Ilham Anas dan Obama merupakan pelanduk dua serupa. Kedua-dua pelanduk ini bijak dengan cara mereka yang tersendiri. Rezeki Obama menjadi Presiden USA membawa tuah kepada Ilham Anas. Fenomena Obamania di Indonesia kini digunakan sepenuhnya oleh Ilham Anas dengan beliau muncul di kaca TV sebagai "Obama Double".
Obama look-alike shoots to fame
Jakarta: Indonesian photographer Ilham Anas won`t be at US President Barack Obama`s inauguration on Tuesday. Instead he`ll be starring as an Obama look-alike on Indonesian TV.
Anas, 34, who from some angles bears a resemblance to the new US president, shot to fame in Jakarta after Obama, 47, won the election in November, and is now earning income as an Obama double.
Many Indonesians have a keen interest in Obama, who lived in Jakarta for four years after his American mother, Ann Dunham, married Muslim Indonesian Lolo Soetoro following the end of her marriage to Obama`s Kenyan father.
PELANDUK DUA SERUPA : MANA SATU YANG LEBIH BIJAK
PUSAT SERENTI BERTUKAR NAMA KEPADA PUSPEN
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak menyebut selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Tindakan Membanteras Dadah peringkat kebangsaan bahawa dadah sintetik disifatkan sebagai satu bentuk ancaman baru yang amat serius kesannya lebih-lebih lagi ia mudah dihasilkan, mudah diproses walaupun hanya di dapur rumah dan tidak memerlukan makmal yang bersaiz besar.
Penggunaan metadon bagi mengurangkan ketagihan di kalangan penagih dilihat sangat berkesan dan akan diteruskan bagi mengurangkan jumlah penghuni pusat pemulihan dadah. Najib turut mengumumkan pertukaran nama Pusat Serenti kepada Pusat Pemulihan Penagihan Narkotik (Puspek).
RM5j perangi dadah sintetik
Oleh zabry mohamad
zabrymohamad.madzlan@utusangroup. com.my
PUTRAJAYA 22 Jan. - Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berkata, kerajaan memandang serius penyalahgunaan dadah jenis sintetik seperti syabu serta ketamin yang semakin luas dan akan mengambil langkah segera bagi mendidik orang ramai mengenai bahaya dadah tersebut.
Timbalan Perdana Menteri menegaskan, meskipun sekadar mahu mencuba, mereka yang menggunakannya buat pertama kali boleh menjadi penagih dadah itu.
Tambahnya, dadah jenis itu juga mudah diproses walaupun hanya di dapur rumah dan tidak memerlukan makmal yang bersaiz besar.
Sehubungan itu katanya, dadah sintetik disifatkan sebagai satu bentuk ancaman baru yang amat serius kesannya lebih-lebih lagi ia mudah dihasilkan.
"Inilah trend yang dilihat dalam tempoh setahun dua ini dan fenomena sebegini perlu kita banteras," katanya selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Tindakan Membanteras Dadah peringkat kebangsaan di sini hari ini.
Sehubungan itu, beliau yang juga pengerusi majlis berkenaan menjelaskan, kerajaan bersetuju meluluskan peruntukan sebanyak RM5 juta bagi membantu badan dan agensi terbabit seperti Persatuan Mencegah Dadah Malaysia (Pemadam) melaksanakan kempen kesedaran yang lebih berkesan.
Ditanya mengenai latar belakang penagih tersebut, beliau memberitahu, kebanyakan mereka berusia antara 20 hingga 35 tahun.
Dari sudut penguatkuasaan, Najib menjelaskan, kerajaan akan menempatkan peralatan dan mesin canggih yang dapat mengesan cubaan menyeludup dadah di semua pintu keluar-masuk negara.
Selain itu, tambah beliau, pegawai-pegawai Agensi Anti Dadah Kebangsaan (AADK) akan dihantar ke luar negara untuk menimba pengetahuan serta pengalaman baru mengenai pembanterasan penyalahgunaan dadah.
Pada perkembangan lain, beliau berkata, program-program pemulihan dadah yang dilaksanakan kerajaan menampakkan banyak kejayaan.
"Penggunaan metadon bagi mengurangkan ketagihan di kalangan penagih dilihat sangat berkesan dan akan diteruskan bagi mengurangkan jumlah penghuni pusat pemulihan dadah.
"Projek perintis pinjaman Tekun Nasional kepada bekas penagih juga berkesan dan akan diperluaskan supaya mereka berpeluang menjadi peniaga, usahawan atau dilatih di pusat-pusat latihan seperti GiatMara dan Institut Kemahiran Mara (IKM)," ujarnya.
Najib turut mengumumkan pertukaran nama Pusat Serenti kepada Pusat Pemulihan Penagihan Narkotik (Puspen).
BERAPA BANYAKKAH SUMBANGAN ANDA KEPADA PENAGIH DADAH DI MALAYSIA DI sini
STATISTIK PENAGIHAN DADAH DI MALAYSIA DI {SINI}
JAB SIASATAN JENAYAH (JSJ) NARKOTIK SELANGOR DIUCAPKAN SYABAS DAN TAHNIAH
Diucapkan syabas dan tahniah kepada JSJ Narkotik Selangor yang telah berjaya menumpaskan dan menangkap apa yang dipercayai satu sindikat dadah antarabangsa yang didalangi rakyat tempatan dan warga asing apabila 70 kilogram (ada akhbar melaporkan sebanyak 119 kg) dadah jenis ketamine ditemui tersorok bersama guni garam dan mungkin tepung gandum. Premis tersebut yang hampir dengan restoran 24 jam sentiasa dipenuhi pelanggan dari pelbagai bangsa, terletak di Jalan Sg Bertih, berhampiran lampu isyarat Simpang Empat Sg Udang, Klang Selangor.
Di atas kecekapan pihak polis memberkas penjenayah yang menjadi tauke/taiko mengedar dadah kepada anak muda tempatan dan kawasan berhampiran sungguh bermakna sekali dalam
usaha membenteras gejala dadah di negeri Selangor khususnya dan Malaysia amnya sekaligus pelbagai bentuk jenayah yang lain seperti pecah rumah/kedai. Teruskan usaha yang murni ini.
Stor garam sorok dadah
Oleh Abdullah Wahab
abwahab@hmetro.com.my
KLANG: Sebuah rumah kedai dua tingkat di Jalan Sungai Betik, Kampung Delek di sini, dipercayai dijadikan stor menyimpan dadah sebelum ia diserbu polis, semalam.
Dalam serbuan jam 6 petang itu, polis menemui lebih 70 kilogram dadah jenis ketamine dipercayai bernilai jutaan ringgit yang disorok bersama beberapa guni garam.
Difahamkan polis melakukan intipan selama lebih dua minggu di kawasan itu sebelum serbuan.
Ketua Polis Selangor, Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar mengesahkan mengenai penemuan dadah dalam serbuan yang dilakukan Jabatan Siasatan Jenayah Narkotik Selongor itu dan tiga lelaki ditahan bagi membantu siasatan.
Rampasan itu menurutnya, adalah yang terbesar untuk tahun ini dan siasatan lanjut sedang dibuat bagi mengenal pasti dalang di sebalik penemuan dadah itu.
Sementara itu seorang penduduk yang enggan dikenali berkata, sebelum ini kedai terbabit adalah kedai menjual cermin sebelum dijadikan stor garam.
Menurutnya, kedai itu sentiasa bertutup tetapi ada beberapa orang yang dilihatnya sering keluar masuk.
DYMM SULTAN SELANGOR PERKENAN SAMPAIKAN RM SEJUTA UNTUK RAKYAT PALESTIN DARI LZS
Penderitaan, kesengsaraan dan perjuangan rakyat Palestin selama ini mendapat perhatian DYMM Sultan Selangor, Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah Al Haj Ibni Al Marhum Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah Al Haj apabila Tuanku Sultan berkenan mencecah ke bawah duli dengan menyampaikan derma RM Sejuta dana Lembaga Zakat Selangorkepada rakyat Palestin melalui Yayasan Amal Malaysia. Baru-baru ini misi pertama Yayasan Amal Malaysia ke Gaza telah berlepas dan diketuai sendiri oleh Presidennya Cikgu Husin Ismail.
Bagi pihak Yayasan Amal Malaysia replika cek RMSejuta telah diterima oleh Dr Halimah Ali, Naib Presiden 111, merangakap Naib Pengerusi Yayasan Amal Cawangan Selangor. Kelihatan DYMM Sultan Selangor sedang menyampaikan cek kepada Dr Halimah sambil diperhatikan oleh YAB Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, MB Selangor merangkap Penasihat Yayasan Amal malaysia.
Misi Yayasan Amal Malaysia ke Gaza berkunjung ke Kedutaan Malaysia Mesir di Kaherah. Kelihatan TYT Dato Zainal Abidin Abd Kadir selaku Duta Besar Malaysia (ketiga dari kiri) , Presidennya Tuan Hj Hussin Ismail (kedua dari kiri) turut di sertai oleh Timbalan Presiden Tuan Hj Jamulidin Elias (keempat dari kiri) , Naib Presiden YB Dr Abd Rani Osman, YB Dr Hj Hamdan, Pengerusi Amal Malaysia Cawangan Selangor, YB Dr Hj Ahmad Yunos dan sukarelawan Encik Khalil.
PELAJAR PEREMPUAN DISIMBAH ASID RAMAI YANG MENGAKU
Laporan CNN November 2008 mengisahkan bagaimana dua orang pelajar perempuan Afghanistan yang tinggal di bandar Kandahar telah disimbah asid ketika dalam perjalanan ke sekolah.
Yang peliknya, 10 orang telah mengaku melakukannya kerana kononnya diupah oleh tentera Pakistan.
Yang membingungkan ialah dikatakan wujud gambar dua orang lelaki yang "sebenarnya melakukan perbuatan keji itu" tetapi 10 orang yang datang mengaku bukan lelaki yang dalam rakaman video yang disimpan oleh perisikan kerajaan Afghanistan di bawah Hamid Karzai.
Kisah ini mengambarkan pada saya bahawa terdapat pihak-pihak yang mahu memburukkan imej Taliban kerana dikatakan bahawa Kandahar merupakan bandar di mana Taliban sangat berpengaruh sebelum mereka kalah pada tahun 2001.
Seperkara lagi, nampaknya berdasarkan laporan ini, ada pihak-pihak yang mahu melaga-lagakan antara Kerajaan Pakistan dengan kerajaan Afghanistan. Kita sedia maklum, Pakistan telah dituduh sebagai membantu puak Taliban dalam memerangi tentera pengaman dari US dan lain-lain negara barat dan melindungi Taliban.Afghan girls maimed by acid vow to go to school
Shivering in pain and calling for her mother, Shamsia's hands shake uncontrollably, her eyes swollen shut and her skin peeling from terrible acid burns.
Shamsia and Atifa remain determined to get their education despite the attacks.
The 19-year-old was heading to school along with her 16-year-old sister, Atifa, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It was a warm November morning last year and their only anxiety was being late for class.
"We saw two men up ahead staring at us. One was standing off and the other one was on their motorcycle. I wanted to go but there was a black object in his hand and he took it out," Atifa says.
The girls thought it was a water pistol.
"He grabbed my arm and asked, 'Will you be going to school anymore?' He then threw acid on my sister and threw acid on me," Shamsia says.
They weren't the only ones attacked that day. Several other teachers and students were targeted on their way to Meir Weis Mena School in Kandahar, the nation's third-largest city and one where the Taliban have long been influential.
Atifa was burned so badly that her red scarf melted onto her dark brown hair.
Parents were so frightened that many students were kept at home for weeks afterward.
It's not the first time girls in Afghanistan have been targeted for attending school. The Taliban have been responsible for dozens of attacks on girls' schools and female teachers, but even they condemned this attack.
Kandahar was the headquarters for the Taliban during its five-year rule of Afghanistan and was home to Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Omar.
During that time, girls were forbidden to attend school. If they tried to get an education, they risked beatings by the religious police, or worse. Parents and family members were threatened, and sometimes killed, for allowing their girls the chance to be educated.
Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, the Afghan government has tried to extend access to education, with some success. About 6 million children attend schools throughout the country, 2 million of whom are girls, according to government figures.
The case of Shamsia and Atifa gained national and international attention.
"A real man would never throw acid on the face of a little girl, a real man wouldn't even want to make a little girl unhappy," Afghan President Hamid Karzai said shortly after the attack. "Beside it being a cowardly act, it is an un-Islamic act."
Laura Bush, the first lady of the United States at the time who advocated for the education of girls in Afghanistan, called the attacks a "cowardly and shameful" act.
"My heart goes out to the victims and their families as they recover from this cruel attack," she said.
A few weeks after the attacks, the story took a strange turn.
The governor of Kandahar announced that 10 men had been arrested and some had confessed.
But none was seen until a video made by Afghan Intelligence was released by the Interior Ministry, and aired on Afghan State Television in late December.
One of the accused, Jalil, said in the video that a major in the ISI, or Pakistani intelligence unit, approached him and offered him the equivalent of $2,000 for each attack.
"He told me I will give 200,000 Pakistani rupees for a teacher's death, 300,000 for burning a school, and 100,000 for throwing acid on a schoolgirl," Jalil said, seeming frightened and agitated as he looked into the camera.
He said the major gave him a letter for the Pakistani Consulate in Kandahar, where he received the money.
But President Karzai seemed intent on defusing any tensions with Pakistan stirred by the release of the video.
During a news conference earlier this month in Kabul with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari, Karzai said that in this case, Pakistan displayed real cooperation to find the culprit. In the past, Karzai has often accused Pakistani officials of being involved in terrorism in Afghanistan and supporting the Taliban.
"For the first time, we had a very sincere and brotherly approach to the issue, which is of satisfaction to us and I hope we can succeed together," Karzai said.
Pakistani officials tell CNN that the claims about the consulate's involvement are "hogwash."
For once, the attacks have not set off tit-for-tat accusations between the Afghan and Pakistani governments, as both countries deal with the extremists working to keep girls from getting an education.
None of the men who appeared on the video has had his day in court.
The victims have their own ideas for justice.
"Their punishment should be that they should have acid thrown on their faces in front of me. Just like they threw acid on me, we should throw acid on them," Shamsia says.
By Atia Abawi
CNN
KABUL, Afghanistan (CNN)
Video insiden di SINI
OBAMA ANGKAT SUMPAH DUA KALI TAKUT DIPERTIKAIKAN
Memang sungguh menarik cerita ini namun ada pengajaran dari peristiwa yang berlaku bagi kita semua. Mula-mula dulu, ada orang mempertikaikan status kerakyatan Obama. Sila lihat SINI . Pihak pentadbiran 
Amerika mengambil langkah berjaga-jaga apabila Presiden Obama disuruh mengangkat sumpah secara tertutup tanpa kehadhiran jurugambar stesen TV Amerika kerana terdapat sedikit kesilapan dan wujud unsur kekeliruan kerana kurang lancar dalam upacara yang diadakan pada 20hb Januari 2009 di National Mall.
Kini berbangkit isu baru dalam upacara mengangkat sumpah kali kedua iaitu ia dilakukan tanpa meletakkan tangan di atas kitab Injil. Isu kedua ialah ketiadaan gambar sebagai bahan bukti kepada upacara kedua kerana jurugambar tidak dijemput dalam majlis berkenaan walhal dalam ucapan beliau semasa perlantikan Obama ada menyebut tentang kepentingan ketelusan atau transparency.
Pengajaran: (1) Perlu ada skrip untuk " membantu ingatan" bagi mengelakkan berlaku kesilapan dalam upacara penting yang berlaku sekali sekala. Dalam masyarakat kita, semasa majlis aqad nikah, pengantin lelaki kadangkala gugup dan membuat kesilapan atau senario yang lebih teruk lagi ialah ia dibuli oleh saksi dan perlu mengulangi lafaz "aku terima nikahnya...."
(2) Perlu raptai dalam upacara rasmi.
(3) Pegawai Protokol harus cekap dan berpengalaman.
(4) Kesilapan teknik boleh berlaku kepada sesiapa dan pada bila-bila masa.
What a long, strange trip Barack Obama's first full day as president turned out to be. He began the day pushing for more transparency in government, only to end it by keeping TV cameras out when Chief Justice John Roberts re-administered the oath of the presidency.
All this started at Obama's historic swearing-in on Tuesday, where Roberts flubbed a line in the oath of office, leading to this comical scene, via transcript at CNN.com:
Roberts: ... that I will execute the office of president to the United States faithfully ...
Obama: ... that I will execute ...
Roberts: ... the off -- faithfully the pres -- the office of president of the United States.
Obama (at same time) ... the office of president of the United States faithfully.
But many legal experts pointed out that Obama became president at noon on Tuesday, regardless of whether the oath was off or not. Video Watch whether Obama was really president Tuesday afternoon »
So I didn't think too much of the story until about 7:20 p.m. on Wednesday, when I noticed something odd as I stood in the West Wing of the White House, just a couple hundred feet from the Oval Office.
Suddenly I overheard White House senior adviser David Axelrod say, "Thank you, Mr. Chief Justice, for coming over."
It's not very often that I've heard a phrase like that, especially one day after the inaugural. So my ears perked up at the possibility that I had bumped into the chief justice and landed a big scoop headlined, "Chief justice visits White House to apologize to president about inaugural snafu."
I really didn't even think about the possibility of a second swearing-in. It seemed so implausible. So I started digging around to try to confirm my assumption: that Roberts, mortified over the mix-up, had come over for a quiet and quick apology to the new president.
Instead I had stumbled upon a bigger story. White House officials confirmed to me that new White House Counsel Greg Craig had advised the president to get sworn in a second time, just to nip the issue in the bud and not let any controversy linger that perhaps the president had not been sworn in legitimately. Listen to the successful second attempt.
"And out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time," Craig said in a prepared statement.
The move allowed one controversy to die, but a new one popped up.
Word started spreading that White House officials had invited just a small group of print journalists in to witness the historic moment a second time, but had failed to invite a representative from the five major U.S. television networks.
CNN and other television networks have complained to the White House but have not gotten a clear answer from White House officials about why the video cameras were locked out.
So the whole point of the ceremony -- getting the word out there that the president was in fact inaugurated -- was undermined by the fact that now there's no videotape to prove he was sworn in.
Not to mention that it may run counter to the main message the president was trying to deliver Wednesday with his executive order pushing for more openness in government.
By Ed Henry
CNN Senior White House Correspondent
Full Report HERE
Video of oath taking ceremony
Editor's note: In our Reporter's Notebook series, CNN correspondents reveal stories behind the news. Here, senior White House correspondent Ed Henry describes how a story can change in a moment.
President Barack Obama takes the oath of office -- his second in two days -- in the White House on Wednesday.
OBAMA IKON BARU HAPUS STEREOTAIP ORANG KULIT HITAM AMERIKA
Buat pertama kali dalam sejarah Amerika, seorang berkulit hitam dan keluarganya tidak ditonjolkan sebagai "keluarga bermasalah" atau "keluarga yang lucu". Sesiapa yang menonton TV pada saat Obama dinobatkan sebagai Presiden ke 44 USA dan orang kulit hitam pertama menjadi Presiden, tiada episod di mana Si suami menjerit kepada isterinya supaya diam, Michelle mengerakkan matanya sambil menyuruh Obama berkelakuan seperti seorang lelaki, tiada pula sesiapa di atas pentas di Capitol Hill menari sambil menyanyi dan tiada juga suara latar bunyi siren Polis. Michelle juga tidak ditonjolkan duduk bersama kawan wanita seraya berkata " My man ain't no good."
(GAMBAR ) Presiden Obama isteri beliau, Michelle serta anak perempuan mereka Malia dan Sasha
Jamaal Young was watching Barack Obama and his family greet an ecstatic crowd in Chicago, Illinois, on Election Night when he realized that something seemed wrong.
Obama didn't shout at his wife, Michelle, to shut up. The first lady didn't roll her eyes and tell Obama to act like a man. No laugh track kicked in, no one danced, and no police sirens wailed in the background.
Young had tuned in to celebrate the election of the nation's first African-American president. But he realized that he was witnessing another historic first. A black family was being featured as the first family, not the "problem family" or the "funny family."
"They are not here to entertain us," says Young, a New York Press columnist. "Michelle Obama is not sitting around with her girlfriends saying, 'My man ain't no good.' You're not seeing this over -sexualized, crazy black family that, every time a Marvin Gaye song comes on, someone stands up and says, 'Oh girl, that's my jam.' "
The nation didn't just get a glimpse of its new first family when Obama and his family waved to the crowds on Inauguration Day. The Obamas are offering America a new way to look at the black family, Young and other commentators say.
America has often viewed the black family through the prism of its pathologies: single-family homes, absentee fathers, out of wedlock children, they say. Or they've turned to the black family for comic relief in television shows such as "Good Times" in the '70s or today's "House of Payne."
But a black first family changes that script, some say. A global audience will now be fed images of a highly educated, loving and photogenic black family living in the White House for the next four years -- and it can't go off the air like "The Cosby Show."
"The last time we had an image of a black family that was this positive it was "The Cosby Show," but this is the Real McCoy," says Jacqueline Moore Bowles, national president of Jack and Jill of America Inc., a predominately black organization for youths.
A new vision of black intimacy
The new first family could inspire some of their biggest changes within the black family itself, some say
In 1965, the late Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democratic senator from New York, warned the nation about the rise of fatherless black families. He concluded that many black families were caught in a "tangle of pathology." The pathology persists. The U.S. Census Bureau said that 69 percent of black women who gave birth in 2005 were unmarried (it was 31 percent for white mothers).
The relationship between Obama and his wife may help untangle some of that pathology, some black commentators say.
It could start with black intimacy. The American public is routinely exposed to sexually charged relationships between black men and women. "Street lit" books with titles such as "Thugs and the Women Who Love Them," and "A Project Chick" now crowd bookstores and public library shelves.
Yet the new first couple offers America an example of a black, passionate, marital relationship, says Jennifer Brea, a writer for EbonyJet.com.
"They are the most natural and accessible first couple this country has ever had," Brea says. "You see a politician give a peck on his wife's cheek after a speech and often it looks staged. When you look at them, you feel like that there's this chemistry and spark."
Several black women actually sighed as they talked about how much Obama seems to touch his wife and exchange soulful glances with her in public. They said Obama will show young black men how to treat women -- and young black women how they should be treated.
"We don't get to see black love," says Heidi Durrow, the prize-winning author of the forthcoming novel, "Low Sky Dreaming."
"But every time you see them [the Obamas] on stage, it's been super," she says. "It's an amazing image to see these dynamic, smart, progressive people just openly affectionate. I'm all for it."
Obama's apparent closeness to his wife may help untangle another pathology -- the preoccupation with skin color and "looking white," Bowles, president of Jack and Jill, says.
Bowles says some powerful black men marry women who are white or fair-skinned. Obama's decision to marry a darker-skinned woman like Michelle Obama shows black women that black can indeed be beautiful.
"Too often successful black men look for other things ... a white woman or someone who is light, bright and darn near white," Bowles says. "She [Obama] is a true sister, and she makes no bones about it."
'They're not 'Bebe's Kids' '
But what about those blacks who haven't been considered "true sisters" or "true brothers." A black first family changes that script as well, some say.
Obama's family shows that there is not one way, but many ways for someone to claim membership in the black family, some say.
Brea, the writer for EbonyJet.com, is the daughter of a white mother and a Haitian-American father. She says she felt pressure to claim one race growing up. She never quite felt like a full citizen.
Obama's biracial background and his "exotic" upbringing relieves her of that pressure. Obama will help other blacks who come from multiracial backgrounds and immigrant communities to be comfortable in their own skin, she says.
"It's changed everything," she says. "You can sort of be whatever you want in all of its complexity, and it's something to be proud of."
The Obama's two daughters, Malia and Sasha, also offer America a new way to look at black kids, others say. Throughout Inauguration Day, the two girls stood before the cameras and waved, smiled and played to the cameras.
Durrow, the author of "Low Sky Dreaming," says it's refreshing to see well-spoken black children on television who act nothing like "Bebe's kids," the unruly black kids from the ghetto immortalized by the late black comedian Robin Harris.
"It's wonderful for people on the world stage to see young black kids who are so poised and vivacious," Durrow says. "They're not 'Bebe's Kids.' I see them and I get the sense that they're going to be OK."
Though the new first family may seem like a novelty to some, for others they are familiar.
Barbara McKinzie, international president of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, says she grew up in a small town in Oklahoma surrounded by black couples and an extended family of teachers and neighbors, who were knit together like the new first family.
She didn't need to look at the Inauguration Day festivities to see a vibrant black family.
"It's not new, but it appears new," she says. "The president and his wife and children are not a novelty in the African-American community.
"It's the only family I've known in my life."
By John Blake
CNN
"DENG GI YANG DAN GER"
Ketua Jabatan Mikrobiologi Pusat Perubatan Universiti Malaya (PPUM) Prof Dr Suzaly Abu Bakar antara lain dilaporkan menyebut bahawa " strategi Malaysia dalam menangani masalah denggi selama ini adalah salah " kerana sasaran selama ini hanyalah semata-mata nyamuk. Sebenarnya bukan setakat nyamuk tetapi juga pengesanan virus dalam badan individu yang belum mempunyai simptom perlu dijalankan.
Pada pendapat saya, ada kebenarannya apa yang diperkatakan oleh Prof Suzaly kerana kita harus memerangi wabak denggi ini dari semua sudut, termasuk kajian asas ("basic research"), pendidikan kesihatan serta aspek pencegahan yang merangkumi pelalian serta rawatan yang berkesan. Pendek kata, pendekatan pelbagai bidang dan bersepadu harus difikirkan. Untuk tujuan itu dana dan peruntukan yang diperlukan hendaklah disediakan oleh pihak berwajib.
Race to find why dengue patients are showing 'unusual' symptoms
Researchers are racing against time to find out why some dengue patients are showing unusual severe health symptoms, a microbiologist told theSun.
"The cases are rare but it has been happening. They look like isolated cases and the symptoms are different among such patients," said Universiti Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) Microbiology Department head Prof Dr Suzaly Abu Bakar.
Among the "rare" symptoms recorded to date are epilepsy, hepatitis or organ failures.
"We do not know the reasons for such occurrances but medical researches have found that people who have had dengue before are at a higher risk of developing such (life threatening) symptoms," he said.
Suzaly said it may be due to the high virus flow or because of the patients' other underlying illnesses like diabetes, obesity or old age.
"I am not saying all these categories of people will develop the (dengue) virus but they are at a higher risk," he said.
"And for those who have had dengue before, they face a higher risk of severe fever if they catch the virus a second or third time."
"We at the Tropical Infectious Disease Research and Education Centre (in UM) are trying to find out who among the people are prone to develop these severe symptoms," said Suzaly.
He said Brazil had more than one million dengue cases last year but they had very few deaths.
Therefore, he said, research is being conducted to find out whether it is due to Malaysians' genetic factors or other reasons.
Suzaly also explained how early detection of the dengue virus was important because "many cases of people who have had ordinary fever for a day or two may not realise that they are asymptomatic (without symptoms) and the virus is still in their blood.
"Normally, people would do the serology test to check if they have dengue but that test can only be done if one has fever for five days or more. If the virus is still in their blood, they would not know it till the fever becomes severe because they do not have the usual symptoms or are asymptomatic," he stressed.
He advised the public to make efforts to go to reference hospitals like Kuala Lumpur Hospital, UMMC or Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia where the Polymrase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests are conducted for early detection.
Suzaly also pointed out that Malaysia's strategy to check the spread of dengue "has always been wrong".
"The mosquito is the sole target. It's not just the mosquito, but it's about detecting the virus in people who are asymptomatic," he said.
Sun2surf / Karen Arukesamy
21 Jan 2009
BEKALAN TENAGA ELETRIK 6.5 JUTA ISI RUMAH DIGAGALKAN OLEH 20 KELUARGA
Projek CAR yang penuh kontroversi bernilai RM400 juta mampu membekalkan 6.5 juta isi rumah dengan tenaga eletrik sudah tertangguh sejak setahun lepas. TNB telah membelanjakan sebahagian besar daripadanya RM400 juta. Projek tidak dapat diteruskan ekoran bantahan 20 daripada 40 keluarga di Kampung Sungai Terentang Rawang. Mahkamah Rayuan membenarkan rayuan penduduk. Sebanyak 98 peratus daripada projek itu berjaya disiapkan dan hanya tinggal dua peratus atau satu kilometer lagi yang masih tergendala. Kerajaan negeri akan membantu TNB mencari alternatif lain bagi menyiapkan projek.
*Penduduk Kg Terentang Rawang berjaya mengenepikan Notis bagi pelaksanan Projek CAR TNB
*Selangor Tubuh Jawatankuasa Tangani Masalah Pemberhentian Pekerja
Khalid berkata kerajaan negeri dimaklumkan bahawa Mahkamah Rayuan hari ini membenarkan rayuan penduduk Kampung Sungai Terentang untuk mengenepikan notis kemasukan Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) bagi pelaksanaan projek Pengukuhan Sistem Kawasan Tengah (CAR) di Rawang.
"Mahkamah itu juga mengisytiharkan notis kemasukan yang dikeluarkan oleh TNB pada 21 Julai 2007 sebagai terbatal dan mengenakan satu injunksi terhadap TNB daripada memasuki kawasan tersebut dan membina menara elektrik," katanya.
Khalid berkata kerajaan negeri menghormati keputusan itu dan akan memberi kerjasama penuh kepada TNB untuk meneruskan projek CAR di laluan alternatif yang dikenal pasti sebelum ini.
Projek CAR yang bernilai RM400 juta dan sebahagian besar daripadanya sudah dibelanjakan oleh TNB, tidak dapat diteruskan ekoran bantahan 20 daripada 40 keluarga di Kampung Sungai Terentang.
Sebanyak 98 peratus daripada projek itu berjaya disiapkan dan hanya tinggal dua peratus atau satu kilometer lagi yang masih tergendala.
Projek tersebut kini hanya memerlukan penanaman empat menara jenis monopole (bertiang satu) sebelum tenaga elektrik dapat disalurkan kepada hampir 6.5 juta isi rumah, dan ia sudah tertangguh sejak setahun lepas.
Selangor akan menubuhkan satu jawatankuasa khas bagi membincangkan cara-cara mengatasi masalah pemberhentian pekerja dalam negeri ekoran krisis semasa ekonomi global.
Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim berkata jawatankuasa itu yang dipengerusikan oleh beliau sendiri, dengan anggotanya terdiri daripada beberapa exco kerajaan negeri dan wakil kesatuan sekerja yang berkaitan, yang akan bermesyuarat setiap minggu mulai 30 Januari ini.
"Penubuhan jawatankuasa itu bertujuan membuat kajian terperinci mengenai keadaan pasaran kerja di Selangor di samping merangka langkah-langkah bantuan bagi setiap pekerja yang diberhentikan," katanya kepada pemberita selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat mingguan exco di pejabatnya di Bangunan Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri (SUK) di sini.
BERNAMA
21 Januari, 2009
LEMBU QURBAN BERNILAI RM110K DITAJA OLEH PKNS DAN ANAK SYARIKAT
GERAK ( Gerakan Rakyat Anti Korupsi) telah membuat laporan kepada MACC (Malaysia Anti Corruption Commission) tentang kononnya dana awam negeri telah digunakan untuk menaja lembu bagi tujuan qurban Eidul Adha yang lalu. Sebenarnya PKNS serta anak syarikatnya telah menaja lembu-lembu tersebut untuk diagihkan kepada masjid dan surau.
State Funds Not Used, Says Selangor MB
Selangor Menteri Besar Selangor Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has denied that he had used state funds to sponsor 46 heads of cattle for meat distribution to constituents of Bandar Tun Razak during Aidiladha last December.
He said the cattle, valued at over RM110,000, were sponsored by subsidiaries and associate companies of Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Selangor (PKNS), which wanted the meat to be distributed to suraus in the constituency.
Khaled is the Member of Parliament of the constituency.
"There is no question of abuse of power and furthermore, it was members of the public who benefited from the effort," he told reporters after chairing the weekly state executive council meeting here today.
He was responding to Gerakan Rakyat Anti-Korupsi (Gerak Malaysia) lodging a report today regarding the matter with the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission.
Gerak's chairman, Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus, among others had alleged that Khalid had used state funds in the matter.
On other matters, Khalid said the state government had set up a special committee, which will be chaired by himself, to closely monitor the employment situation in the state in the wake of the global economic crisis.
He said the committee, which would be made up state executive councillors and union representatives, would meet once a week from Jan 30.
He also said that the state government was informed that the Appeals Court today had upheld an appeal filed by residents of Kampung Sungai Terentang in Rawang which sought to prevent Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) from building transmission towers in their village.
He added that the state government would cooperate with TNB to find alternative sites to erect the towers as they were part of the utility's project to ensure smooth supply of electricty to 6.5 million households.
The project had been delayed by a year because of the court hearing.
BERNAMA
January 21, 2009
TRANSCRIPT & VIDEO OF OBAMA'S INAUGURAL SPEECH
President Obama's Inaugural Address (Part 1)
President Obama's Inaugural Address (Part 11)
(CNN) -- Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States and the nation's first African-American president Tuesday. This is a transcript of his prepared speech.
In his speech Tuesday, President Obama said America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
My fellow citizens:
I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.
Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often, the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because We the People have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebearers, and true to our founding documents.
So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.
That we are in the midst of crisis is now well understood. Our nation is at war, against a far-reaching network of violence and hatred. Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some, but also our collective failure to make hard choices and prepare the nation for a new age. Homes have been lost; jobs shed; businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly; our schools fail too many; and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet. Video Watch the full inauguration speech »
These are the indicators of crisis, subject to data and statistics. Less measurable but no less profound is a sapping of confidence across our land -- a nagging fear that America's decline is inevitable, and that the next generation must lower its sights.
Today I say to you that the challenges we face are real. They are serious and they are many. They will not be met easily or in a short span of time. But know this, America: They will be met.
On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord.
On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics.
We remain a young nation, but in the words of Scripture, the time has come to set aside childish things. The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness.
In reaffirming the greatness of our nation, we understand that greatness is never a given. It must be earned. Our journey has never been one of shortcuts or settling for less. It has not been the path for the fainthearted -- for those who prefer leisure over work, or seek only the pleasures of riches and fame. Rather, it has been the risk-takers, the doers, the makers of things -- some celebrated, but more often men and women obscure in their labor -- who have carried us up the long, rugged path toward prosperity and freedom.
For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and traveled across oceans in search of a new life.
For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip and plowed the hard earth.
For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sahn.
Time and again, these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life. They saw America as bigger than the sum of our individual ambitions; greater than all the differences of birth or wealth or faction.
This is the journey we continue today. We remain the most prosperous, powerful nation on Earth. Our workers are no less productive than when this crisis began. Our minds are no less inventive, our goods and services no less needed than they were last week or last month or last year. Our capacity remains undiminished. But our time of standing pat, of protecting narrow interests and putting off unpleasant decisions -- that time has surely passed. Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America.
For everywhere we look, there is work to be done. The state of the economy calls for action, bold and swift, and we will act -- not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will build the roads and bridges, the electric grids and digital lines that feed our commerce and bind us together. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.
Now, there are some who question the scale of our ambitions -- who suggest that our system cannot tolerate too many big plans. Their memories are short. For they have forgotten what this country has already done; what free men and women can achieve when imagination is joined to common purpose, and necessity to courage.
What the cynics fail to understand is that the ground has shifted beneath them -- that the stale political arguments that have consumed us for so long no longer apply. The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works -- whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified. Where the answer is yes, we intend to move forward. Where the answer is no, programs will end. And those of us who manage the public's dollars will be held to account -- to spend wisely, reform bad habits, and do our business in the light of day -- because only then can we restore the vital trust between a people and their government.
Nor is the question before us whether the market is a force for good or ill. Its power to generate wealth and expand freedom is unmatched, but this crisis has reminded us that without a watchful eye, the market can spin out of control -- and that a nation cannot prosper long when it favors only the prosperous. The success of our economy has always depended not just on the size of our gross domestic product, but on the reach of our prosperity; on our ability to extend opportunity to every willing heart -- not out of charity, but because it is the surest route to our common good.
As for our common defense, we reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals. Our Founding Fathers, faced with perils we can scarcely imagine, drafted a charter to assure the rule of law and the rights of man, a charter expanded by the blood of generations. Those ideals still light the world, and we will not give them up for expedience's sake. And so to all other peoples and governments who are watching today, from the grandest capitals to the small village where my father was born: Know that America is a friend of each nation and every man, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity, and that we are ready to lead once more.
Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions. They understood that our power alone cannot protect us, nor does it entitle us to do as we please. Instead, they knew that our power grows through its prudent use; our security emanates from the justness of our cause, the force of our example, the tempering qualities of humility and restraint.
We are the keepers of this legacy. Guided by these principles once more, we can meet those new threats that demand even greater effort -- even greater cooperation and understanding between nations. We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan. With old friends and former foes, we will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat, and roll back the specter of a warming planet. We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you.
For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus -- and nonbelievers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.
To the Muslim world, we seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: Know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy. To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.
To the people of poor nations, we pledge to work alongside you to make your farms flourish and let clean waters flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds. And to those nations like ours that enjoy relative plenty, we say we can no longer afford indifference to suffering outside our borders; nor can we consume the world's resources without regard to effect. For the world has changed, and we must change with it.
As we consider the road that unfolds before us, we remember with humble gratitude those brave Americans who, at this very hour, patrol far-off deserts and distant mountains. They have something to tell us today, just as the fallen heroes who lie in Arlington whisper through the ages. We honor them not only because they are guardians of our liberty, but because they embody the spirit of service; a willingness to find meaning in something greater than themselves. And yet, at this moment -- a moment that will define a generation -- it is precisely this spirit that must inhabit us all.
For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.
Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation and the world; duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task.
This is the price and the promise of citizenship.
This is the source of our confidence -- the knowledge that God calls on us to shape an uncertain destiny.
This is the meaning of our liberty and our creed -- why men and women and children of every race and every faith can join in celebration across this magnificent Mall, and why a man whose father less than 60 years ago might not have been served at a local restaurant can now stand before you to take a most sacred oath.
So let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. In the year of America's birth, in the coldest of months, a small band of patriots huddled by dying campfires on the shores of an icy river. The capital was abandoned. The enemy was advancing. The snow was stained with blood. At a moment when the outcome of our revolution was most in doubt, the father of our nation ordered these words be read to the people:
"Let it be told to the future world ... that in the depth of winter, when nothing but hope and virtue could survive... that the city and the country, alarmed at one common danger, came forth to meet [it]."
America. In the face of our common dangers, in this winter of our hardship, let us remember these timeless words. With hope and virtue, let us brave once more the icy currents, and endure what storms may come. Let it be said by our children's children that when we were tested, we refused to let this journey end, that we did not turn back, nor did we falter; and with eyes fixed on the horizon and God's grace upon us, we carried forth that great gift of freedom and delivered it safely to future generations.
DENGGI DAN CHIKUNGUNYA KENAPA MENGGANAS
Laporan di atas tertera di Akhbar The New York Times keluaran Julai 1981, lebih kurang 28 tahun yang lalu. Ia menceritakan perihal demam denggi berdarah yang menimpa pendatang kaum Haiti ke Amerika waktu itu. Pendatang luar terpaaksa dikuarantina selama sepuluh hari sebelum boleh dihantar ke kawasan penetapan.
Seorang Dr Craven, epidemiologist perubatan Pusat Kawalan Penyakit( Centers for Disease Control) menyebut bahawa nyamuk yang menjadi pembawa demam dengue juga sebagai pembawa demam kuning dan boleh didapati di pesisiran pantai Atlantik Selatan dari Carolina Utara ke Florida serta sepanjang Pantai Telok dari Florida ke Texas.
Di negara kita, penyakit demam denggi mula dilaporkan pada tahun 1924 di Pulau Pinang. Sejak itu penyakit ini telah meragut nyawa ramai kanak-kanak dan orang dewasa.
Ketua Pengarah Kementerian Kesihatan Malaysia, Tan Sri Dr Ismail Marican menyebut dari 4hb ke 17hb Januari 2009, terdapat 3211 kes demam denggi dengan 8 kematian berbanding dengan 1514 kes dan 4 kematian dalam tempoh yang sama pada tahun 2008. Ini bermakna wujud peningkatan sebanyak 212 % menurut beliau lagi.
Menurut beliau lagi demam denggi kini menyerlah dalam bentuk baru yang luar biasa seperti penyakit radang otak (encefalitis) yang menyerang otak dan menyebabkan mangsa di bawa ke hospital setelah diserang sawan, juga simptom jaundis (kuning pada bahagian kulit), sakit perut, hepatitis dan kegagalan fungsi hati atau ginjal. Biasanya pesakit demam denggi datang dengan pendarahan di kulit serta jumlah platlet rendah.
Isunya sekarang ialah apa yang boleh kita sama-sama lakukan. Kita semua kaya dengan pengalaman mencegah penyakit demam denggi serta pihak kakitangan perubatan dan kesihatan mahir dalam pengurusan penjagaan kes denggi di hospital meskipun tiada rawatan "definitif" yang memuaskan buat masa ini.
Bagi penyakit Chikungunya pula, kajian dan penyelidikan perlu dijalankan secara intensif, Sebagai contoh, bagaimana dalam tiga minggu pertama tahun ini, tiada kes chikungunya dilaporkan bagi negeri-negeri Sarawak, Sabah, Melaka, W.P Labuan dan Terengganu. Apakah keistimewaan negeri-negeri di atas, adakah disebabkan kurangnya tenaga buruh asing di negeri tersebut.
PUTRAJAYA: The number of dengue cases and deaths has doubled and the Health Ministry is urging Malaysians to wage war against the disease immediately.
Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said that from Jan 4-17 this year, there were 3,211 cases with eight deaths, compared with 1,514 cases and four deaths during the same period in 2008.
“That’s a 212% increase,” he said at a press conference here on Monday.
The states with the most cases were Selangor and Kuala Lumpur, followed by Penang, Johor, Sarawak and Kedah, he said.
According to the statistics provided by the Ministry, there were four deaths in Selangor, one in the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya), one in Perak and two in Johor.
Dr Ismail said the Ministry was discovering atypical or unusual symptoms with the more severe cases.
“Patients used to suffer from bleeding and low platelet count, but now you can get dengue encephilitis that affects the brain and people can come in with epileptic attacks, jaundice with pain in the abdomen, hepatitis and kidney or liver failure,” he said.
As the result of the atypical presentation, some of the diagnoses were made late, he added.
“We have informed all our doctors to add dengue testing if a patient has fever and weird symptoms in high dengue cases states,” he said.
The Ministry spent RM1.7mil on campaigns to create greater awareness of dengue and issued a total of RM3.4mil in fines last year on those found with mosquito larvae in their premises.
Dr Ismail urged community leaders to organise gotong-royong (communal) clean-up efforts and to keep the public abreast of the outbreak,
Doctors should inform state health departments immediately whenever there is a suspected case so that fogging can be carried out immediately in the affected area.
“Those with symptoms such as fever, rashes, muscle aches, vomiting and bleeding must seek treatment immediately,” he said, adding that the most critical phase of the infection is between 24 and 48 hours of the onset of the infection.
In KLANG, state health director Dr Rosnah Hadis said the main reason for the high incidence of dengue in Selangor was the large number of breeding sources.
These include homes as well as abandoned housing projects, she said.
State health committee chairman Dr Xavier Jayakumar said the Selangor government was carrying out clean-up operations through the local councils and is also working closely with the state health department.
He said the high population density in urban areas has led to a high concentration of breeding grounds for the aedes mosquito.
Abandoned projects as well as unoccupied residential and commercial premises have become breeding grounds, he noted, adding that Selangor residents must also cooperate when local council workers carry out fogging.
“People usually close their doors when fogging work is going on, but there is nothing to fear as the chemical used is harmless to people,” he said.
Dr Xavier also said he hoped the Health Ministry would approve the combination of chemicals used as a fogging agent in developed countries such as Singapore.
“This is a third generation combination of chemicals which has a human-friendly aroma and is very effective in eradicating mosquitoes,” he said.
He urged the Health Ministry to expedite the licensing of the product given the current situation.
In KUALA LUMPUR, Setapak recorded the most number of dengue cases in the Federal Territory last year as well as in January.
The constituency reported 78 dengue cases in January 2009, and 1,186 cases throughout 2008 from a total of 5,001 cases that were reported to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
Out of the 5,001 cases in 2008, 2,563 were positive. There were 12 deaths reported as well, of which six were positive dengue cases, said an official for DBKL.
Last year, Cheras had a total of 1,014 cases followed by Kepong (890), Old Klang Road (806), Town centre (756) and Damansara (349).
DBKL is conducting fogging at suspected zones. Among those identified was Salak South New Village where DBKL organised a search and destroy operation to identify potential aedes breeding grounds on Jan 19.
In GEORGE TOWN, Penang Health, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh said that as far as dengue was concerned, the situation in the state was under control.
“The Health Ministry’s figures are only based on the first two weeks of January, as compared with the corresponding period last year,” he said.
“We admit that in Penang there was a surge of dengue cases in the first week of this year but the figure has since dropped as the state health department and the Penang Municipal Council have been very proactive with health measures and clean-up.”
He said the surge in the first week was because some general practitioners in the Balik Pulau area were not alert and treated the situation as a normal viral attack.
“There must be follow-up, even it the doctor thinks it is a normal viral infection, as it could be dengue or chikungunya instead,” he said.
In JOHOR BARU, the state Health Department said it would be enlisting the help of community groups and private clinics in its war against dengue. Two deaths have been reported in the state this year.
Its director Dr Mohd Khairi Yakub said that department personnel would go down to the ground more to spread awareness within the community.
“We will be having more awareness programmes as well as gotong-royong activities to get the message across to the public.
“We will be working closely with community groups to ensure the effectiveness of the programmes,” he said when contacted here on Monday.
The department would also urge private clinics to cooperate by informing the department more quickly of patients infected with dengue.
Dr Mohd Khairi said that last year, there were 16 deaths from more than 3,000 cases reported statewide -- 80% of these cases were in Johor Baru.
“We will also intensify fogging operations, but public awareness is more important as fogging alone cannot solve the problem permanently,” he said.
Source: Mstar online
Further Reading HERE
WHO info HERE, NYT Reports HERE
SATU LAGI ARAHAN HUKUM RIMBA BERKUATKUASA SERTA MERTA
Dengan ini adalah diberi ketahui bahawa dengan kuasa yang dicampakkan kepada saya, saya Dato' Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi mengarahkan perintah larangan berkuatkuasa serta merta seperti di bawah. Tindakan akan diambil kepada sesiapa yang ingkar.
1.Semua Pengarah jabatan dan agensi Kerajaan Persekutuan dilarang daripada menghadiri mesyuarat-mesyuarat di peringkat negeri kecuali Jabatan Pengarain dan Saliran, Jabatan Kerja Raya, Jabatan Kesihatan, Jabatan Pertanian dan polis dikecualikan daripada larangan ini.
2. Kita tidak mengiktiraf syor-syor yang dibuat Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK).
3. Semua syor yang dibuat JKKKP adalah syor yang sah.
4 Jabatan-jabatan dan agensi-agensi persekutuan telah diarahkan supaya hanya menerima borang-borang yang ditandatangani JKKKP.
5. Kemasukan ke institusi pengajian tinggi juga memerlukan syor JKKKP.
6. 28 wakil Barisan Nasional yang dipilih di peringkat negeri akan diberikan peruntukan khas untuk membantu masyarakat di kawasan mereka jika berlaku insiden-insiden termasuk kebakaran, banjir atau ribut petir.
Pegawai Kerajaan Persekutuan dilarang hadir mesyuarat negeri.
IPOH: Semua pengarah jabatan dan agensi Kerajaan Persekutuan dilarang daripada menghadiri mesyuarat-mesyuarat di peringkat negeri berkuat kuasa serta-merta.
Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi berkata, hanya pengarah agensi peringkat negeri yang dibenarkan menghadiri mesyuarat negeri, yang dipengerusikan oleh Setiausaha Kerajaan Negeri atau pegawai daerah.
"Kita tidak akan teragak-agak untuk mengambil tindakan disiplin terhadap pengarah agensi Persekutuan jika mereka menghadiri mesyuarat tersebut," katanya kepada media selepas mempengerusikan mesyuarat Majlis Tindakan Persekutuan Negeri di sini, hari ini.
Ahmad Zahid yang merupakan Pengerusi Majlis Tindakan Persekutuan Negeri bagaimanapun berkata, agensi-agensi seperti Jabatan Pengarain dan Saliran, Jabatan Kerja Raya, Jabatan Kesihatan, Jabatan Pertanian dan polis dikecualikan daripada larangan itu.
Ahmad Zahid berkata, berkuat kuasa serta-merta juga, agensi-agensi persekutuan hanya akan menerima syor yang dikemukakan Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung Persekutuan (JKKKP).
"Jabatan-jabatan dan agensi-agensi persekutuan telah diarahkan supaya hanya menerima borang-borang yang ditandatangani JKKKP," katanya.
Disebabkan Kerajaan Persekutuan hanya mengiktiraf JKKKP, semua syor yang dibuat JKKKP adalah syor yang sah.
"Kita tidak mengiktiraf syor-syor yang dibuat Jawatankuasa Kemajuan dan Keselamatan Kampung (JKKK)," katanya.
Berhubung permohonan biasiswa, Ahmad Zahid berkata, kemasukan ke institusi pengajian tinggi juga memerlukan syor JKKKP.
Ahmad Zahid juga memberitahu, 28 wakil Barisan Nasional yang dipilih di peringkat negeri akan diberikan peruntukan khas untuk membantu masyarakat di kawasan mereka.
"Peruntukan itu akan diberikan jika berlaku insiden-insiden termasuk kebakaran, banjir atau ribut petir di kawasan mereka," katanya yang enggan menyatakan jumlah peruntukan bagi setiap kawasan.
Sumber: Mstar Online
WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (SONG FOR GAZA): WITH SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM M.HEART HIMSELF
Lyrics: WE WILL NOT GO DOWN
A blinding flash of white light
Lit up the sky over Gaza tonight
People running for cover
Not knowing whether they're dead or alive
They came with their tanks and their planes
With ravaging fiery flames
And nothing remains
Just a voice rising up in the smoky haze
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight
Women and children alike
Murdered and massacred night after night
While the so-called leaders of countries afar
Debated on who's wrong or right
But their powerless words were in vain
And the bombs fell down like acid rain
But through the tears and the blood and the pain
You can still hear that voice through the smoky haze
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
You can burn up our mosques and our homes and our schools
But our spirit will never die
We will not go down
In the night, without a fight
We will not go down
In Gaza tonight
he song MP3 is available for download at:
http://michaelheart.com/Song_for_Gaza...
"I would like to request that after downloading the song from this page, you kindly donate directly to a charity or an organization dedicated to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people," he said on the site. "I am grateful for every demonstration of support I have received from you, and for every thought and prayer that has gone to the people of Gaza."
Last week, during a candlelight vigil organized by students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, "We Will Not Go Down (Song for Gaza)" was sung by the protesters, according to anti-war Web site Fightback.org.
According to his biography on the Web site, Heart was born in Syria and raised in Europe, the Middle East and the US.
Since 1990, he's been living in Los Angeles, working as a session guitarist and a recording engineer before releasing his debut album, Unsolicited Material, last year. Heart has not been known to have previously recorded any pro-Palestinian songs.
Read More “WE WILL NOT GO DOWN (SONG FOR GAZA): WITH SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM M.HEART HIMSELF” »»SELURUH DUNIA MENUNGGU UPACARA ANGKAT SUMPAH OBAMA PADA HARI INI
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YANG MANA SATU IDAMAN KALBU, APA FAKTORNYA
Pengundi kawasan Parlimen Kuala Terengganu P 035 telah memutuskan dan membuat penghakiman bahawa calon PAS Hj Abdul Wahid Endut layak mewakili mereka di Parlimen sekaligus berhujah dalam benak masing-masing bahawa Wan Farid tidak layak untuk jawatan berkenaan. Keputusan secara berkumpulan ini ("collective desicion") memerlukan analisis yang mendalam.
Parti-parti yang bertanding telah mula membuat bedah siasat tidak formal di kedai-kedai kopi dan warong. Komentar telah mula dimuatkan di dada akhbar. Penganalisis politik sudah mula bercakap tentang punca kekalahan satu pihak dan punca kemenangan yang satu pihak lagi.
Ada orang tanya saya "apa punca kemalangan jalan raya". Ramai juga yang menyoal soalan "kenapa pasangan baru kahwin bercerai". Jawapan yang saya berikan mudah saja "multifactorial" iaitu banyak sebab-sebab berlaku sesuatu peristiwa atau kejadian. Ramalan boleh dibuat berdasarkan statistik atau kebarangkalian sesuatu itu terjadi. Selalunya, wujud suatu faktor kritikal yang menyumbang berlakunya atau jadinya sesuatu perkara. Faktor kritikal ini adakalanya menyumbang kepada kejayaan atau sebaliknya berlaku.
Dalam suatu pilihanraya yang adil dan bersih, rakyat yang keluar mengundilah menjadi hakim dalam menentukan calon dari parti mana yang menang. Pengundi membuat pilihan berdasarkan kepada beberapa kriteria yang ditetapkan sendiri oleh seseorang pengundi itu, dan ini boleh dipengaruhi oleh banyak faktor luaran dan dalaman. Antara faktor dalaman ialah tahap 
pendidikan seseorang pengundi, tahap pemikirannya yang akhirnya menentukan sikapnya, personaliti pengundi sama ada jenis individu yang bertindak mengikut emosi atau banyak bergantung kepada pentaakulan atau rasional ( berfikir sebelum bertindak).
Secara umumnya, wujud perbezaan di antara pilihan raya kecil (PRK) dengan pilihanraya umum (PRU). Mood pengundi dalam pilihan raya umum berbeza dengan apa yang berlaku dalam pilihan raya kecil. Namun faktor yang sama beroperasi dalam kedua-dua jenis pilihan raya, cuma perbezaan dari segi sejauh mana suatu faktor mengatasi faktor-faktor yang lain.
Pada pendapat saya, terdapat tujuh( 7 ) faktor utama yang perlu diambilkira oleh mana-mana parti politik yang bertanding dalam pilihan raya yang dijalankan secara telus dan adil oleh Suruhanjaya Pilihan Raya (SPR). Faktor tersebut diberi singkatan PICK DJ M (pilih Dj M) iaitu akronim kepada faktor Pengundi, Isu, Calon, Kempen, Dana, Jentera dan Media.
Pengundi terdiri dari pelbagai latarbelakang pendidikan dan personaliti, ethnik serta umur. Pengundi muda berbeza pendapat dengan pengundi berumur (saluran 1 dan 2 ) dalam banyak hal. Kaum Cina sudah semestinya sangat berbeza dengan kaum Melayu. Jadi komposisi kaum serta umur mereka harus diberi perhatian. Dalam banyak pilihan raya kecil dan umum, faktor peratus kaum bukan Melayu menjadi penentu. Dikatakan di PRK P035, kaum Cina menyebelahi calon PAS.
Kata-kata hikmah tentang calon
Isu yang diketengahkan mungkin bersifat tempatan atau nasional. Isu nasional lebih popular semasa PRU berbanding dengan PRK namun hal ini boleh dimanipulasikan oleh parti-parti yang bertanding. Di Malaysia tarikh PRU dirahsiakan sehingga saat-saat akhir bagi memastikan tiada isu yang negatif wujud dalam masyarakat atau terdapat banyak isu yang memihak kepada BN pada satu-satu masa. Dalam PRK P035, kedua-dua jenis isu dimainkan dan ditonjolkan oleh parti yang bertanding. Isu royalti minyak yang bertukar jadi wang ehsan dan seterus menjadi "wang saku" kepada pihak-pihak tertentu tidak dapat ditangkis oleh BN dengan jayanya.
Faktor calon banyak diperkatakan orang sama ada di media cetak, eletronik atau kedai kopi. Setakat calon berkaraoke duduk sebelah wanita bukanlah suatu hal yang sangat penting. Terdapat banyak lagi kriteria yang menentukan kesesuaian seseorang calon. Peribadi calon tidak dapat dinafikan memainkan peranan yang amat penting dalam satu-satu pilihan raya tak kira PRU atau PRK. Wahid Endut mempunyai kelebihan dalam banyak hal berbanding dengan Wan Farid walaupun Wan adalah bekas senator dan mantan Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri.
Pelbagai kaedah dan metod berkempen dijalankan oleh parti yang bertanding. Umumnya suatu ketika dahulu PAS banyak menggunakan kaedah ceramah umum, tetapi sejak kesukaran 
mendapat permit berceramah kebelakangan ini, PAS lebih menjurus kepada ceramah kelompok, penerangan rumah ke rumah dan program khidmat masyarakat. BN memiliki kelebihan dalam aspek berkempen kerana ia memiliki banyak sumber dan peluang. Dengan hanya menukar nama sebuah kolej atau merasmikan sebuah surau, BN mampu meraih perhatian pengundi atas pagar.
Faktor dana memang sangat penting masakini. Semua peralatan, perbelanjaan makan minum petugas, kenderaan dan sebagainya memerlukan RM untuk 
direalisasikan. PAS berjaya dengan dana yang terhad. BN mampu mengerakkan segala-galanya dengan wang ringgit. Adakalanya hati tergerak juga dengan "wang kertas ini sah diperlakukan dengan nilai..." . Walaupun terdapat garis panduan oleh SPR tentang jumlah perbelanjaan calon dalam satu-satu kerusi Parlimen atau DUN, namun hakikatnya ia tidak dipedulikan oleh SPR.
Pada PRK 035 yang lalu jentera pilihanraya PAS telah dibantu oleh PKR dan DAP. Gandingan dan gabungjalin ketiga-ketiga komponen Pakatan Rakyat memberikan impak yang maksima kepada pengundi Kuala Terengganu. Kehadhiran pemimpin seperti DSAI, En Lim Kit Siang dan Lim Guan Eng, Teresa Kok, Ronnie Liu, Elizabeth Wong dan lan-lain dapat membantu jentera PAS Terengganu sendiri yang dibantu oleh jentera PAS negeri-negeri lain seperti Selangor.
Peranan media arus perdana dan alternatif seperti internet amatlah penting. BN dengan segala kemudahan media di tangannya tidak mampu menangkis hujah PAS dan rakan-rakan dalam Pakatan Rakyat tentang isu tempatan dan nasional.
Itulah sedikit catatan ringkas saya yang dapat dikongsi bersama dalam post kali ini. Saidina Ali pernah menyebut kurang lebih " Kebenaran yang tidak berstrategi dapat dikalahkan dengan kebatilan yang memiliki perancangan." Akhir kalam faktor iman yang bulat dan mantap kepada kudrat Ilahi dan disertai dengan munajat memanjatkan doa ke hadhrat Sang Pencipta serta Pemilik segala galaksi dan apa yang ada padanya tidak harus diabaikan sebagai faktor penentu kepada usaha insan-insan kerdil berjiwa besar.
