Indonesia executes six drug convicts, five of them foreigners

Indonesia executes six drug convicts, five of them foreigners
Widodo has pledged to bring reform to Indonesia

Ban appeals to Indonesia to stop death row executions

Ban appeals to Indonesia to stop death row executions
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

Pope: 'Death penalty represents failure' – no 'humane' way to kill a person

Pope: 'Death penalty represents failure' – no 'humane' way to kill a person
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)

US Death Penalty (Justice Systems / Human Rights)
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. …

Friday, June 22, 2007

Authentic souvernirs wanting at Jakarta tourist attractions

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Jakarta may be a city where you can find most things. But when it comes to souvenirs to remind you of your stay, things can get exceptionally difficult.

In the capital cities of neighboring countries, tourism operators and businesspeople have long sold souvenirs such as fridge magnets depicting Kuala Lumpur's Petronas Tower, Manila's shell handicrafts or the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum.

Back home, the souvenir stalls at Jakarta's tourists spots offer little more than poor-quality T-shirts, paper or plastic fans bearing pictures of Nickelodeon cartoon characters and souvenirs from other provinces.

T-shirts decorated with a picture of a bajaj and the word "Batavia" can be bought for Rp 15,000 (about US$1.80) at garment wholesale markets like Pasar Pagi, Mangga Dua.

"Most people who buy these T-shirts are people from outside the city or those who want to make a donation," a trader said.

Poor quality material and unattractive designs have turned off many people, who see even the modest Rp 15,000 price tag as asking too much.

At the National Monument (Monas) -- a well recognized symbol of Jakarta that attracts foreign and local tourists -- many vendors sell souvenirs that have little or nothing to do with the capital at all.

Most vendors at the monument ground, instead, offer wooden statues of Lombok and Asmat.

"I don't think Jakarta really has something interesting that can be made into souvenirs. Besides, souvenir makers here seem not to be interested in making authentic souvenirs of Jakarta," said Ujang, one of the souvenir vendors.

Like most vendors at Monas, Ujang sells the wooden statues, which are supplied weekly by artisans based in Cileunyi, Bandung.

Ben Sukma, President of the Association of Indonesian Tour and Travel Agencies, said Jakarta had no natural attractions to offer.

"Unlike Bogor or other cities that have natural recreational sites, Jakarta can only count on man-made resorts, and that's what metropolitan cities usually count on," he said.

He added that governments and the private sector had to take leading roles in building tourist attractions.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), the number of foreign tourists arriving in Jakarta in January 2007 was 92,117, while in December 2006 the number was 104,608. In April it reached 104,081, just 0.05 percent lower than March's figure of 104,133.

Sapta Nirwanda, the secretary general of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said low demand for authentic Jakarta souvenirs meant few businesses were willing to produce them.

Sapta said the ministry had yet to take up the lack of Jakarta-specific souvenirs as an issue because vendors selling souvenirs from outside Jakarta were helping tourism in other provinces.

"It's fine as long as they're still selling souvenirs from other provinces," he said.

Meanwhile, the city's tourism agency has blamed the private sector for not seriously promoting places of interest in Jakarta.

"People may know that Jakarta has Ragunan zoo and Ancol recreation park. But actually we also have other good places for having fun," said Eko Guruh, a Jakarta Tourism Agency spokesman.

But he said a lack of interest from the private sector to come up with investment had hampered tourism development in Jakarta.

Eko said that, for example, car or noodle factories in the capital could make great tourist attractions.

"We could take elementary school students on city tours to those factories and show them how to make noodles or cars," Eko said. "They can have fun while gaining more knowledge."

The Dutch architecture of Jakarta's Old Town and the fish markets in Angke, North Jakarta, could also be interesting to visitors, he said.

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