More carmakers caught in headlights of VW engine-rigging scandal

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Volkswagen has admitted it installed illegal software into 11 million 2.0 liter and 3.0 liter diesel engines worldwide (AFP Photo/Josh Edelson)

Volkswagen emissions scandal

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Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

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Analsyts say it is irresponsible to link the crash of a Ukraine International Airline Boeing 737-800 to the 737 MAX accidents (AFP Photo/INA FASSBENDER)

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

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A Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 commercial jet.

QZ8501 (AirAsia)

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Leaders see horror of French Alps crash as probe gathers pace

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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. …”

Tuesday, February 17, 2009

My two-way-street affair with ubiquitous, reckless, unruly `angkot'

Widhyawati Ambara, The Jakarta Post, Tue, 02/17/2009 2:05 PM  

Driving along Jakarta's roads, it is not uncommon for drivers and passengers to get pissed off at the sluggish traffic and, particularly, the angkot (public minivan). 

Most can't resist the temptation to swear - Oh angkot @!*$%! (Please, feel free to translate that according to your own stock of swearwords). 

The public minivan is incredibly ubiquitous. 

A friend of mine says angkot are like bacteria; they are found everywhere. But unlike bacteria, which can only be seen under a microscope, angkot are far and wide and everywhere in between. They are proud and move confidently around. They maneuver fearlessly, alongside ordinary and luxury vehicles. 

When you are behind the wheel, you feel your soul become detached as an angkot skims by so close that you feel like your car is getting an unwanted deadly kiss. 

The angkot must get cursed at the most, compared to other forms of transportation around the city. 

Is that so? Maybe not so much, maybe not all. It depends on whether you have ever tried to get one. (I know some people have never caught one before.) But some people are members of the angkot fan club. I happen to be a fan, not voluntarily, but out of necessity. 

I use angkot to get to the office multiple times a day. I have enjoyed riding them for a long time. In between my grumbles - about how there are too many on the roads and the ignorance of drivers, among other things - I am thankful that we have angkot around. 

It is fair to describe angkot as useful. Imagine living in Jakarta without a private car to take you to work, school or elsewhere. True, there are buses and now we have the busway, but their routes do not penetrate the corners of neighborhoods in the middle of the labyrinth that is Jakarta. The angkot becomes the savior. 

Sometimes I laugh at myself for being ambivalent. 

On the weekends, when I drive my car around, the angkot is an object to avoid so I don't become emotional as a result of its reckless movements. But on weekdays, when I need them most, I am happy to see one. Once inside, I hope it races, beating the traffic, so I can get to my office quickly. 

These days, I think I love the angkot more. The financial crisis has erected hurdles, preventing me from doing my hobby, traveling. I usually rented a car to get around parts of Indonesia. I have now lowered my standards and use angkot instead. I travel to new places in Indonesia by using angkot. 

Can you find a minivan in the cities of Malaysia and Singapore willing to take you to far-reaching corners? No way. In Sukabumi, West Java, for example, if you want to hike to Mount Pangrango or trek around Situ Gunung, the angkot will serve you well. And they are much cheaper than renting a car. 

Of course they can be irritating when you are driving, as they wait for passengers at curbs. But they make my life easier. I don't have walk very far to a bus stop. Instead, I can wait anywhere and raise my fingers when I see one approaching. 

Nevertheless, I wish the city provided a transportation system that could accommodate everyone's needs. That would be nice. 

But for now, I have a love-hate relationship with the angkot. And that is fine, too. 

Posted by Cempaka at 7:27 PM
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