World Athletics 2011: Edna Kiplagat takes first gold

Chief sports writer in Daegu, South Korea Ennis, Idowu and Farah are all gold medal hopes for Britain in Daegu

The World Athletics Championships in Daegu have begun with Kenyan athlete Edna Kiplagat claiming the first gold medal in the women's marathon.

Policewoman Kiplagat encountered a false start and a fall at a drinks station but recovered to win ahead of compatriots Priscah Jeptoo and Sharon Cherop in a time of two hours, 28 minutes and 43 seconds.
Saturday's morning session began well for Britain, Barbara Parker making it through the 3,000m steeplechase heats and Andrew Osagie qualifying comfortably from his 800m heat, although European silver medalist Michael Rimmer, struggling with injury, went out.
Steve Lewis also qualified for Monday's pole vault final as his training partner, Australia's reigning champion Steve Hooker, crashed out after three failures at 5.50 metres.
Two years ago in Berlin a British team weakened by injury brought home six medals, including two golds and 11 personal bests - the country's best return since 1999.
But this time head coach Charles van Commenee wants at least one more from his 66-strong squad, with the reigning world champions Jess Ennis and Phillips Idowu joined by Mo Farah and Dai Greene as genuine contenders for gold.
Giant posters of Ennis are everywhere in the city of Daegu, dwarfed only by those featuring the biggest star the sport of athletics has ever seen: Usain Bolt.
Bolt begins his title defence at 1425 BST in heat six - where he runs alongside Britain's Dwain Chambers.
Injuries to Tyson Gay and Asafa Powell may have robbed Sunday's 100m final of the rivalry track and field fans so desperately wanted to see, while Bolt's form this year means we are unlikely to witness a repeat of his flabbergasting, record-breaking 9.58 seconds in Berlin.

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Ennis inspired by British legends

But as the hundreds of Korean girls who greeted his appearance in a city mall with Beatlemania screams demonstrated, the fastest man in history has an impact like no other. For Bolt to fail to repeat his 100m/200m sprint double of the last two major championships would be a shock of global proportions.
In his shadow, better rivalries may come from Liu Xiang, David Oliver and Dayron Robles in the 110m hurdles, as well as Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix and Amantle Montsho in the women's 400m.
Younger stars may emerge in the shape of Grenada's 18-year-old 400m sensation Kirani James, coming names like David Rudisha and Carmelita Jeter may imprint themselves on the sporting world outside athletics even as old rogues like Justin Gatlin and LaShawn Merrit return from drugs bans to remind the sport of the problems it faces.
For the British team it is all about delivering on form and potential.
If Van Commenee's talk of a 'golden generation' to match that of Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson and Tessa Sanderson at the 1984 Olympics is a little unfair - the Los Angeles Olympics were a Games denuded by the Eastern Bloc boycott, the athletics world of 2011 far more competitive across all events - the irascible Dutchman's talk reflects a growing sense of optimism about British prospects a year out from the London Olympics.

SELECTED BRITS TO WATCH

Sunday 28 August: Mo Farah in the 10,000m at 1130 BST.

• Monday 29 August: Christine Ohuruogu in the 400m at 1305 BST, Jessica Ennis starts in the heptathalon
• Thursday 1 September: Dai Greene in the 400m hurdles at 1330 BST.
• Sunday 4 September: Phillips Idowu in the triple jump at 1105 BST, Mo Farah in the 5,000m at 1140 BST.

Since taking her first global heptathlon title in Berlin, Ennis has produced an overall personal best in all three of her subsequent big championships, winning them all in style that makes her clear favourite again when her two-day competition begins on Monday.
Farah will line up for Sunday's 10,000m as the best distance runner in the world this year, and while Greene will have to beat four closely-matched rivals to claim the 400m hurdles crown, Idowu's already excellent prospects - he set personal bests in winning triple jump gold at both the 2009 Worlds and 2010 Europeans - are boosted by the absence through injury of his main threat, Frenchman Teddy Tamgho.
"This is a World Championships, and they're all in this to be the best in the world," says Van Commenee simply.
"I expect from Jess to be the same old Jess, who is a very stable and consistent performer. She is in very good shape, and she is the type of person who can handle the expectations.
"For Mo, concerned is not the right word, but being in that position for perhaps the first time is quite a challenge for him.
"No British athlete in history has won a 5,000m or 10,000m at a global level, so it's not easy, but he knows that. If he wins that would be massive.
"I consider Dai to be one of the five athletes who can win the 400m hurdles, and he's similar to Jessica - a very stable personality, and that's very helpful in an arena when it's man on man and head to head.

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Athletics boss targets seven World Championships medals

"And for Phillips, we have seen that often in the past he hasn't had a great last rehearsal. But he is an awesome competitor when it really counts, and he is in great shape. I'm sure he can do this."
The mood in the camp is buoyant, the atmosphere stoked by a rousing speech given by team captain Christian Malcolm.
"I spoke about the time I was ill before competing in Athens [in 2004[ and I spoke of the Olympics in 2000 when John Capel was the favourite in the 200m," said Malcolm, whose words were given a standing ovation by his team-mates.
"In the final he was in lane four, I was in lane three and I was just going to track him, only he stumbled at the beginning. I went past him in the first two steps and hesitated, which I shouldn't have done, and finished fifth and missed out on a medal by 0.02 seconds.
"I said to the guys, 'Don't go in there giving your competitors too much respect. Because you go in there ranked maybe 20th or 30th in the world doesn't mean you can't be ranked top eight, top five, top three.
"You have to go out there and perform, have a plan and stick to it. Don't let anyone take you off it'.
"Anything can happen, the favourites don't always win and we don't always have to put the number one ranked competitor on a platform and say they are the best in the world.
"We have to go out there and be competitive against these guys."

READ MORE - World Athletics 2011: Edna Kiplagat takes first gold

PG Wodehouse worried about Nazi cash, MI5 files show

Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse is best known for his

Author PG Wodehouse was worried about how much the Nazis would pay him for his radio broadcasts from wartime Germany, MI5 files have shown.

He always maintained his humorous 1941 broadcasts of life in a German internment camp were to thank his fellow US prisoners for their support.
But files declassified by the National Archives show MI5 had serious doubts about the British writer's account.
They said he was not always as "frank and ingenious [sic] as he pretends".
'Hollywood friend' The author had been interned in Berlin in 1941 after the Germans overran France, where he had been living in a villa in Le Touquet.
Some in Britain saw the Wodehouse broadcasts as evidence he was a Nazi collaborator. Files released by the National Archives in 1999 showed the Director of Public Prosecutions considered whether he should face a treason charge.
The newly-released documents are on Werner Plack, a former Hollywood film extra turned Nazi propaganda official.
In them, Wodehouse said he was asked, while in the camp, to make the recordings by Plack.

“Start Quote

I never had any intention of assisting the enemy and that I have suffered a great deal of mental pain as a result of my action”

End Quote PG Wodehouse

The author, best known for his Jeeves and Wooster stories, had previously lived in the US.

He referred to Plack as "my Hollywood friend" in one letter, while seeming to appear uncertain of his surname to another acquaintance, the files revealed.
"This incident suggests that Wodehouse is not always quite as frank and ingenious [sic] as he pretends," the MI5 report says.
"It also reveals that Wodehouse had had an interview with a Nazi propaganda official prior to his release from internment."
Wodehouse defended his broadcasts to a journalist, saying he thought of himself as American and pointing out that the US was not at war with Germany at the time.
The file adds: "He was worried that they had not told him how much he would be paid for his broadcasts."
Wodehouse was interrogated by MI5 officer Major Edward Cussed in September 1944 after the fall of Paris to the Allies, and said he remembered Mr Plack from Hollywood, where they had occasionally met at parties.
He said he was upset when he heard about the response in Britain to the broadcasts.
"I realised what a hideous mistake I had made and I have been longing for an opportunity ever since of putting myself right," he said.
"I never had any intention of assisting the enemy and I have suffered a great deal of mental pain as a result of my action."
Wodehouse moved to the US in 1945 and later became a citizen, living there until his death in 1975, aged 93.

READ MORE - PG Wodehouse worried about Nazi cash, MI5 files show

Russ Abbot to play Tommy Cooper in BBC drama

Russ Abbot has also appeared on stage in Oliver! and The producers

Comic and Last of the Summer Wine actor Russ Abbot is to play Tommy Cooper in a new BBC Radio 3 drama, it has been confirmed.

Glass Chair Chair Glass imagines what would have happened if the comedian and magician had met absurdist playwright Eugene Ionesco.
Dame Harriet Walter will also star in the drama, while Vera Drake actor Allan Corduner will play Ionesco.
The 90-minute play will be broadcast on 18 September at 20:30BST.
The story has been written by Annie Caulfield, whose credits include the radio drama The Von Trapps and Me, which told the story of The Sound of Music from the point of view of the baroness.
Caulfield told The Stage there was a "showbusiness rumour" that Cooper and Ionesco had once met, and that her drama imagines this took place in 1975 in Paris.
Abbot starred in BBC One comedy Last of the Summer Wine from 2008 until it ended last year.
He has also recently appeared on stage in Oliver! and The Producers.
The star is best remembered for his self-titled comedy series which ran during the 1980s and 90s.
Abbot also scored a number of chart hits, including Atmosphere, which made the UK top 10 in 1984.

READ MORE - Russ Abbot to play Tommy Cooper in BBC drama

Sold and The Wheel win Amnesty Freedom award

 

An Edinburgh Fringe award given to an outstanding play carrying a human rights message has joint winners for the first time.

The Amnesty International Freedom of Expression Award was given to Sold, directed by Catherine Alexander and The Wheel, directed by Vicky Featherstone.
The judges of the award, which has been running for 10 years, considered a record 92 entries.
Losing finalist Mark Thomas was the first comedian ever to be shortlisted.
Neil Cooper, one of the judging panel, said all the works were nominated "not because they were saying something that mattered but because they were producing a work of art about something that mattered".
The judges described The Wheel as "a complex and epic story of how children can be corrupted by the ravages of war".
Accepting the award, the play's writer Zinnie Harris said: "As a playwright I am interested in how we in the West reconcile our comfy lives when it is so grim for so many people around the world."

Mark Thomas was the first comedian to be nominated for the award

She joked that her friends had begged her to write a comedy.
But Ms Harris said: "Too many people are in too much distress. I feel a responsibility to keep looking at that."
Sold was said by the judges to be an "ambitious, fast-moving show which combines a strong overview of the issue of slavery in human society".
It was described as a "memorable piece of agitprop drama which leaves us in no doubt that despite the increasing exposure of human trafficking in recent years, and widespread political debate on the issue, it is a problem that is not going away".
Mark Thomas's Extreme Rambling (Walking the Wall) and Release, a piece of physical theatre about prisoners in the months after they are let out of jail, missed out on the award.
Amnesty International Scotland director John Watson said the Edinburgh Fringe was a "riotous celebration of freedom of expression".
He said he was heartened to see that the "consideration of human rights and what is right and wrong is alive and well at the Fringe"

READ MORE - Sold and The Wheel win Amnesty Freedom award

Drop The Dead Donkey creator to write hacking comedy

Jenkin's Drop The Dead Donkey scooped major TV awards

Drop The Dead Donkey creator Guy Jenkin is to write a comedy based on the newspaper phone-hacking scandal for Channel 4.

Hacks is set in a fictional paper where journalists use methods such as hacking, using private investigators and "pinging" - when a phone signal is used to track someone.
The one-off special is due to be broadcast later this year.
Jenkin said: "We hope to be faster and funnier than all the inquiries so far."
The scandal has so far brought about the close of British newspaper News of the World and has led to the arrest and questioning of former journalists and senior News International executives.
Channel 4's head of comedy Shane Allen said: "We are very excited about Hacks and it's great that Channel 4 can be so quick off the mark to shine a satirical light on what's been happening in the media over the last few months."
Drop The Dead Donkey, which Jenkin created with long-time collaborator Andy Hamilton, ran from 1990 to 1998 and was set in the offices of the fictional TV news company GlobeLink News.
The ensemble cast of the Bafta-winning show included Stephen Tompkinson and Neil Pearson.

READ MORE - Drop The Dead Donkey creator to write hacking comedy

Matthew Bourne reveals New Adventures prize winner

Cousins will receive a £15,000 grant to help him create new solo work

The winner of the first New Adventures Choreographer Award, set up by dancer and choreographer Matthew Bourne, has been named as James Cousins.

The 22-year-old, who beat 14 other finalists, was praised by judges for his "refreshing desire to entertain".
The London Contemporary Dance School graduate will receive a £15,000 grant to work on his choreographic skills.
He will also be mentored by Bourne and will give a showcase performance of his new work next year.
Cousins, from Newbury in Berkshire, graduated from LCDS in 2010 where he received an award for most promising dance artist.

Tom Jackson Greaves was awarded a runner-up prize

Last year he also appeared in Bourne's Swan Lake during its New York season.
The judges, which included Bourne, said they were impressed by Cousins' ambition to form his own company.
Nearly 100 aspiring choreographers applied for the award, set up by Bourne's New Adventures company to mark his 50th birthday last year.
Only one prize was to have been awarded, but the judges decided to create a runner-up prize which they gave to 19-year-old Tom Jackson Greaves.
"Our aim was to find a winner that we feel will benefit most from what New Adventures has to offer, at this stage in their careers," said Bourne.
"I am personally very excited to work with James Cousins and our runner-up Tom Jackson Greaves in helping them to realise some of their ambitions."
The next New Adventures Choreographer Award will be presented in 2013.

READ MORE - Matthew Bourne reveals New Adventures prize winner

Millions in US urged to flee path of Hurricane Irene

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More than two million people on the US east coast have been told to evacuate their homes as Hurricane Irene nears, packing winds of 90mph (150km/h).

The mayor of New York has ordered an unprecedented evacuation of a quarter of a million people living in low-lying parts of the city.
Seven states from North Carolina to Connecticut have declared emergencies ahead of Irene's arrival.
US President Barack Obama has warned Irene could be "a historic hurricane".
He has urged people in the projected path of Hurricane Irene - the first hurricane of the Atlantic season - to take precautions.
"Don't wait, don't delay. We all hope for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst. All of us have to take this storm seriously," he said on Friday, before cutting short his holiday in Martha's Vineyard, an island on the Massachusetts coast, a day early to head back to Washington.
The National Hurricane Center has downgraded Irene from a category two to a category one hurricane but says it is still packing hurricane-force winds of 90mph (150km/h) that extend outwards some 90 miles (150km). Tropical-force winds extend as far as 290m (465km).
The NHC says Irene is expected to weaken in strength after it hits the coast of North Carolina later on Saturday morning, but is forecast to remain a hurricane as it moves north along the mid-Atlantic coast on Sunday.

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President Obama: "If you're in the way of this hurricane you should be preparing now"

More than 200,000 people have already evacuated coastal parts of North Carolina as high waves and strong winds began to lash islands just off the mainland. Residents hoping to ride out the storm have stocked up on food, water and fuel.
Forecasters have warned of "extremely dangerous" storm surges in parts of North Carolina that could raise water levels by as much as 11 ft (3.35m).
"Stores are busy, petrol stations are running dry but thankfully I prepared myself last night with supplies," said Alex Schlesinger of Virginia Beach in the neighbouring state of Virginia, also in the hurricane's path.
Grounded flights Tens of thousands of people were also on the move in parts of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and New York City after mandatory evacuations were ordered for people living in low-lying areas.

Parts of New York City affected include the financial district around Wall Street in Manhattan. Hospitals in affected areas of the city had begun evacuating patients.

"We've never done a mandatory evacuation before and we wouldn't be doing it now if we didn't think this storm had the potential to be very serious," said Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the state's transport network, including the New York City subway, would close from midday (16:00 GMT) on Saturday.
Airports operating by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey - including JFK, La Guardia and Newark - will close to arriving flights at the same time.
However, the airports will remain open for departing flights until further notice.
In Washington DC, Sunday's dedication of the new memorial for Martin Luther King Jr - which President Obama had been expected to attend - has been postponed until at least September.

Manhattan, like other parts of the east coast, braces itself for Hurricane Irene

The power company serving the Washington area advised of "potential widespread power outages" at the weekend.
Amtrak, the US rail network, announced it was cancelling services between Washington and Boston from Saturday, having already suspended operations south to Virginia and beyond.
The Pentagon has loaded 200 trucks with emergency supplies, and 100,000 National Guard troops are on standby, the BBC's Steve Kingstone in New York reports.
The American Red Cross said it was preparing dozens of emergency shelters along the east coast.
The eastern seaboard is the most densely populated corridor in the US, with more than 65 million people living in major cities along the coast from Washington to Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
States of emergency have been declared in North Carolina, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Connecticut.
"We're going to have damages, we just don't know how bad," Craig Fugate, head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, told the Associated Press news agency.
"This is one of the largest populations that will be impacted by one storm at one time."
If Irene hits New York and New England at category two, it will be the region's strongest storm since Hurricane Bob glanced off Massachusetts in 1991, and Hurricane Gloria, which caused extensive damage to New York City in 1985.

Are you in the path of Hurricane Irene? How are you preparing for the storm? You can get in touch using the form below:

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Motown executive Esther Gordy Edwards dies at 91

Edwards founded the Motown Museum

Motown executive Esther Gordy Edwards - the sister of label founder Berry Gordy - has died at the age of 91.

She served as senior vice-president and was charged with exposing the unique Motown sound to international audiences.
She also led the efforts to turn Motown's original headquarters in Detroit into a museum.
Berry Gordy started the famed label, home to such artists as Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson, in 1959.
A statement on the Motown Museum's website said Edwards died "surrounded by family and friends" on 24 August.
Edwards - Gordy's eldest sister - held several positions within the label but is best known for turning Motown's famed Studio A in Detroit into an attraction after the company moved to Los Angeles.
Gordy called her "one of my biggest assets at Motown".
He said: "Esther turned the so-called trash left behind after I sold the company in 1988 into a phenomenal world-class monument."
She also worked with several of Motown's biggest artists through the years such as Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye
Stevie Wonder said in a statement: "She believed in me. When I was 14 years old and many other people didn't or could only see what they could at the time, she championed me being in Motown."
"I shared with her many of my songs first before anyone else," he added.

READ MORE - Motown executive Esther Gordy Edwards dies at 91

David Hare wins Pinter literary prize

Playwright Sir David Hare has been awarded this year's Pen/Pinter Prize, it has been announced.

The award, set up by the writers' charity Pen in memory of playwright Harold Pinter, is given to a British writer who casts an "unflinching, unswerving" gaze upon the world.
Pinter's widow, Lady Antonia Fraser, said Sir David was a "worthy winner".
He will be presented with his prize on 10 October at the British Library.
The award will be shared with an imprisoned "writer of courage" who has been persecuted for speaking out about their beliefs, to be announced at the event.
Lady Antonia said: "In the course of his long, distinguished career, David Hare has never failed to speak out fearlessly on the subject of politics in the broadest sense.
"This courage, combined with his rich creative talent, makes him a worthy winner of the Pen/Pinter Prize".
Known for his gritty portrayals of contemporary Britain, Sir David's notable works include Plenty, a portrait of disillusionment in post-war Britain, and The Absence of War, a drama about the Labour Party.
He was nominated for Oscars for The Hours, in 2003, and for Kate Winslet drama The Reader, in 2008.
He has also directed and written spy thriller Page Eight, starring Bill Nighy and Rachel Weisz, which will be screened on BBC Two on Sunday 28 August at 21:00 BST.

READ MORE - David Hare wins Pinter literary prize

Home town honours Pete Postlethwaite

Pete Postlethwaite's widow Jacqueline (second left) and son William (second right) were among those at the event

The family of the late actor Pete Postlethwaite have attended a ceremony to name a drama studio in his honour.

The star's widow Jacqueline Morrish and son William were among the family members at the Postlethwaite Studio in the Pyramid Arts Centre in Warrington.
Mrs Morrish said: "I understand why he means so much to everybody in Warrington and I think it's lovely."
The Brassed Off actor was born and grew up in the Cheshire town. He died of cancer in January at the age of 64.
Postlethwaite was nominated for an Oscar in 1993 for his role in In the Name of the Father and is also remembered for films including The Usual Suspects and Jurassic Park.
Postlethwaite's cousin Joe Lawless, a headteacher, recalled how the actor would take a string of co-stars to his mother's house in Warrington for Sunday lunch because he was proud of his roots in the town.
Mr Lawless said: "I could give you a roll of honour of all the people who had Pete's mum's Sunday roast."
He added: "He was determined, he was articulate, he was driven for perfection but he was also a very affectionate, a very loving, a very polite and kind person."
The studio in the council-run arts centre is used for training, therapy and rehearsals in the arts. Warrington Borough Council leader Terry O'Neill said it would help young performers.
"If we can put something in place where we can remember Pete and give a chance for local kids to do what Pete did, they may go on to great things," he said.

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Israeli bus shot at near border with Egypt

Gunmen have fired at an Israeli bus which was travelling near the Egyptian border, wounding at least four people, Israeli sources say.

The bus was attacked north of the Israeli Red Sea resort city of Eilat.
Several gunmen ambushed the civilian bus, Israeli radio said.
The gunfire appeared to come from the Egyptian side of the border, and came shortly after an Egged bus left Eilat, heading north, security sources told the AFP news agency.
A vehicle carrying the gunmen seemed to have followed the bus, then two to three men jumped out and opened fire with automatic weapons, Israeli radio reported quoting Israeli officials.
Security forces are said to be in pursuit of the gunmen's vehicle.

READ MORE - Israeli bus shot at near border with Egypt

Refugees Flee Libya Oil City as Qaddafi Forces Dig In

Bryan Denton for The New York Times

A rebel was carried into a clinic near Zawiyah, where government forces are fighting for control. 

Slide Show

Rebels Fight for Zawiyah as Refugees Flee

About 2,000 families from Zawiyah, Tripoli and other cities near the fighting on the Libyan coast passed through one rebel checkpoint on Wednesday, according to rebel officials registering the names. Cars and trucks, piled high with refrigerators and other household items, filled a road to the Nafusah Mountains.
People fleeing Tripoli said there was no electricity there on Wednesday, a further sign of the toll the rebellion has taken in Colonel Qaddafi’s stronghold, where prices of basic goods have soared amid shortages.
The exodus was occurring five days after a broad offensive by the rebels, in which they have collaborated with local fighters to seize strategic towns in a bid to shift the course of a stalled war. Their gains have been hard to tally: reports of towns falling to the rebels are frequently amended hours later.
A U.S. official said Wednesday that the United States had deployed two more Predator drones for surveillance operations over Libya, further increasing the pressure on Qaddafi’s forces, according to Reuters. The drones arrived earlier this week, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. It was not immediately clear how many U.S. drones had been deployed for the NATO mission so far.
As rebel officials chased rumors of high-level defections from Colonel Qaddafi’s inner circle, his government confirmed on Tuesday that a senior security official had left. The Libyan government’s chief spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, said that the official, Nassr al-Mabrouk Abdullah, who flew to Cairo on a private plane on Monday, had suffered “social and emotional pressures” before his defection.
The fighting on Wednesday continued in cities that dot the western mountains, including Gheryan in the east and Tiji in the west. Heavy fighting was also reported in Sabratha, on the coast, and doctors who worked in Surman said that city was under rebel control.
By the early afternoon, doctors at a clinic in Bir Muammar, about six miles from the front lines, said three rebels had been killed in the day’s fighting, a much lower tally than in previous days. Wooden coffins were strewn on the lawn outside the clinic, including one big enough only for an infant.
Wounded men were brought in by ambulance and in private cars, a doctor said, including one who was shot in the jaw and had lost his tongue.
The Associated Press, quoting a rebel commander in Zawiyah, said 100 Qaddafi soldiers remained inside the refinery. The commander, Osama Arusi, said an oil pipeline to Tripoli had been cut off, but his assertion could not be immediately confirmed.
Elsewhere in Zawiyah, government snipers were stationed in tall buildings, including a hospital in the city. The rebels also said they had managed to keep control of a highway connecting Tunisia and Tripoli.
But it was not clear that the rebels could or would halt all traffic to the capital. At the Tunisian border on Tuesday, trucks carrying rice and wheat were preparing to drive to Tripoli. Their drivers said they had received news that there were routes around the fighting.
On the eastern front around the coastal city of Brega, insurgents were battling Qaddafi forces for control of an oil refinery, The Associated Press reported. Fighting has swept through Brega several times during the war, and the refinery has not been operating for several months. Rebel forces said 18 insurgents were killed and 33 wounded in fighting on Tuesday and Wednesday, according to Reuters.

READ MORE - Refugees Flee Libya Oil City as Qaddafi Forces Dig In

Indian Anti-Corruption Leader to Leave Jail

NEW DELHI — Having trumped a government effort to defuse his anticorruption movement, the protest leader Anna Hazare announced that he would leave a city jail on Friday and begin a mass demonstration and hunger strike at a public ground in the national capital.

Mr. Hazare had initially suggested that he would emerge from Tihar Jail on Thursday and lead a public protest against corruption at Ramlila Maidan, a large outdoor public space in New Delhi. But with an enormous crowd expected to participate, Mr. Hazare’s aides announced on Thursday that another day was needed to adequately prepare the protest site.
“I just spoke to Anna ji, in view of conditions of Ramlila Maidan,” an aide, Arvind Kejriwal, said in a press release, affixing the Hindi-language honorific of “ji” to Mr. Hazare’s name. “Anna ji will reach Ramlila Maidan tomorrow.”
The delay means that for another night Mr. Hazare will remain inside Tihar Jail, where he has been fasting since his controversial arrest on Tuesday. Thousands of people have poured into the streets in different Indian cities this week to express support for Mr. Hazare and his campaign to create a new, independent anti-corruption agency with sweeping powers to investigate government officials.
His incarceration has become a major political crisis for India’s national government, especially after Mr. Hazare rejected a government offer to release him on Tuesday night. He refused because the release was contingent on his agreement to limit the scale and length of his hunger strike, terms he declined to accept. With pressure mounting, a deal was reached early Thursday morning under which Mr. Hazare agreed to limit his protest to 15 days and the police lifted any restrictions on the size of his crowd.
Mr. Hazare’s refusal to leave jail had seemed to galvanize his supporters and tapped into a public disgust with official corruption. More than 10,000 people marched through New Delhi on Wednesday in a peaceful rally that began at the India Gate monument.
Fueled by nonstop television coverage, the jailhouse protest appeared to capture the imagination of the country and back government leaders into a political corner.
Corruption is a source of growing public anger and frustration in India, and threatens to drag down the coalition government led by the National Congress Party. Mired in scandals for months, Congress Party leaders have tried to convince the public that they are cracking down on corruption, yet public skepticism remains high.
Mr. Hazare’s presence in the jail was especially embarrassing to the government because several politicians charged with corruption are being held there

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Yemeni Opposition Leaders Form National Council

Yahya Arhab/European Pressphoto Agency

Leaders announced a national council Wednesday at a news conference in Sana, Yemen. Plans call for choosing a president and a 20-member executive committee.

Seven months after demonstrators first took to the streets in Yemen calling for democracy, opposition leaders formed a national council on Wednesday to act as a government-in-waiting, a provocative step the government condemned even before it was announced.

The council consists of 143 members recruited from a broad array of tribal sheiks, protest leaders, southern separatists, military commanders and former members of the governing party. It was created to unite a fractured opposition and reinvigorate an uprising that has ground to a virtual standstill.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has been in Saudi Arabia recovering from a bomb attack that left him gravely wounded, has insisted that he will return and resume power. In anticipation of the opposition’s forming a national council, the government spokesman, Abdu al-Janadi, said last week in an online posting that such a move would amount to “a declaration of war.”
“This is an action that means to create a state within a state and create civil war in Yemen,” Mr. Janadi wrote.
The council, which includes 11 women, plans to choose a president and a 20-member executive committee.
An opposition leader, Mohammed Basandwa, announced the creation of the group at a crowded news conference on Wednesday inside Sana University, a center of the continuing antigovernment protests. After the announcement, organizers issued a statement saying the council hoped to “escalate the struggle.”
The opposition has remained incredibly resilient for months, with core demonstrators remaining camped out on the streets, even during this holy month of Ramadan, when the faithful do not eat or drink during daylight hours.
But from the very start in January, divergent political agendas have made it difficult to find a strong and agreed upon leadership within the opposition. A rift between the original youth protesters and formal opposition leaders grew deeper as the weeks stretched into months, prompting each side to name its own “transitional council.”
Naming a national council seeks to reverse those divisions.
Unlike Libya’s national council, Yemen’s shadow government does not control any territory or have any tangible authority. Its announcement is largely strategic and symbolic. That the opposition was able to announce the council on the day it said it would was a rare showing of political organization.
But still, one independent Yemeni protester, Faris Siraj, said the council was “without value or use” because Mr. Saleh remained president. A Yemeni diplomat speaking on the condition of anonymity, in keeping with diplomatic protocol, said “the council will only prolong the current stalemate.”
Members of the governing party have said that early presidential elections are the only way out of the current political impasse, in which the opposition has refused to work with the governing party as long as Mr. Saleh remains president.
Additionally, the national council is not part of the internationally-backed political transition plan for Yemen. In that plan, still on the table, the opposition would share leadership responsibilities with the governing party for a set period of time.
Mr. Saleh has been recuperating from the bomb attack on the presidential palace in early June. He appeared on state television on Tuesday, looking more healthy than during previous appearances, and vowed that he would return to Yemen.

READ MORE - Yemeni Opposition Leaders Form National Council

The Battle for Libya

READ MORE - The Battle for Libya

Islamist Threat With Qaeda Link Grows in Nigeria

Samuel James for The New York Times

Nigerian soldiers have responded to the insurgent threat with a crackdown in Maiduguri. More Photos »

MAIDUGURI, Nigeria — A shadowy Islamist insurgency that has haunted northern Nigeria — surviving repeated, bloody efforts to eliminate it — appears to be branching out and collaborating with Al Qaeda’s affiliates, alarming Western officials and analysts who had previously viewed the militants here as a largely isolated, if deadly, menace.

Multimedia

The New York Times

Maiduguri and Kaleri in the north have suffered attacks. 

Just two years ago, the Islamist group stalking police officers in this bustling city seemed on the verge of extinction. In a heavy-handed assault, Nigerian soldiers shelled its headquarters and killed its leader, leaving a grisly tableau of charred ruins, hundreds dead and outmatched members of the group, known as Boko Haram, struggling to fight back, sometimes with little more than bows and arrows.
Now, insurgents strike at the Nigerian military, the police and opponents of Islamic law in near-daily assaults and bombings, using improvised explosive devices that can be detonated remotely and bear the hallmarks of Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Western officials and analysts say. Beyond the immediate devastation, the fear is that extremists bent on jihad are spreading their reach across the continent and planting roots in a major, Western-allied state that had not been seen as a hotbed of global terrorism.
In the past two years, Boko Haram has met and trained with Qaeda affiliates outside the country, American and Nigerian officials and analysts say, and the group has begun waging a propaganda campaign that includes conference calls with reporters — another sign of its growing sophistication.
“Where are they getting this knowledge of I.E.D.’s?” said Kashim Shettima, the new governor here. “Some of them went as far as Sudan. Why? I believe they are making efforts to reach out to the global terrorism network.”
The Nigerian government appears to have only a shaky grasp of how to confront the threat, responding with such a broad, harsh crackdown that many residents see the military as more of a danger than Boko Haram. Shops are shuttered, vans laden with refugees can be seeing heading out of town and the normally wide, traffic-choked streets lined with neem trees are unexpectedly clear.
About 140 people have died in the violence since January, according to Amnesty International, including dozens of civilians killed by the military. Most of Boko Haram’s attacks have occurred here in this city at the edge of the Sahara, but there have also been blasts farther south in Kaduna and outside the national police headquarters in the capital, Abuja.
Several dozen civilians were killed in June when bombs were hurled into the rudimentary outdoor beer parlors that exist furtively on the Christian-minority fringes here. Shariah law exists in this overwhelmingly Muslim region, but in a relatively loose form. Not all women are veiled, and beer and wine can be obtained — apparently an affront, the authorities here say, to the group’s goal of imposing strict Islamic law in this country’s restive and impoverished north.
Boko Haram’s militants fade into the warrens of sandy alleys, protected, officials say, by supporters in the population and even in the security services. The brutal Nigerian military tactics — shoot first, ask questions later — are creating more sympathizers on the ground, analysts and residents here suggest.
“You are Boko Haram!” said Saude Maman, recounting how soldiers yelled at her husband on July 9 after a patrol vehicle was bombed and the military cordoned off Kaleri, a district of low cement houses and courtyards.
When her husband denied it, “they dragged him to the courtyard and shot him,” said Ms. Maman, sitting with a group of women in front of a scorched house. Four of them said they had lost their husbands that night.
Ms. Maman, dressed in black from head to foot, told of holding her spouse as he died and then having to pay about $20 to recover his body. At least 25 people died in that operation alone, Amnesty says. A week later, the neighborhood still showed the scars of the military’s nocturnal onslaught: burned-out vehicles, charred walls, melted cookware.
Boko Haram’s growing sophistication is not being matched by the government’s, analysts contend. Last month, at another insurgent attack near the military headquarters here, a blasted-out jeep lay on its side, a pool of blood forming under it. No soldiers were guarding the fresh crime scene, and no evidence was being gathered from it, an hour after the blast, even though several security-force personnel were wounded, one severely

READ MORE - Islamist Threat With Qaeda Link Grows in Nigeria

Eurozone crisis tarnishes Germany's 'Iron Lady'

Angela Merkel's previously strong popularity ratings have dived amid the eurozone crisis.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Euro crisis has hit German Chancellor Angela Merkel's popularity ratings
• Recent polls suggest she may struggle to secure third term.
• Germany has played lead role in bailouts of economically weaker neighbors
• But this week Germany announced weak economic growth

(CNN) -- For years, Germany has been feted as the strong man of Europe: While those around it battled years of boom-and-bust, Germany, stable and consistent, thrived. Its economy -- and the economic management of its leaders -- was frequently cited as an example to the rest of the world.
But in recent years, that very stability has come to threaten the country, by forcing it to take a leading role in the bailouts of its less economically healthy neighbors, pledging to protect them from sinking under the weight of their debts.
Despite being seen as vital for the survival of the euro, Germany's actions have been greeted with anger and frustration at home. A Bloomberg/YouGov poll published on Tuesday found that just 15% of Germans questioned approved of their government's performance during the euro crisis, while 75% disapproved.
Concern about what the bailouts will mean for the eurozone has proved contagious, tarnishing not just the economies, but the individuals involved -- and German Chancellor Angela Merkel is no exception.
Merkel and Sarkozy huddle as euro struggles
Frequently dubbed Germany's "Iron Lady" and hailed as the country's answer to former UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, the euro crisis has now left Merkel's image looking decidedly rusty.

Merkel, 57, the daughter of a Protestant minister, was brought up in then-Communist East Germany. She trained as a chemist before turning to politics as a member of the conservative, right-wing Christian Democrats (CDU).
She was elected as chancellor -- the first woman to hold the post -- in 2005, 15 years after she entered parliament. She was re-elected in 2009, but recent polls suggest she may struggle to secure a third term.
A survey by German television channel ARD earlier this month recorded a drop in Merkel's approval ratings -- just 45% of those polled said they were satisfied with her work, a slide of four points compared with the previous month.
The same poll appeared to predict a grim future for Merkel's CDU/CSU, with support for the party slipping to 36%, compared to the 51% who backed likely coalition partners, the Social Democratic Party and the Greens.
And there was further bad news for Merkel, with her coalition partners, the Free Democrats (FDP), notching up just 4% support in the survey -- a result that, were it to be repeated in real elections, would see them fall below the minimum vote threshold, and lose their place in parliament.
The FDP has already threatened to withdraw their support for the coalition if Merkel and the CDU back controversial euro bonds as a potential solution to the European debt crisis -- a move that could bring down the government.
In March this year, the CDU lost control of the prosperous southern state of Baden-Wurttemberg, which it had governed ever since the 1950s.
And with more elections to come later this year, in Berlin and the northern state of Mecklenberg-Western Pomerania, many CDU members fear the euro crisis could yet do further damage to the party -- and its embattled leader.
As Germany's conservative Die Welt newspaper recently pointed out in an editorial, "it is possible the next election may even hinge on this issue."
"For Merkel, it is both a curse and a blessing. Like her one-time mentor Helmut Kohl, it would provide her the chance to go down in history as a great European. At the same time, she runs the risk of what happened to her predecessor, Gerhard Schröder. [Who] did the right thing economically -- but was then voted out of office."
The latest financial figures mean Merkel and her party can no longer rely on the strength of the economy to see them through. On Tuesday, Germany announced its GDP for the second quarter of 2011 had virtually flatlined, growing by just 0.1% (compared to 1.3% growth in the first quarter of the year).
German slowdown adds to eurozone crisis
There may be trouble ahead for Merkel, and for Germany as a whole, but the country's years of stability should allow it to weather the storm more easily than some of its neighbors.
And while the euro crisis has dented the chancellor's image, the Bloomberg/YouGov poll suggests that most German hostility over the situation is directed towards Greece.

Of those Germans questioned in the survey, 59% were firmly opposed to further bailouts (with just 20% supporting them), and 58% backed the idea of booting Greece out of the eurozone.

READ MORE - Eurozone crisis tarnishes Germany's 'Iron Lady'

Woman's family wants speedy trial for van der Sloot

Joran van der Sloot faces charges in the killing of Stephany Flores, who was found dead in his Lima hotel room.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Van der Sloot could walk unless prosecutors bring charges soon, family says
• The 24-year-old has been held in Peru since May 2010
• He was arrested and released in the disappearance of Alabama teen Natalee Holloway

(CNN) -- The family of a slain Peruvian woman is urging prosecutors to file their case against murder suspect Joran van der Sloot, warning that he may be released by December unless the case goes ahead.
"We are worried because Peruvian law says that if a suspect's trial doesn't begin within 18 months after his arrest, authorities are obligated to set the suspect free," Ricardo Flores, the dead woman's father, told CNN.
Van der Sloot faces charges in the May 2010 killing of Stephany Flores, who was found dead in his Lima hotel room. Police say van der Sloot took money and bank cards from her wallet and fled to Chile, where he was arrested a few days later.
Investigators delivered their case file to prosecutors in June for a decision on charges. Ricardo Flores said the prosecutor in the case, Miriam Riveros Castellares, is "not moving with the speed that a case of this magnitude merits."
"We're asking that either the prosecutor file charges or that authorities remove her from this case and name somebody else," he said.
There was no immediate response to the family's concerns from the prosecutor's office.
Van der Sloot was once the prime suspect in the disappearance of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway, who vanished while on a graduation trip to the Caribbean island of Aruba. He was arrested twice but never charged in connection with Holloway's disappearance, which remains unsolved.
His lawyers have asked that prosecutors consider charging the 24-year-old Dutch national with the Peruvian equivalent of manslaughter, rather than murder, in Flores' death.
Flores said van der Sloot "didn't look remorseful" the last time he saw him in court.
"He had an indifferent and prideful attitude. He looks as if he has everything under control. He looks better than when he appeared on TV after he was arrested," the victim's father said

READ MORE - Woman's family wants speedy trial for van der Sloot

BUluh Perindu Budidaya Jawa

Ngak neko-neko, Ngak Aneh-aneh
cuman sebuah buah dari rumput liar yang biasa tumbuh di pegunungan jawa...

kata orang-orang sich bisa di gunakan untuk Pelet dan pelarisan.....
selama ini aku blum pernah buktikan itu dari hasil buluh perindu
Keaslian buluh perindu : di kasi air/ ludah/ di lumat di mulut.... maka akan bergerak2.......
katanya semakin kenceng bergeraknya maka besar pula energi si pemiluk buluh perindu...
namun berdasarkan pengalaman saya.. semakin kenceng buluh perindu saat di kasi air.. maka semakin tua pula umur buluh perindu saat di ambil dari Rumputnya   
yang saya lihat di forum-forum/ di web-web<< , kayaknya semuanya pada bohong deh.... kan agak ada aura/ hal mistiknya.. kenapa bisa di jual mahal yah??????????????????????????
kalo memang bisa di jual saya mau jual deh.. ekekekke untung dong jika ada pembeli di sini saya tawarkan buluh perindu asli (budidaya jawa)<<KW2 ....
Harga : 10 Helai buluh perindu 50ribu
1 Pot : rumpun/ masih hidup dan bisa di budidayakan harga 2 juta
Pembayaran melalui Paypal.. 
namun sepertinya saya akan kesulitan mengirimkan dalam bentuk pot   << trus gimana yaw
klo berminat hub facebook saya ... akan selalu online  magic_andha@yahoo.com

 

 

NO tipu.. Tipu Kos permanen ... ekekekekekekke

READ MORE - BUluh Perindu Budidaya Jawa

tukar link yang unik dan ribuan pengunjung setiap harinya

 dapatkan link permanen di web ini!!!!

Ini adalah cara dahsyat dan mudah untuk melakukan  tukar link atau link exchange. Karena satu link yang kita pasang akan dibantu dipromosikan oleh 1 juta orang lebih hanya dengan mengajak 2 orang saja. Bukankah  Cukup mudah mengajak 2 orang untuk daftar, karena semua butuh promosi, setiap orang ingin linknya tersebar dengan cepat.  Bagaimana kalau lebih dari 2 orang… hmmmm,,, berapa link yang akan kita dapat n gratis lagi..

Oke bagaimana cara kerjanya? Seperti yang saya bilang tadi, cukup mudah. Sobat tinggal daftar saja. Tak ada ruginya untuk dicoba. Kan gratis. Disini  link blog anda bisa nempel terus.  Link yang anda masukan bisa judul postingan dan URL nya agar tiap page punya pagerank juga. Kan biasanya PR kita hanya di halaman depan saja, sementara di halaman posting gak punya PR. Jangan lupa anchor textnya yang seo friendly gitu ya agar mudah menjadi no 1 di google dengan kata kunci yang sedang anda bidik. Contoh Tips Blogging.

Semoga anda berminat ya ( saya doain loh ). Dan kalau  berminat yuk kita mulai. Ingat cukup Mendaftar. Setelah itu jangan lupa silahkan cek password yang dikirim ke email  anda, kemudian langsung login dan pasang judul artikel, keterangan dan URL link yang ingin dipromosikan pada Website ini. Di member area kita juga akan mendapatkan web replikanya untuk kita promosikan seperti ini punya saya ini  LINK ( klik saja saya ikhlas he he he ). Lalu saya buat postingan artikel seperti ini. Sebagai contoh saya persembahkan postingan tentang Link Gratis Cantik Berkualitas, salah satu Cara mudah meningkatkan Traffic dan Pegerank blog kita. Selanjutnya tinggal bikin sebuah postingan seperti ini atau silahkan copy paste artikel ini untuk blog sobat dan rasakan manfaatnya

READ MORE - tukar link yang unik dan ribuan pengunjung setiap harinya

Wall Street Caps Dizzying Week With a 126-Point Rally

The markets closed out the last trading day of the week with a relatively-modest rally in a session that bore little resemblance to the rollercoaster ride Wall Street took in the previous four days.

READ MORE - Wall Street Caps Dizzying Week With a 126-Point Rally

Is This the World's Ugliest Car?

 

Ever wonder what would happen if a Dodge Charger mated with a Porsche Cayenne and pretty much every other car on the planet?

No? Well, now that you have that idea in your head, check out the RR99 from Italian boutique automaker Fornasari.

This off-road luxury sedan was reportedly created by attaching Jaguar doors, Lamborghini taillights, Aston Martin headlights, Lexus exhaust pipes and a V8 from General Motors to a custom-built space frame. And while it looks like a hatchback from the side, this five-passenger melting pot has a trunk.

Related Video

Local Motors' New Way of Building Cars

Fox Car Report LIVE! 6/30/2011

With a claimed 601 horsepower on tap, it can accelerate from 0-60 mph in less than four seconds and hit 174 mph if you dare. (Not sure that we do.) For you hardcore off-roaders it does have short overhangs giving it steep approach and departure angles, almost 10-inches of wheel travel and – according to the Fornasari website – “a remarkable height from the ground.”

The design of the interior is a bit more straightforward and has a decided 1990’s supercar look trimmed in acres of leather, wood and aluminum.

Of course, the car is not available in the United States, but for approximately $215,000 you can pick one up for your summer house on Lake Como.

Need something closer to home? Perhaps you should check out our domestic Frankenstein, the Local Motors Rally Fighter.

The $60,000 high-performance off-roader has less luxurious aspirations than the Fornasari, but is also built on a tube frame chassis with a GM-sourced V8, uses the rear axle and suspension from a Ford F-150 Raptor and is dressed up with the taillights from a Honda Civic. Interestingly, the vehicle was designed through crowdsourcing, where aspiring designers submitted proposals online and the winner was chosen in a popular vote.

From the looks of the results, Fornasari might want to consider taking that route in the future.

READ MORE - Is This the World's Ugliest Car?

Straw Poll 101: Buses, Barbecue and Big-Time Politics

FILE -- Supporters of presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., cheer as confetti falls after Brownback finished speaking at the Iowa Straw Poll in Ames, Iowa, Saturday, Aug 11, 2007. (AP File Photo/David Lienemann)

Buses, barbecue and big-time politics are the themes for Saturday's Iowa GOP straw poll in Ames, but what actually happens inside Hilton Arena and why is it so important in the Republican presidential race?
"It's the first measurable in the nomination process to find out which candidates have a message that is resonating with Iowa voters in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses next February," said Matt Strawn, the head of the Iowa GOP. But he admits it's not all serious stuff. "It's county fair meets rock concert meets political convention," he added.
The poll brought in around 14,000 voters in 2007 and organizers expect "tens of thousands" to show up this time around, many of them bused in by the campaigns. It's a big-money event for Ames as the thousands of voters and hundreds of news media members inject nearly $2 million to the local economy.
The struggling overall economy has been the front and center issue as candidates have been criss-crossing the Hawkeye state in recent weeks, making their pitches to potential straw poll voters.
So how will all those voters cast their ballots this weekend and what will it mean to the race for the GOP nomination?
Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday, Iowa voters will render their verdict in what organizers call a "more secure election than state elections." That's because only Iowa residents are allowed to vote in the straw poll, and to make sure that rule is enforced, organizers check voters' IDs before allowing them in the booth. In addition, the votes are cast on board of elections voting machines that are also used in official state and local contests.
However, the official nature of the straw poll ends there. The results are in no way binding. In fact, Democrats don't even have a straw poll, even when they don't have an incumbent president or vice president to re-nominate.
George W. Bush won the straw poll in 1999 and followed up by winning the Iowa caucus, the GOP nomination and the presidency. But he is the only Ames straw poll winner to become president. In 1979, the first time the straw poll was held, his dad, George H.W. Bush, won the poll and the Iowa caucus, but ultimately lost the GOP nomination to Ronald Reagan. Bob Dole won the poll, caucus and GOP nomination in 1995 but lost out to incumbent President Bill Clinton in the general election.
In 2007, Mitt Romney won the Iowa straw poll but lost in the Iowa caucus to Mike Huckabee. John McCain won the GOP nomination after a surprise showing in Romney's backyard at the 2008 New Hampshire primary.
Some analysts suggest the straw poll's third-place finisher could be the real loser. Often a spot for stronger candidates who haven't catapulted to the forefront, the third place finish can be interpreted as meaning that candidate's message isn't working. Previous third place finishers include Sam Brownback, Elizabeth Dole and Pat Buchannan.
The second place spot was kind to Pat Robertson in 1987, giving his campaign a shot of legitimacy, though he ultimately came in third in the race for the nomination.
Still, the Iowa straw poll isn't known for making campaigns and has been known to end them. Some candidates who didn't do so well in the poll have ended their campaigns the next day.
But a strong straw poll finish can carry with it big early momentum. So campaigns who are going all out in Iowa will use buses and barbecue to get their supporters into the political arena in Ames on Saturday in the hopes that while there, they will officially show who's the first unofficial winner in the 2012 campaign.

READ MORE - Straw Poll 101: Buses, Barbecue and Big-Time Politics

Samsung's iPhone Killer Is Coming: Galaxy S II Due This Month

Samsung USA

The Samsung Galaxy S II, possibly the biggest threat to the Apple iPhone's dominance of the smartphone market.

The Samsung Galaxy S II is widely believed to be the only real competition to the Apple iPhone. And you can't get it -- yet.

Samsung's mobile division has finally announced a date for the release of its hotly anticipated phone, which has sold lavishly in foreign markets. Over 5 million people worldwide have already bought the flagship Android phone in the 85 days it has been on the market -- that's one sold every 1.5 seconds, the company said.

And like Eddie Murphy, it's finally coming to America.

Samsung sent an invitation to journalists early Friday touting "a major product announcement" for Aug. 29. The brief note doesn't mention the Galaxy S II by name, but the star-field background and the Roman numeral two clearly suggest what analysts and enthusiasts alike are saying: The Galaxy is coming.

"It isn't rocket science to understand that it's the Galaxy S II announcement," joked Sasha Segan, lead mobile analyst for PCMag.com. Indeed, the name of an image embedded in the announcement speaks for itself, confirming the information the email itself skirts around: Galaxy_S_II_Invite_v2.jpg.

It isn't an understatement to say that the Samsung Galaxy S II is the strongest competition the iPhone faces.

The phone sports a 4.3-inch, 800x480 screen, a 1.2-GHz processor, fast 4G network connectivity, and a sleek, simple design evocative of the iPhone. By contrast, the Apple iPhone 4  has a 3.5-inch, 960x640 screen, a 1-GHz processor, and a slower, 3G connection.

Bigger and faster? Yes, please.

Though it hasn’t gone on sale yet in the U.S., worldwide sales of the Galaxy S II are copious -- practically obscene. In 24 days, the company sold 1 million units -- enough to reach past the top of Mt. Everest if stacked on end. The 2 million units sold in 42 days would fill two and a half soccer fields.

That's a lot of smartphone. But it's more than that: It's a lot of good smartphones, Segan said.

"If the U.S. versions are anything like the international versions, these are going to be spectacular smartphones," he told FoxNews.com. Segan gave an international version of the phone an Editors' Choice award, calling it the finest Android smartphone available today.

The unannounced Apple iPhone 5 is the elephant in the room, of course (and by the way, the 3 million Galaxy S II phones sold in just over 50 days are as heavy as 100 elephants). The iPhone 5 is widely expected to be coming out in September, Segan noted.

And getting the right price could make all the difference for Samsung. "They don't want to be more expensive than the iPhone," Segan said.

It's impossible to compare the stats or pricing for any of these yet-to-be-unveiled phones, of course. But that 4G network connection may prove a major difference between the two. 

"Unless Apple has made some sort of secret breakthrough, [the faster LTE network] might make a Verizon iPhone too thick and power-hungry for Apple's demands this year. Apple may skip it for now and wait for smaller and cooler chipsets," Segan noted. 

That faster connection really pays off for anyone surfing a lot of complicated websites or viewing movies over Netflix, he said. 

But in the end, pricing, a final feature set and the design is all up to the carriers. "The mainstream price for a smartphone is $199 with contract," Segan noted. "We're all hoping for $199

READ MORE - Samsung's iPhone Killer Is Coming: Galaxy S II Due This Month

" TEORI KEPEMIMPINAN DALAM BUDAYA JAWA "

dan aku sangat tertarik dengan teori ini..

Dalam budaya jawa sebenarnya sangat sarat dengan filsafat hidup (ular-ular). Ada yang disebut Hasta Brata yang merupakan teori kepemimpinan, berisi mengenai hal-hal yang disimbolisasikan dengan benda atau kondisi alam seperti :

-Surya
-Candra
-Kartika
-Angkasa
-Maruta
-Samudra
-Dahana
-Bhumi

1. Surya (Matahari) memancarkan sinar terang sebagai sumber kehidupan. Pemimpin hendaknya mampu menumbuhkembangkan daya hidup rakyatnya untuk membangun bangsa dan negaranya.

2. Candra (Bulan), yang memancarkan sinar ditengah kegelapan malam. Seorang pemimpin hendaknya mampu memberi semangat kepada rakyatnya ditengah suasana suka ataupun duka.

3. Kartika (Bintang), memancarkan sinar kemilauan, berada ditempat tinggi hingga dapat dijadikan pedoman arah, sehingga seorang pemimpin hendaknya menjadi teladan bagi untuk berbuat kebaikan

4. Angkasa (Langit), luas tak terbatas, hingga mampu menampung apa saja yang datang padanya.Prinsip seorang pemimpin hendaknya mempunyai ketulusan batin dan kemampuan mengendalikan diri dalam menampungpendapat rakyatnya yang bermacam-macam.

5. Maruta (Angin), selalu ada dimana-mana tanpa membedakan tempat serta selalu mengisi semua ruang yang kosong. Seorang pemimpin hendaknya selalu dekat dengan rakyat, tanpa membedakan derajat da martabatnya.

6. Samudra (Laut/air), betapapun luasnya, permukaannya selalu datar dan bersifat sejuk menyegarkan. Pemimpin hendaknya bersifat kasih sayang terhadap rakyatnya.

7. Dahana (Api), mempunyai kemampuan membakar semua yang bersentuhan dengannya. Seorang pemimpin hendaknya berwibawa dan berani menegakkan kebenaran secara tegas tanpa pandang bulu.

8. Bhumi (bumi/tanah), bersifat kuat dan murah hati. Selalu memberi hasil kepada yang merawatnya. Pemimpin hendaknya bermurah hati (melayani) pada rakyatnya untuk tidak mengecewakan kepercayaan rakyatnya.


Dalam teori kepemimpinan yang lain ada beberapa filsafat lagi yang banyak dipakai , agar setiap pemimpin (Khususnya dari Jawa) memiliki sikap yang tenang dan wibawa agar masyarakatnya dapat hidup tenang dalam menjalankan aktifitasnya seperti falsafah : Ojo gumunan, ojo kagetan lan ojo dumeh. Maksudnya, sebagai pemimpin janganlah terlalu terheran-heran (gumun) terhadap sesuatu yang baru (walau sebenarnya amat sangat heran), tidak menunjukkan sikap kaget jika ada hal-hal diluar dugaan dan tidak boleh sombong (dumeh) dan aji mumpung sewaktu menjadi seorang pemimpin.Intinya falsafah ini mengajarkan tentang menjaga sikap dan emosi bagi semua orang terutama seorang pemimpin.

Mudah mudahan pemimpin kita masih memiliki dan mengamalkan teori2 diatas....

kupian dr Om google

READ MORE - " TEORI KEPEMIMPINAN DALAM BUDAYA JAWA "

Ning Festin dan Ning Nasya; Bertahan di Pojok Kampung JTV

Istilah Aneh Sering Bikin Terpingkal Sendiri

Siaran berita bahasa Suroboyoan Pojok Kampung JTV meraih penghargaan dari Surabaya Heritage sebagai salah satu pusaka bangsa. Program andalan televisi Satus Persen Jatim tersebut dinilai melestarikan boso Suroboyoan.

SEKARING RATRI-ASTANTO

Sugeng dalu derek, yo opo kabare? Bengi iki JTV nyopo riko maneh lewat berita boso Suroboyoan, Pojok Kampung. Logat medok itu keluar dari Ning Festin yang menyapa pemirsa JTV tiap malam pukul 21.30. Pembaca berita berkacamata tersebut dengan fasih membawakan berita itu selama 30 menit.

Penampilannya serius dan formal seperti umumnya pembawa berita di televisi. Tak banyak yang tahu, di balik tampang seriusnya itu, dia menahan tawa karena mengucapkan istilah-istilah lucu dan terdengar aneh. ''Ketawa saya baru meledak ketika giliran tayangan iklan diputar,'' kata penyiar bernama asli Festine Rohrich itu. Bukan hanya dia, kru Pojok Kampung lainnya juga ikut terpingkal.

Wanita blasteran Belanda-Kediri tersebut mengaku tidak mudah membawakan berita khas JTV itu. Lima tahun lalu, kali pertama siaran, Festin kerap tergelak ketika mendengar voice over editing (suara reporter di lapangan) ketika berita disiarkan.

Dia juga sering sakit perut karena menahan tawa mendengar istilah aneh yang baru dikenal. Misalnya, empal berewok atau njeketek. Pendengar setia Pojok Kampung pasti tahu, empal berewok adalah istilah untuk menyebut alat kelamin wanita.

Hal-hal kecil seperti itu ternyata membuat ibu satu putra tersebut bertahan di Pojok Kampung. Hanya, dia sedikit resah. ''Pojok Kampung mungkin punya ribuan pemirsa. Namun, kritik yang datang juga tidak sedikit,'' ungkapnya.

Tak jarang, acara yang disiarkan langsung itu mendapat teguran karena penggunaan istilah yang dianggap kurang sopan. ''Istilah yang kami gunakan memang terdengar aneh, namun tidak mesum. Dalam bahasa Indonesia, kata penis mungkin terdengar biasa. Itu hanya masalah kebiasaan,'' jelas wanita yang kerap menjadi MC acara-acara pernikahan tersebut.

Kritik-kritik itu, kata Festine, ada kalanya membangun, tapi kadang juga tidak pada tempatnya. ''Sebenarnya, saya senang banyak orang menggemari acara saya karena lucu. Tapi, di lain pihak, saya ingin mereka tahu bahwa nggak mudah membaca berita dalam bahasa Surobyoan,'' tegasnya.

Dia lantas mengungkapkan pengalamannya beberapa kali mengetes calon pembaca berita Pojok Kampung. ''Mereka umumnya gagal pada tahap seleksi awal, yaitu reading naskah berita,'' ujarnya.

Para calon tersebut, kata pengoleksi buku dan VCD anak-anak itu, sering salah mengucapkan kata, sehingga menimbulkan perbedaan arti. ''Misalnya, kata diteleki yang seharusnya huruf e di depan lebih ditekankan, dibaca apa adanya. Jadinya, artinya bukan dicari seperti yang dimaksud dalam naskah. Tapi diteleki yang artinya -maaf- kejatuhan tai (kotoran, Red),'' ungkapnya lantas tersenyum.

Karena itu, Festine sangat bersyukur Pojok Kampung memperoleh penghargaan dari Surabaya Heritage pada Senin (7/7) di JTV. ''Penghargaan itu bisa dibilang salah satu pembuktian bahwa Pojok Kampung adalah aset Jatim,'' katanya.

Kini, Festine sudah menjadi ikon Pojok Kampung yang punya rating tinggi itu. Ketika rekan-rekan seprofesinya di JTV memilih mengejar impian yang lebih tinggi, wanita 29 tahun tersebut tetap setia di Pojok Kampung. ''Kalau membawakan berita bahasa Indonesia kan sudah biasa, saya lebih suka yang beda,'' ujar wanita kelahiran 24 Januari 1979 tersebut.

Karena Pojok Kampung itu pula Festine banyak dikenal orang. Tak jarang, ketika belanja, dia mendapat diskon khusus dari sang penjual yang kebetulan penggemar Pojok Kampung. Bahkan, beberapa kali dia diwawancarai stasiun TV swasta nasional berkat siaran berita yang dipandunya tersebut.

''Saya senang jika pemirsa menyukai siaran yang saya bawakan. Mereka tertawa, itu menunjukkan tertarik pada acara saya,'' kata wanita yang juga seorang dokter tersebut.

Putri pasangan Ernst Wladimir Rohrich dan Sylvia Maureen itu mengawali karir di JTV saat masih kuliah pada 2002. Acara pertama yang dipandu adalah program berita terkini, Berita Gress. Selanjutnya, ibu Eusebius Rifean Rohrich tersebut beralih ke program lawakan bahasa Jawa, Kentrung Funky.

Dari situ, pihak JTV mulai melihat bakat Festine berbahasa Jawa ngoko maupun boso. Wanita yang fasih berbahasa krama inggil itu pun ditawari mengisi program siaran berita Pojok Kampung episode perdana. Setelah menjalani serangkaian casting, wanita penyuka warna biru dan hitam itu pun terpilih.

Bagaimana dia bisa fasih boso Suroboyo? Ketika menjadi finalis Ning Surabaya 2001, dia harus menjalani masa karantina untuk pemilihan Cak dan Ning. Salah satu pelajaran dalam masa karantina tersebut adalah pemakaian bahasa pakem Suroboyo. Bahasa pakem itulah yang dia praktikkan di Pojok Kampung.

Selain Festine, sebetulnya ada beberapa pembawa berita lain dalam program tersebut. Namun, tak bertahan lama. Sejak enam bulan lalu, Festine punya teman. Dialah Ning Tasya. ''Aku nggak kesulitan membawakan Pojok Kampung karena aku asli Surabaya,'' katanya.

Meski begitu, kadang ada kata-kata yang tak dia kenal dalam naskah berita. ''Sebab, kata-kata itu tidak diambil dari boso Suroboyoan saja, tapi dari daerah se-Jawa Timur,'' ungkap pemenang favorit Cak dan Ning 2006 itu.

Tak berbeda dari Festine, mahasiswi semester IV Hubungan Internasional Unair itu kadang juga menahan tawa saat menemukan istilah-istilah yang terdengar aneh seperti hohohihe. ''Semula saya gak ngerti apa artinya hohohihe,'' ujar gadis berambut panjang tersebut. Itu adalah istilah Pojok Kampung untuk orang yang -maaf- berhubungan intim.

Agar tak tertawa saat siaran, dia biasanya menyiasati dengan membaca naskah lebih dulu sebelum siaran. ''Kalau lucu, aku tertawa terbahak-bahak bersama kru yang lain,'' katanya lantas tersenyum. Saat siaran, dia mencoba tidak tertawa. ''Syukur selama ini aku bisa menahan tawa,'' ungkapnya.

Pemilik nama lengkap Natasha Karina Ardiani itu mengaku enjoy membawakan Pojok Kampung. ''Krunya ramah, baik, dan lingkungannya kekeluargaan,'' tegasnya.

Lebih dari itu, Pojok Kampung merupakan salah satu bentuk awareness budaya Surabaya. ''Dengan Pojok Kampung itu, masyarakat bisa lebih kenal dengan bahasa yang hampir punah ini,'' kata gadis kelahiran 27 Januari 1990 tersebut.

Sebelum tampil di Pojok Kampung, Tasya banyak dikenal. Dia Ning Favorit 2006. Sejak dua bulan lalu, dia juga cuap-cuap di Colors Radio sebagai penyiar. Hanya, bukan sebagai Ning Tasya, tapi Tasya Karina.

Bedanya dari siaran di radio, presenter TV lebih memerlukan kesiapan. ''Presenter TV berhadapan dengan kamera. Jadi, tingkah laku harus ditata sebaik mungkin. Kalau di radio, kita bisa lebih komunikatif, ekspresif, sehingga interaksi antara pendengar dengan penyiar lebih enak,'' jelasnya.

Meski tergolong baru, Tasya tidak canggung di depan kamera. Padahal, ''Aku gak ada persiapan sebelumnya. Aku ditawari jadi presenter, aku coba, terus ya sampai sekarang.''

Selama enam bulan menjadi pembawa berita Pojok Kampung, Tasya tak jarang menghadapi gojlokan dari teman-teman kampusnya. ''Kadang ejekan dari teman-teman yang membahas atau mengkritik istilah-istilah di Pojok Kampung. Tapi, hal itu tidak menjadi masalah. Malah bisa menjadi masukan,'' ungkapnya.

Dia senang Pojok Kampung mendapat penghargaan dari Surabaya Heritage. Itu berarti Pojok Kampung dipercaya dalam melestarikan budaya boso Suroboyoan.

Dia berharap ke depan Pojok Kampung tetap menjadi media informatif, lebih berguna bagi masyarakat, dan lebih edukatif. ''Tentunya juga tetap melestarikan bahasa Suroboyoan dan Jawa Timuran,'' tegasnya.

Selain itu, perlu membuat format baru dalam siaran. ''Agar lebih fun, cheerful, dan tidak kaku. Misalnya, dengan presenter dua orang. Dengan begitu, suasana jadi lebih hidup,'' ujar gadis cantik itu

READ MORE - Ning Festin dan Ning Nasya; Bertahan di Pojok Kampung JTV