United States - Indonesia Relations (Educational Partnerships)

Distinguished former US Diplomat David Merrill, the president of the US-Indo Society in Washington, discusses how to build closer educational ties between Indonesia and the United States.  (please see video interview below with host Lin Neumann of the Jakarta Globe on his talk show, "Insight Indonesia")

Please also read a related article,  “Higher Education as an Instrument for Structural Change in Indonesia” - An Open Forum with Dr. Anies Baswedan Rector, Paramadina University.

(Part 1)

(Part 2)

 (Part 3)

South East Asia (SEA) vs. Asia as a Whole

In my previous article, I helped to identify which countries are part of South East Asia (SEA) which includes Indonesia; now let's look at the entire region of Asia as a whole as identified by the United Nations.  (click on each region name below for a list of countries associated with each region)

Blue =  North Asia  (Russia)

Fuchsia = Central Asia

Lime = Southwest Asia

Red = South Asia

Yellow = East Asia

Mustard = Southeast Asia  (Indonesia)

Population of Indonesia in SEA (South East Asia)

How does Indonesia compare to other SEA (South East Asia) countries in terms of overall population distribution?  Well, let's see ...

Orangutans

The word orangutan comes from Indonesian Bahasa (language) and means literally orang (people or man) hutan (of the forest) - thus, "person or man of the forest"

This picture is just for humorous purpose or intent and is not meant to degrade the animal.  In all seriousness, PLEASE HELP SAVE THE ORANGUTAN

http://redapes.org/

Travel VISA to the USA to Buy Real Property

Here is something very interesting to watch and track; a proposed bill in the United States Congress (S. 1746) that would give foreign investors buying real property (in cash, no mortgage or debt attached to it) a Visa to come to the USA if they purchase a home (or homes) totaling $500,000 USD or more. 

The Bill is called the Visa Improvements to Stimulate International Tourism to the United States of America Act (dubbed, the “VISIT USA Act”).

To track this Bill in the United States Congress, see link below:

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s112-1746

Status: This bill is in the first step in the legislative process. Explanation: Introduced bills and resolutions first go to committees that deliberate, investigate, and revise them before they go to general debate. The majority of bills and resolutions never make it out of committee.

Let’s hope this one does get all the way through Congress and enacted into LAW; as it will not only benefit and stimulate the much weakened U.S. economy, but will also provide an opportunity for people from certain countries who are not automatically granted a travel Visa (i.e. Indonesians) under the Visa Waver Program (VWP). This new “VISIT USA Visa” type would be a new category to the list of Visas for Temporary Visitors.