Postingan
Two Indonesians were
brought before a court in Adelaide, South Australia, on Friday for alleged
involvement in people smuggling.
During Friday’s
hearing, Yanto Mulik (37) and Mus Lete (45), were represented by video link
from their detention center, kompas.com reported on Saturday.
According to
documents that were presented to the court, the pair had smuggled four to five
people from Indonesian waters into Australian territory in September. They were
remanded for trial in May.
Through their
lawyer, both defendants claimed to be innocent.
The trial was
moved to Adelaide since the Western Australia court is overwhelmed by people
smuggling cases, most of which involve Indonesians.
Almost 500
Indonesians have already been implicated in people smuggling.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Sabtu, 31 Maret 2012
Lawmakers accused of duplicity in deciding fuel policy
Members of the
House of Representatives have been heavily criticized for their behavior during
the prolonged plenary session on Friday evening to determine whether the
country would increase fuel prices on April 1.
A political psychologist from the University of Indonesia (UI), Hamdi Moeloek, said that lawmakers only cared for their political interests in spite of their constant claims to represent the public’s concerns.
He referred to the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), saying that both parties double-crossed the Democratic Party (PD)-led ruling coalition by taking vague stances during the session.
“On the one hand, PKS politicians are trying to gain public sympathy with their move but I think our society is smart enough to judge the party’s sincerity,” Hamdi said.
“On the other hand, there are two-faced politicians from the Golkar Party whose stance is confusing to the public.
PKS had earlier said it would oppose the plan despite being part of the ruling coalition. The party’s lawmakers maintained their opposition during voting to determine the fuel price increase.
Golkar, the second-largest party, keep the public on tenterhooks by temporarily following the PKS in opposing the increase but suddenly agreeing at the last minute to return to the ruling coalition’s stance.
Hamdi was speaking on the sidelines of a discussion on the controversial plan to hike subsidized fuel prices.
Other speakers in the discussion also criticized the protracted steps taken to reach the voting stage.
Social observer Benny Susetyo said the politicians tried to fool the public for the sake of their self image.
“They [the politicians] will get their punishment at the 2014 elections,” the Catholic priest said. “This will increase distrust of the House.”
While praising the opposition members for their consistency in resisting the plan, Hamdi criticized members of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for their decisions to walk out before the voting began.
He said that the opposition members must accept the final decision allowing the government to increase subsidized fuel prices within six months if the Indonesia Crude Price (ICP) is 15 percent higher than assumed in the state budget.
"Those lawmakers should have stayed in the plenary hall until the session was over. Their cantankerous attitude, which was shown by the walk-out, suggests that they will not take responsibility for the plenary session’s outcome. It was not a gentlemanly act to do such a thing,” he added.
The House finally agreed to revise the 2012 state budget in the early hours of Saturday. The decision automatically aborts the government’s plan to raise the fuel price by 33 percent from its current price on April 1.
Indonesia sets the price of subsidized fuel at Rp 4.500 (49 US cents) per liter, making the country’s fuel price the cheapest among Southeast Asia countries.
Source : The Jakarta Post
A political psychologist from the University of Indonesia (UI), Hamdi Moeloek, said that lawmakers only cared for their political interests in spite of their constant claims to represent the public’s concerns.
He referred to the Golkar Party and the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), saying that both parties double-crossed the Democratic Party (PD)-led ruling coalition by taking vague stances during the session.
“On the one hand, PKS politicians are trying to gain public sympathy with their move but I think our society is smart enough to judge the party’s sincerity,” Hamdi said.
“On the other hand, there are two-faced politicians from the Golkar Party whose stance is confusing to the public.
PKS had earlier said it would oppose the plan despite being part of the ruling coalition. The party’s lawmakers maintained their opposition during voting to determine the fuel price increase.
Golkar, the second-largest party, keep the public on tenterhooks by temporarily following the PKS in opposing the increase but suddenly agreeing at the last minute to return to the ruling coalition’s stance.
Hamdi was speaking on the sidelines of a discussion on the controversial plan to hike subsidized fuel prices.
Other speakers in the discussion also criticized the protracted steps taken to reach the voting stage.
Social observer Benny Susetyo said the politicians tried to fool the public for the sake of their self image.
“They [the politicians] will get their punishment at the 2014 elections,” the Catholic priest said. “This will increase distrust of the House.”
While praising the opposition members for their consistency in resisting the plan, Hamdi criticized members of the People’s Conscience Party (Hanura) and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) for their decisions to walk out before the voting began.
He said that the opposition members must accept the final decision allowing the government to increase subsidized fuel prices within six months if the Indonesia Crude Price (ICP) is 15 percent higher than assumed in the state budget.
"Those lawmakers should have stayed in the plenary hall until the session was over. Their cantankerous attitude, which was shown by the walk-out, suggests that they will not take responsibility for the plenary session’s outcome. It was not a gentlemanly act to do such a thing,” he added.
The House finally agreed to revise the 2012 state budget in the early hours of Saturday. The decision automatically aborts the government’s plan to raise the fuel price by 33 percent from its current price on April 1.
Indonesia sets the price of subsidized fuel at Rp 4.500 (49 US cents) per liter, making the country’s fuel price the cheapest among Southeast Asia countries.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Selasa, 27 Maret 2012
Transportation Ministry buys 20 new training aircraft
The Transportation Ministry’s Human Resources Development and
Education Agency (BPSDM) bought 20 training aircraft worth Rp 184.6
billion (US $20.12 million) from the United States to help develop
pilot skills in Indonesia, a senior official said in Jakarta on
Tuesday.
BPSDM secretary Wahyu Utomo said that the aircraft consisted of 18 fixed-wing Piper Warriors and 2 Bell 206 helicopters.
The aircraft will gradually arrive at the Indonesian Aviation Institute in Curug, Banten, until all 20 are delivered by the end of 2013, he said.
“Our students in Curug are currently using aging aircraft. On average, the airplanes are 25 years old and need to be phased out soon,” he said.
He added the purchase of the new aircraft was part of an effort to keep up with advances in aviation technology.
He said that so far, six out of the 18 Piper Warriors have arrived in Curug.
Currently, the aviation school has 39 training aircraft, including Beechcraft Baron twin-engine aircraft, Beechcraft C23 Sundowners, Piper Dakotas, Socata TB-10 single-engine aircraft, and three Bell 206 helicopters.
Source : The Jakarta Post
BPSDM secretary Wahyu Utomo said that the aircraft consisted of 18 fixed-wing Piper Warriors and 2 Bell 206 helicopters.
The aircraft will gradually arrive at the Indonesian Aviation Institute in Curug, Banten, until all 20 are delivered by the end of 2013, he said.
“Our students in Curug are currently using aging aircraft. On average, the airplanes are 25 years old and need to be phased out soon,” he said.
He added the purchase of the new aircraft was part of an effort to keep up with advances in aviation technology.
He said that so far, six out of the 18 Piper Warriors have arrived in Curug.
Currently, the aviation school has 39 training aircraft, including Beechcraft Baron twin-engine aircraft, Beechcraft C23 Sundowners, Piper Dakotas, Socata TB-10 single-engine aircraft, and three Bell 206 helicopters.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Sabtu, 24 Maret 2012
Whales Have Sonar "Beam" for Targeting Prey
Toothed whales target quickly moving prey with a constantly shifting, tightly focused sonar beam, a new study says.
All toothed whales and dolphins echolocate, clicking loudly via special nasal structures and listening for echoes bouncing off objects. This skill is especially crucial in the dark ocean, where the mammals' vision is of little use.
New experiments show that whales can focus their clicks into a type of sonar beam to efficiently track fast-moving prey.
"The bottom line is echolocation is how these animals make their living," said study leader Lara Kloepper, a zoologist at the University of Hawaii in Honululu.
"Not only do they have to locate fish, they have to discriminate fish and figure out what kind of fish it is—it's this constant underwater dance between predator and prey.
"It makes sense [that] of course there has to be focusing going on."
Mischievous Whale
For their experiments, the team worked with Kina, a false killer whale at the University of Hawaii with decades of training—and a penchant for mischievously splashing Kloepper.
"After a few days I learned to carry an umbrella to protect my equipment," Kloepper said. Kina "got a kick out of watching me scramble."
In the first experiment, a trainer instructed Kina to swim into an underwater hoop up to her pectoral fins. Then, a soundproof door lowered and she echolocated on a target—a hollow cylinder that looks like a toilet paper tube.
Kina had previously been trained to recognize the thickness of this particular cylinder and to signal this by touching a button with her snout, which earned her a fish reward.
The whale was also trained to stay still when shown other cylinders of varying thicknesses.
Kloepper and colleagues then presented Kina with two other types of cylinders to test her echolocation skills: one with much thicker walls, which she could detect easily, and another with only slightly thicker walls, which was tougher for her to pinpoint.
Over a period of weeks, the team also randomly changed the distances from which Kina echolocated the cylinders.
Whale Sonar Has Eye-Like Focus
While Kina was echolocating the various targets, an array of underwater microphones were measuring her constant barrage of sonar waves. From this data, the scientists created a statistical algorithm that recreated Kina's sonar beams.
This revealed that Kina's beam shape had changed depending on the cylinders' distances and differences—much as an eye continually refocuses on an object, explained Kloepper, whose study was published recently in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
"It's remarkable they have this beautiful acoustic lens in their melon," said study co-author Paul Nachtigall, a zoologist at the University of Hawaii in Honululu.
As recently as 2008, "not much attention was paid to the incredible flexibility" of echolocating whales, noted Dorian Houser, director of Biology and Bioacoustic Research at the National Marine Mammal Foundation, a nonprofit based in San Diego.
The new study contributes "to our growing knowledge about the ability of [the whale] to control its echolocation beam by changing its width and frequency content," Houser said via email.
Plenty of echolocation mysteries remain, however—for example, how whales can hear properly even while clicking incredibly loudly (the focus of the study team's next project).
"The more information we obtain on their ability to manipulate the beam," Houser said, "the more complicated the story becomes."
Source : National Geographic
All toothed whales and dolphins echolocate, clicking loudly via special nasal structures and listening for echoes bouncing off objects. This skill is especially crucial in the dark ocean, where the mammals' vision is of little use.
New experiments show that whales can focus their clicks into a type of sonar beam to efficiently track fast-moving prey.
"The bottom line is echolocation is how these animals make their living," said study leader Lara Kloepper, a zoologist at the University of Hawaii in Honululu.
"Not only do they have to locate fish, they have to discriminate fish and figure out what kind of fish it is—it's this constant underwater dance between predator and prey.
"It makes sense [that] of course there has to be focusing going on."
Mischievous Whale
For their experiments, the team worked with Kina, a false killer whale at the University of Hawaii with decades of training—and a penchant for mischievously splashing Kloepper.
"After a few days I learned to carry an umbrella to protect my equipment," Kloepper said. Kina "got a kick out of watching me scramble."
In the first experiment, a trainer instructed Kina to swim into an underwater hoop up to her pectoral fins. Then, a soundproof door lowered and she echolocated on a target—a hollow cylinder that looks like a toilet paper tube.
Kina had previously been trained to recognize the thickness of this particular cylinder and to signal this by touching a button with her snout, which earned her a fish reward.
The whale was also trained to stay still when shown other cylinders of varying thicknesses.
Kloepper and colleagues then presented Kina with two other types of cylinders to test her echolocation skills: one with much thicker walls, which she could detect easily, and another with only slightly thicker walls, which was tougher for her to pinpoint.
Over a period of weeks, the team also randomly changed the distances from which Kina echolocated the cylinders.
Whale Sonar Has Eye-Like Focus
While Kina was echolocating the various targets, an array of underwater microphones were measuring her constant barrage of sonar waves. From this data, the scientists created a statistical algorithm that recreated Kina's sonar beams.
This revealed that Kina's beam shape had changed depending on the cylinders' distances and differences—much as an eye continually refocuses on an object, explained Kloepper, whose study was published recently in the Journal of Experimental Biology.
"It's remarkable they have this beautiful acoustic lens in their melon," said study co-author Paul Nachtigall, a zoologist at the University of Hawaii in Honululu.
As recently as 2008, "not much attention was paid to the incredible flexibility" of echolocating whales, noted Dorian Houser, director of Biology and Bioacoustic Research at the National Marine Mammal Foundation, a nonprofit based in San Diego.
The new study contributes "to our growing knowledge about the ability of [the whale] to control its echolocation beam by changing its width and frequency content," Houser said via email.
Plenty of echolocation mysteries remain, however—for example, how whales can hear properly even while clicking incredibly loudly (the focus of the study team's next project).
"The more information we obtain on their ability to manipulate the beam," Houser said, "the more complicated the story becomes."
Source : National Geographic
Pertamina to empty filling stations prone to protesters' attack
State oil and gas company Pertamina announced Thursday that it would
empty some of its filling stations nationwide on April 1 to anticipate
any potential attacks from protesters who stand against the upcoming
fuel price hike.
"For security reasons, we are suggesting all people for not going to filling stations along rally routes because we will empty them," Pertamina spokesman Mochamad Harun said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Harun said Pertamina was also planning to put security guards in place to ensure that the protesters would not damage its facilities.
The government is planning to increase fuel prices next month in response to the rising price of oil worldwide, a decision which has sparked nationwide protests.
Students and activists have repeatedly said that they would launch much bigger rallies should the government insist on implementing the policy.
Source : The Jakarta Post
"For security reasons, we are suggesting all people for not going to filling stations along rally routes because we will empty them," Pertamina spokesman Mochamad Harun said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Harun said Pertamina was also planning to put security guards in place to ensure that the protesters would not damage its facilities.
The government is planning to increase fuel prices next month in response to the rising price of oil worldwide, a decision which has sparked nationwide protests.
Students and activists have repeatedly said that they would launch much bigger rallies should the government insist on implementing the policy.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Alex challenges Foke in debate on Jakarta woes
Jakarta governor candidate Alex Noerdin invited incumbent Jakarta
Governor Fauzi “Foke” Bowo to a battle of wits over nagging problems in
Jakarta.
Alex lamented that Fauzi never showed up at discussions held to discuss urban issues.
“I am looking forward to having the opportunity [to see Fauzi]. Several times we have been involved in debates with other pairs of candidates, but he [Fauzi] never came,” Alex said during an open discussion held in Jakarta on Saturday.
Discussion moderator Latief Siregar said that the organizer had invited all candidates, including Fauzi.
Present in the discussion were Didik J Rachbini (vice governor candidate), Basuki “Ahok” Tjahja Purnama (vice governor candidate) and Faisal Basri (governor candidate).
Didik shared a similar view. “Bang Foke never likes being invited,” he said.
Research firm Indo Barometer speculated that Fauzi might be avoids participation in discussions in order to avoid attacks by other candidates.
However, Democratic Party faction head Sutan Bhatoegana played down the suggestion, saying that Fauzi did not fear public discussion, but his recent absence was due to his hectic schedule as Jakarta governor.
“He is the Governor of Jakarta and has many activities. Trust me that should the Jakarta branch of the General Elections Commission come up with a program, he [Fauzi] will come,” Sutan said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Alex lamented that Fauzi never showed up at discussions held to discuss urban issues.
“I am looking forward to having the opportunity [to see Fauzi]. Several times we have been involved in debates with other pairs of candidates, but he [Fauzi] never came,” Alex said during an open discussion held in Jakarta on Saturday.
Discussion moderator Latief Siregar said that the organizer had invited all candidates, including Fauzi.
Present in the discussion were Didik J Rachbini (vice governor candidate), Basuki “Ahok” Tjahja Purnama (vice governor candidate) and Faisal Basri (governor candidate).
Didik shared a similar view. “Bang Foke never likes being invited,” he said.
Research firm Indo Barometer speculated that Fauzi might be avoids participation in discussions in order to avoid attacks by other candidates.
However, Democratic Party faction head Sutan Bhatoegana played down the suggestion, saying that Fauzi did not fear public discussion, but his recent absence was due to his hectic schedule as Jakarta governor.
“He is the Governor of Jakarta and has many activities. Trust me that should the Jakarta branch of the General Elections Commission come up with a program, he [Fauzi] will come,” Sutan said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Elderly woman mugged and killed while heading to church
Police announced Thursday that Suwarti, 63, who was found dead on
March 18 on Jl. Latumenten Raya, West Jakarta, was the victim of
mugging that went awry.
“We've arrested two suspects in Jelambar on Tuesday. One suspect is still at large,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Com. Rikwanto said.
The three suspects, known by the initials as MSS, KN, and A (fugitive), mugged Suwarti who was walking in front of the Transjakarta bus stop heading to church to attend Sunday mass.
Suspect A rode a motorcycle with MSS to snatch Suwarti's bag, while KN was assigned to monitor the situation.
A and MSS grazed the victim and snatched her bag. Unfortunately, as the victim held her bag tightly, she was dragged behind the motorbike and hit her head on the road surface.
The culprits managed to escape the scene.
Suwarti was found dead at 5:30 a.m. with bruises on her head, nose and mouth by a local resident who was jogging in the neighborhood. The resident reported the case to nearby police station. The police initially suspected that Suwarti was the victim of a hit-and-run traffic accident.
The suspects admitted to police investigators that they were under influence of alcohol at the time of the mugging. “We wouldn't mug her if we were sober,” said one of the suspects.
From the suspects, police seized a cell phone and a scooter.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“We've arrested two suspects in Jelambar on Tuesday. One suspect is still at large,” Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Com. Rikwanto said.
The three suspects, known by the initials as MSS, KN, and A (fugitive), mugged Suwarti who was walking in front of the Transjakarta bus stop heading to church to attend Sunday mass.
Suspect A rode a motorcycle with MSS to snatch Suwarti's bag, while KN was assigned to monitor the situation.
A and MSS grazed the victim and snatched her bag. Unfortunately, as the victim held her bag tightly, she was dragged behind the motorbike and hit her head on the road surface.
The culprits managed to escape the scene.
Suwarti was found dead at 5:30 a.m. with bruises on her head, nose and mouth by a local resident who was jogging in the neighborhood. The resident reported the case to nearby police station. The police initially suspected that Suwarti was the victim of a hit-and-run traffic accident.
The suspects admitted to police investigators that they were under influence of alcohol at the time of the mugging. “We wouldn't mug her if we were sober,” said one of the suspects.
From the suspects, police seized a cell phone and a scooter.
Source : The Jakarta Post
4 'moneylenders' nabbed for robbing Korean in Setiabudi
The Jakarta Police have arrested five reported moneylenders for
allegedly robbing a potential South Korean customer, Kim Seong Rok, 49
at Somerset Apartments in Setiabudi, South Jakarta.
“We have arrested five suspects, MA, MS, FG, FR and RA. Another suspect, FY, is still at large,” Adj. Sr. Comr. Herry Heryawan, the head of the Jakarta Police's flying squad (Resmob), said on Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Herry said that FG was captured in Cibinong, Bogor, on March 15; FR, MS and MA were arrested on Saturday in Pakuan, while RA was detained in Ciawi.
Kim told the police that he had arranged to borrow Rp 2 billion (US$218,000) from his alleged assailants, who had promised to meet Kim at the apartment on March 2 to loan him an initial Rp 1 billion.
However, when Kim arrived the suspects allegedly attacked him and made off with a Rp 200 million "administration fee" they asked the Korean to bring, according to the police.
The police confiscated Rp 300 million in counterfeit bills, four cars, a revolver and several cell phones from the suspects, who face up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted of violent robbery.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“We have arrested five suspects, MA, MS, FG, FR and RA. Another suspect, FY, is still at large,” Adj. Sr. Comr. Herry Heryawan, the head of the Jakarta Police's flying squad (Resmob), said on Thursday as quoted by tribunnews.com.
Herry said that FG was captured in Cibinong, Bogor, on March 15; FR, MS and MA were arrested on Saturday in Pakuan, while RA was detained in Ciawi.
Kim told the police that he had arranged to borrow Rp 2 billion (US$218,000) from his alleged assailants, who had promised to meet Kim at the apartment on March 2 to loan him an initial Rp 1 billion.
However, when Kim arrived the suspects allegedly attacked him and made off with a Rp 200 million "administration fee" they asked the Korean to bring, according to the police.
The police confiscated Rp 300 million in counterfeit bills, four cars, a revolver and several cell phones from the suspects, who face up to 15 years' imprisonment if convicted of violent robbery.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Police still establishing suspected Bandung terrorists’ roles
National Police spokesman Insp. Gen. Saud Usman Nasution said the
police’s counterterrorism squad was still digging for information from
a suspected terrorist identified as CF, alias Fadliyansah, and his
wife, identified as NAT, over the former’s involvement in terrorist
activities other than participating in a training camp in Poso, Central
Sulawesi.
“We are still in the process. Please give us some time to gather evidence first,” Saud told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The statement was made following the arrest of CF and his wife NAT at a hotel in Bandung last week.
Another police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar had previously said that CF had been receiving some intensive military training in Poso from Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, one of the police’s long-time targets.
He said CF had also received training in bomb dismantling from Hari Kuncoro, who is a relative of Dulmatin, a terrorist figure who was shot dead in Jakarta during a police arrest in 2010. The training was carried out in Pare, Kediri.
He said the police had also confiscated 10 ATM cards, 10 identification cards and a bogus passport under the name of Irfan Arhan.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“We are still in the process. Please give us some time to gather evidence first,” Saud told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
The statement was made following the arrest of CF and his wife NAT at a hotel in Bandung last week.
Another police spokesman Sr. Comr. Boy Rafli Amar had previously said that CF had been receiving some intensive military training in Poso from Santoso, alias Abu Wardah, one of the police’s long-time targets.
He said CF had also received training in bomb dismantling from Hari Kuncoro, who is a relative of Dulmatin, a terrorist figure who was shot dead in Jakarta during a police arrest in 2010. The training was carried out in Pare, Kediri.
He said the police had also confiscated 10 ATM cards, 10 identification cards and a bogus passport under the name of Irfan Arhan.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Rabu, 21 Maret 2012
English Task 1
1.
Strategy for answering
TOEFL Test Section Listening.
There are many ways for increasing TOEFL
Test Score especially for listening section. We have to listen western movie
without subtitle, and we must have a strategy for answering all the question.
Here are a strategy for answering it :
1)
Focus to second naration
2)
Focus for repeating
3)
Focus the answer with
synonim
4)
Avoid the same answer
5)
Focus negative statement
6)
Focus the information like
: Who, What, and Where
7)
Focus the agreement
statement
8)
Know expectation statement
2.
What problem that we face
when we are having listening section ?
1)
The differenciate of
dialect
2)
The vocabulary who seldom
that we heard
Source : Google.com and my own thinking
Selasa, 20 Maret 2012
Two New Moons Found Orbiting Jupiter
Tiny satellites add to planet's "backward" swarm, astronomers say.
The Galilean moon Io orbits Jupiter in a picture from the Voyager 1 spacecraft.
Image courtesy NASA
A green square marks S/2011 J2, one of the newfound Jupiter moons. Image courtesy Scott Sheppard.
Currently
known as S/2011 J1 and S/2011 J2, the new moons were first identified
in images acquired with the Magellan-Baade Telescope at the Las
Campanas Observatory in Chile on September 27, 2011.
The objects are among the smallest moons yet discovered in the solar system, each measuring only about a kilometer (0.62 mile) wide.
Unlike Jupiter's four large Galilean moons, which are visible from Earth with even small backyard telescopes, both new moons are dim and very distant from the planet, taking about 580 and 726 days to complete their orbits.
Scientists had previously discovered new Jovian satellites in 2010, and astronomers think there may be more—lots more.
"The satellites are part of the outer retrograde swarm of objects around Jupiter," said Schott Sephard, of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington, D.C., who reported the discovery.
Retrograde satellites are moons that orbit "backward"—in the opposite direction of a planet's axial rotation. Including the two new moons, the Jupiter swarm features 52 known retrograde satellites, which are all relatively tiny.
"It is likely there are about a hundred satellites of this size" in the swarm, Sheppard said.
New Moons Are Likely Captured Bodies
Like most of Jupiter's other retrograde satellites, S/2011 J1 and J2 are also classified as irregular moons, because they orbit far from the planet and have highly eccentric and inclined orbits.
Due to their odd orbits, the moons are likely asteroid or comet pieces that were long ago captured by Jupiter's gravity rather than developing in place during the formation of the planet itself.
"Because these outer irregular satellites were captured during the solar system's early years, they can give us insight into the planet's formation and evolution process," Sheppard added.
As far as more imaginative names are concerned, that will require more time and more data.
By established convention, satellites in the Jovian system are named for lovers and descendants of the Roman god Jupiter or his Greek counterpart, Zeus.
But "satellites in general are not given Roman or Greek mythological names until they have at least one year of observations," Sheppard said.
The objects are among the smallest moons yet discovered in the solar system, each measuring only about a kilometer (0.62 mile) wide.
Unlike Jupiter's four large Galilean moons, which are visible from Earth with even small backyard telescopes, both new moons are dim and very distant from the planet, taking about 580 and 726 days to complete their orbits.
Scientists had previously discovered new Jovian satellites in 2010, and astronomers think there may be more—lots more.
"The satellites are part of the outer retrograde swarm of objects around Jupiter," said Schott Sephard, of the Department of Terrestrial Magnetism at the Carnegie Institute for Science in Washington, D.C., who reported the discovery.
Retrograde satellites are moons that orbit "backward"—in the opposite direction of a planet's axial rotation. Including the two new moons, the Jupiter swarm features 52 known retrograde satellites, which are all relatively tiny.
"It is likely there are about a hundred satellites of this size" in the swarm, Sheppard said.
New Moons Are Likely Captured Bodies
Like most of Jupiter's other retrograde satellites, S/2011 J1 and J2 are also classified as irregular moons, because they orbit far from the planet and have highly eccentric and inclined orbits.
Due to their odd orbits, the moons are likely asteroid or comet pieces that were long ago captured by Jupiter's gravity rather than developing in place during the formation of the planet itself.
"Because these outer irregular satellites were captured during the solar system's early years, they can give us insight into the planet's formation and evolution process," Sheppard added.
As far as more imaginative names are concerned, that will require more time and more data.
By established convention, satellites in the Jovian system are named for lovers and descendants of the Roman god Jupiter or his Greek counterpart, Zeus.
But "satellites in general are not given Roman or Greek mythological names until they have at least one year of observations," Sheppard said.
Ban Ki-moon asks SBY to contribute helicopters
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has asked President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to increase Indonesia’s participation in UN
peacekeeping missions by helping to ease transportation difficulties in
South Sudan by contributing helicopters.
“South Sudan is roughly twice the size of Malaysia, but it has just a few kilometers of paved roads. Our peacekeepers face major logistical challenges. They urgently need transportation such as helicopters,” Ban said before hundreds of high-ranking Indonesian military and police officials at the Indonesian Peace and Security Center (IPSC) in Sentul, West Java on Tuesday.
“I am constantly calling on UN Member States that have helicopters to provide them for our missions. I am also asking President Yudhoyono whether Indonesia can contribute helicopters. I hope he will respond positively,” Ban said while looking at Yudhoyono, who was also on the stage.
While the audience reacted to the statement with laughter, Yudhoyono looked serious and nodded his head.
South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world, having gained its independence from Sudan in July of last year. For two decades, people in the area were mired in a war that killed over two million people, according to the UN. “About four million people were displaced and left the country,” Ban said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ban and Yudhoyono had a bilateral meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday morning.
Ban arrived in Jakarta on Monday evening as the first stop on an Asian tour that also includes visits to Malaysia, Singapore and his home country, South Korea, where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“South Sudan is roughly twice the size of Malaysia, but it has just a few kilometers of paved roads. Our peacekeepers face major logistical challenges. They urgently need transportation such as helicopters,” Ban said before hundreds of high-ranking Indonesian military and police officials at the Indonesian Peace and Security Center (IPSC) in Sentul, West Java on Tuesday.
“I am constantly calling on UN Member States that have helicopters to provide them for our missions. I am also asking President Yudhoyono whether Indonesia can contribute helicopters. I hope he will respond positively,” Ban said while looking at Yudhoyono, who was also on the stage.
While the audience reacted to the statement with laughter, Yudhoyono looked serious and nodded his head.
South Sudan is the youngest nation in the world, having gained its independence from Sudan in July of last year. For two decades, people in the area were mired in a war that killed over two million people, according to the UN. “About four million people were displaced and left the country,” Ban said.
Earlier on Tuesday, Ban and Yudhoyono had a bilateral meeting at the Bogor Presidential Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday morning.
Ban arrived in Jakarta on Monday evening as the first stop on an Asian tour that also includes visits to Malaysia, Singapore and his home country, South Korea, where he will attend the Nuclear Security Summit in Seoul on March 26.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Frustrated minister exits car, takes command at toll gate
State-Owned Enterprises Minister Dahlan Iskan took command of the
Semanggi toll gate on Tuesday morning, “furious” with one of his firms,
toll-road operator Jasa Marga, for allowing backups.
“I was not only angry, I was extremely furious,” Dahlan said.
The minister was on his way to a meeting at Garuda Indonesia’s offices when he found 30 cars waiting to enter the Semanggi toll gate in Slipi, West Jakarta around 6 a.m.
Frustrated at the delay, Dahlan exited his vehicle to inspect the booths, discovering that one of the four booths at the gate was manned, one was automated - and two were vacant.
Apparently enraged, the minister did what many Jakartans can only dream about, entering the vacant booths and throwing operator chairs to the street.
As the line of vehicles at the gate continued to grow, Dahlan, taking command of the situation, told attendants to open the unused gates and let vehicles to go through without paying.
At least 100 cars enjoyed the free pass.
"I have told Jasa Marga dozens of times not to allow long lines of vehicles on the toll road,” Dahlan said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
"I will impose sanctions,” Dahlan said, adding that he hoped the toll road’s management would immediately improve service.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“I was not only angry, I was extremely furious,” Dahlan said.
The minister was on his way to a meeting at Garuda Indonesia’s offices when he found 30 cars waiting to enter the Semanggi toll gate in Slipi, West Jakarta around 6 a.m.
Frustrated at the delay, Dahlan exited his vehicle to inspect the booths, discovering that one of the four booths at the gate was manned, one was automated - and two were vacant.
Apparently enraged, the minister did what many Jakartans can only dream about, entering the vacant booths and throwing operator chairs to the street.
As the line of vehicles at the gate continued to grow, Dahlan, taking command of the situation, told attendants to open the unused gates and let vehicles to go through without paying.
At least 100 cars enjoyed the free pass.
"I have told Jasa Marga dozens of times not to allow long lines of vehicles on the toll road,” Dahlan said as quoted by tribunnews.com.
"I will impose sanctions,” Dahlan said, adding that he hoped the toll road’s management would immediately improve service.
Source : The Jakarta Post
KPK prosecutors hunt for Mochtar
A team of
prosecutors from the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) is searching for
graft convict Bekasi Mayor Mochtar Mohamad to make him serve a six-year prison
sentence.
Earlier on Tuesday, Mochtar, who is a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), ignored a second KPK summons.
In early March, the Supreme Court’s appellate panel ruled in favor of the KPK and sentenced Mochtar to six years in jail after the Bandung Corruption Court acquitted Mochtar in November last year on four counts of graft centering on the illegal management of the Bekasi budget.
Instead of immediately arresting and putting Mochar in prison, the KPK instead summons Mochtar. The KPK waited until 5 p.m. for Mochtar to turn himself in.
"He did not show up by 5 p.m. So, the KPK has decided to take firm action against him. We will force him," KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said. "A team of prosecutors is currently searching for Mochtar."
However, Johan said he was not able to disclose the latest findings, saying that he had yet to be informed whether the team had detained him or where they were deployed.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Earlier on Tuesday, Mochtar, who is a politician from the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), ignored a second KPK summons.
In early March, the Supreme Court’s appellate panel ruled in favor of the KPK and sentenced Mochtar to six years in jail after the Bandung Corruption Court acquitted Mochtar in November last year on four counts of graft centering on the illegal management of the Bekasi budget.
Instead of immediately arresting and putting Mochar in prison, the KPK instead summons Mochtar. The KPK waited until 5 p.m. for Mochtar to turn himself in.
"He did not show up by 5 p.m. So, the KPK has decided to take firm action against him. We will force him," KPK spokesperson Johan Budi said. "A team of prosecutors is currently searching for Mochtar."
However, Johan said he was not able to disclose the latest findings, saying that he had yet to be informed whether the team had detained him or where they were deployed.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Senin, 19 Maret 2012
East Timor's Ramos Horta ready to step down
Jose Ramos Horta: East Timor's President. REUTERSJose Ramos Horta has indicated he's ready to step down as East Timor's president after a poor showing in weekend elections.
The official results from the first round of voting won't be announced until Tuesday.
But with more than 60 percent of the ballots counted, the Nobel laureate had nowhere near the support needed to advance to an April 21 run-off between the two front-runners.
Francisco "Lu Olo" Guterres of the traditionally strong leftist Fretilin party was leading Sunday with 28 percent of the vote. Former military chief Taur Matan Ruak followed with 25 percent.
Ramos Horta had only 18 percent but said he wasn't disappointed.
He says both men are capable of ensuring peace and stability for the tiny nation, which was his only real concern.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Gauck elected new German president
Newly elected: Germany's
new President Joachim Gauck prior to his speech after he was elected in
Berlin on Sunday. Parliament speaker Norbert Lammert said Sunday that
Gauck, a former East German pro-democracy activist who enjoyed the
backing of most major parties, received 991 of the 1,232 ballots cast. (AP/Markus Schreiber)A far-reaching majority of lawmakers elected former East German pro-democracy activist Joachim Gauck as Germany's new president Sunday.
The 72-year-old Gauck, who enjoyed the backing of most major parties, received 991 of the 1,232 ballots cast, parliamentary speaker Norbert Lammert said. The ex-communist Left Party's candidate Beate Klarsfeld secured 126 votes, the far right NPD party's candidate Olaf Rose only three, and there were 108 abstentions.
Gauck is a former pastor who opposed East Germany's then-communist regime and became head of a federal agency overseeing the files of the Communists' ubiquitous domestic intelligence service after Germany's reunification in 1990.
Gauck appeared moved as he accepted the election to become the country's new head of state, a largely ceremonial role in Germany that has little executive power but is considered an important moral authority.
"I accept this duty. After the long political meanders of the 20th century, I do so with the infinite gratefulness of a person who has finally and unexpectedly found his home again and who had the pleasure of participating in a democratic society over the past 20 years," Gauck told the assembly.
"Very certainly I won't be able to live up to all expectations," he said. "But there is one thing I can promise: I say yes with all of my force and with my heart that I will carry out the responsibility you entrusted to me today."
Gauck, who has no political affiliation, won wide backing from Germany's mainstream parties for the presidency after predecessor Christian Wulff resigned in a corruption scandal last month.
When he was nominated, Chancellor Angela Merkel described Gauck as "a true teacher of democracy." Gauck had run for the opposition against her candidate, Wulff, two years earlier, but Merkel's junior coalition partner pushed her to accept him as president at the second attempt.
On Sunday, Merkel said Germany can be proud of its new president, who was elected with a "very convincing result."
The chancellor, another former East German, also said that Gauck's election was a sign of the success of Germany's reunification.
"We can also be a little proud of that," Merkel said, adding that more progress was still required to see eastern Germany catch up fully with the wealthier western part.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Five suspected terrorists reported killed in Bali raids
Five suspected terrorists were reportedly
killed during police raids at two different locations in Bali
late on Sunday.
Police have yet to issue an official statement on the nature of the raids and details on the casualties.
The first raid took place at around 10:15 p.m. in a budget hotel, Laksmi, on Jl. Danau Poso 99X, Sanur. The area is known as one of the most famous red-light districts in Bali, where people can easily obtain a cheap room from staff at budget hotels who rarely ask for valid identification from their guests.
Neighbors said that they heard a burst of gunfire at around that time.
"Three were killed here and another two in Soputan," Bali Legislative Council member I Made Arjaya, whose family home lies just 30 meters away from the site of the first raid, told The Jakarta Post.
Soputan is a street in a densely-populated area in west Denpasar.
A police source at the scene confirmed members of the group were believed to have been raising funds for terrorism via armed robberies.
“The five people are part of the group that masterminded the 2010 CIMB Niaga bank robbery in Medan (North Sumatra). We have tailed them for months before we make the raids,” the field operative, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Post on Sunday.
Police had confiscated firearms, he said, and some intelligence reports suggested that the group intended to plan robberies in order to generate money for future terrorist activities.
When asked about more detail of the arrest, the police source refused to reveal further information Sunday night, as it could disrupt police investigations.
But Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hariadi later denied that the suspects were terrorists, describing them instead as professional robbers plotting to commit a heist.
He said that the suspects had been carrying firearms at the time of the raids. (nvn)
Source : The Jakarta Post
Police have yet to issue an official statement on the nature of the raids and details on the casualties.
The first raid took place at around 10:15 p.m. in a budget hotel, Laksmi, on Jl. Danau Poso 99X, Sanur. The area is known as one of the most famous red-light districts in Bali, where people can easily obtain a cheap room from staff at budget hotels who rarely ask for valid identification from their guests.
Neighbors said that they heard a burst of gunfire at around that time.
"Three were killed here and another two in Soputan," Bali Legislative Council member I Made Arjaya, whose family home lies just 30 meters away from the site of the first raid, told The Jakarta Post.
Soputan is a street in a densely-populated area in west Denpasar.
A police source at the scene confirmed members of the group were believed to have been raising funds for terrorism via armed robberies.
“The five people are part of the group that masterminded the 2010 CIMB Niaga bank robbery in Medan (North Sumatra). We have tailed them for months before we make the raids,” the field operative, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Post on Sunday.
Police had confiscated firearms, he said, and some intelligence reports suggested that the group intended to plan robberies in order to generate money for future terrorist activities.
When asked about more detail of the arrest, the police source refused to reveal further information Sunday night, as it could disrupt police investigations.
But Bali Police spokesperson Sr. Comr. Hariadi later denied that the suspects were terrorists, describing them instead as professional robbers plotting to commit a heist.
He said that the suspects had been carrying firearms at the time of the raids. (nvn)
Source : The Jakarta Post
Sabtu, 17 Maret 2012
English Task 2
1. The flexibility of film allows the artist __________ unbridled imagination to the animation of cartoon characters.
(A) to bring
(B) bringing
(C) is brought
(D) brings
2. Traditionally, __________in New England on Thanksgiving Day.
(A) when served is sweet cider
(B) when sweet cider is served
(C) is served sweet cider
(D) sweet cider is served
3. Typical of the grassland dwellers of the continent __________, or pronghorn.
(A) it is the American antelope
(B) the American antelope is
(C) is the American antelope
(D) the American antelope
4. Civil Rights are the freedoms and
rights .... as a member of a community, state, or nation.
(A) may have a person
(B) a person may have
(C) may have a person who
(D) and a person may have
5. Richard Wright enjoyed success
and influence .... among Black American writers of his era.
(A) were unparalleled
(B) are unparalleled
(C) unparalleled
(D) the unparalleled
6. The down redwood appears ... some
100 million years ago in northern forests around the world.
(A) to have flourished
(B) was flourished
(C) having to flourished
(D) have flourished
7. Franklin D. Roosevelt was ....the
great force of radio and the opportunity it provided for taking government
policies directly to the people.
(A) as the first President he
understood fully
(B) the first President that to
fully understand
(C) the first president fully
understood
(D) the first President to
understand fully
Identify the
underlined word or phrase that must be changed in order for the sentence to be
correct.
8. Today, modern textile mills can
manufacture as much fabrics in a few seconds as it took workers
weeks to produce by hand.
9. Since their appearance on farms
in the United States between 1913 and 1920, trucks have changed patterns
of production and market of farms products.
10. American painter George O’
Keeffe is well known as her large paintings of flowers in which
single blossoms are presented as if in a close-up.
11. The work which the poet
Emma Lazarus is best known is “The New
Collosus” which is inscribed on the pedestal of The Statue of
Liberty .
12. As many as 50 percent of
the income from motion pictures produced in the United States comes
from marketing the films abroad .
13. Sleep is controlled by the
brain and associated by characteristic breathing rhytms.
14. Some hangars, buildings
used to hold large aircraft, are very tall that rain occasionally falls from
clouds that form along the
ceilings.
15. The
Eiffel Tower ___________ Paris, France.a. land marks.
b. is land marked in.
C. is a landmark in.
d. is in a landmark
16. Young deer _________.
A. are called fawns.
b. be fawns.
c. is fawns.
d. are fawns called
17. Not until a dog is several months old does it begin to exhibit signs of independence ___________.
a. it s mother from.
b. from mother.
c. to mother.
D. from it’s mother
18. The Treasury Department…………….
A. is take a new look at regulations
b. limiting the number of interest that bank
c. savings, and loan associations
d. can pay on deposits.
19. The repair shop…..
A. keep my cassette player for six weeks before.
b. returning it,
c. nevertheless,
d. it still does not work properly.
20. To score a goal in soccer you ________.
A. must kick the ball.
b. must kicks the ball.
c. may kick them ball.
d. must kick them balls
21. At the 1984 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco, Gerald ine Ferraro became the first woman________ for the vice presidency.
a. to being nominated.
b. to has been nominated
C. to have been nominated.
d. to will be nominated
22. . _______ chocolate will give you a tum my ache.
a. Eat too much.
b. Eating to much.
C. Eating too much.
d. Eating too many
23. The observation deck at the Sears Tower_________ in Chicago.
a. is highest than any other one.
b. is highest than any other one
C. is higher than any other one.
d. is higher that any other one
24. If she _________ to advance her clock one hour, she wouldn’t have been late for work.
a. should have remembered.
b. could remembered.
c. remembered.
D. would have remembered.
25. It_________
a. was obvious from his response in the press conference.
b. that the candidate.
C. prepare his answers.
d. well.
source : google.com
Selasa, 13 Maret 2012
Lost Leonardo da Vinci Mural Behind False Wall?
By poking high-tech instruments through the wall of one priceless 16th-century mural in Italy,
researchers announced Monday that they think they've located the first
"encouraging" evidence that a second masterpiece—this one a lost Leonardo da Vinci—is hidden beneath.
(See pictures of the search for the lost Leonardo.)
Using a tiny camera, the researchers snapped pictures of a telltale hollow space behind Giorgio Vasari's "Battle of Marciano"—and a brick wall—in the Hall of the 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's city hall. (Video: 360-degree laser scan of the Hall of 500.)
They also uncovered black pigment and lacquer used in painting—clues that the lost Leonardo may have long ago been saved from destruction.
The findings are inconclusive for now—the Leonardo da Vinci investigation was interrupted by political and public outcry—but they're the first tantalizing leads in a mystery that spans more than four centuries.
The lost work in question is "The Battle of Anghiari" and may stretch more than 20 feet (6 meters) long and 10 feet (3 meters) tall.
According to historical records, Italian statesman Piero Soderini in 1502 commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint the scene of Italian knights defeating Milanese forces in 1440 on Tuscany's plain of Anghiari.
Leonardo, it's said, used the opportunity to experiment with a new oil-painting technique, but it ended in failure (five Leonardo da Vinci facts).
In the 1550s Vasari was hired to remodel the Hall of 500—named after the 500 members of the Republic of Florence's Grand Council—and paint several enormous murals, each dozens of feet high.
One mural was to be painted over Leonardo's unfinished work, but at least one tale describes Vasari as a Leonardo admirer who couldn't bring himself to destroy the work.
Maurizio Seracini, an art diagnostician at the University of California, San Diego, and a National Geographic Society fellow, has searched for clues about the painting for 36 years. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)
"Since the very first day of my research, the goal was to find where 'The Battle of Anghiari' could have been painted ... and if it's still there," Seracini says in an upcoming National Geographic Channel documentary titled Finding the Lost da Vinci. (Video: Preview Finding the Lost da Vinci.)
"I am convinced it's there."
(Also see "In Search of Leonardo's Lost Painting.")
Lost Leonardo: Seek and We Shall Find?
Admiring artists reproduced Leonardo da Vinci's lost mural before its fate was lost in the sands of time (pictures of the Leonardo reproductions)—one of the most famous reproductions of the lost Leonardo being in Paris's Louvre Museum.
Although stunning, the reproductions are not Leonardo's original. The copies almost certainly leave out details lost by shrinking a wall-size mural onto a canvas, and in some cases, it's thought, entire characters have been left out.
As a result, researchers such as Seracini have searched high and low—quite literally—for clues.
A break came in the 1970s, when Seracini climbed a scaffold in front of Vasari's painting and spied two words inscribed in a flag: "cerca trova," which translates to "seek and you shall find." Seracini took it as a cryptic cue that Vasari had built a false wall in front of the Leonardo.
A team led by Seracini eventually got permission to scan the entire Hall of 500 with high-frequency surface-penetrating radar. The scanning revealed some sort of hollow space—only behind the section of mural with the inscription.
To peek behind Vasari's fresco, the team planned to drill 14 strategically located centimeter-wide (half-inch) holes in the work. But an outcry ensued after journalists publicized the project.
"It quickly became very, very political. But they were making little boreholes some 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) above the ground," said art historian Martin Kemp of the University of Oxford, who wasn't involved in the work.
"In my opinion, that kind of damage can be repaired invisibly."
(See "Lady With a Secret": National Geographic magazine on another potential lost Leonardo.)
Plan B
Despite the public firestorm, National Geographic's Seracini and his team were given a week to continue their work in late 2011—but not in the 14 spots they'd hoped to investigate.
To avoid damaging original portions of Vasari's painting, museum curators permitted Seracini and his team to drill only into existing cracks and recently restored spots.
Many of the locations danced on the periphery of the hollow space, but the researchers struck gold: a hollow space behind 6.7 inches (17 centimeters) of fresco and brick.
They inserted an endoscopic camera into the void and took video of rough masonry work as well as spots that appear to have been stroked by a brush (more on the science of the search for the lost Leonardo da Vinci).
Grit removed from the hole was analyzed with x-rays, and the results suggested it contained traces of black pigment.
Based on the x-ray data, Seracini thinks the black pigments are similar to those found in brown glazes of Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" and "St. John the Baptist." (Read about the struggle to save Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" from warping.)
Red flakes also pulled from inside the wall could be lacquer—something that wouldn't be present on a normal plaster wall.
That Seracini found components unique to Renaissance painting leads him to call the work "encouraging evidence," yet he bemoaned the fact that further samples couldn't be collected in the time allotted.
"[U]nless I get hold of a piece of it, and prove that it is real paint, I cannot say anything definite, and that's very frustrating," Seracini says in the documentary.
(See pictures of the first stages of the search for the lost Leonardo.)
One of the Most Famous Discoveries of a Century?
Peter Siddons, a physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory who has verified famous works of art (including a painting by Rembrandt) with particle accelerators, said it seems pretty clear something is behind the Vasari mural.
"There doesn't seem to be enough details out there yet, but based on what has been shared so far, I believe there is a painting. They found paint and they found brushstrokes," Siddons said.
"To jump and say it's a Leonardo da Vinci? That's another question.
"Still, someone took the trouble to build this false wall" he said. "I certainly think that's intriguing."
Oxford's Kemp deemed the results interesting but far from conclusive, since wealthy Renaissance Florentines usually painted their walls for decoration—so the pigments may be from that, not Leonardo's work.
"We can't even be certain which of the long walls Leonardo painted on, as the early accounts are not explicit by any means," he said. "Still, this is a suggestive result at this stage to say, Let's go on a bit further."
Seracini's investigation is on hold again and may not proceed until further political issues in Italy are resolved.
If and when the investigation continues—and if the team recovers evidence of the work—Kemp said it will be one for the record books.
"I think this needs to be resolved. We can't just leave it hanging in the air," Kemp said.
"If it's discovered, it would be one of the most famous discoveries of a century."
Source : National Geographic
(See pictures of the search for the lost Leonardo.)
Using a tiny camera, the researchers snapped pictures of a telltale hollow space behind Giorgio Vasari's "Battle of Marciano"—and a brick wall—in the Hall of the 500 in the Palazzo Vecchio, Florence's city hall. (Video: 360-degree laser scan of the Hall of 500.)
They also uncovered black pigment and lacquer used in painting—clues that the lost Leonardo may have long ago been saved from destruction.
The findings are inconclusive for now—the Leonardo da Vinci investigation was interrupted by political and public outcry—but they're the first tantalizing leads in a mystery that spans more than four centuries.
The lost work in question is "The Battle of Anghiari" and may stretch more than 20 feet (6 meters) long and 10 feet (3 meters) tall.
According to historical records, Italian statesman Piero Soderini in 1502 commissioned Leonardo da Vinci to paint the scene of Italian knights defeating Milanese forces in 1440 on Tuscany's plain of Anghiari.
Leonardo, it's said, used the opportunity to experiment with a new oil-painting technique, but it ended in failure (five Leonardo da Vinci facts).
In the 1550s Vasari was hired to remodel the Hall of 500—named after the 500 members of the Republic of Florence's Grand Council—and paint several enormous murals, each dozens of feet high.
One mural was to be painted over Leonardo's unfinished work, but at least one tale describes Vasari as a Leonardo admirer who couldn't bring himself to destroy the work.
Maurizio Seracini, an art diagnostician at the University of California, San Diego, and a National Geographic Society fellow, has searched for clues about the painting for 36 years. (The Society owns National Geographic News.)
"Since the very first day of my research, the goal was to find where 'The Battle of Anghiari' could have been painted ... and if it's still there," Seracini says in an upcoming National Geographic Channel documentary titled Finding the Lost da Vinci. (Video: Preview Finding the Lost da Vinci.)
"I am convinced it's there."
(Also see "In Search of Leonardo's Lost Painting.")
Lost Leonardo: Seek and We Shall Find?
Admiring artists reproduced Leonardo da Vinci's lost mural before its fate was lost in the sands of time (pictures of the Leonardo reproductions)—one of the most famous reproductions of the lost Leonardo being in Paris's Louvre Museum.
Although stunning, the reproductions are not Leonardo's original. The copies almost certainly leave out details lost by shrinking a wall-size mural onto a canvas, and in some cases, it's thought, entire characters have been left out.
As a result, researchers such as Seracini have searched high and low—quite literally—for clues.
A break came in the 1970s, when Seracini climbed a scaffold in front of Vasari's painting and spied two words inscribed in a flag: "cerca trova," which translates to "seek and you shall find." Seracini took it as a cryptic cue that Vasari had built a false wall in front of the Leonardo.
A team led by Seracini eventually got permission to scan the entire Hall of 500 with high-frequency surface-penetrating radar. The scanning revealed some sort of hollow space—only behind the section of mural with the inscription.
To peek behind Vasari's fresco, the team planned to drill 14 strategically located centimeter-wide (half-inch) holes in the work. But an outcry ensued after journalists publicized the project.
"It quickly became very, very political. But they were making little boreholes some 30 to 40 feet (9 to 12 meters) above the ground," said art historian Martin Kemp of the University of Oxford, who wasn't involved in the work.
"In my opinion, that kind of damage can be repaired invisibly."
(See "Lady With a Secret": National Geographic magazine on another potential lost Leonardo.)
Plan B
Despite the public firestorm, National Geographic's Seracini and his team were given a week to continue their work in late 2011—but not in the 14 spots they'd hoped to investigate.
To avoid damaging original portions of Vasari's painting, museum curators permitted Seracini and his team to drill only into existing cracks and recently restored spots.
Many of the locations danced on the periphery of the hollow space, but the researchers struck gold: a hollow space behind 6.7 inches (17 centimeters) of fresco and brick.
They inserted an endoscopic camera into the void and took video of rough masonry work as well as spots that appear to have been stroked by a brush (more on the science of the search for the lost Leonardo da Vinci).
Grit removed from the hole was analyzed with x-rays, and the results suggested it contained traces of black pigment.
Based on the x-ray data, Seracini thinks the black pigments are similar to those found in brown glazes of Leonardo's "Mona Lisa" and "St. John the Baptist." (Read about the struggle to save Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" from warping.)
Red flakes also pulled from inside the wall could be lacquer—something that wouldn't be present on a normal plaster wall.
That Seracini found components unique to Renaissance painting leads him to call the work "encouraging evidence," yet he bemoaned the fact that further samples couldn't be collected in the time allotted.
"[U]nless I get hold of a piece of it, and prove that it is real paint, I cannot say anything definite, and that's very frustrating," Seracini says in the documentary.
(See pictures of the first stages of the search for the lost Leonardo.)
One of the Most Famous Discoveries of a Century?
Peter Siddons, a physicist at Brookhaven National Laboratory who has verified famous works of art (including a painting by Rembrandt) with particle accelerators, said it seems pretty clear something is behind the Vasari mural.
"There doesn't seem to be enough details out there yet, but based on what has been shared so far, I believe there is a painting. They found paint and they found brushstrokes," Siddons said.
"To jump and say it's a Leonardo da Vinci? That's another question.
"Still, someone took the trouble to build this false wall" he said. "I certainly think that's intriguing."
Oxford's Kemp deemed the results interesting but far from conclusive, since wealthy Renaissance Florentines usually painted their walls for decoration—so the pigments may be from that, not Leonardo's work.
"We can't even be certain which of the long walls Leonardo painted on, as the early accounts are not explicit by any means," he said. "Still, this is a suggestive result at this stage to say, Let's go on a bit further."
Seracini's investigation is on hold again and may not proceed until further political issues in Italy are resolved.
If and when the investigation continues—and if the team recovers evidence of the work—Kemp said it will be one for the record books.
"I think this needs to be resolved. We can't just leave it hanging in the air," Kemp said.
"If it's discovered, it would be one of the most famous discoveries of a century."
Source : National Geographic
T. Rex Bite Strongest Ever on Land—Ten Times Greater Than Gator's
Once the largest known carnivore on land, Tyrannosaurus rex also had the most powerful bite of any terrestrial animal of any time period, a new study suggests.
(Related video: "T. Rex's Bone-Shattering Bite Filmed.")
Much conventional wisdom about the world's most famous dinosaur species has been called into question in recent years—for instance, whether the 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) T. rex species could run or only plod along.
Likewise, some have contended that the supposedly mighty predator actually had a modest bite, limiting T. rex to scavenging.
To see how forcefully T. rex could bite, biomechanicists involved in the new study used laser scanners to digitize juvenile and adult T. rex skulls. The team then used computer models to reconstruct the dinosaur's jaw muscles and analyze bite performance.
The models suggest that an adult T. rex was capable of a maximum bite force of 35,000 to 57,000 newtons at its back teeth. That's more than four times higher than past estimates and ten times as forceful as the bite of a modern alligator.
T. rex, which went extinct about 65 million years ago, "probably lives up to its reputation as a ferocious biter," concluded study leader Karl Bates, a computational anatomist at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom.
T. Rex No Match for Megatooth?
Although T. rex may have possessed the most powerful bite of any land animal, it apparently paled in comparison to that of prehistoric megalodon—literally "megatooth"—sharks, which may have grown to lengths of more than 50 feet (16 meters) and weighed up to 30 times more than the largest great white.
Past megalodon research suggests these giant marine predators, which first appeared around 16 million years ago, could chomp with more than three times the force of T. rex, based on the new figures.
The bite force of a megalodon—"just because it was so much larger-bodied—would have been bigger," Bates said.
So T. rex could have bitten with ten times the force of an alligator. But would it have?
Answering that question would require an estimate of how much stress T. rex's skull could take, Bates said—to help pinpoint just how forcefully the predator could have bitten down with without hurting itself.
Source : National Geographic
(Related video: "T. Rex's Bone-Shattering Bite Filmed.")
Much conventional wisdom about the world's most famous dinosaur species has been called into question in recent years—for instance, whether the 40-foot-long (12-meter-long) T. rex species could run or only plod along.
Likewise, some have contended that the supposedly mighty predator actually had a modest bite, limiting T. rex to scavenging.
To see how forcefully T. rex could bite, biomechanicists involved in the new study used laser scanners to digitize juvenile and adult T. rex skulls. The team then used computer models to reconstruct the dinosaur's jaw muscles and analyze bite performance.
The models suggest that an adult T. rex was capable of a maximum bite force of 35,000 to 57,000 newtons at its back teeth. That's more than four times higher than past estimates and ten times as forceful as the bite of a modern alligator.
T. rex, which went extinct about 65 million years ago, "probably lives up to its reputation as a ferocious biter," concluded study leader Karl Bates, a computational anatomist at the University of Liverpool in the United Kingdom.
T. Rex No Match for Megatooth?
Although T. rex may have possessed the most powerful bite of any land animal, it apparently paled in comparison to that of prehistoric megalodon—literally "megatooth"—sharks, which may have grown to lengths of more than 50 feet (16 meters) and weighed up to 30 times more than the largest great white.
Past megalodon research suggests these giant marine predators, which first appeared around 16 million years ago, could chomp with more than three times the force of T. rex, based on the new figures.
The bite force of a megalodon—"just because it was so much larger-bodied—would have been bigger," Bates said.
So T. rex could have bitten with ten times the force of an alligator. But would it have?
Answering that question would require an estimate of how much stress T. rex's skull could take, Bates said—to help pinpoint just how forcefully the predator could have bitten down with without hurting itself.
Source : National Geographic
RI, Spore renegotiate extradition treaty in Bogor
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono managed to raise talks about
repatriation of corruptors and recovery of their assets when he met
with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the Bogor Presidential
Palace in Bogor, West Java, on Tuesday.According to Yudhoyono,
Lee was open to the possibility of kicking off another round of talks
concerning asset recovery as well as the extradition treaty which has
failed to take effect since both countries signed it in 2007.
“I told Prime Minister Lee that the cooperation on extradition and defense was suddenly discontinued due to the escalating political tension here in Indonesia, particularly in 2009. I told him, this is the right time to talk about it again because it will bring real benefits for Singapore, Indonesia and the region,” President Yudhoyono told the press after the bilateral meeting.
“For your information, it was not possible at the time the treaty was signed. There were numerous comments and many issues related to it that had surfaced. But this time, we should start over with good intentions,” he added.
“Singapore’s response was actually good and they were open to it whenever we are ready to renegotiate with a better approach. My hope is that the political support from our country is also strong so we can reach what we have been expecting,” the President said.
Singapore has been known as a clean country with an outstanding anti-corruption record, “thus, it will definitely be good if this treaty can be kicked off soon,” Yudhoyono said. “The world will also learn that Singapore can play an important role bilaterally and regionally in such cooperation.”
Indonesia and Singapore signed an extradition treaty in 2007 that would have enabled Indonesian law enforcement officers to go after dozens of corruption suspects who had sought refuge in the city-state, along with another agreement on defense that would have granted both countries the right to conduct naval and air military training in each other’s territories.
Indonesia’s lawmakers, however, rejected ratification, saying the agreements favored Singapore and could compromise Indonesia’s security.
Political parties complained about Singapore’s request put under the Defense Cooperation Agreement to be allowed to conduct military training within Indonesian territory near the Riau Island Province in exchange for the extradition treaty.
In September 2011, however, Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said the 2007 agreement was final with Singapore having ratified it despite the difficulties the Indonesian government had experienced in securing approval from the House of Representatives.
Zulkifli stressed that Singapore would never make it a subject for renegotiation because that would set a poor precedent for the country in the eyes of the international community.
Indonesia, regularly listed as one of the world’s most corrupt nations, has not been able to persuade Singapore to agree to help it retrieve billions of dollars of state money allegedly stashed in the city state by Indonesian criminals.
Observers and activists have dubbed Singapore as a safe haven for corrupted Indonesian money.
A prime example is graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan, a former tax official who allegedly deposited large amounts of money in Singapore before he was arrested in 2010.
Graft defendant and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin also reportedly kept ill-gotten assets in Singapore.
According to Indonesia Corruption Watch, as many as 45 people linked to graft cases have fled overseas during the past 10 years, with 20 choosing Singapore as their destination.
The list includes Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra, a businessman convicted of receiving Rp 546 billion (US$60 million) in state funds linked to the Bank Bali bailout in 1999.
The Bogor meeting was the two leaders’ second “retreat” after the first was held in Singapore in 2010.
Source : The Jakarta Post
“I told Prime Minister Lee that the cooperation on extradition and defense was suddenly discontinued due to the escalating political tension here in Indonesia, particularly in 2009. I told him, this is the right time to talk about it again because it will bring real benefits for Singapore, Indonesia and the region,” President Yudhoyono told the press after the bilateral meeting.
“For your information, it was not possible at the time the treaty was signed. There were numerous comments and many issues related to it that had surfaced. But this time, we should start over with good intentions,” he added.
“Singapore’s response was actually good and they were open to it whenever we are ready to renegotiate with a better approach. My hope is that the political support from our country is also strong so we can reach what we have been expecting,” the President said.
Singapore has been known as a clean country with an outstanding anti-corruption record, “thus, it will definitely be good if this treaty can be kicked off soon,” Yudhoyono said. “The world will also learn that Singapore can play an important role bilaterally and regionally in such cooperation.”
Indonesia and Singapore signed an extradition treaty in 2007 that would have enabled Indonesian law enforcement officers to go after dozens of corruption suspects who had sought refuge in the city-state, along with another agreement on defense that would have granted both countries the right to conduct naval and air military training in each other’s territories.
Indonesia’s lawmakers, however, rejected ratification, saying the agreements favored Singapore and could compromise Indonesia’s security.
Political parties complained about Singapore’s request put under the Defense Cooperation Agreement to be allowed to conduct military training within Indonesian territory near the Riau Island Province in exchange for the extradition treaty.
In September 2011, however, Singapore’s Minister of State for Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs Masagos Zulkifli said the 2007 agreement was final with Singapore having ratified it despite the difficulties the Indonesian government had experienced in securing approval from the House of Representatives.
Zulkifli stressed that Singapore would never make it a subject for renegotiation because that would set a poor precedent for the country in the eyes of the international community.
Indonesia, regularly listed as one of the world’s most corrupt nations, has not been able to persuade Singapore to agree to help it retrieve billions of dollars of state money allegedly stashed in the city state by Indonesian criminals.
Observers and activists have dubbed Singapore as a safe haven for corrupted Indonesian money.
A prime example is graft convict Gayus H. Tambunan, a former tax official who allegedly deposited large amounts of money in Singapore before he was arrested in 2010.
Graft defendant and former Democratic Party treasurer Muhammad Nazaruddin also reportedly kept ill-gotten assets in Singapore.
According to Indonesia Corruption Watch, as many as 45 people linked to graft cases have fled overseas during the past 10 years, with 20 choosing Singapore as their destination.
The list includes Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra, a businessman convicted of receiving Rp 546 billion (US$60 million) in state funds linked to the Bank Bali bailout in 1999.
The Bogor meeting was the two leaders’ second “retreat” after the first was held in Singapore in 2010.
Source : The Jakarta Post
Sabtu, 10 Maret 2012
Diary - January 11 2012
This morning was so windy. It feels so cool. I sat on my bed and do a task from my english lecturer. I was so shocked when my friend said that a task have to do in english. Suddenly I opened my yahoo for editing my job. When I opened homesite for yahoo. I was interesting for the news Sudirman Accident. I read it for a while, and I was frightened. I couln't imagine that the victim was flaming and her body is lost because burning. Young teenager maybe drove carelessly, the police suspected that the driver was influencing a narcotics. Hufff.. I hope I, my family, and my relative never experience accident. Protect us Ya Allah... Amin....
Rano Karno's step son arrested for alleged possession of drug
Jakarta police said that Soekarno-Hatta International Airport police
had arrested step son of Banten Vice Governor Rano Karno, RW.
"What we can confirm now is that he was Rano Karno's step son," Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto was quoted by tribunnews.com on Saturday.
From RW and his girl friend, KA, police confiscated five ecstasy pills.
Rikwanto said that RW and KA would be charged for violating Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics carrying a maximum sentence of 12 years in jail.
"Both are detained at the airport police station," Rikwanto added.
RW and KA were arrested in Bintaro, South Jakarta on Tuesday. The arrest was made following the airport customs' finding of a suspicious mail package from Malaysia. The officers later found the package containing five ecstasy pills.
Source : Jakarta Post
"What we can confirm now is that he was Rano Karno's step son," Jakarta police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto was quoted by tribunnews.com on Saturday.
From RW and his girl friend, KA, police confiscated five ecstasy pills.
Rikwanto said that RW and KA would be charged for violating Law No. 35/2009 on narcotics carrying a maximum sentence of 12 years in jail.
"Both are detained at the airport police station," Rikwanto added.
RW and KA were arrested in Bintaro, South Jakarta on Tuesday. The arrest was made following the airport customs' finding of a suspicious mail package from Malaysia. The officers later found the package containing five ecstasy pills.
Source : Jakarta Post
Sudirman traffic victim a 2010 Cover Girl
Olivia Dewi, 17, a teenage girl who died after being trapped in a
flaming car on Jl. Jend. Sudirman in Central Jakarta in the small hours
of Saturday morning, was a Gadis Sampul winner (Cover Girl contest) in
2010, an acquaintance says.
"She won a Gadis Sampul contest two years ago," said Olivia's friend Fares in front of the Dharmais Cancer Hospital's morgue in Central Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com. Fares went to the same school with Olivia.
Fares said she met Olivia on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. after school.
"She [Olivia] was an easy going person and she always looked cheerful in the classroom," she said.
She added that Olivia was also known as a smart second-grade high school student and actively participated in basketball competition at the school.
Olivia was found dead after her car crashed into a billboard supporting pole in front of the Wisma Nugra Santana building before bursting into flames.
The accident claimed Olivia's life and hurt her friend Joy Sebastian who was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Jakarta Police traffic management center's First Brig. David said that the speeding car was first spotted at 3 a.m., coming from Semanggi and heading to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
He said that the driver appeared to have lost control of the car before it hit the pole. The car caught fire soon after.
Security guards and firefighters were on hand to extinguish the fire.
After it was put out, Olivia was found dead.
The police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
source : Jakarta Post
"She won a Gadis Sampul contest two years ago," said Olivia's friend Fares in front of the Dharmais Cancer Hospital's morgue in Central Jakarta, as quoted by kompas.com. Fares went to the same school with Olivia.
Fares said she met Olivia on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. after school.
"She [Olivia] was an easy going person and she always looked cheerful in the classroom," she said.
She added that Olivia was also known as a smart second-grade high school student and actively participated in basketball competition at the school.
Olivia was found dead after her car crashed into a billboard supporting pole in front of the Wisma Nugra Santana building before bursting into flames.
The accident claimed Olivia's life and hurt her friend Joy Sebastian who was rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Jakarta Police traffic management center's First Brig. David said that the speeding car was first spotted at 3 a.m., coming from Semanggi and heading to the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.
He said that the driver appeared to have lost control of the car before it hit the pole. The car caught fire soon after.
Security guards and firefighters were on hand to extinguish the fire.
After it was put out, Olivia was found dead.
The police are still investigating the cause of the accident.
source : Jakarta Post
Jumat, 09 Maret 2012
Tugas B.Inggris ke 1
1. Strategi menjawab soal TOEFL ( Listening ) .
Ada banyak cara untuk meningkatkan nilai toefl pada sesi listening, selain kita harus lebih sering menonton film barat tanpa subtitle kita juga harus bisa mengakali sesi listening toefl. Berikut tips mengakali sesi listening toefl.
1) Perhatikan narasi kedua
2) Perhatikan Pengulangan
3) Perhatikan jawaban dengan sinonim
4) Hindari jawaban yang terdengar sama
5) Perhatikan pernyataan negatif
6) Perhatikan pernyataan almost negative
7) Memperhatikan informasi siapa, apa, dan dimana
8) Perhatikan bentuk pernyataan persetujuan
9) Kenali kalimat harapan
2. Masalah apa yang dihadapi dalam menjawab listening ?
1) Logat bahasa yang berbeda-beda
2) Vocabulary yang jarang didengar .
sumber : google.com
pemikiran sendiri
Ada banyak cara untuk meningkatkan nilai toefl pada sesi listening, selain kita harus lebih sering menonton film barat tanpa subtitle kita juga harus bisa mengakali sesi listening toefl. Berikut tips mengakali sesi listening toefl.
1) Perhatikan narasi kedua
2) Perhatikan Pengulangan
3) Perhatikan jawaban dengan sinonim
4) Hindari jawaban yang terdengar sama
5) Perhatikan pernyataan negatif
6) Perhatikan pernyataan almost negative
7) Memperhatikan informasi siapa, apa, dan dimana
8) Perhatikan bentuk pernyataan persetujuan
9) Kenali kalimat harapan
2. Masalah apa yang dihadapi dalam menjawab listening ?
1) Logat bahasa yang berbeda-beda
2) Vocabulary yang jarang didengar .
sumber : google.com
pemikiran sendiri
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