Gema demokrasi di Dataran Tahrir

Oleh Johardy Ibrahim

ORANG ramai bergambar dengan tentera semasa meraikan berita pengunduran Presiden Hosni Mubarak di Kaherah, Mesir, semalam.

KAHERAH 12 Feb. – Seluruh Mesir bertukar merayakan ‘pesta kemenangan rakyat’ sejurus pengumuman pengunduran diri Presiden Hosni Mubarak diketahui kira-kira pukul 6 malam (12 tengah malam di Malaysia) semalam.

Ratusan ribu rakyat Mesir yang membanjiri Dataran Tahrir sejak pagi, telah disertai oleh ribuan lagi orang ramai di sebelah petang, yang mengambil kesempatan daripada hari cuti mingguan Jumaat.

Utusan Malaysia yang berada Dataran Tahrir sudah berkira-kira untuk pulang (lazimnya tempoh berkurung bermula pukul 8 malam) ketika berita tersebut diumumkan dan ia disampaikan bagai api yang marak kepada ribuan orang di situ.

Secara spontan, mereka berteriak, berpeluk-pelukan dan menari-nari sambil mengibarkan bendera merah, putih dan hitam Mesir.

Ini adalah satu perkembangan yang tidak diduga setelah sehari sebelumnya, Mubarak mengecewakan ramai rakyat apabila menegaskan dirinya tidak akan berundur. Malah, kedegilannya itu dikhuatiri akan menyebabkan penentang kerajaan bertindak liar.

Syukur, tiada kejadian buruk berlaku di Dataran Tahrir atau Istana Presiden di Heliopolis yang telah dikerumuni oleh beberapa ratus penunjuk perasaan.

Suasana perayaan di Dataran Tahrir gegak gempita dengan sorakan dan keriangan pelbagai lapisan rakyat Mesir di situ.

Pengalaman menyokong pasukan Malaysia menewaskan Indonesia di Stadium Nasional pada November lalu tidak akan dapat menyamai suasana kemenangan di Dataran Tahrir. Ini adalah kemenangan rakyat, kemenangan demokrasi. Tiada gol boleh menyainginya.

Sepanjang perjalanan pulang ke hotel, orang ramai membunyikan hon, mengibarkan bendera dan jalan di hadapan hotel yang malam tadi ditutup oleh tentera, kini bebas digunakan oleh penduduk Mesir.

Bagaimanapun, pos kawalan tentera yang betul-betul bersebelahan hotel penginapan masih ada, dengan anggota tentera berdiri memerhati sahaja orang ramai bersorak riang.

Namun, orang ramai memberhentikan kenderaan di pos kawalan dan mendapat kebenaran untuk bergambar dengan anggota tentera di situ.

Sepanjang malam, pos kawalan itu menjadi tumpuan termasuk dua pasangan pengantin yang turut bergambar dengan mereka.

Meskipun masih menjinjing senjata, anggota tentera kelihatan lebih tenang dan melayan siapa sahaja yang mahu bergambar dengan mereka.

Mingguan Malaysia sendiri sebelum ini, buat-buat tidak tahu sahaja bila direnung oleh mereka.

Jelas wujud suatu bentuk perasaan ‘hormat’ terjalin di antara orang ramai dengan anggota tentera.

‘‘Ini kerana sepanjang tempoh tunjuk perasaan di Dataran Tahrir, pihak tentera dianggap sebagai wira berbanding polis yang menembak dan menahan aktivis di situ.

‘‘Malah sepanjang 18 hari tunjuk perasaan, tentera telah mempamerkan ‘pendirian berkecuali’ iaitu tidak menyebelahi mana-mana pihak. Ini penting dan dihargai oleh rakyat,” kata seorang lelaki yang mengenalkan dirinya sebagai Mahmoud.

Satu-satunya perkara yang masih menghantui Kaherah sejak wartawan Malaysia tiba lebih seminggu yang lalu ialah akses Internetnya yang ‘masih tiada’. Nampaknya pemergian Mubarak tidak disedari oleh pengendali Internet Mesir. - MINGGUAN

Sumber: Mingguan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Pautan:Syafrein.com, Dompas Network, Guided-Info.com, Munakahat, Rakan Niaga TM, Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, NikahKahwin.Co.Cc, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Score A, Takaful Keluarga.

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Ahad, Februari 13, 2011 | 1 ulasan

Hancurnya Harimau Tamil

Ketua LTTE terbunuh


TV Derana merakamkan mayat, Charles Anthony, anak lelaki pemimpin LTTE, Vellupillai Prabhakaran yang terbunuh dalam serangan tentera Sri Lanka, semalam. – REUTERS

COLOMBO 18 Mei – Pemimpin tertinggi pemberontak Harimau Pembebasan Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Velupillai Prabhakaran ditembak mati hari ini ketika cuba melarikan diri daripada kepungan askar kerajaan Sri Lanka.

Prabhakaran cuba meninggalkan kawasan yang dikepung dengan menaiki sebuah ambulans bersama-sama dua pembantu kanan sebelum subuh hari ini, tetapi kesemua mereka terbunuh apabila kenderaan itu diserang hendap, kata seorang pegawai kanan Kementerian Pertahanan.

“Dia terbunuh bersama-sama dua orang lain di dalam ambulans itu. Pengumuman rasmi akan dibuat kemudian,” katanya.

Dua orang kanan Prabhakaran yang turut terbunuh itu dikenal pasti sebagai ketua perisikan LTTE, Pottu Amman dan ketua tentera lautnya, Soosai.

Tentera Sri Lanka sebelum itu mengumumkan, mereka telah membunuh tiga pemimpin kanan LTTE dan menemui mayat anak lelaki Prabhakaran dalam operasi pembersihan berikutan kekalahan pemberontak tersebut.

Menurut kenyataan Kementerian Pertahanan, salah seorang pemimpin LTTE yang terbunuh itu ialah ketua sayap politiknya, B. Nadesan.

Sehari selepas mengumumkan mereka menghentikan pertempuran, saki baki gerila LTTE kini terperangkap di sebuah kawasan hutan kecil di timur laut Sri Lanka.

Jurucakap tentera, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara berkata, sebilangan pemberontak terus memberikan tentangan sewaktu askar menjalankan ‘operasi pembersihan’ di kawasan berkenaan.

Katanya, pasukan keselamatan turut menemui mayat anak lelaki Prabhakaran, Charles Anthony, 24, semasa operasi tersebut.

Selain Nadesan, pemimpin kanan lain LTTE yang terbunuh ialah ketua sekretariat perdamaian Harimau, S. Puleedevan; dan pemimpin mereka di wilayah timur, S. Ramesh, menurut Kementerian Pertahanan.

Nanayakkara berkata, nasib Prabhakaran tidak diketahui kerana “kami belum menemuinya, sama ada hidup atau mati, tetapi kami mengetahui apa yang perlu kami lakukan apabila kami menangkapnya.” – AFP

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Pautan:Syafrein.com, Dompas Network, Guided-Info.com, UsahawanInternet.com, dan Artikel Sentral, Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, My Biz Online, i-chargezeromax.com, manggis.info,

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Selasa, Mei 19, 2009 | 0 ulasan

Penyokong pengebom Bali bertempur dengan polis

SEDIH BERCAMPUR MARAH... Anggota keluarga dan penyokong Imam Samudra, salah seorang daripada tiga pengebom Bali yang dijatuhi hukuman tembak sampai mati mengiringi jenazahnya ke tanah perkuburan di kampung halamannya di Serang, wilayah Banten, Indonesia, semalam.

TENGGULUN, Indonesia 9 Nov. – Beratus-ratus penyokong yang begitu emosi atas kematian tiga pengebom Bali bertempur dengan pihak polis, sebaik-baik sahaja dua jenazah pengebom tersebut tiba di kampung halaman mereka, hari ini.

Beratus-ratus polis yang lengkap bersenjata gagal mengawal hampir 500 orang ramai yang mengerumuni ambulans yang membawa jenazah Amrozi dan abangnya, Mukhlas.

Para penyokong tersebut kemudiannya melepaskan geram sambil bersorak “Jihad!” dan “Berambus!” kepada pihak polis yang terpaksa meninggalkan tempat kejadian.

Keadaan yang sama berlaku di pekan Serang di Barat Jawa apabila keranda yang bertutup dengan kain hitam yang bertulis ayat-ayat al-Quran membawa jenazah Imam Samudra diarak sepanjang jalan dari sebuah masjid menuju ke tanah perkuburan.

Namun mereka memberi laluan ketika keranda yang membawa jenazahnya itu dibawa ke tanah perkuburan.

Rakyat asing di kampung-kampung pengebom itu yang kelihatan berada di situ untuk menyaksikan jenazah mereka, dituduh kafir oleh para penduduk dan dihalau keluar dari kampung.

Ketiga-tiga pengebom tersebut dihukum tembak sampai mati oleh sepasukan penembak pada awal pagi ini setelah mereka didapati bersalah menyebabkan kematian seramai 202 orang dalam kejadian bom di Bali pada tahun 2002.

– AFP/Utusan

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Pautan:Majalah.Dompas.net, Dompas Network, Guided-Info.com, UsahawanInternet.com, dan Artikel Sentral. Dia juga mengelola beberapa blog: Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, My Biz Online, i-chargezeromax.com, manggis.info,

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Isnin, November 10, 2008 | 0 ulasan

Obama Presiden kulit hitam pertama Amerika Syarikat

BARACK Obama bersama isteri dan dua anak perempuannya melambai ke arah penyokong semasa perhimpunan raksasa di Grant Park, Chicago, lllinois sejurus selepas memenangi pilihan raya Presiden Amerika Syarikat malam tadi.– AFP

WASHINGTON 5 Nov. – Barack Obama, hari ini memenangi pilihan raya Presiden Amerika Syarikat (AS), sekali gus mencipta sejarah sebagai Presiden kulit hitam pertama AS dalam tempoh 232 tahun sejak negara itu mencapai kemerdekaan dari Britain.

Obama, 47, yang mewakili Parti Demokrat mengetepikan pencabar kuat daripada Parti Republikan, John McCain dengan membolot 349 undi Badan Perwakilan Pemilih (BPP) di seluruh negara melepasi undi minimum sebanyak 270 undi BPP bagi melayakkan seseorang calon untuk diisytihar menang bagi menduduki White House.

McCain yang bergandingan dengan Gabenor Alaska, Sarah Heath Palin sebagai calon Naib Presiden hanya memperoleh 163 undi BPP.

Keputusan pilihan raya di North Carolina (15 undi) dan Missouri (11) kesemuanya melibatkan sebanyak 26 undi BPP masih belum diputuskan.

Jika undi BPP di kedua-dua negeri itu diambil kira, jumlah undi BPP yang bakal diterima oleh Obama dan McCain akan turut meningkat, tetapi tidak akan mengubah kemenangan Obama.

Senator Joe Biden, Senator dari Delaware akan mengiringi Obama sebagai Naib Presiden.

Kemenangan Obama banyak disumbang oleh pengundi wanita, kulit hitam dan mereka yang berketurunan Hispanik, selain pengundi bebas.

Obama turut berjaya ‘merampas’ undi mencukupi daripada pengundi kulit putih yang selama ini banyak memberi sokongan kepada Parti Republikan, untuk membantunya mengetepikan McCain.

Kejayaan Obama bukanlah satu perjalanan yang mudah buat anak kelahiran Hawaii ini, kerana beliau telah menempuh pertarungan sengit sejak hampir 24 bulan lalu, sebelum menempatkan dirinya sebagai lelaki paling berkuasa di dunia pada masa ini.

Bermula dengan perlumbaan sengit dengan bekas wanita pertama AS, Hillary Rodham Clinton bagi merebut tempat sebagai calon Presiden AS mewakili Parti Demokrat, Obama kemudian meneruskan persaingan dengan tokoh politik veteran, McCain yang sehingga saat akhir tidak berputus asa terus berkempen, walaupun tinjauan pengundi di seluruh AS mendapati Obama telah meninggalkan veteran tahanan perang Vietnam itu jauh di belakang.

Kemenangan Obama bukan sahaja disambut gembira oleh seluruh keluarganya, penyokong Parti Demokrat dan rakyat AS, malahan seluruh dunia yang mahu melihat reformasi yang diutarakan oleh Senator Illinois itu akan membawa perubahan termasuk kepada AS, yang kini mengalami kegawatan ekonomi tetapi juga kepada geopolitik dunia.

Obama bukan sahaja menjanjikan pembaharuan dan perubahan bagi rakyatnya, tetapi juga berjanji untuk mengubah imej AS yang kini terjejas teruk di mata dunia akibat tindak-tanduk kerajaan di bawah pentadbiran Presiden George W. Bush selama lapan tahun sejak 2000.

Dalam ucapan sulungnya sejurus selepas diumumkan sebagai pemenang lewat tengah malam tadi di Grant Park, Chicago bandar kediamannya, Obama menyeru seluruh rakyat AS bersatu dan bersedia menyahut cabaran untuk membawa perubahan kepada AS.

Pemimpin-pemimpin dunia turut memberi reaksi atas kemenangan Obama dengan kebanyakan mereka mengucapkan tahniah. Iran memberi reaksi yang berbeza apabila tentera negara itu memberi amaran akan mengambil tindakan keras kepada tentera AS di Iraq kerana menceroboh wilayah Teheran.

Kemenangan Obama disambut begitu meriah dengan pelbagai upacara sambutan diadakan di seluruh AS.

Di pekan Kongelo, Kenya tempat asal usul keluarga sebelah bapa Obama turut meraikan kemenangan Obama itu dengan irama lagu dan tarian.

Di Jakarta, sekolah rendah tempat Obama belajar semasa tinggal di ibu kota Indonesia itu sekitar 1960-an turut meraikan kemenangannya.

Pilihan raya Presiden AS kali ini turut diadakan serentak dengan pilihan raya Senat di 33 negeri dan pilihan raya Dewan Perwakilan di semua 50 negeri dan pilihan raya Gabenor di 11 negeri.

Pada pilihan raya Senat, Parti Demokrat mengukuhkan majoriti di kedua-dua dewan Kongres AS, sekali gus menjadikan lebih mudah untuk Obama melaksanakan agenda pembaharuannya.

Demokrat menambah lima lagi kerusi di Senat dalam pilihan raya semalam, untuk meningkatkan majoriti mereka kepada sekurang-kurangnya 56 kerusi di dewan tertinggi yang mempunyai 100 anggota itu.

Sebanyak 35 daripada 100 kerusi itu dipertandingkan semalam.

– AP/Utusan

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Akhbar & Majalah dikelola oleh Syafrein Effendiuz yang juga editor Majalah.Dompas.net, Dompas Network, Guided-Info.com dan Artikel Sentral. UsahawanInternet.com, Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, My Biz Online, dan lain-lain.

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Khamis, November 06, 2008 | 0 ulasan

Obama hampir capai impian ke White House

Obama bersama isterinya, Michelle Obama dan dua anak perempuan mereka, Malia Obama, 10, dan Sasha Obama, 7, melambaikan tangan kepada penyokong semasa mengadakan kempen di Springfield, kelmarin. – AP




WASHINGTON 2 Nov. - Selepas bertarung selama 21 bulan, Barack Obama semakin menghampiri impiannya untuk menjadi presiden kulit hitam pertama Amerika Syarikat (AS).

Pada 10 Februari 2007, Senator Illinois itu yang tidak begitu dikenali, berdiri di hadapan sebuah bangunan kerajaan dalam cuaca sejuk, sambil menggesa ribuan penyokongnya menyertai 'pertarungannya' untuk ke White House.

"Sekiranya anda menyertai saya dalam pertarungan ini, sekiranya anda merasai takdir dan nampak apa yang saya lihat, masa depan yang tidak ada penghujungnya ... jika anda merasai apa yang saya rasa, masa kini menyedarkan kita dari tidur kita dan membaluti perasaan takut kita ...maka saya bersedia untuk bersaing," kata Obama.

Kini, tinjauan pendapat yang diadakan di seluruh negara menunjukkan, beliau akan mengatasi pencabarnya daripada Parti Republikan, John McCain pada pemilihan Presiden Amerika Syarikat pada Selasa ini.

Tinjauan pendapat yang dikeluarkan oleh Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby hari ini menunjukkan beliau masih selesa mendahului Mccain secara keseluruhannya sebanyak enam mata.

Di kalangan pengundi wanita pula, Obama mendahului Mccain sebanyak lapan mata dan 10 mata di kalangan pengundi atas pagar.

Empat tahun lalu, apabila George W. Bush dan John Kerry bersaing untuk menerajui White House, Obama hanya seorang ahli politik kerdil yang berucap pada Konvensyen Demokrat pada 2004.

Beliau bagaimanapun seperti merasai kekecewaan banyak pihak mengenai tokoh politik terdiri daripada banyak muka lama, selain kebimbangan mereka mengenai krisis ekonomi dan juga peperangan di Iraq.

Berani menentang arus, senator berbangsa Afrika-Amerika berusia 47 tahun ini, bertarung bagi merebut tempat ke White House dengan menggunakan Internet sebagai alat utama untuk mengumpul dana.

Pada September lalu, kempen Obama berjaya mencipta rekod apabila mengumpul dana lebih AS$150 juta (RM533 juta).

Menurut pembantunya, Obama kini mempunyai lebihan sumbangan sebanyak AS$3.1 juta (RM11.03 juta).

"Ia betul-betul menunjukkan struktur masyarakat Amerika yang membiayai dan menyumbang kepada kempen ini secara sukarela," kata pengurus kempen, David Plouffe.

Buat kali pertama dalam tempoh beberapa dekad, negeri yang disifatkan kubu Republikan seperti Virginia dan North Carolina bakal menyaksikan persaingan sengit dan mungkin bertukar kepada Demokrat.

Obama secara terbuka digambarkan sebagai bekas Senator John F. Kennedy semasa mudanya yang cuba memberi tenaga baru kepada bangsanya.

Obama, anak kepada seorang lelaki berasal dari Kenya dan ibunya, wanita kulit putih dari Kansas, berjaya mengharungi pelbagai isu seperti perkauman dan menonjolkan dirinya sebagai calon bagi bangsa Amerika.

"Tidak ada bangsa kulit hitam Amerika, bangsa kulit putih Amerika dan Latin atau Asia Amerika ...yang ada hanya satu bangsa Amerika yang bersatu," katanya.

- Agensi/UM

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Akhbar & Majalah dikelola oleh Syafrein Effendiuz yang juga editor Majalah.Dompas.net, Dompas Network, Guided-Info.com dan Artikel Sentral. Dia juga mengelola beberapa blog: UsahawanInternet.com, Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, My Biz Online, dan lain-lain.

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Isnin, November 03, 2008 | 0 ulasan

Bantahan terbesar paksa Arroyo undur

MANILA 29 Feb. - Berpuluh-puluh ribu rakyat Filipina mendesak Presiden Gloria Macapagal Arroyo meletak jawatan dalam satu perhimpunan bantahan terbesar yang diadakan secara mengejut di Manila, hari ini.

Penganalisis politik dari Pusat Penilaian dan Strategi Pasifik, Mark Condon berpendapat, desakan rakyat seperti ini boleh menyebabkan penyokong dan pengikut Arroyo dalam Kabinet dan tentera memikirkan semula kedudukan mereka.

"Gerakan seperti ini tentunya menarik perhatian mereka walaupun pada masa ini Arroyo sedang berusaha keras menafikan penglibatan beliau dalam sebarang jenayah rasuah," katanya.

Begitupun sehingga kini penyokong Arroyo yang mempunyai penggal pentadbirannya sehingga 2010, masih tidak menunjukkan sebarang tanda untuk berpaling tadah.

Pemerhati bebas pula berkata, antara 30,000 hingga 50,000 rakyat Filipina berhimpun di daerah perniagaan utama Makati dengan membawa sepanduk, berdoa dan melaungkan bantahan terhadap Arroyo yang disifatkan sebagai satu jumlah bantahan terbesar yang di luar jangkaan.

Bekas Presiden Corazon Aquino dan Joseph Estrada turut kelihatan bersama-sama di sebuah pentas yang dikerumuni ramai penunjuk perasaan.

"Gloria, cukuplah sudah, anda patut bersara!

"Masa sudah tiba dan kita mesti bersatu bagi mengakhirkan penipuan (Arroyo) dan kebenaran akan muncul juga!" kata Aquino dalam perhimpunan itu yang menjadi lambang kepada amalan demokrasi di negara ini.

Polis mendakwa hanya 15,000 penduduk sahaja yang melakukan bantahan itu.

Bagaimanapun, pihak pembangkang menganggarkan seramai 75,000 rakyat telah berkumpul berbanding 40,000 yang dijangkakan mereka sebelum ini.

Walaupun semakin tidak popular di kalangan rakyat, namun Arroyo masih dalam kedudukan yang selamat kerana mendapat sokongan tentera.

Walaupun telah ada dua cubaan untuk menggulingkan Arroyo, rakyat Filipina masih sinikal sama ada percubaan ketiga kali ini akan berjaya menjatuhkan pemimpin berkenaan.

- Reuters

Sumber: Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Akhbar & Majalah dikelola oleh Syafrein Effendiuz yang juga editor Majalah.Dompas.net, Dompas Network, ArticleCentral dan Artikel Sentral. Dia juga mengelola beberapa blog: Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, Making money from home just got easier, Jason Tan, dan lain-lain.

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Sabtu, Mac 01, 2008 | 0 ulasan

Presiden Timor Leste cedera ditembak

11/02/2008 11:51am

DILI 11 Feb. – Presiden Timor Leste, Jose Ramos-Horta cedera di perut selepas ditembak dalam serang hendap oleh kumpulan askar yang memberontak di kediamannya sebelum subuh hari ini.

Dalam serangan tersebut ketua pemberontak terbabit, Alfredo Reinado telah terbunuh sementara Ramos-Horta yang mendapat rawatan tentera Australia dilaporkan dalam keadaan stabil.

– Reuters

Ini adalah keratan akhbar dari Utusan Malaysia untuk tujuan dokumentasi. Akhbar & Majalah dikelola oleh Syafrein Effendiuz yang juga editor Majalah.Dompas.net, Dompas Network, dan Artikel Sentral. Dia juga mengelola beberapa blog: Catatan Sekilas, Perkahwinan, Tokoh, Usahawan Maya, Cyber Ilmu, Riau, Banners to click!, Making money from home just got easier, dan lain-lain.

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Isnin, Februari 11, 2008 | 0 ulasan

Gempa bumi skala 7.9 -- Gegaran kuat di selatan Sumatera dirasai di Jakarta, Singapura, Malaysia dan Thailand

PASUKAN penyelamat berusaha menyelamatkan mangsa terperangkap dalam bangunan yang runtuh di Padang, Sumatera Barat semalam setelah berlaku gempa bumi kuat pada skala 7.9 Richter di Bengkulu, Sumatera Selatan. – Reuters/Utusan

KUALA LUMPUR 12 Sept. – Pada saat umat Islam membuat persiapan menyambut kedatangan 1 Ramadan, penduduk di sekitar rantau Asia Tenggara dan Lautan Hindi digemparkan dengan gempa bumi kuat berukuran 7.9 pada skala Richter di Bengkulu, Sumatera Selatan, Indonesia malam ini.

Gempa bumi pada pukul 7.10 malam yang berpusat di Kepulauan Mentawai di selatan Sumatera itu menggegarkan kebanyakan negara di rantau ini termasuk Malaysia, Singapura dan Thailand sehingga menyebabkan penduduk yang tinggal berhampiran pantai di negara-negara itu cemas melarikan diri ke tempat selamat.

Pusat Kajian Geologi Amerika Syarikat (USGS) menyatakan gegaran yang berlaku pada pukul 6.10 petang waktu Indonesia itu berpusat pada kedalaman 15.6 kilometer di bawah dasar laut Kepulauan Mentawai yang terletak kira-kira 150 kilometer dari Bengkulu.

Kekuatan gempa tersebut direkodkan sebagai 8.2 pada skala Richter USGS dan Agensi Meteorologi Jepun, tetapi hanya 7.9 pada skala alat pengesan gempa pihak berkuasa Indonesia.

Amaran tsunami yang dikeluarkan selepas gempa bumi itu bagi negara-negara di kawasan Lautan Hindi, bagaimanapun, ditarik balik apabila ombak gergasi yang dikesan di perairan Padang, Sumatera tidak membahayakan dengan ketinggian yang dicatatkan hanya antara satu hingga tiga meter.

Agensi Meteorologi Indonesia menyatakan ancaman tsunami berakhir selepas dua jam gempa bumi itu berlaku.

Tsunami yang melanda wilayah Aceh, juga di Sumatera, pada Disember 2004 akibat gempa bumi berukuran 9.15 pada skala Richter telah mengorbankan 132,000 nyawa selain 37,000 orang dilaporkan hilang.

Dalam gempa hari ini, antara kawasan yang terjejas teruk ialah wilayah Bengkulu, Sumatera Barat, sebahagian wilayah Riau manakala daerah Lampung terputus bekalan elektrik dan telefon.

Malam ini, Presiden Indonesia, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mengisytiharkan darurat bagi Bengkulu dan Sumatera Barat.

Sehingga pukul 11 malam ini, tujuh orang dilaporkan terbunuh di Bengkulu manakala beberapa orang lagi turut mengalami nasib yang sama di Padang apabila beberapa buah bangunan termasuk sebuah pusat beli-belah yang padat pengunjung terbakar akibat litar pintas ekoran gempa yang berlaku.

Sehingga kini perhubungan ke kepulauan Mentawai terputus akibat gempa tersebut, menyebabkan berita mengenai jumlah kemalangan jiwa atau kemusnahan harta benda dari kawasan berkenaan tidak dapat diperoleh.

Bagaimanapun, laporan tidak rasmi menyebut bahawa kepulauan berkenaan musnah teruk akibat bencana alam itu dan penduduk yang terselamat melarikan diri ke kawasan tinggi untuk mengelakkan ancaman tsunami.

Pasukan mencari dan menyelamat Indonesia sedang bertungkus-lumus mengeluarkan mangsa yang terperangkap di celah-celah runtuhan bangunan khususnya di kawasan pesisir pantai di empat wilayah berkenaan.

Sebahagian penduduk pula terpaksa menggunakan lilin untuk meneruskan sembahyang tarawih sempena Ramadan yang bermula malam ini.

Selepas gempa di Kepulauan Mentawai, tidak lama kemudian Sumatera sekali lagi digegarkan dengan gempa bumi berukuran 6.1 pada skala Richter yang berlaku 113 kilometer di barat daya bandar Jambi dan gempa susulan berukuran 6.6 pada skala Richter di Bengkulu.

Gegaran itu turut dirasai hingga ke Pulau Nias di bahagian barat Sumatera Utara, Bukit Tinggi, Pekan Baru, Palembang dan Jambi serta sebahagian besar Jawa Barat termasuk kota Jakarta dan Bandung.

Dalam pada itu, wakil Utusan Malaysia di Jakarta, Sopha Sulaiman melaporkan beberapa bangunan tinggi di Jakarta yang terletak 600 kilometer dari pusat gempa turut bergoyang selama beberapa minit mengakibatkan orang ramai bergegas menuruni tangga untuk menyelamatkan diri dan berkumpul di tanah lapang.

Stesen-stesen televisyen MetroTV dan SCTV melaporkan, gempa yang berlaku beberapa saat itu menyebabkan beberapa rumah runtuh dan retak.

Suasana kelam kabut itu juga berlaku di beberapa buah hospital hingga para pesakit dibawa keluar dari wad, sementara warga di bandar Bengkulu berkumpul di depan rumah kerana bimbangkan berlaku gempa kali kedua.

Gegaran akibat gempa malam ini dilaporkan tidak sekuat gempa yang berlaku di barat laut Indramayu, bahagian utara Pulau Jawa, yang berukuran 7.5 skala Richter pada 9 Ogos lalu.

Namun demikian penduduk dan pekerja pejabat yang tinggal di bangunan tinggi di Jakarta bergegas turun melalui lif dan tangga kecemasan setelah terasa goyangan yang kuat.

Sementara itu, pelajar Malaysia yang sedang menuntut di Universiti Andalas, Padang memaklumkan mereka berada dalam keadaan selamat dan tidak meninggalkan kediaman masing-masing memandangkan kawasan gempa itu terletak kira-kira 700 kilometer dari Bengkulu.

Pengarah Jabatan Penuntut Malaysia di Jakarta, Dr. Junaidi Abu Bakar menjelaskan, beliau telah menghubungi para pelajar perubatan Malaysia di Padang selepas gempa itu berlaku dan meminta mereka berkumpul di hospital yang telah ditetapkan jika perlu.

“Terdapat kira-kira 270 pelajar Malaysia di Padang. Tiada pelajar kita menuntut di Bengkulu,” katanya ketika dihubungi.

Menurut beliau, pihak Kedutaan Malaysia telah membuat persiapan dan meminta para pelajar itu mengambil langkah-langkah keselamatan sekiranya gempa berlaku.

“Ibu bapa pelajar kita di Malaysia tidak perlu risau kerana kedutaan kita sentiasa menghubungi mereka untuk mendapatkan maklumat lanjut,” katanya lagi.

Gempa bumi terakhir berlaku di Jawa Timur pada pukul 1.36 pagi tiga hari lalu yang berukuran 4.9 pada skala Richter. Gegaran itu menyebabkan berpuluh buah rumah mengalami kerosakan dan ranap walaupun tiada kemalangan jiwa dilaporkan.

Sementara itu, Perkhidmatan Maklumat Lautan Kebangsaan India turut mengeluarkan amaran tsunami untuk Pulau Andaman dan Nicobar tetapi tiada sebarang amaran dikeluarkan untuk tanah besar. [Utusan]

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Khamis, September 13, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Killer's Note: 'You Caused Me to Do This'

<== Law enforcement officials have provided this official photo of Cho Seung-hui, the man they identify as the killer at Virginia Tech. Cho was a 23-year-old student of Korean descent who lived on campus. Sources tell ABC News he was carrying a backpack with a receipt for the purchase of a 9 mm handgun.

Seung-Hui Cho, 23-Year-Old Shooter, Wrote 'Disturbing' Note and Violent Plays
By NED POTTER, DAVID SCHOETZ, RICHARD ESPOSITO, PIERRE THOMAS and the staff of ABC News

April 17, 2007 — - Watch a special hour-long edition of "World News With Charles Gibson," and an ABC News Special Report at 10 p.m. EDT

Seung-Hui Cho, the student who killed 32 people and then himself yesterday, left a long and "disturbing" note in his dorm room at Virginia Tech, say law enforcement sources.

He also wrote at least two violent plays for an English course that worried his professor and several classmates.

Sources described the note, which runs several pages, as beginning in the present tense and then shifting to the past. It contains rhetoric explaining Cho's actions and says, "You caused me to do this," the sources told ABC News.

Sources say Cho, 23, killed two people in a dorm room, returned to his own dorm room where he re-armed and left the note, then went to a classroom building on the other side of campus. There, he killed 30 more people in four classrooms before shooting himself in the head.

Watch an ABC News Special Report at 10 p.m. EDT

Witnesses say he was stone-faced as he opened fire. Law-enforcement sources say he may have had a romantic interest in a young woman who was found dead after the first shootings.

Violent Plays

Lucinda Roy, a co-director of the creative writing program at Virginia Tech, taught Cho in a poetry class in fall of 2005 and later worked with him one-on-one after she became concerned about his behavior and themes in his writings.

Roy spoke outside her home Tuesday afternoon, saying that there was nothing explicit in Cho's writings, but that threats were there under the surface.

Roy told ABC News that Cho seemed "extraordinarily lonely--the loneliest person I have ever met in my life." She said he wore sunglasses indoors, with a cap pulled low over his eyes. He whispered, took 20 seconds to answer questions, and took cellphone pictures of her in class. Roy said she was concerned for her safety when she met with him.

She said she notified authorities about Cho, but said she was told that there would be too many legal hurdles to intervene. She said she asked him to go to counseling, but he never did.

One play attributed to him, called "Richard McBeef," describes a 13-year-old boy who accuses his stepfather of pedophilia, and ends with the boy's death.

In another, called "Mr. Brownstone," three high-school students face an abusive teacher.

"I wanna kill him," says one character.

"I wanna watch him bleed like the way he made us kids bleed," says another.

The two plays were posted on AOL after a staffer named Ian MacFarlane, a December 2006 graduate of Virginia Tech, brought them to his editors' attention.

MacFarlane said he was in a class with Cho in which students were required to post their plays online for peer review and comment.

AOL editors verified the authenticity of Cho's works before posting them, according to Alysia Lew of AOL Corporate Communications.

At a late-afternoon news conference, police said they had searched Cho's dorm room. "There were considerable writings that were reviewed," said Col. Steven Flaherty, Superintendent of the Virginia State Police.

A 'Troubled' Young Man

Some news accounts have suggested that Cho had a history of antidepressant use, but senior federal officials tell ABC News that they can find no record of such medication in the government's files. This does not completely rule out prescription drug use, including samples from a physician, drugs obtained through illegal Internet sources, or a gap in the federal database, but the sources say theirs is a reasonably complete search.

Cho, born in South Korea, was a legal resident alien of the United States. He was a senior at Virginia Tech, majoring in English.

Sources tell ABC News Cho bought his first gun, a Glock 9 millimeter handgun, on March 13; they say he bought his second, a Walther .22 caliber pistol, within the last week. The serial numbers on both guns had been filed off, they said.

Authorities found the receipt for the 9 millimeter handgun in Cho's backpack. They say the bag also contained two knives and additional ammunition for the two guns.

Legal permanent resident aliens may purchase firearms in the state of Virginia. A resident alien must, however, provide additional identification to prove he or she is a resident of the state.

Sections of chain similar to those used to lock the main doors at Norris Hall, the site of the second shooting that left 31 dead, were also found inside a Virginia Tech dormitory, sources confirmed to ABC News.

President Bush and the first lady addressed the Virginia Tech community at a convocation Tuesday afternoon.

"Yesterday began like any other day. Students woke up and they grabbed their backpacks and they headed for class," Bush said. "And soon the day took a dark turn, with students and faculty barricading themselves in classrooms and dormitories."

"For many of you here today, it was the worst day in your lives," Bush said.

Positive Fingerprint Match

Cho's identity has been confirmed by matching fingerprints on his guns with his immigration records.

"Lab results confirm that one of the two weapons seized in Norris Hall was used in both shootings," Virginia Tech Police Chief Wendell Flinchum said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Cho, according to law enforcement officials, had entered the country through Detroit with his family in 1992, at the age of eight. He last renewed his green card in 2003. As of yesterday, his home address was listed as Centreville, Va., and the university reported he was living in a campus dormitory, Harper Hall.

Cho's parents live in a townhouse development in Centreville, a suburb of Washington. They own a dry-cleaning shop nearby.

His older sister, Sun-Kyung, graduated from Princeton University in 2004. A source, who asked to be identified as a senior Administration official, said she works for McNeil Technologies, a firm contracted by the State Department to manage reconstruction efforts in Iraq.

Police searched the family home last night. On Tuesday, no one was answering their door.

One neighbor, Marshall Main, describes Cho's parents as quiet and polite. Neither Main nor another neighbor recalled seeing the son in recent years.

Cho graduated from Westfield High School, a Fairfax County public school, in 2003. The school system says two of the dead yesterday at Virginia Tech had graduated from Westfield in 2006; they would have been freshmen when Cho was a senior.

Two-Hour Gap Between Shootings

Police say Cho killed two people in West Ambler Johnston Hall, a dormitory near his own, shortly after 7:00 a.m. Monday. Then, two hours later, he opened fire in Norris Hall, a classroom building across campus.

Reporters continued to ask today why administrators did not cancel classes after the first shooting, and why it took more than two hours to inform the university community via e-mail about the first incident. The first e-mail notifying students of the dorm shooting was not sent by the school until 9:24 a.m -- by which time the second shooting was already over.

According to President Charles Steger, the administration locked down West Ambler Johnston Hall dormitory after the first shooting. But he said classes weren't canceled because the shooting was believed to be tied to a domestic dispute and campus police believed the shooter had left the campus.

"The second shooting, no one predicted that was also going to happen that morning," Steger said. "So if you're talking about locking it down, what is it you're going to lock down? It's like closing a city. It doesn't happen simultaneously."

By Monday night, investigators had ruled out the possibility of a murder-suicide in the first dormitory shooting. Ryan "Stack" Clark, a member of the school's marching band, the Marching Virginians, and a student resident assistant, was killed there by a shot in the neck. His next-door neighbor, freshman Emily Hilscher, was also found dead.

At Norris Hall, the gunman left a trail of bloodshed, which Flinchum, the Virginia Tech police chief, called "one of the worst things I've seen in my life."

Cho apparently shot himself in the head after the killings; part of his face was missing when his body was found.

Questions About Earlier Bomb Threats

Police documents today showed authorities suspected Cho may have been the source of two bomb threats last week targeting Virginia Tech engineering buildings.

The first of the two threats was directed at Torgersen Hall, a classroom and laboratory building, while the second was directed at multiple engineering buildings. Students and staff were evacuated, and the university sent out e-mails across campus, offering a $5,000 reward for information about the threats.

Virginia Tech -- formally known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University -- is located in the western end of the state near the borders of West Virginia and Tennessee. It has more than 25,000 full-time students. Its campus, which spreads over 2,600 acres, has more than 100 buildings.

The number of dead is almost twice as high as the previous record for a mass shooting on an American college campus. That took place at the University of Texas at Austin on Aug. 1, 1966, when a gunman named Charles Whitman opened fire from the 28th floor of a campus tower. Whitman killed 16 and injured 31.

ABC News' Amy Thomas and Jason Ryan contributed to this report.

Copyright © 2007 ABC News Internet Ventures

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Rabu, April 18, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Kanak-kanak Melayu-Irish tujuh tahun lulus Kimia O-Level

<== Ainan Celeste Cawley
SINGAPURA 15 April – Pada Januari lalu, Ainan Celeste Cawley, 7, menduduki peperiksaan mata pelajaran Kimia peringkat O-Level sebagai calon persendirian dan mengejutkan empat remaja yang mengambil peperiksaan itu bersamanya.

Keputusan empat calon lain itu tidak diketahui, namun Ainan baru-baru ini mendapat tahu yang dia lulus dalam peperiksaan tersebut.

Ainan yang berdarah Melayu-Irish dipercayai satu-satunya kanak-kanak yang memiliki kebolehan luar biasa ini, pelajar kimia cemerlang paling muda yang pernah direkodkan.

Ibunya, Syahidah Osman Cawley berkata, anak lelaki sulung kepada tiga beradik itu langsung tidak menyentuh buku teks O-Level sehingga 18 Julai lalu.

‘‘Ainan menduduki peperiksaan mata pelajaran Kimia O-Level pada 18 Januari lalu iaitu enam bulan kemudian di British Council sebagai calon persendirian,’’ katanya kepada Bernama, baru-baru ini.

Syahidah berkata, sejak kecil, Ainan - cucu kepada Sabariah Abdul Wahab, 50, dari Parit Yaani, Johor - akan mencari buku-buku sains di perpustakaan, jelas menunjukkan minatnya pada buku-buku tebal, yang penuh dengan gambar-gambar mengenai sains kimia kompleks.

‘‘Semua ini akan direnungi dan difahaminya terlebih dahulu sebelum dia membuat komen mengenainya kemudian,’’ katanya.

Bapa Ainan, Valentine Muhammad Cawley, 39, bekas ahli fizik, bagaimanapun tidak terkejut dengan minat Ainan terhadap sains itu.

“Ainan suka membaca buku sains dan selepas membacanya, dia menggunakan Internet untuk melakukan penyelidikan lebih lanjut,’’ kata Cawley yang merupakan Ketua Jabatan Bahasa Inggeris di Linguaphone Education, Singapura.

Semasa berumur tiga tahun, Ainan meminati bentuk-bentuk hyper-dimensional dan kemudiannya berkembang kepada minat terhadap struktur molekul semasa dia diperkenalkan kepada bidang kimia di Internet.

‘‘Dia hanya diberi buku pengajian kimia pada usia enam tahun untuk dibaca. Dia terus duduk, membaca teks itu dan memberitahu yang dia faham kandungannya,’’ kata Syahidah.

Cawley berkata, langkah selanjutnya buat Ainan ialah membuat persiapan menghadapi peperiksaan peringkat A-Level tahun ini.

Perkembangan kemajuan Ainan, serta dua saudaranya - Fintan, 3, dan Tiarnan, 15 bulan, - kini direkodkan dalam blog http://www.scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com. – Bernama

Pautan:

• Is Six Year Old Child Prodigy, Ainan Celeste Cawley, The World's Youngest Science Teacher?
• How Is A Child Prodigy Made? Valentine Cawley's Blog Reveals The Secrets Of The Art and Science Of Baby Genius.

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Isnin, April 16, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Umat Syiah rayakan Arbain

Ratusan ribu peziarah Syiah berkumpul di Karbala, Irak untuk memperingati salah satu hari raya paling suci, Arbain.

Hari raya selama dua hari itu mengakhiri 40 hari masa berkabung atas kematian Imam Hussein, cucu Nabi Muhammad pada tahun 680.

Selama seminggu, warga Syiah dari seluruh penjuru Irak berkumpul di Karbala, sekitar 80 km di selatan Baghdad.

Beberapa saat lalu, puluhan peziarah Syiah tewas dalam serangan bom dan senjata, dan penjagaan keamanan di Karbala sangat ketat.

Para peziarah memulai upacara suci pada hari Jumat di makam Imam Hussein sebelum acara mencapai puncaknya pada hari Sabtu. [BBCIndonesia.com]

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Sabtu, Mac 10, 2007 | 0 ulasan

28 maut nahas pesawat Garuda

Daripada Sopha Sulaiman

Para penyelamat memeriksa bangkai pesawat Garuda yang meletup selepas mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Adi Sucipto, Yogyakarta, semalam. – Reuters.

JAKARTA 7 Mac – Sebuah pesawat Boeing 737-400 syarikat penerbangan Garuda Indonesia meletup dan terbakar setelah terbabas ketika mendarat di Lapangan Terbang Adi Sucipto, Yogyakarta pagi ini, mengorbankan 28 orang penumpang.

Pesawat komersial itu membawa 140 penumpang termasuk tujuh anak kapal dari Lapangan Terbang Sukarno-Hatta Jakarta, termasuk Ketua Umum Muhammadiyah, Din Syamsuddin, diplomat dan wartawan Australia.

Din Syamsuddin bersama 111 penumpang lain bagaimanapun selamat dan mereka yang cedera dirawat di beberapa buah hospital di Yogyakarta.

Kedutaan Besar Malaysia di Jakarta, mengesahkan tiada rakyat Malaysia terlibat dalam nahas pesawat itu.

Pegawai dan wartawan Australia dalam pesawat itu dalam perjalanan ke Yogyakarta sempena lawatan Menteri Luar Australia, Alexander Downer ke Universiti Muhammadiyah hari ini.

Downer selepas menghadiri Mesyuarat Peringkat Menteri Sub-Rantau Mengenai Usaha Memerangi Keganasan di Jakarta menyifatkan nahas itu kemalangan biasa dan bukan angkara pengganas.

Sementara itu Din Syamsuddin yang memimpin organisasi Islam kedua terbesar di Indonesia menceritakan kepada stesen televisyen, penumpang berteriak dan bertakbir apabila ruang kabin pesawat berasap dan lampu padam setelah kapal terbang itu terbabas.

“Sebahagian penumpang terjun ke sawah melalui pintu depan, tengah dan belakang yang sudah terbuka, kata Din yang cedera ringan dalam kemalangan berkenaan.

Stesen MetroTV menyiarkan gambar pesawat Garuda itu hangus terbabas dalam sawah selepas melanggar pagar di hujung landasan.

Bangkai pesawat itu masih terbakar dengan kepulan asap tebal sementara anggota penyelamat dan tentera udara cuba memadamkan api.

Pasukan penyelamat mengeluarkan penumpang yang terkorban dari bangkai pesawat setelah api berjaya dipadamkan.

Pakar forensik juga dihantar ke lokasi dan hospital untuk mengenal pasti penumpang yang rentung.

Penumpang lain yang menaiki pesawat tersebut ialah warganegara Jepun, Itali dan Brunei.

Nahas pesawat itu berlaku pada pukul 7.14 pagi waktu tempatan (8.14 pagi waktu Malaysia) adalah yang kedua tahun ini selepas pesawat Adam Air hilang di Selat Makassar pada 1 Januari lalu.

Sehingga pukul 8 malam ini, belum ada angka rasmi mengenai jumlah kematian dalam nahas berkenaan.

Menurut laporan Antara dan stesen MetroTV, empat warganegara Australia dirawat di Rumah Sakit Bethesda sementara dua warga Brunei dirawat di Yogyakarta International Hospital.

Lima warga Australia, lima rakyat Jepun dan seorang rakyat Itali belum diketahui nasib mereka.

Seorang penumpang, Mahfud memberitahu, sebaik mendarat, badan pesawat terumbang-ambing dan kemudian muncul asap dalam kabin.

“Ramai penumpang melompat turun selepas pesawat itu terbakar diikuti dengan ledakan,” katanya.

– Utusan

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Khamis, Mac 08, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Survivors flee flames after fatal Indonesian plane crash

By Sebastien Berger, South East Asia Correspondent, and Tim Hall Last Updated: 2:09pm GMT 07/03/2007 Video: Java plane crash Timeline: A string disasters In pictures: Second air disaster this year Analysis: Indonesia's terrible air safety record 71 are killed as earthquakes hit Sumatra Twenty-three people were killed when an Indonesian passenger plane crashed on landing in the city of Yogyakarta, but around 100 escaped alive from the burning wreckage. The plane was carrying many Australian journalists and diplomats Passengers said the Garuda Boeing 737 was shaking violently as it approached the runway, and some reports said the nosewheel tyre exploded, sending the aircraft skidding out of control and off the tarmac, where it burst into flames and explosions shook its twisted frame. "It ran about 300 metres off the runway," said First Air Marshal Benyamin Dandel, the air force commander at the airport, adding that parts of the aircraft, including the wheels and the wings, were left behind. The passengers included Din Syamsuddin, the head of Muhammadiyah, the country's second-largest Muslim organisation. "Some passengers wanted to get their hand luggage. I cried to them, 'Get out, get out'," he said. “I saw a foreigner. His clothes were on fire. The plane was full of smoke. I just jumped from two metres high and landed in a rice field." Moments later, as the fire apparently reached a fuel tank, flames billowed into the sky. "Thank God I survived," he added. The fire took around two hours to bring under control, and Captain Yos Bintoro, an airport official, said: “I saw many bodies, dozens of bodies badly burnt near the exit. I saw people dead in the cockpit." Reports conflicted about the number of casualties. Garuda, the national airline, said 22 passengers and one crew member had died, but a government official earlier put the toll at 49. There were 133 people on board. At least 10 Australians were on board, including diplomats and journalists going to Java's cultural centre for an event with the Australian foreign minister Andrew Downer, who was not on the aircraft. Five were injured, and five remained unaccounted for. Mr Downer said that two survivors, both in the Australian air force, had told him the aircraft landed too fast. He said: "... the two who are in the best health told me that the plane came hurtling in to the runway at a much greater speed than an aeroplane would normally land at. "They themselves thought the plane would never stop in the length of the runway, which it duly didn't. They just ploughed across the end of the runway, across a road, hit a bank and a culvert and went into a paddy field. When it hit the bank and the culvert, it exploded." John Howard, the Australian prime minister, said there was no indication of terrorism. “It is a terrible tragedy," he said. “Many lives have been lost, and our love and sympathy and condolences go to those who are suffering distress and grief." The crash is the latest in a series in Indonesia, where several budget airlines compete ferociously for business. A spokesman for the British embassy said no Britons were believed to have been on board. Indonesia has been hit by a string of transport disasters in recent months. In late December, a passenger ferry sank in a storm in the Java Sea, killing more than 400 people. Days later in January a passenger plane operated by the budget airline Adam Air crashed into the ocean, killing all 102 people on board. In February another ship sank near the capital’s port, leaving at least 50 dead. The government responded by saying it would ban local commercial airlines from operating planes more than 10 years old, though most experts say maintenance and the number of take-offs and landings are the most important factors in preventing accidents. Earlier this week dozens of people were killed and hundreds of buildings flattened by an earthquake on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. [telegraph.co.uk]

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Mandala plane crashes in Medan kampung

5 September 2005 - An Indonesian passenger plane with over 100 people on board crashed into a residential area shortly after taking off from the northern city of Medan, officials said. The Mandala Airlines jet bound for Jakarta crashed minutes after take-off from Polonia airport in Medan on the island of Sumatra. News about the plane crash · Crashed Indonesia jet may have had fuel problem · Young boy survives Mandala crash · Indonesia to bury plane crash victims · Airplane crash kills 141 in Indonesia · All Mandala crash passengers feared dead · Governor killed in Mandala crash · Indonesian jet with over 100 on board crashes into residential area Remains of the Mandala Airlines plane near the houses of the housing complex. Other recent big crashes in Indonesia April 2, 2005: A Sea King helicopter on an aid mission goes down on Indonesia's quake-hit Nias island in Australia's worst post-Vietnam War operational loss of military personnel, killing nine. December 23, 2004: An Indonesian military helicopter crashes in Central Java province, killing all 14 air force personnel on board. Bad weather was cited as the cause. November 30, 2004: A Lion Air MD-82 plane carrying 146 passengers and seven crew skids off a rain-slick runway at Solo in central Java, killing 31 people and injuring dozens more. October 12, 2004: An Indonesian military helicopter crashes in the northern separatist province of Aceh on Sumatra, killing all eight soldiers on board, with bad weather mentioned as a possible cause. December 19, 1997: All 104 people on board a Singapore SilkAir Boeing 737-300 are killed when it crashes near the Sumatran city of Palembang. September 26, 1997: A Garuda Airbus A-300B4 crashes in a mountainous area of northern Sumatra near Medan. All 222 passengers and 12 crew are killed in Indonesia's worst-ever air disaster.

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Pesawat B 737-400 Lion Juga Alami Insiden

Rabu, 07 Maret 2007

Jakarta-RoL-- Pesawat Lion Air dengan nomor penerbangan JT 793 jurusan Gorontalo-Jakarta jenis B 737-400 juga mengalami insiden kecil sehingga harus melakuan pendaratan di Bandara Juanda, sekitar pukul 13.30 WIB.

"Indikator bahan bakar di pesawat menyala karena diduga tekanannya rendah dan ini memerlukan pengecekan," kata Manajer Humas Lion Air, Hasyim Arsal Alhabsi saat dihubungi di Jakarta, Rabu malam.

Menurut Hasyim, sang pilot pesawat dengan nomor register PK-LIT dan berpenumpang 157 orang tersebut, Capt Ary Susanto kemudian memutuskan untuk melakukan pengecekan di Bandara Juanda.

"Posisi pesawat memang dekat di Bandara Juanda dan tindakan pilot tersebut sudah sesuai dengan prosedur, demi keselamatan penerbangan, ketimbang perjalanan diteruskan dan bermasalah," katanya.

Selain itu, tegasnya, meski indikator bahan bakar menunjukkan tanda harus dilakukan pengecekan, secara umum, kondisi pesawat tidak mengalami anomali lain atau ciri-ciri lain yang menandakan pesawat "bermasalah".

Akhirnya, kata Hasyim, pesawat mendarat mulus di Juanda sekitar pukul 13.30 WIB dan setelah dilakukan pengecekan oleh teknisi Lion Air di Surabaya, pesawat pada pukul 17.00 WIB melanjutkan perjalanan ke Bandara Soekarno-Hatta, Jakarta.

Pesawat, sesuai jadwal seharusnya mendarat di Bandara Soekarno Hatta sekitar pukul 14.15 WIB. antara
(republika)

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Indonesian jetliner bursts into flames, at least 23 dead

Yogyakarta, Mar 07: A packed Indonesian jetliner crash-landed and erupted in flames on Wednesday, killing 23 people trapped inside the burning wreckage. More than 115 others escaped through emergency exits as black smoke billowed behind them, authorities and witnesses said. Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa told reporters in Yogyakarta that 23 of the 140 passengers and crew on board died. Garuda said the injured passengers were being treated at three hospitals. Survivors, many of them bloodied and dazed, said the Boeing 737-400 shook violently as it approached Yogyakarta Airport and then shot off the runway, plowing through a fence and then coming to a halt in a rice field. "Suddenly there was smoke inside the fuselage, it hit the runway and then it landed in a rice field," local Islamic leader Dien Syamsudin told el-Shinta radio station. "I saw a foreigner. His clothes were on fire and I jumped from the emergency exit. Thank God I survived." The government ordered an investigation into the crash, the third involving a commercial jetliner in the country in as many months. The nationalities of the dead and injured were not released. President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered a thorough investigation into the crash, appointing the security minister to look into possible "nontechnical" causes, said spokesman Andi Mallarangeng, in an apparent reference to sabotage. Bureau Report [zeenews.com]

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Moments before Indonesian crash, jet pilot blinded by haze

September 26, 1997
Web posted at: 10:24 p.m. EDT (0224 GMT)

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- Moments before a Garuda Indonesian jet slammed into the ground Friday, killing at least 200 people, its pilot asked for help landing because of poor visibility, official media reported Saturday.

The pilot of the Airbus jet radioed Medan air traffic controllers for guidance minutes before the crash, state-owned Antara News Agency reported. The pilot had complained of low visibility because of a smoky haze, the report said.

The plane crashed Friday about 20 miles (30 kilometers) short of Medan airport in North Sumatra.

The haze has been blamed on fires raging in the region's rain forests.

All 238 aboard the A-300 Airbus were feared dead. The plane went down early Friday afternoon about 15 minutes before it was to land at Medan, a major commodities and trading center.

Shortly after dawn Saturday, rescue crews sifted through mountainside debris , but the search for survivors was increasingly grim. "We are afraid there are no survivors," one official said.

An airport official in Medan said a thick haze had covered the airport for the last two days.

There was no official word on the cause of the crash, but one official said, "It's probably the haze, but we're not sure."

Some of the worst fires have been smoldering across Sumatra for months, and several airports in other cities on the island, and elsewhere in the country, were closed Friday because of poor visibility.

In parts of Sumatra Thursday, visibility was down to less than 100 yards (meters).

Airport sources said Flight GA-152 lost contact with the Medan control tower at about 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT). Rescue officials said the plane went down near the village of Buah Nabar in the Sibolangit district south of Medan.

A Garuda official said 222 passengers, including one child, and 16 crew members were on the flight. Most of those on board were believed to be Indonesians, but the plane was also carrying American, Dutch and Japanese passengers.

Sumatra is an Indonesian island divided into two almost equal parts by the equator. The southeastern Asian country of Indonesia is an archipelago of about 17,500 islands.

Bush fires across Sumatra island and Kalimantan have sent a choking, health-threatening haze across neighboring Singapore, Malaysia and Brunei. The smoke has also drifted as far as the southern Philippines and parts of Thailand, including the resort area of Phuket.

Related stories:

• More than 100 bodies found at Indonesian crash site - September 26, 1997
• At least 236 feared dead in Indonesian plane crash - September 26, 1997

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• Garuda Indonesia Airlines
• Airbus Industrie - A300

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Garuda Plane Crash in Indonesia Kills at Least 21 (Update7)

By Berni Moestafa and Claire Leow

March 7 (Bloomberg) -- A PT Garuda Indonesia plane crashed in central Java, killing at least 21 people and increasing concerns about safety of travel in Indonesia, where three planes have crashed this year.

The 15-year-old Boeing Co. 737-400 plane was carrying 140 people. Rescuers evacuated 97 people, Cabinet Secretary Sudi Silalahi said at a briefing in Jakarta today.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono ordered an investigation into the country's transportation safety standards after two earlier crashes. In January, a 17 year-old PT Adam Skyconnection Airlines Boeing Co. 737-300 plane, carrying 102 people, plunged into the ocean off the coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi island and another plane broke up on landing in February.

``It's a serious problem when you have two fatal crashes in a short period of time,'' said Jim Eckes, managing director of Hong Kong-based Indoswiss Aviation, which advises airlines. ``There's a lot of indication that airlines in Indonesia are not being maintained properly or that pilot training isn't up to par.''

In today's crash, the plane's fuselage melted as it was consumed by flames about 100 meters off the runway, according to television reports. Sugeng Dwi Riyanto, a health ministry official, who had earlier reported there were 58 fatalities, said officials had double counted. Riyanto said he had seen 22 bodies.

Flight GA 200 originated in Jakarta and crashed as it landed in Yogyakarta at about 7 a.m. local time. There were 133 passengers and seven crew members aboard, according to Pujobroto, a Garuda spokesman, who uses one name.

Boeing Investigator

``A Boeing air safety investigator is in Indonesia and will assist with the investigation,'' said Boeing spokesman Ken Mercer from Seattle. ``Boeing expresses profound concern for the safety of the passengers and crew.''

Local hospitals were treating at least 62 people for injuries. The injured include at least 26 Indonesians, one Japanese and one Australian, Sif Wuryanto, a spokesman at a local hospital said by phone.

Four of nine Australians on the plane are missing, Australia's Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a briefing in Jakarta today. The rest are being treated in local hospitals, he said. Downer, who is in Indonesia to attend a conference on terrorism, will go to Yogyakarta later today.

Old Planes

About 80 percent to 90 percent of planes in Indonesia are over 10 years old, according to PT Lion Mentari Airlines spokesman Hasyim Arsal Alhabsyi.

Air transport is growing rapidly in Indonesia, driven by low fares. The number of passengers on domestic flights probably rose to about 32 million in 2006 from 29 million in 2005, Indonesian transport minister Hatta Rajasa said on Oct. 18. This compares with 23 million in 2004 and 6 million in 1999, Rajasa said.

``The accident may spark fear of travel given that Garuda has been the safety benchmark for the Indonesian airline industry,'' said Bambang Susantono, chairman of the Indonesian Transport Society, an independent group of transportation experts. ``We need a thorough evaluation of what happened.''

In 2004, there were 23 scheduled airlines operating and 37 licenses had been issued in Indonesia, according to the World Bank. Indonesia's sudden air transport development became possible by the collapse of the Suharto regime in 1998. Before 1999, there were five scheduled carriers and a few charter operators, the World Bank said.

Indonesia last month grounded seven of Adam Skyconnection Airlines's Boeing 737-300 planes, a third of its fleet, after the fuselage of one of its jets broke upon landing in Surabaya, East Java on Feb. 21.

On Feb. 28, Transport Minister Rajasa said Indonesia may ban airlines from buying older planes. The government may cut the maximum age used planes can be sold at to 10 years from the current 20, he said.

On Sept. 5, 2005, a PT Mandala Airlines jetliner crashed into a residential district North Sumatra province, killing 149 people.

To contact the reporter on this story: Berni Moestafa in Jakarta at bmoestafa@bloomberg.net ; Claire Leow in Jakarta at cleow@bloomberg.net .
Last Updated: March 7, 2007 04:14 EST

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Rabu, Mac 07, 2007 | 0 ulasan

List of Grammy Award Winners

The Dixie Chicks, from left, Natalie Maines and Martie Maguire perform the song "Not Ready to Make Nice" at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards on Sunday, in Los Angeles. (AP/Mark J. Terrill)
By The Associated Press

Winners at Sunday's 49th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center in Los Angeles:

Album of the Year: "Taking the Long Way," Dixie Chicks.


Record of the Year: "Not Ready to Make Nice," Dixie Chicks.

Song of the Year: "Not Ready to Make Nice," Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines, Emily Robison and Dan Wilson (Dixie Chicks).

New Artist: Carrie Underwood.

Female R&B Vocal Performance: "Be Without You," Mary J. Blige.

Pop Vocal Album: "Continuum," John Mayer.

Pop Collaboration With Vocals: "For Once in My Life," Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder.

Country Album: "Taking the Long Way," Dixie Chicks.

Rap Album: "Release Therapy," Ludacris.

Rock Album: "Stadium Arcadium," Red Hot Chili Peppers.

R&B Album: "The Breakthrough," Mary J. Blige.

Producer of the Year, Non-Classical: Rick Rubin.

Traditional Pop Vocal Album: "Duets: an American Classic," Tony Bennett.

Female Pop Vocal Performance: "Ain't No Other Man," Christina Aguilera.

Male Pop Vocal Performance: "Waiting on the World to Change," John Mayer.

Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "My Humps," Black Eyed Peas.

Pop Instrumental Performance: "Mornin'," George Benson (& Al Jarreau).

Pop Instrumental Album: "Fingerprints," Peter Frampton.

Rock Instrumental Performance: "The Wizard Turns On ... ," the Flaming Lips.

Rock Song: "Dani California," Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis and Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers);

Solo Rock Vocal Performance: "Someday Baby," Bob Dylan.

Rock Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "Dani California," Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Hard Rock Performance: "Woman," Wolfmother.

Metal Performance: "Eyes of the Insane," Slayer.

Alternative Music Album: "St. Elsewhere," Gnarls Barkley.

Dance Recording: "Sexy Back," Justin Timberlake and Timbaland.

Electronic/Dance Album: "Confessions on a Dance Floor," Madonna.

Rap Solo Performance: "What You Know," T.I.

Rap Performance by a Duo or Group: "Ridin," Chamillionaire featuring Krayzie Bone.

Rap/Sung Collaboration: "My Love," Justin Timberlake featuring T.I.

Rap Song: "Money Maker," Christopher Bridges and Pharrell Williams (Ludacris featuring Pharrell).

Urban/Alternative Performance: "Crazy," Gnarls Barkley.

Male R&B Vocal Performance: "Heaven," John Legend.

R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals: "Family Affair," (Sly and the Family Stone), John Legend, Joss Stone With Van Hunt.

Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: "God Bless the Child," George Benson and Al Jarreau featuring Jill Scott.

R&B Song: "Be Without You," Johnta Austin, Mary J. Blige, Bryan-Michael Cox and Jason Perry (Mary J. Blige).

Contemporary R&B Album: "B'Day," Beyonce.

Traditional Blues Album: "Risin' With the Blues," Ike Turner.

Contemporary Blues Album: "After the Rain," Irma Thomas.

Female Country Vocal Performance: "Jesus, Take the Wheel," Carrie Underwood.

Male Country Vocal Performance: "The Reason Why," Vince Gill.

Country Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal: "Not Ready to Make Nice," Dixie Chicks.

Country Collaboration With Vocals: "Who Says You Can't Go Home," Bon Jovi and Jennifer Nettles.

Country Instrumental Performance: "Whiskey Before Breakfast," Bryan Sutton and Doc Watson.

Country Song: "Jesus, Take the Wheel," Brett James, Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson (Carrie Underwood).

Bluegrass Album: "Instrumentals," Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder.

Contemporary Jazz Album: "The Hidden Land," Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.

Jazz Instrumental Solo: "Some Skunk Funk," Michael Brecker.

Jazz Instrumental Album, Individual or Group: "The Ultimate Adventure," Chick Corea.

Large Jazz Ensemble Album: "Some Skunk Funk," Randy Brecker With Michael Brecker, Jim Beard, Will Lee, Peter Erskine, Marcio.

Jazz Vocal Album: "Turned to Blue," Nancy Wilson.

Instrumental Composition: "A Prayer for Peace," John Williams, composer (John Williams), from "Munich -- Soundtrack."

Instrumental Arrangement: "Three Ghouls," Chick Corea, arranger (Chick Corea), from "The Ultimate Adventure."

Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s): "For Once in My Life," Jorge Calandrelli, arranger (Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder), from "Duets: an American Classic."

Gospel Performance: "Victory," Yolanda Adams.

Gospel Song: "Imagine Me," Kirk Franklin (Kirk Franklin).

Rock or Rap Gospel Album: "Turn Around," Jonny Lang.

Pop/Contemporary Gospel Album: "Wherever You Are," Third Day.

Southern, Country, or Bluegrass Gospel Album: "Glory Train," Randy Travis.

Traditional Gospel Album: "Alive in South Africa," Israel and New Breed.

Contemporary R&B Gospel Album: "Hero," Kirk Franklin.

Short Form Music Video: "Here It Goes Again," OK Go.

Long Form Music Video: "Wings for Wheels: The Making of Born to Run," Bruce Springsteen.

Producer of the Year, Classical: Elaine Martone.

Classical Album: "Mahler: Symphony No. 7," Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor, Andreas Neubronner, producer (San Francisco Symphony).

Orchestral Performance: "Mahler: Symphony No. 7," Michael Tilson Thomas, conductor (San Francisco Symphony).

Opera Recording: "Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears," Robert Spano, conductor, Kelley O'Connor and Dawn Upshaw; Valerie Gross and Sid McLauchlan, producers (Women of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra).

Choral Performance: "Part: Da Pacem," Paul Hillier, conductor (Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir).

Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra): "Messiaen: Oiseaux Exotiques (Exotic Birds)," John McLaughlin Williams, conductor; Angelin Chang (Cleveland Chamber Symphony).

Instrumental Soloist Performance (without Orchestra): "Chopin: Nocturnes," Maurizio Pollini.

Chamber Music Performance: "Intimate Voices," Emerson String Quartet.

Small Ensemble Performance: "Padilla: Sun of Justice," Peter Rutenberg, conductor (Los Angeles Chamber Singers' Cappella).

Classical Vocal Performance: "Rilke Songs," Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Peter Serkin), track from Lieberson: Rilke Songs, The Six Realms, Horn Concerto.

Classical Contemporary Composition: "Golijov: Ainadamar: Fountain of Tears," Osvaldo Golijov (Robert Spano).

Classical Crossover Album: "Simple Gifts," Bryn Terfel (London Voices; London Symphony Orchestra).

Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Walk the Line," Joaquin Phoenix and Various Artists.

Score Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Memoirs of a Geisha," John Williams, composer.

Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media: "Our Town (From Cars)," Randy Newman (James Taylor).

Musical Show Album: "Jersey Boys."

Musical Album for Children: "Catch That Train," Dan Zanes and Friends.

Comedy Album: "The Carnegie Hall Performance," Lewis Black.

New Age Album: "Amarantine," Enya.

Traditional Folk Album: "We Shall Overcome -- the Seeger Sessions," Bruce Springsteen.

Contemporary Folk/Americana Album: "Modern Times," Bob Dylan.

Latin Pop Album (tie): "Adentro," Arjona. "Limon Y Sal," Julieta Venegas.

Latin Rock, Alternative or Urban Album: "Amar Es Combatir," Mana.

Tropical Latin Album: "Directo Al Corazon," Gilberto Santa Rosa.

Mexican/Mexican-American Album: "Historias De Mi Tierra," Pepe Aguilar.

Tejano Album: "Sigue El Taconazo," Chente Barrera.

Norteno Album: "Historias Que Contar," Los Tigres Del Norte.

Banda Album: "Mas Alla Del Sol," Joan Sebastian.

Latin Jazz Album: "Simpatico," the Brian Lynch/Eddie Palmieri Project.

Native American Music Album: "Dance With the Wind," Mary Youngblood.

Hawaiian Music Album: "Legends of Hawaiian Slack Key Guitar -- Live From Maui," Various Artists.

Reggae Album: "Love Is My Religion," Ziggy Marley.

Traditional World Music Album: "Blessed," Soweto Gospel Choir.

Contemporary World Music Album: "Wonder Wheel," the Klezmatics.

Polka Album: "Polka in Paradise," Jimmy Sturr and His Orchestra.

Spoken Word Album for Children: "Blah Blah Blah: Stories About Clams, Swamp Monsters, Pirates and Dogs," Bill Harley.

Spoken Word Album (Includes Poetry, Audio Books and Story Telling). (Tie): "Our Endangered Values: America's Moral Crisis (Jimmy Carter)," Jimmy Carter. "With Ossie and Ruby: In This Life Together (Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee)," Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.

Recording Package: "10,000 Days," Adam Jones, art director (Tool).

Boxed or Special Limited Edition Package: "Stadium Arcadium," Flea, John Frusciante, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and Matt Taylor, art directors (Red Hot Chili Peppers).

Album Notes: "If You Got to Ask, You Ain't Got It!" Dan Morgenstern, album notes writer (Fats Waller).

Historical Album: "Lost Sounds: Blacks and the Birth of the Recording Industry 1891-1922."

Engineered Album, Classical: "Elgar: Enigma Variations; Britten: the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Four Sea Interludes," Michael Bishop, engineer (Paavo Jarvi and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra).

Engineered Album, Non-Classical: "At War With the Mystics," the Flaming Lips and Dave Fridmann, engineers (The Flaming Lips).

Remixed Recording, Non-Classical: "Talk (Thin White Duke Mix)," Jacques Lu Cont, remixer (Coldplay).

Surround Sound Album: "Morph the Cat," Darcy Proper, surround mastering.

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Isnin, Februari 12, 2007 | 0 ulasan

Some rich ironies for Dixie Chicks in Grammy Award haul

International Herald Tribune
The Associated Press
Sunday, February 11, 2007

NEW YORK: The Dixie Chicks' Natalie Maines could not resist the rich irony — or the chance to rub their success in the face of a country-music establishment that turned its back on them.

"That's interesting," Maines said in picking up the band's Grammy Award for best country album on Sunday. Country radio stations have largely ignored the band after Maines' infamous 2003 remarks critical of President George W. Bush on a London stage.

"Well, to quote the great Simpsons: 'Heh-heh,'" she said, invoking the gloating laugh of a bully character on "The Simpsons" TV series.

The Dixie Chicks' "Not Ready to Make Nice," a blistering retort to their critics following the incident, had already won the Grammy for song of the year. They drew several standing ovations from an audience well aware that their victories had a political point attached.

"I, for the first time in my life, am speechless," Maines said in picking up the song-of-the-year trophy.

She quickly got over it.

On the eve of the Iraq war in 2003, Maines told a London audience: "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." That immediately made the band targets of hate mail, boycotts and talk-radio shouters.

In truth, the Dixie Chicks turned their backs on country, too. They traveled to Los Angeles to make their "Taking the Long Way Home" album with veteran rock and rap producer Rick Rubin. The result had more to do with southern California rock than country.

Dixie Chick Emily Robison called it a strange place to be, as artists without a genre.

"We wouldn't have done this album without everything we went through, so we have no regrets," Robison said. "I thank everyone who voted for us."

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Isnin, Februari 12, 2007 | 0 ulasan