Most likely you've heard about the case of Schapelle Corby, the Australian woman convicted of smuggling more than 4 kilos of marijuana into Indonesia. She is getting ready to appeal the conviction but risks a stiffer sentence than the 20 years she received. Australians are hopping mad about this and many are canceling vacation plans to visit the nation's beaches. I cannot honestly say that I believe 20 years is excessively harsh for smuggling that amount of illegal drugs. Indonesia is very stiff about drugs and just about anyone traveling to the country should know that. But when you compare this sentence with that of convicted terrorists, a slightly different picture of the country emerges.

Abu Bakar Bashir, the spiritual leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah militant group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings and other deadly attacks, was sentenced to 30 months for his part in the Bali attack which killed 202 people including 88 Australians. Bashir was sentenced for taking part in a criminal conspiracy but cleared of more serious charges of terrorism. Other conspirators were found guilty and received death sentences but these have been overturned because the laws under which they were prosecuted were enacted after the attack.

How can someone be convicted of taking part in a conspiracy to commit a terrorist act yet be acquitted of terrorism? This decision defies logic. It is like saying that bin Laden is innocent because he wasn't on a plane. This is virtual amnesty for terror masterminds. Indonesia is just plain simply a bad place with bad people. Make no mistake about it. If you spend your money there to take a vacation, you are handing your money over to an evil country. Me? I want the money I donated for tsunami relief back.