KESURUPAN menurut ilmu Psikologi

Perlu diketahui mungkin saja seorang pasien dengan penyakit epilepsi atau penyakit ayan saat kambuh mengalami halusinasi melihat hantu, mendengar bisikan dan kemudian suaranya jadi berubah dan mirip dengan gejala kesurupan itu. Biasanya gejala tersebut terdapat pada pasien dengan epilepsy lobus temporalis, walaupun penyakit ini jarang. Serangan epilepsi pada anak sekolah akan seperti kesurupan. Gejala ini memancing teman sekelasnya yang lain –terutama perempuan yang mengalami banyak masalah dan kesulitan– untuk ikut tertular gejala itu.

Dalam istilah kedokteran kesurupan disebut possession trans atau suatu kondisi trans pemilikan yaitu terdapatnya perubahan tunggal atau episodic keadaan kesadaran sesorang di mana dapat diketahui adanya pergantian identitas pribadi dengan idenditas baru. Contohnya orang tersebut merasa menjadi orang lain yang hidup ratusan tahun yang lalu atau menyebut dirinya mbah dll. Akibatnya, orang tersebut mempunyai perilaku yang asing dan aneh.

Tentu Anda sudah melihat di media elektronika bagaimana anak sekolah atau buruh perempuan yang kesurupan itu dengan gejala tatapan mata tajam, menakutkan, kosong dan lurus ke depan. Kemudian suaranya berubah, yang tadinya halus menjadi besar dan berat seperti suara laki-laki, padahal yang kesurupan adalah perempuan. Jika kita periksa, tekanan darahnya agak turun kecuali jika dia meronta-ronta. Suhu badannya agak turun dan terasa dingin.

Yang aneh adalah kekuatan fisiknya melebihi kekuatan yang biasa dipunyainya sehari-hari. Kadang-kadang dia bertindak kasar lari-lari dan melempar orang sekitarnya, berteriak dan bicara tidak karuan, ngalantur dan mungkin dapat berbicara bahasa asing yang dia tidak tahu sebelumnya atau disebut juga xenolalia. Beberapa lama kemudian, tanpa perlu dipegang keras atau dihimpit proses kesurupan akan mulai berhenti dan diikuti dengan gejala amnesia atau lupa semua atau sebagian kejadian yang menimpanya.


Pada saat itu akan terjadi rasa kelelahan yang amat sangat dan sakit pada seluruh badannya. Sakit badan itu sebetulnya adalah akibat orang-orang yang menolongnya menekan dan menutup jalan napasnya sebagai upaya mengusir makhluk halus keluar dari tubuhnya. Ini adalah suatu tindakan yang tidak betul.

Ditinjau dari sistem saraf, kesurupan adalah fenomena serangan terhadap sistem limbic yang sebagian besar mengatur emosi, tindakan dan perilaku. Sistem limbic sangat luas dan mencakup berbagai bagian di berbagai lobus otak. Dengan terganggunya emosi dan beratnya tekanan akibat kesulitan hidup, timbullah rangsangan yang akan memengaruhi sistem limbic. Akhirnya, terjadilah kekacauan dari zat pengantar rangsang saraf atau neurotransmitter. Zat penghantar rangsang saraf yang keluar mungkin norepinephrin atau juga serotonin yang menyebabkan perubahan perilaku atau sebaliknya.

Berdasarkan pengalaman saya, untuk mengetahui apakah seseorang kesurupan atau mengalami reaksi histeris, periksa saja kelopak matanya yang selalu ditutup itu. Coba buka kelopak matanya. Pasien yang mengalami reaksi histeris biasanya akan menahannya dengan kuat. Reaksi histeria massal memang gampang terjadi pada siswi-siswi terutama yang bermasalah. Kemungkinan yang kesurupan itu paling hanya satu atau dua orang, kemudian menjalar kepada siswi yang lain.

Histeria ini umumnya menimbulkan reaksi ketakutan. Mereka yang mentalnya tidak kuat dan dia sedang bermasalah, dia akan berteriak-teriak, dan tubuhnya mengalami kejang atau kaku. Hal ini dapat kita lihat jelas pada tangannya. Perempuan memang relatif gampang terkena kesurupan dan histeria, karena selain faktor emosi yang lebih juga kemungkinan juga karena ada perbedaan hormonal dari dengan laki-laki. Begitulah kira kira penjelasan medis ilmiah mengenai kesurupan.

Amy Goodman: Newly released documents show the Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to give up large areas of West Bank land in peace talks with th

Amy Goodman: Newly released documents show the Palestinian negotiators secretly agreed to give up large areas of West Bank land in peace talks with the Israeli government.

The disclosure is among many in what will be called the "Palestine Papers"-thousands of pages of confidential records of Palestine will be more than a decade of negotiations with Israel. This is being described as the biggest leak of secret documents in the history of the conflict in the Middle East. The files of more than 1700 cover the period 1999-2010. They were received by the television news network Al Jazeera, which began publishing details of the documents on Sunday.

Among the leaked papers, offers related to East Jerusalem is the most controversial. 2008 Minutes of the meeting expressed the Palestinian negotiators are available to allow Israel's annexation of all but one of the illegally built settlements in occupied East Jerusalem, without any concessions to get back.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat is quoted as saying, "We are offering you the most in Yerushalayim Jewish history," using the Hebrew word for Jerusalem. But Israel apparently refused the offer. Then-Israeli foreign minister Tzipi Livni told the Palestinians, quote, "We do not like this suggestion because it does not meet our demands, and it probably was not easy for you to think about it, but I appreciate it really. "

Al Jazeera says that the forthcoming document disclosed new details about Reduces Palestinian Authority was prepared to do on refugees and the right back, as well as on cooperation with the PA's security with Israel and its correspondence on the investigation of United Nations on the late-2008 attack on the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Authority officials have challenged the documents' truth. Saeb Erekat Chief negotiator called their contents, quote, "a pack of lies."

For more, I went from the Democracy Now! studios in New York by Rashid Khalidi. He is the Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University, Department of History, and the author of several books, including adding Crisis: Central America and the Cold War in the Middle East and the Iron Cage: The Story of Struggle for Palestinian statehood.

Welcome to Democracy Now! Professor Khalidi. Can you answer these documents trove of Al Jazeera [inaudible] -

KHALIDI Rashid: Well, this was the first time which is supposed to be four days of revelations document at Al Jazeera and the British paper The Guardian. It is estimated that the concentration in the first group to be Jerusalem. And the revelations are quite striking. The most important, I think, what was not only the Palestinian negotiators to come, but as far as the Israelis were willing to accept concessions. Casts substantial doubt on the idea that Israel would have nothing but complete capitulation by the Palestinians to accept a person on everything they're claiming on every front. We have heard about Jerusalem. Probably more to come.

But another thing comes out very strikingly from these documents the extent to which the U.S. is twisting the arm of the Palestinians, to the extent that American diplomats, whether Hillary Rodham Clinton or Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during the previous administration This is unsympathetic to the Palestinians and they are too large, in the words of Aaron David Miller, our lawyers to Israel-it is actually worse than Miller, who was involved in negotiations for years, says, since these documents .

Amy Goodman: Now, what about Saeb Erekat said this is all "pack of lies"?

KHALIDI Rashid: Well, between Al Jazeera and The Guardian is claiming that they have carefully examined the place of provenance of those documents. I think time will tell. Yes-I have no way of knowing. I think any of us any way of knowing exactly where they come from. We are told that many of them come from the transactional support unit. Watching Al Jazeera last night, it was clear to me that they look like they come from within the Palestinian negotiating team, in terms of the letter and so on. Whether there could be forgeries among them, no one knows.

But many of these things, I think, fit the description of what we knew all, partly because people on the Israeli side, the Palestinian side and on the side of America enough said about the negotiations, certainly from 1999 through 2008, and the guidelines for the major concessions made by the Palestinian Authority in Ramallah, the guidelines for the intransigence of Israel in but refuse to accept concessions, or rather, banking concessions and then saying, "Well, now we want more. It is not enough for you to give up every single settlement in Jerusalem, but one we want all of them is not enough for you to say that you would make concessions inside the Old City of Jerusalem. we want more, as long as the Haram-al-Sharif is concerned. "These data are most striking. And I seriously doubt that, in some cases, someone took the trouble to create things that showed exactly how this process was underway. So I think we're going to find that most of the documents probably true.

Amy Goodman: Professor Khalidi, what you hit these documents, most of the public because the PA was willing to give up?

KHALIDI Rashid: Well, in Jerusalem, some questions. One is that the United States, who claim to support the position that undergirded by international law, that all settlement-wide is the Green Line, all settlements in occupied territories is illegal, in contravention of Fourth Geneva Convention, essentially pushing the Palestinians to make concessions on this principle, arguing that you are dealing with-I believe that Secretary Rice did this-you will not deal only if you give up-think like they were talking about Ma'ale Adumim, a settlement on the east of Jerusalem, in fact, it seems, took the Palestinians to surrender. The point here, this is Palestinian land, private property in many cases, across the Green Line in the territory illegally occupied by Israel and into which Israel has been exporting its population, in violation of, again, of the Fourth Geneva Convention. Should support the U.S. position in violation of international law could be terribly shocking, but see it laid out in this form, I think, calls into question, at least, not just the good faith of the American negotiators and the United States in this process, but has the good sense to anyone relying on the United States as an interlocutor or mediator with Israel.

Other items could be discussed, for example the-Haram al-Sharif, to be very shocking to people in Arab and Muslim world, because it appears that the Palestinian Authority agreed to some kind of shared sovereignty over one of the three most sacred sites in Islam, that property is not exactly a piece of territory but also sacred property of the Islamic Waqf in Jerusalem, and the committee has accepted that international actors, none of them particularly sympathetic to the Palestinian side Arabia, Britain, the USA and so on, Egypt and so should be a way-discipline on this most sacred site in all the Palestinian Muslims. This is quite shocking.

Amy Goodman: And the other report we just heard, the Israeli government to be cleaned in the attack on the Mavi Marmara, the flotilla helpful Gaza last May 31, professor Khalidi?

KHALIDI Rashid: Well, I mean, this is completely expected. The Israeli government-appointed Commission, rather than an international commission, commission depending appointed by the government, independent of government than Israel, has reach a white-washing of the government he appointed. I do not see why anyone should be surprised. He hewed basically just like the Israeli propaganda offensive launched on the day that this assault ship, which argued that the blockade of essential supplies from Gaza is violation of international humanitarian law, law that Everything that Israeli forces had attacked this ship, including the Turkish killing nine, including one American in Turkey, the legal citizens. Basically, this thing was written, or could be written, as far as what we've seen to this, by the same people in charge of managing an Israeli twist. It's taken several months to produce it, but the Israeli government spokesmen have written so easily. Almost every key argument in this report was commissioned to start the Israeli government spokesmen at the beginning of the affair.

Amy Goodman: Professor Khalidi, I want to thank you for being with us. Professor Rashid Khalidi Edward Said Professor of Arab Studies at Columbia University.

Rashid KHALIDI: My pleasure.

Amy Goodman: He has written a number of books, including adding Crisis: Central America and the Cold War in the Middle East and the Iron Cage: The Story of the Struggle for Palestinian statehood.

Israel and U.S. Rejectionism

Rashid Khalidi: Leaked "Palestine Papers" underscore weakness of the Palestinian Authority, Israel and U.S. Rejectionism


Newly released documents show the Palestinian negotiators agreed to give up large areas of West Bank land, and almost all of East Jerusalem in peace talks with the Israeli government. The disclosure is among many in what is being called the "Palestine Papers"-over 1,700 files from the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations within dating from 1999 to 2010. The news network Al Jazeera began to publish details of the documents on Sunday. We talk with Columbia University professor Rashid Khalidi. [includes rush transcript]

world news

Egypt Celebrates Mubarak’s Resignation, Military Imposes Martial Law

The Egyptian military has imposed martial law and suspended the constitution following Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s resignation on Friday after nearly three decades in power. Millions of Egyptians erupted in joy after learning the Mubarak regime had fallen, following 18 days of street protests led by the Egyptian youth and recently fueled by the labor movement.

Mohammad Jamal: "It’s not only today—the celebration has been going on for almost 19 days now—that people are celebrating the love for the country and wanting to change and wanting to become a better country, wanting to be looked as—to be looked to from the rest of the world as a respected place. We are young people, and we can make a change. And this is what we proved in this place, in Tahrir Square."

Egyptian Military Takes Temporary Control, Bans Labor Union Meetings

Egypt’s military council says it plans to rule the country until democratic elections can be held. Parliament was dissolved on Sunday, but former President Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet will stay on. The military has vowed to rewrite Egypt’s constitution within 10 days, but many questions remain over the military’s role. The military issued a rule today banning meetings by labor unions, effectively forbidding strikes. While protesters celebrated the fall of Mubarak, many criticized the army’s decision not to immediately lift the emergency law.

Khaled Said: "Our demands: number one, put an end to the emergency law and achieving public freedom; two, initiation of a coexistent government to fix the constitution—the interim government has to take the following steps: put corrupt people on trial, freeze their assets and start up factories and ministries; three, dissolving both the People’s Assembly and the upper house of parliament."

Bahrain: Protesters Clash with Police

The popular uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia are continuing to inspire protests across the region. In the Gulf nation of Bahrain, at least 14 protesters have been hurt after police used tear gas and rubber bullets on a crowd of demonstrators earlier today. The protesters were demanding the release of 450 jailed political activists and the dismantling of the state security forces. In a move to quell a populist uprising, the Bahraini king recently ordered the payment of nearly $2,700 to every family. Bahrain is the home of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, making it a key strategic ally for the United States.
Yemeni Forces Use Tasers on Peaceful Protesters

The Yemini government has been accused of violently suppressing anti-government protesters over the past three days. According to Human Rights Watch, security forces used electroshock tasers and batons against the demonstrators. In addition, hundreds of pro-government supporters armed with knives, sticks and assault rifles attacked a peaceful gathering on Friday. Protesters in Yemen are calling for the immediate resignation of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who has ruled the country for three decades.
Hundreds Arrested in Algerian Protests

Protests have also spread to Algeria, where police arrested up to 400 demonstrators over the weekend. Earlier today the Algerian government said it will end its 19-year-old state of emergency "within days."
Iran Places Opposition Leader Mousavi under House Arrest

The Iranian government has placed opposition leader Hossein Mousavi under house arrest ahead of a scheduled protest today in Tehran. There are reports that Iranian authorities have also cut the phone lines to his house and have cordoned off his house to prevent him from attending the rally.
Palestinian Prime Minister Disbands Cabinet

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has dissolved his cabinet just months before the Palestinians’ plan to hold elections in the West Bank. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has already asked Fayyad to remain as prime minister. Meanwhile, the top Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, has resigned after a series of embarrassing documents were leaked to and published by Al Jazeera in what has become known as the "Palestinian Papers."
Obama Slashes Assistance for Working Poor and Needy in New Budget

President Obama has proposed to reduce the federal deficit by $1.1 trillion over 10 years. The plan includes calls for slashing federal assistance for the working poor and reducing aid to help the needy heat their homes. Obama’s proposal also calls for cutting Community Development Block Grants by $300 million and for a five-year spending freeze on non-security discretionary spending.

President Obama: "My budget freezes annual domestic spending for the next five years—even on programs I care deeply about—which will reduce the deficit by more than $400 billion over the next decade. This freeze will bring this type of spending to its lowest level as a share of the economy since Dwight Eisenhower was president."

Wisconsin Governor Threatens to Use National Guard Against State Workers

Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker has proposed a bill that would eliminate almost all collective bargaining rights for most public workers as well as slash pay and cut benefits with no negotiation. Walker has also notified the state’s National Guard to be on alert for actions taken by unsatisfied state, county and municipal employees. Journalist John Nichols has been writing about the governor’s power grab in The Nation magazine.

John Nichols: “It’s easily the most radical assault on labor unions, particularly public labor unions, but really labor in general, that any Republican has initiated in decades, and it’s caused an incredible outcry in Wisconsin. There have already been a number of major demonstrations. There are expected to be many more. But this is coming to a head quickly.”

U.S. Considers Dissolving Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac

In economic news, the U.S. Department of Treasury has outlined a plan to slowly dissolve Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored programs that own or guarantee about half of all mortgages in the United States. Housing advocates say the closing of Fannie and Freddie would likely make it more expensive for borrowers to buy a home and thus restrict the availability of mortgages.

Italy: Hundreds of Thousands of Women Protest Prime Minister

Hundreds of thousands of Italian women took part in rallies on Sunday to show their opposition to Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who is embroiled in an underage prostitution scandal. Protests were organized in more than 200 towns and cities throughout Italy. Last week, prosecutors filed a request to bring Berlusconi to trial, accusing him of paying for sex with a nightclub dancer when she was under 18 years old.

Arrest Warrant Issued for Musharraf in Connection with Bhutto Assassination

A Pakistani anti-terrorism court has issued an arrest warrant for exiled former President Pervez Musharraf in connection with the 2007 assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. Prosecutors have accused Musharraf of knowing about Taliban plans to kill Bhutto but not passing on that information to authorities.
U.S. Delays Talks with Pakistan Amid Diplomatic Dispute

U.S. officials have called off scheduled talks with Pakistani and Afghan officials amid growing diplomatic tensions between the United States and Pakistan. The United States did not provide specific reasons for its postponement, though the imprisonment of a U.S. embassy official in Pakistan has strained U.S.-Pakistani ties. Raymond Allen Davis has admitted to killing two people he said threatened him while he was driving in Lahore last month. A third Pakistani was reportedly run over and killed by a U.S. consulate vehicle that arrived at the scene. The U.S. embassy claims Davis, a former Special Forces soldier, acted in self-defense and, as a diplomat, is entitled to immunity. Davis’s diplomatic status has been called into question. Pakistani media reports have suggested he is a CIA operative or private security contractor.
Ron Paul Wins Straw Poll at Conservative Conference

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul has won the straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, the nation’s largest gathering of conservative activists. Paul edged out multi-millionaire Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, the group Young Americans for Freedom announced it was expelling Paul from its National Advisory Board because of the congressman’s antiwar politics.
Former Tom DeLay Aide Sentenced to 20 Months in Jail

A one-time aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has been sentenced to 20 months for his connection to the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. The aide, Michael Scanlon, was also ordered to repay $20 million to five Native American tribes whom he defrauded in a kickback scheme with Abramoff’s lobbying firm.
Puerto Rican University President Resigns in Wake of Student Protests

The president of the University of Puerto Rico has resigned following massive student protests against fee hikes. SWAT teams and riot squads have permanently occupied the campus and banned public protests and the distribution of leaflets. Hundreds of students have been arrested, and some have reported being beaten, including sexually harassed and tortured.
Opponents of Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Occupy Kentucky Governor’s Office

Fourteen people, including the 76-year-old writer and farmer Wendell Berry, spent the weekend locked inside the Kentucky governor’s office demanding an end to mountaintop removal coal mining. Wendell Berry spoke to journalist Jeff Biggers about why he was committing civil disobedience.

Wendell Berry: “Over these years, there’s been one protest after another, one march on Frankfort after another, one visit to a legislator after another. And last year we visited the governor. And all this has been without any perceptible political effect, no acknowledgment even that the problems exist. And so, we’re doing this simply as the next logical step. We’ve exhausted all other possibilities.”

She says she is feeling fine this morning."

"She was not hospitalized," says a statement on the station's Web site. "She says she is feeling fine this morning."

There was CBS 2 LA reporter Serene Branson affiliated with stroke live on air and report on the Grammys Sunday night.

Branson was initially mocked when hit with a video of her speaking gibberish on the web. Later, the Telegraph UK reported that she suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital.

Statement available on the station's Web site Monday read, "was examined Serene Branson by paramedics on the scene immediately after the broadcast. Her vital signs were normal. She was not hospitalized. As a precautionary measure, given that colleague ride home and she says she is feeling fine this morning. "

Cameras flashed to file footage of the Grammys as she struggled to speak live on air.

KNBC anchor Angie Crouch wrote Monday on Twitter: "KCBS reporter Serene Branson is okay - hang in there girl!"

2 did not respond CBS to requests comments made by the Hollywood Reporter.

Ecuador court orders Chevron to pay $ 8000000000

Ecuador court orders Chevron to pay $ 8000000000

A court in Ecuador's Amazon jungle ordered Chevron to pay $ 8000000000 in closely-watched lawsuit on the environment, but the U.S. oil company rejected the ruling as "illegitimate."

The case is to implement a very controversial in the courts relating to U.S. law and international arbitration and is being monitored by the oil industry a precedent that could lead to another major demand.

In a statement on Monday, Chevron did not give any figure from the ruling by the court in Lago Agrio.

But said Pablo Fajardo, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, the court had ordered Chevron to pay more than $ 8000000000 damages.


The lawsuit originally demanded $ 27,000,000,000.

The U.S. oil company said it would appeal the decision. "The Ecuadorean court's judgments illegitimate and unenforceable," Chevron said in a statement.

Residents of Ecuador's Amazon region is suggested that faulty drilling practices at Texaco, was bought by Chevron in 2001, caused extensive damage to areas of jungle and harm indigenous people in the 1970s and 1980s.

Page 112—It Reminded Me of You"

Slate writers and editors share their favorite Valentine's Day love poems.

Feb. 14 is supposed to be a day of love, but for many of us, it's a festival of small anxieties. Where to find the perfect gift, the perfect meal, the perfect words with which to re-enflame your wintering passion? In the matter of the long-stem roses and the oyster platter, good luck. When it comes to finding the right words, though, Slate has you covered. Elsewhere in the magazine this week, Robert Pinsky looks closely at two opposing love poets, Philip Sidney and Ernest Dowson. Below, Slate staffers add to his comparison with their own favorite Valentine's Day poems. There is verse for every mood here: hot love, cool love, fresh love, lost love, ironic love, familiar love, and even tired love. Share these poems with a special someone—or add to our list in the comments below.
Michael Agger, senior editor
My favorite love poem involves the city of Pittsburgh, cats, and commuting to the airport. It's called "Three Rivers," and it's by Alpay Ulku. I can't remember where I first stumbled on it, and I don't really know who the poet is, but his first line stopped me: "What are you doing now, Anne-Marie, on the night we would bring home good things to cook and watch movies from the 1940's, the work week finally at an end." What follows are snapshots of the small, shared familiars that twine two people together: lighting the stove for someone who is scared to do so, or a coat that matches the color of someone's hair. The "you" of the poem is in a long-distance relationship. He's longing for the way that he can feel only with this one person. The last line is direct: "I'm driving home from the airport without you. I feel sad in my stomach."
John Dickerson, chief political correspondent
"Sorting It Out," by Philip Booth, is not a conventional love poem. It is about a widower destroying a shirt his wife used to mend. Don't include with your Whitman's Sampler.
I was first captured by the scissors—the "bright claw" cutting the shirt and dividing the poem. The widower sits at his wife's sewing table, but the scissors are from the desk: the wrong person, with the wrong tool, not fixing but destroying.
In marriage, love spreads. You remember the details of the Minneapolis trip. She knows where you store the candlesticks. It's not about gender roles; it's about load-sharing. These details signify a bigger entwinement—shared risks, failures, and dreams.
The widower has lost his wife, lost the moment when it was worth mending a shirt for the days that still stretched ahead of them. He has lost his way. As the poem ends, he chases the shirt's scattered buttons on the floor, not sure what he'll do when he puts a finger on them. His wife knew where the buttons were kept.
It is a devastating moment that also inspires. I want to ask my wife where the button box is just so I can hear the answer.
Jessica Grose, managing editor of DoubleX
My best friend from college read "Everything Good Between Men and Women," by C.D. Wright, at my wedding. I adore the way it illustrates the gorgeous messiness of a long romance. You will see each other through everything—the joyful mud, the upsetting fever blisters. Wright's plainspoken tone perfectly captures the intimacy of a marriage without even a whiff of saccharine. I hadn't looked at this poem since June, and rereading it in February makes it feel, for a moment, like summer again.
Nathan Heller, copy editor
"Meditation at Lagunitas" is Robert Hass' most famous poem and, for those of us who find Hass' sensibility strangely similar to our own, a sort of anthem. It isn't a love poem, really, or even a poem about love. But it captures the erotic textures of thought and visceral life so vividly it raises my pulse every time I read it. The poem begins with an abstract problem. Soon, though, that abstraction melts into specific, human stakes: the braid of sex and shared particulars that shape a romance, and the narrator's own, deeply personal shards of memory and desire. By the time the poem reaches its arrival point in three wonderstruck beats—"what/ she dreamed"—this blend of thought and sensual memory, of language and what it conjures, has come down to the meeting of two bodies and lives. Tom Stoppard once described carnal knowledge as knowledge "not of the flesh but through the flesh." Hass' poem reminds us just how much there is to know.

Unbreakable Bonds - Classic Shaving.com Unveils Valentine Hearts of Steel

Unbreakable Bonds - Classic Shaving.com Unveils Valentine Hearts of Steel

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Charles Taylor trial suspended after boycotting

Charles Taylor trial suspended after boycotting

The war crimes trial of former Liberian leader Charles Taylor has been adjourned until Friday after he did not attend the court in The Hague.

He and his lawyer withdrew from the proceedings on Tuesday during closing arguments of the trial.

The prosecution has finished its oral presentation and the defense was to begin its case.

Taylor refuses to fuel the civil war in Sierra Leone in late 1990 by arming the rebels.

He is charged with 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The trial began in June 2007, when Mr. Taylor boycotted the opening, arguing that it would have a fair trial. The verdict is expected later this year.
Challenging

When proceedings resumed on Wednesday morning, the president said he had received a document stating that Mr. Taylor had waived his right to be in court, confirming that there was no medical problem involved.

Mr. Taylor's lawyer Courtenay Griffiths not to make an appearance.

He had left in anger on Tuesday after the court refused to accept his written closing argument to the court 20 days after the deadline.
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I have no interest in extending this process out, neither Mr. Taylor - the man has been detained for almost six years and wants a decision on their fate "

End quote lawyer Courtenay Griffiths, Charles Taylor

Mr. Griffiths has told the BBC he has no intention to be in court again if the judges refuse to accept his brief final essay.

"If the appeals court of the view that the judges acted perfectly reasonable to refuse to accept our final argument, then indeed I have no other role in this process," he told the BBC Network Africa program.

He denied that this was a delaying tactic.

"I have no interest in extending this process out, neither Mr. Taylor - the man has been detained for almost six years and wants a decision on their fate," he said.

Despite his absence, the court continued to hear the arguments of the prosecution's closing on Tuesday.

The prosecution says Mr. Taylor, President of Liberia 1997-2003, armed and controlled by the Revolutionary United Front (RUF) during a 10-year campaign of terror against civilians carried out by far.

The RUF became notorious for cutting off the limbs of their victims, and the use of rape and murder to terrorize the population.

Neurotic people can each company a cost of $ 22,000 a year

neurotics are not only what your own life more difficult but also cost billions of dollars in company health costs and lost productivity each year, according to a Dutch study.

Researchers at the VU University Medical Center in Amsterdam analyzed the cost of being neurotic and found, while neurotic individuals society lowest cost less than $ 3,000 per year, most neurotic people cost more than $ 22,000 a year.

Neuroticism - a tendency towards companies worry, anxiety and emotional and downs - is considered a personality trait with genetic roots and is strongly associated with various mental illnesses, including depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.

"We think that the economic costs would be a good way to assess the overall impact of neuroticism," said Dr. Pim Cuijpers told Reuters Health. "We were surprised that the impact was so great."

While research has examined the economic costs of the various mental disorders, most studies have focused on neuroticism one disorder or a mental health issue, Cuijpers and colleagues said in their study published in Archives of General Psychiatry.

For their study looked at nearly 5,500 adults and examined their medical expenses and the number of days they were absent from work to reach an annual rate (in dollars).

Neurotic traits were assessed using a scale of 14 items drawn from a questionnaire widely used personality inventory in the Netherlands.

The researchers found that the average cost for people who scored at 5 percent on the basis of neuroticism was $ 12,362 above the average population.

Excess costs for people 10 percent were $ 8,243, while the costs for 25 percent scored the highest in neuroticism were $ 5,572.

The increased costs associated with neuroticism were "considerably higher" than those of mental health problems, such as mood disorders and anxiety disorders, substance abuse, and somatic disorders (ie, physical problems related psychologically), the researchers said.

For example, common mental disorders cost an extra $ 600 million per million inhabitants, it is estimated, compared with nearly $ 1.4 billion for neuroticism.

This is largely because more people with some degree of neuroticism that there are people with mental illness, Cuijpers said.

Cuijpers said the findings show that personality affects not only the individual but also society.

"If this is done as a common understanding, there are many levels at which these problems could be reduced," said Cuijpers. "For example, employers can develop a good climate of mental health and mental health services may be included as basic needs in health care in general."

Why Did American Idol Apologize for Steven Tyler?

It's Steven Tyler and cause problems in American Idol?

During the hearing Wednesday round Austin, Texas, Idol producers issued what it called an "apology" for "outrageous" behavior rocker.

PHOTOS: Before They Were Idol judges

"American Idol like to apologize for rowdy behavior last week by Steven Tyler," read the statement, which was dragged on the screen just before the opening sequence. "Mr. Tyler has been advised and assures us that will not happen again."

After the statement is displayed, the broadcast cut to a contestant named Jake Muck enter the hearing room.

VIDEO: American Idol auditions so far wackiest

"You know what rhymes with muck, right?" Tyler, 62, asked.

Muck response: "duck?"

"Read my lips" Tyler threw it again, implying a curse word.

Although the brief exchange and "apology" after viewers perplexed, crazy rocker "Tyler-isms" have started to become an indispensable part of the season 10.

PHOTOS: The love lives of America's favorite idols

And despite telling a singer to "f - ka duck and see what hatches" and praising the other to show the "exact amount" of the leg with a skirt, Tyler says he will not follow in the footsteps of grumpy Simon Cowell .

"I'm really not giving one of insults," he told UsMagazine.com. "They have a voice and they do not want to sing to their children when they grow up."

Rise in some cancers linked to oral sex

There is an alarming rise in the incidence of certain types of head neck cancer among middle-aged and younger Americans, and some experts link the trend to an increase in the popularity of oral sex during the last decades.

That's because the human papilloma virus (HPV) is an important trigger for these cancers, and HPV can be transmitted through this type of sexual activity.

"It seems like a very good link that increased sexual activity, including oral sex is associated with increased HPV infection," said Dr. Greg Hartig, professor of otolaryngology - head and neck surgery at the School Wisconsin University of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.

According to Dr. William Lydiatt, professor and chief of oncology of head and neck surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the overall incidence of cancer of the head and neck going down, largely because fewer people are smoking (snuff and drink are the major traditional risk factors).

However, the incidence of cancers of the tonsils and base of the tongue have been rising in recent decades, he said. And those are the ones most likely to test positive for HPV.

"It reached the point where 60-70% of all cancers of the tonsils in the U.S. are related to HPV," said Lydiatt.

Although the relationship between HPV and this type of cancer is indisputable, the association with oral sex is strong, but a bit more speculative, experts say.

A 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that younger people with head and neck cancer who tested positive for oral HPV infection were more likely to have had multiple vaginal and oral sex partners in your life.

In the study, which has six or more oral sex partners during a lifetime was associated with a 3.4 times greater risk of oropharyngeal cancer - cancer of the base of the tongue, back of the throat or tonsils. Having 26 or more vaginal-sex partners tripled the risk.

And the association increased its membership - in every category - increased.

The researchers also reported that cancers of the tonsils and base of the tongue have increased every year since 1973, and wrote that "the spread of oral sex practices among adolescents may be a contributing factor to this increase."

The researchers concluded that, in their study, oral sex was "strongly associated" with oropharyngeal cancer, but said he could not "rule out transmission through direct mouth-to-face contact" kisses, as French.

In 90% of cases of HPV infection in the body, the immune system clears HPV naturally within two years, according to federal health agencies, but in some cases, certain types of HPV can cause cervical cancer less common cancers, and oropharyngeal cancer. A 2010 study in Sweden, in fact, suggests that the increase in oropharyngeal cancer of squamous cells in a number of countries is caused by a slow epidemic of HPV-induced infection (cancers). "

HPV tends to be site-specific, said Dr. A. AMESH Adalja, an associate professor in the division of infectious diseases at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In other words, tends to be always first enters the body, either the vagina (in some cases could lead to cervical cancer), or the mouth and throat.

The same applies to the increased incidence of saying that the latest generations are having more sex than their grandparents?

"The general consensus on the street is that because people (sexual), practices have changed over time, we are seeing an increase in these types of cancer," said Hartig. "I do not know why they are having more oral sex (but) the concept of having oral sex is something that seems less dark for you as you did with your parents or grandparents."

"The idea would be that the" baby boomers "- the 60 and the generation of early 70's - probably had more freedom in sexual relations in general, including oral sex," said Dr. Bert W. O'Malley Jr., president of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania.

And at least in terms of oral sex, which seems true for the children of boomers.

The U.S. Centers Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that in 2002, about 90% of men and 88% of women aged 25 to 44 reported having oral sex with a partner of the opposite sex.

The comparative figures for 1992 showed that about three quarters of men aged 20 to 39 and about 70% of women aged 18 to 59 who have given or received oral sex.

The positive side is that HPV-related head and neck cancer are eminently more treatable than those attributable to smoking or drinking, although they tend to be diagnosed at a later stage.

"(Head and neck cancers associated with HPV) have been much easier to treat. You can use less intense radiation," said Dr. DJ Verret, assistant clinical professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and a surgeon facial plastic in Plano, Texas.

About 85% of nonsmokers with HPV positive tumors survive. That figure drops to 45 or 50% in people who smoke and are HPV-negative, Lydiatt said.

And the tongue and tonsil cancers are still relatively rare in the United States. The other good news - at least for the youngest - is that there is a relatively new vaccine to prevent HPV infection. It will not help those already infected, but "absolutely" could help those not yet infected with the virus are ubiquitous, Verret said.

Meanwhile, the people, especially youth, need to realize that smoking is not the only risk factor for head and neck cancer. If you find a lump in the neck, even if you are only 20 or 30, "pay attention to that," said Lydiatt.

Hussein Salem caught in Dubai

Hussein Salem caught in Dubai with 500 million dollars

Salem is a partner with Israeli businessman Yosef Maiman in the Environmental Management Group, which supplies gas to Israel.

Hussein Salem, an Egyptian partner of Israeli businessman Yosef Maiman in the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Company (EMG), which has long-term agreements to supply natural gas to Israel, has been arrested in Dubai with $ 500 million in cash in his possession, according to agency reports this morning.

It was reported yesterday that Salem and his family fled to Egypt because of the turmoil in the country. report of the Arab media that Salem went to Dubai, while his family moved to an unknown location. Salem is considered close to the Egyptian regime, including the son of Mubarak, President Hosni Mubarak, Gamal, who allegedly left Egypt in London.

Salem owns 28% of EMG, which has supplied gas to Israel from June 2008.

Salem is one of the most mysterious businessmen in Egypt, and what is known has never been interviewed in the Western press. In Egypt, is known as the owner of a hotel chain, and as the confidant of Mubarak and his family. The business tie Maiman was formed when they were partners in building a refinery in Alexandria in the late 1970's.

Maiman sold its stake in the refinery early in the decade due to internal criticism in Egypt, and began to focus on natural gas exports to Israel. When EMG was founded in 2000, Salem had 65%, 25% owned Maiman, and the Egyptian government property of others. Yesterday morning, in an official press release, Maiman said that gas exports to Israel by EMG will continue as usual.

In July 2007, Salem sold 12% of the EMG to Sam Zell and David Fisher, U.S. in a valuation of $ 2.2 billion, and four months later sold 25% of the Thai national oil company PTT in a valuation of $ 2 billion. The rest of the company's shares are now owned by Maiman (20.6%), institutions of Israel (4.3%), and the government of Egypt through government EGAS gas company (10%) .

Jordan CHAOS...

Thousands protest in Jordan

Protesters gather across the country, demanding the premier step down.

Thousands of people in Jordan took to the streets in demonstrations, demanding stage of the country as prime minister downwards, and the government curb rising prices, inflation and unemployment.

n the third Friday of consecutive events, about 3,500 opposition activists in Jordan main Islamist opposition group, the unions and leftist organizations gathered in the capital, waving colorful banners reading: "Tell the guys in front of Corruption the courts. "

The crowd denounced Samir Rifai, the Prime Minister, and his unpopular policies.

Many shouted: "Rifai disappear, prices are on fire and so are the Jordanians.''

Another 2,500 people also took to the streets in six other cities across the country after the afternoon prayer. The protests also called for the overthrow of Rifai.

The members of the Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan and the largest party in opposition, the ranks of protesters mass outside the al-Husseini, Amman and filling the streets of downtown with their prayer lines.

King Abdullah has promised reforms, particularly on a controversial electoral law. But many believe it is unlikely to comply with the requirements for the election of Prime Minister and cabinet members, traditionally appointed by the king.

Rifai also announced a package of 550 million dollars in new subsidies over the last two weeks fuels and commodities like rice, sugar, livestock and liquefied gas used for heating and cooking. It also includes an increase for civil servants and security personnel.

record deficit

However, the economy of Jordan continues to struggle, weighed down by a record deficit of $ 2 billion this year.

Inflation also rose 1.5 percent to 6.1 percent last month, unemployment and poverty are endemic - estimated at 12 and 25 percent respectively.

Ibrahim Alloush, a university professor, told The Associated Press he was not talking about changing the faces or replacement of a prime minister with another.

"We are demanding the changes the country is now managed," he said.

He also accused the government of impoverishing the working class with regressive tax code that forced the poor to pay a higher proportion of their income as tax.

He also accused the parliament used rubber stamp "the executive branch''.

"This has led people to demonstrate in the streets because they have no place to vent their feelings through legal means," said Alloush.

SpongeBob

SpongeBob Legends of Bikini Bottom at Burger King

Burger King SpongeBob Legends of infants Bikini meal toy promotion is now Burger King. One of 6 Legends Burger King SpongeBob Squarepants toy Bikini Bottom are included free with every meal sold BK children. additional toys to finish the game Burger King SpongeBob is available for purchase separately.
Legends of the campaign SpongeBob Bikini Bottom marketing of Burger King is being done in collaboration with Nickelodeon for the benefit of promoting the TV series SpongeBob SquarePants.

There are a total of six toys to pick up the complete collection - Surfin SpongeBob, SpongeBob Scuba Spin, Ring Toss Carlo, Splash Hat SpongeBob, Mr. Krabs and back trouser Change Patrick.

Surfin SpongeBob - Plug the key into the wave. Press the button to start the sponge. Look at the 360 degree rotation as the wave crashes before.

Scuba Spin SpongeBob - room filling with water to see the face of SpongeBob. Push the arm down to see swirling around the face.

Squidward Ring Toss - room filling with water and push the pump button repeatedly to rings on the tentacles Squidward.

SpongeBob Splash Hat - room filling with water, then press the button on his back to squirt water from his hat wacky.

Mr. Krabs back - Go toy. Turn Mr. Krabs then put arms into the water to watch him back.

Change pants Patrick - Patrick Place in cold water to watch the flowers on his change of color of pants.

Looks like there will be a few trips to Burger King in the coming days, or should I say a million trips.

Millrose Games

Area high school and professional riders compete in the 104th Millrose Games

Meredith Rizzo of Bronxville and Kristen Walsh of North Rockland High School competing in the Girls' Metropolitan 4 × 800m relay meter during the 2011 Millrose Games at Madison Square Garden January 28, 2011. Bronxville won the event. Photo by Seth Harrison


Herbert Okuta, representing the Westchester Track Club, second from right, finished in second place behind Stephen Hass in The New York Road Runners Men's Challenge 2 Distance Mile during the 2011 Games Millrose at Madison Square Garden January 28, 2011. Photo Seth Harrison

The local high school and professional riders have participated in the 104th edition of the Millrose Games at Garden. Look for coverage Lohud.com and tomorrow's edition of the Journal News. See a gallery of photos from the 2011 Millrose Games.

The U.S. economy

Consumer Spending and trade buoy economy

The U.S. Economy speed Gathered In The Fourth Quarter, though a touch below expectations, With The Biggest Gain in Consumer Spending in More Than Four Years and strong exports Offering The Clearest yet That signals a Sustainable Recovery Is Under Way.

Even With croissance quickening, however, progress has been "Reducing Unemployment painfully slow, and The Report on U.S. gross domestic product on Friday IS little comfort for millions of Americans Unemployed Or The Federal Reserve Officials were jobs-creation vigil.

The Economy Grew at a solid 3.2 percent rate Annual In The Final Three Months of 2010, The Commerce Department Said, said after Expanding to 2.6 percent pace in the Third Quarter. The rise Was a touch below economists' expectations to 3.5 percent for spleen.

For The Whole of 2010, the Economy Grew 2.9 Percent, The Biggest Gain Since 2005. The economy contracted 2.6 percent in 2009.

"Unfortunately by We Still Need to See Much Stronger Growth to begin to really make a dent In The Unemployment Rate. Right now we are just barely Creating Enough Jobs to stabilize The Unemployment Rate," Said Ryan Sweet, senior economist at Moody's Analytics in West Chester, Pennsylvania, Before the data Was released.

On Wednesday, Fed Officials voiced for The Pace Of The recovery WAS Still Not Strong Enough To Significantly Lower Unemployment and reiterated a $ 600 Commitment to a one billion stimulus effort Through the purchase of Government bonds.

The jobless rate has been "stuck percent sincere Above 9 May 2009. With the Economy's Growth Potential Between 2.5 percent and 2.7 percent, analysts say year expansion rate of at least 3 percent over SEVERAL quarters IS Needed to cope with New entrants in The Labor Market and The Unemployed.

The Unemployment Rate Fell to 9.4 percent in December from 8.9 percent in November.

CONSUMERS SHOULDER RECOVERY

Details Of The postponement GDP showed the Economy Moving in The Right direction. Consumer Spending, Which Accounts for More Than Two-Thirds of U.S. Economic Activity, Grew at a 4.4 percent rate - The Fastest Pace Since The First Quarter of 2006.

"The handoff from temporary to domestic demand Factors Is Under Way. This Is What We Need To Be For the recovery self-sustaining," Said Harm Bandholz, chief U.S. economist at UniCredit Research in New York.

Consumer Spending Added 4.3 Percentage points to fourth-quarter GDP Growth, Also The Largest contribution in More Than Four Years.

Support to Growth "during the Fourth Quarter aussi cam from a pickup in exports, Which resulted in a narrower trade deficit. Trade 3.44 Percentage Points Added to GDP Growth, The first contribution in a year.

The Drag That offset from business inventoried, Which Increased mother has one billion $ 7.2 to $ 121.4 after one billion rise in the Third Quarter. Inventories, Which hand HAD Been The driver of Growth Since The Start Of The Second Half In The recovery of 2009, subtracted from GDP Growth for The First Time Since The second quarter of 2009.

EXCLUDING inventoried, the Economy Grew at a 7.1 percent rate after rising at a 0.9 percent pace in the Third Quarter.