Cempaka Culture and Tourism: Officials, Council say nothing wrong with Buddha Bar

"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. …”

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Officials, Council say nothing wrong with Buddha Bar

Prodita Sabarini, The Jakarta Post, JAKARTA | Fri, 03/27/2009 11:43 AM

In an amicable mood, Jakarta officials and councilors had lunch Wednesday at the Buddha Bar in Teuku Umar, Central Jakarta, with representatives from the Buddhist community and the restaurant’s management.

The lunch marked an end to the debate about the name of the bar and questions over its permits as both officials and councilors had agreed that nothing was wrong with the bar.

City Council Commission B secretary Nurmansjah Lubis, City Tourism Agency head Arie Budhiman, and head of the Indonesia Buddhist Youth (Gemabudhi) Lieus Sungkharisma carried out an “inspection” of the restaurant that has drawn protests from Buddhist students, questions about the public’s limited access, and, most recently, a request for an investigation into its permits.

Nurmansjah said the purpose of the visit was to see what the management of Buddha Bar has done to the city’s historical building.

The building, built during the Dutch colonial era, was formerly the city’s immigration office. It fell into private ownership in 1998 and was abandoned. The city repurchased and restored the building, spending about Rp 35 billion of taxpayers’ money in the process, promising a unique venue for the public. Since December last year, the only Asian branch of the French lounge chain Buddha Bar, has occupied the historical building.

Wednesday’s visit was a follow-up after a hearing between Commission B, the Tourism Agency and Buddha Bar management a day earlier at the City Council office. At the hearing, Commission B speaker Aliman A’at said the Buddha Bar management had adequate permits to operate, thus ending the debate.

Previously, the Indonesian Corruption Watch said they were concerned that there might have been a conflict of interest behind the transformation of the 96-year-old Old Dutch building into a high-class restaurant.

Involved in the running of the restaurant is Renny Sutiyoso, daughter of former governor Sutiyoso, who approved the restoration of the building.

Nurmansjah said that all necessary permits for the running of a restaurant at the former immigration office had been obtained by Buddha Bar management. It won the tender over other private businesses for having the idea of using the building as an art gallery and restaurant.

The gallery, however, is only a small foyer at the entrance of the building with a few old pictures of the building. The issue of lack of public access has yet to be addressed; criticism arose over the building’s accessibility for the general public, as its current function as a high-class restaurant prevents people from all walks of life entering it.

That fear was proved Wednesday when Buddha Bar staff sent reporters to wait in the parking lot before the meeting. The Jakarta Post was not allowed to pass the front of the publicly-owned building to reach the parking lot, but was told to circle the outside of the venue to reach the said lot. The security guard said that only restaurant visitors were allowed entrance.

Buddha Bar representative Asdur Hasan Rani said the front garden of the venue would be easily damaged if they allowed people to walk in and see the building.

He said people were welcome at the restaurant during operating hours, which are from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Jakarta resident Verena Streitferdt, who occasionally visits the restaurant, said the place was nice and relaxing.

However, she said the government should not have spent so much on the purchasing and restoration of the building, only to make it into as exclusive a place as Buddha Bar, noting that the income generation from the rent of the building was not much. The Buddha Bar management has paid Rp 4 billion for a five-year period.

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