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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Russia targets asteroid headed for Earth

MOSCOW – Russia's space agency chief said Wednesday a spacecraft may be dispatched to knock a large asteroid off course and reduce the chances of earth impact, even though U.S. scientists say such a scenario is unlikely.

Anatoly Perminov told Golos Rossii radio the space agency would hold a meeting soon to assess a mission to Apophis. He said his agency might eventually invite NASA, the European Space Agency, the Chinese space agency and others to join the project.

When the 270-meter (885-foot) asteroid was first discovered in 2004, astronomers estimated its chances of smashing into Earth in its first flyby, in 2029, at 1-in-37.

Further studies have ruled out the possibility of an impact in 2029, when the asteroid is expected to come no closer than 18,300 miles (29,450 kilometers) from Earth's surface, but they indicated a small possibility of a hit on subsequent encounters.

NASA had put the chances that Apophis could hit Earth in 2036 as 1-in-45,000. In October, after researchers recalculated the asteroid's path, the agency changed its estimate to 1-in-250,000.

NASA said another close encounter in 2068 will involve a 1-in-330,000 chance of impact.

Don Yeomans, who heads NASA's Near-Earth Object Program, said better calculations of Apophis' path in several years "will almost certainly remove any possibility of an Earth collision" in 2036.

"While Apophis is almost certainly not a problem, I am encouraged that the Russian science community is willing to study the various deflection options that would be available in the event of a future Earth threatening encounter by an asteroid," Yeomans said in an e-mail Wednesday.

Without mentioning NASA's conclusions, Perminov said that he heard from a scientist that Apophis is getting closer and may hit the planet. "I don't remember exactly, but it seems to me it could hit the Earth by 2032," Perminov said.

"People's lives are at stake. We should pay several hundred million dollars and build a system that would allow us to prevent a collision, rather than sit and wait for it to happen and kill hundreds of thousands of people," Perminov said.

Scientists have long theorized about asteroid deflection strategies. Some have proposed sending a probe to circle around a dangerous asteroid to gradually change its trajectory. Others suggested sending a spacecraft to collide with the asteroid and alter its momentum, or hitting it with nuclear weapons.

Perminov wouldn't disclose any details of the project, saying they still need to be worked out. But he said the mission wouldn't require any nuclear explosions.

Hollywood action films "Deep Impact" and "Armageddon," have featured space missions scrambling to avoid catastrophic collisions. In both movies, space crews use nuclear bombs in an attempt to prevent collisions.

"Calculations show that it's possible to create a special purpose spacecraft within the time we have, which would help avoid the collision," Perminov said. "The threat of collision can be averted."

Boris Shustov, the director of the Institute of Astronomy under the Russian Academy of Sciences, hailed Perminov's statement as a signal that officials had come to recognize the danger posed by asteroids.

"Apophis is just a symbolic example, there are many other dangerous objects we know little about," he said, according to RIA Novosti news agency.

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Former Indonesian President Wahid dies

Former Indonesian President Abdurrahman Wahid has died aged 69, according to party officials.


Wahid, who was often referred to by his nickname Gus Dur, ruled the country between 1999 and 2001.
He was the first elected president after the fall of the 32-year Suharto regime in 1998.
Wahid had been suffering from a number of medical problems in recent years. He was a diabetic and was known to have had a series of strokes.



 Short tenure 
"Gus Dur just passed away," Lukman Edy from Wahid's National Awakening Party told reporters.
"We lost a great statesman who had dedicated all of his life to the nation, struggling for the sake of those suffering from injustice," his brother Solahuddin Wahid told The Associated Press.
According to local television reports Wahid died of heart failure, but this has not yet been confirmed.
The partially blind Muslim cleric came to power after defeating Megawati Sukarnoputri, the daughter of founding President Sukarno, in October 1999.

His win was a surprise - Mrs Megawati's party had won far more votes in the legislative polls - and a testament to Wahid's ability to build coalitions with other parties.
He used this skill to try to bring unity in the tumultuous post-Suharto years.
But he not been in the job long before his opponents accused him of failing to tackle the economic crisis, and doing little to resolve the secessionist conflicts in several provinces of Indonesia.
In July 2001, less than two years into the job, he was sacked by the country's national assembly amid unproven allegations of corruption and incompetence.
Educated in Indonesia, Egypt, Iraq and Canada, Wahid had a reputation for religious tolerance and moderate politics.

As well as his prominent political role, he was also a leader of Nahdlatul Ulama, a Muslim group with some 40 million members - and one of the largest independent Islamic organisations in the world.
He suffered several strokes and was confined to a wheelchair in his later years, but despite his fading health he remained an influential figure in politics.


Bersyukurlah kalian masih bisa menikmati akhir 2009 dan awal 2010. Semoga arwah pak Gus Dur diterima di sisi yang maha kuasa. Amin.

Source: BBC

Watch for moon's New Year's Eve rarity

LOS ANGELES – Once in a blue moon there is one on New Year's Eve. Revelers ringing in 2010 will be treated to a so-called blue moon. According to popular definition, a blue moon is the second full moon in a month. But don't expect it to be blue — the name has nothing to do with the color of our closest celestial neighbor.

A full moon occurred on Dec. 2. It will appear again on Thursday in time for the New Year's countdown.

"If you're in Times Square, you'll see the full moon right above you. It's going to be that brilliant," said Jack Horkheimer, director emeritus of the Miami Space Transit Planetarium and host of a weekly astronomy TV show.

The New Year's Eve blue moon will be visible in the United States, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa. For partygoers in Australia and Asia, the full moon does not show up until New Year's Day, making January a blue moon month for them.

However, the Eastern Hemisphere can celebrate with a partial lunar eclipse on New Year's Eve when part of the moon enters the Earth's shadow. The eclipse will not be visible in the Americas.

A full moon occurs every 29.5 days, and most years have 12. On average, an extra full moon in a month — a blue moon — occurs every 2.5 years. The last time there was a lunar double take was in May 2007. New Year's Eve blue moons are rarer, occurring every 19 years. The last time was in 1990; the next one won't come again until 2028.

Blue moons have no astronomical significance, said Greg Laughlin, an astronomer at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

"`Blue moon' is just a name in the same sense as a `hunter's moon' or a `harvest moon,'" Laughlin said in an e-mail.

The popular definition of blue moon came about after a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine in 1946 misinterpreted the Maine Farmer's Almanac and labeled a blue moon as the second full moon in a month. In fact, the almanac defined a blue moon as the third full moon in a season with four full moons, not the usual three.

Though Sky & Telescope corrected the error decades later, the definition caught on. For purists, however, this New Year's Eve full moon doesn't even qualify as a blue moon. It's just the first full moon of the winter season.

In a tongue-in-cheek essay posted on the magazine's Web site this week, senior contributing editor Kelly Beatty wrote: "If skies are clear when I'm out celebrating, I'll take a peek at that brilliant orb as it rises over the Boston skyline to see if it's an icy shade of blue. Or maybe I'll just howl."

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Suster Keramas Akhirnya.....

Akhirnya kena cekal juga....


Belum lagi tayang di bioskop, film itu sudah dicekal di Samarinda.

Majelis Ulama Indonesia (MUI) Samarinda yang melakukan pencekalan pada film tersebut. MUI Samarinda melihat film yang akan tayang menjelang 2010 itu tidak layak tonton karena tidak mendidik.

Mengenai pencekalan tersebut, produser Maxima Pictures, Odi Mulya Hidayat, mengaku sudah mengetahuinya sejak Senin (28/12/2009) lalu. Pihaknya pun langsung merespon pencekalan itu.

"Sekarang saya sudah di Samarinda, mau ketemu MUI," ujar Odi saat berbincang dengan detikhot melalui telepon Selasa (29/12/2009).

'Suster Keramas' menampilkan kisah wisatawan asal Jepang yang mencari saudaranya di Indonesia. Hingga akhirnya, ia mengetahui saudaranya yang berprofesi sebagai suster itu telah meninggal.

'Suster Keramas' merupakan film garapan sutradara Helfi Kardit. Selain Rin, film tersebut juga dibintangi Yadi Sembako, Zidney Adam dan Alex Abad.


Komentar yang punya blog: Harusnya kalo mau nyekal jangan dengan alasan "tidak mendidik", jadinya dicekal balik kan... Soalnya sinetron2 di Indonesia jg ga ada yg mendidik T_T
 Singkat saja, film itu mengandung materi pornografi yang akan merusak moral bangsa. Berhubung moral saya sudah rusak, nunggu tanggal 31 ahh.... (~ ̄▽ ̄)~

Becanda ah, jangan pada dukung film ini ya... kalo mau nonton diem2 aja (~ ̄▽ ̄)~


Source: movie.detikhot

Monday, December 28, 2009

Weekend box office record broken

NEW YORK - It was a memorable and merry Christmas in Hollywood as moviegoers shattered box-office records, responding in droves to a diverse array of high-profile releases over the holiday weekend.

The estimated $278 million in weekend box-office revenue broke the previous record of roughly $253 million set in July 2008, the weekend "The Dark Knight" was released.

A diverse group of films drew throngs to the multiplexes: James Cameron's "Avatar" pushed strongly into its second week while "Sherlock Holmes," "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel" and "It's Complicated" all opened.

"Avatar," the 3-D epic, topped them all, earning $75 million for 20th Century Fox, according to studio estimates Sunday. Remarkably, that was only a 3 percent drop from its opening weekend total of $77.4 million. (Blockbusters typically drop 30-50 percent in the second weekend.) In its 10 days of release, "Avatar" has made $212 million domestically — and could be on its way to a worldwide gross of over $1 billion.

"This thing is going to be playing and playing, I can tell you that," said Bert Livingston, 20th Century Fox distribution executive. "There's a lot of business out there. Everybody's got good movies out."

In second was "Sherlock Holmes," Guy Ritchie's reboot of the franchise with Robert Downey Jr. starring as Arthur Conan Doyle's detective. The Warner Bros. film opened with a weekend total of $65.4 million, including a record Christmas Day debut of $24.9 million.

It was a start that seemed sure to pave the way for sequels. Dan Fellman, head of distribution for Warner Bros., called the result "sensational."

"Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," which opened Wednesday, took in $50.2 million on the weekend and $77.1 million in its five days of release. The film, also from Fox, earned an impressive $18.8 million on Wednesday alone. The strong start suggested that "Squeakquel" was likely to surpass its 2007 original, which made $217 million.

Also opening was Nancy Meyer's "It's Complicated," the romantic comedy starring Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. With an audience 72 percent female, the Universal film took in $22.1 million, a solid debut.

The sparkling Christmas weekend results spelled good things for all the films in release in the coming week — one of the most lucrative of the year.

"We all know what next week means to the industry. This is ... huge," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "Christmas is past us. No more shopping, no more returning. College kids are home. ... I'm so optimistic about what the next weekend holds for us."

Said Livingston: "Starting this Monday, every day is a Saturday."

Two films with Oscar aspirations also released wide over the weekend: Jason Reitman's "Up in the Air" (Paramount) and Rob Marshall's "Nine" (Weinstein Co.).

"Up in the Air," which has some of the best awards momentum, grossed $11.8 million, bringing its cumulative total to $24.5 million — already nearly earning back its production budget.

"For us, this movie was always the movie that we felt was going to be a real focus during the awards season," said Rob Moore, Paramount vice chairman. "It feels like this should have a long run as awards season continues."

"Nine," the adaptation of the Broadway musical (which itself was a riff of Federico Fellini's classic film "8 1/2") earned $5.5 million in 1408 theaters.

"It's an absolutely fitting end to the biggest box office year of all time," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It's just been a total roller coaster ride. It's like audience members are on board."

2009 still has several days to go, but the year is already a record for domestic ticket sales with more than $10 billion at the box office. That surpassed the $9.7 billion mark of 2007.

While some of the credit has to go the recession (movies historically do well in hard times when a trip to the movie theater is a relatively cheap form of entertainment and escapism), there was a feeling Sunday that Hollywood had put forth a better product this Christmas.

"People say it's the recession," said Dergarabedian. "It's the movies — it's really the movies. It seems like when people aren't at home, they're at the movies."

He added: "You're going to find a smile on the face of every studio chief out there today."

Hollywood also seemed to be offering good ol' spectacle to moviegoers. "Avatar" grossed $8.8 million in IMAX theaters, actually increasing from its opening weekend. IMAX chairman and president Greg Foster said they were operating essentially at capacity.

"There is no context," said Foster. "It's so far beyond where we've ever been. It's not eking past a record, it's shattering it."

Christmas weekend was also neatly organized around various demographics. There was science-fiction, romantic comedy, family fare, action-packed thriller and serious awards-contender.

"That's what fueled this Christmas, the diversity of the films," said Dergarabedian. "It was like a cinematic buffet line. If you can't find a movie that you like in the marketplace right now, you don't like movies."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Avatar," $75 million.

2. "Sherlock Holmes," $65.4 million.

3. "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," $50.2 million.

4. "It's Complicated," $22.1 million.

5. "Up in the Air," $11.8 million.

6. "The Blind Side," $11.7 million.

7. "The Princess and the Frog," $8.7 million.

8. "Nine," $5.5 million.

9. "Did You Hear About the Morgans?" $5 million.

10. "Invictus," $4.4 million.

Sunday, December 27, 2009

China claims world's fastest train


BEIJING (AFP) – China on Saturday unveiled what it billed as the fastest rail link in the world -- a train connecting the modern cities of Guangzhou and Wuhan at an average speed of 350 kilometres (217 miles) an hour.

The super-high-speed train reduces the 1,069 kilometre journey to a three hour ride and cuts the previous journey time by more than seven and a half hours, the official Xinhua news agency said.

Work on the project began in 2005 as part of plans to expand a high-speed network aimed at eventually linking Guangzhou, a business hub in southern China near Hong Kong, with the capital Beijing, Xinhua added.

"The train can go 394.2 kilometres per hour, it's the fastest train in operation in the world," Zhang Shuguang, head of the transport bureau at the railways ministry, told Xinhua.

Test runs for the service began earlier in December and the link officially went into service when the first scheduled train left the eastern metropolis of Wuhan on Saturday.

By comparison, the average for high-speed trains in Japan was 243 kilometres per hour while in France it was 277 kilometres per hour, said Xu Fangliang, general engineer in charge of designing the link, according to Xinhua.

Beijing has an ambitious rail development programme aimed at increasing the national network from the current 86,000 kilometres to 120,000 kilometres, making it the most extensive rail system outside the United States.

China unveiled its first high-speed line at the time of the Beijing Olympics in 2008 -- a service linking the capital with the port city of Tianjin.

In September, officials said they planned to build 42 high-speed lines by 2012 in a massive system overhaul as part of efforts to spur economic growth amid the global downturn.

The network uses technology developed in co-operation with foreign firms such as Siemens, Bombardier and Alstom.

Postingan Akhir Tahun, Sport 2009

Jakarta - Bulan Juni 2009 akan selalu dikenang Roger  Federer sebagai momen dia menyempurnakan diri sebagai petenis terbaik usai menjuarai Prancis Terbuka untuk kali pertama. Sementara Valentino Rossi meraih kemenangan ke-100.

Federer sebelumnya sudah mengumpulkan 10 gelar di tiga kejuaraan Grand Slam, kecuali Prancis Terbuka. Petenis Swis itu selalu terhadang oleh sang raja lapangan tanah liat, Rafael Nadal, yang jadi juara di kompetisi tersebut sejak 2005 sampai 2008.


Namun penantian tersebut berakhir di awal Juni  2009, setelah dia memenangi pertarungan tiga set, 6–1, 7–6(1) dan 6–4 atas Robin Soderling. Sementara Nadal mengalami nasib buruk setelah tersingkir di babak keempat.

Tampil buruk, petenis Spanyol itu dipaksa menelan kekalahan atas Soderling setelah melewati pertarungan empat set. Belakangan diketahui kalau kalau Nadal mengalami cedera cukup parah dan bahkan bisa mengancam karir tenisnya. Akibat cedera yang sama Nadal urung tampil di Wimbledon.

Sementara itu di nomor tunggal putri, Svetlana Kuznetsova  menjadi juara di Paris setelah menundukkan Dinara Safina. Laga antara dua putri Rusia itu berkesudahan dengan dua set langsung 6-4 dan 6-2.

Masih dari cabang ayun raket, tepatnya bulutangkis, kenyataan pahit harus diterima Indonesia dalam ajang Indonesia Super Series. Berlaga di depan pendukungnya sendiri, pasukan Merah Putih sama sekali tak kebagian gelar.

Taufik Hidayat yang menjadi satu-satunya wakil Indonesia di final dipaksa menyerah 9-21 dan 14-21 atas Lee Chong Wei (Malaysia). Ini adalah kali kedua, selain tahun 2007, di mana tuan rumah gagal total dan sama sekali tak dapat gelar.


Malaysia menjadi yang paling sukses setelah merebut dua gelar dari ganda putri dan tunggal putra (Hiks... T_T). Sementara Cina kebagian satu dari ganda campuran dan Korea Selatan dapat gelar dari ganda putra. Kejutan datang dari India setelah SainaNehwal merebut gelar di tunggal putri.

Kegagalan meraih satupun gelar di Indonesia Super Series sedikit terobati setelah Chris John dikukuhkan sebagai Super Champ kelas bulu oleh bada tinju WBA. Si Naga meraih penghargaan tersebut meski laga kontra Rocky Juarez gagal terlaksana karena dia menderita sakit.

Dari lintasan balap, tepatnya MotoGP, Valentino  Rossi meraih kemenangannya yang ke-100 setelah menjuarai MotoGP Belanda. Sukses di Essen tersebut melanjutkan kemenangan yang diarih The Doctor dalam balapan di Catalunya, dua pekan sebelumnya.


Sementara di ajang F1, ancaman keretakan yang sempat menghantui F1 akhirnya batal terjadi. Perseteruan antara FIA dan FOTA, yang sempat membuat asosiasi tim dan pembalap mengancam membuat f1 tandingan, akhirnya berhasil didamaikan. Hal tersebut membuat rencana pemberlakuan budget cap juga dipastikan tertunda.

Terlepas dari perseteruan politis, di atas lintasan Jenson Button masih menunjukkan dominasinya dengan meraih kemenangan keenam di GP Turki. Namun sukses tersebut gagal dilanjutkan pembalap Brawn GP itu di kandangnya sendiri, Button cuma finis keenam dalam balapan di Sirkuit Silverstone. Tampil sebagai juara adalah Sebastian Vettel.

Dari ajang NBA, LA Lakers tampil sebagai juara setelah mengalahkan Orlando Magic. Kemenangan 99-86 di game kelima memastikan anak didik Phill Jackson menjadi kampiun dengan keunggulan 4-1. Ini menjadi sukses ke-15 Lakers meraih cincin juara.

Source: DETIKsport

Friday, December 25, 2009

Pope Knocked Down at Christmas Eve


VATICAN CITY – A woman jumped the barriers in St. Peter's Basilica and knocked down Pope Benedict XVI at the start of Christmas Eve Mass, but the 82-year-old pontiff got up unhurt and proceeded as planned with Thursday's service.

Witness video obtained by The Associated Press showed a woman dressed in a red hooded sweat shirt vaulting over the wooden barriers that cordoned off the basilica's main aisle and rushing toward the pope before being swarmed by bodyguards.

The video showed the woman grabbing the pope's vestments as she was taken down by guards, with Benedict then falling on top of her.

The commotion occurred as the pope's procession was making its way toward the main altar and shocked gasps rang out among the thousands who packed the basilica. The procession came to a halt, the music stopped and security rushed to the trouble spot.

A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Ciro Benedettini said the woman appeared to be mentally unstable and had been taken into custody by Vatican police. He said she also knocked down Cardinal Roger Etchegaray, who was taken to hospital for a checkup.

"During the procession an unstable person jumped a barrier and knocked down the Holy Father," Benedettini told The AP by telephone. "(The pope) quickly got up and continued the procession."

It was the second year in a row that there had been a security breach at the Christmas Eve service and this was the most serious incident involving the public in Benedict's five-year papacy. At the end of last year's Mass, a woman who had jumped the barriers got close to the pope but was quickly blocked on the ground by security.

That woman too wore a red hooded sweat shirt, but Benedettini said it was not immediately known if the same person was behind Thursday's incident.

MaryBeth Burns from Paris, Texas, was about four people away from the woman who jumped the barriers and was filming the pope's procession as the commotion started.

"All of a sudden this person sort of flew over the barricade and the Holy Father went down and all the security people were on top of it, a whole pile there, getting her off and him back up," said Burns, who was visiting Italy with her family on a religious pilgrimage for Christmas.

"I'm really mad because I had a perfect shot lined up," she added. "I'm still shaking."

Benedict lost his miter and his staff in the fall. He remained on the ground for a few seconds before being helped back up by attendants. At that point, a few shouts of "viva il papa!" (long live the pope!) rang out, followed by cheers from the faithful, witnesses said.

After getting up, Benedict, flanked by tense bodyguards, resumed his walk to the basilica's main altar to start the Mass. The pope, who broke his right wrist in a fall this summer, appeared unharmed but somewhat shaken and leaned heavily on aides and an armrest as he sat down in his chair.

Few people who were watching the Mass on giant screens set up in a rain-soaked St. Peter's Square even knew that the pope had fallen, with many saying that either they weren't looking or had arrived too late.

Benedict made no reference to the disturbance after the service started. As a choir sang, he sprinkled incense on the altar before opening the Mass with the traditional wish for peace in Latin.

The incident was the first time a potential attacker came into direct contact with Benedict, and underscored concerns by security analysts who have frequently warned the pope is too exposed in his public appearances.

There have been other security breaches at the Vatican.

In 2007, during an open-air audience in St. Peter's Square, a mentally unstable German man jumped a security barrier and grabbed the back of the pope's open car before being swarmed by security guards.

Then there was the assassination attempt against Pope John Paul II by Turkish gunman Mehmet Ali Agca in 1981. John Paul suffered a severe abdominal wound as he rode in an open jeep at the start of his weekly audience in the Vatican piazza.

The pope is protected by a combination of Swiss Guards, Vatican police and Italian police.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., the Vatican has tightened security at events where the pope is present. All visitors must pass by police to get into the square, with those entering the basilica going through metal detectors or being scanned by metal-detecting wands.

However, Sister Samira, an Indian aide to Vatican officials who attended the service and saw the incident, said she is never searched by security when she attends papal Masses, and said the same holds true for other people in religious garb.

Burns, the U.S. pilgrim, said security had been tight, and that it seemed there was no way to have prevented the woman from getting to the pope other than keeping the public out altogether.

"This is Midnight Mass in the heart of our church," she said. "I guess the Holy Father puts himself at risk every time he's around anybody, any crowds really."

In a similar incident, Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi was attacked as he was greeting the crowd at a political rally earlier this month. A man with a history of psychological problems hurled a souvenir statuette at the politician, fracturing his nose and breaking two of his teeth.

Benedict celebrated this year's Christmas Eve Mass two hours earlier than the usual midnight starting time in a move by the Vatican to ease the pontiff's busy holiday schedule.

Benedict has been remarkably healthy during his pontificate, keeping to a busy schedule and traveling around the world.

But in July, he broke his wrist during a late-night fall while vacationing in an Alpine chalet and had to have minor surgery and wear a cast for a month — an episode that highlights the risk he ran in Thursday's tumble.

In his homily, delivered unflappably after the incident, the pope urged the world to "wake up" from selfishness and petty affairs, and find time for God and spiritual matters.

"To wake up means to leave that private world of one's own and to enter the common reality," Benedict said in Italian. "Conflict and lack of reconciliation in the world stem from the fact that we are locked into our own interests and opinions, into our own little private world."

Benedict's next scheduled appearance is at noon on Christmas Day, when he is to deliver his traditional "Urbi et Orbi" speech (Latin for "To the city and the world") from the basilica's balcony.

Thursday, December 24, 2009

Schumacher to race for Mercedes in 2010

German firm welcome back their former 'apprentice'

After weeks of speculation Mercedes confirmed on Wednesday that Michael Schumacher will make a comeback to race for the team next season alongside fellow German Nico Rosberg.

Schumacher, who retired at the end of 2006, has signed a deal that will see him return to the Formula One grid at the age of 41, bidding to add to his record tally of 91 wins and seven world titles.

It follows a planned comeback earlier this year for Ferrari - the team with which he won his last five drivers’ championships - to replace the injured Felipe Massa. Those plans had to be abandoned because of a neck injury from a motorbike accident.

Now fully fit, Schumacher will revive his relationship with Mercedes, a company with whom he had close ties earlier in his career. The German carmaker recently purchased the 2009 title-winning Brawn GP team, retaining team principal Ross Brawn, who previously helped lead Schumacher to title glory at Benetton and Ferrari.

"Mercedes GP Petronas represents a new challenge for me both in a sporting and a personal context,” said Schumacher. “It is a new chapter in my racing career and I am really looking forward to working with my old friend Ross Brawn and my companions from my days with the Mercedes Junior Programme.

“I am convinced that together we will be involved in the fight for the Formula One World Championship next year and I am already looking forward to getting back onto the race track. For me, this partnership closes the circle. Mercedes supported me for so many years when I began my Formula One career and now I can hopefully give something back to the brand with the star."

Ross Brawn commented: "I am delighted that we can confirm today that Michael will make his much-anticipated return to Formula One next year and drive for our Mercedes GP Petronas team. As seven-time world champion, Michael's outstanding record in Formula One speaks for itself and I am looking forward to working with him again.

“With the completion of our driver line-up, I believe that we now have the most exciting partnership in Formula One with Michael and Nico, who provide the perfect mix of talent, experience, speed and youth. We can now turn our full attention to the preparations for the new season and everyone at Mercedes GP Petronas is extremely excited about the challenge ahead.”

Explaining Schumacher’s previous Mercedes relationship, Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsports, added: "In April 1991, when I had been in charge of the Mercedes-Benz Motorsport programme for just six months, Michael was standing beside me on the balcony one evening. Without the slightest doubt, he said in a low voice: ‘It's about time that I got into Formula One’. Michael had just turned 22 years of age and four months later, he made his debut at Spa in a Jordan. Mercedes-Benz helped him to this point and the rest is history: seven world championship titles, more than any racing driver, 91 Grand Prix wins, more than any racing driver. Michael has more of everything than every other driver.

“As part of the Mercedes Junior Programme, Michael had raced in Group C sports cars and competed in a few DTM races. Ross Brawn, then our opponent at Jaguar, quickly realised Michael's talent and they went on to win all seven of his drivers' world championship titles together at Benetton and Ferrari. Our sporting ambition has always been that Michael should drive again where his professional career had started and Michael knew that. We often joked about it after the races and discussed the prospect seriously several times during the last 14 years in Formula One. It didn't happen in 1995, it didn't happen in 1998 and it didn't happen in 2005. I am delighted that it will now happen in 2010. I am very much looking forward to working with Michael and everybody at Mercedes-Benz and Daimler extends a very warm welcome to our 'apprentice' of 19 years ago. That apprentice is now the most successful racing driver of all time."

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Microsoft Word sale prohibited as of Jan. 11, fix promised

Office workers of America, enjoy your Christmas break. Because come the new year, things could get a little hairy around the office. Microsoft Word is now scheduled to be prohibited from sale beginning January 11, 2010. That's less than three weeks away. The good news: Microsoft has promised a fix, one which will be rolled out before the deadline arrives.
If you don't understand, you might have simply missed this story, or dismissed it as something that Microsoft would ultimately use its considerable clout to have pushed under a legal rug.
But it's no joke. In August of this year, a court sided with a small Canadian company called i4i that holds a 1998 patent on the way the XML language is implemented, finding that Microsoft was in violation of that patent. The result: Microsoft was told to license the code in question from i4i or reprogram it, or else Microsoft Word would have to be removed from sale in the market. The original ruling gave Microsoft until October to get its legal affairs in order, but appeals pushed that out a bit.
Now a federal court has upheld that original ruling -- plus a fat, $290 million judgment against the company -- imposing the new January 11 D-Day on the matter. Microsoft Word and Microsoft Office will both be barred from sale as of that date -- though naturally you'll still be able to use copies of Word and Office that you already own, and Microsoft will be allowed to keep supporting those copies.
Unless Microsoft ships the promised technical workaround very quickly, things are going to get extremely dicey in the computer world, and fast. Not only will retail outlets selling shrinkwrapped copies of the software be affected, computer manufacturers (who complained loudly about this injunction when it was announced) who bundle Word and Office on the computers they sell will also be seriously impacted by the ruling.
There's always a chance things will change again as the January 11 deadline approaches, but if your company requires Word or Office to keep operations running, it might not be a bad idea to stock up on a few extra copies now.

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Evolusi 'Kerang Laut' Asus Eee PC 1005HA

Jakarta - Netbook kebanggaan Asus seri Eee PC 1005HA telah berevolusi. Sebuah prosesor baru Intel Pine View menggantikan prosesor lama. Kini 'si kerang laut' itu berubah nama menjadi Asus Eee PC 1005 PE.

Seperti dikutip detikINET dari Techtree, Selasa (22/12/2009) Asus kini telah membenamkan prosesor baru Intel Atom N450 berkecepatan 1,66 Ghz. Dengan prosesor Pine View baru tersebut Asus Eee PC 1005PE juga bakal memiliki grafis Intel GMA 3150, yang akan menjadi standar grafis netbook tersebut. Selain itu si kerang laut baru tersebut juga bakal dibekali OS Windows 7 starter edition.

Lebih lanjut dijelaskan bahwa chip Pineview 45nm tersebut telah mengintegrasikan memori dan grafis pada satu ruang. Chip tersebut memiliki cache 512kb, serta mensupport 667 Mhz DDR2 memori.

Selain itu, Asus juga menawarkan RAM sebesar 1GB serta hardisk 250 GB pada netbook barunya tersebut. Sementara untuk desain trackpad yang diusung masih sama seperti model 1005 ataupun 1008. Display LED backlight 10 inchinya pun masih menawarkan resolusi sebesar 1024x600 pixel.

Masih sama seperti seri 1005 HA, netbook ini bakal memiliki baterai sebesar 6 cell. Dengan prosesor Pine View terbaru dari Intel, nantinya netbook ini bakal bisa bertahan lebih dari 6 jam.

Monday, December 21, 2009

'Avatar' Perkasa di Puncak Box Office


Jakarta - Lewat 'Avatar', sutradara James Cameron sepertinya akan mengulangi kesuksesan yang pernah ia raih bersama 'Titanic'. Baru dirilis 16 Desember kemarin, film epik tersebut sudah sanggup mengumpulkan US$ 73 juta atau Rp 693 miliar.

Untuk menggarap 'Avatar', James bersama Vince Pace memodifikasi 3D Fusion Camera System. Hasilnya, tampilan tiga dimensi film yang dibintangi Sam Worthington itu jauh lebih realistis.

Jawara minggu lalu, 'The Princess and the Frog' turun ke peringkat dua. Film yang salah satu karakternya diisi oleh Oprah tersebut mendapat Rp 110 miliar.

Peringkat tiga box office minggu ini dihuni film yang menampilkan kisah Michael Oher, seorang pemain American Football, 'The Blind Side'. Film tersebut mengumpulkan Rp 98 miliar.

Sementara 'Did You Hear About the Morgans?', film yang menampilkan duet Hugh Grant dan Sarah Jessica Parker berada di peringkat empat dengan pendapatan Rp 66 miliar. 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon' pun mendarat di peringkat lima. Sekuel 'Twilight' itu mendapat Rp 41 miliar.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

Twitter Taken Down by 'Iranian Cyber Army'

Saturday, 19 December 2009 | 11:31 AM

KOMPAS.com - Iranian hackers brought down micro-blogging website Twitter for around two hours yesterday morning. The attack took place at around 6am and left the site's estimated 30million users unable to send messages or post 'tweets'.

The main Twitter homepage had been replaced with a black and red screen featuring an image of a green flag. The page carried the message: 'This site has been hacked by the Iranian Cyber Army.'

'The USA thinks they control and manage internet access, but they don't. We control and manage the internet with our power, so do not try to the incite Iranian people.'

The site reappeared around two hours later, with staff telling users: 'We are working to recovery from an unplanned downtime and will update more as we learn the cause of this outage.'

It is believed that Twitter's DNS records were hijacked in the attack meaning that users who were trying to visit the site were actually redirected to the new page. The DNS, which stands for Domain Name System, connects the name of a website, in this case twitter.com, to the servers which hold its contents.

A short statement was issued on the company's blog. It read: 'Twitter's DNS records were temporarily compromised but have now been fixed.

'We are looking into the underlying cause and will update with more information soon.'

Websites such as Twitter and Facebook became a focal point for young, urban Iranians opposed to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who defeated opposition candidate Mirhossein Mousavi in the presidential election. Many Iranians used Twitter to arrange demonstrations and keep up to date during the unfolding saga.

According to Internet censorship monitor OpenNet Initiative, Iranians began taking to the internet in droves during the 1997-2005 presidency of Mohammad Khatami, when dozens of independent publications were shut down and journalists jailed.

Koin Prita Senilai 610 Juta Ditukar Uang Kertas


 Gerakan 'Koin Peduli Prita' berhasil mengumpulkan uang senilai Rp 650 juta. Sebanyak Rp 610 juta di antaranya berupa uang receh atau koin.

Sukarelawan 'Koin Peduli Prita', Yusro M Santoso, mengatakan, butuh lima sampai enam truk pasir untuk mengangkut uang koin sebanyak itu. "Koin itu pastinya akan kami tukar dulu ke bank dengan uang kertas sebelum diserahkan ke Prita," katanya saat berbincang dengan VIVAnews, Jumat, 18 Desember 2009.

Secara simbolis, dana yang terkumpul dalam gerakan itu akan diserahkan kepada Prita Mulyasari dalam konser koin keadilan di Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta pada 20 Desember mendatang. Konser akan dihadiri sejumlah musisi tanah air seperti Slank, Gigi, Ari Lasso, Nidji, Cokelat, Sheila On 7, Titi DJ, Sherina, Audy, dan Drive.

Seluruh koin itu saat ini masih tersimpan rapi dalam sejumlah karung di posko Jalan Langsat 1/3 A, Keramat Pela, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan. "Kami akan mendatangkan akuntan untuk mengecek semua, bukan untuk mengaudit jumlahnya," ujarnya. 

Gerakan 'Koin Peduli Prita' dipicu dari vonis Pengadilan Tinggi Banten yang mengharuskan Prita membayar ganti rugi kepada Rumah Sakit Omni Internasional Alam Sutera sebesar Rp 204 juta. Koin yang terkumpul sedianya akan disumbangkan kepada Prita untuk membayar RS Omni.

Namun, di tengah gelombang pengumpulan koin, RS Omni menyatakan mencabut gugatan perdata terhadap Prita. Hal itu otomatis menghapuskan vonis denda Prita. Meski gugatan dicabut, koin akan tetap diserahkan kepada Prita.

Selain koin, Prita juga menerima sejumlah sumbangan melalui rekening dari sejumlah tokoh seperti para anggota DPD RI senilai Rp 50 juta, Fahmi Idries, 102 juta, Partai Demokrat Rp 100 juta, MS Kaban Rp 5 juta, dan Yenny Wahid Rp 5 juta. Prita berencana menggunakan dana yang terkumpul untuk membantu para korban ketidakadilan hukum.


Source: VIVAnews

Friday, December 18, 2009

"Identitas" Film Terbaik

Kamis, 17 Desember 2009 | 05:19 WIB

Jakarta, Kompas - Film Identitas garapan sutradara Aria Kusumadewa berjaya dalam malam anugerah Festival Film Indonesia 2009 yang diselenggarakan di Hall D Kompleks Pekan Raya Jakarta, Kemayoran, Jakarta, Rabu (16/12).

Selain terpilih sebagai Film Terbaik tahun ini, Identitas meraih tiga Piala Citra lain, semuanya di kategori utama. Aria Kusumadewa mendapat gelar Sutradara Terbaik, sementara Tio Pakusadewo, yang memerankan tokoh Adam dalam film tersebut, meraih gelar Pemeran Utama Pria Terbaik.

Piala Citra keempat untuk Identitas diberikan kepada Keke Marlou sebagai Penata Artistik Terbaik.

Film Identitas bercerita tentang Adam, seorang penjaga kamar mayat dan pemandi jenazah di sebuah rumah sakit. Ia mempertanyakan identitasnya sebagai manusia yang terampas akibat masa lalunya yang kelam.

Menurut Aria, film ini dirancang sebagai bagian pertama dari sebuah trilogi. Dalam FFI tahun ini, Identitas diunggulkan di sembilan kategori.

Film sukses lainnya dalam FFI 2009 adalah Mereka Bilang, Saya Monyet!, yang disutradarai Djenar Maesa Ayu. Film ini meraih tiga Piala Citra, yakni untuk kategori Pemeran Utama Wanita Terbaik (Titi Sjuman), Pemeran Pendukung Wanita Terbaik (Henidar Amroe), serta Skenario Adaptasi Terbaik (Djenar Maesa Ayu dan Indra Herlambang).

Kategori utama lainnya, Skenario Asli Terbaik, jatuh kepada pendatang baru, yakni Sally Anom Sary dan Sammaria Simanjuntak untuk film layar lebar pertama mereka, cin(T)a.

Terpuruk

Pengumuman pemenang FFI 2009 ini cukup di luar dugaan karena film dengan jumlah nomine terbanyak (12 nomine), yakni Ruma Maida, justru terpuruk dan hanya membawa pulang satu Piala Citra untuk kategori Tata Suara Terbaik (Shaft Daultsyah dan Khikmawan Santosa). Dua film unggulan, yang sama-sama mendapat enam nomine, adalah Jamila dan Sang Presiden serta Emak Ingin Naik Haji pulang dengan tangan hampa.

Dua penghargaan khusus di luar kategori standar diberikan oleh Dewan Juri FFI 2009, yakni Penghargaan Khusus Film Anak kepada film Garuda Di Dadaku serta penghargaan Sutradara Harapan bagi Djenar Maesa Ayu.

Dewan Juri Film Cerita Panjang FFI 2009 diketuai Franki Raden dan beranggotakan Alex Kumara, Eduard Pesta Sirait, El Manik, Jajang C Noer, German Mintapradja, Indra Yudistira, Sekar Ayu Asmara, dan Totot Indrarto. (DHF)

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Person of the Year 2009

The story of the year was a weak economy that could have been much, much weaker. How the mild-mannered man who runs the Federal Reserve prevented an economic catastrophe 




Ben Shalom Bernanke, a bald man with a gray beard and tired eyes is sitting in his oversize Washington office, talking about the economy. He doesn't have a commanding presence. He isn't a mesmerizing speaker. He has none of the look-at-me swagger or listen-to-me charisma so common among men with oversize Washington offices. His arguments aren't partisan or ideological; they're methodical, grounded in data and the latest academic literature. When he doesn't know something, he doesn't bluster or bluff. He's professorial, which makes sense, because he spent most of his career as a professor.
He is not, in other words, a typical Beltway power broker. He's shy. He doesn't do the D.C. dinner-party circuit; he prefers to eat at home with his wife, who still makes him do the dishes and take out the trash. Then they do crosswords or read. Because Ben Bernanke is a nerd.


He just happens to be the most powerful nerd on the planet.
Bernanke is the 56-year-old chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the U.S., the most important and least understood force shaping the American — and global — economy. Those green bills featuring dead Presidents are labeled "Federal Reserve Note" for a reason: the Fed controls the money supply. It is an independent government agency that conducts monetary policy, which means it sets short-term interest rates — which means it has immense influence over inflation, unemployment, the strength of the dollar and the strength of your wallet. And ever since global credit markets began imploding, its mild-mannered chairman has dramatically expanded those powers and reinvented the Fed.


Professor Bernanke of Princeton was a leading scholar of the Great Depression. He knew how the passive Fed of the 1930s helped create the calamity — through its stubborn refusal to expand the money supply and its tragic lack of imagination and experimentation. Chairman Bernanke of Washington was determined not to be the Fed chairman who presided over Depression 2.0. So when turbulence in U.S. housing markets metastasized into the worst global financial crisis in more than 75 years, he conjured up trillions of new dollars and blasted them into the economy; engineered massive public rescues of failing private companies; ratcheted down interest rates to zero; lent to mutual funds, hedge funds, foreign banks, investment banks, manufacturers, insurers and other borrowers who had never dreamed of receiving Fed cash; jump-started stalled credit markets in everything from car loans to corporate paper; revolutionized housing finance with a breathtaking shopping spree for mortgage bonds; blew up the Fed's balance sheet to three times its previous size; and generally transformed the staid arena of central banking into a stage for desperate improvisation. He didn't just reshape U.S. monetary policy; he led an effort to save the world economy.


The main reason Ben Shalom Bernanke is TIME's Person of the Year for 2009 is that he is the most important player guiding the world's most important economy. His creative leadership helped ensure that 2009 was a period of weak recovery rather than catastrophic depression, and he still wields unrivaled power over our money, our jobs, our savings and our national future. The decisions he has made, and those he has yet to make, will shape the path of our prosperity, the direction of our politics and our relationship to the world.




Source: time.com

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

Nokia 2015

Sebenernya gw udah lama nih mau ngepost yg satu ini, tapi berhubung gw gaptek jadi ga bisa masangnya =____=

Yaudah langsung aja deh, check ini diuar!

Top 10 Worst Car Names

At Cars.com, we spend a lot of time discussing how a car handles, what it looks like or how it performs in crash tests, among other things. Sometimes, however, our very first impression of a car comes from its name — and the impression isn't always a good one. Below are 10 vehicles from the past 30 years with names so awful and awkward that we're sometimes surprised consumers gave them a shot. Keep in mind this list is based solely on the car's name and has absolutely nothing to do with the car's actual merits.

10. The Entire Lincoln Lineup

 2010 Lincoln MKZ
2010 Lincoln MKZ
Lincoln is a brand with a considerable history, and we know they know how to give cars strong iconic names such as Continental or Navigator. Somewhere around 2007, many of those easy-to-remember names went out the window, leaving consumers with a hodgepodge of names starting with "MK." That's a shame because Lincoln has a strong lineup right now. What's the difference between the MKZ, MKX and MKS? Gimme a second to look it up because I honestly can't remember which is which.

9. Hyundai Equus

 2011 Hyundai Equus
2011 Hyundai Equus
The inclusion of the Equus might be premature considering it's not even on sale yet, but this could be the push Hyundai needs to give the car a proper name before it's released. Companies occasionally give Latin names to products to make them sound sophisticated or fancy, but Equus just makes us think of the Broadway play of the same name — most recently starring Daniel Radcliffe of Harry Potter fame.

8. Toyota Yaris

 2010 Toyota Yaris
2010 Toyota Yaris
There was a girl in my dorm freshman year who organized her shoes alphabetically by mood. She majored in dead languages and responded to every single question with "no worries." She once set the dorm microwave on fire by overcooking a ham-and-cheese Hot Pocket. Yes, that story is ridiculous and nonsensical ... sort of like naming a car Yaris.

7. Kia Forte Koup

 2010 Kia Forte Koup
2010 Kia Forte Koup
As writers, we're particularly offended when companies take liberties with the English language in an effort to be cutesy — and this is no exception. We actually like this car! But Kia is asking us to overlook years of schooling and experience to accept their quirky spelling of coupe. It might require a few sessions with a therapist before we can get to that happy place.

6. Subaru B9 Tribeca

 2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca
2006 Subaru B9 Tribeca
Here we've got a family crossover named after a fashionable neighborhood in lower Manhattan and ... a World War II bomber? Consumers didn't understand the B9 moniker either; that part of the name got the ax when Subaru redesigned the SUV for the 2008 model year.

5. Volkswagen Touareg

 2007 Volkswagen Touareg
2007 Volkswagen Touareg
A few Volkswagens could've made this list, but the Touareg was easily the name that tripped up our American mouths the most. Early Touareg commercials in the U.S. even depicted people struggling to say the name. When an automaker has to spend precious time and ad dollars helping consumers learn to pronounce the car's name — something is wrong.

4. Ford Probe

 1993 Ford Probe
1993 Ford Probe
There are many borderline inappropriate jokes you could make about a 1990s sport compact named Probe, but we're far too classy for that. Even if you don't take into account the tasteless jokes, this is just a bad car name. There is nothing cool about a probe (the word, not the car). What thesaurus was Ford using where probe was synonymous with sleek and sporty?

3. Subaru Brat

 1982 Subaru Brat
1982 Subaru Brat
Although Brat is technically an acronym — it stands for Bi-drive Recreational All-terrain Transporter — it's a particularly unfortunate one. "Brat" is almost never used to describe something positively. A brat is not a calm, confident driver who knows what he wants and how to get it. A brat is busy throwing a hissy fit in the corner because his mom won't let him borrow the car to go buy the new Styx album.

2. Isuzu VehiCROSS

 2000 Isuzu VehiCROSS
2000 Isuzu VehiCROSS
Isuzu deserves a little credit for creating an attention-grabbing crossover before it was even a recognized vehicle segment, but the name practically beats consumers over the head with the idea (think SUV plus a cross-training sneaker). Add to that the unnecessary capitalization and the fact that VehiCROSS is a mouthful, and you have one bad name.

1. Ford Aspire

 1997 Ford Aspire
1997 Ford Aspire
It's pretty safe to say that many drivers' dream cars fall under the category of sports car or luxury auto; few children hope to one day spend their commuting hours behind the wheel of a 63-horsepower subcompact hatchback. When Ford slapped the Aspire name on the back of this car, they were basically saying: "Yeah, even our car knows you wish you were driving something cooler."

Tuesday, December 15, 2009

4G Network


Swedish and Norwegian mobile users could be among the first to use a fourth-generation (4G) mobile network.

Mobile phone firm TeliaSonera has completed work on two 4G networks in Oslo and Stockholm.
The company said that the first customers will be able to start using the networks in early 2010.
Despite the launch of the network, no handsets can yet use 4G. Initially customers will connect via a dongle and a laptop.
 
Fourth-generation, 4G, networks are based around the Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology and downlink data speeds can hit 100 megabits per second - about ten times quicker than the fastest 3G networks.
The technology has been designed to overlay existing 3G networks and most operators have committed to upgrading to the faster system.
TeliaSonera said it was recruiting customers to pilot the network during the first quarter of 2010.
It has released no information about the cost of connecting to the high-speed network. The dongles for connecting to the LTE network are made by Samsung.



Phone equipment maker Ericsson has put together the network in Stockholm, Sweden and Chinese firm Huawei is behind the one in Oslo, Norway. Both networks cover the central regions of both cities.
TeliaSonera said it expected the boost in speed to drive many novel applications including gaming on the move and much greater viewing of video on laptops.

Handsets that can use LTE are expected in mid-late 2010

Notes: At launch the network is only available on laptops 

Source: BBC

Monday, December 14, 2009

Prime Minister Italia Dilempar Patung Cathedral

After the attack on Sunday evening the prime minister, looking dazed, was helped to his feet by aides and put in a car.


 He got out and tried to climb on the car to show he was all right, before being driven away.
And upon arrival at the hospital the prime minister, who had blood all over his face, said he was fine.
There are said to have been scuffles between hecklers and security staff during the rally and before the attack.
At the hospital, Mr Berlusconi's spokesman, Paolo Bonaiuti said he was worried about the "atmosphere of hatred and violence in the air".



The attack was condemned by Italian President Giorgio Napolitano, while conservative Gianfranco Fini said: "This is truly a bad day for Italy, and it's the duty of all the political forces to ensure that Italy does not go back to the years of violence."

Umberto Bossi, leader of the far-right Northern League, said what had happened was an "act of terrorism" and called the attack "a worrying sign".
Mr Berlusconi has been under pressure in recent months.
His private life has been in the spotlight, amid allegations that he slept with prostitutes, and after his wife filed for divorce.
He has dismissed accusations of ties to the Mafia, and criminal cases against him have resumed after a law giving him immunity was overturned.
A week ago tens of thousands of people attended an anti-Berlusconi rally in Rome.

Source: BBC


Berlusconi juga pernah terlibat scandal sex dan banyak masalah lainnya. Pantaskah ia mendaat perlakuan ini ? Jangan tanya gw...

UN untuk Pemetaan Pendidikan

Senin, 14 Desember 2009 | 03:33 WIB

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS - Majelis Luhur Persatuan Tamansiswa kembali mendesak pemerintah agar menggunakan ujian nasional hanya sebagai pemetaan pendidikan dan bukan sebagai syarat kelulusan.
Meskipun aturan menyebutkan ujian nasional (UN) bukan satu-satunya syarat kelulusan, pada kenyataannya sekolah tetap menggunakannya sebagai satu- satunya penentu kelulusan.
Desakan ini muncul dalam Rapat Kerja Nasional Persatuan Tamansiswa yang berlangsung selama tiga hari dan ditutup di Yogyakarta, Minggu (13/12). Tuntutan agar UN digunakan hanya sebagai pemetaan pendidikan merupakan butir pertama dari sembilan rekomendasi untuk perbaikan pendidikan nasional.
Pemimpin sidang, Ki Jal Atri Tanjung, mengatakan, tingginya tekanan dari pemerintah dan masyarakat memaksa sekolah meluluskan pelajar yang lulus UN tanpa mempertimbangkan faktor lain. ”Sekolah takut kalau tingkat kelulusannya rendah akan dimarahi kepala dinas atau diprotes masyarakat,” kata Jal yang juga Ketua Yayasan Pendidikan Tinggi Tamansiswa Padang.
Selain mengenai UN, Majelis Luhur Persatuan Tamansiswa juga merekomendasikan penuntasan uji materi atas Undang-Undang Nomor 9 Tahun 2009 tentang Badan Hukum Pendidikan, penyelenggaraan pendidikan berdasarkan kebudayaan sendiri guna membangun karakter dan jati diri bangsa, melarang tayangan televisi dan media yang berpotensi merusak karakter dan budaya bangsa, serta pengembangan nilai-nilai Pancasila dalam kehidupan bermasyarakat dan bernegara. Sembilan butir rekomendasi tersebut selanjutnya akan diajukan kepada Presiden, MPR, dan DPR.
Ketua Umum Majelis Luhur Persatuan Tamansiswa Ki Tyasno Sudarto mengatakan, sembilan butir rekomendasi itu berawal dari keprihatinan atas pendidikan Indonesia yang semakin mengabaikan karakter dan kebudayaan.
Kebingungan
Secara terpisah, sejumlah kepala sekolah dan guru di Jawa Timur masih bingung mengenai pelaksanaan UN 2010 karena belum ada petunjuk operasional dari pemerintah. Pada Jumat pagi semestinya dilakukan sosialisasi UN sekaligus petunjuk operasional standar UN untuk kepala dinas pendidikan se-Jatim. Namun, Kepala Dinas Pendidikan Jatim Suwanto mengatakan, acara itu diundur sampai 21 Desember.
”Waktu UN sudah sangat mepet, mulai 22 Maret untuk tingkat SMA,” kata Kepala Bidang Pendidikan Menengah dan Kejuruan Dinas Pendidikan Surabaya Ruddy Winarko.
Ketua Dewan Pendidikan Jatim Zainuddin Maliki mengemukakan, secara teknis, penyelenggaraan UN mungkin tidak akan menghadapi masalah karena pemerintah sudah terbiasa dan tidak ada perubahan signifikan. Namun, waktu yang sempit jelas berpengaruh pada persiapan mental siswa.

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Kecelakaan Yang Ditangkap Google Street View

Masih inget postingan tentang Google Street di Jepang?
Nah, sekarang ada beberapa pics kecelakaan yg tertangkap oleh Google Street, yg pic terakhir serem bgt sampe meninggal :(








 


Turut berduka cita untuk gambar yang terakhir :(

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Bawatu, Game dengan Deteksi Tepuk Tangan

Jakarta - Ada yang unik pada Hellofest kali ini. Selain dimeriahkan oleh kostumasa dan pagelaran film animasi, ada juga game lucu yang menarik perhatian, yakni Bawatu.

Bawatu boleh dikatakan memiliki keunikan tersendiri dengan game lain yakni sistim kendalinya yang memanfaatkan sensor suara.

Suara yang digunakanya pun hanya sebatas tepuk tangan saja, yang membuat game lucu ini bisa dinikmati oleh siapa saja.

Ketika dijajal detikINET, game yang dipamerkan di ajang Hellofest 6 yang berlangsung di Balai Kartini, Sabtu (12/12/2009), ini cukup menyenangkan dan wajar jika ternyata menarik banyak perhatian pengunjung.

Bawatu dapat mengenali tepuk tangan yang dilakukan pemain, semakin keras tepukannya maka akan semakin tinggi Bawatu melompat.

Pengembang game ini juga menuturkan akan segera mengkomersialkan Bawatu agar dapat dinikmati oleh masyarakat luas.

"Bawatu yang ada disini masih termasuk versi beta, dan kemungkinan ada di pasaran pada bulan Januari atau Februari 2009," ujar Bullitt Sesariza, Managing Production untuk Bawatu.

Bullitt juga mengatakan bahwa pejualan Bawatu nanti juga akan dibundling dengan buku komik yang tidak kalah lucu.

Iran's Missile Arsenal

Ga perlu banyak omong, langsung aja diliat gambar2 Missile milik Iran yang sangat ditakuti oleh Amerika dan Israel. Yang paling kecil aja daya ledaknya udah 9 Km !!!





Makin menjadi-jadi !!!


 Sejil yang paling besar pada gambar diatas masih kalah sama Safir 1















Belum selesai



Iran masih rajin bikin missile lagi


 Daya ledaknya Shahab 3 aja 2175 miles (= 3 500.323 2 Kilometer !!!)

Apalagi Shahab 5 yg besarnya 2x liapt Shahab 3, diperkirakan mencapai 5000 Km !!!!!!!!




Eh, ternyata ada yg lebih besar lagi, Shahab 6  dengan range ledakan sampai 10.000 KM !!!


Bisa hancur bumi kta bila yg satu ini diluncurkan :D :D




Ternyata Korea Utara jadi sumber beberapa missile Iran



Source: WikipediaKaskusGoogle

SLUG


When you saw the tittle, what is the first image that come from your mind? Almost of you think slug is the creature or animal like in this picture or snail without "house". Your imagination obviously correct, but now we don't talk about it. We will talk about another slug.

Slug (Mass)

The slug is a unit of mass associated with Imperial units. It is a mass that accelerates by 1 ft/s2 when a force of one pound-force (lbf) is exerted on it. Therefore a slug has a mass of 32.17405 pound-mass or 14.5939 kg.
1\ \mbox{slug} =1 \cfrac{\mbox{lbf}\cdot\mbox{s}^2}{\mbox{ft}}
(in terms of mass x acceleration) as
1\ \cfrac{\mbox{slug}\cdot\mbox{ft}}{\mbox{s}^2} = \mbox{lbf}
The slug is part of a subset of coherent units known as the gravitational foot-pound-second system (FPS), one of several such specialized systems of mechanical units developed in the late 19th and the 20th century. See the article poundal for an explanation of the problem such English units were introduced to solve.
The slug was first used in 1902 by Arthur Mason Worthington (1852–1916) in Dynamics of Rotation (OED), but it didn't see any significant use until decades later. A 1928 textbook says: "No name has yet been given to the unit of mass and, in fact, as we have developed the theory of dynamics no name is necessary. Whenever the mass, m, appears in our formulae, we substitute the ratio of the convenient force-acceleration pair (w/g), and measure the mass in lbs. per ft./sec.2 or in grams per cm./sec.2".
Another name for this unit in early literature is the geepound.
The unit slinch (derived from the words slug-inch ) is an inch version of the slug (1 slinch = 1 lbf·s2/in = 12 slugs).[5] The unit blob (bl) is also an inch version of the slug (1 lbf·s2/in).
Three approaches to mass and force units
System
Gravitational
Engineering
Absolute
Force (F)
F = m·a
F = m·a/gc = w·a/g
F = m·a
Weight (w)
w = m·g
w = m·g/gc ≈ m
w = m·g

Units
English
Metric
English
Metric
English
Metric
Acceleration (a)
ft/s2
m/s2
ft/s2
m/s2
ft/s2
m/s2
Mass (m)
slug
hyl
pound-mass
kilogram
pound
kilogram
Force (F)
pound
kilopond

pound-force
kilopond
poundal
newton
Source: wikipedia.org
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