Friend will be friend

Columbus Day Cleanup

2012-10-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

Columbus Day Cleanup

-First off, let me get some business out of the way: If there's anyone who has signed up for a subscription to The Committed Indian who did not receive Saturday's issue, and has not contacted me about it already, please do so. For some reason, a large swath of my contact list got dropped, and those people fell off it. I have updated everyone who got in touch and think I've fixed it, but please let me know if you didn't. My apologies for this little cock-up. If it's not the printer it's the list. If the thunder don't get ya....

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-Right, practice today. Ben Smith skated, but is not cleared for contact. Wait to see if he has a setback first. Viktor Stalberg worked out on his own, but looks set to rejoin the team this week. He could make the Jets game even, more likely the Bruins game though. Corey Crawford took the day off to rest a sore groin. Might not be the worst idea to give Ray Emery a start this week, we don't need to overburden Crow this early.

Happy Columbus Day (Observed)

-Ok, now to the main crux. Every so often, we like to see what this blog and its following is capable of. The time has come again, because there's a plague in the UC during games. You know what it is. It's not the goal song, which we've learned to deal with. It's not the live band, which I really don't have any problem with. It's not any number of promotions or gimmicks during breaks in play. You know what I'm talking about....

It's the power play dance.

First of all, nothing ever, ever should be taken from St. Louis, and this has been. And it's dumb. Annoying. And I can deal with dumb and annoying if it's at least original. This, my friends, is not. It's got to go. Even if they go back to that foreboding bass drum with the red lights, that would be cool. But this, this will not stand.

Columbus Day Vs. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: How About Happy Immigration Day?

What can you do? It's the Broadstreet Hockey Cheesteak-gate carpet bomb drill again. The guys in charge of gameday presentation are Patrick Dahl and A.J. Dolan. Email them. Email the Hawks. Every day. Every single one of you. You can figure out where, you're smart people. I'm serious. Every day, every one of you. Let's see if we can't elicit some sort of answer or survey that they've done about this. I know you hate it too, as does most every other Hawks fan over the age of 14.

We have the power.

PINTU-PINTU RIZKI KELUARGA

2011-12-28T15:35:00.001-08:00

Rizki bagi keluaga ibarat bahan bakar bagi kendaraan bermotor, tanpanya kendaraan bermotor akan mandeg, begitu pula keluarga, tanpa rizki ia tidak tegak. Oleh karena itu masalah rizki bagi kebanyakan keluarga adalah masalah utama yang menyibukkan mereka karena ia memang pemenuh hajat hidup keluarga. Menurut pengamatan tidak sedikit keluarga yang berpandangan bahwa berpegang kepada syariat Islam mengurangi jatah rizki dan menutup sebagian pintu-pintunya, lebih parah dari itu ada yang beranggapan bahwa untuk meraih kemudahan dan kelapangan rizki maka mata harus ditutup dari batasan-batasan syariat khususnya terkait hukum halal haram, akhirnya muncul celetukan, ?Hari gini masih mikir halal-haram, yang haram saja sulit didapat lebih-lebih yang halal.?

Dalam kondisi ekonomi yang berat, orang-orang nganggur meningkat jumlahnya, akibatnya pekerjaan terasa menipis karena diperebutkan oleh angka yang besar sementara hajat hidup tidak pernah mengenal kata henti, terus meningkat jumlah dan harganya, hal mana semua itu menuntut keluarga bekerja keras mencari sebab-sebab dan pintu-pintu rizki alternatif demi memenuhi tututan hidup, bukan sesuatu yang tercela selama hal tersebut dalam batas-batas koridor yang diletakkan syariat. Hanya saja kebanyakan keluarga muslim dalam usaha mencari sebab-sebab dan pintu-pintu rizki hanya bertumpu kepada sebab-sebab materi semata di mana ia juga menjadi tumpuan keluarga-keluarga pada umumnya, maka yang terpikir oleh keluarga-keluarga tersebut adalah misalnya membuka usaha ini dan itu, berdagang ini dan itu, belajar keterampilan ini dan itu, hanya sebatas itu, titik, tidak lebih. Kita tidak pungkiri bahwa semua itu merupakan sebab-sebab dan pintu rizki akan tetapi keliru manakala yang terpikir hanyalah sebatas itu karena di samping sebab-sebab tersebut masih ada sebab-sebab dan pintu-pintu rizki lain yang jarang terpikirkan oleh kebanyakan orang dan justru ia lebih mujarab.

Sebab tersebut adalah mengetuk pintu Allah sebagai pemilik dan pembagi rizki sesungguhnya. Allah tidak membiarkan manusia tanpa petunjuk dalam mencari rizkinya, Dia telah menata dan meletakkan sebab-sebabnya. Jika manusia berkenan mengetuk pintu Allah niscaya sebab-sebab rizki akan dimudahkan olehnya tanpa keraguan. Pertanyaannya dengan apa kita mengetuk pintu Allah?

1. Taubat dan istighfar

Taubat adalah kembali kepada Allah setelah melakukan perbuatan dosa. Dan istighfar adalah memohon perlindungan kepada Allah dari dampak buruk dosa yang dilakukan. Yang dimaksud dengan taubat dan istighfar di sini bukan sebatas ucapan tanpa bukti nyata perbuatan sebab jika demikian maka ia berarti dusta. Taubat yang benar adalah taubat yang memberi bekas pada perbuatan pelakunya inilah taubat pembuka pintu rizki Allah. Firman Allah,

فقلت استغفروا ربكم إنه كان غفارا . يرسل السماء عليكم مدرارا . ويمددكم بأموال وبنين ويجعل لكم جنات ويجعل لكم أنهارا .

?Maka aku katakan kepada mereka, 'Mohonlah ampun kepada Tuhanmu, -sesungguhnya Dia adalah Maha Pengampun-, niscaya Dia akan mengirimkan hujan kepadamu dengan lebat, dan membanyakkan harta dan anak-anakmu, dan mengadakan untukmu kebun-kebun dan mengadakan (pula di dalamnya) untukmu sungai-sungai.? (Nuh: 10-12).

Kita baca bagaimana ayat di atas menetapkan janji Allah dari istighfar yakni kemakmuran hidup: hujan turun deras, harta dan anak-anak diperbanyak sebagai bukti kemakmuran, kebun-kebun ditumbuhkan yang ditopang oleh sungai-sungai sebagai sumber hidup.
Amirul Mukminin Umar bin Khattab berpegang kepada ayat di atas manakala dia keluar meminta hujan, yang dilakukannya adalah beristighfar. Begitu pula al-Hasan al-Basri, ketika dia didatangi oleh tiga orang pengadu. Yang pertama mengadukan kekeringan, yang kedua mengadukan kesempitan hidup dan yang ketiga meminta doa agar dikaruniai anak. Al-Hasan menjawab dengan satu jawab, ?Beristighfarlah.?

2. Bertakwa

Bertakwa kata Imam an-Nawawi adalah mentaati perintah Allah dan larangan Allah. Yang pertama dengan melaksanakannya dan yang kedua dengan menjauhinya. Takwa merupakan sebab dibukanya rizki oleh Allah bahkan ia merupakan sebab diangkatnya kesulitan. Firman Allah,

ومن يتق الله يجعل له مخرجا . ويرزقه من حيث لا يحتسب .

?Barangsiapa bertakwa kepada Allah niscaya Dia akan mengadakan baginya jalan keluar. Dan memberinya rizki dari arah yang tiada disangka-sangkanya.? (Ath-Thalaq: 2-3).

Hafizh Ibnu Katsir berkata, ?Maksud ayat ini adalah barangsiapa bertakwa kepada Allah dengan melakukan apa yang diperintahkanNya dan meninggalkan apa yang dilarangNya niscaya Allah akan memberinya jalan keluar serta rizki dari arah yang tidak diduga yakni tidak terlintas di benaknya.?
Senada dengan ayat di atas firman Allah,

ولو أن أهل القرى ءامنوا واتقوا لفتحنا عليهم بركات من السماء والأرض ولكن كذبوا فأخذناهم بما كانوا يكسبون .

?Jikalau sekiranya penduduk negeri-negeri beriman dan bertakwa, pastilah Kami akan melimpahkan kepada mereka berkah dari langit dan bumi, tetapi mereka mendustakan (ayat-ayat Kami) itu, maka Kami siksa mereka disebabkan perbuatannya.? (Al-A?raf: 96).

3. Tawakal

Tawakal adalah menyandarkan diri kepada Allah yang diikuti dengan usaha maksimal dalam batas-batas yang dibolehkan, ia merupakan salah satu sebab yang dengannya Allah membukan rizkiNya bagi hamba-hambaNya. Rasulullah saw bersabda,

لو أنكم كنتم توكلون على الله حق توكله لرزقتم كما ترزق الطير تغدو خماصا وتروح بطانا .

?Sungguh, seandainya kalian bertawakal kepada Allah sebenar-benar tawakal, niscaya kalian akan diberi rizki sebagaimana rizki burung-burung. Mereka berangkat pagi-pagi dalam keadaan lapar dan pulang sore hari dalam keadaan kenyang.? (HR. At-Tirmidzi).

Hadits ini menjelaskan bahwa barangsiapa bertawakal kepada Allah niscaya dia dilimpahi rizki yang cukup seperti burung-burung yang pergi pagi dalam keadaan perut kosong dan pulang sore dalam keadaan kenyang. Bagaimana tidak demikian sementara dia telah bertawakal kepada dzat di mana barangsiapa bertawakal kepadaNya niscaya Dia akan mencukupinya, firman Allah,

ومن يتوكل على الله فهو حسبه .

?Dan barangsiapa bertawakal kepada Allah, niscaya Allah akan mencukupkan (keperluan)nya.? (Ath-Thalaq: 3).
Perlu ditekankan di sini bahwa tawakal tidak berarti berpangku tangan dan meninggalkan usaha dan jerih payah, justru usaha dan jerih payah itu termasuk termasuk bagian dari tawakal. Lihatlah burung dalam hadits di atas, ia bertawakal tetapi ia tetap berangkat pagi menyongsong rizkinya di hari itu.

4. Silaturrahim

Silaturrahim adalah menyambung rahim yakni kerabat dekat dengan berbuat baik kepada mereka melalui ucapan dan perbuatan sesuai dengan tuntutan kondisi. Nabi saw telah menetapkan bahwa salah satu sebab rizki adalah silaturrahim. Imam al-Bukhari meriwayatkan dari Abu Hurairah bahwa Nabi saw bersabda,

من سره أن يبسط له في رزقه، وأن ينسأله في أثره فليصل رحمه .

?Siapa yang senang dilapangkan rizkinya dan diakhirkan ajalnya (dipanjangkan umurnya) maka hendaklah ia menyambung (tali) silaturrahim.?

Dalam hadits ini Nabi saw menetapkan bahwa silaturrahim menghasilkan dua perkara: keluasan rizki dan bertambahnya umur. Dari sini Imam al-Bukhari meletakkan bab untuk hadits di atas, ?Bab orang yang dilapangkan rizkinya sebab silaturrahim.?
Silaturrahim mempunyai pengaruh besar dalam berkembangnya harta dan menepis kemiskinan dan kesulitan hidup bahkan orang-orang yang bermaksiyat bisa berkembang hartanya disebabkan oleh silaturrahim. Ini adalah barokah silaturrahim. Ibnu Hibban meriwayatkan dari Abu Bakrah bahwa Nabi saw bersabda, ?Sesungguhnya ketaatan yang paling disegerakan pahalanya adalah silaturrahim. Bahkan hingga suatu keluarga yang ahli maksiat pun, harta mereka bisa berkembang dan jumlah mereka bertambah banyak jika mereka saling bersilaturrahim. Dan tidak ada suatu keluarga yang saling bersilaturrahim kemudian mereka membutuhkan (kekurangan).?

5. Infak di jalan Allah

Yang dimaksud dengan infak di jalan Allah adalah memberikan sebagian harta kepada jalan Allah yakni jalan-jalan agama dan kebaikan seperti membantu fakir miskin, menyokong amal dakwah, mendukung jihad melawan orang-orang kafir dan yang sejenisnya.
Berinfak di jalan Allah adalah salah satu kunci rizki hal ini ditetapkan oleh beberapa dalil dari al-Qur`an dan hadits. Allah berfirman,

وما أنفقتم من شيء فهو يخلفه وهو خير الرازقين .

?Dan barang apa saja yang kamu nafkahkan, maka Allah akan menggantinya dan Dia-lah pemberi rezki yang sebaik-baiknya.? (Saba`: 39).

Perhatikanlah, ?Allah akan menggantinya,? dengan apa Dia menggantinya? Bisa menggantinya dalam bentuk pahala dan bisa pula dalam bentuk rizki karena Dia-lah pemberi rizki sebaik-baiknya. Jadi barangsiapa berinfak berarti dia meraih janji penggantian dari Allah sebaliknya adalah sebaliknya, artinya hartanya lenyap tanpa ada janji penggantian dari Allah. Harta adalah pinjaman, ia pasti akan habis karena kita pasti menggunakannya maka beruntunglah orang yang pada saat dia menghabiskan hartanya diberi janji penggantian, dengan begitu hartanya akan tetap mengalir silih berganti ditambah dengan pahala tentunya.
Nabi saw bersabda dalam riwayat Muslim dari Abu Hurairah bersabda,

قال الله تبارك وتعالى: يا ابن آدم ! أنفق أنفق عليك .

?Allah Tabaraka wa Taala berfirman, ?Wahai anak Adam! Berinfaklah, niscaya Aku berinfak (memberi rizki) kepadamu.?
Imam an-Nawawi berkata, ?firman Allah dalam hadits ini adalah makna dari firman Allah dalam al-Qur`an surat Saba` ayat 39 di atas.

PENUTUP

Ini adalah sebab-sebab rizki yang dijanjikan oleh Allah, hendaknya setiap muslim, khususnya penanggung jawab keluarga, meyakini demikian karena Allah swt tidak menyelisihi janji, kalaupun kita belum merasakan janji tersebut terealisir, itu tidak berarti Allah tidak menepati janji akan tetapi besar kemungkinan kitalah yang belum mampu mewujudkan syarat dari janji tersebut sehingga ia belum terlaksana, kalau selama ini kita merasakan seretnya sebab-sebab rizki maka tidak menutup kemungkinan karena kita berpaling dari Pemilik rizki dan Pembaginya dengan tidak bertaubat, bertakwa dan bertawakal kepadaNya sehingga Dia belum berkenan memudahkan, tidak menutup kemungkinan selama ini kita hanya mengacu kepada sebab-sebab materiil hasil otak-atik akal manusia semata. Jika Allah tetap memberikan rizkiNya kepada para pelaku dosa yang tidak bertaubat dan tidak bertakwa kepadaNya maka Dia lebih pemurah untuk menahan rizkiNya dari ahli takwa yang dekat kepadaNya.

Kisah Islam Mantan Bintang Pop Terkenal Yusuf Islam

2011-12-28T15:15:00.000-08:00

Kisah seorang artis yang bernama Cat Stevens yang (alhamdulillah) menjadi seorang muslim, kemudian ia dipanggil dengan nama Yusuf Islam. Inilah kisahnya seperti yang ia ceritakan, kami menukilnya secara ringkas.

"Aku terlahir dari sebuah rumah tangga Nasrani yang berpandangan materialis. Aku tumbuh besar seperti mereka. Setelah dewasa, muncul kekagumanku melihat para artis yang aku saksikan lewat berbagai media massa sampai aku mengganggap mereka sebagai dewa tertinggi. Lantas akupun bertekad mengikuti pengalaman mereka. Dan benar, ternyata aku menjadi salah seorang bintang pop terkenal yang terpampang di berbagai media massa. Pada saat itu aku merasa bahwa diriku lebih besar dari alam ini dan seolah-olah usiaku lebih panjang daripada kehidupan dunia dan seolah-olah akulah orang pertama yang dapat merasakan kehidupan seperti itu.

Namun pada suatu hari aku jatuh sakit dan terpaksa di opname di rumah sakit. Pada saat itulah aku mempunyai kesempatan untuk merenung hingga aku temui bahwa diriku hanya sepotong jasad dan apa yang selama ini aku lakukan hanya untuk memenuhi kebutuhan jasad. Aku menilai bahwa sakit yang aku derita merupakan cobaan ilahi dan kesempatan untuk membuka mataku. Mengapa aku berada disini? Apa yang aku lakukan dalam kehidupan ini?

Setelah sembuh, aku mulai banyak memperhatikan dan membaca seputar permasalahan ini, lantas aku membuat beberapa kesimpulan yang intinya bahwa manusia terdiri dari ruh dan jasad. Alam ini pasti mempunyai Ilah. Selanjutnya aku kembali ke gelanggang musik namun dengan gaya musik yang berbeda. Aku menciptakan lagu-lagu yang berisikan cara mengenal Allah. Ide ini malah membuat diriku semakin terkenal dan keuntungan pun semakin banyak dapat aku raih. Aku terus mencari kebenaran dengan ikhlas dan tetap berada di dalam lingkungan para artis. Pada suatu hari temanku yang beragama Nasrani pergi melawat ke masjidil Aqsha.

Ketika kembali, ia menceritakan kepadaku ada suatu keanehan yang ia rasakan di saat melawat masjid tersebut. Ia dapat merasakan adanya kehidupan ruhani dan ketenangan jiwa di dalamnya.

Hal ini berbeda dengan gereja, walau dipadati orang banyak namun ia merasakan kehampaan di dalamnya. Ini semua mendorongnya untuk membeli al-Qur'an terjemahan dan ingin mengetahui bagaimana tanggapanku terhadap al-Qur'an. Ketika aku membaca al-Qur'an aku dapati bahwa al-Qur'an mengandung jawaban atas semua persoalanku, yaitu siapa aku ini? Dari mana aku datang? Apa tujuan dari sebuah kehidupan? Aku baca al-Qur'an berulang-ulang dan aku merasa sangat kagum terhadap tujuan dakwah agama ini yang mengajak untuk menggunakan akal sehat, dorongan untuk berakhlak mulia dan akupun mulai merasakan keagungan Sang Pencipta.

Semakin kuat perasaan ini muncul dari jiwaku, membuat perasaan bangga terhadap diriku sendiri semakin kecil dan rasa butuh terhadap Ilah Yang Maha Berkuasa atas segalanya semakin besar di dalam relung jiwaku yang terdalam.

Pada hari Jum'at, aku bertekad untuk menyatukan akal dan pikiranku yang baru tersebut dengan segala perbuatanku. Aku harus menentukan tujuan hidup. Lantas aku melangkah menuju masjid dan mengumumkan keislamanku.

Aku mencapai puncak ketenangan di saat aku mengetahui bahwa aku dapat bermunajat langsung dengan Rabbku melalui ibadah shalat. Berbeda dengan agama-agama lain yang harus melalui perantara."

Demikianlah Yusuf Islam memeluk agama Islam. Setelah masuk Islam ia tidak hanya duduk di tempat ibadah menyembah Allah yang telah menguasai hatinya dengan kecintaan, namun ia melakukan aktifitas untuk kemaslahatan agama ini. Ia ikut andil di dalam berbagai lembaga dan yayasan Islam yang bergerak di bidang dakwah dan sosial. Semoga Allah memberinya ganjaran yang baik atas sumbangsih yang telah ia berikan kepada kita, agama Islam dan kaum muslimin.

TANGISAN BILAL BIN RABAH -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu, MUAZIN RASULULLAH -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam

2011-12-28T15:03:00.000-08:00

Jika nama Abu Bakar disebut, Al-Faruq Umar bin al-Khaththab -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu berkata, "Abu Bakar adalah tuan kami, dan dia membebaskan tuan kami." Yakni Bilal. Orang yang disebut Umar sebagai "tuan kami" adalah benar-benar orang yang mulia dan mempunyai kedudukan yang agung.

Ia adalah mu'adzin Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam. Ia adalah hamba yang disiksa oleh tuannya dengan batu yang telah dipanaskan un-tuk memurtadkannya dari agamanya, tapi ia berkata, "Ahad, Ahad (Allah Yang Esa)."

Ia hidup sebagai hamba sahaya, hari-harinya berlalu tanpa beda dan buruk. Ia tidak punya hak pada hari ini, dan tidak punya harapan pada esok hari. Seringkali ia mendengar tuan-nya, Umayyah, berbicara bersama kawan-kawannya pada suatu waktu dan para anggota kabilah di waktu lain tentang Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam, dengan pembicaraan yang meluapkan amarah dan ke-dengkian yang sangat.

Pada suatu hari Bilal bin Rabah mengetahui cahaya Allah, lalu ia pergi menemui Rasulullah a dan mengikrarkan keisla-mannya. Setelah itu ia menghadapi berbagai macam penyiksaan, tapi ia tetap tegar bagai gunung. Ia diletakkan dalam keadaan telanjang di atas bara api. Mereka membawanya keluar pada siang hari ke padang pasir, dan mencampakkannya di atas pasir-pasir yang panas dalam keadaan tak berbaju. Kemudian mereka membawa batu yang telah dipanaskan yang diangkut dari tem-patnya oleh sejumlah orang dan meletakkannya di atas tubuh dan dadanya. Siksa demi siksa berulang-ulang setiap hari, tapi ia tetap tegar. Hati sebagian penyiksanya menjadi lunak seraya berkata, "Sebutlah Lata dan Uzza dengan baik." Mereka me-nyuruhnya supaya memohon kepadanya tapi Bilal menolak untuk mengucapkannya, dan sebagai gantinya ia mengucapkan senandung abadinya, "Ahad, Ahad".

Abu Bakar ash-Shiddiq -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu datang pada saat mereka menyiksanya, dan meneriaki mereka dengan ucapan, "Apakah kalian membunuh seseorang karena berucap, 'Rabbku adalah Allah?'." Abu Bakar meminta kepada mereka untuk menjualnya kepadanya. Umayyah memang berkeinginan untuk menjualnya. Akhirnya Abu Bakar rhu membelinya dengan harga yang berlipat ganda dari Umayyah. Setelah itu dia membebaskannya, dan Bilal mulai menjalani kehidupannya di tengah-tengah orang-orang mer-deka... para sahabat yang taat lagi berbakti. Ketika Abu Bakar memegang tangan Bilal untuk membawanya, maka Umayyah berkata kepadanya, "Ambillah! Demi Lata dan Uzza, seandainya kamu menolak kecuali membelinya dengan satu uqiyah, niscaya aku menjualnya kepadamu dengan harga itu." Abu Bakar rhu menjawab, "Demi Allah, seandainya kamu menolak kecuali seharga seratus uqiyah, niscaya aku membayarnya."

Setelah Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam hijrah ke Madinah, Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam me-nyariatkan adzan untuk shalat, dan pilihan jatuh pada Bilal sebagai mu'adzin pertama untuk shalat. Ini pilihan Rasulullah saw. Bilal pun melantunkan suaranya yang menyejukkan dan menggembirakan, yang memenuhi hati dengan iman, dan pendengaran dengan keindahan. Ia menyeru, "Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar" dan seterusnya. Ketika datang perang Badar, dan Allah menyampaikan urusannya, Umayyah keluar untuk berperang... Dan ia jatuh tersungkur dalam keadaan mati di tangan Bilal -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu.

Pemimpin kekafiran mati tertusuk oleh pedang-pedang Islam sebagai balasan buat Bilal yang berteriak setelah terbunuh-nya, "Ahad, Ahad." Hari-hari berlalu, Makkah ditaklukkan, dan Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam masuk Makkah dengan ditemani Bilal. Kebenaran telah datang, dan kebatilan telah sirna. Bilal mengikuti semua peperangan bersama Rasul -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam dan mengumandangkan adzan untuk shalat. Ia terus menjaga syiar agama yang agung ini. Sampai-sampai Rasul -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam menyifatinya sebagai "seorang pria ahli surga". Dan Rasul -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam berpulang ke haribaan Allah dalam keadaan ridha lagi diridhai. Sepeninggal beliau, sahabatnya dan khalifahnya, Abu Bakar ash-Shiddiq -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu bangkit memimpin urusan kaum muslimin. Bilal pergi menemui ash-Shiddiq seraya berkata kepadanya, "Wahai Khalifah Rasulullah, aku mendengar Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam bersabda,

'Amalan mukmin yang paling utama ialah berjihad di jalan Allah'."*

Abu Bakar bertanya kepadanya, "Apakah yang engkau kehendaki, wahai Bilal?" Ia menjawab, "Aku ingin murabathah (siap siaga berperang) di jalan Allah hingga aku mati." Abu Bakar bertanya, "Lantas siapa yang mengumandangkan adzan untuk kami?!"

Bilal berkata, sementara kedua matanya mengalirkan air mata, "Sesungguhnya aku tidak mengumandangkan adzan untuk seorang pun sepeninggal Rasulullah -Shallallaahu 'Alaihi Wa 'Ala Alihi Wa Sallam ." Abu Bakar berkata, "Tetaplah mengumandangkan adzan untuk kami, wahai Bilal." Bilal berkata, "Jika engkau memerdekakan aku agar aku menjadi milikmu, lakukan apa yang engkau suka. Jika engkau memerdekakan aku karena Allah, biarkanlah aku berikut pembebasan yang kau berikan kepadaku." Abu Bakar berkata, "Aku memerdekakanmu karena Allah, ya Bilal."

Bilal kemudian melakukan perjalanan ke Syam yang di sana ia terus menjadi mujahid dan selalu siap sedia untuk berjihad. Konon, ia berkali-kali datang ke Madinah dari waktu ke waktu ... tapi ia tidak mampu mengumandangkan adzan. Hal itu karena setiap kali hendak mengucapkan, "Asyhadu anna Muhammadar Rasulullah" (Aku bersaksi bahwa Muhammad adalah Rasulullah), kenangan-kenangan masa lalu menahan dirinya, lalu suaranya tersembunyi di kerongkongannya, dan sebagai gantinya air matanyalah yang meneriakkan kata-kata itu.**

Akhir adzan yang dikumandangkannya ialah pada saat Khalifah al-Faruq Umar bin al-Khaththab -Radhiallaahu 'Anhu mengunjungi Syam. Kaum muslimin meminta Khalifah membawa Bilal agar mengumandangkan adzan untuk shalat mereka. Amirul Mu'minin memanggil Bilal, sementara waktu shalat telah tiba. Umar berharap kepadanya agar mengumandangkan adzan untuk shalat. Bilal pun naik dan mengumandangkan adzan... maka menangislah para sahabat yang pernah bersama Rasulullah saw ketika Bilal mengumandangkan adzan untuk beliau. Mereka menangis seakan-akan mereka tidak pernah menangis sebelumnya, selamanya.

Bilal meninggal di Syam dalam keadaan bersiap siaga di jalan Allah, sebagaimana yang dikehendakinya. Semoga Allah meridhainya dan menjadikannya ridha kepadaNya.

Kisah Masuk Islamnya Seorang Dokter Amerika Karena Satu Ayat Al-Qur'an

2011-12-28T15:00:00.000-08:00

Beberapa tahun yang lalu, seorang teman bercerita kepadaku tentang kisah masuknya seorang dokter Amerika ke dalam Islam. Dari apa yang kuingat dari kisah yang indah ini adalah : Kisah ini terjadi pada salah satu rumah sakit di Amerika Serikat.

Di rumah sakit tersebut, seorang dokter muslim bekerja dengan keilmuan yang sangat baik, sehingga memberi pengaruh besar untuk mengenal beberapa dokter Amerika. Dan dia, dengan kemampuan tersebut mengundang decak kagum mereka. Diantara para dokter Amerika ini, dia mempunyai satu teman akrab yaitu orang yang memiliki kisah ini. Mereka berdua selalu bertemu dan keduanya bekerja pada bagian persalinan.

Pada suatu malam, di rumah sakit tersebut terjadi dua peristiwa persalinan secara bersamaan. Setelah kedua wanita itu melahirkan, dua bayi tersebut tercampur dan tidak ada yang mengetahui masing-masing pemilik kedua bayi yang berjenis kelamin laki-laki dan perempuan itu. Kerancuan ini terjadi disebabkan kecerobohan perawat yang seharusnya dia menulis nama ibu pada gelang yang diletakkan di tangan kedua bayi tersebut. Dan ketika kedua dokter tersebut tahu bahwa mereka berada dalam kebingungan; Siapakah ibu bayi laki-laki dan siapakah ibu bayi perempuan, maka dokter Amerika berkata kepada dokter Muslim,

"Engkau mengatakan bahwasanya Al-Qur?an telah menjelaskan segala sesuatu dan engkau mengatakan bahwasanya Al-Qur?an itu mencakup semua permasalahan-permasalahan apapun. Maka tunjukkanlah kepadaku cara mengetahui siapa ibu dari masing-masing bayi ini..!!"

Dokter Muslim itupun menjawab,

"Ya, Al-Qur?an telah menerangkan segala sesuatu dan akan aku buktikan kepadamu tentang hal itu. Biarkan kami mendiagnosa ASI kedua ibu dan kami akan menemukan jalan keluar."

Setelah nampak hasil diagnosa, dengan sangat percaya diri dokter muslim itu memberitahu temannya si dokter Amerika, siapakah ibu sebenarnya dari masing-masing bayi tersebut...!!!! Dokter Amerika itupun terheran-heran dan bertanya, "Bagaimana kamu tahu?"

Dokter Muslim menajwab

"Sesungguhnya hasil yang nampak menunjukkan bahwasanya kadar banyaknya ASI pada payudara ibu si bayi laki-laki dua kali lipat kandungannya dibanding ibu si bayi perempuan. Perbandingan kadar garam dan vitamin pada ASI si ibu bayi laki-laki itu juga dua kali lipat dibanding ibu si bayi perempuan."

Kemudian dokter muslim tersebut membacakan ayat Al-Qur?an yang dia jadikan dasar argumen dari jalan keluar itu,

"Bagi laki-laki seperti bagian dua perempuan." (QS. An-Nisa:11)

Dan setelah mendengarkan dokter Amerika itu arti ayat tersebut, dia jadi bengong, dan dia menyatakan keislamannya secara spontan tanpa ragu-ragu. Subhanallah, Maha Suci Allah Robb semesta alam.

Republican Debate

2011-12-16T03:20:00.000-08:00

Republican Debate: GOP Presidential Candidates Face Off Ahead Of 2012 Iowa Caucus

Sam Stein Said

Seven candidates running for the Republican presidential nomination face off in a discussion in Iowa on Thursday night.

The following contenders can share the stage within the Hawkeye State: U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum.

Below, a live blog of the latest developments to unfold.

Gingrich Backs Off Criticism Of Romney's Bain Days: 'Frankly, He Got under My Skin'

Newt Gingrich backed off one in every of the defining (and only) criticisms he has leveled at Mitt Romney during this presidential campaign, telling Fox News' Sean Hannity that the previous Massachusetts governor "got under my skin."

Speaking after Thursday night's discussion, the last before the Iowa caucuses, Gingrich called his attack on Romney for losing folks and shutting companies while at the pinnacle of Bain Capital the type of line that "doesn't reflect my values."

"There was a really temporary moment where, frankly, he got under my skin and i responded in a approach that made no sense," said Gingrich. "I've said publicly he's an honest manager, he's an honest business manager. He got that spherical. If you're scoring sphericals in boxing i'll offer that round to Mitt."

This might be a case of too very little, too late for Gingrich. His attack on Romney's Bain tenure came in response to Romney's attacks on his profitable, quasi-lobbying work for Freddie Mac. but the road was poorly received by conservatives who argued that it echoed the type of charge Democrats would level in a general election.

Romney, too, said he fully expected President Obama to attack his Bain days should he find yourself the nominee. When asked by Hannity about Gingrich's mea culpa, he seemed to settle for it.

"That’s terribly nice of him," he said within the post-debate forum. "I got broad shoulders and i will handle it. it's appropriate for us to speak about the various variations the candidates have."

-- Sam Stein

Gingrich Boasts Of His 'Camaraderie' With All the lads within the GOP Field

In the post-debate spin room , Fox News host Sean Hannity asked Newt Gingrich about the tough attacks he received from Rep. Michele Bachmann during the talk. Bachmann went after the previous House speaker for his consulting with Freddie Mac.

"I did notice that there have been times that it seemingly was openings for folks to go after you. They did not take it. One person going after you quite anybody clearly was Michele Bachmann," Hannity said.

Gingrich responded by saying that everybody has "their own vogue," but then noting that there was "some genuine affection" among the candidates. He went on to create nice remarks about all of the other candidates who stood on the stage with him tonight, except Bachmann:

I really like Rick Perry, i actually like Rick Santorum. I've known them a protracted time. Mitt and i have gotten to be abundant nearer over the course of this. Jon Huntsman and i did a great discussion last Monday in New Hampshire -- terribly substantive, a lot of fun. therefore there's a camaraderie building. i believe the toughest ads against me are being run by Ron Paul. it is very arduous to dislike Ron Paul. he's simply variety of who he's. (LAUGHTER)

11:09 AM – nowadays
Romney: Consistent until he alters

Chris Wallace served up the "you knew this was coming" question on Mitt Romney's history of flip-flops. Citing position switches on problems like gay rights and abortion, he asked Romney if they were a matter of "principle or politics."

Romney forged his history on gay rights thusly: He was "firmly in support" of protecting the LGBT community from discrimination, but was never in favor of same-sex marriage. On the matter of abortion, he said he merely changed his mind on the matter, which "every call [he] made as governor was on the aspect of life."

Wallace persisted, pointing out this letter to the Log Cabin Republicans, within which Romney wrote, "I am more convinced than ever before that as we have a tendency to obtain to determine full equality for America's gay and lesbian voters, i'll give simpler leadership than my opponent." Who happened to be Ted Kennedy. Romney continued to insist that the difficulty was discrimination, which he was creating the case that he was more capable of protecting the LGBT community from it than Kennedy.

In the letter, he never mentions gay marriage directly. However, it did embrace this: "I believe that the Clinton compromise ['don't ask, don't tell'] was a step within the right direction. i am additionally convinced that it's the primary of a number of steps which will ultimately lead gays and lesbians being able to serve brazenly and honestly in our nation's military. That goal can only be reached when preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians may be a mainstream concern, that may be a goal we have a tendency to share."

So Romney, to the current day, is suggesting that "preventing discrimination against gays and lesbians may be a mainstream concern" with a full throat. but on "don't ask, don't tell," Romney has not been speaking clearly. At a CNN discussion, he told John King that "the answer is that 'don't ask, don't tell' should are kept in place until conflict was over."

He additionally wasn't nearly as full-throated when the New Hampshire Union Leader gave him the chance to condemn the booing of a gay soldier that occurred at a previous debate:

ROMNEY: I don’t recall whether or not this soldier, whether or not folks were booing his question or just booing…

UNION LEADER: They booed as soon as he identified as a gay person.

ROMNEY: you've got to appear at that. I don’t grasp once they booed and i don’t grasp why they booed. but i'll tell you, that the boos and applause hasn’t always coincided with my very own views, but I haven’t stepped in to try and say, ‘this one is right, this one is wrong.’ Instead, I target the items i believe i'll say.

UNION LEADER: I ask as a result of Herman Cain over the weekend was asked about it and he said in result that he should have criticized whoever was booing within the audience.

ROMNEY: That’s…I perceive his thoughts.

-- Jason Linkins

11:00 AM – nowadays
Romney: i do not Discriminate Against Gays, I simply don't think they ought to Marry

When running for the U.S. Senate against Ted Kennedy in 1994, Mitt Romney said he may well be simpler fighting for LGBT rights than his opponent, arguing, "When Ted Kennedy speaks on gay rights, he's seen as an extremist. When Mitt Romney speaks on gay rights, he's seen as a centrist and a moderate."

However, Romney doesn't believe that gay men and girls should be able to get married. In tonight's discussion, he argued that he nevertheless may be a champion of LGBT rights.

I don't believe in discriminating against folks based on sexual orientation. There are some people who do. I had a member of my administration, my Cabinet, who was gay. I did not ask justices that i was trying to appoint, rather people who are candidates for the duty, what their sexual orientation was. i believe as a Republican, I had the potential to fight for anti-discrimination in a approach that would be higher than Sen. Kennedy, the Democrat who was expected to try to to therefore. At constant time, Chris, in 1994, and throughout my career, I said I oppose same-sex marriage. marriage may be a relationship between a person and a girl. My view is...protect the sanctity of marriage, shield the sanctity of life.

-- Amanda Terkel

10:58 AM – nowadays
Can I Rebuttal?

Would everyone please simply take Michele Bachmann's facts seriously? Bachmann seemed to grow somewhat weary of being told "over and over through the talk that i do not have my facts right," after Newt Gingrich, defending his own record on abortion and life, accused Bachmann of having her facts wrong.

"As a matter of fact , I do," Bachmann said. "I'm a heavy candidate for president of the u. s., and my facts are accurate."

Then she accused Gingrich of "tolerating infanticide."

-- Joshua Hersh

Sam Hurd Arrested

2011-12-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Sam Hurd Arrested

Sam Hurd Arrested: Bears Receiver Facing Drug Charges

CHICAGO — Chicago Bears wide receiver Sam Hurd was in federal custody Thursday, charged with attempting to set up a drug-dealing network once authorities arrested him with a kilogram of cocaine throughout a sting.

Hurd was arrested Wednesday night once meeting with an emissary at a Chicago restaurant, consistent with a criminal criticism that claims the player was initial identified as a possible drug dealer over the summer as the NFL lockout was returning to a finish.

Hurd told the agent that he was fascinated by buying 5 to ten kilograms of cocaine and one, 000 pounds of marijuana per week to distribute in the Chicago area, the criticism said. He allegedly said he and a co-conspirator already distribute about four kilos of cocaine each week, however their supplier couldn't carry on together with his demands.

Hurd told the agent "his co-conspirator is accountable of doing the bulk of the deals" while he centered on "higher-end deals," the criticism said. He agreed to pay $25,000 for each kilogram of cocaine and $450 a pound for the marijuana, consistent with the charges, and then said he could buy a kilo of cocaine once "he gets out of apply." He walked out of the restaurant with the package and was arrested.

The criminal criticism was filed in Texas, where the U.S. attorney said Hurd faced up to 40 years in prison and a $2 million fine if convicted of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute quite 500 grams, or [*fr1] a kilogram, of cocaine.

Hurd was scheduled to form his initial court look later Thursday. It wasn't immediately known whether he had an attorney and his agent, Ian Greengross, did not come back messages. The NFL said it was looking into the incident while the NFL Players Association declined to comment.

Coach Lovie Smith said the arrest was a disappointment and a "total surprise," adding that Hurd was still a member of the Bears for now.

"Sam wasn't in conferences this morning and that is how from there of course we tend to started looking out attempting to find out why a player would not be here," Smith said. "There was no tipoff, didn't are aware of it was returning."

Smith said there was no reason to believe Hurd had issues when the Bears signed him before the season.

"No issues, no reason. i'm in shock over it. I never saw it returning," Smith said. "But rather like i believe i know most of you, you don't extremely apprehend what people do once you're not with them. but i know that anyone we tend to bring through here, we've had an extensive search to search out out everything, if there's one thing out there, and that wasn't the case. There was nothing we tend to knew about Sam."

Hurd, a 26-year-old native of San Antonio who played faculty ball at Northern Illinois, played for five seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and is in his 1st season with the Bears. He has contributed totally on special groups, enjoying in 77 games overall with six starts and two career touchdowns. He has played in twelve games this year, catching eight passes for 109 yards.

The complaint says an informant tipped off authorities in Texas in July, leading to an investigation within which an unidentified acquaintance of Hurd's "negotiated" for approximately five kilograms of cocaine on the player's behalf. The acquaintance wanted to shop for the medication quickly to require it to a "northern destination that very same day," the complaint said.

The Bears agreed to a three-year manage Hurd reportedly value up to $5.15 million, as well as a $1.35 million signing bonus and base pay this season of $685,000.

The deal was announced on July twenty nine – the day when federal authorities say he had agreed to a "consensual interview" with Homeland Security investigators over $88,000 in cash that had been seized in an exceedingly automotive he owned in the Dallas space. the cash was within a canvas bag that authorities said was covered in an exceedingly plant-like material that tested positive for "properties of marijuana."

The acquaintance told authorities that Hurd "routinely leaves giant amounts" of money in his vehicles, while Hurd said the cash was indeed his and that he had given the automotive to his acquaintance, a automotive search employee, for maintenance and detail work.

Hurd showed authorities a bank statement he said showed he had withdrawn $88,000 from his account, but authorities said it did "not reflect the transactions and amounts" he claimed.

Teammates said they were stunned.

"It's a scenario that you don't, I don't, need anybody to be in, particularly an in depth friend, a teammate that i have been playing with now for four or five years," said wide receiver Roy Williams, who played with Hurd in Dallas before being reunited on the Bears this year. "Especially a bloke from Texas with a wife and a daughter. ... i know it's to be tough for him as a result of he has his family."

Linebacker Brian Urlacher said it's unhappy for Hurd, who he referred to as a {good|an honest|a decent} teammate and good guy. but he said it won't have an effect on the team's play.

"Football-wise it isn't attending to be a difficulty," Urlacher said. "We'll leave there and practice like we tend to do a day and hopefully put it behind us when Sunday gets here."

In 2009, four years into his NFL career, Hurd established a charitable organization, Running with the Hurd, aimed at mentoring kids. The organization sponsored a football camp in the South Texas town of Harlingen last year.

In 2008, Hurd's sister, Jawanda Newsome, told the San Antonio Express-News that her brother was paying to fix up their parents' home as well as covering his younger brother's junior faculty tuition.

Newsome said she worried about her brother as a result of he was so at risk of give his cash away.

"Everyone is aware of he incorporates a generous heart and is not the sort of person to say no," said Newsome, who did not immediately come back calls Thursday. "I quite get upset as a result of people make the most of him."

Linebacker Lance Briggs said the Bears were attending to focus on practice and Sunday's home game against Seattle.

"You hate to visualize this happen to anyone. that's just it. we tend to all build mistakes," Briggs said. "You don't go through a football season while not distractions. Distractions are expected. this is a game where we're professionals and you have to approach it that method.

"There's a sports side, there is a business side and then there is a personal side. And, when it involves business as a professional, you have to require care of business."

Jerry Sandusky Tells Bob Costas: ‘No, I’m Not Sexually Attracted To Young Boys’

2011-11-15T16:08:00.000-08:00

On Monday night’s Rock Center, Brian Williams‘ new weekly news magazine, Bob Costas conducted a tough telephone interview with accused child rapist Jerry Sandusky, the focal point of a cover-up that has resulted in the firing of Penn State football coach Joe Paterno. While Sandusky maintained his innocence, the interview served up a number of clues to help the audience judge Sandusky’s credibility, and Sandusky’a attorney provided some insight into his defense.

The Penn State story is excruciating to contemplate, and while Sandusky is due the legal presumption of innocence, there is no disputing that Joe Paterno was part of a long chain of Penn State officials who failed to report eyewitness allegations of child rape by Sandusky, who is now under a 40 count indictment.

That legal presumption of innocence doesn’t shield Sandusky from the rigors of journalistic inquiry, a point which Costas and Brian Williams underscored repeatedly. In an interview that was incredibly hard to listen to, Sandusky’s replies to Costas’ relentless questioning reeked of sophistry and untruth, and in one case, a damnation by faint, discordant denial.

Confronted with the 40 count indictment, Sandusky proclaimed his innocence, to which Costas replied, “Innocent, completely innocent and falsely accused in every aspect?”

Sandusky then made several “concessions” that will likely form the basis for the reasonable doubt he hopes to raise in his defense, but selling them as “reasonable,” to anyone who has ever been a child, or been a parent, is a steep climb. “Well, I could say that, you know, I have done some of those things,” Sandusky said. “I have horsed around with kids. I have showered after workouts. I have hugged them and I have touched their leg. Without intent of sexual contact. So if you look at it that way, there are things that wouldn’t — you know, would be accurate.”

In one of the more sickening parts of the interview, Sandusky gave his account of the event witnessed by assistant coach Mike McQueary, who says he saw Sandusky raping a 10 year-old boy in the shower at Penn State. Unable to explain why McQueary would lie about such a thing, Costas asked Sandusky what did happen when McQueary encountered him and the boy. Just in case anyone doubts the veracity of Sandusky’s version, he helpfully uses the term “actually” twice, just to underscore the actualness of what actually happened. Sandusky told Costas, “Okay. We were showering and horsing around, and he actually turned all the showers on and was actually sliding across the floor and we were, as I recall, possibly like snapping a towel, horseplay.”

Costas continued to grill Sandusky for several minutes, and Sandusky’s replies continued to sound like those of a man looking to muddy the accusations against him, and not those of an outraged, unjustly accused man. Toward the end of the interview was a particularly telling exchange. Note the distance between Costas’ question, and Sandusky’s use of the word “no.”

Costas asked Sandusky, “Are you sexually attracted to young boys, to underage boys?”

“Am I sexually attracted to underage boys?” Sandusky repeated, perhaps not hearing Costas.

“Yes.”

After a too-long pause, Sandusky said, “Sexually attracted? You know, I enjoy young people. I love to be around them. But no, I’m not sexually attracted to young boys.”

Sandusky attorney Joe Amendola appeared with Costas, and claimed that he expected “several” of the victims in the indictment to come forward and defend Sandusky, including the one that McQueary says he saw being raped in the shower by Sandusky. Amendola also told Costas that he would have no problem entrusting his own children to Jerry Sandusky.

Even without having read that stomach-turning indictment, Sandusky’s lame claims of “horseplay,” his account of the shower incident, and his hesitant denial ring aren’t likely to convince anyone who has ever been a 10 year-old boy, or the parent of one.

bob costas

2011-11-15T16:05:00.000-08:00

Jerry Sandusky to Bob Costas
I'm Not Sexually Attracted
To Young Boys

Jerry Sandusky had to pause and think before he answered Bob Costas' question, "Are you sexually attracted to young boys," during his first interview since the scandal broke.

Costas, who interviewed Sandusky on "Rock Center" Monday night ... peppered him with questions, including, "Are you a pedophile?"

Costas once again showed why he's one of the smartest and most effective interviewers around.

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog

2011-11-12T07:39:00.001-08:00

Previous Post
Part 4

How to pick up more niches and how to keep those blogs up2date. Now you have a blog about general news and it is doing good, now it is time to create other bloggers blog again on different Google accounts because if you want to sell your blogs on sitepoint later you will have to have different google accounts for each so that you can pass the username and password to the winner. Anyways your general news blog can be up2date with almost no work, everyday check out the sites mentioned and copy paste the material with your rant and then Digg them. Keep an eye on your earnings and how it goes, if you mind that it is touching only 10-20 a day then may it is time to sell it and focus on one that is actually generating a lot of income.

Particular Niches are easy to Keep an eye on. In this example I will go over Sports, say your new blog is all about sports news and stuff, your primary sources can be the sites mentioned earlier as you can check what is hot in sports but you can also go to some other websites such as ESPN which is all about sports and I recommend that site. But if you really wanna go a step further and have a blog with tons and tons and tons of articles and latest news around the world that is not even on ESPN then go to this url - http://www.google.com/alerts and in search term put Sports, and then select type now there are 6 types of ways google will alert, so make sure you have yourself setup for all 6 types of the alerts and make the settings so that it alerts you everyday. Make a different email for this process as you will be getting emails. Once you have signed up, this crazy google service will actually alert you every day about latest stuff on the topic of sports, not many use Google Alert but it is basically one of the most hardcore tools of Google that is free and that is destructive if used correctly. Setup everything and now everyday you will get alerts, everytime you get it you know the process, copy paste add your rant and post it.

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog.

2011-11-12T07:29:00.000-08:00

Previous Post

http://gizmodo.com/
http://www.cnet.com/
http://www.engadget.com/

Once you are on these websites, check out their daily posting, you will find that they are almost all identical and the only difference is that, after the basic specification of each gadget these sites have given 3-4 lines comment about the gadget and thats it, and mind you gizmod and engadget gets millions of uniques a day. Now check out their posts and after that do some blog search over Google blog search and then some other direct google search on their topics, you will soon realize that there are tens and thousands of other blogs and websites that have copied their exact review and have only added another 1-2 lines of their own rank and further you will realize that almost all of these websites have good ranking and getting good traffic. Check their compete ranking, alexa ranking and google traffic, they will give you an idea of their estimated traffic. In worst worst case blogs that copy their content get around 5,000 uniques a month and from what I have seen with my ad placements you can earn as much as $200 per 5000 uniques, do the math if you have multiple blogs on different topics of latest news, like latest hot news blog on sports, or science or games or something else. A good example of this kind a chain work is http://alltechnoblog.com/ , if you check out this blog it is EXACT copy paste, but this blogger has made one mistake, STUPID ad placement and further using his own domain rather than bloggers.com blog. You will know why Bloggers.com blog basically ROCKS BIG TIME. So what did you learn? Basically internet is a chain of websites that runs on same content and most are basically dupe as well in a sense if you look at them. To make your copy paste material unique, all you have to do is add another 5-6 lines of your bullshit rant and it will bypass the filters. Everytime you copy an article, at the start of article put your own view about the article and WRITE WHATEVER YOU WANT and I mean it, the more stupid the better, once you have 5-6 lines and then the article your post is unique almost 90% unique.

So..
ur bullshit rant...............

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,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
copy paste article......................

thats it, and this is unique article, do not worry about anything. Now why did we choose bloggers over our own domain? SIMPLE SORE TRUTH, Google.com owns bloggers and you get all the highest paid ads of a niche on bloggers blog that you cannot get on your own domain. A classic example of this would be to setup a software review blog over bloggers.com and over a domain and then having same content over both of them, get 100 unique visitors to both blogs and after you will see that bloggers.com blog will show $30+ clicks, one click will go as high as $30 sometimes in some niches, I know gambling goes as high as $50 a click over blogger which never ever happens if someone clicks the gambling ad on your own domain. Now you know a good secret, if good
ad placements if good traffic then Bloggers blog will earn you a lot more than your own domain, further its all setup, all you have to do is copy and paste and add lines.
If you want to go a setup further, everytime you copy paste just submit your story to digg.com as well, do not shout it to friends or others just submit it. This is only recommended for those that have shitty digg accounts and are never active. If you are a power digger and you are always active then do not take this action as you will get your blog banned, because when you are power digger everything you submit gets a good amount of diggs thus you might get your blog banned if you keep submitting over digg while you are power digger.

CONTINUE.....

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog

2011-11-12T07:18:00.000-08:00

First of all, you must know what is hot in the news, remember we do not care about what is in the news, we want to know what is hot news that is being searched a lot, like remember what happened at the start of 2008? When there was this big news that prostitutes were making around $5000/hr, the news was so hot that I had an exact copy of the article copied from CNN and I received over 8000 Uniques that day and tons next few days and made well over $100 just in adsense. Now you know what is a hot news? Where to get these hot news?

Well there are few places to get these hot news, first of all, Google Trends, that thing works trust me, it actually sends you a lot of traffic if you write on a topic that is hot in trends on that given day. No matter what you will get traffic. But not everything in Google Trends actually gets you traffic, most of the time some stuff in trends are just plain BS and gets you nothing and is total waste of time. In order to see what is really working over Google trends is to give a quick check at these following websites.

http://www.drudgereport.com/

http://buzz.yahoo.com/

http://www.prweb.com

http://www.free-press-release.com/

Drudgereport basically lists all the latest news around that is hot, you can just copy their stuff and put it in your blog. Yahoo Buzz is another great place, almost anything hot in buzz section is something to blog about, because you will get tons and tons of traffic from all over the world. In a minute I will teach you how to actually get passed the dupe filter anyways. The 2 other places I have mentioned are Press Release websites, what is cool about these websites it that, everything on frontpage are all hot, which means if you blog about them, you will get traffic and traffic and traffic means cash from adsense. Thus the above mentioned Press Release sites are a good place to get press releases as well. Now how to bypass the dupe filter :), very very easy, if you have 10-20 hours spare time to do the research then do the following otherwise read what I have to say about it afterwards, anyways, if you have time and I do mean 10-20 hours then you should head over to the following websites..

CONTINUE...

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog.

2011-11-12T07:08:00.000-08:00

Previous Post

Part 3

Articles
Now comes the big thing, where to get the articles from, well this will be the easy part, because what we want is traffic and quick traffic without wasting time on Directory Submission or Blog Submission or some other stuff. The fastest way to get traffic to your blog is to put articles on topics that are hot in the blogosphere and around the internet. Then you will not only get Google Bot activity over you blog and crazy indexing but you will also get Traffic from Google like you have never seen it before.

Remember those days when people built blogs based on the Google Trends? Well it actually worked and people actually did make tens and thousands of dollar, it still works but the primary issue is that after certain hours google stop sending you traffic and puts up the actual source at number one spot.

What happens is that if you write about something that is searched a lot online at a given day, you will get at least 500 uniques because almost everything hot out there gets millions of searches within hours and each searches type different thing thus you get just a tiny bit of that traffic to your blog and i will show you how to go to a whole new level and get even more traffic then what would a set and forget kind of blog will get.

Now you know, that your blog is basically about latest news, anything hot out there will be on your blog. But then it means if you want traffic you will have to put the article on your blog and you cannot just go and copy paste it. Well actually you can, contrary to popular belief that duplicate content hurts, let me tell you something INTERNET IS A DUPLICATE CONTENT ITSELF. CNET puts a review about a gadget, then another popular gadget blog copies the same thing, then another blog copies of it and then another blog does the same and its a chain reaction, so one blog copies all the others copy it, not only these blogs are high ranking blogs but they also make money from it even though its just a copy paste, further the net it self is a DUPE, search for "Home Decor" and you will get millions of result and all of the sites are basically the same its just that one guy went a bit further and got lucky and is dominating that niche. That being said, do not worry about duplicate content because I will show you how to get around with it.

CONTINUE

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog.

2011-11-12T06:54:00.000-08:00

How I started making $20 a day from Adsense with no Work? + How I flip for $200 a piece per blog.

This method is still at early stages, but last 3 months its been making me $20-25 a day with almost no work. The method is bold because in the past many have tried it but failed because of one reason and that is people never knew how to exploit this whole system through Google it self. Here is the layout of the system.

1. Overview

2. Create the Blog

3. Put up the articles

Bonus

Blackhat touches ---

Part 1

Before you start with the system, you have to know one thing that this darn thing works and it works like magic. I know many have tried to use it in the past but it has not worked out because every single person tried the method on their domain. Where as in my system you actually never ever start a domain and you use Bloggers.com blogs and you will know why. It takes 5 minute to setup and at the end I will tell you why we will be using Bloggers Blog and not our own domains. Further I will show you how to get articles and bypass all the filters. There will be a blackhat method shared for 100% unique articles and 2nd method that would just teach you how to get articles within minutes. At the end I will show you, how these blogs make money and how to sell them for quick $150+ on sitepoint to make even more.

Part 2

Creating the Blog First and foremost, go to www.google.com and get yourself a NEW google account. I REPEAT new google account do not use your main google account or one with lots of blogs in it, create a new one, it takes around 2 minutes to get a Google account and another 2 minutes to setup a bloggers account. When asked about your blog URL, make sure you come up with something sound and not crazy, check at samples at the end to get an idea. Once you have your blog, make sure you select a super SIMPLE
template from the list not a fancy one. You will see why in a minute.

CONTINUE...

Impotensi Bisa Jadi Pertanda Penyakit Jantung

2011-11-11T13:24:00.000-08:00

GAGAL ereksi dapat menjadi tanda peringatan awal penyakit jantung pada pria. Demikian menurut ulasan belasan penelitian tentang impotensi.

Para ilmuwan telah lama menduga bahwa ada hubungan antara impotensi atau disfungsi ereksi dengan kesehatan jantung. Sebuah teori umum menyatakan, tersumbatnya arteri yang menyuplai darah ke Mr P bisa terjadi pula di jantung. Ini menjadi peringatan awal penyakit jantung koroner di kemudian hari.

CHI NAGA: Senam Sex Pria Workshop BASIC-1 Simple Meditation
Untuk mempelajari hubungan keduanya, Jia-Yi Dong dari Universitas Soochow di Suzhou, China, dan rekan-rekannya menggabungkan 12 studi terdahulu tentang impotensi dan penyakit jantung. Jumlah responden yang dilibatkan pada semua studi hampir 37 ribu pria.

“Ini metaanalisis yang menunjukkan bahwa impotensi secara signifikan meningkatkan risiko penyakit kardiovaskular, penyakit jantung koroner, stroke, serta semua penyebab kematian," tulis para peneliti dalam Journal of American College of Cardiology, seperti disitat Dailymail, Senin (19/9/2011).

Senam Kegel Kontrol Edi Pria

Mereka menemukan, pria dengan masalah ereksi mengalami peningkatan 48 persen terhadap risiko penyakit jantung. Pria dengan masalah ereksi juga memiliki tingkat kematian lebih tinggi dibanding pria yang tidak memiliki masalah seksual.

Sementara, faktor risiko penyakit jantung, seperti merokok, diabetes, obesitas, dan tekanan darah tinggi tidak memperkuat kasus impotensi, jika tidak ditambah masalah seks bersama pasangan atau masalah psikologis lainnya. Ini merupakan faktor risiko penyakit jantung yang berpengaruh cukup besar.

Studi lain yang dipublikasikan Archives of Internal Medicine menemukan bahwa perubahan gaya hidup dan obat penurun kolesterol seperti statin dapat meningkatkan masalah ereksi pria.

"Hasil penelitian kami memperkuat bukti bahwa perubahan gaya hidup dan pengobatan medis untuk faktor risiko kardiovaskular efektif meningkatkan fungsi seksual pria impoten," tulis peneliti Bhanu Gupta dan rekan-rekannya dari Mayo Clinic di Rochester, Minnesota.

Mereka menambahkan, perubahan gaya hidup lebih efektif mengobati impotensi ketimbang Viagra, obat yang paling umum dikonsumsi pria impoten

Senam Kegel Kontrol Edi Pria

2011-11-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

Senam Kegel Kontrol Edi Pria

SENAM kegel memberikan khasiat luar biasa untuk pria dalam mengontrol ejakulasi dini (edi) dan mencapai multiorgasme. Jika ingin mencapai puncak kenikmatan, kini saatnya melatih otot panggul.

Untuk Anda yang ingin mencapai puncak kenikmatan terdahsyat, saatnya berlatih senam kegel. Senam kegel bukan hanya untuk wanita, tapi juga disarankan untuk pria. Apa pasal? Dengan rajin berlatih kegel, pria disinyalir dapat mengontrol terjadinya ejakulasi dini. Wow!

Sebuah penelitian di Inggris yang dilansir Men’s Health, Rabu (10/3/2010), menemukan bahwa pengobatan tradisional untuk mengobati disfungsi ereksi adalah dengan memperkuat otot panggul. Ini merupakan obat untuk para pria yang tidak bisa menarik “senjata” mereka. Studi ini meneliti 55 pria impoten, dimana sebanyak 40 persen dari mereka berlatih kegel setiap hari selama 6 bulan. Hasilnya, fungsi seksual mereka kembali normal.

Gerakan senam kegel saat penetrasi menggunakan kontraksi otot yang sama seperti saat Anda menahan keinginan buang air kecil. Tahan otot Anda sekira 10 detik, lepaskan kembali. Lalu, tahan otot paha dalam beberapa hitungan, tekan, dan kendurkan otot PC (pubococcygeus), perlahan namun pasti.

Selain saat berhubungan seks, Anda bisa latihan senam kegel secara teratur kapan saja. Di awal latihan, cobalah konsisten menghitung. Latihan ini dapat dilakukan dengan 18 kontraksi setiap satu sesi. Lakukan sembari duduk, ataupun berbaring. Dan rilekskan otot-otot panggul Anda setelah latihan. Niscaya, Anda akan merasakan perubahan pada performa Mr P.

“Kecuali Anda memiliki sakit punggung, semua pria penderita ejakulasi dini dapat melakukan latihan otot panggul,” kata Grace Dorey, Ph.D., penulis studi

CHI NAGA: Senam Sex Pria Workshop BASIC-1 Simple Meditation

CHI NAGA: Senam Sex Pria Workshop BASIC-1 Simple Meditation

2011-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

CHI NAGA: Senam Sex Pria Workshop BASIC-1 Simple Meditation

Tahun 2006 lalu, kami mendapat tugas untuk mengikuti suatu Seminar yang diadakan di Bangkok. Kebetulan, di hotel tempat kami menginap, sedang ada Workshop Täi-Chi Naga (Dragon's Täi-Chi), senam untuk meningkatkan dan menjaga vitalitas seks pria. Melihat kesempatan yang langka ini, saya pun segera mendaftarkan diri dan mengikutinya dengan sangat antusias...

Täi-Chi Naga adalah suatu gaya senam Täi-Chi yang belum banyak dikenal orang karena selama ribuan tahun, Täi-Chi jenis ini bersifat rahasia dan tertutup. Dimulai sejak Kaisar Qin (260 SM), sejumlah guru Tao dari generasi ke generasi ditugaskan untuk mengembangkan & mengajarkan Täi-Chi jenis ini hanya untuk Kaisar dan kalangan istana China. Dengan berlatih senam ini, mereka dapat meningkatkan & menjaga superioritas ketangguhan seks-nya sehingga mampu memelihara sekian banyak selir sebagai “Lambang Supremasi” mereka dimasa itu...

Senam Kegel Kontrol Edi Pria

Sudah lebih dari 2 tahun ini saya mempraktekan senam Täi-Chi Naga selama "5 menit setiap pagi" dan "5 menit disela-sela kesibukan kerja di kantor"… Hasilnya… sangat sesuai harapan… banyak peningkatan kemampuan seks yang telah kami alami… tanpa bantuan obat… tanpa alat bantu lainnya… "cukup dengan pemanasan kecil", sang Naga sudah “siap tempur dengan amunisi segudang”… Sekarang, kami dapat “menikmati” hubungan intim dengan lebih menyenangkan…

Inti dari senam ini adalah “Mengunci dan Memanfaatkan Energy Chi” diseputar fungsi organ seks Pria (pënis,testes, & pelvic)... Sebagaimana halnya senam Täi-Chi-Kung yang memanfaatkan “Chi” untuk kesehatan organ jantung, paru, pencernaan, dan lainnya... Metoda'nya adalah menyerap "Chi" untuk di alirkan melalui titik-titik meridian tertentu (lihat attachment "diagram-meridian") yang kemudian dikumpulkan, disimpan, dan dimanfaatkan pada titik-titik yang diperlukan...

Latihan ini sepertinya terlihat sulit, namun, dengan berlatih step-by-step secara sistematis-terstruktur dan konsisten, kita bisa menguasainya dan akan terbiasa melakukannya sehari-hari sambil beraktivitas. Kata kunci'nya adalah "latihan, latihan, dan latihan"... Yang menyenangkan dari latihan Täi-Chi Naga adalah "kita dapat berlatih dimana saja" (sambil duduk atau berdiri)... Latihannya sangat berbeda dengan senam Täi-Chi lainnya atau olah-raga lain yang banyak melakukan gerakan fisik bagian luar dan cukup dilakukan dalam 5 menit...

Meditasi Sederhana:

Tidak perlu banyak teori, mari kita mulai... ikuti instruksinya bagian-per-bagian dan lakukan dengan rileks setelah anda membaca petunjuknya...

A. Pejamkan mata, tarik nafas santai dalam 3 hitungan, hembuskan kembali juga dalam 3 hitungan... lakukan antara 3-4 kali pernafasan... ya! lakukan sekarang....

Apa yang Anda rasakan? tidak ada apa-apanya? sama seperti bernafas biasa...

Daylight Savings 2011. Did You Say it Correctly?

2011-10-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

Daylight Savings 2011. Did You Say it Correctly?

It’s time to “Fall Back” with the end of Daylight Savings Time in 2011 on November 6, 2011 at 2am. Wait, is it Daylight Savings Time or Daylight Saving Time? An informal poll of my friends led to a uniformly plural “savings.” According to Wikipedia:

Although daylight saving time is considered to be correct, daylight savings time is commonly used. The form daylight saving time uses the present participle saving as an adjective, as in labor saving device; the first two words are sometimes hyphenated, as in daylight-saving time. The common variants daylight savings time and daylight savings use savings by analogy to savings account. Daylight time is also common

That clears things up, right? Well, ok maybe not.. But according to Dictionary.com, “This practice of advancing the clocks ahead an hour in the spring and adjusting them back an hour in the fall is called daylight saving time. But because daylight savings time is used so frequently, the term is also considered acceptable.” In other words, the incorrect version took hold to the point that it became acceptable (notice that they didn’t say “correct” but only acceptable).

It reminds me of the arrival of the year 2000, when purists insisted that the 21st century didn’t begin until 2001. That didn’t stop the masses from basking in the new century, whether or not that was even accurate. Don’t ruin my fun with the facts! So if you’re the smart-ass type, the next time someone says “Daylight Savings Time,” be sure to correct them with a snide “That’s Daylight SAVING Time!”

So here at Waffles, we can authoritatively state that Daylight Saving Time in 2011 begins on November 6 at 2am. You’ll hear that it’s best to set your clocks back before going to bed. We like to do things differently… in November, you get to wake up and gain an hour if you don’t set them back on Saturday night. That’s more fun.

Daylight Savings 2011

2011-10-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

How to Get Your Baby Through Daylight Savings 2011

daylight savings 2011
The end of Daylight Savings is when we turn our clocks back one hour and is one of the biggest worries for parents of young babies. Daylight savings this year ends in Europe this weekend on October 30th and on November 6th here in the United States (most of them). I start getting questions about the time change up to a month or more ahead of time and understandably so, which is why this year I made sure I did a tele-seminar back in September about it, for those who wanted to get ahead in tackling this very “scary” issue. If your baby is already waking too early, just the thought of your baby waking an hour earlier is enough to make the calmest parent have a few butterflies. If you’re like me who obsesses about sleep (how else could I write about this every week?), it wouldn’t be surprising if you feel extra anxious about your 5 a.m. waker-upper waking up at 4 a.m. This article will help you survive Daylight Savings 2011.

If you already have a baby waking too early

For those of you who have an early riser, you may want to start working on your baby’s schedule, now. If your baby is 6 months or older and isn’t napping well enough, you may want to help your baby nap longer and get on a schedule in the next week, so when the time changes you will be able to adjust easier, keeping your baby from getting overtired. When your baby is already taking short naps, it’s very difficult to put her to bed at her normal bedtime, now an hour “later” than usual. Better napping means an easier transition.
If your baby is already waking up too early in the morning, in relation to your ideal family schedule, I’d recommend doing some preemptive work ahead of the time change to ease the transition. Moving your baby’s schedule isn’t always easy, but in the next week or two, you can successfully move your baby’s schedule forward by an hour and then move it again, if necessary, to achieve your family’s ideal schedule.
For example, your baby may be waking at 5 a.m., but you’d like her to wake at 6 a.m. or later. So, ideally, you would move her schedule forward one hour to 6 a.m., wait for the time to change (where she will be waking at 5 a.m. once again) and then move her schedule forward, again. This works best when your baby is at least 8 months old, but some 6 month old schedules can be moved as well. Younger babies generally will adjust naturally within a few days to two weeks as long as you don’t strictly stick to the earlier schedule (a young baby’s sleep is already highly disorganized). If you are interested, I go over detailed steps (with examples) to moving your baby’s schedule in my pamphlet called Shift Your Baby’s Schedule (I know not a very original title, but I’ve found that tired parents don’t always enjoy clever. They just want answers, which I try to provide straight and to-the-point in all my e-Books.). I’ve included a case study that followed one family’s schedule shift whom I worked with one-on-one. And, if you want a day-by-day plan to follow customized to your baby or toddler, I can read your history, review your sleep logs (if you have them), and tell you exactly what to do over the next few weeks. Some babies/toddlers are easier than others, so results do vary, but if you don’t try, you don’t know! You can purchase the book with a consultation at a discounted price, but if you need more than just help with a schedule change, I’d highly recommend a Personalized Family Sleep Plan™, which is much more comprehensive.

How to handle Daylight Savings

You have three options to handle the time change when Daylight Savings ends, as I went over in my article Time Change Sleeping Tips on WorkingMother.com (2 years ago but the options don’t change much year-to-year) and then again in more detail in my tele-seminar mentioned above.
The key to choosing the best strategy is your baby’s sensitivity to being overtired. If your baby isn’t overly sensitive to being overtired and is not already waking up before dawn, you might just “go with the flow” and wait for the time to change. Many babies will adjust within a few days to a week, just like we do. You will likely have to wake up “earlier” for a few days, since babies tend to sleep in less than adults, though.
For some babies, they will follow a combination of the abrupt time change and a gradual shift. The main thing to remember is that a too-late bedtime can cause over-tiredness leading to an even EARLIER wake-up time in the morning, which will make Daylight Savings even more difficult to manage. Remember that the new 7 p.m. is the old 8 p.m. and can likely have an adverse effect on your baby’s schedule. Rather than follow what your friends might be doing, make sure you take into consideration your baby’s sensitivity and adaptability when tackling the end of Daylight Savings. And, if your baby is already struggling to sleep, there is no time like the present to make the time change the time to make a change.
If you’re looking for ways to get your baby or toddler into a healthy sleeping routine during the day, I encourage you to explore Mastering Naps and Schedules, a comprehensive guide to napping routines, nap transitions, and all the other important “how-tos” of good baby sleep. With over 40 sample sleep schedules and planning worksheets, Mastering Naps and Schedules is a hands-on tool ideal for any parenting style. For those persistent nighttime struggles, check out The 3 Step System to Help Your Baby Sleep. Using the same unique approach and practical tools for success, this e-book helps you and your baby sleep through the night. If you become a member, you get access to all our e-Books AND the tele-seminar recording (as well as all the others, too, so basically you get access to everything in an organized way).
For those looking for a more customized solution for your unique situation with support along the way, please consider one-on-one baby and toddler sleep consultations, where you will receive a Personalized Family Sleep Plan™ you can feel good about! Sometimes it’s not that you can’t make a plan. Sometimes you’re just too tired to.

Katty Perry

2011-10-27T06:28:00.000-07:00

Katty Perry

Mengirim ke Direktori RSS : Promosi Blog

2011-10-22T03:43:00.000-07:00

Mengirim ke direktori RSS : promosi blog

Menurut Technorati ada lebih dari 15 juta blog, dan sampai sekarang setiap bulan muncul puluhan ribu blog baru. Apabila anda salah satu pengelola blog tersebut, pertanyaannya adalah, bagaimana anda mempromosikan blog diantara jutaan blog yang ada? Toh sebuah blog dibuat untuk dapat dibaca, artinya seharusnya blog anda dapat muncul di layar komputer pembaca anda.

Untungnya ada cara sederhana namun sangat efektif, yaitu mengirim artikel blog anda ke direktori RSS. Dengan mengirim ke direktori RSS khusus mempunyai banyak manfaat.

Pertama, akan menaikkan jumlah pembacaan artikel. Apabila seseorang mencari sebuah berita untuk pembaca RSS, maka kemungkinan mereka akan mengunjungi direktori RSS untuk mencari sesuatu sesuai dengan subyek yang dinginkan. Umumnya seseorang akan mengunjungi beberapa direktori sesuai dengan keinginan subyeknya. Bisa jadi sebuah subyek tidak ditemukan pada sebuah direktori.

Kedua, direktori RSS mengizinkan menduplikasi isi dan menghubungkannya dari sebuah website. Salah satu hal penting disini adalah untuk meningkatkan cara orang mencapai tulisan anda. Artikel dapat diterbitkan, kemudian kutipan dapat berada diberbagai tempat, namun (sebaiknya) tetap mengacu kembali ke website aslinya. Banyak webmaster menginginkan webnya berisi dengan artikel-artikel yang segar, dan cara paling mudah untuk ini adalah dengan menggunakan RSS embedding. Pastikan bahwa anda terdaftar pada direktori RSS sehingga webmaster dapat menemukan konten anda.

Ketiga, dapat menambah popularitas link. Seperti halnya direktori web, direktori RSS dapat didapatkan secara gratis, dan direktori ini memberikan link satu arah (one-way link) ke website anda. Direktori RSS pada umumnya mempunyai pagerank (PR) 5 atau diatasnya. Dengan mengirimkan ke banyak direktori RSS maka anda akan mendapatkan peringkat mesin pencari yang baik dan lebih banyak pengunjung.

Keempat, ada beberapa cara untuk mengirim artikel ke direktori RSS. Pertama, secara manual, dengan mengetikkan alamat direktori RSS yang bersangkutan. Atau anda bisa, misalnya ke alamat http://www.rss-software.net/rss-directories.php, kemudian pergi ke masing-masing alamat yang ada, kemudian masukkan secara manual. Oleh karena ada banyak direktori, maka cara ini akan memerlukan waktu.

Ada cara lain untuk menghemat waktu, yaitu mengirim secara otomatis. Cara mengirim otomatis pertama pergi ke http://www.dummysoftware.com/rsssubmit.html, yaitu program untuk proses pengiriman otomatis. Selanjutnya masukkan umpan artikel, dan program akan mengirimkan ke kurang lebih 40 direktori RSS.

Cara mengirim otomatis kedua dengan RSS Directory Submission Service (http://www.rssdirectorysubmission.com).

Marco Rubio: To say my parents aren’t exiles is outrageous!

2011-10-21T15:30:00.001-07:00

Marco Rubio: To say my parents aren’t exiles is outrageous!

The Washington Post ran a hit piece on Marco Rubio suggesting that he’s embellished the story of his parents coming over from Cuba as exiles for his own political gain, because his parents left before Castro ever took power and thus they aren’t exiles. To that Rubio responds:

That’s not fair and that’s not true. First of all there were a lot of Cubans living in the United States because they weren’t happy with the Batista Regime to begin with. Are they now not exiles because Fidel Castro took over? Secondly my parents did try to return. In 1961 my mom moved back to Cuba and she lived there for four weeks and she realized it was Communism and she came back to the United States just weeks before the Bay of Pigs.
So, there’s no need to embellish that. My parents were never able to return the country of their birth – not to visit and certainly not to live unless they were willing to live under Communism. To say they’re not exiles is outrageous and there’s not a single credible voice in the Cuban exile community that would agree with that. Not one.

Also, for more on the shady credentials on the author of the WAPO hit piece, read this by Eric Erickson.

Marco Rubio Falls Victim to the Wingnuts

Exclusive interview with Senator Marco Rubio on WaPo’s story about his family history

Marco Rubio Falls Victim to the WingnutsMarco

2011-10-21T15:25:00.000-07:00

Marco Rubio Falls Victim to the Wingnuts

So here's an irony. Stephanie Mencimer reports today that the birther movement has found a new target: GOP wunderkind Marco Rubio, who was born in Florida to Cuban parents:

Birther Charles Kerchner has a blog that was once devoted mostly to Obama, but lately, he's been on a campaign to illustrate that Rubio is not a natural born citizen, and thus, ineligible to enter the White House. Kerchner's logic is convoluted—something of a trend among the birther set. He claims that Rubio is actually a Cuban citizen, even though Rubio was born on American soil, in Miami, in 1971. But Rubio's parents were Cubans, who didn't become US citizens until 1975. (Kerchner went so far as to obtain Rubio's parents' naturalization papers from the National Archives to prove his point.)

The birthers may be nuts, but guess what? It turns out that the naturalization papers actually tell an interesting story — just not the one the birthers had in mind. Here's Manuel Roig-Franzia in the Washington Post today:

During his rise to political prominence, Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) frequently repeated a compelling version of his family’s history that had special resonance in South Florida. He was the son of exiles, he told audiences, Cuban Americans forced off their beloved island after “a thug,” Fidel Castro, took power. But a review of documents — including naturalization papers and other official records — reveals that Rubio’s dramatic account of his family saga embellishes the facts. The documents show that Rubio’s parents came to the United States and were admitted for permanent residence more than 2½ years before Castro’s forces overthrew the Cuban government and took power on New Year’s Day 1959.

Exclusive interview with Senator Marco Rubio on WaPo’s story about his family history

Rubio [] mentions his parents in the second sentence of the official biography on his Senate Web site. It says Mario and Oriales Rubio “came to America following Fidel Castro’s takeover.” And the 40-year-old senator with the boyish smile and prom-king good looks has drawn on the power of that claim to entrance audiences captivated by the rhetorical skills of one of the more dynamic stump speakers in modern American politics.

Marco Rubio: To say my parents aren’t exiles is outrageous!

I'm not going to pretend that I'm especially outraged by this, although Rubio's explanation is pretty lame. (“I’m going off the oral history of my family,” he said. “All of these documents and passports are not things that I carried around with me.” Uh huh.) But the irony is that for years conservatives hoped that even if the birthers were wrong about Obama, perhaps his long-form birth certificate really was hiding something that was a little embarrassing. But no. It was all totally normal. Instead, it turned out to be tea party hero Marco Rubio who had something in his vital records that he'd just as soon have kept quiet. It's quite the Frankenstein's monster they've created over in crazyland, isn't it?

Marco Rubio

2011-10-21T15:22:00.000-07:00

Exclusive interview with Senator Marco Rubio on WaPo’s story about his family history

marco rubio

Just moments ago, I had the opportunity to speak with Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) about the attack piece from the Washington Post on supposed “embellishments” of Rubio’s family history. Rubio gave an impassioned defense of his family’s experience as exiles, and ripped the Post’s reporter for not doing proper research on the matter, as well as noting pointedly that the reporter is in the middle of writing a book about Rubio. I also ask the Senator about his dispute with Univision, about which he prefers to just say that the Miami Herald’s report that Univision tried to strongarm him into an appearance is “accurate.” I’ll have more later on this interview, after I conclude today’s TEMS, but the interview speaks for itself:

Rubio also has a response at Politico that covers much the same ground:

The Washington Post on Friday accused me of seeking political advantage by embellishing the story of how my parents arrived in the United States.
That is an outrageous allegation that is not only incorrect, but an insult to the sacrifices my parents made to provide a better life for their children. They claim I did this because “being connected to the post-revolution exile community gives a politician cachet that could never be achieved by someone identified with the pre-Castro exodus, a group sometimes viewed with suspicion.”
If The Washington Post wants to criticize me for getting a few dates wrong, I accept that. But to call into question the central and defining event of my parents’ young lives – the fact that a brutal communist dictator took control of their homeland and they were never able to return – is something I will not tolerate.

Marco Rubio Falls Victim to the Wingnuts

Be sure to read it all.
Update: Here’s a press release from the University of Miami’s Institute for Cuban and Cuban-American Studies:

STATEMENT BY DR. ANDY GOMEZ
The Washington Post seems to have very little understanding of the Cuban exile experience and what it means to be an exile. Marco Rubio’s family was forced to stay in America because they refused to live under a communist system. That makes them exiles. It makes no difference what year you first arrived. The fundamental Cuban exile experience is not defined according to what year Cubans left, but rather by the simple, painful reality that they could not return to their homelands to live freely.
Further, The Washington Post falsely and without proof, writes that “being connected to the post-revolution exile community gives a politician cachet that could never be achieved by someone identified with the pre-Castro exodus, a group sometimes viewed with suspicion.”

Marco Rubio: To say my parents aren’t exiles is outrageous!

This is simply false. I have spent my career studying the Cuban exile community and can say with authority that no distinction is made within the exile community between those who arrived in the years leading up to the revolution, and those who came after. They all share the painful heritage of not being able to return home. It’s no wonder The Washington Post made this claim without a single bit of proof to back it up. Because it doesn’t exist.
In the Cuban exile community, there are many stories like Marco Rubio’s family. Many children of exiles don’t know precisely what dates their parents left Cuba, went back to Cuba or ultimately determined Cuba was heading in the wrong direction under Castro. But they do know that the reason they were born in the United States or now live here is because their parents are exiles because they refused to raise them in Castro’s Cuba.
Dr. Andy S. Gomez
Assistant Provost & Senior Fellow
Institute for Cuban & Cuban-American Studies.
University of Miami

Bleeding Moammar Gadhafi's last words: 'Do you know right from wrong?'

2011-10-21T06:14:00.000-07:00

Bleeding Moammar Gadhafi's last words: 'Do you know right from wrong?'

Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi's burial was delayed Friday after bloody images of his last moments raised questions over how exactly he died after being captured wounded, but alive.

Video on Arab television stations showed a crowd of fighters shoving and pulling the goateed, balding Gadhafi, with blood splattered on his face and soaking his shirt after he was dragged from hiding in a drainage pipe, begging for his life.

Gadhafi struggled against them, stumbling and shouting as the fighters pushed him onto the hood of a pickup truck. One fighter held him down, pressing on his thigh with a pair of shoes in a show of contempt.

Fighters propped him on the hood as they drove for several moments, apparently to parade him around in victory.

"We want him alive. We want him alive," one man shouted before Gadhafi was dragged off the hood, some fighters pulling his hair, toward an ambulance.

According to a translation by Britain's Sky News, Gadhafi yelled at the revolutionaries. "What you are doing is not allowed in Islamic law," he reportedly said. "What you are doing is forbidden in Islam!"

'Shut up, dog' Celebratory gunfire is heard in the video aired by Sky News and and at one point a gun is pointed at the dictator's head.

"Do you know right from wrong?" Gadhafi added on the video shortly before he appears to lose consciousness.

"Shut up, dog," one of the former rebels responded.

The video on Sky News later shows a dead Gadhafi being photographed and filmed in the street.

Later footage showed fighters rolling Gadhafi's lifeless body over on the pavement, stripped to the waist and a pool of blood under his head.

His body was then paraded on a car through Misrata, a nearby city that suffered a brutal siege by regime forces during the eight-month civil war that eventually ousted Gadhafi, as crowds in the streets cheered.

Reuters reported Friday that Gadhafi's body appeared to have a bullet hole in the side of the head, as well as bruises and scratch marks.
'Very disturbing' The United Nations human rights office called on Friday for a full investigation into Gadhafi's death.
"It is unclear how he died. There is a need for an investigation," U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville told reporters in Geneva.
"It is a fundamental principle of international law that people accused of serious crimes should if possible be tried. Summary executions are strictly illegal. It is different if someone is killed in combat," he added.
Referring to separate cell phone images showing a wounded Gadhafi first alive and then later dead amidst a jumble of anti-Gadhafi fighters after his capture in his hometown of Sirte on Thursday, he added: "Taken together, they were very disturbing."
Mohamed Sayeh, a senior member of the governing National Transitional Council, later said that Gadhafi's burial had been delayed until his death can be examined by the International Criminal Court.
Sayeh told The Associated Press that Gadhafi's body was still in Misrata, where it was taken after his killing in Sirte.
He said Gadhafi will be buried with respect according to Islam tradition and will not have a public funeral.
Thunderous celebratory gunfire and cries of "God is great" rang out across Tripoli well past midnight, leaving the smell of sulfur in the air. People wrapped revolutionary flags around toddlers and flashed V for victory signs as they leaned out car windows.
Martyrs' Square, the former Green Square from which Gadhafi made many defiant speeches, was packed with revelers.
The death, two months after Gadhafi's ouster, finished off the nearly 42-year regime that had turned the oil-rich country into an international pariah and his own personal fiefdom.
It also thrusts Libya into a new age in which its transitional leaders must overcome deep divisions and rebuild nearly all its institutions from scratch to achieve dreams of democracy.
The governing National Transitional Council said interim leader Mustafa Abdul-Jalil will formally declare liberation on Saturday in the eastern city of Benghazi, where the revolution against Gadhafi's rule began in mid-February.

Moammar Gadhafi: Dead!

2011-10-21T06:08:00.000-07:00

Moammar Gadhafi: Dead!

Notorious Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, the most wanted man in the entire world, has been killed, the country's rebel government and ABC News claim.

The tyrant who terrorized the North African nation and much of the world during his 42 years of rule was cornered by insurgents in the town of Sirte, Libya.

Moammar Gadhafi was born and maintained a stronghold of his supporters there, but word that he is dead sparked celebrations in most of the country.

The White House and NATO have yet to confirm reports of Gadhafi's death.

The National Transition Council said Moammar Gadhafi is dead following a battle in Sirte, which finally fell to the rebels today after weeks of tough fighting.

Gadhafi, 69, had been on the run for several weeks after being chased out of the capital Tripoli, the capital of Libya, by NATO bombers and rebel troops.

He had been believed to be hiding in the vast Libyan desert while calling on his supporters to rise up and sweep the rebel "dogs" away, but to no avail.

Moammar Gadhafi, R.I.P.

NATO said its fighters struck a convoy of Gadhafi's loyalists fleeing Sirte, but could not confirm Gadhafi was in the convoy, the Associated Press reported.

Still, many accounts claim that one of the world's most notorious tyrants - if not the most, after Osama bin Laden was killed - has been knocked off.

More details to follow as the story develops ...

Moammar Gadhafi

2011-10-21T05:59:00.000-07:00

Moammar Gadhafi, R.I.P.

Will the Libyan dictator have the last laugh?

moammar gadhafi

The grisly scenes of Gadhafi’s body being dragged through the streets of Sirte, and the unseemly celebrations of the Libyan dictator’s death in the Western media, are enough to make any decent person wince. Yes, he was a brutal dictator, and I hold no brief for him or his works, but is this kind of savagery really what we want to see in the “new” Libya?

Whether or not we want it, it is coming: the crew in charge of that unfortunate nation is no better, and perhaps worse, than Gadhafi. The fate of the rebels’ former commander-in-chief, Abdul Fatah Younis, prefigures a revolution that eats its own, and the ferocity of that revolutionary fervor is hardly abated.

Gadhafi loyalists include the largest tribe in the country, and after the smoke clears and the new regime extends its grip over dissident pockets of resistance, nostalgia for the relatively peaceful days of Gadhafi’s reign is more than likely to set in. Worse, the arsenals of the Libyan military have been systematically looted, with missiles and other sophisticated weaponry falling into the hands of radical Islamist militias. These militias are not fringe elements in the Libyan revolution, but rather they are in charge, with one of their number taking the place of the slain Younis as head of the rebel “armed forces.”

Indeed, the rebels’ military leadership consists largely of members of the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG), which is still prominently featured on our official list of designated terrorist organizations. Now we are allied with them — under a new name, the “National Transitional Council” – and US taxpayer dollars are pouring into their coffers. That money will be used to consolidate the rebels’ rule, a regime that promises to be every bit as repressive as the one that preceded it – albeit friendly, at least at first, to its Western sponsors.

There are several lessons to be learned from this episode. The first is directed at those anti-American despots still left standing in the region, and it is this: make no concessions. Gadhafi, it will be recalled, had his Great Reconciliation with the Western powers, earning Tony Blair’s and Gordon Brown’s imprimatur in the process – and look where it landed him. This lesson is not lost on Bashar al-Assad, the beleaguered Syrian dictator, nor is it lost on pro-American despots, like the King of Bahrain, the Saudis, and any of the other pro-Western crowned thugs who lord it over their long-oppressed peoples. What these royals have learned from the example of Gadhafi’s – and Mubarak’s – fall is not to expect any help from Washington if they suddenly find themselves hiding in a drain pipe. Quite the contrary: they can fully expect to feel the wrath of the West, as it sides with the rebels and calls in its drones to rain death from the skies.

As the rulers of Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and the sheikdoms of the Gulf contemplate the full meaning of the events in Libya and Egypt, one can easily imagine them making arrangements for a quick escape.

To our cynical and ruthless policymakers, however, such considerations are merely a side issue. The real significance of our foray into Libya is that it signals the advent of a new African initiative, the thrusting of American power into the heart of the dark continent. With military bases in Djibouti, and now Ethiopia, Africa is the latest addition to several new fronts in our endless “war on terrorism.”

Ambition, ideology, and opportunity are taking us ever-deeper into a region that has been inexplicably neglected by US policy planners: the Obama administration apparently seeks to rectify that, and rather quickly, with a contingent of US special forces being sent to Uganda, purportedly in order to rescue the country from the grip of a crazed “Christian” guerrilla army. It’s just a coincidence that this intervention – and the subsequent flow of “foreign aid” dollars – will prop up the increasingly unpopular rule of President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, in power since 1986.

Museveni is a “former” Marxist revolutionary, who received military training from the Soviet-backed Frelimo guerrilla army: he wrote his student thesis on Franz Fanon’s theory of revolutionary violence. A political survivor, he rose to the top of the anti-Amin “liberation” front, and after a series of coups and counter-coups, became president in 1986. In the 2006 elections, Museveni’s main opponent was arrested and charged with treason and rape. The brazen manner in which Museveni routinely steals elections has come under heavy criticism from the European Union, as well as from those members of the Ugandan opposition not sitting in jail. His rule has been pockmarked by various regional insurgencies, with the “Lord’s Resistance Army” the least of them. Under the pretext of fighting these "Christian" cultists, Museveni’s security forces will be strengthened and aid money will pour in.

Somalia has long been a focus of US “anti-terrorism” efforts, and the latest development on that front is the establishment of several military bases in the region, including in Ethiopia, where our ally is yet another “former” Marxist-Leninist despot and election thief who rules the country with an iron fist. Like Museveni’s Uganda, President Meles Zenawi‘s Ethiopia is riven with dozens of regional insurgencies, as religious and tribal minorities try to assert some measure of independence against a distant and tyrannical central government in Addis Ababa. US aid and political support is essential to maintaining Zenawi’s power, which has faced several serious challenges. Ominously, Zenawi’s expansionist dreams of a “Greater Ethiopia” extend into Somalia, where the regional Ethiopian-supported “government” of Puntland provides a base for further military incursions.

The historic rivalry between Ethiopia and Eritrea – a dirt-poor desolate strip of land between Ethiopia and the Red Sea – will come into play as the US military is thrust into Africa, and “Africom” – the US military’s African command – assumes an increasingly important role in the Empire’s war plans. Eritrea occupies a strategically important location: across the narrowest part of the Red Sea lies Yemen, the latest target of our stepped-up drone war.

America’s renewed interest in the region bodes ill for the Eritreans. Eritrea fought a long war series of wars against Ethiopian invaders, and in spite of support for the Ethiopians from both the US and the Soviet Union, the feisty Eritreans beat back every attempt by Addis Ababa to absorb the region. They finally won their independence in the 1980s, when a UN plebiscite installed the present government – a neo-Marxist one-party dictatorship. If Africom isn’t already looking at Eritrea the way a vulture looks down on a lion stalking a gazelle, then somebody isn’t doing their job.

Gadhafi comes from the same generation of “Third World” despots who came to power in the post-colonial period and played footsie with the Soviet Union in part to offset a long history of Western domination. Most of these were military men, and avowed “socialists,” although their versions of Marxist theology often differed from orthodoxy the way Mormonism deviates from Protestantism. These bonapartist regimes eventually entered a period of sclerosis, and reified into tools of tribal dominance and outright kleptocracy, with some monarchist flourishes thrown in for good measure. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the cold war, those who survived made their peace with the West, as did Gadhafi. Spoon fed by Western “aid” and “development” programs, the corrupto-crats grew fat while the people starved – and seethed.

You could almost hear the sigh of relief coming from Western capitals as news of Gadhafi’s unceremonious death spread around the world. Apparently captured alive, as this video shows, he was almost immediately killed by his captors, who then dragged his body through the streets of Sirte, which had been the last loyalist holdout. That a US drone first attacked Gadhafi’s convoy, and so gave the rebels the opportunity to make short work of him, is a telling detail. Odds are that NATO was tracking him, and in communication with rebels on the ground: whether they gave the direct order to off the Libyan leader matters little. What matters is that only God will judge him, and the trial will be private. The idea of Gadhafi in the dock at the International Tribunal in the Hague, testifying to his dealings with Western bigwigs over the years, is not something our leaders looked forward to.

Now the NATO-crats can turn their attention to the problem of how to hold the country together in the post-Gadhafi era, while maintaining tight control over whatever gang rises to the top. Libya, like the “countries” in the rest of Africa, is an artificial construct, the creation of Western colonial powers as they carved up the continent. It actually consists of at least three separate entities — Tripolitania to the west, Cyrenaica to the east, and an interior province peopled by nomads and black Tuaregs – each with its own distinct history and character. Uniting these regions by fiat ensures the future of Libya under the heel of yet another strongman, albeit one less eccentric and more reliably pro-Western than his predecessor. It seems a near certainty Libya will be deemed as yet unready for national elections, and one should expect the National Transitional Council will drop the “transitional” and simply declare itself to be the one and only legitimate government.

That this proclamation will be met with widespread resistance is also a near certainty, because Libya is afflicted with the same problem that besets the entire African continent – the illegitimacy of present-day national borders.

These borders are the outcome of decades of intra-mural battles between the European colonial powers, and bear little relationship to tribal and ethnic realities on the ground. As such, Africa is a tinderbox of inter-state rivalries and political and cultural tensions, which the spark of US intervention could very well set aflame.

As we wade into the Africa savannahs, and inject Special Forces into the Ugandan jungles, we will seek allies where we can find them – and create them where none exist. Like our British forebears, we’ll “take up the White man’s burden,” and fool ourselves into believing it’s all in the name of a vague “humanitarianism.” How long before the arbiters of Political Correctness deem opposition to US imperialism in Africa to be “racist”? Not long, I assure you.

As this administration tries to pick winners and losers in a place we know nothing about – and cannot know enough to do anything but harm – they’re bound to wind up with the African equivalent of Solyndra. From Libya to Uganda, the story is sure to be the same: all our efforts will amount to creating more chaos than order, fostering dependency instead of development. In short, like all government programs, the Obama administration’s plans for Africa are inevitably doomed to achieve the exact opposite of their intended result.

In Libya, where we are supporting and succoring an Islamist gang, we are seeing the first fruits of this seriously misguided policy. Gadhafi himself warned against the Islamist element in the rebel hierarchy: as we barbarically “celebrate” the bloody death of a ruthless and slightly wacky dictator, we would do well to wonder if he might one day have the last laugh.

College board certifies tax rate

2011-10-20T16:09:00.001-07:00

College board certifies tax rate

The Board of Trustees of Illinois Eastern Community Colleges certified the district's tax levies for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2012 and ending June 30, 2013, at the regular meeting Tuesday, Oct. 18, at Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel.

The college district includes those portions of White County that lie within the Grayville unit district, Fairfield high school district and former Crossville district.

The action followed a public hearing held during the meeting. The levies are for the education and building fund, outstanding bond issue, tort liability, workmen's compensation and unemployment, financial audit, Social Security and Medicare.

The IECC tax rate for FY2013 is estimated at 46.11 cents per $100 in equalized assessed valuation. The Certificate of Tax Levy is filed on or before the last Tuesday in December with the county clerk in each of the 12 counties (including White) in which part of the IECC district is located.

A resolution was adopted to comply with a General Accounting Standards Board requirement that under GASB guidelines, taxes levied for the year 2011 will be collected late in calendar year 2012 and that 100 percent of the levy will be allocated to fiscal year 2013.

College Board Announces Changes to AP Chemistry Course

Action was taken to certify that IECC has complied with provisions of the Truth in Taxation Law.

Health and dental insurance was approved for renewal with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for the 2012 calendar year, with an overall rate increase of 7 percent.

In February of 2010 the trustees approved the offering of a Qualified High Deductible Health Plan (District Plan) to all non-faculty employees and also implemented a plan allowing Health Savings Accounts (HSA) that enabled qualified employees in the District Plan to set aside money in pre-tax dollars. Each year the amount of the district's contribution to the participant's HSA for the coming calendar year is set prior to the beginning of the open enrollment period. The contribution for calendar year 2012 will be $1,000.

College Board announces redesign of AP classes

Construction of an outdoor amphitheater behind the Main Hall at Wabash Valley College was approved, to accommodate social and student events that exceed availability of the WVC Theatre. The facility will seat approximately 200 and provide a 24' by 15' stage. Estimated cost is $8,209 and will be paid for by the WVC Foundation.

The Illinois Capital Development Board recently approved a project for a concrete parking lot at Frontier Community College, to be located along the east side of the main entrance to the college and north of Foundation Hall. The CDB received a bid from the lowest qualified bidder of $185,000 for materials and labor, which was $25,000 more than the CDB approved amount of $160,000.

The approved project contained $16,000 for contingencies, some of which could be used to pay the cost difference. The IECC trustees took action to notify the CDB that the District is willing to pay the additional cost of between $9,000 and $25,000. The exact amount depends on how much of the contingency money can be used for materials and labor.

College Board: College students borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago

The trustees approved purchase of a new telephone system for the District and its four colleges from Frontier Communications at a cost of $415,556.96. The current system was purchased in 1996 and is becoming expensive to maintain. The new system includes all hardware, software and data network equipment that will be required for a state of the art telephone system.

The Mitel telephone system quoted by Frontier also allows the District to fully utilize the category three telephone cables that are presently in all district buildings. With Mitel, it will not be necessary to rewire each college and allows a direct connection to existing phones rather than requiring an additional converter box at each desk.

Four affiliation agreements were approved, as follows:

Richland Memorial Hospital, Olney, Emergency Response Training.

Fairfield Memorial Hospital, Fairfield, Phlebotomy Program.

St. Anthony's Memorial Hospital, Effingham, Associate Degree Nursing Program.

Flora Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, Flora, Associate Degree Nursing Program.

Observation agreements for the Associate Degree Nursing Program were approved with Happy Day Express Day Care Center and First Christian Preschool, both located in Fairfield.

Amy Scamman was employed as Nursing Instructor, effective January 4.

Lori Hoke was employed as Office Assistant at Lincoln Trail College, effective November 1.

Courtney Yost was employed as Coordinator, Outreach Services at Frontier Community College, effective November 14.

Eric Resor was employed as Recruiter/Advisor at Frontier Community College, effective October 24.

The resignation of Emily Gullett was accepted as temporary Office Assistant at Lincoln Trail College, effective October 15.

Two retirements were announced. Carol Redman will retire as Director, Educational Talent Search, District Office/Olney Central College, effective Jan. 1. Damona Nease will retire as Custodian at Olney Central College, effective Jan. 1.

All members of the Board of Trustees were present at the October meeting.

Next regular meeting of the Board of Trustees will be Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m. at Frontier Community College, Fairfield.

College Board announces redesign of AP classes

2011-10-20T15:58:00.000-07:00

College Board announces redesign of AP classes

In its latest effort to give depth to its Advanced Placement classes, the College Board said yesterday that AP Chemistry and AP Spanish Language and Culture are being redesigned. The new courses will take effect in the 2013-2014 school year. The College Board has been criticised by some teachers and parents who see some of the AP tests as promoting memorization and a broad, rather than deep, understanding of a subject. Responding to that criticism, the College Board said it will move the chemistry course from the "lecture and demonstrate" model toward a more "hands on and interactive" approach. The National Science Foundation was involved in the redesign of the chemistry test. About 122,000 students take the chemistry exam each year.

College Board: College students borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago

The new Spanish test places more emphasis on what students can do with the language rather than what they know about the language, according to officials.

College Board Announces Changes to AP Chemistry Course

A new World History test was put in place this year and next year a new Biology, Latin and Spanish Language and Culture start next school year. More information is available at the College Board website at http://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/

College Board: College students borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago

2011-10-20T15:54:00.000-07:00

College Board: College students borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago

The College Board — a membership association composed of more than 5,900 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations — reports that college students are borrowing twice as much in student loans as they did a decade ago.

Furthermore, as a result of the increase in student loan borrowing, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reports Americans now owe more in student loan debt than in credit card debt.

According to a USA Today report, college students borrowed more than $100 billion for the first time last year, and the amount of outstanding loans will exceed $1 trillion for the first time in 2011. The report added that in the past five years, total outstanding debt has doubled.

College Board Announces Changes to AP Chemistry Course

The USA Today report added that student loans pose little threat to taxpayers as Congress has empowered lenders with broad powers to collect on the debt, which cannot be vacated through bankruptcy.

“The credit risk falls on young people who will start adult life deeper in debt, a burden that could place a drag on the economy in the future,” the USA Today report said.

The College Board reports undergraduate borrowing is up 63 percent from a decade ago, with the average full-time undergraduate student borrowing $4,963 in 2010.

Rising tuition costs, an increase in defaults, unemployed workers seeking new training, and online and for-profit universities are likely factors in the increase in student loan debt.

Defaults, or borrowers who are nine months or more behind in payments, rose to 8.8 percent in 2009, up from 6.7 percent in 2007. Meantime, the nation’s largest for-profit school, The University of Phoenix, received “88 percent of its revenue from federal programs last year, most of it from student loans,” the USA Today reported.

College Board

2011-10-20T15:52:00.000-07:00

College Board Announces Changes to AP Chemistry Course

college board

The College Board announced today that it has revised its Advanced Placement Chemistry and Spanish courses. The new courses will go into effect starting fall 2013.

Trevor Packer, senior vice president for the AP program at the organization said in a statement that the courses were redesigned to “represent the best practices in their disciplines.”

For chemistry, that means less of an emphasis on in-class lectures and more time spent doing lab work, something College Board president Gaston Caperton said the nonprofit organization was hoping to do with many of its STEM courses.

College Board: College students borrowing twice as much as they did a decade ago

“We are in the process of shifting the focus of AP science courses to emphasize not just what students know, but what they can do—the process and practice of science," he said at U.S. News’s Making Science Cool event last month.

College Board announces redesign of AP classes

The new AP chemistry was redesigned by a group of educators and scientists around the nation and was funded by the National Science Foundation to “promote a balance between developing solid content knowledge and applying that knowledge to the practice of chemistry,” according to the announcement.

“In moving away from the lecture-and-demonstration model toward a more hands-on, interactive approach to studying chemistry,” the announcement says. “The course also enables students to take risks, apply inquiry skills, and direct and monitor their own progress.”

College board certifies tax rate

More than 122,000 students at some 8,000 high schools enroll in AP Chemistry, making it the 11th most popular AP course.

A redesigned AP biology course curriculum will go into effect in fall 2012.

Giuliana Rancic Breast Cancer: Announces Diagnosis On 'Today'

2011-10-17T13:50:00.000-07:00

Giuliana Rancic Breast Cancer: Announces Diagnosis On 'Today'

Appearing on the "Today" show Monday morning for a sit down with Ann Curry, many believed that Giuliana Rancic was there to announce exciting baby news. Instead, she had something much heavier to reveal -- the E! News host has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
While going through the process of trying in vitro fertilization for a third time -- the celebrity news show host previously suffered a miscarriage after eight weeks of pregnancy -- Giuliana's doctor suggested that she get a mammogram. While Giuliana initially rejected the idea, thinking, 'I'm 36 years old, why do I need a mamogram?' after her doctor's insistence she went through with the screening -- and that's when her breast cancer was initially detected.

Giuliana Rancic: ‘I Have Breast Cancer’

But Giuliana is staying positive, with the help of her husband Bill Rancic: "the best thing about Bill is he lets me cry when I want to cry," she said. And although the diagnosis means that the couple will have to put their dreams of having a baby on hold, Giuliana isn't giving up on adding a little one to her family, promising that the couple will try again once she overcomes her cancer.
"This baby will have saved my life," she told Curry, speaking of her future child. Had Giuliana become pregnant before discovering her breast cancer, the baby coud have had a negative impact on the progression of the disease.
Messages of support for the "Giuliana & Bill" reality show star have been pouring out via Twitter. Giuliana's "Fashion Police" co-host, Kelly Osbourne -- whose mother Sharon Osbourne also battled cancer -- took to the social networking site to express her encouragement for Giuliana: "i just want u 2 know i love you & that im thinking of u! u r a strong women & ur going 2 beat the shit out of this cancer!!!"
But Giuliana's message on the "Today" show wasn't simply about garnering sympathy for her own situation but encouraging women to make an appointment with a doctor for their own screening. Because of her doctor's persistence, Giuliana -- who has almost no family history of breast cancer -- was thankfully able to detect her cancer in its early stages, but she's urging women to put their health in their own hands and be proactive when it comes to making a mammogram appointment.
Giuliana is set to undergo surgery later this week before going through six and a half weeks of radiation.

Giuliana Rancic

2011-10-17T13:45:00.000-07:00

Giuliana Rancic: ‘I Have Breast Cancer’

The popular E! News and Style Network host, 37, told Today’s Ann Curry that she’s in the early stages of the disease.
Rancic -- who’s married to former Apprentice winner Bill Rancic -- said doctors discovered the tumor during a mammogram while she was undergoing another round of in-vitro fertilization in an effort to get pregnant.
PHOTOS: Guiliana And Bill Tour Italy
She says her doctor insisted she undergo a mammogram because the surge of hormones during pregnancy can accelerate cancer. (Rancic was 36 at the time of the test and said she initially resisted it since she was under 40 years of age).

Giuliana Rancic Breast Cancer: Announces Diagnosis On 'Today'

Rancic says she’ll undergo surgery this week and then have six weeks of radiation therapy.
Rancic said doctors gave her a good prognosis on her chances of beating the deadly disease, and that her husband Bill has been "unbelievable" in staying by her side throughout the tough times.
"The best thing about Bill is, he lets me cry when I want to cry," Rancic said.
Rancic added she "still [wants] this baby ... because this baby has saved my life. I truly feel God was looking out after me … If I had gotten pregnant later down the line, I could have been a lot sicker."

After her appearance on Today, E! issued a statement in support of Rancic, saying: “On behalf of her E! family we are sending our love and support to Giuliana and applaud her for sharing her recent breast cancer diagnosis in the hope that it will encourage women everywhere to take necessary and preventative measures. Giuliana has chosen to talk about her breast cancer on E! News tonight prior to her lumpectomy later this week. We are grateful that thanks to early detection Giuliana is expected to have a swift and complete recovery.”

Columbus Day Vs. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: How About Happy Immigration Day?

2011-10-10T16:45:00.000-07:00

Columbus Day Vs. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: How About Happy Immigration Day?

People are — and always have been — selfish jerks. That’s indisputable. It’s not worth fighting over.

Our forefathers were oppressed and were oppressors. In the quest for glory and wealth, Europeans did horrible things to those Native Americans who had the gall to get to the New World first. Once established, Americans did more horrible things to them. I don’t say this to diminish the terrible and innovative horrors – I say it to acknowledge that people from Europe and America treated people from America and Africa as no one should ever be treated.

Some see this behavior as an illness, a virus that first infected the Caribbean on October 12, 1492. To them, Columbus Day isn’t a day to celebrate the arrival of the first (non-Scandinavian) European to America – it’s an opportunity to call attention to the genocidal acts that followed when East met West. Started in Berkeley in 1992, today is also known as “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” a day on which to celebrate the native people who first lived in America.

Happy Columbus Day (Observed)

I appreciate the sentiment. It’s easy to elide the marginalized from our consideration of history. But the response seems knee-jerk, a yin counter to the yang implications of celebrating the man who cracked open the door of genocide. A door, let’s be honest, that would have been opened sooner or later anyway. If Columbus hadn’t discovered America, it’s safe to assume that this continent wouldn’t still today be populated by a few thousand Iroquois, Sioux and Mayans.

Columbus Day was founded not as a celebration of Christopher Columbus, but as a celebration of a group of people – Catholics. The Knights of Columbus pushed for national recognition that a Catholic was the first to land on our shores, hoping to combat a surge of anti-Catholic sentiment in the middle of the 19th Century. Catholics from Ireland, Italy, Germany and Russia were immigrating at a significant rate, and meeting the traditional American cold shoulder once onshore.

Columbus Day Cleanup

That’s why today should, instead of Columbus Day or Indigenous Peoples’ Day, be Immigration Day. A day to celebrate the American tradition of immigration, the blended and the discrete contributions of millions of Americans from thousands of national and ethnic origins. An Immigration Day holiday maintains the true spirit of Columbus Day – celebrating the contributions of one group – while respecting that America has been built by all Americans: oppressors, oppressed, and observers.

At any moment, it’s easy to forget the contributions that immigration has made to our country. America seems static – it is as it always has been. This is why the immigration of Mexicans is as frightening to some today as the immigration of the Irish was to others 150 years ago. It’s an introduction of new elements to what seems like the perfect mix. But it has always worked; it has always made us stronger.

It is true that there’s no official recognition of the native populations that were displaced – unwillingly – in the creation of our country. But the best tribute to that aspect of America’s history isn’t a day created in angry reaction to Christopher Columbus. It’s a day that respects the unique contributions of indigenous peoples and is honest about the way we built America at their expense.

America, after all, was founded with the still-not-perfected idea that every person has a voice and a role to play in contributing to our mutual success. It’s the opposite of a land that celebrates the selfish individual. In America, your success is subject to the whims of the majority. Columbus unveiled a new world. Americans made it open to everyone.

So happy Immigration Day. My French Huguenot and German and Scottish and British ancestors made me just as your ancestors and millions of immigrants made America. Immigration is America, it’s what makes our country what it is. Let’s celebrate those millions, instead of fighting over just one.

Columbus Day

2011-10-10T16:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Columbus Day (Observed)

Columbus at Salvador, Dioscuro Tolin (Wikimedia)

The usual grumblings attend the day on which we commemorate the most famous illegal immigrant in the history of the Americas, an undocumented wanderer from Spain who brought plagues, fire and the sword from the Old World to the New.

Columbus Day is our most confused holiday celebration, one in which the public understanding of the day has shifted the farthest from the intent of those who instituted the observance. Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the New World on October 12, 1492 only became a federal holiday in the US in 1934 since the Uniform Monday Holiday Act of 1971 we have celebrated it on the Monday closes to the actual date; Veterans’ Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas and the Fourth of July escaped the leveling axe and are still celebrated on their actual dates.

There is a long history of celebrating the European discovery of the Americas outside the United States. Many South American and Caribbean countries began celebrating the day as a celebration of Latino ethnic identity well before Columbus Day made it onto the holiday calendar in the US; Venezuela now celebrates it as the Day of Indigenous Resistance. In Spain the day on which an Italian discovered what we now know as the Bahamas under the impression he was nearing Japan was long celebrated as Dia de la Hispanidad.

Columbus Day Vs. Indigenous Peoples’ Day: How About Happy Immigration Day?

In American history, the fight to make a holiday on Columbus Day actually had almost nothing to do with the actual arrival of Christopher Columbus in the western hemisphere. It wasn’t about celebrating the European conquest of the Americas or the extirpation of the native tribes.

The day was made a holiday after years of lobbying as a way of recognizing the contribution of Roman Catholics and immigrants generally to American life. It is a holiday to celebrate diversity, not to commemorate the imperial outreach of Ferdinand and Isabella, a deeply regrettable couple who were notorious oath breakers, inquisitors and anti-Semites.

Posthumous Portrait of Columbus by Piombo (Wikimedia)

Back in the 1930s there was a widespread feeling among both Protestant and Catholic Americans that Roman Catholics, and especially Catholics from non-English speaking countries, were not and could not be ‘real Americans’. Al Smith, the popular governor of New York, was the first Roman Catholic ever nominated for the presidency by a major party; suspicion of his religion made his defeat even greater than usual, as many solidly Democratic and pro-Prohibition voters in the South deserted the Catholic “wet” to vote for the reliably dry Protestant, Herbert Hoover.

For the KKK in those days, Catholics were one of the foreign influences that ‘real’ Americans had to fight, and many Protestant whites still considered Italians, Greeks and other southern European ethnic groups to be too ‘swarthy’ to be fully white.

Columbus Day Cleanup

Irish Catholics had faced discrimination, but with most of them arriving in the US as native speakers of English (some still spoke Gaelic as a first language in the 19th century) and looking as ‘white’ as anybody else, the Irish through hard work and the sheer weight of numbers had carved out a pretty solid place for themselves by the 1930s. The Irish arrival at the height of American society was signaled by FDR’s appointment of Joseph Kennedy as his ambassador to the Court of St. James; many a Hibernian soul was comforted and soothed to think of an Irishman like Kennedy hobnobbing with kings and prime ministers on more than equal terms as the representative of the President of the United States.

The Italian-Americans were the largest and most powerful Catholic ethnic group that still felt themselves to be uneasily outside the American mainstream. They were (and are) swing voters; especially in FDR’s home state of New York Italian-Americans (partly out of old rivalries with the Irish) are often Republicans.

The Knights of Columbus was founded in 1882 in New Haven, Connecticut as a Catholic fraternal organization. Catholics were forbidden by Rome to join the Freemasons, and other fraternal groups at that time in the US barred Catholics from membership. These civic self help fraternal groups provided community services, raised money for members in distress, and often organized cheap life insurance for their members. The isolation of Catholics from this vital element of American life both emphasized their outsider status in the US and left them without the resources and support these groups often provided.

The Knights of Columbus filled a need and quickly became a national organization. Membership in the organization was a way for Catholics to help themselves and their community, to assert their identity as Catholics, and also to move into the culture of civic activism and voluntary associations that is a hallmark of traditional Anglo-Protestant social organization in both the UK and the US.

Christopher Columbus had a useful name for the organization’s founders to appropriate. He was a Catholic himself, and an agent of their Most Catholic Majesties Ferdinand and Isabella. Known to every schoolchild as the discoverer of America, he emphasized the indispensable role that Catholics had played in the story of the New World from the time of the discovery forward. The Irish at that time dominated American Catholic life, but there were tensions between the Irish and more recent immigrant groups struggling for representation and recognition. Choosing the name of an Italian hired by the Spanish gave the Knights of Columbus a universal and small ‘c’ catholic character, rather than a purely Hibernian one.

The order was controversial; in 1912 claims that the fourth degree knights had to swear an oath to exterminate Freemasons and Protestants became widespread, and the charges figured in the 1928 campaign against Al Smith. When the Episcopalian Democrat Franklin Roosevelt was elected in 1932, the lobbying by the Knights of Columbus and Italian-American organizations and lobbies to make Columbus Day a national holiday grew intense, and FDR signed a bill to make October 12 a holiday in 1934.

Columbus Day is not an imperialistic holiday. It is a celebration of American diversity, a long overdue recognition of the importance of Catholics and immigrants in American life. It is a celebration we share with our Hispanic neighbors in the New World and it is a day that testifies to our growing understanding that religious and ethnic pluralism aren’t problems for our American heritage; pluralism is central to our identity as a people.

That American Indian activists want to use the day to make a point is OK with me; they have a point to make. But Columbus Day is a holiday that was created to celebrate the dignity and equality of Americans regardless of origin or creed, and that in my view is an excellent reason for the country to take the day off.

Happy Columbus Day from Via Meadia.

We will be back to a regular posting schedule tomorrow.

Answering Questions About the P.S.A. Test

2011-10-07T15:59:00.000-07:00

P.S.A. Test

News that an influential panel of experts is advising healthy men not to be screened for prostate cancer with a widely used test is certain to cause confusion and anxiety among men and their doctors, and reignites a debate about the benefits and risks of screening tests.
The recommendations, to be officially announced on Tuesday by the United States Preventive Services Task Force, affect more than 44 million men age 50 and older who typically are candidates for a simple blood screen call the prostate-specific antigen (P.S.A.) test.
The panel, which already recommends against P.S.A. screening for men age 75 and older, will cite recent research suggesting that the testing does not save lives but does lead to unnecessary treatments that can cause impotence, incontinence and a number of other complications.
Here are some answers to common questions about P.S.A. testing and what the task force recommendations mean for men.
Will the new recommendations prevent me from getting a P.S.A. test if I want one?
No. Whether to be screened for prostate cancer is still a decision that each man must make for himself with the advice of a doctor he trusts. But now that the independent panel has taken a stand, many doctors who were ambivalent or opposed to P.S.A. testing may be more willing to express their own doubts about the test and to advise patients against it.

PSA test for prostate cancer screening: should he or shouldn’t he?

What if I have a family history of prostate cancer or worrisome symptoms? Should I still be checked for cancer?
The panel’s advice is based on studies of healthy men. Men who have symptoms related to prostate health should always be seen by a doctor; the task force did not address whether P.S.A. testing is appropriate for them. And men with a strong family history of prostate cancer may have more to gain from screening than men at low risk, so they also should discuss the issue with their physician.
In addition, a man who already has prostate cancer that has been diagnosed or treated is likely to continue to undergo P.S.A. testing, which can help doctors determine whether cancer has returned or is spreading.
What do other groups say about P.S.A. testing?
Most major medical groups have not taken a stand against routine P.S.A. screening and say it is a decision a man should discuss with his doctor. The American Cancer Society suggests that the conversation start at age 50 for most men, earlier for African-Americans and men with a strong family history of prostate cancer.
The American Urological Association recommends that P.S.A. screening be offered to men 40 or older. Most organizations discourage prostate cancer screening for men with less than 10 years life expectancy.
Why not get screened? Isn’t it always better to find cancer early?
The argument against P.S.A. testing is that prostate cancer is typically so slow growing that most men would be just fine if they never knew it was there. But once cancer is detected, it is psychologically difficult for a man to do nothing.
As a result, tens of thousands of men each year are left impotent and incontinent as a result of aggressive treatment for a cancer that would never have caused them harm. But it is impossible to tell which men have comparatively benign cancer and which men have aggressive cancer. As a result, many doctors believe the overall benefits of screening outweigh the negatives.
How much weight do the task force recommendations carry?
The task force is an independent panel of experts in prevention and primary care appointed by the federal Department of Health and Human Services. While the group only makes recommendations, a change by the task force often prompts other organizations to review their guidelines and can influence how insurance companies reimburse for certain services.
But the influence of the panel is often determined by how controversial its recommendations are. Two years ago, for instance, the task force concluded that healthy women under age 50 should no longer get annual mammograms. That recommendation was met with strong resistance by many cancer organizations, women and their doctors, many of whom continue to ignore it.
And even though the panel has already recommended that men over age 75 not undergo P.S.A. testing, many men and their doctors continue the practice. Earlier this year, The Journal of Clinical Oncology reported that men ages 80 to 85 are being screened as often as those 30 years younger. The task force’s advice is not necessarily the final word.

PSA Test

2011-10-07T15:57:00.000-07:00

PSA test for prostate cancer screening: should he or shouldn’t he?

Even his doctor doesn’t know for sure.

In some ways the news that the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has stopped recommending routine prostate cancer screening through the mechanism of the PSA blood test mirrors the same group’s finding in 2009 that routine mammograms for women between 40-50 should no longer be suggested.

The problems the panel faces are very similar to those it was grappling with in the mammogram situation: a simple and relatively inexpensive screening test for a fairly common but extraordinarily nasty disease, confusing and difficult-to-evaluate statistics about whether or not the test really decreases mortality, and a treatment that has its own negatives in terms of pain and suffering (both physical and emotional). Now as then, the task force will be accused by some of cutting back on a benefit in order to save the money that would otherwise be spent to cover the test and its results. The doctors will be seen as hard-hearted and/or scientifically incompetent or simply wrong in their conclusions.

But although the two situations (mammograms and PSA tests) are somewhat similar they are not identical, with the mammogram decision actually being somewhat easier. As I wrote in November of 2009, when I disagreed somewhat with the panel’s recommendations:

The listed harms of extra mammograms seem minor although more frequent [than the harms of not doing them], the benefits admittedly less frequent but rather more major—life vs. death, for example. And deaths in the age group specified—women in their forties—involve a population of young mothers. We’re not talking about death squads for grandma here; we’re talking about mommy.

Answering Questions About the P.S.A. Test

Prostate cancer is a related but somewhat different disease with even more confusing demographics and more serious (and common) side effects of treatment, presenting doctors with a host of conundrums [emphasis mine]:

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death among men, after lung cancer. In 2009, it was diagnosed in approximately 192,000 men. A small number of tumors are very aggressive, but the majority of prostate tumors are not likely to cause death. They grow very slowly, and only a fraction break out of the prostate, seed new tumors in other parts of the body and kill the patient. The current thinking is that about 30 percent of men in their 40s have prostate cancer, 40 percent of men in their 50s and so on, right up to 70 percent of men in their 80s. Yet only 3 percent of all men die from the disease. In other words, far more men die with prostate cancer than from it, and only a tiny fraction of prostate cancers ever cause symptoms, much less death.
But here is the tricky part: Unless there are symptoms or a finding on a physical exam, doctors generally cannot accurately predict which cancers are destined to be indolent, to sit around for years growing slowly, if at all, and those that will ultimately prove lethal.

You can see the dilemma, and it’s far worse than that facing doctors advising women about mammograms, because breast cancer—although common—is both less frequent than prostate cancer and far more reliably lethal if left untreated. What’s more, the interventions for prostate cancer are especially troubling and common in their possible side effects:

About half of men who undergo radiation or surgery [for prostate cancer] will have permanent side effects like impotence and incontinence. Up to 1 in 200 men die within 30 days from complications related to the surgery.

Those who advocate routine screening say it’s worth it in lives saved. But opponents point to studies that show no difference in mortality between the screened and the unscreened.

Until we know more, the best solution is probably (as the article concludes) to inform men of the risks and benefits of screening before they take the PSA test and let them decide whether they want to roll those iffy dice. This follows a recent trend in medicine in which patients are more and more often being asked to take responsibility for decisions that used to be the province of doctors. This is either good or bad depending on how much you want to depend on your doctor.

[NOTE: And, of course, the entire issue has insurance consequences: will PSA tests now be removed from routine coverage?]

[ADDENDUM: On a lighter note, those of a certain age may get the reference in the title and first line of this post. But for the others, here's some help:

One of the most successful ad campaigns ever.]

From Obamacare to Occupy Wall Street: A brief history of the Left and rent-a-non-English-speaking-protester

2011-10-07T15:45:00.000-07:00

From Obamacare to Occupy Wall Street: A brief history of the Left and rent-a-non-English-speaking-protester

Old habits die hard.
Let’s review the Left’s standard practice of renting non-English-speaking protesters to represent the “grass-roots.”

In August 2009, Nancy Pelosi snuck into a Denver health care clinic, where she was greeted by 200 grass-roots protesters against socialized medicine — and a handful of Obama-bots and union members carrying identical HCAN signs. Denver photojournalist El Marco was at the event and exposed how Pelo-cchio’s Astroturf brigade had to be coached by professional organizers — including several day laborers who didn’t speak English and couldn’t tell what the signs they were holding read.

Astroturf on literal parade: Occupy DC agitator admits to paying protesters.

In September 2010, Sen. Barbara Boxer borrowed a page from Pelosi and recruited day labor stooges to hold up anti-Carly Fiorina signs. Asked if they made the signs, one of the men confessed: “No, there’s a lady that pay.”
And this week, Michelle Fields at the Daily Caller caught an Occupy Wall Street organizer in D.C. admitting that he paid Hispanic men to march.
Gotta the love the smell of Astroturf in the morning…

Occupy

2011-10-07T15:42:00.000-07:00

Astroturf on literal parade: Occupy DC agitator admits to paying protesters.

Occupy

The Daily Caller has some entertaining video up of a ‘Occupy DC organizer’ admitting that some of the spontaneous voluntary protesters that he has in tow – ones, not even incidentally, that are more, ah, diverse than the baseline of ‘pasty-faced white twenty-something hipster who’s seriously underwater in his/her liberal arts degree student debt’ – are actually being paid to show up and wave signs in a language that is perhaps not the mother tongue of the country of their birth*.
Let’s go over a few of the things suggested by this video. Kudos for the Daily Caller for sending in a reporter who could speak Spanish, by the way: that was just entertainingly nasty, and probably what forced the admission in the first place.
First off, and the most serious point: if you’re wondering why on earth the guy in the video above is even willing to admit that some of his squad of ‘volunteers’ were not actually volunteers, you shouldn’t. From his point of view – which is to say, the point of view of the activist Left – of course you pay people to pad out your numbers, if you have to. Everybody does that. I mean, it’s great if there are enough motivated people out there to swell your crowd, but you still budget to bring in more folks anyway. This is one major reason why the activist Left is so infuriated with the Tea Party movement, by the way: many of them honestly and truly believe that the groups are being subsidized and funded directly from major corporations, and they legitimately don’t understand why this isn’t being exposed in the media**. So… sure, everybody does it, so why not admit to it?
Second… now, I may be jumping to conclusions, here, in assuming that at least one of the individuals in that video may not even have a green card. But I’m going to take that chance and state that, while I am of course a notorious pro-amnesty immigration squish, it’s at times like these that I can understand the attitudes of my more hard-nosed colleagues. I mean, look at that. There are plenty of aforementioned American twentysomething hipsters – at that very rally – who would have been darned glad to get the job of holding up a sign and woodenly repeating random progressive pablum. But they didn’t get those jobs, did they? And if you’re a fellow immigration squish who’s thinking that I’m being too hardline, consider this: by any objective standard an illegal Mexican immigrant willing to work three jobs is of more practical value to the country than a twenty seven year old inconveniently tattooed former barista with a Masters degree in semiotics. Let the latter carry the darn signs, and free up the former for more useful work.
Moe Lane (crosspost)
*And more importantly, the country that would issue their passports. If they have passports. Which they may not actually have.
**Sure, you know and I know that the answer to that is that you can’t wave around a Bloody Check that doesn’t actually exist, but this is the Activist Left that we’re talking about, here. They have a narrative that they need to let them sleep at night, and it’s perilous to challenge it. For a given value of ‘perilous.’

The Ides of March

2011-10-07T14:03:00.001-07:00

Is ‘The Ides of March’ a taut, gripping, political thriller, or yet another example of trivial political banter? The Ides of March was adapted from the play “Farragut North” by Beau Willimon, which was itself loosely based on the 2004 Democratic primary of Governor Howard Dean.

The film follows Team Morris’ hard fight to win the pivotal state of Ohio in the Democratic primary. Snappy banter and (somewhat) interesting plot and character developments are definitely the strong points of The Ides of March script. The strongest two figures in the ensemble, though, are undoubtedly Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, who play rival campaign managers. On the subject of politics: there are many people who will have trouble separating the subject matter of this film from George Clooney’s real life political dogma – but they needn’t be concerned that this is some sort of ‘pro-left, anti-right’ propaganda film. Watch the trailer below, then cast your vote about how well the film does its job:

The Ides of March

2011-10-07T13:58:00.000-07:00

‘The Ides of March’ Review

the ides of march

Is ‘The Ides of March’ a taut, gripping, political thriller, or yet another example of trivial political banter? Read our review to find out.

Is ‘The Ides of March’ a taut, gripping, political thriller, or yet another example of trivial political banter? Read our review to find out.

The Ides of March was adapted from the play “Farragut North” by Beau Willimon, which was itself loosely based on the 2004 Democratic primary of Governor Howard Dean. If there is one thing to be said about this film adaptation of Willimon’s play, it’s that its Broadway origins are glaringly apparent – a fact that will delight some viewers, but will ultimately leave others yawning in their seats.

The story follows Stephen Myers (Ryan Gosling), an idealistic young campaign staffer working on the presidential campaign of Governor Mike Morris (George Clooney), a man whose promises of real change and clean politics have energized many of the young staffers who work for and support him. The film follows Team Morris’ hard fight to win the pivotal state of Ohio in the Democratic primary. As Myers floats along in his euphoric state of political idealism – believing that he is truly in the corner of a “good” candidate – he learns hard lessons about the reality of American politics, and ultimately comes to recognize it for the corruptive, immoral dogfight it truly is.
Clooney directed Ides of March as well as starring in it, and while he’s far from being a technical wizard, the actor has proven himself to be competent at the helm (see: Confessions of a Dangerous Mind). Here, Clooney wisely surrounds himself with more technically proficient talent like cinematographer Phedon Papamichael (Walk the Line, Pursuit of Happiness, W., 3:10 to Yuma), and in that sense, The Ides of March is a good-looking and well-crafted film. Unfortunately, while the visual and technical components are strong, the script Clooney co-wrote with his Good Night, and Good Luck collaborator Grant Hello is not as successful in translating a dialogue-heavy stage play into an exciting movie experience.
Snappy banter and (somewhat) interesting plot and character developments are definitely the strong points of The Ides of March script. The downside is that this movie still feels very much like a stage play (i.e., static scenes of people sitting around talking) and the subject matter is now so dated that the movie, as a whole, comes off as a feature-length report on old news. Notions like ‘politics is a dirty game’ or ‘there are no noble politicians’ or ‘the game never changes’ are by now so ingrained in our cynical cultural zeitgeist, that watching Gosling’s character develop from a naive idealist into a cynical political player feels about as revelatory as a headline about another political scandal (read: not at all).
What keeps the film going are the performances of the ensemble cast. While Gosling’s character feels somewhat outdated, the actor plays him earnestly as a man whose passion and conviction ultimately get swallowed by his cunning and ambition. Clooney appears only briefly throughout the film, but conveys the gray shades of a seasoned politician well – as does Jeffrey Wright in the role of a senator playing both sides for the sake of his own political advancement. Evan Rachel Wood serves well as the pretty little intern who becomes fodder for the dirty game, Max Minghella is fine playing a well-meaning but oblivious aid, and Marissa Tomei is strong in the few scenes she has, playing a brass-balled (and ultimately prophetic) reporter who tries to cut through all the spin to get at the so-called “truth.”
The strongest two figures in the ensemble, though, are undoubtedly Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Paul Giamatti, who play rival campaign managers. On his own, each actor nails the task of delivering some of the heavier monologues about the nature of politics, while simultaneously keeping those scenes dynamic and interesting. When (briefly) onscreen together, Hoffman and Giamatti have an exciting chemistry that is totally contained within a few exchanged glances or brief quips. Their roles also feel like the most authentic and relevant, since their characters are the ones who provide the clearest and most truthful insight into what the political process is all about.
On the subject of politics: there are many people who will have trouble separating the subject matter of this film from George Clooney’s real life political dogma – but they needn’t be concerned that this is some sort of ‘pro-left, anti-right’ propaganda film. If anything, Ides of March takes a hard, cynical jab at the Democratic party, showcasing the same back-room dealings and moral lapses that the Republican party is often accused of. The point the film makes is very clear: modern politics (as a whole) is a dirty game, and anyone thinking they can come in and change it into something uncompromised, earnest and noble will never survive long enough in the race to do so. It’s kind of a dark outlook to have – but one that probably rings true for many Americans today.
In the end, The Ides of March is a movie that will likely only appease the most die-hard political pundits in the crowd. For most everyone else, an hour and a half watching people discuss the nature of modern American politics will probably be as fun and insightful as a night spent watching C-SPAN.
Need something to help sway your vote on whether or not to see The Ides of March? Watch the trailer below, then cast your vote about how well the film does its job:
Surely there can be few people by now who are unaware that politics is a scummy business. Nevertheless, this is the news that director George Clooney brings us in his carefully paced semi-thriller, The Ides of March. As the title indicates, the movie is an examination of betrayal, on several levels. The stars—Clooney, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Evan Rachel Wood, and especially Ryan Gosling, the film’s central presence—are so good they almost make the picture work. But they’re let down in the end by the movie’s under-powered style—it’s almost too tastefully done—and by the facile implausibilities and familiar political tilt of the script (a collaboration by Clooney, Grant Heslov, and Beau Willimon, who wrote the play on which the film is based).
The story is set in wintry Ohio, during the final week of a Democratic presidential primary. Pennsylvania governor Mike Morris (Clooney) is in the lead, but one of his opponents is catching up. Morris’ campaign is being run by veteran political operative Paul Zara (Hoffman), capably assisted by hotshot up-and-comer Stephen Myers (Gosling).
The opposition mastermind is wily Tom Duffy (Giamatti). Both Duffy and Zara realize that their candidates will need the endorsement of a powerful senator named Thompson (Jeffrey Wright) in order to prevail. But in exchange for the hundreds of delegates he controls, Thompson wants major payback: a promise to be appointed secretary of state in the administration of whichever candidate will meet his demand.
Myers is a young idealist. He believes Morris “can make a difference in people’s lives” and he resonates to the older man’s smoothly reiterated beliefs. Morris is a doctrinaire liberal. He wants to save the planet and wean the country off oil (he promises to institute regulations that would ban internal-combustion engines within 10 years after his election). He also wants to fight terror by making nice with the country’s enemies, and he’s outraged that the rich “don’t pay their fair share,” and cry “socialism” whenever it’s suggested they should do so. This is the standard progressive agenda, of course, and there’s no countervailing critique of it. (The term “GOP” is mentioned maybe twice, but there are no pesky Republicans actually in view.)
I think we can assume that the movie reflects Clooney’s own political convictions. (Amid the media fixtures passing through the film are Charlie Rose, Chris Matthews, and Rachel Maddow.) And so it’s interesting that his character, a sleek charmer in the Mitt Romney mode, is slowly revealed to be a duplicitous hypocrite, a man who’ll say or do anything to win office. If this is a slap at the present-day Democratic Party, as opposed to politics in general, Clooney deserves cranky-idealist props.
In any case, Morris is almost a peripheral character here. The real star is Gosling, who once again gives a performance of captivating restraint. His Myers is a naive man ripe for schooling by the grizzled dissemblers all around him. (“None of this is about the democratic process,” one of them informs him.) Myers’ ideals begin to crumble when Duffy attempts to lure him away from the Morris campaign and into the rival camp; and they threaten to implode after a hot young campaign intern named Molly (Wood) enters the scene, and fatefully complicates everyone’s life. This element of the plot, which also enables a rote jab at Catholics, struck me as distractingly melodramatic and far-fetched, for reasons I won’t go into.
But the actors—including Marisa Tomei as a pushy reporter nipping around everyone’s heels—are all exceptionally good. (Wood, especially, exudes an air of erotic calculation that’s unlike anything I’m aware she’s ever done before.) And Clooney, a fine director by now, maintains solid control of the film’s somewhat somber tone. He also stages at least one memorable scene. It’s a long shot in which we see Hoffman summoned into an unexpected meeting in a parked van; the camera holds on the van in silence, and when Hoffman finally emerges, we can read the weight of betrayal, even from a distance, in his eloquently slumped shoulders. It’s too bad the movie’s well-constructed but predictable conclusion can be seen coming from even farther away.
The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence)
The 2009 Human Centipede (First Sequence) elicited understandable opprobrium. Outside of the ravening torture-porn cult, it was felt to be vile, inhuman, and, if nothing else, a caution to topless actresses everywhere. Now, however, with the release of The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence), the outline of something more—an extended, deadpan provocation—begins to take shape.
The first film, as you’ll surely recall, introduced us to the rogue surgeon Dr. Heiter (unforgettably played by skull-on-a-stick German actor Dieter Laser) and his mad dream of suturing together a group of captive human subjects, mouth-to-anus, to form an entomological monstrosity. It was a big dream, and—since bodily wastes could only pass from one subject to the next through their conjoined orifices—an unprecedentedly disgusting one. Heiter’s demented chant (“Feed her!”) must echo in the ears of anyone who saw the picture.
Unfortunately, apart from brief flashbacks on a laptop screen, the good doctor is absent from this even more abominable sequel. The laptop belongs to an enormously fat, sweaty asthmatic named Martin (Laurence R. Harvey), a security attendant in a London parking garage. Martin is obsessed with the first Centipede movie (very meta), and yearns not only to replicate its foul horrors, but to expand upon them. Once again, we get to watch.
After some scenes set in the cramped apartment Martin shares with his mother, in which we learn that he was abused by his now-imprisoned father, the movie focuses almost exclusively on the most gruesome torment. Wielding a crowbar, Martin overpowers various customers in his parking establishment—one of them a pregnant woman—and transports them to a grimy warehouse he has rented, where he hogties them and cuts off their clothing. He’s aiming for an even-dozen victims, and when he manages to lure Ashlynn Yennie—one of the pitifully abused actresses in the first Centipede—to London with the promise of an audition for a Tarantino movie (!), his quota is filled, and he gets down to business.
Out comes the kit full of alarming implements—hammer, knives, stapler, pliers, meat cleaver—followed by a grisly checklist of tongue-yanking, teeth-bashing, tendon-slicing, and face-to-butt stapling. (There’s also an unexpected interlude of sandpaper masturbation, which does little to lighten the mood.) Finally, with his human-centipede segments connected into one long gastric system, Martin brings out the king-size jug of laxative.
HCII fails as a horror movie. There are no rousing frights, only blood and agony. So what is it then? A knowing poke in the eye aimed at torture-porn fanboys, daring them to salivate over this jacked-up depravity? A social commentary about the low estate of popular culture? Or are these possibilities part of some encompassing goof? The Dutch director, Tom Six, seems too skillful a filmmaker to confine himself to such a grotesque genre. But we won’t know his full intent until the “concluding” installment of the series (what, a globe-circling string of victims?) arrives in our midst. Yes, The Human Centipede (Final Sequence) is already in development.

Herman Cain

2011-10-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

George Lopez: GOP Knows Herman Cain Is ‘Darker Than Barack Obama,’ But ‘Whiter On The Inside’

Comedian and former late night talk show host George Lopez visited the set of Fox & Friends to discuss the current GOP field, most notably businessman Herman Cain. Lopez started things off with a joke about New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (Should Governor Christie run? “Absolutely, we all should get in better shape.” Should he jump in the pool? “Not while I’m in there.”)

When talk turned to Cain, Lopez made some… observations.

Herman Cain tonight. Herman Cain… It’s funny. The Republicans do know he’s darker than Barack Obama. But whiter on the inside!

Exactly the kind of superb, finely-crafted observational humor that keeps people tuning in to George Lopez.

chris christie

2011-10-04T14:34:00.000-07:00

BREAKING: Chris Christie sneezed; Update: The endless no

The heavy breathing over NJ Gov. Chris Christie over the past two weeks makes Justin Bieber fans look downright ascetic.

He sniffled. He burped. He cleared his throat.

What could it all mean?

Mother fudge biscuits, this is ridiculous.

Twitter lit up this morning with URGENT BREAKING NEWS of yet another Christie news conference scheduled today for 1pm Eastern.

“Sources” tell everyone and their mothers that Christie is/isn’t/may be/could be/might be running for president — and that no matter what he actually says later today, it is/isn’t/may be/could be/might be a sign of the opposite of whatever he says.

Wake me up when the panting ends.

***

Update 1:34pm Eastern: Christie is now 30 minutes into his “No, I’m not running, but I’ll bask in the national spotlight for just a wee bit longer” press conference.

Alas, there is no Gong Show gong to bring this thing to a merciful close.

BELAJAR JADI DEVELOPER DENGAN CARA NYANTAI

2011-09-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

BELAJAR JADI DEVELOPER DENGAN CARA NYANTAI

PELAJARAN DASAR :
- Koefisien dasar bangunan ( KDB ) 60% : 40% ada yang bisa menjelaskan ?
- Ambil brosur rumah sederhana harga jual 55 jt, amati spesifikasinya dan
cari tahu berapa borongan/m2 ( bahan + upah + fee ) bila diborongkan ke kontraktor. Jangan malu tanya ke mandor atau siapapun yang tahu

aku coba bantu kasih penjelasan secara garis besarnya :
( dan ini tidak harus berurutan dikerjakan )

1. lakukan cma ( comparative market analysis ) lakukan perbandingan apple to apple terhadap kompetitor yang ada di sekitar lokasi anda mulai dari desain rumah,spesifikasi bangunan,fasilitas rumah, harga jual dll setelah data dapat mungkin dari 3 lokasi perumahan kompetitor maka tentukan milik anda supaya bersaing dengan kompetitor.

2. cek ke pemda setempat untuk kdb ( koefisien dasar bangunan ) dan cek juga ijin peruntukkannya serta biaya perijinannya mulai dari ijin prinsip, hgb induk, imb induk dll

3. cek harga borongan ke kontraktor setempat, cek juga biaya2 koordinasi setempat

4. cek juga harga tanah mentah anda yang berlaku disana

5. setelah semua data mentah anda dapati maka buatkan budgeting/rab ( rencana anggaran biaya ) untuk lokasi yang ada miliki

BIASANYA BUDGETING TERDIRI DARI

- biaya perijinan
- biaya konstruksi bangunan rumah
- biaya sarana dan prasarana ( jalan utama, jalan lingkungan, saluran, pagar cluster, pos jaga, taman, trafo gantung/gardu, jaringan listrik dll )
- biaya promosi,marketing,gaji karyawan, adm dll ( biaya operasional + overhead )
- pajak penjualan bangunan 5% dari harga jual rumah excl. ppn 10%
buat secara detail dan usaha dalam rab (rencana anggaran biaya) biaya tak terduga maximum 3% dari total rab
cek apakah layak profit yang ada terima ???? kalo tidak layak maka harga jual perlu dinaikkan atau biaya2 lainnya dikurangi...
kalo harga jual dinaikkan ? bagaimana harga jual pesaing...kalo anda yang paling mahal dari pesaing terdekat anda maka susah anda menjual produk anda
dan kalo biaya2 lain anda kurangi maka kualitas berkurang dan ini tentu kurang menjual dimata konsumen

kalo profitnya menurut anda layak maka anda harus menentukan dana awal untuk memenuhi 2 kriteria berikut ini :
1. layak legalistas
2. layak tampil

1. layak legalitas
anda membuat perseroan terbatas ( PT ) baru, buat ijin prinsip ( lebih jelasnya anda tanya ke pemda setempat ) untuk lokasi yang anda miliki, pajak2,

2. layak tampil
coba lakukan pematangan lahan, gerbang masuk, pos jaga, taman depan, jalan utama, rumah contoh, pagar cluster, promosi, marketing

kalo dana awal tsb anda sanggup penuhi maka
- baiknya ada ukur ulang lokasi anda
- buatkan site plannya yang jelas sesuai desain arsitek
- ajukan ijin prinsip dan ijin lainnya sebatas supaya anda bisa maju
- sebelum ijin disetujui anda sebaiknya mempersiapkan desain tapak,desain rumah
desain lainnya, rencana promosi/marketing/penjualan
jangan lupa untuk merekrut orang2 yang berdedikasi dan jujur
- selebihnya anda yang aktif....

yang pernah ikut kursus bisnis properti dan atau memiliki sertifikat tolong jawab pertanyaan ini :

- berapa harga borongan rumah sederhana standard / m2 dan upah borongannya per meter persegi ?

- berapa harga borongan rumah re ( real estate ) standard /m2 dan upah borongannya/m2 ?

- berapa harga borongan rumah tingkat re standard /m2 dan upah borongannya/m2 ?

kalo anda bisa menjawab seluruhnya maka saya akan ajukan lagi pertanyaan yang berikutnya ?

- darimanakah asalnya harga borongan tsb ? bisakah dianalisa ? dan bagaimana cara menganalisanya secara detail untuk masing2 jenis rumah tsb diatas ??

- untuk anda yang ingin tahu tentang prosedur KPR rumah dan syarat2nya serta biaya proses kpr, gampang tinggal ke bank dan pura2 jadi developer yang ingin kerjasama kpr dengan bank yang bersangkutan ( buat mou )

- untuk anda yang ingin tahu prosedur pembelian rumah ke developer dan syarat2 apa saja yang diperlukan, gampang tinggal datang aja ke kantor marketing developer dengan percaya diri dan tanya se-detail detailnya tentang cara pembayaran, apa itu SPR, PPJB dan minta contoh salinannya,AJB,BPHTB dan perhitungannya

- untuk anda yang ingin tahu ijin apa saja yang diperlukan untuk menjadi developer dan biaya2 serta waktunya, gampang tinggal datang ke kelurahan/kecamatan/pemda/kantor bpn setempat dan agan harus pd dan pura2 jadi developer baru minta harga resminya...lalu biarkan calo2 pada datang dan tanyakan biaya perijinannya untuk jalur cepatnya krn harga resmi yang didapat biasanya tidak terpakai

ini semua untuk yang serius mau jadi developer....dan dan tolong dicoba dicoba...

contoh satu kasus yang mantan big bos gw terapkan ( kira2 alurnya ) :
- rencana bangun rumah sederhana
- cari pemilik tanah atau perantara yang punya info tanah yang mau kerjasama
- target lokasi : bekasi....demand rumah sederhana banyak
- target harga tanah mentah max. 80rb/m2
- ketemu perantara dan dipertemukan dengan pemilik tanah
- negoisasi dengan pemilik tanah, beberkan bisnis plan kita yang jelas dan menarik

- deal harga tanah mentah 70rb/m2 dengan return of investmen 50% per tahun jadi nanti pemilik tanah terima uangnya = ( 70rb/m2+50%x70rb/m2)x50.000 m2 dan ternyata pemilik tanah beserta keluarga punya tanah 50.000 m2 ( 5 ha ) dengan pola pembayaran dicicil selama 4x selama masa perjanjian kontrak untuk pengembangan lahan 5 ha - asumsikan selesai dalam 1 thn pembayaran 1 dibayarkan sejumlah 100-150 jt saat perjanjian ditandatangani dan surat tanah pemilik diserahkan ke kita didepan notaris dan kita serahkan ke notaris

- untuk sementara minta ke pemilik tanah surat kuasa bahwa tanah tsb dikuasakan ke kita untuk dikembangkan

- sempurnakan lagi cash flow,bisnis plan dan adakan comparative market analysis yang sifatnya apple to apple dengan kompetitor sekitar dan tentukan dana awal untuk memenuhi 2 kriteria

yaitu : layak legalitas dan layak tampil...dianalisa dana awal cukup dgn 1 milyar bayangkan kalo kita beli semua tuh tanah yang 50.000 m2 maka butuh modal 3,5 milyar belum termasuk ijin2 dsb wah...

- bosku mencari investor club yang kebanyakan teman2nya lalu undang teman2nya di cafe/restoran yang menyediakan ruang meeting dan presentasikan bisnis plan....investor setuju dengan roi ( return on investment ) 60% per tahun dari dana yang ditempatkan

- buat perjanjian terpisah antara pihak management dengan land owner dan antara pihak management dengan investor

- penuhi 2 kriteria yang diatas

1. layak legalitas...buatkan pt baru bila perlu, buat ijin prinsip dan ijin2 lainnya yang bisa perumahan itu maju, ukur ulang tanah tsb, buat site plan ( untuk lebih jelasnya lebih baik tanya pemda/bpn setempat )

2. layak tampil...lakukan cut n fill/pematangan lahan, buat gerbang masuk dan pos jaga dan taman depan,jalan utama,rumah contoh bila perlu pagar cluster yach jangan 100% untuk yang ini

- hire marketing yang pengalaman menjual rumah sederhana atau .....

untuk anda yang serius mau bisnis properti/developer tolong lakukan hal ini :

- buat kartu nama yang cukup keren dan pampang nama anda dengan jabatan direktur...buatkan nama perumahannya dan logonya...lalu jiwai...he..he..he..visualisasikan...he...he...mantap...deh anda kelihatannya..weleh gw bisa bayangkan

- tanya2 ke bank soal kpr...bilang aje kita mau kerjasama KPR
- tanya2 ke kelurahan/kecamatan/pemda/bpn soal perijinan dan biayanya
- tanya2 ke kontraktor untuk borongan rumah ambil aja brosur rumah yang sudah ada
- tanya2 lagi...amati lagi dll
- kumpulkan semua data sebanyak2nya karena ini yang terjadi di lapangan

SAMBUNGAN

- cari tanah yang mau kerjasama luas min 3500 sampai berapa aja yang penting harus kerjasama

- pemilik tanah ok mau kerjasama...kasih uang muka berapa..negoisasi
misal lahan 5 ha kerjasama hrg tanah mentah 70rb/m2 total 3,5 milyar mantan bosku nego dan deal uang panjar 500 jt..ini uang panjar max yang mantan bosku berikan untuk kelas semacam ini

- nego dgn pemilik tanah masalah return of investment ( roi )...setuju di angka 50% per tahun..setuju juga pengembalian pokok + roi misal dalam 1 tahun

- lakukan cma,budgeting,bisnis plan,forecast cash flow,desain....wah..ini cukup alot..banyak pihak yang terlibat tapi tetap mantan bosku yang mengkoordinir....selesai semua

- undang investor,kebanyakan teman2 atau kenalan dari bos ku atau juga dari siapapun yang tahu informasi tentang investasi ini...lakukan presentasi..tanya jawab...bla..bla..investor setuju dengan roi misal 50%/tahun dari total dana yang ditempatkan...investor setuju kapan menyetor dananya...

- mantan bosku beserta orang yang mendapatkan nich tanah bertindak sebagai management dari developer tsb...and land owner dan investor boleh dibilang sebagai pengawas atau dewan komisaris

- buatkan perjanjian tertulis......semua setuju
- pemilik tanah menyerahkan semua sertifikat tanahnya dan investor mengumpulkan dana awal yang dibutuhkan
- panggil konsultan surveyor, konsultan perijinan,konsultan arsitek,marketing,bentuk tim proyek dll
- pasi layak legalitas ok...segera mulai layak tampil...
- promosi......juga undang semua agen/broker properti secara resmi kemukakan product knowledge dll....persiapan...persiapan...
- GRAND OPENING......GRAND OPENING....JUALAN...JUALAN....
- DST...DST...DST...

tim pencari lahan/proyek
- tim pembebasan,land risk aquisition
- tim perijinan
- investor club
- tim arsitek
- tim surveyor
- tim keuangan,akuntansi,pajak
- tim legal
- tim security
- tim marketing,promosi ...bisa kerja sama dengan para broker properti
- tim proyek ( project manager,site manager,supervisor dll )
- dan tim lainnya

( BATAS WAKTU 1-2 BULAN )
- TEKADKAN BULAT MAU MULAI BELAJAR PROPERTI DAN MAU MULAI BISNIS PROPERTI

- BUAT KARTU NAMA YANG KEREN..CANTUMKAN NAMA AANDA MASING-MASING DENGAN JABATAN : DIREKTUR...BUATKAN LOGO PERUSAHAAN DAN LOGO TUH PERUMAHAN YANG ANDA INGINKAN..BUAT YANG MENARIK ..CANTUMKAN NO HP ANDA AJA DAN JUGA ALAMAT PERUSAHAAN..JADI DECH ANDA DEVELOPER FIKTIF

- AJAK TEMAN YANG JUGA MAU MAJU SEPERTI ANDA KARENA BIASANYA BERDUA LEBIH AFDOL UNTUK TUGAS-TUGAS DIBAWAH INI :

- POKOKNYA SEBELUM ANDA BERKUNJUNG...COBA PAKAI PAKAIAN YANG MENDUKUNG BAHWA ANDA ITU DEVELOPER..MULAI DARI SEPATU YANG MENGKILAP,RAMBUT RAPI,WANGI,LENGAN PANJANG DIGULUNG,BAWA AGENDA KEREN,TARUH BOLPEN YANG KELIATAN MEWAH WALAUPUN BELINYA CUMA 15RB,PURA2 AGAK SIBUK AJA TAPI JANGAN TERLALU SIBUK TERIMA TELEPON "YA ADA APA" "HMM..HMM" "100 JT YACH..OK NANTI SAYA PIKIR2"... ...WALAUPUN ANDA DATANGNYA PAKAI BIS,MOTOR,MOBIL

- DATANGI 2 LOKASI AGEN PROPERTI MISAL RAY WHITE DAN 21ST CENTURY YANG JAUH DARI RUMAH ANDA DENGAN PERCAYA DIRI ( BERTINDAK SEBAGAI PRIBADI ) PURA-PURANYA ANDA MAU JUAL RUMAH...TANYA AJA SEMUA SELUK BELUK CARA JUAL RUMAH MELALUI BROKER...SYARAT ADM YANG DIPERLUKAN,PPJB,BPHTB,AJB, DLL ANDA AMATI CARANYA MEREKA MELAYANI ANDA....INI DARI SISI BROKER

- DATANGI LAGI 2 LOKASI AGEN PROPERTI YANG JAUH DARI RUMAH ANDA (BERTINDAK SEBAGAI PRIBADI)..PURA-PURANYA MAU BELI RUMAH...TANYA AJA LAGI SELUK BELUK CARA BELI RUMAH BLA...BLA..BLA...

- DATANG KE KANTOR MARKETING DEVELOPER..BAIK YANG JUAL RUMAH RSH, RE ( REAL ESTATE ) STANDAR,KELAS MENENGAH,KELAS ATAS...DATANGI KIRA2 5-10 LOKASI PERUMAHAN..SAAT PERTAMA KALI ANDA DATANG MEMANG CANGGUNG DAN BINGUNG MAU NANYA APA DAN MULAI DARI MANA..PERCAYA DIRI AJA ...TANYA AJA SEMUA TENTANG LUAS PERUMAHAN, FASILITAS ,SPESIFIKASI BANGUNAN, HARGA, CARA PEMBAYARAN ,TAHAPAN-TAHAPAN YANG HARUS ANDA LAKUKAN SEBAGAI PEMBELI..LIHAT RUMAH CONTOH ...KELILINGI TUH PERUMAHAN...BILA PERLU FOTO2..TANYA AJA SEBANYAK-BANYAKNYA...AMATI CARA MEREKA MELAYANI ANDA...INI DARI SISI DEVELOPER AMBIL SEMUA BROSUR BERIKUT PRICE LIST NYA...BUATKAN DATABASENYA MISAL

PERUMAHAN A
TIPE RUMAH YANG ADA ( LT/LB )
HARGA JUAL...CASH KERAS...CASH BERTAHAP...HARGA KPR DAN DP NYA
SPESIFIKASI BANGUNAN
FASILITAS SOSIAL DAN FASILITAS UMUMNYA DAN LAIN LAIN
BANDINGKAN DENGAN PERUMAHAN LAINNYA...INGAT APPLE TO APPLE...
MAKSUDNYA BANDINGKAN DENGAN YANG SEJENIS
MISAL ...YACH KALO KAMBING HRS DIBANDINGKAN JUGA DENGAN KAMBING
JANGAN DIBANDING DENGAN KEBO..
KALO TIPE 22/60 JANGAN DIBANDINGKAN DENGAN TIPE 60/150 GITU DECH

- UNTUK MENGETAHUI PERIJINAN..PROSES DAN BIAYANYA..COBA DATANGI 3 KANTOR PEMDA DAN BPN SETEMPAT ( BERTINDAK SEBAGAI DEVELOPER )...MISAL DI BEKASI,DEPOK,BOGOR...TANYA-TANYA AJA SYARAT-SYARAT UNTUK PERIJINAN PERUMAHAN BARU...TANYA-TANYA AJA ...PERTAMA TAMA LIHAT LIHAT DULU..TANYA2 SEKELILING SEBELUM TANYA YANG KE RESMI GITU...BILA PERLU AJAK MAKAN SIANG ATAU NGOPI NGOPI TUH ORANG YANG BISA KASIH KITA INFO....SIAPKAN MODAL ...GW JAMIN JAUH LEBIH MURAH BIAYANYA DIBANDING ANDA IKUT KURSUS/SEMINAR BISNIS PROPERTI

- DATANGI KANTOR PLN SETEMPAT...TANYA-TANYA MASALAH PERIJINAN KELISTRIKAN..JUGA WAKTU DAN BIAYA...ADA AJA TUH CALO DISANA..BAHKAN ORANG DALAM PLN SENDIRI BORONGIN SENDIRI UNTUK JARINGAN LISTRIK + GARDU DI PERUMAHAN..CARI TAHU PROSEDURNYA..SAAT PB ( PEMASANGAN BARU ), JUGA PDR ( PENYAMBUNGAN DARURAT ) DLL

- DATANGI ANTARA 5-10 BANK YANG KIRA2 LAGI HOT MEMBIAYAI KPR..MISAL BTN,PERMATA,NIAGA,MANDIRI,BNI DLL BAIK YANG BERSIFAT KONVESIONAL MAUPUN YANG SYARIAH...PURA-PURANYA ANDA MAU KERJA PEMBIAYAAN KPR DENGAN BANK TERSEBUT...BUAT MOU/PERJANJIAN..TANYA SYARAT-SYARAT ( MOU ) NYA...SYARAT2 DARI KONSUMEN YANG MAU KPR DARI BANK BERSANGKUTAN..MAXIMUM NILAI KPR...PERSENTASE UANG YANG CAIR SAAT KONSUMEN MELAKUKAN AKAD APA 60%ATAU 70% ATAU 80% DARI NILAI KPR YANG DISETUJUI...LALU SAAT BAST ( BERITA ACARA SERAH TERIMA ) PERTAMA RUMAH DARI DEVELOPER KE KONSUMEN ( INI ADA DOKUMENNYA ) DAN SETELAH DIBUATKAN SI ( STANDING INSTRUCTION ) BERAPA PERSEN DANA YANG CAIR DARI NILAI KPR APA 10% ATAU 20% ATAU 30%...LALU UANG JAMINAN YANG DITAHAN BANK BERAPA PERSEN YANG BISA DICAIRKAN SAAT BAST KEDUA DILAKUKAN ANDA TANYA AJA...LEBIH BAIK SEBELUM KE BANK TANYA2 SAMA ORANG2 YANG MENGETAHUI TENTANG INI

- DATANGI KANTOR PPAT...TANYA2 AJA
- DATANGI NOTARIS....
- SEARCH KONSULTAN ARSITEK...TANYA2 WAKTU DAN BIAYA UNTUK DESAIN PERUMAHAN..MULAI DARI MAKET...TOPOGRAFI...DESAIN RUMAH+DENAH+TAMPAK+POTONGAN...SITE PLAN...BLOK PLAN...DLL
- LAKUKAN HAL YANG SAMA KE
KONTRAKTOR BANGUNAN RUMAH
KONTRAKTOR BANGUNAN RUKO
KONTRAKTOR TAMAN
KONTRAKTOR SARANA ( PERKERASAN JALAN,SALURAN,KANSTIN )
KONTRAKTOR TANAH/URUGAN
SUPLIER BAHAN BANGUNAN
EVEN ORGANIZER, WAKTU DAN BIAYA KALO MAU ADAKAN OPEN HOUSE....GATHERING..GRAND OPENING...ATAU ACARA APA KEK..
KUNJUNGI PROYEK YANG SEDANG BERJALAN SAAT ISTIRAHAT...COBA MAKAN DI WARUNG TEMPAT TUKANG DAN KENEK MAKAN...AJAK BICARA..TANYA SIAPA MANDORNYA...KETEMUIN MANDORNYA..PURA2 ANDA ADA PROYEK PERUMAHAN..TANYA2 WAKTU DAN UPAH BORONGAN UNTUK RUMAH ATAU RUKO..

info yang diperlukan untuk beli tanah

Yang paling penting datanya lengkap ya.
misal untuk tanah:
Luas tanah
Luas Bangunan
Dimensi tanah
Hadap mana tanah itu
Keunggulan dan kelemahan (mesti survey lokasi)
Harga berapa penawarannya
contact person pemilik
dan kalo memungkinkan minta FOTOCOPY SERTIFIKAT agar sewaktu waktu ada calon pembeli yang minat bisa lihat.

Fokus utama tentu masih pada tanah yang sudah melakukan negosiasi.

Cara Kerjasama dg Bank untuk Developer Properti

2011-09-27T14:20:00.000-07:00

Cara Kerjasama dg Bank untuk Developer Properti

Kerjasama dengan Bank menjadi semacam momok untuk para pemula. Karena dalam syarat administratif bank kata “berpengalaman 2 tahun” atau “laporan keuangan 2 tahun” sering kali muncul. Meski sudah sering saya sampaikan bahwa jangan takut sama Bank, yang penting bisa jualan, bank pasti buka peluang juga.

Tapi okelah kalo begitu. Mungkin sobat-sobat saya yang pemula masih agak-agak takut karena tidak tau step by step urutan kerjasama dengan bank. Note, ini hanya untuk pemula yang bekerja di bidang developer properti.

Pertama-tama, Anda harus punya lokasi yang akan dikembangkan. Syukur-syukur sudah ada penjualan. Ini mempermudah negosiasi kerjasama. Kalau gak punya lokasi, boro-boro diajak kerjasama. Bisa ngopi bareng sama Account Officernya aja udah lumayan.

Siapkan data-data sebagai berikut :

Surat Permohonan Kerjasama, bukan surat permohonan ijin tidak masuk kantor dari dokter ya.

Proposal proyek yang berisi executive summary, kelayakan proyek, rab bangunan, material promosi seperti brosur, contoh iklan koran dll, peta lokasi, data penjualan, data spesifikasi, daftar harga. Bukan proposal permintaan dana pembangunan fasilitas sosial ya.

Legalitas perusahaan seperti akta perusahaan, bukannya akta kelahiran. siup, tdp, npwp.

Legalitas proyek seperti perijinan, copy sertifikat, copy PBB.

Data-data di atas dibendel dan diperbanyak paling tidak 4 bendel. 1 untuk kepala cabang, 1 untuk kepala bagian kredit, 1 untuk prosesor kredit, 1 untuk administrasi. Untuk berkas ke kepala cabang, usahakan berwarna. Biar lebih makyus. Hey, we must stealing the show, right?!

Nah kalau semua berkas sudah terkumpul. ACT NOW!

Datanglah ke bank yang dituju. Sekali lagi bank, bukan tempat pembuangan sampah.

Kalau jam kerja, gak perlu ketuk pintu karena biasanya ada satpam yang jaga. Kalau di luar jam kerja, ngapain ngurusin kerjasama bank? Kecuali udah janjian. ^_^

Sampaikan bendel tadi ke masing-masing meja. Sempatkan ngobrol dengan masing-masing person. Tak kenal maka ta’aruf bukan?! Untuk bisa mendekatkan diri dengannya. Makin deket, dijamin makin mulus tuh proposal!

Setelah itu, pulanglah. Karena Anda bukan pegawai di sana, Anda dilarang menginap!!!

Tunggu 1-2 hari untuk datang lagi ke bank tersebut. Cari alasan kenapa Anda datang ke bank lagi. Bikin obrolan santai tanpa harus menyinggung masalah proposal yang Anda sampaikan lalu.

Tips biar bisa ngobrol santai adalah tanyakan minat dia dan biarkan dia bercerita tentang minatnya itu. Syukur-syukur minatnya sama. Obrolan bisa jadi gayeng.

Kalau gak sama gimana? Besok lagi kalau datang, pasti Anda sudah mencari informasi dari internet atau media apapun tentang minat dia.

Setelah kunjungan kedua, ya pulang lagi. Jangan menginap!

Kunjungan ketiga, sama alasannya dengan kunjungan kedua. Namun tanyakan progres proposal Anda. Apakah ada yang kurang? Catat apa yang kurang. Pastikan Anda siapkan 1-2 hari kemudian. Nah, dapat alasan untuk datang lagi ke bank bukan?!

Ulangi terus kunjungan-kunjungan. Berikan senyum kepada satpam, front office, office boy, teller dan usahakan akrab dengan mereka pula. Jadikan Anda bukan orang asing bagi mereka.

Terakhir, jangan lupa negosiasi spiritual. Baca di bagian lain dari blog ini. Sejago-jagonya nego, hanya Allah sebaik-baiknya Sang Penolong.