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Widodo has pledged to bring reform to Indonesia

Ban appeals to Indonesia to stop death row executions

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United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has pleaded to Indonesia to stop the execution of prisoners on death row for drug crimes. AFP PHOTO

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The pope wrote that the principle of legitimate personal defense isn’t adequate justification to execute someone. Photograph: Zuma/Rex

Obama becomes first president to visit US prison (US Justice Systems / Human Rights)

Obama becomes first president to visit US prison   (US Justice Systems / Human Rights)
US President Barack Obama speaks as he tours the El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, July 16, 2015 (AFP Photo/Saul Loeb)

US Death Penalty (Justice Systems / Human Rights)

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Woman who spent 23 years on US death row cleared (Photo: dpa)



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"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Old Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God / Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it), Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse), Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

… The Shift in Human Nature

You're starting to see integrity change. Awareness recalibrates integrity, and the Human Being who would sit there and take advantage of another Human Being in an old energy would never do it in a new energy. The reason? It will become intuitive, so this is a shift in Human Nature as well, for in the past you have assumed that people take advantage of people first and integrity comes later. That's just ordinary Human nature.

In the past, Human nature expressed within governments worked like this: If you were stronger than the other one, you simply conquered them. If you were strong, it was an invitation to conquer. If you were weak, it was an invitation to be conquered. No one even thought about it. It was the way of things. The bigger you could have your armies, the better they would do when you sent them out to conquer. That's not how you think today. Did you notice?

Any country that thinks this way today will not survive, for humanity has discovered that the world goes far better by putting things together instead of tearing them apart. The new energy puts the weak and strong together in ways that make sense and that have integrity. Take a look at what happened to some of the businesses in this great land (USA). Up to 30 years ago, when you started realizing some of them didn't have integrity, you eliminated them. What happened to the tobacco companies when you realized they were knowingly addicting your children? Today, they still sell their products to less-aware countries, but that will also change.

What did you do a few years ago when you realized that your bankers were actually selling you homes that they knew you couldn't pay for later? They were walking away, smiling greedily, not thinking about the heartbreak that was to follow when a life's dream would be lost. Dear American, you are in a recession. However, this is like when you prune a tree and cut back the branches. When the tree grows back, you've got control and the branches will grow bigger and stronger than they were before, without the greed factor. Then, if you don't like the way it grows back, you'll prune it again! I tell you this because awareness is now in control of big money. It's right before your eyes, what you're doing. But fear often rules. …

Saturday, April 28, 2007

Spring-fed Owabong offers unique water tourism

Agus Maryono, The Jakarta Post, Purbalingga, C. Java

Owabong, an acronymic name for "Bojongsari water tourism object" in Bahasa Indonesia, is indeed a unique tourist site. True to its name, Owabong offers entertainment all connected with water, and is a suitable place for water lovers.

The recreation center located in Bojongsari village of Purbalingga regency, Central Java, offers a variety of aquatic games and entertainment, including a swimming pool, a water slide and a miniature river.

The tourism destination, which cost as much as Rp 13 billion in its construction, is special because it is the only one of its kind to be found in the province.

Further, Owabong is popular among tourists because it makes use of the pristine natural water that gushes from local springs.

Visitors can swim to their hearts' content at various depths. They can also go boating or simply sit idly while splashing water with their kids.

Opened in 2003 by then regent Triyono Budi Sasongko, Owabong is always full of tourists, especially domestic ones. About 90 percent of these tourists are from outside Purbalingga.

At Rp 12,000 per person over 5 years of age, the entrance tickets are beyond the reach of many local residents, and Owabong generally caters to well-heeled families. But the facility has its own attraction because despite its modern structure and design, it is located in a cool and airy rural area with boundless amounts of water.

On holidays and weekends, as well as over extended holidays such as school holidays and Idul Fitri, visitors form a queue to enter Owabong. During such periods, Owabong welcomes as many as 15,000 visitors daily.

"I often visit (Owabong) because it is a suitable tourist destination for the family. The facilities here are not located far from one another so it isn't be tiring for visitors... Besides, children like it here because it has all kinds of water games," said Suparmi, 45, from Purwokerto, who added that she had visited Owabong with her family about five times.

As for the ticket price, Suparmi said it was natural that this was expensive, because Owabong offered complete and excellent facilities.

Purbalingga resident Toto, 37, commented: "Well, the people around Owabong are poor. Although Owabong is an imposing water tourism site located in a village, most of the villagers can only watch from outside, as the ticket is too expensive for them."

Before it was turned into the tourist site it is today, Owabong used to be a public swimming pool that drew its water supply from a nearby spring. Local residents, particularly children, used to enjoy swimming in the clear and fresh water for a mere Rp 1,000.

"Today, they can no longer do so. Locals are now like children who cry when their toys are taken away. The tourist site is now monopolized by the well-off, and the poor locals are powerless to take it back," Toto said.

Tourism head Sugeng Priyanto of the Purbalingga culture and tourism office told The Jakarta Post that local residents had long known of the existence of the springs in Bojongsari.

"The springs were discovered during the Dutch colonial times. It used to be a bathing place for those Dutch who had happened to take local women as their wives," Sugeng said.

The bathing area, which occupied about 8 hectares of land, was later purchased by a foundation in Purbalingga and turned into a public swimming pool. The pool was unique, Sugeng said, because the water came from seven local springs and did not require any chemical treatment.

In 2003, the swimming pool was bought by the regental administration and turned into a tourism destination.

"The establishment of Owabong was prompted by a desire to increase local earnings in the present era of regional autonomy," Sugeng said.

He agreed that the entrance ticket was expensive, but added that the management of Owabong had been delegated to a third party. The tourism service, he said, could no longer interfere in its operation.

"We act only as a supervisor. At most, we can give the management some input and alert them when local residents give us unfavorable input," he said.

"We also do not know how much money Owabong generates. We get nothing from this income. The management deposits the money directly to the regional treasury," he added.

The Purbalingga administration, Sugeng said, had set a target of Rp 1 billion this year for Owabong.

"I'm sure this target can be reached," he said. "In 2006, the target of Rp 1.25 billion was reached and I believe the real income was far above this figure."

Meanwhile, Owabong manager Hartono told the Post that only a few Purbalingga residents visited the facility, perhaps because they had become bored of the place.

"I'm sure the ticket price is not the reason why so few of them come here. Perhaps locals are used to water so they don't see anything special about this site," Hartono said.

On Saturdays and Sundays, he said, Owabong saw an average of 3,500 tourists. "On other days, only about 500 to 700 people come here," he added.

There is usually a boom of between 10,000 and 13,000 tourists a day during extended holidays, and in just 10 months, Hartono said, Owabong was able to attain the revenue target set by the local administration.

"The remaining income is for the management and we will use it for renovation and for installing new facilities. We plan to add two new games or entertainment facilities every year," he said.

The management plans to introduce a new game this year, in which players must deal with the challenges of a tsunami.

Some of the recreational facilities that can be found at Owabong include a 13-meter-high water slide and an Olympic-size swimming pool, as well as water therapy and a wave pool, complete with kayaks and life vests. In addition, a go-cart circuit is provided for more earth-bound, automotive fans.

One facility to watch out for is a giant pail that dumps water on passersby every three minutes -- especially if they walk under it.

Owabong also offers fishing -- with bare hands -- as well as water see-saws, water-slide races, banana boats, water-cycles, a game pool and a sheltered rest area where visitors can sit or lie down to relax.

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