miti mahasiswa

Use your hands right

2010-01-15T20:10:00.000-08:00

Bukhari :: Book 7 :: Volume 65 :: Hadith 288
Narrated 'Umar bin Abi Salama:
I was a boy under the care of Allah's Apostle and my hand used to go around the dish while I was eating. So Allah's Apostle said to me, 'O boy! Mention the Name of Allah and eat with your right hand, and eat of the dish what is nearer to you." Since then I have applied those instructions when eating.

We do have to be so adore to our belief – islam – yet it’s totally perfect on every matters. It rules every single of our life even the simplest thing such as how to laugh properly, to wear any cloth or sandal, and even to eat our dish. Verily, we don’t need to look for other guides about eating manner because our last prophet (PBUH) directs us the appropriate one.

The Messenger of Allah commands us to mention the Name of Allah before we eat. That means a lot. We see vividly many hungers due to acute poverty or probably any oppression in today’s world. They really get limitation to access sufficient staple goods quantitatively as well as qualitatively. Even to eat a plate of rice a day, it seems to be very grateful rather than nothing. Masha Allah..

And, at the same time we could taste how delicious the food in front of us. We do not face any serious difficulty to find any dish to eat. We do not suffer like those whom their kitchen never lights on. Allah eases our way to enjoy the dish. Just imagine if we were in such condition where nothing to eat. What would we say? Hence, we must mention Allah’s Name as a sign of our thanks. Yet, Allah gives us the dish, so we feel how lucky we are…indeed, no one could give this dish to us if Allah doesn’t allow him. No more reason for not to mention Allah’s name before we eat.

It’s our specialty of becoming muslim. We specialize the use of our hands. So often, prophet beckons to differ the function of our right and left hand. The right one is for communicating with other, to shake our brother’s hand firmly, and to deliver any thing to other’s hand. This is aimed to respect the ones whom we should or we are ordered to. And the left hand is for a very confidential and individual stuff. No one may not know it. We’d better not expose it. It’s very personal. But, I really respect to another culture that doesn’t sensitively distinguish our right and left hand. I personally follow how my beloved prophet gave us example to use this organ.

Allah shows many of His Greatness in our own hands. The shape clearly forms the letter of Allah in Arabic alphabets. Now, let’s look at intensively our hands, mainly the outlined marks. On our right hand’s mark appears as 18 in Arabic alphabet, and on the left one it appears as 81. If we sum, it will remind us of the 99 names of Allah. Subhanallah…So, we should use our hands accordance with what it’s creator wants us to do.

Eating the dish which is nearer to us teaches us to control our emotion, not to be greedy but so humble. We must appreciate what is given to us sincerely, because Allah knows what best for us.

Basic Steps in the Research Process

2009-08-29T01:23:00.000-07:00

1. Select a general topic that interests you in some way.

2. List key words to help you look up information about the topic.

3. Go to an encyclopedia, or other reference source, to get an overview of the topic.

4. Make source cards for whatever sources you will use for information.

5. Using the general overview, begin to focus the topic into something you can cover well.

6. Write a statement of purpose about the focused topic.

7. Brainstorm questions about the focused topic.

8. Group questions under similar headings.

9. Add any new questions you can think of under those headings.

10. Repeat step 2, listing more key words from your newly focused topic and questions.

11. Make a list of possible sources that can answer your questions. Identify the best sources to use.

12. Find the sources in the library, on the computer, etc. Make a source card for each one you use.

13. Begin making notecards. Use your brain stormed questions to guide your note taking.

14. Change your statement of purpose into a draft thesis statement.

15. Make an outline of your headings. If you are ready to print your outline, try the Outline Maker

16. Refocus your thesis statement if necessary.

17. Write the body of your paper from your notes.

18. Cite any necessary information with parenthetical citations.

19. Write your introduction and conclusion.

20. Write your Works Cited (it is similar to a bibliography).

21. Create a title page.

22. Evaluate your work.

23. Turn in your paper on time.

When you're finished, celebrate!

Central Java Targeting No More Illiteracy This Year

2009-08-29T01:04:00.000-07:00

TEMPO Interactive, Semarang: The Central Java Governor, Bibit Waluyo, has said he intends to have no more people with illiteracy in Central Java this year. “This problem should be ended,” said Bibit in Semarang, Saturday(11/7).

Bibit said he was confused to still see people with illiteracy in Central Java. “If this problem is still found here, I cannot imagine what the situation is like in remote places like Papua,” he said.

Up until June this year, the total number of people with illiteracy in Central Java was 467,000. This is 3.8 percent of the total population of Central Java.

Bibit suggested various programs and institutions in Central Java to work hard in order to stop illiteracy.

article form here : xxx

International Standard Schools Targeted in Every Regency

2009-08-29T01:03:00.001-07:00

TEMPO, Bogor: The National Education Department is targeting the number of international standard school to be continuously increased during the next five years.

According to the Secretary to the Director General for Basic and Secondary Education, Bambang Indriyanto, there should be this kind of school in every regency.

“This kind of school offers the easiest way of measuring educational quality,” said Bambang in a discussion about education in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java, two days ago.

“So the quality of education in Indonesia will be improved,” he said.

Examination reports of students from international standard schools will be compared to schools in countries from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), for example like South Korea and Japan.

Bambang confirmed that the establishment of these schools is not for the commercialization of education.

However, the department allows international standard schools to impose levies on its students.

There are six international standard schools in Jakarta.

The Deputy Head of the Jakarta Regional Education Office, Kamaludin, said that Jakarta planned to have 10 more international standard schools every year.

Regarding the levies that are allowed at international standard schools, Kamaludin explained that the office was actually considering the possibility of making this kind of school free.

“We are also considering making the 12-year school compulsory program, including vocational schools, free.”

Becoming Part of the Research Community

2009-07-11T17:50:00.000-07:00

One of the most important things a graduate students should do is to become established as part of the research community. Your advisor can help with this process by funding conference travel, encouraging you to publish research results early, collaborating on joint publications, introducing you to colleagues, and promoting your work.

In turn, you can make yourself more visible by participating in conferences and workshops, publishing papers on your work, and meeting and maintaining contact with colleagues.

Attending Conferences

Attending conferences and workshops is valuable whether you present a paper or not. Some of the reasons to do so are:

You'll meet people and have a chance to discuss your ideas and to hear theirs.
You'll get a good sense of what the current state of research is, and will learn more about how to write conference papers and give talks (sometimes by counterexample).
You'll probably realize that your ideas are more significant, relatively speaking, than you thought. A common reaction is ``I could write a better paper than this!''

If you're giving a talk you'll gain even more visibility, and will have an opportunity to make an impression on other researchers. Some tips for preparing your talk to make this impression as positive as possible:

Give a practice talk, especially if you tend to get stage fright. Be sure to invite people who will give you constructive, but useful, feedback.
Make sure your talk fits in the time slot allocated. There's nothing worse than a speaker who rushes through the last ten slides, or skips from the middle of the talk to the conclusion. A good rough rule is to allocate 2-3 minutes per slide, on average.
It's better to be somewhat abstract than to get bogged down in technical details -- but be sure you give enough detail to make a convincing case. Your paper should fill in the missing details, so that people can read it to get a more in-depth understanding. Know your audience: you'll have to give more background to a general audience, and more technical detail to audiences that are very familiar with the field of research you're discussing.
Use examples and pictures to illustrate and clarify your ideas.
Learn by observation: try to imitate qualities of talks that you like, and avoid things that other speakers do that bother you.
Talk about your ideas informally whenever you get the chance, so that the talk will come more naturally and, hopefully, you'll have a chance to respond to and think about questions that might get asked at the talk.
Make sure your slides are readable and as simple as possible. Never put up a slide with tiny text and say ``I know you can't read this, but...''
Try to relax. Don't read from a script or word-for-word from your slides, and don't talk too fast. Be confident: you know more about your work (flaws and all) than anyone else.

Publishing Papers

Publishing your ideas is important for several reasons: it gives you a source of feedback from people who read your papers; it establishes you as a member of the research community (useful for getting a job down the line); and it forces you to clarify your ideas and to fit them in the context of the current state of research in your field.

There are two key properties of a good paper: significant content -- original, important ideas that are well developed and tested -- and good writing style. The degree to which the paper's content has to be ``significant'' depends on where you're submitting it. Preliminary ideas and work in progress are more suitable for a workshop or symposium; well developed, extensively tested ideas are more appropriate for a journal. One way to decide where your paper should be submitted is to read papers in potentially appropriate publications (last year's conference proceedings; current journal issues). Another method to show a draft or outline of the paper to your advisor or other colleagues and ask their advice.

if you have a great idea, but present it poorly, your paper probably won't be accepted. Be sure you know what the point of the paper is, and state it clearly and repeatedly. The same goes for the key technical ideas. Don't make the reader work to figure out what's important -- tell them explicitly. Otherwise, they might get it wrong, if they bother to finish reading the paper at all. State the problem you're addressing, why it's important, how you're solving it, what results you have, how other researchers have addressed the same or similar problems, and why your method is different or better.

Write for the audience that you expect to read the paper, just as you would plan a talk. Give more background for general audiences, less background and more technical detail for specialized audiences. Use a running example if possible, especially if your paper is dense with equations and algorithms.

Don't try to put every idea in your thesis into one conference paper. Break it down into pieces, or write one or two longer journal articles.

As you refine your ideas, you can re-publish in new forms, but be sure you're adding new material, not just rehashing the same ideas. Some papers start as short workshop papers, evolve into conference papers, and eventually -- with the addition of detailed empirical results or formal proofs -- become journal articles. It's usually okay to publish the same or substantially similar papers in multiple workshops, but papers for conferences and journals generally have to be original, unpublished work.

It is critical that any paper you plan to submit be read by someone else first, if only to check for typos, grammatical errors, and style. A good reviewer will give you feedback on the organization and content of the paper as well (see the section on feedback). The more tightly refereed the publication you're submitting to, the more trouble you should go to to have it pre-reviewed. For a workshop paper, having your advisor read it over is probably enough. For a refereed conference, have one or two other graduate students read it as well. For a journal paper, you should probably find researchers who are active in the field, preferably at other institutions (to give breadth), read it over and give you comments. This is where the network of colleagues you should build (see the section on networking) comes in handy.

If your paper is rejected, keep trying! Take the reviews to heart and try to rewrite the paper, addressing the reviewer's comments. You'll get more substantial and useful reviews from journals than conferences or workshops. Often a journal paper will be returned for revisions; usually a conference paper will just be accepted or rejected outright. After reading the review the first time, put it aside. Come back to it later, reading the paper closely to decide whether the criticisms were valid and how you can address them. You will often find that reviewers make criticisms that are off-target because they misinterpreted some aspect of your paper. If so, don't let it get to you -- just rewrite that part of your paper more clearly so that the same misunderstanding won't happen again. It's frustrating to have a paper rejected because of a misunderstanding, but at least it's something you can fix. On the other hand, criticisms of the content of the paper may require more substantial revisions -- rethinking your ideas, running more tests, or redoing an analysis.

Networking

One of the most important skills you should be learning in graduate school is how to ``network.'' Breaking into the research community requires attending conferences, meeting established researchers, and making yourself known. Networking *is* a learned skill, so you shouldn't expect to be an expert at it immediately; but it is also a skill that you can, and should, learn in order to be a successful member of the research community.

Just going to conferences and standing in the corner isn't enough. Especially if you're not normally an outgoing person, you have to make a conscious effort to meet and build relationships with other researchers. Presenting papers is a good way to do this, since people will often approach you to discuss your presentation. Introducing yourself to people whose presentations you found interesting, and asking a relevant question or describing related research you're doing, is also a good way to meet people.

You should talk about your research interests every chance you get. (But be sure to spend some time listening, too: you'll learn more this way, and people will feel that your conversations are a two-way street.) Have summaries of your work of various lengths and levels of detail mentally prepared, so that you can answer the inevitable ``So what are you working on?'' intelligently and clearly. If someone expresses an interest in your work, follow up! Send them e-mail talking about new ideas or asking questions; send them drafts of papers; ask them for drafts of their papers and send them comments. (If you do this, they'll be sure to remember you!) Bring business cards with your e-mail address to conferences to help new acquaintances jog their memory.

Maintain the relationships you form via e-mail, and by re-establishing contact at each workshop or conference you attend. If you work at it, and use your initial acquaintances to meet new people, you'll find that your ``network'' grows rapidly.

Sometimes these contacts will grow into opportunities to do collaborative research. Seize these opportunities: you will meet more people, often become exposed to new methods of doing research or new subfields within your research area, and the responsibility you feel towards your collaborator may give you more of an incentive to stay motivated and keep accomplishing something.

Other professional activities can bring you into the research network as well: volunteer for program committees, send your resume to a book review editor, offer to give seminars at other universities, write conference and workshop papers and send them to people you've met or would like to meet, or organize a workshop on your subfield at a larger conference. Mentoring junior graduate students and undergraduates is a good investment in the long run (besides providing them a valuable service and making you feel useful and knowledgeable).

Finding specific mentors can be very useful. Especially if you feel that you are isolated at your institution, having a colleague at another institution who can give you advice, feedback on drafts of papers, and suggestions for research directions can be extremely valuable.

The MITI-STRUCTURE 2008-2009

2009-07-01T05:35:00.001-07:00

The MITI-STRUCTURE 2008-2009

• President: Aldani Malau, S.T. (UGM alumni)

• Sekjend: Permata Ellita W., S.S. (Masters, UGM)

STAFF:

Fitri Rahayu (UMS)

Asep Muhammad S. (UNDIP)

• Treasurer: Ahadiyat, S.E. (UGM alumni)

STAFF:

Erni Arifah Ismail (alumni UNY)

Bakti Susilo Putro (UNDIP)

• Ka. Field of human resources: Dina Nursholati, S. IP (UNDIP alumni)

STAFF:

Khusnul Khotimah (UNY)

Tri Hanifawati (UIN Sunana Kalijaga)

Muh. Rezki Hermansyah (UGM)

• Ka. Field Research: Titisari Dian, SPI. (alumni UNDIP)

STAFF:

Siti Aisyah Siregar (USU)

Rilla Martaleta, S.E. (UNAND alumni)

Cindy Oktaviana, S. Pd (UNSRI alumni)

Hadi Yudistira (magister, Hankuk University, Seoul)

Yuda Achdiani (UNDIP)

• Ka. Field HAL: Angga Antagia, S.E. (UGM alumni)

STAFF:

Arnelia Putri (UNILA)

Desy Amalia ARIFA (UMS)

Chifrul Saechudin (ITS)

Gunawan Saputra Usman, S.Si. (UGM alumni)

Dian Septiandani (UNDIP)

• Ka. Field HLN: Haryandi, S.T. (Masters, Sweden)

STAFF:

Ihsan Iswaldi (doctoral, Univ Granada, Spain)

Margettya Ningsih, S.T. (UII alumni)

Kamal Hamzah, S.T. (UI alumni)

Pariman (UNDIP)

• Ka. Field Development Area

Cahyaherwening (UGM)

COORDINATING REGION

• Sumatra Region:

- Musytaqim Nasra, S.T. (Padang)

STAFF:

Dwi May Satiti, S.Si. (magister, UNILA)

Sapto Abadi, S.Pd. (alumni UNSRI)

• Region-West Java, Banten DKI

- Aliya Tusya'ni, S. Psi. (Bandung)

STAFF:

Sofyan Sury, Amd (UI)

Holy Sundusiyah, M.A. (UPI alumni)

• The DIY-Central Java

- Emiliana Tri Sugiharti, SKG. (Yogyakarta)

Eko Novianto, Amd. (UNDIP)

Fadila Oktaviana, S.Pd. (magister, UNS)

• The East Java-Bali-NTB

- Ahmad Suryadharma, S. ked. (UNAIR)

• Kalimantan, Sulawesi Region

- Jon Ibn Mursyid dries, S.T. (alumni UNSRI)

MITI-STUDENTS

2009-07-01T04:52:00.000-07:00

MITI-VISION STUDENTS

1. MITI-Student is a cross-network communication scientist all students, both in and outside the country.
2. MITI-Students must be a stimulus rise of students, to work more visible and participated actively in the development, both local and national.

MISSION MITI-STUDENTS

Encourage efforts to improve students science and technology
Participate to contribute ideas and participate in the effort to complete the problems of the nation and the state relating to the development and utilization science and technology.
Provide inputs to the DPR / Government / Legislative / local government and party in public policy concerning science and technology.
Promoting members to become resource persons based profession / science and technology at national and international level.
Encourage efforts to improve the quality of national higher education

Platform COOPERATION

Ø In order for the vision and mission, MITI-Students try to involve all community foundation committed to the enforcement of justice and increase the welfare of the people and the nation

Ø In terms of funding, MITI-Students try to block funding from donors based on the grant with no binding commitment to increase justice and welfare of the people.

FUNCTION MITI-STUDENTS

Internal:
Human Resource Development
External:
catalytic scientific and cultural development of students' innovation
Providing input in the policy and the utilization science and technology for national development
Service science and technology solution for the general public

WORK PROGRAM

Ø provide source of information studies and career

Ø Training academic ability

Ø guidance research remotely

Ø The establishment of the network literature centers around the world

Ø Provision of apprenticeship Science & Technology

Ø The student research paper competition (MITI Paper Challenge)

Ø The gift to the student achievement (MITI AWARD)

Ø Seminars and workshops Affairs

Direction and WORK PROGRAM

• President

And responsible for leading the MITI-work Students

• Secretary General

a. Assist the president in the system and oversee the performance of institutions in the MITI-M

b. Create a database MITI-member Student

c. Documenting the activities MITI-Student

d. Managing Official Website

• Chief . Fund Rising

a. Shore funds from donor agencies, both government, private sector, NGOs and foreign, and private

b. To allocate funds for each program of MITI-Student

• Chief . Development of Human Resources (PSDM)

a. Preparing draft "Semiloka" Affairs

b. Prepare draft "Semiloka" Profession used on each campus

c. Development of human resources and guidance

• Chief . Research & Field Competition

a. The Festival and Exhibition Research Student Indonesia

b. Prepare draft workshop for research students

• Chief . Field Relations Between Institutions (HAL)

a. Managing network academic institutions, research and professional students

b. Meet annual academic institutions, research and professional students

• Chief . Field of Foreign Relations (HLN)

Build networks with foreign agencies, both within and outside the country

MITI IS..???

2009-07-01T04:45:00.000-07:00

IDENTITY AND PURPOSE

As organizations (mass organizations) in the field of science and technology, MITI is a non-profit organization (not for profit) and is ready to open in cooperation with any party for bringing the benefits for members and represent with MITI's vision and mission.
PURPOSE

This organization aims to realize effective communication between scientists and teknolog the berwarganegara Indonesia in building industry-Iptek Indonesia for the new firm and independent.

Declaration MITI
Established through the National Seminar on "Highlight Iptek Role In Building Industry National " attended by participant ± 150 on Saturday, 17 January 2004

* declared at the Hotel Indonesia on Thursday, 18 January 2004, was attended by: BJ Habibie, SBY, M. Hatta, Irwan Prayitno.
* As for the efforts to synchronize potential scientists and technology with the potential, such as: the government and the legislature, academics, economists, NGO activists and media, etc..,

And as a venue to think and work in order to build a new Indonesia that advanced and independent

VISION AND MISSION MITI

Vision

Become effective venue for scientists and national technologist in Indonesia to build a new strong and independent.

Mission

Develop and enhance effective communication between scientists and technologist Indonesia in order to find solutions to the problematical science and technology national industry.
establish strategic partnerships with associations and institutions science and technology industry-both nationally and internationally.
sources of support funding for research science and technology.
Implementing recruiting scientists and technologist in order to maintain the sustainability of human resources science and technology
Conducting advocacy activities, training, assistance and community service in the field of science and technology
Providing input to the state institutions science and technology-field direction on industrial policy science and technology-national industry.

FUNCTION

MITI six operational functions:

1. stimulus : spearhead the empowerment of human resources science and technology in Indonesia
2. Coordination: as a forum to coordinate the program of cooperation between HR science and technology are members, and establish cooperation with national institutions and international science and technology.
3. Advocacy: making services, training, assistance and advocacy in the field of community science and technology.
4. Facilitation: facilitate perform activities between science and technology human resources or the public in general with the institutions science and technology national and international.
5. Research & Development: research and in the field of science and technology capability for the development of human resources and institutions are members science and technology

TARGET

Awakening effective communication between scientists and technologist Indonesia in order to find solutions to the problems science and technology-national industry.
Strategic partnerships with associations and institutions science and technology industry-both nationally and internationally.
Collecting sources of financing for research science and technology.
recruiting in scientists and technologist in order to maintain the sustainability of human resources science and technology.
To advocacy, training, assistance and community service in the field of science and technology.
Efforts to realize the provision of inputs to the state institutions Iptek-field direction on industrial policy science and technology-national industry.

How can I contribute to mitimahasiswa?

2009-07-01T03:02:00.001-07:00

to contribute in blog MITI mahasiswa, you can send your articles via email to mitimahasiswa@yahoo.com. in this article must meet the following conditions:

1. article must speak write in English, otherwise will be Rejected.
2. Articles can contain the form of paper, articles, motivation, and the other in accordance with the themes in the blog MITI students.
3. Articles can be anything you write by yourself, or copypaste with source the arigin article taken from, the article must be give knowledge to readers mitimahasiswa.blogspot.com
4. Articles are and you will be published if eligible.
we await yout participation with the article relatives. for the sender, the name and profile can be included in the profile blog mitimahasiswa.blogspot.com as Author

How Do I Get Rid of the Trojan Computer Virus?

2009-07-01T02:01:00.000-07:00

By Donald Chambers

How do I get rid of the Trojan computer virus? This was the exact question that I had been wondering before. Most people mistakenly feel that they do not need to do anything about PC security threats, especially if nothing has ever happened to them before.

Protecting your computer from online security threats has become a very important part of everyone's lives today. In this article, I will be discussing some of the signs and threats that online viruses and malware pose and how you can easily protect your system from these malicious software.

1. What Are Some Common Signs of a Trojan Computer Virus Attack?

The worst thing that can happen is for the user to switch on his or her PC one day only to find that all the personal data had been removed from the hard disk. This usually does not happen until after many warning signs. These warning signs include significant slowing down in PC processing speed, computer starts behaving strangely and executing commands on its own, frequent stalling and crashing etc.

2. What Are Some Different Types of Trojan Computer Virus Threats on the Internet?

A Trojan is a file that appears innocent on the outside but in fact contains dangerous and malicious codes. It behaves just like the Trojan Horse in Greek mythology, so users must be careful when downloading seemingly harmless files from the Internet.

For computer viruses in general, their job is to try to spread themselves quickly onto as many PC systems as possible. They can replicate themselves and will attempt to pass themselves onto other systems and storage devices in the same network. They can come in the form of an email attachment and can also hide themselves in downloadable files or website executable codes.

Are you looking to Remove Trojan Computer Virus? Don't do it yet, because the author has found many bad spyware and Trojan cleaning software on the web. Read the author's review of the Top 5 Spyware & Trojan Removal Software on the market now at http://www.review-best.com/spyware-trojan-removal-software.htm first!

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Bernard Madoff gets maximum 150 years in prison

2009-06-30T23:29:00.000-07:00

By TOM HAYS and LARRY NEUMEISTER – 1 day ago

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal judge rejected Bernard Madoff's plea for leniency Monday, sentencing the 71-year-old swindler to spend the rest of his life in prison for an "extraordinarily evil" fraud that took a "staggering toll" on thousands of victims.

U.S. District Judge Denny Chin cited the unprecedented nature of the multibillion-dollar fraud as he sentenced Madoff to the maximum of 150 years in prison, a term comparable only to those given in the past to terrorists, traitors and the most violent criminals. There is no parole in federal prison so Madoff will most likely die there.

"Here the message must be sent that Mr. Madoff's crimes were extraordinarily evil and that this kind of manipulation of the system is not just a bloodless crime that takes place on paper, but one instead that takes a staggering toll," said Chin.

The massive Ponzi scheme run by Madoff since at least the early 1990s demolished the life savings of thousands of people, wrecked charities and shook confidence in the U.S. financial system.

The sentence reflected a growing tendency over the last decade to give white-collar criminals lengthy prison terms. But nothing before has come close to the time given Madoff — an outcome that prompted scattered applause and whoops from a group of burned former clients in a packed Manhattan courtroom.

The judge noted that not one of the more than 100 letters he received supported Madoff or described any good deeds he had done.

"The absence of such support is telling," Chin said.

Chin announced the sentence with Madoff standing at the defense table, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and a tie, and looking thinner than his last court appearance in March. He gave no noticeable reaction when the sentence was announced.

He also showed no emotion though he looked down earlier in the hearing as he listened to nine victims spend nearly an hour venting their despair and anger. Some openly wept or raised their voices, labeling Madoff a "monster," "a true beast" and an "evil low-life."

"Life has been a living hell. It feels like the nightmare we can't wake from," said Carla Hirshhorn.

"He stole from the rich. He stole from the poor. He stole from the in between. He had no values," said Tom Fitzmaurice. "He cheated his victims out of their money so he and his wife Ruth could live a life of luxury beyond belief."

Dominic Ambrosino called it an "indescribably heinous crime" and urged a long prison sentence so he "will know he is imprisoned in much the same way he imprisoned us and others."

He added: "In a sense, I would like somebody in the court today to tell me how long is my sentence."

Sheryl Weinstein, a certified accountant, said Madoff was effective because he seemed normal.

"But underneath the facade is a true beast," she said. "He should not be given the opportunity to blend so seamlessly into our society again."

When asked by the judge whether he had anything to say, Madoff slowly stood, leaned forward on the defense table and spoke in a monotone for about 10 minutes. At various times, he referred to his monumental fraud as a "problem," "an error of judgment" and "a tragic mistake."

He claimed he and his wife were tormented, saying she "cries herself to sleep every night, knowing all the pain and suffering I have caused," he said. "That's something I live with, as well."

He then finally looked at the victims lining the first row of the gallery.

"I will turn and face you," he said mechanically. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't help you."

His immediately family did not attend the sentencing. But Ruth Madoff — often a target of victims' scorn since her husband's arrest — broke her silence afterward by issuing a statement through her lawyer. She said she, too, had been misled.

"I am embarrassed and ashamed," she said. "Like everyone else, I feel betrayed and confused. The man who committed this horrible fraud is not the man whom I have known for all these years."

Prosecutor Lisa Baroni said Madoff deserved a life sentence because he "stole ruthlessly and without remorse."

Outside court, some victims said it was time to move on.

"He stole my money. He didn't steal my life," said Ron Weinstein, whose wife spoke in court. "I'm not going to sit around and mope about it."

Madoff, who has been jailed since March, already has taken a severe financial hit: Last week, a judge issued a preliminary $171 billion forfeiture order stripping Madoff of all his personal property, including real estate, investments, and $80 million in assets his wife Ruth had claimed were hers. The order left her with $2.5 million that couldn't be tied to the fraud.

The terms require the Madoffs to sell a $7 million Manhattan apartment where Ruth Madoff still lives. An $11 million estate in Palm Beach, Fla., a $4 million home in Montauk and a $2.2 million boat will be put on the market as well.

Before Madoff became a symbol of Wall Street greed, he earned a reputation as a trusted money manager with a Midas touch. Even as the market fluctuated, clients of his secretive investment advisory business — from Florida retirees to celebrities such as Steven Spielberg, actor Kevin Bacon and Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax — for decades enjoyed steady double-digit returns.

But late last year, Madoff made a dramatic confession: Authorities say he pulled his sons aside and told them it was "all just one big lie."

Madoff pleaded guilty in March to securities fraud and other charges, saying he was "deeply sorry and ashamed." He insisted that he acted alone, describing a separate wholesale stock-trading firm run by his sons and brother as honest and legitimate.

Aside from an accountant accused of cooking Madoff's books, no one else has been criminally charged. But the family, including his wife, and brokerage firms who recruited investors have come under intense scrutiny by the FBI, regulators and a court-appointed trustee overseeing the liquidation of Madoff's assets.

The trustee and prosecutors have sought to go after assets to compensate thousands of victims who have filed claims against Madoff. How much is available to pay them remains unknown, though it's expected to be only a fraction of the astronomical losses associated with the fraud.

The $171 billion forfeiture figure used by prosecutors merely mirrors the amount they estimate that, over decades, "flowed into the principal account to perpetrate the Ponzi scheme." The statements sent to investors showing their accounts were worth as much as $65 billion were fiction.

The investigation has found that in reality, Madoff never made any investments, instead using the money from new investors to pay returns to existing clients — and to finance a lavish lifestyle for his family. The actual loss so far has been put at $13.2 billion. But the judge said that was a conservative estimate and noted that even Madoff told his sons in December it was a $50 billion fraud.