By Marc Gopin States defined as religious or ethnic are almost always injurious to human rights, and injurious to the moral integrity of either religious or cultural traditions. Citizens who do not belong to the designated official religion or culture have customarily been mistreated in history. This is true of Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Hindu [...]

SILAKARANG ~ As the hostess of my husband’s birthday barbeque last weekend, I stopped to survey the scene and make sure everyone was having a good time. I looked out on our garden and was surprised to see how different the crowd was from the last party we threw. Having begun a new job a [...]

A wave of woes appears to have washed over our normally happy isle, as we contend with a series of unresolved, urgent problems that make our – and visitors’ – lives more difficult, and in some cases endangers them. Currently we are experiencing a dangerous outbreak of rabies; a string of power outages; severe overdevelopment [...]

Sanyas, the fourth stage of life, is a very unique one. This is a stage of final accomplishment, and ultimate fulfilment. The first stage (brahmacharya – student life) is a preparation for the second stage (grahasthya – social life). The second stage leads to the third stage (vanaprashtha – retirement). Our role changes from stage [...]

By Dr. Robert Goldman For The Bali Times Longevity News and Review provides readers with the latest information in breakthroughs pertaining to the extension of the healthy human lifespan. These news summaries are compiled by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine (A4M; www.worldhealth.net), a non-profit medical society composed of 22,000 physician and scientist members from [...]

That’s the spirit: The new warung on the Sari Club site this week. The Joys of Sulawesi Street THE Diary spent much of last Saturday on bag-carrying duty in Sulawesi Street, the Denpasar precinct where silk, cotton, linen and all sorts of other fabrics are to be found in the hands of many traders, some [...]

DENPASAR ~ New Justice and Human Rights Minister Patrialis Akbar pronounced himself shocked by conditions at Kerobokan Jail when he visited it last Sunday to speak to its chief, Siswanto. He said after seeing the jail for the first time: “This visit will be discussed with the budget committee in the House with the minister [...]

DENPASAR ~ Former business and investment adviser Esti Yuliani – known to most of her expatriate clients as Julie Edmond – was this week jailed for two years for defrauding a client of Rp25 billion (US$2.5 million). Yuliani, 41, will most likely serve only 17 months since she has been in detention for seven months [...]

DENPASAR ~ A Badung policewoman who was sentenced to 20 months’ jail for embezzling three vehicles has been dismissed from the police force. Ni Nyoman Sunadi was convicted at the Denpasar District Court of fraud in relation to three Toyota vehicles owned by Ketut Suparsa, of Banjar Peruk at Lukluk, Mengwi. Badung Police spokesman Pahumas [...]

DENPASAR ~ Governor I Made Mangku Pastika’s plan for a shopping mall on the site of the former Badung regency administration centre in Denpasar – a key element of his public investment plan to boost local business and lift incomes – has run into a chorus of criticism from academia. A string of academics have [...]

DENPASAR ~ Bali has set an ambitious target to attract 2.1 million foreign tourists in 2010, announcing the goal immediately after the release this week of new statistics showing the island is well on its way to exceeding its 2009 target of 1.9 million foreign visits. Tourism board chief Ida Bagus Kade Subisku said on [...]

Welcoming: Balinese dancers perform at the opening ceremony of the Bali Meditator’s Festival at Ubud Palace last Friday. The international event over the weekend was the first of its kind here and drew gurus from around the country and abroad.