Monday, November 28, 2011

The death toll from the weekend suspension bridge collapse on the Indonesian island of Borneo has risen from four to eleven. Search and rescue teams continue to look for bodies in the Mahakam River.

The number of wounded is currently 39 injured; reports from locals suggest 33 people remain missing at the scene in East Kalimantan’s Kutai Kartanegara district, where “Kalimantan’s Golden Gate Bridge” linked the towns of Tenggarong and the regional capital, Samarinda. A six-month-old baby is among the dead.

Cars, motorbikes, and buses all fell into the Mahakam River when the bridge came down during repairs. Another car was left overturned and balanced upon wreckage over the water. State-owned builders PT Hutama Karya completed the bridge about a decade ago in the image of California’s Golden Gate Bridge. A cable on the 720-metre structure is thought to have failed as workers dealt with it; six of the repair crew were reported missing yesterday. It had been the longest suspension bridge in Borneo.

Eyewitnesses described heavy traffic at the time of the collapse, and one survivor said he left his truck to investigate a traffic jam. Some people were left trapped by debris as the bridge came down. “It happened so fast, only about 30 seconds,” according to National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Sutopo Nugoroho.

National search and rescue head Daryatmo said yesterday cranes will attempt to move debris today, with new reports saying echo-sounding equipment will be used to check it is safe to begin lifting. It is believed the bodies of more victims will be found trapped in vehicles beneath the water, which is 35-40 metres deep. Visibility is poor, and one official explained authorities are still unsure how many vehicles are on the riverbed.

“The above-water search is continuing, but underwater operations have not been carried out because we’re worried that the bridge’s pylons are unstable and could collapse any time,” said Nugoroho today. He explained that bodies had washed onto the riverbanks overnight and were recovered today.

The president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, has sent three ministers to the site to investigate the accident, while Bambang Widaryatmo, head of East Kalimantan’s police, promised “parties found to be negligent will be prosecuted”. The government has promised a replacement ferry service. The river is closed to boats as rescue operations continue, and a 22-strong team has been dispatched from the national police, comprising six forensics experts, five disaster victim identification specialists, and eleven investigators. They are there to augment the East Kalimantan Police. Health Minister Endang Rahayu Sedyaningsih yesterday visited survivors in Parikesit Hospital and promised them medical treatment at government expense.

Some people swam ashore after falling, with the aftermath filled with screams. Survivor Syakrani, 24, yesterday asserted “The authorities should have closed the bridge if it was under repair.” His words were followed by a Jakarta Globe editorial declaring the accident “unacceptable”.

The Globe went on to comment upon suggestions corruption may have played a role; “It is too early to point fingers and look to place blame, but if shoddy materials were used in the building of the bridge, those responsible must answer to the public.” Another suggestion is coal barges striking the bridge may have weakened it. Local coal company Harum Energy lost five percent of its share value today amid fears the river blockage will hamper their ability to ship coal.

Samarinda’s seen a population and construction boom lately. A few years have seen the population triple and the construction of a large mosque, and a sports stadium; an airport and port are set to follow. However, the Corruption Eradication Commission warns 70% of the corruption it investigates concerns government contracts and up to 40% of money earmarked for infrastructure ends up stolen.

Friday, October 14, 2005

The live presidential video teleconference held Thursday by George Bush with U.S. troops stationed in Iraq drew fire from critics and even some Pentagon military leaders. Pentagon officials defended the teleconference, saying that the soldiers stated their own opinions.

An on-camera shot before the teleconference went live showed Allison Barber, the deputy assistant defense secretary, coaching 10 soldiers on broad topics to which the president would want questions directed; then rehearsed their actions on camera and reminded them of what questions were assigned to each soldier.

“OK, so let’s just walk through this,” Barber said. “Captain Kennedy, you answer the first question and you hand the mike to whom?”

“Captain Smith,” Kennedy said.

“Captain. Smith? You take the mike and you hand it to whom?” she asked.

“Captain Kennedy,” the soldier replied.

Later on in the discussion:

“If the question comes up about partnering — how often do we train with the Iraqi military — who does he go to?” Barber asked.

“That’s going to go to Captain Pratt,” one of the soldiers said.

During the live conference, when asked about Iraq’s preparations for their constitutional referendum, 1st Lt. Gregg Murphy of Tennessee said: “Sir, we are prepared to do whatever it takes to make this thing a success. … Back in January, when we were preparing for that election, we had to lead the way. We set up the coordination, we made the plan. We’re really happy to see, during the preparation for this one, sir, they’re doing everything.”

When asked about Iraq’s training of security forces, Master Sgt. Corine Lombardo from Scotia, N.Y., a Public Relations officer at the 42nd Infantry Division HQ, said to Bush: “I can tell you over the past 10 months, we’ve seen a tremendous increase in the capabilities and the confidences of our Iraqi security force partners. … Over the next month, we anticipate seeing at least one-third of those Iraqi forces conducting independent operations.”

The event was coordinated with the Department of Defense, according to White House press secretary Scott McClellan. “I think all they were doing was talking to the troops and letting them know what to expect,” he said. He also said that the troops were expressing their own thoughts. With satellite feeds, coordination often is needed to overcome technological challenges, such as delays, he said.

Later, Pentagon officials denied that the conference was staged. Pentagon spokesman Lawrence Di Rita said “On behalf of these fine young men and women, we certainly regret any perception that they were told what to say. It is not the case,” adding that “The soldiers were advised as to the issues they should expect to discuss, and decided among themselves who would speak to each issue as it may arise.”

The director of Operation Truth, a New York-based advocacy group for U.S. veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, described the event as a “carefully scripted publicity stunt”.

“If he wants the real opinions of the troops, he can’t do it in a nationally televised teleconference,” Paul Rieckhoff said. “He needs to be talking to the boots on the ground and that’s not a bunch of captains.”

Sgt Ron Long, one of the troops interviewed, denied that it was scripted on his blog, writing “First of all, we were told that we would be speaking with the President of the United States, our Commander-in-Chief, President Bush, so I believe that it would have been totally irresponsible for us NOT to prepare some ideas, facts or comments that we wanted to share with the President.

“We were given an idea as to what topics he may discuss with us, but it’s the President of the United States; He will choose which way his conversation with us may go.

“We practiced passing the microphone around to one another, so we wouldn’t choke someone on live TV. We had an idea as to who we thought should answer what types of questions, unless President Bush called on one of us specifically.”

Friday, June 22, 2007

Following the dramatic escape of an Indonesian housemaid from a 15th-floor apartment in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian government has suspended the licences of 19 housemaid agencies, following complaints of abuse and unpaid wages.

The move by the Home Ministry yesterday comes after an Indonesian woman named Ceriyati Dapin climbed from a 15th-floor Sentul apartment on a makeshift cloth rope to escape an employer she said was abusive. In the incident last Saturday, the 33-year-old woman made it to the parapet of the 12th floor when she became fearful and froze. She was eventually rescued by the fire brigade. She said she had been repeatedly beaten and starved by her employer.

The maid agency that sent Ceriyati to her employer was a company called Kemas Cerah, and it is among the agencies suspended. The employer was arrested on Monday and remains in custody while police investigate Ceriyati’s claims, a police spokesman told the Associated Press.

“The maid was supposed to be sent to an employer in Terengganu but was indiscriminately sent to another employer,” Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad was quoted as saying by Bernama news agency.

In Indonesia, where newspapers have been carrying the story on their front pages, the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta assured the Indonesian government it was doing all it could to investigate the case.

In addition to suspending the agencies, 85 agency owners and managers have been blacklisted, and will be prevented from opening new operations under different names, the ministry said.

“They have until the end of this month to appeal the suspension and if they fail to do so, their permits will be immediately terminated,” Radzi was quoted as saying by the New Straits Times.

This was the first time the ministry has taken such an action on maid abuse, Radzi added.

An industry group, the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies, or Persatuan Agensi Pekerja Asing (PAPA), said it was shocked by the government’s move, and that it could inconvenience maids.

“We panicked when news of this came out. No show-cause letters were given, nor were we informed by the ministry beforehand on the decision,” the group’s president, Raja Zulkepley Dahalan, was quoted as saying by The Star. “In addition to this, 12 of those agencies are registered under Papa, and have a good track record,” Raja Zulkepley said.

The suspensions will leave maids in a lurch, Raja Zulkepley said.

“Almost every day, about 200 maids from various countries, especially from Indonesia, make their way into the country,” he told The Star. “With these 19 agencies under suspension, these maids are all now stuck in immigration and others in hostels, unable to move anywhere. We dare not even think about the other maids who are coming tomorrow, or the day after.”

Malaysia relies heavily on migrant labour, mainly Indonesians, for such jobs as domestic servants, construction and plantation work.

Around 1,200 Indonesian housemaids run away from their employers every month, according to the Associated Press, often because of abuse, unpaid salaries or harsh working conditions.

The government has established a 24-hour hotline for reports on maid abuse. The hotline numbers are 03-8880 1455 and 03-8880 1399.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, one day after being convicted of harassment of a public servant for spitting into the eye and open mouth of a Dallas, Texas police officer in May 2006. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no one has ever contracted HIV from saliva, and a gay-rights and AIDS advocacy group called the sentence excessive.

A Dallas County jury concluded that Willie Campbell’s act of spitting on policeman Dan Waller in 2006 constituted the use of his saliva as a deadly weapon. The incident occurred while Campbell, 42, was resisting arrest while being taken into custody for public intoxication.

“He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes with,” said Waller to The Dallas Morning News.

Officer Waller responded after a bystander reported seeing an unconscious male lying outside a building. Dallas County prosecutors stated that Campbell attempted to fight paramedics and kicked the police officer who arrested him for public intoxication.

Prosecutors said that Campbell yelled that he was innocent during the trial, and claimed a police officer was lying. Campbell’s lawyer Russell Heinrichs said that because he had a history of convictions including similarly attacking two other police officers, biting inmates, and other offenses, he was indicted under a habitual offender statute. The statute increased his minimum sentence to 25 years in prison. Because the jury ruled that Campbell’s saliva was used as a deadly weapon, he will not be eligible for parole until completing at least half his sentence.

The organization Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund), which advocates for individuals living with HIV, says that saliva should not be considered a deadly weapon. Bebe Anderson, the HIV projects director at Lambda Legal, spoke with The Dallas Morning News about the sentence. “It’s been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears,” said Anderson.

The Dallas County prosecutor who handled the trial, Jenni Morse, said that the deadly weapon finding was justified. “No matter how minuscule, there is some risk. That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death,” said Morse. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins stated: “If you look at the facts of this case, it was clear that the defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury.”

A page at the CDC’s website, HIV and Its Transmission, states: “HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities from some AIDS patients.” The subsection “Saliva, Tears, and Sweat” concludes that: “Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.” On Friday the Dallas County Health Department released a statement explaining that HIV is most commonly spread through sexual contact, sharing needles, or transfusion from an infected blood product.