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Gerhana Bulan

2011-06-14T21:36:00.000-07:00

Diperkirakan hari kamis dini hari nanti berpeluang menjadi salah satu gerhana bulan total terlama sepanjang sejarah. mungkin saja total lamanya gerhana bisa sampai 100 menit dikarenakan posisi bulan nanti dekat dengan pusat bayangan bumi.

Lama gerhana bulan total memang bergantung pada pertama, jarak lintasan bulan terhadap pusat bayangan bumi, dan kedua, jarak bulan terhadap bumi.
Secara umum, tidak ada dampak signifikan dari gerhana bulan tersebut. Salah satu yang mungkin akan menarik perhatian adalah kemungkinan pasang air laut maksimum. "Hal tersebut terjadi karna posisi bumi, bulan, dan matahari hampir berbentuk garis lurus. Efek gabungan ketiganya adalah pasang maksimum.

Gerhana bulan total nanti bisa dilihat di seluruh wilayah Indonesia tanpa terkecuali. Hanya saja khusus untuk masyarakat yang tinggal di wilayah Papua tidak akan bisa melihat fase akhir dari gerhana bulan total karena saat itu sudah pagi

Tiap Tahun Sekitar 1,3 Miliar Ton Makanan

2011-05-12T10:43:00.000-07:00

Sebanyak sepertiga makanan yang diproduksi di dunia setiap tahun --sebanyak 1,3 miliar ton-- hilang atau terbuang, kata Organisasi Pertanian dan Pangan PBB (FAO), Rabu (11/5).
"Mengingat ketersediaan terbatas sumber daya alam, lebih efektif untuk mengurangi hilangnya makanan daripada meningkatkan produksi pangan guna memberi makan penduduk dunia yang bertambah," kata FAO.

FAO menyatakan jumlah makanan yang hilang atau terbuang setiap tahun sama dengan lebih dari separuh panen sereal tahunan dunia. Sebanyak 925 juta orang di seluruh dunia menderita kelaparan.
Menurut laporan tersebut, masalah di dunia berkembang terutama adalah hilangnya pangan --misalnya, melalui gagal panen dan prasarana yang buruk.

Di berbagai negara industri, masalah itu lebih berupa "pengecer dan pelanggan membuat bahan makanan yang benar-benar layak dimakan ke tempat sampah". Laporan tersebut mendapati pelanggan di Eropa dan Amerika Utara menyia-nyiakan antara 95 dan 115 kilogram makanan setiap tahun.
Laporan itu menyatakan di industri pengecer, terjadi "penekanan yang berlebihan dalam hal penampilan". "Survei menunjukkan bahwa pelanggan bersedia membeli produk yang tak memenuhi standar selama itu aman dan terasa nikmat," katanya.

"Pelanggan di negara kaya biasanya terdorong untuk membeli lebih banyak makanan dibandingkan dengan yang mereka perlukan," katanya. Laporan tersebut memberi contoh makanan siap-makan yang berlebihan yang diproduksi oleh industri pangan dan bufet harga pas di berbagai restoran.
Data itu dimuat di dalam laporan yang disiapkan oleh FAO dari Institute for Food and Biotechnology for "Save Food!", Swedia --konferensi yang akan diselenggarakan di Jerman pada penghujung Mei.
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News of the death of Osama bin Laden

2011-05-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON – From a shabby, makeshift office, he ran a global terrorist empire. The world's most wanted man watched newscasts of himself from a tiny television perched atop a rickety old desk cluttered with wires.
For years, the world only saw the 54-year-old Osama bin Laden in the rare propaganda videos that trickled out, the ones portraying him as a charismatic religious figure unfazed by being the target of a worldwide manhunt.

On Saturday, the U.S. released a handful of videos, selected to show bin Laden in a much more candid, unflattering light. In the short clips, bin Laden appears hunched and tired, seated on the floor, watching television wrapped in a wool blanket and wearing a knit cap. Outtakes of his propaganda tapes show that they were heavily scripted affairs. He dyed and trimmed his beard for the cameras, then shot and reshot his remarks until the timing and lighting were just right.
The videos were among the evidence seized by Navy SEALs after a pre-dawn raid Monday that killed bin Laden in his walled Pakistani compound. The movies, along with computer disks, thumb drives and handwritten notes, reveal that bin Laden was still actively involved in planning and directing al-Qaida's plots against the U.S., according to a senior U.S. intelligence official who briefed reporters Saturday and insisted his name not be used.

"The material found in the compound only further confirms how important it was to go after Bin Laden," said CIA director Leon Panetta in a statement Saturday. "Since 9/11, this is what the American people have expected of us. In this critical operation, we delivered."

The notes and computer material showed that bin Laden's compound was a command-and-control center for al-Qaida, where the terrorist mastermind stayed in contact with al-Qaida affiliates around the world through a network of couriers, the intelligence official said. Bin Laden was eager to strike American cities again and discussed ways to attack trains, officials said, though it appeared that plan never progressed beyond early discussions.

Officials said the clips shown to reporters were just part of the largest collection of senior terrorist materials ever collected. The evidence seized during the raid also includes phone numbers and documents that officials hope will help break the back of the organization behind the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The videos showing "out-takes" — the miscues by bin-Laden that were destined for the cutting-room floor — were offered as further proof of bin Laden's death. President Barack Obama decided this week not to release photos of bin Laden's body, which were deemed too gruesome to reveal. The U.S. has said it confirmed bin Laden's death using DNA.

But by selecting unflattering clips of bin Laden, the U.S. is also working to shatter the image he worked so hard to craft.
"It showed that bin Laden was not the superhero he wanted his people to think," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee.
One video clearly shows the terror leader choosing and changing channels with a remote control, which he points at what appears to be a satellite cable box. U.S. officials have previously said there was a satellite dish for television reception but no Internet or phone lines ran to the house. Cellphones were prohibited on the compound.

It's unclear how many tapes were pulled out of the house, and U.S. officials say they're scouring the intelligence so quickly it has not even been catalogued and counted yet. But there may be a trove of recordings. According to the book "Growing Up bin Laden," by his first wife and fourth son, the terrorist leader nearly always kept a tape recorder nearby to take down his thoughts, plans and musings about politics and the world.

Among the material handed out was an al-Qaida propaganda video, apparently intended for public release, entitled "Message to the American People," likely filmed sometime last fall, the official said. Bin Laden has not released a video since 2007, and officials were not sure why this one had not been released.
The official said the short taped message denigrated capitalism and included anti-American messages similar to his previous tapes, but he refused to say if it included a direct threat against the United States. The government released the video without sound because it did not want to disseminate a terrorist message.
Al-Qaida has confirmed the death of its founder, but did not announce a successor. Intelligence officials have taken that as an indication that the attack dealt a heavy blow to the organization. The most likely successor, al-Qaida deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri, is not as charismatic as bin Laden and is not as popular in the group. Officials have said he is unlikely to galvanize followers as bin Laden had.

A task force headed by the CIA is working through the material, combing it round the clock to find clues to plots that might already be under way. The U.S. launched airstrikes in Pakistan and Yemen this week, but the U.S. official would not confirm whether the bin Laden intelligence has already led to attacks.
Arabic speakers from around the intelligence community have been tapped to help review the material. The team includes code-breakers at the National Security Agency, satellite specialists from National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, and the FBI.

Since 50 years ago, colt was common man's choice

2011-05-07T02:14:00.000-07:00

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Named for an accounting device that allows a taxpayer to carry back earnings against losses sustained in previous years, the plain brown colt was a dime store horse in the hands of the quintessential mom and pop operation. In the history of the Kentucky Derby, never has there been quite as dramatic a rags to riches story as that of Carry Back.

Associated Press

Katherine Price (front) leads Carry Back to the winner's circle after his victory in the 1961 Preakness. The colt won the Kentucky Derby that year after being bought for a very low price.

The colt's victory in the Run for the Roses 50 years ago for Katherine and Jack Price truly turned the world of thoroughbred racing upside down. And as his racing career continued -- encompassing an amazing total of 62 starts -- Carry Back became the populist candidate whenever and wherever he ran.

In an era in which the big stables, owned by society's upper crust, dominated racing, it was rare for an outfit from the other side of the tracks to have much of an impact on racing's most significant events. The retired manager of a Cleveland company that manufactured parts for aircraft and cars, Price could never be confused with a blueblood from the blue grass.

Carry Back did not fit the genetic pattern of a Derby winner, which has been traditionally expressed as, "Breed the best to the best and hope for the best." With tongue in cheek, the late Jim Bolus noted that Jack Price followed this guideline to a degree by "breeding the best he had to the best he could afford."
The best he had, on paper, was not very good. Among Price's broodmare band of three was the unfashionably bred and unattractively named Joppy, acquired for $150 in cash and the cancellation of a $115 board bill. A non-winner on the track, Joppy's career earnings totaled $325. Shopping for what he could afford, Price found the stallion Saggy, standing at the Pons family's Country Life Farm in Bel Air, Md., and a deal was cut. Country Life offered a discount of Saggy's $750 fee and Price bred all three mares to its stallion for a total of $1,200.

Saggy had not been that bad a racehorse, his main claim to fame coming in the Chesapeake Trial Stakes in which he defeated the mighty Citation, handing him his only loss in 20 starts as a three-year-old.

Proving his worth

Carry Back gave no indication of quality when he finished 10th in his debut at Hialeah Park. But he won his next race and, two starts later, placed in the Florida Breeders' Stakes.
Shipped up the eastern seaboard, Carry Back was thrown in with the best of the early bloomers of his generation and acquitted himself surprisingly well, placing in five consecutive stakes.

As the distances of his races increased, Carry Back continued to improve, becoming a stakes winner in New York's Cowdin Stakes. He then boosted his owners' bankroll considerably by closing from way back to win a sloppy edition of the Garden State Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth.

The Garden State was the world's richest race at the time, paying the princely sum of $172,782 to the winner. Price confected one more big payday as Carry Back was up in time to win the Remsen Stakes before giving his colt a rest until the opening of the winter season in Florida. Carry Back finished the season with total earnings of $286,299 and being elected two-year-old champion.

Considerable doubt was raised concerning Carry Back's chances in the classics as his sophomore season began. The cry of the critics reached a crescendo when the colt finished fourth in the seven furlong Bahamas Stakes in his seasonal debut.

However, Carry Back won three in a row including the Everglades and Flamingo Stakes. In the latter event, he edged Crozier by a head after a bitter stretch duel. After a third-place finish in the Fountain of Youth, the colt again beat Crozier by a head in the Florida Derby.
Shipped to New York for his final Kentucky Derby prep, Carry Back ran into a speed merchant named Globemaster and was unable to overtake him, finishing second.

Dynamic Duo

The gracious Katherine and the brash Jack made quite a team, the lady being concerned about the feelings of the connections of those being whipped by Carry Back while the husband bombarded anyone who would listen with outrageous commentary. Without question, Jack Price arrived in Kentucky with a chip on his shoulder.

Asked how it felt to have the favorite in North America's greatest horse race, Price infuriated the Kentucky aristocracy with his response, "To me, it's nothing more than the seventh race on the first Saturday in May at Churchill Downs."

In the Run for the Roses, Carry Back lagged far behind and, as Crozier took the lead just inside the quarter pole, the colt still had a dozen lengths to make up. But make them up he did, overhauling Crozier and reaching the wire three-quarters of a length in front. Carry Back went on to win the Preakness, running down Globemaster in the stretch, but was seventh in the Belmont as he went for a Triple Crown.

Leaving a legacy

The remainder of Carry Back's career included victories in the Metropolitan Mile, the Whitney Stakes, the Monmouth Handicap and two editions of the Trenton Handicap. In addition to Crozier, he beat the best of several generations, including Kelso, Beau Purple and Mongo.
Hall of Famer John L. Rotz, who rode Carry Back 12 times in the latter part of his career, remembers him as a very versatile horse.

"He could run short or long, on dirt or grass, and could contest the pace or come from far out of it," Rotz recalled. "He was fun to ride, especially in a race in which there was a fast pace, when his closing kick was most effective."

Carry Back earned $1,241,165 on the track and lived to 25 under the continuing care of the Prices. With limited opportunity at stud, he sired a few good horses, but none of his quality. He was elected to racing's Hall of Fame in 1975.

In the aftermath of Carry Back's career, a strange thing happened. As Jack Price aged, he also mellowed and a great transformation took place regarding his feelings about the Kentucky Derby. The Derby became an annual event for the Prices.

Other participants embraced them, savoring the apparent fact that the Derby had worked its magic.
And, in his own way, Jack Price gave back to the Kentucky Derby more than he took from it. For he provided the legend of the people's choice, a red-blooded iron horse named Carry Back.

Risiko Pelihara Orangutan di Rumah

2011-05-04T23:12:00.000-07:00

Balai Besar Konservasi Sumber Daya Alam (BKSDA) Jawa Timur segera melepas dua ekor orangutan jenis Pongo pygmaeus ke habitatnya di Kalimantan. Pelepasan dua jenis satwa langka dan dilindungi itu dilakukan bersama Orang Utan Care Center and Carantina asal Pangkalan Bun, Kalimantan yang juga bertugas sebagai pengawas satwa langka selama dalam penangkaran sebelum dilepas di hutan.

Kepala BKSDA Jawa Timur, Lutvie Achmad menjelaskan dua orangutan berumur 5 dan 12 tahun yang dilepas kembali ke habitatnya di Kalimantan tersebut, sebelumnya adalah piaraan warga yang dengan suka rela diserahkan ke BKSDA. "Dengan kesadaran sendiri, dua binatang langkah itu diserahkan kami untuk dilepas kembali ke habitat," kata Lutvie, Selasa 18 Januari 2011.

Lutvie menjelaskan, setelah dilakukan pendekatan dan diberi pengertian. Pemilik kemudian sadar dan menyerahkan dua binatang piaraannya untuk dilepas kembali ke hutan Lebih jauh diterangkan, orangutan tersebut tergolong langkah. Selain populasinya hampir punah. Jenis binatang kera tersebut hanya beranak tiga kali sepanjang hidupnya.

"Binatang itu tergolong langkah dan tidak dibenarkan untuk di perjual belikan dan dijadikan peliharaan milik pribadi," kata Lutvie.

Jika ada yang melanggar, berdasar aturan BKSDA berhak menindak siapa saja yang kedapatan memelihara atau sengaja memiliki sebagai hewan rumahan. "Untuk semua jenis hewan langkah dan dilindungi atuannya jelas. Yakni, bisa dipidana 5 tahun dengan denda sedikitnya Rp50 juta," ujar Lutvie.

Ditambahkan, binatang yang habitatnya di pedalaman Kalimantan tersebut juga gampang menularkan penyakit ke manusia. Dan, sebaliknya, manusia yang ada di dekat binatang tersebut juga bisa menularkan penyakitnya ke hewan tersebut.

Sementara, Popowati, petugas klinik Orang Utan Care Center and Carantina, mengatakan masih dibutuhkan waktu beberapa saat sebelum dua jenis orang utan itu dilepas di hutan. Dikatakan, kedua binatang tersebut butuh waktu untuk menyesuaikan dengan habitatnya, setelah beberapa tahun tidak mengenal lingkungan tempat hidupnya.

"Untuk beberapa saat kita kurung dulu, sambil dilakukan pemeriksaan ada kelainan atau tidak. Jangan sampai perilakunya berubah setelah lama tinggal berdampingan dengan manusia," kelakar Popowati.

Sekedar tahu, selain hanya beranak tiga kali seumur hidup. Jenis Pongo ini di dunia hanya ada empat jenis. Yaitu gorila, simpanse, bonobo dan orang utan. Orangutan adalah satu-satunya kera besar yang hidup di Asia. Tiga saudara kera lainnya itu hidup di Afrika. Saat ini, penyebaran orangutan terbatas hanya ada di Sumatera dan Kalimantan.

Pada zaman Pleistocene, orang utan dapat dijumpai di seluruh Asia Tenggara, dari Pulau Jawa di ujung selatan sampai ujung utara. Pegunungan Himalaya dan di the Tropic of Cancer di China. Dan, populasinya menurun drastis.

"Itulah alasannya, kita giat melakukan penangkaran dan melepas kembali serta melakukan pengawasan," lanjut Popo, petugas klinik.

Terjadinya penurunan populasi habitat orang utan yang paling mencolok, karena manusia dan orang utan menyukai habitat alam yang sama, terutama lembah-lembah dataran rendah, dataran alluvial dan hutan rawa gambut. Akibatnya, habitat jenis binatang banyak beralihfungsi untuk dihuni manusia.

Spesies Tersendiri Macan Dahan Sumatra

2011-05-04T22:37:00.000-07:00

Macan atau harimau dahan yang hidup di Sumatera dan Kalimantan dipastikan merupakan spesies kucing tersendiri dengan nama latin Neofelis diardi. Macan dahan ini ditemukan terpisah 1,5 juta tahun dengan nenek moyang bersama spesies macan dahan daratan China (Neofelis nebulosa).

Dugaan macan dahan Sumatera ini spesies berbeda dimulai melalui riset genetik yang dilansir Andrew C. Kitchener, Mark A. Beaumont, dan Douglas Richardson pada Desember 2006. Keduanya menemukan perbedaan yang signifikan antara macan dahan di Sumatera dan Kalimantan ini dengan yang hidup di daratan China.

Selain perbedaan genetik, pola motif macan dahan Sumatera dan Kalimantan ini lebih kecil dan gelap. Namun hasil penelitian ini masih ditelusuri lebih jauh.

Kemudian, pada Sabtu 22 Januari 2010, BBC melansir sebuah tim ilmuwan yang bekerja di Hutan Lindung Dermakot di Malaysia mengeluarkan sebuah video rekaman kucing ini di alam liar. Tim dipimpin Andreas Wilting dari Institut Leibniz Institute untuk Riset Hewan dan Alam Liar di Berlin, Jerman, ini menangkap gambar macan dahan berjalan di sebuah jalan.
Gambar ini diharapkan menambah sampel 15 macan dahan Kalimantan dan 16 macan dahan Sumatera, untuk dipelajari molekul dan genetik asalnya.

"Meski kami mengira macan dahan Kalimantan dan Sumatera telah terpisah sejak zaman es terakhir, belum diketahui apakah isolasi ini telah menyebabkan mereka terpisah menjadi dua subspesies," kata Wilting.

Namun analisis tim memastikan keduanya berbeda penampilan sehingga disebut subspesies Neofelis diardi borneensis untuk yang hidup di Kalimantan dan Neofelis diardi diardi untuk yang hidup di Sumatera.
Keduanya sama-sama memiliki pola kulit yang sama, namun memiliki sedikit perbedaan morfologi pada tengkorak dan gigi. Hasil penelitian ini dipublikasikan dalam jurnal Filogenetik Molekular dan Evolusi.

"Sejauh ini kami hanya berspekulasi mengenai penyebab evolusi macan dahan," kata anggota tim, Joerns Fickel. Penyebabnya diduga adalah letusan gunung Toba sekitar 75 ribu tahun yang lalu yang menyapu habis macan-macan dahan yang ada. Satu grup bertahan di China dan satu lagi di Kalimantan. Tipe kedua ini kemudian terpisah jadi kedua, ketika sebuah kelompok berpindah ke Sumatera di zaman es. Tapi pada saat es mencair mereka terpisah total.

Keberadaan macan dahan ini sekarang terancam punah sehingga masuk dalam kategori hewan langka yang dilindungi dunia. Habitatnya sendiri terancam, karena hutan Kalimantan dan Sumatera termasuk dalam daftar laju deforestasi yang tinggi.