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Boycott Bali

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Fri May 27, 2005 at 10:24:05 AM EST
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Indonesia says no to a transfer to Australia.

Update: Jeff Seaman for Congress and Swing State Project join the boycott.

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    Boycott Bali | 31 comments (31 topical)
    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#1)
    by TomK on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:23 PM EST
    Boycott all the companies that support george bush until he changes his mind about supporting indonesia with military and hurricane aid.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#2)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:23 PM EST
    One should compare the crimes committed by the United States of America and Bali. Does TL call for a boykott of the United States of America? If not: why not? (I do not advocate such boykotts.)

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#3)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:23 PM EST
    Yes people should and a lot more, Boycott the area, yell about this outrage, call someone on this evil, in fact call the australia ambassador, "call", the U.N., And call bush in washington, this is just evil. just remember someday it maybe you or one of your kids in some third world loving al qaeda country, Old General Charles G. Dawes said "mediocrity requires aloofness to preserve its dignity".. don't let that system win and kill this young person, don't be aloof and walk away. and remember she is just like you a little person with no hope and in a land that hates her and in a system that will kill her.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#4)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:23 PM EST
    While the WSWS does not call for a boycott it shares the view that the lawsuit is bogus and the behavior of the Australien government is criminal. Muted response by Canberra as Australian woman faces death penalty in Indonesia By Richard Phillips, 6 April 2005 See also: Proposed Indonesian criminal code enshrines Suharto-era repression By John Roberts, 23 May 2005

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#12)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:23 PM EST
    The movie "Return the Paradise" comes to mind.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#5)
    by Pete Guither on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    CS Monitor notes that bookings to Bali are already down 20% -- not from a boycott, but just from being afraid to travel there.
    Travelers to Bali already have a heightened concern about their luggage on arrival at the airport. Kathryn Robinson is an anthropologist who transits through Bali at least eight times a year on her way to and from Sulowesi. "The last time I got there my lock was missing and I immediately reported it to Qantas staff before I got to customs - something I would not usually do," Ms. Robinson says
    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Do you enjoy being a jack-ass? Certain moral values are universal world-wide...like the idea of justice...not an American invention nor one upon which America holds the patent... Before you get too smug, braying ass, you may want to run down the long list of outrageous American judicial decisions and ask yourself what makes you, with the benefit of education, technology and freedom, any f#*king better....

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#8)
    by jarober on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    The elephant in the living room for TL This is Islamic "justice" Mind you, the war on drugs here in the US is just awful, and has been eroding our civil rights (that sound you here is the 4th amendment dying) for decades. The War on drugs won't end until one of the two parties realizes that it can't be won, and acts accordingly.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    JR, exactly how is "Islamic justice" any different from the "American justice" being meted in detention prisons as we speak? Please tell Blagh, he's dying to know what you think the difference is...

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#10)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Go to Jamaica instead, smoke yourself a nice fatty and make TWO statements. The water is just as nice.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#11)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Wouldn't recommend that, Che...Blagh was in Mo' Bay back in '94, and tourists want to watch their step in Jamaica when dealing with ganja...Blagh was approached to buy some in a club and got the distinct odor of "tourist narc" from this too-clean Rastaman with good English... You think Bali's tough? You haven't been white in a West Indian jail, and you don't wanna be, trust Blagh (not from personal experience, but Blagh passes as a local in the islands and sees many things "tourists" don't...). Blagh knows a dred' when he sees one, but can everyone else say the same? Jamaica, no...Canada, oui (and if you don't like B.C. 'dro, there's plenty of "yardie 'sess" to go around).... (*disclaimer: Not that Blagh would ever advocate breaking the law on TL...he's speaking hypothetically, of course, and is morally opposed to marijuna use...)

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#13)
    by Dadler on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    oops, posted that last one before i wanted to. to continue, i guess TL is right. Bali and Indonesia should no longer be destinations. Just when that region wants to be viewed in a different light, they go on with this show-trial nonsense. If they don't believe in fair trials, or rules of evidence, or simple logic, then they should be big enough to say so. That said, there's a couple of Australian nationals on death row too, and one hopes something is done to address their plight. But, since they have Thai or Vietnamese last names, i doubt they'll get the aussie gov't attention that shapelle got. sad but true.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#14)
    by Darryl Pearce on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Hmm..., I knew there was a reason I travel with one carry-on and buy all my stuff when I reach my destination. I traveled through southeast Asia in 1977 and as a 17-year-old American kid traveling solo I'm proud that I "escaped" with my virginity intact and I'm suprised I wasn't hassled more by police. Surprisingly, this was a topic of discussion at my gym this morning with most people believing she was guilty...

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#15)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Blagh, Negril is much more laid back. Canada has no good beaches. (You can see where my priorities are.) The only time I had difficulty in Jamaica was when some guy wanted to "give" me some mushrooms. I wasn't interested at the time. He persisted and finally another Jamaican woman stepped in and told him "He don't want yo mushrooms maan, Leave 'im alone!" What a sweetheart. I find that it's quite easy to stay out of trouble in other countries if you just show a little RESPECT for the locals and customs.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#16)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Negril was nicer, but when Blagh went up there to enjoy the beach and watch the sunset from "Rick's Cafe," he couldn't walk ten feet without being accosted by someone selling weed, coke, heroin, or worse...it was annoying as hell.... the poolboy at Blagh's hotel took him for a long-lost Canadian-Jamaican brother (not), and pestered him with "Sss! You wan' buy some 'erb...you wan' buy now?..." until Blagh told him to f*#k off... Didn't enjoy Jamaica at all, except to say he'd been...

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#17)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Che...Blagh...Anyone going to Jah as a tourist should really check out this documentary. Talk about a buzzkill for the more humane American tourist. But hey, that's yet another IMF "success story"... As for Bali...it's pretty easy for me to join the boycott since I don't plan on being within 5 time zones of Suharto's (a tropical Saddam Hussein-type U.S. puppet) former earthly paradise any time soon.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#18)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    How that is saying something dead right Blaghdaddy, Ed Is wrong as can be, but like Adolf Hitler, rat said, "how forunate for governments that the people they administer don't think". Ed, is not thinging only reacting, and it is a fact that some people are starting to understand that many people's on earth love the non ideals of rats like bin laden. The Auatralia government is totally under the control of really bad people, it's fear of the mass backlash from indonesia, in other words the business guys who want cheap labor that is one reason the government of Australia will not stand up for this sad woman.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#19)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    sorry but not acceptable reasoning. the entire Koran debate here centered around accepting third world behavior no matter how irrational. why should we be owed a higher standard in third world judiciaries if we do not hold them to a higher standard anywhere else. as an aside, the stuff in my trunk/backpack/bag/pocket defense is certainly used in the US and probably most places around the world. my guess is it almost univerally fails but the defendants are likely less attractive with lighter skinned judges.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#21)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Boycott? This is only going to hurt the poorest Indonesians. I'll save my travels for safer places, but will have no problem buying goods manufactured there.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#22)
    by Che's Lounge on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Pigwiggle, So do you advocate lifting the embargo of Cuba?

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#23)
    by DawesFred60 on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    forget the political lines of mass propaganda,its about her and her life. by the way, "its wrong", to do this to any human being on earth.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#24)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Bali is a tourist haven, particularly for young people. I don't want to see one more of them in jail. If they don't go to Bali, what happened to Schapelle can't happen to them. My review of the evidence (and I've been following the case and writing about it for a while) leads me to conclude she was telling the truth and the drugs were planted. What's to stop the baggage handlers from planting drugs in some other kid's suitcase? He or she wouldn't be believed any more than Schapelle was. Another reason to boycott is to pressure the Indonesian people to lobby their government to change its laws. If they lose the tourist business over their arcane, draconian drug laws, perhaps they'd do that. I have refused to go to Singapore since they caned the teenager some years back. There are other countries far more deserving of my dollars than those with inhumane, cruel, unforgiving and crass criminal justice policies. My view firmly remains: Boycott Bali.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#25)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    California has good beaches. Good thing Rush wasn't in Bali pushing pills, he'd be toast, too.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#26)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    TL wrote: "Another reason to boycott is to pressure the Indonesian people to lobby their government to change its laws." I definitely do not agree with that argument. I think that it is a reactionary perspective. The Indonesian government is acting against the Indonesian people with support from the US government. Instead of helping them to fight against the government you suggest to "pressure" them. If you are looking for people to pressure you will find them in the United States: in the White House and in the Democratic and Republican Parties. BTW: the same argument could be used to call for a world-wide boycott against the US--"to pressure the American people to lobby their government" to withdraw from Iraq.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#27)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Sorry, Andreas, but this is one case you can't pin on the U.S. In the U.S., she would have gotton 10 to 16 months for 9 pounds of pot if charged federally. I know your WS agenda wants to blame us for everything, but this one is a no-go.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#28)
    by SeeEmDee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Police discontinue drug-training exercise; Man incorrectly charged with crime after cops forget narcotics placed in car to test dogs Do Australian police use the same training methods?

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#29)
    by Andreas on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    @TL: you did not understand what I have written. I was not talking about drug laws in the US but about the political and military support for the Indonesian regime and the war in Iraq. I am not advocating a boycott against the US to change that. Who is "us"? You do not seem to understand that I never blamed the American people.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#30)
    by Ambiorix on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:24 PM EST
    Sorry, Andreas, but this is one case you can't pin on the U.S. In the U.S., she would have gotton 10 to 16 months for 9 pounds of pot if charged federally. I know your WS agenda wants to blame us for everything, but this one is a no-go.
    1. TalkLeft your writings about her case prove to whoever reads them that she is innocent. 2. We can be certain that her legal defendenders proved to the Monkey court that she is innocent. 3. Nobody smuggles narcotics to Columbia, Afganistan, Morocco, Indonesia or any of these narcotics producing countries. 4. The American "War on Drugs" isn't declared over yet., and the Bush administration still uses this "War on Drugs" when "dealing" with these countries. 5. With this case, the Indonesian government shows how well they do their best in this "War on Drugs" because this case proves that Indonesia is no longer a narcotics producing country since it there is now even a market in Indonesia worth to smuggle pot to from a foreign country. 6. It is the American pressure to "War on Drugs" that made it that against common sense Schapelle Corby was convicted to 20 years (wich will in fact a be life sentence). 7. So the US politics are evenly to blame for this abuse of justice.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#31)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:25 PM EST
    I'm an Australian sociologist who's researched and taught criminology and the sociology of law. I've also studied Indonesian history and politics. I'm active in politics on the left, and have been for two decades. From an Australian perspective, I think this call to boycott Bali is fundamentally misguided if well intentioned. I've explained my reasoning on my blog.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#32)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:27 PM EST
    I am so ashamed and embarrased that Australian people would refuse aid to the Balanese people. The people in the streets that need us have nothing to do with the horrible decision and injustice. If we never return to Bali the judges won't feel this, only the average man that has not done anything or been involved at all. Would it be fair if our businesses were run into the ground and lives ruined because of the poor way we treat refugees? I think not. Please don't do the same to people that have already suffered enough.. There must be a better way.

    Re: Boycott Bali (none / 0) (#33)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:34 PM EST
    Be mad if you will,
    Boycott Bali | 31 comments (31 topical)