News

U.N. Suspends Syria Mission, Citing Increase in Violence

Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

A handout image released by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network on Saturday showed smoke rising after shelling by government forces on the restive city of Homs.

CAIRO — The United Nations said Saturday that it was suspending its observer mission in Syria because of the escalating violence, the most severe blow yet to months of international efforts to negotiate a peace plan and prevent Syria’s descent into civil war.

from Syria, but were being locked down in Syria’s most contested cities, unable to conduct patrols. While the decision to suspend their work was made chiefly to protect the unarmed monitors, the unstated purpose appeared to be to force Russia to intervene to assure that the observers are not the targets of Syrian forces or their sympathizers. Russia has opposed Western intervention and, by some accounts, continues to arm the forces of President Bashar al-Assad.

For President Obama, the suspension of the observers’ activities — unless it is reversed quickly — could signal the failure of the latest effort by the West to reach a diplomatic solution and ease Mr. Assad from power.

But Mr. Obama’s choices are no better than they were when the uprising in Syria began nearly a year and a half ago. A bombing campaign like the one conducted last year by NATO in Libya with strong American and Arab League support is not feasible in Syria: the battle is being waged in crowded cities, with little chance to attack the Syrian Army without the risk of high civilian casualties.

Mr. Obama, NATO nations and the Arab League have never wanted to send in a ground force, which would probably face heavy casualties in what many fear is emerging as a civil war.

The White House issued a statement on Saturday once again calling on Syria to uphold commitments it has made in recent months, “including the full implementation of a cease-fire.” The statement added, “We are consulting with our international partners regarding next steps toward a Syrian-led political transition” called for in two United Nations Security Council resolutions, and “the sooner this transition takes place, the greater the chance of averting a lengthy and bloody civil war.”

Syria’s uprising has become one of the most intractable and deadliest conflicts of the Arab Spring, with reports of at least four massacres in recent weeks, including accounts of killings of as many as 78 civilians, many of them women and children.

On Saturday, dozens of Syrians were killed in government attacks across the country, especially in villages around Damascus, the capital, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a group based in Britain with contacts in Syria. The group and other activists said security forces were carrying out sweeping arrests, particularly of young men, in towns around the capital.

The Obama administration is resisting calls to arm rebel groups, for fear that they are not an organized force and could eventually turn on one another. “The problem is that if we do nothing and Syria explodes, we have a broader conflict in the Middle East,” a senior American diplomat said last week, before the United Nations announcement, adding, “But our options aren’t any better than they were a year ago.”

The observers had been the foundation of a six-point peace plan that Kofi Annan, the former United Nations secretary general and the special envoy to Syria, had sought to hammer out with the consent of Mr. Assad and his foreign sponsors, including Russia and Iran.

Both of those countries have huge stakes in the outcome: Russia has a military base in Syria and has long used Mr. Assad as an instrument to project influence in the region, and the Syrian government is Iran’s only real ally in the region. But Russia has frozen strong action, complaining that the West went beyond its humanitarian mandate when it aided the overthrow of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in Libya last year.

The leader of the observer mission in Syria, Gen. Robert Mood, said in a statement that he had little choice but to suspend the mission. Escalating violence across Syria over the past 10 days had prevented the teams from carrying out their mandate to verify events on the ground. They have repeatedly been attacked by pro-government supporters, driving them back in recent days from the village of Al Heffa, which had been under assault all week until all its residents fled.

_________________________________________________________________

ABOUT FACEBOOK

Mengenal Jejaring Sosial Facebook           By : Reynaldi Surya

Facebook pertama kali diluncurkan pada 4 Februari 2004 oleh seorang mahasiswaHarvard Univresity, Mark Zuckerberg. Pada awalnya dulu memakai nama “The Facebook” yang merupakan sebutan untuk lembaran dokumen yang dibagikan kepada setiap mahasiswa baru di Harvard University yang menampilkan profil civitas akademika.

Dalam waktu satu bulan sejak facebook diluncurkan lebih dari setengah jumlah mahasiswa Harvard sudah tergabung sebagai pengguna. The Facebook juga mulai merambah keberbagai kampus lain di kota Boston dan beberapa universitas ternama seperti Stanford, Columbia, dan Yale. Dan kurang dari 4 bulan 30 kampus telah tergabung sebagai pengguna The Facbook dan situs yang semula beralamat dithefacebook.com ini berubah manjadi facebook.com pada Agustus 2005.

Dalam perkembangannya Facebook kemudian membuka jaringannya tidak hanya untuk kalangan perguruan tinggi tetapi juga untuk pelajar SMA, pekerja kantoran, dan akhirnya pada September 2006, Facebook dibuka untuk umum bagi siapa saja yang telah berumur 13 tahun dan telah memiliki email. Sekarang ini anak SMP juga sudah banyak yang punya akun facebook…., termasuk bapak/ibu gurunya…..

Apa sich yang membuat Facebook begitu diminati banyak orang ?. facebook memiliki banyak jaringan yang diatur berdasarkan kota, lokasi, kerja, sekolah, maupun negara. Jaring-jaring inilah yang kemudian menghubungkan para anggotanya. Selama profil kita berisi informasi yang lengkap, Facebook bisa menemukan orang-orang yang mirip dengan profil kita. Dengan begitu kita bisa menemukan teman lama dan teman-teman baru sesuai dengan profil kita.

Sampai dengan sekarang Facebook telah tersedia dalam lebih dari 40 bahasa dan telah berkembang pesat dengan jumlah pengguna lebih dari 200 juta orang dan ternyata 70% pengguna Facebook tidak berasal dari Amerika dengan rata-rata setiap pengguna memiliki teman 120 teman.Perkembangan Facebook memang sangat fenomenal, bayangkan aja lama penggunaan Facebook setiap hari pada tahun 2008 adalah 1,1 milyar menit dan pada tahun 2009 meningkat sangat tajam seiring banyaknya yang terserang virus Facebook yaitu 3 milyar menit. Update pengguna Facebook perhari pada tahun 2008 sekitar 4 juta pengguna dan pada tahun 2009 berkembang menjadi 18 juta pengguna dan banyaknya foto yang diupload perbulan mencapai 850 juta foto.

Selain itu Facebook tidak hanya dimanfaatkan untuk mencari teman, tetapi juga digunakan untuk beriklan serta berkampanye, salah satunya adalah  Presiden Amerika Barrack Obama adalah Presiden pertama yang memanfaatkan Facebook untuk kampanye via internet, dan kini banyak capres-capres yang mengekor tindakan Obama tersebut. Kita juga bisa share tentang masalah-masalahyang sedang kita hadapi misalnya kesehatan, keuangan, sekolah, dll.

Facebook selain banyak sekali manfaatnya tidak dipungkiri juga banyak negatif yang ditimbulkan. banyak contoh yang sekarang sudah terjadi dimasyarakat mulai dari hilangnya siswi dengan teman facebooknya, PSK yang lebih canggih dengan menawarkan diri di facebook, kalimat-kalimat yang tidak patut di ucapkan sampai foto yang harusnya ada dalam file pribndi juga kadang bisa nangkring di facebook.

Nah, Buat yang suka facebook nich harus hati-hati karena menurut penelitian ternayata dapat menurunkan kinerja kita termasuk juga prestasi belajar !

Maka dari itu Ayo menggunakan teknologi dengan bijaksana

_______________________________________________________________________

KOSTAS TSIRONIS / AP

Greek national flags wave behind a statue near the Greek Parliament building during talks to form a coalition government, which would stave off the country's bankruptcy, in Athens on June 19, 2012

Sunday’s national election was supposed to be a major turning point for the future of the euro. The fear in financial markets was that a government led by a party with a radical approach to the country’s three-year debt crisis would take power, or that no stable coalition would form at all, setting in motion a chain of events that would end in Greece’s exit from the euro zone and inevitable chaos.

First, the good news. The outcome of Greece’s election was probably the best possible one for the euro. Rather than a clear “antibailout” party, like Syriza, winning the election, the “probailout” New Democracy party garnered the largest number of votes, and now its chief, Antonis Samaras, is attempting to cobble together a ruling coalition. Assuming he achieves that task on Wednesday, the election result will likely quash worries of an immediate Greek exit, or Grexit, as it is being called.

Now, the bad news. The importance of this election was overblown. Sure, we might have dodged the most dangerous bullet. But the reality is that the overall situation, for Greece and the euro zone, has not improved, let alone changed much. We are no closer to a resolution of the crisis than we were before. In fact, we may be even further away.

(MORE: Greece’s Election Results: Déjà Vu All Over Again?)

Why is that? First of all, whichever party leads the next government, Greece will be thrown into a renewed period of uncertainty. Though Samaras has pledged to keep Greece in the monetary union, he has also vowed to renegotiate the terms of the latest E.U.-backed bailout. That means Greece and its E.U. creditors, led by Germany, will have to arm-wrestle through yet another round of negotiations on a package of reforms and rescue funds. In that way, a New Democracy–led coalition would be different only in tone rather than substance from a more radical Syriza government. This election was always going to result in a reopening of the Greek bailout pact and thus continued confusion about Greece’s membership in the euro zone.

That’s because Greece’s creditors are highly unlikely to make many concessions to Athens, no matter who is running the government. With policymakers in Berlin and elsewhere short on patience with Greece right now, I can’t see them overhauling the current bailout arrangement in significant ways, especially in regard to the biting austerity measures that are the main source of controversy in Greek politics. So that will ultimately leave the new, postelection government in Athens in the same position as the pre-election administration — having to implement a painful series of unpopular reforms to keep the bailout money flowing and avoid bankruptcy.

(MORE: Greek Election: A Referendum on the Euro?)

Yet throughout Greece’s crisis, the politicians in Athens have been completely unable to deliver on their reform pledges. Will the incoming government do a better job? We have no reason to believe it will. In fact, reform could well be more difficult. Whatever coalition comes into power, it will likely be fractious and unstable — not the sort of leadership capable of pounding through unpopular reforms. And then there will be a large block of votes in Parliament, led by Syriza, that will fight against further German-mandated austerity measures.

In other words, the global economy is facing the same uncertainty about the future of Greece postelection as pre-election. Will Greece be able to implement sufficient reform to keep Berlin happy and avoid an unruly Grexit? That question will still be hanging over the euro-zone debt crisis for months to come. As before, the bailout agreement could break down at any time. Research firm Capital Economics put it this way in a June 19 report: “While the result of Sunday’s election is probably the best realistic outcome that could have been hoped for, we are not minded to alter our central view that Greece could exit the euro zone by the end of this year.”

(MORE: The Tormentor of Europe)

Another reason why the Greek election doesn’t matter much is that Greece itself is becoming something of a sideshow in the crisis facing the euro. The real action is farther west, mainly in Spain, but also in Italy. It is telling that in the days after the vote in Athens, Spain’s borrowing costs shot up over 7% — the level at which many analysts believe a country could be forced into a bailout. Borrowing costs for Italy have been rising as well, while Prime Minister Mario Monti’s reform program has been stalled by domestic politics. A Grexit would be destabilizing, but it may not on its own be able to unravel the entire monetary union. Giants Spain and Italy are much more of a threat to the euro’s future.

And so far, the leaders of the euro zone have not devised a credible response to the deteriorating situation in Spain. The proposed $125 billion bailout for Spain’s banks has also generated worries that more will be needed to bail out the Spanish state — resources the euro zone either may not have on hand or be willing to commit. We’ll have to see what happens at the next European summit later this month. But with the degree of dissension among the major players — Berlin, Paris, Rome and Madrid — apparently widening, we can’t assume that meeting will produce a firm policy response to the deepening crisis.

___________________________________________________________

EDUCATION IN INDONESIAN

The Indonesian school system is immense and diverse. With over 50 million students and 2.6 million teachers in more than 250,000 schools, it is the third largest education system in the Asia region and the fourth largest in the world (behind only China, India and the United States). Two ministries are responsible for managing the education system, with 84 percent of schools under the Ministry of National Education (MoNE) and the remaining 16 percent under the Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA). Private schools play an important role. While only 7 percent of primary schools are private, the shares increase to 56 percent in junior secondary and 67 percent in senior secondary.

Primary school net enrollment rates are below 60% in poor districts compared to more well-off districts that have universal enrollment. Net enrollment rates for secondary education have experienced a steady climb (currently 66% in Junior Secondary and 45% in Senior Secondary) but are still low compared to other countries in the region. Indonesia is also trailing behind its neighbors in Early Childhood Education and Higher Education, with gross enrollment rates of 21% and 11.5% respectively.

Education is central to the Indonesian Government’s development agenda. Education spending has increased significantly in the years since the economic crisis. In real terms, education spending doubled between 2000 and 2006. In 2007, spending on education was more than for any other sector, reaching an equivalent US$14 billion equivalent, or more than 16 percent of total government expenditure. As a share of GDP (3.4 percent) this is comparable to other similar countries.

The Law on National Education (No.20/2003) and the Constitution Amendment III emphasize that all Indonesian citizens have the right to education; that the Government has an obligation to finance basic education without charging fees; and that the Government is mandated to allocate 20% of its expenditure on education. The Teacher Law (No. 14/2005) introduced important changes to the employment conditions and requirements for the certification of teachers, aiming at improving education quality. The Ministry of Education’s strategic plan for 2005-2009 has three main pillars:

1. Increased access to education;
2. Improved education quality; and
3. Better governance of the education sector.

In 2005 the Government launched a massive program called BOS (Biaya Operasional Sekolah, or School Operations Fund), as a way of injecting funds directly into schools in order to keep children in school and give schools some flexibility in managing their own funds. Supporting this and the decentralization effort in general, the Government has moved to anchor the principles of School-Based Management (SBM) in the national education system and also to provide a framework of National Standards for Education.

The education team at the World Bank focuses on supporting the Ministry of National Education’s Strategic Plan (RENSTRA)Starting with the 2005-2009 RENSTRA, the Bank has developed a broad portfolio of support to the key programs identified by the Ministry as needing additional support. The Thematic Education Dialogue led by Bappenas (a forum for Government and development partners to discuss sector issues at a policy level) provides a steer to the Bank and development partners on areas of focus for future support. It is currently leading an Education Sector Assessment which will provide the analytical base for strategic decisions on directions for the 2010-2014 RENSTRA, which development partners will use as a frame for future support.

The World Bank’s program will effectively bridge the 2005-9 and 2010 RENSTRA programs with its ongoing and pipeline portfolio of investment loans, Trust Funds, and analytical work on behalf of the Ministry, providing comprehensive support to the work of the Directorates General in the areas of teacher quality, basic education, higher education, and early childhood development.

The Education Cluster project portfolio comprises projects in Early Childhood, Basic, Higher, and Non-Formal Education. In addition, a youth training project and a sector wide initiative is currently in the pipeline. More than US$ 830 million is committed to the Government of Indonesia for Education by the IDA and IBRD. Total project costs of active and pipeline projects exceed US$ 1.5 billion. Furthermore, there are large Trust Funds that bolster the lending program.

__________________________________________________________________

Upaya Damai Gagal, Bentrok di Timika Berlanjut

Sabtu, 23 Juni 2012 14:33 wib

Ilustrasi

TIMIKA - Bentrok antar warga Kapung Harapan dan Kampung Amole di Kelurahan Kwamki Lama, Distrik Kwamki Narama, Timika, Papua, hingga siang ini masih berlanjut. Bahkan, bentrokan diduga masih akan terjadi hingga Senin, 25 Juni mendatang.

Berdasarkan pantauan, masing-masing kubu saling menyerang dengan menggunakan panah. Aparat keamanan dari Polri dan TNI tidak dapat berbuat banyak meski berada di lokasi bentrokan. Mengingat pada Senin 18 Juni lalu, tiga unit mobil dan empat anggota kepolisian terkena anak panah dan tembakan senapan angin, saat melerai dua kubu yang bertikai. Bentrokan itupun terjadi beberapa jam sebelum kedatangan rombongan Menkopolhukam ke Timika.

Pjs Kepala Distrik Kwamki Narama Wenas Onawame, mengaku upaya pardamaian sudah beberapa kali diajukan oleh pemerintah distrik dan Polres Mimika terhadap dua kubu. Namun, karena mengaku sudah banyak korban dari kampung mereka, warga Kampung Harapan meolah upaya perdamaian itu.

"Pertikaian diperkirakan masih akan terjadi sampai Senin mendatang. Kita sudah mengupayakan perdamaian, tapi mereka menolak," terang Wenas di Timika, Sabtu (23/6/2012).

Berdasarkan data miliknya, bentrokan menewaskan sedikitnya lima orang, empat dari Kampung Harapan dan sisanya merupakan warga Kampung Amole. Bentrok dipicu kematian Rony Ongoman, warga Kampung Harapan, akibat kecelakaan yang diduga melibatkan warga Kampung Amole. "Kita akan tetap upaya agar dua kubu ini bertemu dan sepakat berdamai," pungkasnya. 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Daftar top scorer lengkap EURO 2012 - Top scorer EURO, berikut adalah Daftar lengkap pencetak gol top scorer Euro 2012 yang mungkin akan diupdate terus hingga gelaran Piala Eropa 2012 Polandia Ukraina berlangsung. Dan kayaknya yang berpeluang meraih sepatu emas hingga saat ini tinggal 4 nama; CR7, Mario Gomez, Torres dan Fabregas.

Daftar Pencetak Gol Top Scorer Lengkap Piala Eropa 2012

3 Gol
Alan Dzagoev (Rusia)
Mario Gomez (Jerman)
Mandzukic (Kroasia)
C. Ronaldo (Portugal)

2 Gol :
Pilar, Jiracek (Ceko)
Shevchenko (Ukraina)
Bendtner (Denmark)
Torres (Spanyol)
Fabregas (Spanyol)
Mellberg (Swedia)
Khron-Dehli (DenmarK)
Ibrahimovic (Swedia)
Salpingidis (Yunani)

1 Gol :
Robert Lewandowski (Polandia)
Shirokov (Rusia)
Pavlyuchenko (Rusia)
Robin Van Persie (Belanda)
Varela (Portugal)
Postiga (Portugal)
Pepe (Portugal)
Silva (Spanyol)
Pirlo (Italia)
Di Natale (Italia)
Jelavic (Kroasia)
Lesscott (Inggris)
Nasri (Perancis)
St Ledger (Irlandia)
Bleszczkowsky (Polandia)
Menez (Prancis)
Cabaye (Prancis)
Andy Carroll (Inggris)
Wellbeck (Inggris)
Wallcott (Inggris)
Karagounis (Yunani)
Podolski (Jerman)
Lars Bender (Jerman)
Van der Vaart (Belanda)
Rooney (Inggris)
Cassano (Italia)
Balloteli (Italia)
Navas (Spanyol)
Larsson (Swedia)
Samaras (Yunani)
Schweinstiger (Jerman)
Lahm (Jerman)
Reuhs (Jerman)
Klose (Jerman)

Di atas adalah daftar pencetak gol Top Scorer lengkap EURO 2012, terpecaya yang sudah direkap saksikan terus laga lengkap piala Eropa EURO 2012


__________________________________________________________________________

Rasakan Sensasi Album Baru Kerispatih, Melekat di Jiwa

Jum'at, 6 Juli 2012 08:43 wib

Reynaldi Surya / Fun With Me

Kerispatih (Foto:Reynaldi Surya Pratama/Fun With Me)

JAKARTA - Kerispatih semakin dewasa membuat ramuan musik. Album terbaru Badai dkk yang diberi judul Melekat di Jiwa royal lebih ramai memasukan alat-alat musik hingga membuat pendengarnya nyaman terbuai alunan musik dan lirik yang romantis.

Secara garis besar, musik Kerispatih yang sering kita dengar masih terasa kuat. Yang istimewa, Badai sebagai music director melibatkan Saunine Orchestra, tentu pesan yang ingin disampaikan Kerispatih kepada pendengar terasa lebih “menusuk” ke rasa.

Jurus memainkan cinta dalam lagu-lagu di album ketujuh ini masih terasa kesaktiannya. Suara lembut dan tinggi vokalis Fandi sungguh mantap terdengarnya.

Track pertama, diawali napak tilas band yang digawangi oleh Badai (keyboard, music director), Fandi (gitar), Andhika (bas), Anton (drum), dan Arief (gitar) terangkum dalam lagu “Unforgettable Journey 2003-2011”. Lagu-lagu hits Kerispatih dari album pertama, 2003 hingga saat ini dimainkan secara medley menggunakan dentingan piano dan musik orkestra.

Tiga belas lagu lainnya, yakni “Perjuangan Belum Selesai”, “Melekat di Jiwa”, “Kau dan Dia”, “Lihat Hatiku”, “Karena Mereka Selalu Ada”, “Jangan Pergi Lagi”, ‘Sudah Jalan Kita”, “Mendewasakanku”, “Selalu Setia Untuknya”, “Bukan Ukuran Cinta Matiku”, “Mengalahkan Hati”, “Telah Menyesal”, dan “Kita Satu”.

Lagu “Karena Mereka Selalu Ada” didedikasikan untuk para Mahapatih (sebutan penggemar Kerispatih), musiknya dibuat seperti konser live. Terdengar hIsteria penonton yang khas menonton konser.

Warna lainnya, lagu “Bukan Ukuran Cinta Matiku” dan “Selalu Setia”, Fandi duet nyanyi dengan Badai. Di lagu “Mengalahkan Hati”, Badai dipercaya menyanyi sendirian.

Badai menceritakan, proses pembuatan album ketujuh ini butuh perenungan cukup panjang, dari 2009-2012 hingga mendapat hasil sekarang ini.”Hampir tiga tahun lamanya, akhirnya kami temukan format baru,” kata Badai bangga.

Dia juga berbicara tentang perbedaan album ini dengan sebelumnya. “Nuansa musik, aransemen, notasi, Lirik di album ini prinsipnya adalah kesederhanaan. Lebih simple hingga bisa dinikmati lebih banyak orang,” ungkap dia.

DON'T FORGET FOR COMMENT

.