Australia
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Ordure of the Day
Hector’s Bali Diary His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences May 25, 2016 News that Bali’s beaches are the repositories of sewage is hardly novel, and it’s not by any means confined to the Legian beachfront, where the latest discovery by those who should ensure it doesn’t happen has stirred up a noisome… Continue reading
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Lost in the Forest
Hector’s Bali Diary, Apr. 13, 2016 His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Hollywood actor, Leonardo DiCaprio, visited Sumatra and said he thought it would be a great idea to protect the rainforest and the orangutans living in it, especially from palm oil plantations. This is an unexceptional statement. It is… Continue reading
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The Great Performer
BOOK REVIEW KEATING by Kerry O’Brien. 2015. Allen & Unwin, Sydney. ISBN 978 1 76011 1625. Many Australian journalists have a Keating tale to tell. Not all of them are denizens present or past of the parliamentary press gallery in Canberra, though naturally that was the former treasurer’s and prime minister’s chief stamping ground.… Continue reading
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HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Feb. 17, 2016
His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences Far Queue Again The periodic struggle to get vehicles into and out of Ngurah Rai airport was worse than usual on Feb. 5, apparently. We weren’t there, which is probably a good thing. One hour-plus irritation a month already tests our toleration limit. It isn’t… Continue reading
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Full Speed Ahead and Damn the Moral Turpitudes
I generally agree with Gerard Henderson, director of the Sydney Institute, whose Weekend Australian columns customarily offer sound – if sometimes arguable – political and policy advice. He sends round a missive on Mondays (“In case you missed it”) as a prompt to those who might have. I don’t agree with his views in his… Continue reading
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HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Feb. 3, 2016
His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious matters Load of Pit Bull Bali’s attractions as a resort for western tourists (that distinction is becoming more and more important) have taken a hammering lately. It was interesting to see that this received notice in the Jakarta Post on Jan. 27. Or perhaps not a… Continue reading
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HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Jan. 6, 2016
His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Prime Appointment Helena Studdert, the new Australian consul-general in Bali, comes to the job by an unusual route. She has already held an ambassadorial post – she was Australia’s envoy to Serbia from 2010-2013 – and has some background in the sometimes fractious field… Continue reading
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HECTOR’S DIARY Bali Advertiser, Dec. 23, 2015
His fortnightly diet of worms and other non-religious experiences A Christmas Story This week we observe the official birthday – though of course its date is wholly notional – of one of Islam’s leading saints, the nabi Isa al-Mahdi, whom Muslims also honour as the Messiah. In the Christian rite, it is Christmas, the… Continue reading
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