the general tenor of the responses.
"Come to me with your bombs. I'll fight you with spoon and fork, I'll eat you", says one.
Incidentally, if you want to use a knife and fork, you'll have to book a table in a five-star restaurant such as those in the Marriott and Ritz-Carlton which re-opened a couple of days ago.
Still, we shouldn't get bogged down in condemning Muslims for 'terrorist' outrages. Basque separatists set off a car bomb in Mallorca yesterday which killed two people.
Who's Gonna Do It
I subscribe to a number of pro-life newsletters, one of which comes from Wild Asia, a Malaysia-based responsible tourism organisation whose monthly newsletter goes out to over 22,000 people worldwide.
Responsible tourism folk in Indonesia may like to know of a training course next month.
Upcoming Training for RSPO
Wild Asia and ProForest are prepping up to take our RSPO-endorsed Stepwise Support Programme (SSP) Training Course "Interpretation of RSPO Principles & Criteria".
The 4-day course will be held on 10-13 August 2009 at Hotel Salak "The Heritage", Bogor Indonesia. Clickhereto learn more about the training.
Don't Use Sunblock!
Keeping on topic, responsible tourists and users of skin whiteners are now informed that the sunblock creams and lotions are bad for the environment.
The Guardian reported that a 2008 study by Italian scientists found that UV filters in sunscreens cause coral bleaching. (This is an unfortunate ecological coincidence, as one of the original compounds for sunscreen was synthesised from an Australian coral reef.)
According to researchers, 10,000 tonnes of UV filters are produced every year, about 10% of which are used by the 78 million tourists visiting sensitive coral areas. As a 20-minute slathered-up dip in the sea is enough to wash off 25% of the ingredients into the water, 4,000 to 6,000 tonnes of UV sunscreen are released annually into the sea, affecting 10% of the world's coral reefs.
So, wear a T-shirt and hat when snorkeling. Alternatively, you could wear one of those skin-tight all-body swim suits which are causing controversy because they lead to world records in the pool.
