Australians should reduce their habit of throwing away food

Just a week ago, I had a barbeque party with Australian friends here. I knew that Australians were notorious for throwing away food. However, it was still surprised me to see it from my very own eyes. They threw away a plate of grilled meat which was more than enough to feed two people.

3 good stories

The Turtles A turtle family decided to go on a picnic. The turtles, being naturally slow about things, took seven years to prepare for their outing. Finally the turtle family left home looking for a suitable place. During the second year of their journey they found a place ideal for them at last! For about six months they cleaned the area, unpacked the picnic basket, and completed the arrangements. Then they discovered they had forgotten the salt. A picnic without salt would be a disaster, they all agreed. After a lengthy discussion, the youngest turtle was chosen to retrieve the salt from home. Although he was the fastest of the slow moving turtles, the little turtle whined, cried, and wobbled in his shell. He agreed to go on one condition that no one would eat until he returned. The family consented and the little turtle left.Three years passed and the little turtle had not returned. Five years… six years… then on the seventh year of his absence, the oldest turtle could no longer contain his hunger. He announced that he was going to eat and begun to unwrap a sandwich.

Amerika Latin yang Terus Bergerak ke Kiri. Bagaimana Indonesia?

Berikut artikel di harian Jawa Pos halaman internasional yang dimuat 1 November 2009. Patut direnungkan bagaimana seharusnya Indonesia diarahkan.

Amerika Latin yang Terus Bergerak ke Kiri

Che, Castro, dan Program Populis

Soy cubano, Argentina, boliviano, peruano, ecuatoriano, etc…. Usted entiende

(Che Guevara)

ERNESTO “Che” Guevara bukanlah orang yang merisaukan identitas. “Saya orang Kuba, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, dan Ekuador….Kau Tahulah,” kata dia. Pendek kata, dia warga Amerika Latin. Karena, dia lahir dan tumbuh menjadi pejuang marxis di Argentina, bergerilya menumbangkan kediktatoran Fulgencio Batista di Kuba bersama Fidel Castro, dan mati ditembak dalam revolusi menentang junta militer di Bolivia.

Heaven and Hell

I got this story from one of my friends in Australia. It is a good and inspiring one. Especially for reminding us the importance of working together and mutual respect.

 

A holy man was having a conversation with the Lord one day and said, ‘Lord, I would like to know what Heaven and Hell are like.’ The Lord led the holy man to two doors. He opened one of the doors and the holy man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the holy man’s mouth water. The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful. But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths. The holy man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The Lord said, ‘You have seen Hell.’

Indonesia: Facing Down the Fanatics

There is an article from National Geographic magazine this month that I want to share.

Facing Down the Fanatics

A more tolerant Islam is confronting extremism in the world’s most populous Muslim country.

By Michael Finkel

Photograph by James Nachtwey

He answers the door himself. No armed guards, no attempt to hide. Abu Bakar Baasyir lives in a modest one-story home on the campus of the boarding school he helped found in the quiet village of Ngruki, amid the central highlands of the main Indonesian island of Java. Baasyir is 71 years old, stalk thin, with a white goatee and lively dark eyes magnified by gold-rimmed glasses. He is the alleged spiritual leader of the militant Islamist group Jemaah Islamiyah, which has been linked to at least a half dozen bombings in Indonesia over the last decade, including the devastating 2002 Bali nightclub blasts and, perhaps, the suicide bombings at Jakarta luxury hotels this past summer.

 

Feature article

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/indonesia/finkel-text/1

Muslim reach

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/indonesia/indonesia-illustration

Photo gallery

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/10/indonesia/nachtwey-photography

Teori penciptaan dan evolusi

Perdebatan antara teori penciptaan (creationism) and evolusi merupakan salah satu issue yang terus berlangsung. Teori penciptaan menjelaskan jika dunia dan seisinya diciptakan oleh “a single deity” (Tuhan), seperti yang ditulis di kitab suci. Umumnya teori ini berbasis kitab Kejadian (Genesis) di Perjanjian Lama (Old Testament) atau Taurat (Book of Torah), bab 1 dan 2. Teori evolusi di sisi lain menjelaskan bahwa semua materi biologis termasuk makhluk hidup mengalami perubahan secara genetik dalam waktu yang lama sehingga muncul perbedaan antara satu generasi dengan generasi-generasi sebelumnya.

The creation of Adam. Sistine Chapel

Apakah Obama melirik pantat gadis muda 16 tahun saat konferensi G8?

Minggu lalu berlangsung konferensi G8 yang terdiri dari 8 negara maju (USA, UK, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Canada, and Japan) dan juga dihadiri G5 (China, India, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa). Ada adegan menarik di foto berikut

What are they looking at?

 

Sekilas tampak Obama dan Sarkozy melirik pantat sexy dari gadis 16 th yang belakangan diketahui bernama Mayora Tavares. Media sekaliber Kompas pun menulis jika Obama jelalatan (http://internasional.kompas.com/read/xml/2009/07/11/11322632/cewek.seksi.lewat.obama.pun.jelalatan…).

Namun perlu juga kita simak video berikut:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUFkpv6SlvI

Dari sini kita bisa belajar jika kita tidak cermat menyikapi media apapun yang kita lihat, maka bisa terjadi salah paham.

P.S: tapi aku setuju kalau Sarzoky itu bandot tua, ha ha ha.

Unas; Politis, Bukan Akademis

Artikel bagus berikut diambil dari harian Jawa Pos 6 June 2009.  Saya pribadi juga tidak setuju dengan sistem evaluasi siswa yang hanya melihat hasil Unas namun tidak memperdulikan proses belajar selama bertahun-tahun.

 

Unas; Politis, Bukan Akademis

Oleh : Munif Chatib, Konsultan pendidikan, penulis buku Sekolahnya Manusia

Polemik unas selalu ada dari tahun ke tahun. Mulai masalah kejujuran yang dipertaruhkan hingga masalah image akhir pembelajaran yang ”ternoda” antara siswa dan guru. Masalah psiko­logis anak yang tertekan. Masalah orang tua yang terbawa oleh kekhawatiran dan kebingungan. Semua seperti lingkaran yang tak pernah putus.

11 Things kids did not and will not learn in school

There is one nice article worth to share. Some said it is from Bill Gates although it may actually from an author named Charles J.Sykes. Regardless who is the source, it is a good enlightment for us.

 

Produk-produk utama industri fermentasi

Peranan bioteknologi dan teknologi fermentasi  di dalam industri kimia yang bernilai lebih dari USD 2 trilliun semakin besar seiring dengan giatnya usaha mengurangi ketergantungan industri kimia terhadap bahan baku fosil (minyak bumi, gas alam) yang tidak sustainable.

Berikut adalah produk-produk utama industri fermentasi di mana sebagian besar dulunya diproduksi dari bahan baku fosil dengan teknologi kimia katalitik.

Sumber:

A. L. Demain (2000), Small bugs, big business: the economic power of the microbe, Biotechnology Advances 18, 499-514