Indonesia executes six drug convicts, five of them foreigners

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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

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

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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)

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. …

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Antique-style bikes find new life in Old Town

Mariani Dewi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sat, 12/13/2008 11:05 AM 


 "This is the first time I have ridden such a bike. I would not find it anywhere in my town in Makassar (South Sulawesi)," says Unie, a 24-year-old architect.

 

Unie rides an old bike around Fatahillah Square in the historical Old Town, Central Jakarta, one breezy Saturday afternoon. 

She is visiting the capital with her three friends. So far, she thinks the Old Town square is the most amusing site. The bikes, locally known as sepeda ontel, were an unexpected perk here, she says. 

"We were delighted to see the bikes, so we immediately hired one to share," she says, watching two friends taking turns on the bike. 

The bike, rented out at Rp 20,000 (US$1.60) an hour, reflects its surroundings -- a refurbished concrete town square surrounded by three large, white buildings from the Dutch colonization era. It gives the feeling of a European town, a stark contrast to the outside world of malls, high-rise buildings and busy traffic. 

Taking photographs seems an irresistable temptation for many visitors. 

Groups of teenagers dominate the view. 

"This kind of bike is not from our generation. I hope the pictures turn out looking romantic," says Esther, a teenager who had come to the square with seven friends. 

Teenagers are not the only one excited by the experience. A man in his 30s is all smiles as he rides a bike, with his two young daughters on the back seat. Unfortunately for the man, his passengers are not as excited. They refuse to continue their ride after several trips around the square. 

The family chats to The Jakarta Post in the shade of a tree. 

"My grandfather used to have one of these bikes. He rode it with me when I was a kid," says Abdul Basid Rais, from Jakarta's indigenous Betawi community. 

"Now, these bikes cannot be found anywhere in Jakarta, except here. 

"These bikes were everywhere in Jakarta in the 70s. People rode them while wearing sarongs. Many Betawi traders would sell products off their bicycles, from food to household products," Abdul says. 

"Cloth traders, usually wearing white shirts and three-quarter-long black pants, would carry their loads in sling bags strapped to their bikes." 

There are no more cloth traders in the city today, but street food traders still rely on bicycles. Many vendors sell their products, from traditional ice cream to rujak (fruit salad doused in peanut sauce), from boxes strapped carefully to their bicycles. 

The bicycles at the square, he says, do not don the same brand as his grandfather's bicycle once did. 

Although the bikes are reminiscent of old-style bicycles, they are not antiques. 

Sunaryo, an ojek (bicycle taxi) rider in his 60s, who has been working in the field since the 70s, says his bike was only one year old. 

"I bought it from a store in town for Rp 750,000. The area is close to the sea and gets flooded often, so the bikes rust really fast. You have to clean them well for them to last. It also has to look shiny and clean to attract renters," he says, pointing to fierce competition among the bike owners. 

The leader of the bike riders at the square, Daryono, says that on weekdays, there are around five riders hanging around the area for passengers. But during the weekends, the number swells to more than 50, occupying many points in the square. 

"There are no hard feelings. Everyone has a hard life, so when there is a crowd here, they all come. But a system will be implemented soon to regulate business here," he says. 

"I heard from the Old Town Community that the number will be limited. They will also create a bicycle pool station, just like a taxi pool, where bicycles queue up for passengers. It will ensure everyone gets a fair share of the pie." 

The pie may become bigger when the Old Town Community executes its to plan to open gourmet food stalls. 

"We plan to block off the road one evening each week and set up food stalls, so it will be crowded even in the evenings," says Jacky, the deputy head of the community. "If it is popular, we will do it more often. 

"But we have put the plan on hold until after the 2009 elections. During the election period, things are rather uncertain and we want to let the event run smoothly without interruption. So we are waiting to see what the best option is."


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