LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- The autopsy on the body of pop star Michael Jackson has been completed, but the coroner has ordered further tests and the cause of death has not been determined, a spokesman said.

Craig Harvey from the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office also said the autopsy showed no sign of external trauma or indication of foul play.

The cause of death has been deferred, which means the medical examiner has ordered additional testing such as toxicology and other studies, Craig Harvey, operations chief for the coroner, told a throng of reporters.

He said that once those tests are completed in four to six weeks, "We anticipate being able to close the case and issuing a final cause of death."


Harvey said the coroner has ordered toxicology, neuropathology and pulmonary tests. He also said Jackson was taking prescription medication, but did not elaborate.

The coroner's office released the details hours after a 911 call tape from Jackson's home was released.

The person at Jackson's home who called 911 Thursday told the operator the singer wasn't breathing and wasn't conscious, according to a recording of the phone call released Friday.

"I need an ambulance," the person told the 911 operator.

Police spoke with Jackson's doctor on Thursday but have been unable to reach him Friday for further questioning, the Los Angeles Police Department said.

A car the doctor was using was towed from Jackson's home Thursday and impounded, authorities said.

The car may contain "medications pertinent to the investigation" into Jackson's death, said detective Agustin Villanueva of the Los Angeles Police Department.

Officials said they were confident the doctor will cooperate with the investigation.

Police did not release the doctor's name.

Public records show the car is registered to a Texas woman who is an associate of a cardiologist. The cardiologist is licensed in California and Texas and also has an office in Las Vegas, Nevada.

CNN's calls to the doctor's office were not immediately returned.

Authorities said Friday the cause of Michael Jackson's death will not be determined officially for weeks.

The superstar's sudden death Thursday at age 50 left a family devastated, an industry stunned and legions of fans lost. It also left a glaring question: What happened?

"The likelihood is very slim that we will have any results to release today because of the extensive level of the tests that we're going to be performing," said Ed Winter, assistant chief of the Los Angeles coroners office.

The results of toxicology tests are expected in six to eight weeks, he said, adding that the cause of death will be determined when all results come in.

Initial autopsy results could show whether Jackson had an underlying heart condition, medical experts say.

There are questions over whether Jackson's death may have involved medication.

Brian Oxman, a former attorney for the Jackson family who was with the family in the hospital emergency room on Thursday, told CNN he had been concerned about medications the pop star was taking.

"I talked to this family about it, I warned them. I said that Michael is overmedicating and that I did not want to see this kind of a case develop," Oxman told CNN's "American Morning" on Friday.

He referred to Anna Nicole Smith, the former model and reality TV show star who died of an overdose in 2007.

"I said, 'If that's what's going to happen to Michael, it's all going to break our hearts.' And my worst fears are here." Video

Oxman emphasized that he does not know what killed Jackson, and was not making accusations against any individual.

CNN is seeking response from the family.

Jackson was in apparent cardiac arrest when paramedics rushed him Thursday from his home to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where a team of physicians tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour, according to Jackson's brother Jermaine. He said the music idol was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m.

The night before he had complained of not feeling well, brother Marlon Jackson said.

He told CNN on Thursday about his conversation with Jackson's manager Frank Dileo. On Wednesday night, Jackson said he was not feeling well, so his doctor went to see him. "Frank said, 'Marlon, from last night to this morning, I don't know what happened.' When they got to him this morning, he wasn't breathing."

The troubled icon had been preparing for a comeback tour, aimed at extending his legendary career and helping to pay off hundreds of millions of dollars in debt.

Michael Jackson began his professional work at age 5, singing with his brothers before shooting to superstardom as a solo artist. He had numerous No. 1 hits, the best known being "Thriller."

"Thriller" was the best-selling album of all time, at an estimated 50 million copies worldwide.

After dominating the popular music scene for years, Jackson became reclusive and mired in scandals that included child molestation charges. He was acquitted after a highly publicized trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.

Last year, Jackson announced a comeback tour that was to start in July. When some of the shows were postponed till next year, rumors spread that the entertainer was weak and suffering from skin cancer.

But Marlon Jackson said he last saw his younger brother at a May 14 family gathering and he "looked great."

"He was looking well. He was getting ready to go into rehearsals for his tour. I don't know what happened," Marlon Jackson said.

The most famous of Michael Jackson's eight siblings, Janet, issued a statement through her manager.

"Janet Jackson is grief-stricken and devastated at the sudden loss of her brother," said Kenneth Crear. "She is ... flying immediately to California to be with her family."

A large crowd gathered outside the hospital, while in New York a huge crowd gathered outside the Apollo Theater.

Around the world, fans reacted with sadness. iReport.com: Share your Michael Jackson memories

Some, including actress Elizabeth Taylor and musician Stevie Wonder, were too distraught to issue statements.

Producer Quincy Jones, who helped Jackson craft his hit albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller," said, "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news.

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," Jones added in a statement.

Jackson's music continues to be heard throughout the world "because he had it all -- talent, grace, professionalism and dedication," Jones said. He called Jackson a consummate entertainer, whose legacy will be felt around the world.

"I've lost my little brother today and part of my soul has gone with him," Jones said.

Berry Gordy, producer and founder of Motown Records, said Jackson's death was "like a bad dream."

"As a kid, Michael was always beyond his years. He was an innovator. He was a genius at what he did," Gordy said. "He had a knowingness about him. At 9 years old, when I first started working with him, he seemed to me like he had been here before. He was just so knowledgeable about life."

Jackson's former wife, Lisa Marie Presley, said she was "shocked and saddened" by his death.

"My heart goes out to his children and his family," she said.

Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.


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Friday, June 26, 2009

Pole Rossi, Pedrosa Create surprises


ASSEN, KOMPAS.com - Valentino Rossi achieved pole position at Assen, the Netherlands, after having recorded the best time in qualifying, Friday (26 / 6). "The Doctor" surpass two rival, Jorge Lorenzo and Casey Stoner, who is in position three and four.

Shock is created Repsol rider Honda, Dani Pedrosa. Although not in the best condition because of injuries at the wrist - even during the race in Barcelona two weekends ago he joined the race after injection get penalty sense -, Pedrosa and Lorenzo to beat Stoner so he will start from the position when the two races on Saturday ( 27 / 6).

Rossi throughout the training sessions 1 and 2 did not reside in the first position, noted within 1 minute 36.025 seconds. He was 0.085 seconds from the winner Pedrosa.


Meanwhile setim colleagues in the Fiat Yamaha Rossi, Lorenzo, who recorded within 1 minute 36.393 seconds will start from third position. He followed by Ducati Rider, Stoner.

Results be unsatisfactory because of Randy de Puniet of France Honda rider LCR team is only in the position 10. While the free exercise 1, create a surprise because he was on top, the record time "the big three" (Rossi, Lorenzo and Stoner).

Racing at Assen is very crucial for the three top rider of the Klasemen while. Section, they were collecting 106 points, so that results in Assen will determines who becomes a single ruler.

Meanwhile, the Rossi, pole position will open the way to the victory in the MotoGP-100. After a dramatic win in the fight against Lorenzo in Barcelona, Rossi need only one more victory to print the record, which was delayed because it failed in the Italian GP.

- The qualification

Pos Rider Bike Time Gap
1. Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m36.025s
2. Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m36.110s + 0.085s
3. Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha 1m36.393s + 0.368s
4. Casey Stoner Ducati 1m36.633s + 0.608s
5. Colin Edwards Tech 3 Yamaha 1m36.760s + 0.735s
6. Loris Capirossi Suzuki 0.928s + 1m36.953s
7. Chris Vermeulen Suzuki 1m37.194s + 1.169s
8. Andrea Dovizioso Honda 1m37.237s + 1.212s
9. James Toseland Tech 3 Yamaha 1m37.323s + 1.298s
10. Randy de Puniet LCR Honda 1m37.473s + 1.448s
11. Gresini Alex de Angelis Honda 1m37.637s + 1.612s
12. Mika Kallio Pramac Ducati 1m37.749s + 1.724s
13. Nicky Hayden Ducati 1m37.759s + 1.734s
14. Marco Melandri Hayate Kawasaki 1m37.948s + 1.923s
15. Toni Elias Gresini Honda 1m38.136s + 2.111s
16. Hernando after Gibernau Ducati 1m38.453s + 2.428s
17. Niccolo Canepa Pramac Ducati 1m38.605s + 2.580s
18. Scot Yuki Takahashi Honda 1m38.619s + 2.594s
19. Gabor Talmacsi Scot Honda 1m39.407s + 3.382s

- Note the time when the best practice: Jorge Lorenzo SPA Fiat Yamaha 1min 36.756sec (Exercise 2)

- TT Assen 2008 (28 June 2008): Pole position: Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 35.520sec

- Fastest race laps by manufacturer:

Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Marlboro (B) 1min 36.738sec
Colin Edwards USA Tech 3 Yamaha (M) 1min 37.034sec
Dani Pedrosa SPA Repsol Honda (M) 1min 37.208sec
Chris Vermeulen AUS Rizla Suzuki (B) 1min 37.629sec
Anthony West AUS Kawasaki Racing (B) 1min 38.270sec


thx to (KMPS)

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By Amir Sodikin
There is no doubt, a nation that is only follow nations that use only the Blackberry, smartphone, or Pocket PC is to simply polish the style. Far from latah this version, it appeared that many companies and developers of innovative technology to ease daily activities.

Paul Sabella, President and CEO of the company Charge Anywhere, so hit the Wireless Enterprise Symposium (Wes) that Research In Motion was held in Orlando, Florida, United States, May. Paul presented a payment gateway or payment to move a simple tool that can be used anywhere in the home have an internet connection.

Not presume, in the hands of the Charge Anywhere, a small gadget called Blackberry can be equipped with a tool that, as a means of secure payment transactions for credit cards or debit cards. Despite appear trifling, method Point of Sale (POS) Charge Anywhere is recognized worldwide.


Charge Anywhere has won the award Best of Interop Technologies Innovative Business Award category for best field of security Payment Card Industry (PCI).

Thus, in terms of security, to lead the Charge Anywhere solution for mobile payments using credit or debit card. "Our solutions can be applied effectively to small business even though," said Paul.

"The application we can run on various platforms, including Blackberry, Windows Mobile, J2ME, Wireless and IP POS terminal, Windows, and QuickBooks," said Paul.

"Charge Anywhere wins the award because of the compatibility of the PCI is a major problem for business and retail banking industry. For this is a small scale business that terlemah in the use of credit cards," the judges comments Best of Interop, Tim Wilson.

Paul Signature Capture the Mobile Payment Solution, which store the digital electronic process, also won the award in 2009 Technology Innovation Award in the event transactions Electronic Association (ETA) Annual Meeting and Expo, May 13.

Developer creativity

Wes event in 2009, up to perhaps hundreds of thousands of developers gathered to update information concerning the latest Blackberry. Interests of the developer because of the higher launch Blackberry Enterprise Server version 5.0 for the first time. Them to update information concerning how to integrate the various programs under the Blackberry.

What is Charge Anywhere actually already tried a lot of other developers as well. The idea is simple: how to be entrepreneurs can receive payment only bermodalkan Mobile phone with Internet connection available.

Payment system seems to realize this dream we how to empower mobile phone to be more productive. Problem in developing countries, usually always jor-fishing rod with a device to move tercanggih, but mentok can not take advantage of the technology, simply for the SMS and phone.

Charge Anywhere device, other than the need to move the device, such as Blackberry or smartphone that supports J2ME or Windows Mobile-based, also need a Bluetooth card reader and optional mini-printer to print a receipt as a receipt.

All transactions are securely encrypted. Transactions can only be obtained by the device that the PCI DSS certification. Only 128-bit encryption-based which can be received, using https, and SSLv3 support for improved security.

Must be recognized, in the world and certainly in Indonesia, the payment gateway is a cheap move and still be safe big issue. E-commerce in Indonesia is not one of them developed because absennya payment solution that is easy, safe, and trustworthy.

Unfortunately, Charge Anywhere has not penetrated into Indonesia. However, at least, there is hope in the future that we can hold our phone, any brand of origin according to its platform, as part of a productivity tool, not just for consumer goods for effect. (KOMPAS)


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SOLO, KOMPAS.com - South East Asia Robotic Olympiad (SEARO) or Southeast Asian Robot Olympics which was held in Solo City 26-28 June 2009 show that a new category macth in Indonesia, namely carrier machine. Competition intended for ages 8-12 years and 13-18 years old.

"In fact there are many race categories. However, we hold that familiar with the participants," said Chairman of the Committee Gondowidjojo SEARO Santoso, who is also General Chairman of Organizing Committee Robotic Indonesia (ROCI), Friday (26 / 6) in Solo.

SEARO divided into five categories, namely non-line tracer program, maze solving, obstacle, carrier machine, and creative robot. The competition was followed by three groups of participants, namely Yunior 1 (under 8 years old), Yunior 2 (8-12 years), and challenge (13-18 years). SEARO robot competition level is Southeast Asia that was first held.


There are 90 teams participating in this Olympics. One team consists of 1 to 3 people. Three teams are from Singapore and Malaysia. However, issues related to the A-H1N1 bird flu, more than 25 participants from Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines canceled.

"The government and the parents forbid their children attend, the school children and is enthusiastic," said Santoso.


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WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com - Freadly Site most popular at this time, Facebook again to improve service on the feature-featurenya. The increase was made based on the fact that many people are on Facebook and most of them favor with the event information or even share photos and video.

As in the example the following cases, some users who like many video and photos to Facebook can use this control privacy. For example, users want to upload a photo or video and want only the family can enjoy. The user can share the video set to "Everyone" and select "custom" for the photo album in which you want to share and select-Friend List of the family.

This is where the role of privacy control play. Privacy control facilities used to make it easier to specify the user in the friend to view photos, videos or update on the current status-sharing.


There is a change in the publisher is only experienced by some users who have previously set the update status settings and personal profile visible to moda 'Everyone', said Facebook via their official blog here

So, after posting added, users will be able to activate the drop down menu. The menu will make it easier to select them in the whole or only certain friends only.

The selection shown is: Everyone: anyone (member or not Facebook), Friends and Networks: the person who is confirmed as a friend or in a network that have followed it, Friends of Friends: anyone who is a friend of the user, Custom: single friends or friends based on the selected list, and Friends: which is only confirmed to be a friend. (INFOKOMPUTER.com / Indah PM)


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LONDON, KOMPAS.com - half Chelsea Deco really is resentful of his club. He accuse the owner of "The Blues", Roman Abramovich, to treat the London club as a toy and does not honor the former coach Luiz Felipe Scolari.

For Deco, Scolari is a special coach. He brought the full sod in Portugal Stamford Bridge season ago with the price of eight million Pounds Sterling. Unfortunately, the injury to make a career Deco choked and he is not satisfied with the process of healing for this.

"I have a difficult season. I came with 'Big Phil (Scolari). Everything is running well but I have a lot of injuries," said the Portugal players was cited as The Daily Mail. "I face many problems with the medical department and was not cured properly."


Deco increasingly Scolari not happy because the ax in February 2009, seven months after it was John Terry . Deco Abramovich as a point source of all this. He considers that Russian investors origin easy to change coach, not like other big three teams.

"Chelsea club special. If the 'Big Phil' may be at Chelsea, Manchester United or Liverpool, they respect the coach and gave him the job," added the 31 years.

"See (Arsenal coach Arsene) Wenger, who won the last five years is not any. (Trainer Liverpool Rafael) Benitez never win the English League. Chelsea is different, special clubs, which have one owner and they were like toys for him. Sometimes Abramovich making decisions who thought outside of the football director. dismissal 'Big Phil' painful, "he said.

Because it not stafised, Deco now want to leave London stalwart. He was ready to go to Milan to join former his coach at FC Porto, Jose Mourinho. With play at Inter, Deco hope to find prosperity.


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LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- An autopsy on entertainer Michael Jackson has been scheduled for Friday and results are expected by afternoon, according to the Los Angeles, California, coroner's office.The "King of Pop," who was preparing for a comeback tour, died Thursday at age 50.

Jackson, under apparent cardiac arrest, was taken from his home by paramedics to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where a team of physicians tried to resuscitate him for more than an hour, said Jackson's brother Jermaine. He said the music idol was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. (5:26 p.m. ET).

Another one of Jackson's six siblings told CNN that he learned of Jackson's death through his manager, Frank Dileo.


"Frank told me that Michael last night was complaining about not feeling well. He called to tell him he wasn't feeling well," Marlon Jackson said. "Michael's doctor went over to see him, and Frank said, 'Marlon, from last night to this morning, I don't know what happened.' When they got to him this morning, he wasn't breathing."

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN that a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m. Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said.

At the hospital, security guards blocked every entrance to the emergency room. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying.

Detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department remained at Jackson's home late Thursday, with some officers providing crowd control outside as fans gathered in surrounding streets. iReport.com: Share your Michael Jackson memories

At one point, three tow trucks arrived at the residence and a silver BMW with Texas license plates was later removed. No reason was given by police.

During a career that began at age 5 singing with his brothers, Jackson had numerous No. 1 hits. "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time, at an estimated 50 million copies worldwide.

But after dominating the popular music scene for years, Jackson became reclusive and mired in scandals that include molestation charges. He was acquitted after a well-publicized trial in Santa Maria, California, in March 2006.

Last year, Jackson announced a comeback tour that was to start in July. When some of the shows were postponed till next year, rumors spread that the entertainer was weak and suffering from skin cancer.

However, Marlon Jackson said he last saw his younger brother at a May 14 family gathering and he "looked great."

"He was looking well. He was getting ready to go into rehearsals for his tour. I don't know what happened," Marlon Jackson said.

"Janet Jackson is grief-stricken and devastated at the sudden loss of her brother," said her manager, Kenneth Crear. "She is ... flying immediately to California to be with her family."

A large crowd gathered outside the hospital, according to video footage. Michael Jackson fans across the world reacted with sadness.

Some, including actress Elizabeth Taylor and musician Stevie Wonder, were too distraught to issue statements.

Producer Quincy Jones, who helped Jackson craft his hit albums "Off the Wall" and "Thriller," said, "I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news."

"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," Jones added in a statement.

Jackson's music continues to be heard throughout the world "because he had it all -- talent, grace, professionalism and dedication," Jones said. He called Jackson a consummate entertainer, whose legacy will be felt around the world.

"I've lost my little brother today and part of my soul has gone with him," Jones said.

Berry Gordy, producer and founder of Motown Records, said Jackson's death was "like a bad dream."

"As a kid, Michael was always beyond his years. He was an innovator. He was a genius at what he did," Gordy said. "He had a knowingness about him. At 9 years old, when I first started working with him, he seemed to me like he had been here before. He was just so knowledgeable about life."

Lisa Marie Presley, Jackson's former wife, said she was "shocked and saddened" by his death.

"My heart goes out to his children and his family," she said.

Jackson is survived by his three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.


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Johor, Kompas.com - Double mixture Indonesia, Hendra Gunawan Aprida / Vita Marissa dramatically escaped to the semifinal round Malaysian Open Gold Grand Prix, Friday (26 / 6).

In phase semifinial Hendra AG / Vita and the former atlate excellent Cipayung remove the first Indian origin, Diju Valiyaveetil / Jwala Gutta in the rubber game 8-21 21-14.

In the first game, the pair appear Indonesia confusion. They quickly left behind 1-11, 8-21 before finally surrendering. In the second game, Hendra / Vita as the guilty. They play more tactical and able to win 21-14.


The condition of the third game does not change. Indonesia double is quickly winning 6-1 and 9-6. After adding points into their 12-9 thrust into 15-10. Hendra / Vita and then able to be 18-14 and 19-15. Hendra / Vita and then close the match 8-21 21-14 21-16 in 34 minutes.

While the pair hodgepodge, Flandy Limpele / Anastasia Russkikh out in semifinial in the hands of the Chinese pair, Zhang Nan / Pan Pan. Couples Indonesia / Russia is surrendered in two games 10-21 14-21 in 24 mins


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WASHINGTON, KOMPAS.com - The Android smartphone operating system platform to be momentum for Google to release a program of cooperation AdSense network that has been successful on the Internet. Currently, AdSense for Mobile platform application is already available in the open beta version.

Platform is not only the application can be run on all platforms with Android smartphone, but also in the iPhone. Attendance AdSense specifically designed for this smartphone will open opportunities for advertisers in campaigns to spread more widely and, on the other hand provides the opportunity for content developers to get additional money from the ad business.

With the AdSense platform for mobile applications, content developers to stay in the paste to create the application for iPhone and Android smartphone. Next, he will become a money machine that will collect the results from the model for payment for the pay-per-click advertisers.


During this application platform in the mobile with network actually already done the other party, such as AdMob and other players. However, inclusion of Google's business is to remember the most significant platform Android is Google's initiative in the first issue so that guaranteed synkro. Moreover, Google is the biggest business in the Internet ad network.

Google has set up the registration page to join, but for the new stage of testing to get feedback from content developers. It is available ready to use application with an average 100,000 daily pageview. (The Register)


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(CNN) -- Farrah Fawcett, the blonde-maned actress whose best-selling poster and "Charlie's Angels" stardom made her one of the most famous faces in the world, died Thursday. She was 62.

Fawcett's death was confirmed by Paul Bloch, one of her representatives at Rogers and Cowan, an entertainment public relations firm.

Fawcett, who checked into a hospital in early April, had been battling anal cancer on and off for three years.


Bloch told CNN that Ryan O'Neal, Fawcett's romantic partner since the mid-1980s, and her friend Alana Stewart were with Fawcett at Saint John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California, when she died.

"Although this is an extremely difficult time for her family and friends, we take comfort in the beautiful times that we shared with Farrah over the years and the knowledge that her life brought joy to so many people around the world," O'Neal said in a written statement. Read more tributes to Fawcett

O'Neal is the father of Fawcett's son, Redmond O'Neal, born in 1985. Redmond O'Neal is in an intense rehabilitation program conducted in the Los Angeles county jail, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman Steve Whitmore told CNN on Thursday.

Fawcett's son was informed on Wednesday night by a grief counselor and a chaplain that his mother's death was imminent, and a grief counselor and chaplain also told him when she died, Whitmore said.

The young man, who is currently with a chaplain, has spoken with his father, Whitmore said.

Ryan O'Neal had recently told People magazine that the sex symbol was declining.

"She stays in bed now. The doctors see that she is comfortable. Farrah is on IVs, but some of that is for nourishment. The treatment has pretty much ended," he said in a story posted May 7.

Fawcett's cancer journey has been documented in a television special partly shot by the actress. Fawcett began shooting "Farrah's Story," by taking a camera to a doctor's appointment. Eventually, the film expanded to include trips overseas in hopes of treating the cancer.The documentary aired on NBC on May 15.

Fawcett's beauty -- her gleaming smile was printed on millions of posters -- initially made her famous. But she later established herself as a serious actress. She starred as a battered wife in the 1984 TV movie "The Burning Bed." She appeared on stage as a woman who extracts vengeance from a would-be rapist in William Mastrosimone's play "Extremities."

She reprised the "Extremities" role on film in 1986. Other Fawcett films include "Logan's Run" (1976), "Saturn 3" (1980), "The Cannonball Run" (1981), "The Apostle" (1997) and the Robert Altman-directed "Dr. T and the Women" (2000).

To many, Fawcett will always be best known for her red-swimsuited image on the pinup poster, which sold a reputed 12 million copies after its release in 1976. iReport: Share your memories of Farrah Fawcett

Fawcett was a model best known for bit parts, commercials and as "Six Million Dollar Man" actor Lee Majors' wife when she shot the poster in early 1976 at the behest of Pro Arts, a Cleveland, Ohio, company.

Photographer Bruce McBroom placed Fawcett -- then known as Farrah Fawcett-Majors -- in the Indian blanket-draped front seat of his 1937 Chevy and snapped away. Fawcett did her own hair -- a long, tousled cascade of blonde locks -- picked out the red bathing suit and chose the frame later used for the poster, according to a story in the Toronto Star.

The poster, with Fawcett's million-dollar smile front and center, became a sensation.

Soon after the photo shoot, Fawcett was asked to join the cast of a new Aaron Spelling TV show, "Charlie's Angels," about a trio of female detectives who work for a mysterious man named Charlie, whose only appearance in the show was through his voice (supplied by John Forsythe).

Fawcett, who played Jill Munroe, was the last to be cast. Co-star Kate Jackson was the known name at the time, but thanks to her poster, Fawcett became the breakout star.

The highly rated TV series kicked off what came to be known as "jiggle TV," series full of pretty actresses who appeared in bikinis at the drop of a hat.

"Denunciations of 'massage parlor television' and 'voyeurism' only brought more viewers to the screen, to see what the controversy was about," wrote Tim Brooks and Earle Marsh about "Charlie's Angels" in their indispensable reference, "The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows."

ABC's "Three's Company" and CBS's "The American Girls" were among the shows that immediately followed, and shows such as "Baywatch" owe "Charlie's Angels" a debt.

But Fawcett didn't stay with "Angels" long. At the end of the first season, unhappy with her contract, she left the show and was replaced by Cheryl Ladd.

Fawcett's career stagnated for a time after "Charlie's Angels." She appeared in a handful of forgettable films and divorced Majors.

But her career received a major boost with her starring role in "The Burning Bed," a 1984 TV movie co-starring Paul Le Mat. Fawcett played an abused wife who sets fire to her husband's bed as he lies sleeping. Fawcett received an Emmy nomination for her performance.

Fawcett also became romantically involved with O'Neal around this time. The pair had a son, Redmond, in 1985.

In recent years, Fawcett has appeared sporadically in the public eye. She posed nude for Playboy in 1995. In 1997, she appeared on "The Late Show with David Letterman," an interview that became notorious for Fawcett's apparent incoherence. She later said she was just having fun with Letterman.

She reunited with her "Charlie's Angels" co-stars, Jackson and Jaclyn Smith, for an awards show in 2006.

Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi, Texas, in 1947. She married Majors in 1973; they divorced nine years later.

She was diagnosed with cancer in 2006.


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(CNN) -- Michael Jackson, the show-stopping singer whose best-selling albums -- including "Off the Wall," "Thriller" and "Bad" -- and electrifying stage presence made him one of the most popular artists of all time, died Thursday, CNN has confirmed. He was 50.

He collapsed at his residence in the Holmby Hills section of Los Angeles, California, about noon Pacific time, suffering cardiac arrest, according to brother Randy Jackson. He died at UCLA Medical Center.

Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said an autopsy would probably be done on the singer Friday, with results expected that afternoon. "Michael Jackson made culture accept a person of color," the Rev. Al Sharpton said. "To say an 'icon' would only give these young people in Harlem a fraction of what he was. He was a historic figure that people will measure music and the industry by."


Jackson's blazing rise to stardom -- and later fall from grace -- is among the most startling of show business tales. The son of a steelworker, he rose to fame as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, a band he formed with his brothers in the late 1960s. By the late '70s, as a solo artist, he was topping the charts with cuts from "Off the Wall," including "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."

In 1982, he released "Thriller," an album that eventually produced seven hit singles. An appearance the next year on a Motown Records 25th-anniversary special cemented his status as the biggest star in the country.

For the rest of the 1980s, they came no bigger. "Thriller's" follow-up, 1987's "Bad," sold almost as many copies. A new Jackson album -- a new Jackson appearance -- was a pop culture event.

The pop music landscape was changing, however, opening up for rap, hip-hop and what came to be called "alternative" -- and Jackson was seen as out of step.

His next release, 1991's "Dangerous," debuted at No. 1 but "only" produced one top-ranking single -- "Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its inexplicably violent ending, in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch.

And then "Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's "Nevermind," an occurrence noted for its symbolism by rock critics.

After that, more attention was paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, which faltered. A 1995 two-CD greatest hits, "HIStory," sold relatively poorly, given the huge expense of Jackson's recording contract: about 7 million copies, according to Recording Industry of America certifications.

A 2001 album of new material, "Invincible," did even worse.

In 2005, he went to trial on child-molestation charges. He was acquitted.

In July 2008, after three years away from the spotlight, Jackson announced a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena as his "curtain call." Some of the shows, initially scheduled to begin in July, were eventually postponed until 2010.

Rise to stardom

Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a Gary, Indiana, steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. By the time he was 6, he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown.

He made his first television appearance at age 11.

Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. Music critic Langdon Winner, reviewing the group's first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," for Rolling Stone, praised Michael's versatile singing and added, "Who is this 'Diana Ross,' anyway?"

The group's first four singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- went to No. 1 on the Billboard pop chart, the first time any group had pulled off that feat. There was even a Jackson 5 cartoon series on ABC.

In 1972, he hit No. 1 as a solo artist with the song "Ben."

The group's popularity waned as the '70s continued, and Michael eventually went solo full time. He played the Scarecrow in the 1978 movie version of "The Wiz," and released the album "Off the Wall" in 1979. Its success paved the way for "Thriller," which eventually became the best-selling album in history, with 50 million copies sold worldwide.

At that point, Michael Jackson became ubiquitous.

Seven of "Thriller's" nine cuts were released as singles; all made the Top Ten. The then-new cable channel MTV, criticized for its almost exclusively white playlist, finally started playing Jackson's videos. They aired incessantly, including a 14-minute minimovie of the title cut. ("Weird Al" Yankovic cemented his own stardom by lampooning Jackson's song "Beat It" with a letter-perfect parody video.)

On the Motown Records' 25th-anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza with notable turns by the Temptations, the Four Tops and Smokey Robinson -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show.

Already he was the most popular musician in America, riding high with "Thriller." But something about his electrifying performance of "Billie Jean," complete with the patented backward dance moves, boosted his stardom to a new level.

People copied his Jheri-curled hair and single-gloved, zippered-jacket look. Showbiz veterans such as Fred Astaire praised his chops. He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. Paul McCartney teamed with him on three duets, two of which -- "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say" -- became top five hits. Jackson became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news.

It all happened very fast -- within a couple years of the Motown special. But even at the time of the "Motown 25" moonwalk, fame was old hat to Michael Jackson. He hadn't even turned 25 himself, but he'd been a star for more than half his life. He was given the nickname the "King of Pop" -- a spin on Elvis Presley's status as "the King of Rock 'n' Roll" -- and few questioned the moniker.

Relentless attention

But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you're on top of the world, there's nowhere to go but down. The relentless attention given Jackson started focusing as much on his eccentricities -- some real, some rumored -- as his music.

As the Web site Allmusic.com notes, he was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have purchased the bones of John Merrick, the "Elephant Man." (Neither was true.) He did have a pet chimpanzee, Bubbles; underwent a series of increasingly drastic plastic surgeries; established an estate, Neverland, filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides; and managed to purchase the Beatles catalog from under Paul McCartney's nose, which displeased the ex-Beatle immensely.

In 1990s and 2000s, Jackson found himself pasted across the media for his short-lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie; his 2002 claim that then Sony Records head Tommy Mottola was racist; his behavior and statements during a 2003 interview with British journalist Martin Bashir done for a documentary called "Living With Michael Jackson;" his changing physical appearance; and, above all, the accusations that he sexually molested young boys at Neverland.

The first such accusation, in 1993, resulted in a settlement to the 13-year-old accuser (rumored to be as high as $20 million), though no criminal charges were filed, Allmusic.com notes.

He also fell deeply in debt and was forced to sell some of his assets. Neverland was one of many holdings that went on the block. However, an auction of material from Neverland, scheduled for April, was called off and all items returned to Jackson.

Interest in Jackson never faded, however, even if some of it was prurient. In 2008, when he announced 10 comeback shows in London, beginning in July 2009, the story made worldwide news. The number of concerts was later increased to 50.

Seventy-five thousand tickets sold in four hours when they went on sale in March.

However, when the shows were postponed until 2010, rumors swept the Internet that Jackson was not physically prepared and possibly suffering from skin cancer.

At the time, the president and CEO of AEG Live, Randy Phillips, said, "He's as healthy as can be -- no health problems whatsover."


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(CNN) -- South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford told the woman with whom he was having an affair they were "in a hopelessly impossible situation of love" last year when he was thought to be under consideration for the Republican vice presidential nomination, according to e-mails obtained by The State newspaper.

The Columbia-based newspaper, which acquired the e-mails in December, told CNN that the governor's office had confirmed their authenticity on Wednesday. When contacted by CNN, a spokesman for the governor would neither confirm nor deny the authenticity of the e-mails.

The e-mails between the GOP governor and a Buenos Aires, Argentina, resident named "Maria," were exchanged in July of last year, according to the newspaper.


In one July 10 message, Sanford told the woman about his plans to take a family vacation and meet with then-Republican presidential candidate John McCain who "has kicked up the whole VP talk all over again in the press back home ..." before he veered into more emotional territory.

"You have a particular grace and calm that I adore. You have a level of sophistication that so fitting with your beauty," Sanford wrote, according to the e-mails published on the newspaper's Web site.

"I could digress and say that you have the ability to give magnificent gentle kisses, or that I love your tan lines or that I love the curve of your hips, the erotic beauty of you holding yourself (or two magnificent parts of yourself) in the faded glow of the night's light -- but hey, that would be going into sexual details ..."

"...while all the things above are all too true -- at the same time we are in a ... hopelessly impossible situation of love...." he added.

"How in the world this lightening strike snuck up on us I am still not quite sure. As I have said to you before I certainly had a special feeling about you from the first time we met, but these feelings were contained and I genuinely enjoyed our special friendship and the comparing of all too many personal notes ..."

Earlier, "Maria" -- whose full name has not yet been released -- also proclaimed her devotion in a July 9 e-mail.

"You are my love ... something hard to believe even for myself as it's also a kind of impossible love, not only because of distance but situation," she wrote. "Sometimes you don't choose things, they just happen ... I can't redirect my feelings and I am very happy with mine towards you."

John O'Connor, the newspaper reporter who wrote the story about the e-mails, told CNN Wednesday afternoon that The State did not confront Sanford with the messages in December because at the time "there was little way to tell that these were authentic e-mails."

O'Connor said that given the recent events surrounding Sanford, the paper then decided to approach the governor's office with the e-mails.

Sanford, who had been considered a potential candidate for the 2012 presidential campaign, admitted the affair Wednesday.

The affair began in the last year and was discovered five months ago, Sanford told reporters without elaborating. He added he and his wife were trying to work through it.

The governor had not been seen in public since June 18. When questioned, Sanford's staff had told media outlets that he was hiking in the Appalachian Trail. But Sanford was spotted Wednesday in Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Sanford said he had been in Buenos Aires, adding it was his fault for "shrouding this larger trip."


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Transportation investigators Wednesday discovered "anomalies" in an essential control circuit of a track where a fatal crash between two Washington subway trains killed nine people.

Each section of the transit system's track contains a circuit that transmits and receives signals that generate speed commands for trains, said Debbie Hersman of the National Transportation Safety Board. She said the circuits are "vital providing information to the operators and the train itself when on automatic."

Investigators found no problems in five of the six circuits on the 740-foot-long stretch of track in the crash area. But they found "anomalies" with the sixth circuit, Hersman said.


She would not say what those anomalies were but said simulated crash tests would be conducted to try and determine what caused the deadly accident.

The findings could mean that the striking train, which was on automatic, did not know to slow down because another train was stopped on the track ahead.

Hersman said investigators walked the tracks Wednesday, finding markings on the track that indicated emergency braking had taken place.

Investigators hoped Thursday to interview the operator of the struck train, who was released from a hospital Wednesday. The driver of the striking train was killed.

The crash, the worst in the history of Washington's transit system, known as the Metro, occurred along the congested Red Line just before 5 p.m. Monday on an above-ground track section near Takoma Park, Maryland.

Both cars were on the same track, traveling in the same direction -- southward from Fort Totten Metrorail station to the Shady Grove station. The struck train had stopped behind another train undergoing service and was awaiting directions to move ahead.

The striking train was pulling some of the oldest cars in the fleet of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. On Wednesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he plans to seek $3 billion for Metro transit capital improvements, some of which would likely be spent to replace some those old Series 1000 cars, purchased between 1974 and 1978.

Upon impact, the train pulling those Series 1000 cars jumped on top of the other train. All the fatalities were on the striking train, Train 112, Metro transit spokeswoman Angela Gates told CNN on Wednesday.

In the collision, the front car of the striking train was severely damaged, leaving minimal space for survivability, said Hersman. According to one report, 50 feet of the 75-foot length of that lead car were lost to the accident, leaving only one-third of the space after the crushing impact.

The NTSB recommended in 2006 that Metro transit replace or retrofit all of its Series 1000 trains, to bring them up to current safety standards.

Metro transit responded that because it was constrained by tax-advantage leases, it intended to keep the 1000 Series until the end of 2014.

"Our recommendation was not addressed, so it [the case] has been closed in an unacceptable status," Hersman said.

The NTSB has no regulatory powers and can't force implementation.

"The safety of our citizens is our highest priority and we must take every precaution that this loss of life does not occur again," said Hoyer, a Democratic congressman from Maryland.

He said he would soon introduce a final measure to authorize dedicated federal and local funding for Metro.

The Series 1000 cars comprise a quarter of Metro transit's 1,126 cars, or nearly 300 cars, Gates said.

At $3 million per car, the agency can't afford to replace them all at once, Gates said. Each car has a 40-year life and can last until fiscal year 2015, she added.

"So we've taken steps to keep them in good condition."

She said they have been phasing out the outdated cars as new cars are bought, she said. That plan hasn't gone as quickly as anticipated, however, because of an increase in ridership, Gates added.

The lead train in Monday's crash contained newer 5000-Series and 3000-Series cars. These have data recorders, which will aid the investigation a great deal if they aren't damaged, Hersman said. The recorders provide information on such things as speed, braking and emergency applications. She said there were no recorders on the rear train.

The rear train was being operated in automatic mode, which is the normal operating procedure during rush hour. Washington transit trains are being operated manually until the cause of the crash is determined, Hersman said.

She said there is no indication that any of the brakes on the rear train failed before it rear-ended the other train.

"Our investigators on scene yesterday did find some evidence of emergency brake application. They found the emergency mushroom, which is a button that was depressed in the control cab, and they also examined the wheels and the brakes, and they found that the rotors showed some bluing," Hersman said.

"That bluing is consistent with an emergency brake application," she said.

Bluing indicates the rotors have been subjected to extremely high temperatures, and this can be caused by hard stops.


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- U.S. officials are downplaying any imminent threat to the United States of a North Korean missile strike or confrontation between the two countries at sea.

The U.S. intelligence community does not believe North Korea intends to launch a long-range missile in the near future, a U.S. intelligence official told CNN, despite reports in Japanese media citing intelligence that the North Korean regime intends to fire a missile toward Hawaii on July 4.

Shortly after that report, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he was deploying defensive measures around Hawaii.


But a recent warning to mariners issued by North Korea suggests the country only intends short- and medium-range missile tests, according to one U.S. intelligence official.

The North Korean government issued a warning to mariners to avoid an area in the Sea of Japan at certain times between June 24 and July 9 because of a "military firing exercise," according to a U.S. military communication about the warning provided to CNN.

The North Koreans had issued a similar warning prior to testing a long-range missile in April, but that warning indicated two potential danger areas more indicative of a long-range missile test.

The official said that these shorter-range missiles can be "rolled out on a dime," but the U.S. intelligence community sees no "readily observable" indication of an imminent long-range missile launch.

Vehicular activity had been spotted around a long-range missile site in late May, U.S. Defense Department officials told CNN at the time. But the officials said the activity was very preliminary, with no missile parts seen, and any launch would take a lot more time to prepare.

The U.S. intelligence official said there is always concern that a shorter-range test "could go wrong," but for the most part the North Koreans have short and medium missile tests "down pat," and those missiles are "pretty accurate."

The official added, "It's not particularly difficult to fire off" short- and medium-range missiles.

North Korea recently threatened to "wipe out" the United States if provoked.

The official said the United States "assumes" North Korea will "continue its provocations." The official acknowledged this phase of the usual ebb and flow of North Korean behavior seems to be lasting longer.

This has been a "protracted period," said the official, with the change in U.S. leadership being a "big factor." The North Korean leadership seems to be "testing the new administration."

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell defended Gates' decision to deploy defensive measures around Hawaii.

"Previous long-range ballistic missile tests by the North have been failures. But they obviously are intent on developing that capability, and so long as they are, we need to do responsible, prudent things," Morrell said at a news conference Wednesday. "And in this case [Gates] thinks the responsible, prudent thing is to deploy those assets."

The U.S. military has positioned its THAAD missile defense system and its Xband radar system in the event a missile were to be launched toward Hawaii.

Morrell said that no additional defenses were being deployed in the region around Korea because the defenses in place are sufficient.

"I think we're perfectly comfortable with the assets that are in place," he said. "This threat that is posed by North Korea is not a new one, so we have adjusted our assets that are normally in that area some time ago."

Separately, the United States has not yet decided to seek permission to board and inspect a North Korean vessel it suspects of carrying illicit weapons or technology in violation of U.N. sanctions against that country, despite a recent promise by President Obama that North Korean violations would "be met with significant, serious enforcement of sanctions."

Morrell told reporters that while the United States is "interested" in the Kang Nam -- a North Korean-flagged vessel believed by officials to be carrying weapons or illegal technology -- no decision has been made to stop the ship and search it. The ship departed North Korea last week and is currently headed south toward Myanmar, U.S. officials believe.

The decision to enact the U.N. Security Council Resolution to investigate will most likely not be made just by the United States, but in coordination with other countries, Morrell told reporters on Wednesday.

"That's a decision that will have to be made at some point, and not necessarily just by us or this government," Morrell said. "But that is a decision I think we will likely take collectively with our allies and partners out there, and make a determination about whether we choose to hail and query this particular ship. And if we make that decision, when and where to do so."Video

Asked about the Myanmar connection Wednesday, Morrell would only say there is "some notion of that" but would not elaborate.

The United States has been tracking the ship's progress with air assets including the P-3 spy plane and the USS McCampbell, which recently replaced the USS John McCain in trailing the Korean ship.

The ship is suspected of carrying weapons because it is known to have carried proliferation materials previously, though U.S. officials concede they are not certain of the ship's holdings.


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NEW YORK, KOMPAS.com - The price of oil down on Wednesday (24 / 6) local time, because the U.S. dollar going up and the United States to report data supply energy "mixed" (various).

Contract main measure New York, light sweet crude oil for delivery in August, declining 57 cents from the close of Tuesday to be finished in 68.67 U.S. dollars per barrel. The price of Brent type crude oil for delivery in London in August down 47 cents to be 68.33 U.S. dollars per barrel.

Traders said prices didikte by dollar, which increased after the body of policy the U.S. Federal Reserve two-day meeting concluded with agreement to maintain the interest rate is almost zero, to stimulate the economy in the world's prolonged recession.


Around 1830 GMT, the euro fell 1.3938 dollars from 1.4078 dollars in late New York trade on Tuesday. A strengthening U.S. currency makes oil prices in dollars more expensive for other currency holders.

Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) also said that "economic conditions are likely to ensure a very low interest rate for federal fund periodenya extended." The analyst said, the Fed has to maintain agresifnya to stimulate the economy even though the recession is bound to develop ideas "green shoots" (green shoots).

Also market data from the U.S. Department of Energy on Wednesday that showed crude oil stocks declined 3.8 million barrels in the week ended June 19, more sharply from 1.3 million barrels expected by most analysts.

However, inventories of gasoline jumped 3.9 million barrels compared with the expectations one million barrel increase. "Almost every numbers cancel out a number of other," said Sucden analyst Robert Montefusco, a point the fact that the fall in the nominal supply of crude oil is almost consistent with the increase in gasoline stocks.

John Kiduff from MF Global said that market demand remains worrying. "The increase is too large supplies of gas from the high use of Jelang season driving the market clearly," he said.

Market also remains on hold by post-election violence in the main crude oil producer Iran. Police block anti hurly burly of demonstrationist in Tehran on Wednesday, witnesses said, as Iran's supreme leader warned he will not be back in the riot after the presidential election dispute.

"In some instances about the election, I was strictly about the implementation of laws and I will (ask for the firm). Whether the system, and the people who will back down under the power," said Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

It was the latest indication that the regime will not let klerikal dissent up again even though President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad wave demonstrations and public complaints that fraudulent elections June 12.

Indicated security is not a waste of time to quell protests, with the many anti hurly burly police and Islamic militants to stop hundreds of people trying to gather outside the parliament building in Iran, according to witnesses.

The bad analysts worry that the crisis could cause the government to reduce the supply of Iranian oil or to block the Hormuz - a vital road for oil tankers.

Measure crude oil prices fell from record high points more than 147 U.S. dollars in July 2008 to around 32 dollars in December due to economic down trend energy demand but the market has been rising again in the middle of recovery expectations.


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JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Acer collaboration with Microsoft to promote computer skills for children of rural areas through the Books for Hope. Cooperation is a joint non-profit and community with online and invite active participation from various circles to adopt information technology in various rural areas in indonesia. The goal is that they also participate in creating public awareness for increased speed and easier access to quality education rural children.

Head of marketing communications Acer Indonesia, Helmy Anam said the collaboration between Microsoft and Acer through Books for Hope will be a sharpshooter to eliminate the obstruction, hindrance of the people with the technology, especially children in rural areas.


''Through this cooperation, Acer and Microsoft believe that the use of information technology by children, especially in rural areas will become more quickly,''said Helmi talkshows on the sidelines''of Social Entrepreneurship and online movement for social change''in Fx Plaza, Jakarta, Wednesday (24 / 6).

Books for hope itself is a non-profit organization that aims to eliminate the cycle of poverty through the library and computer labs in rural areas.

Through this program the computer, Acer dna Microsoft provides hardware and software that can support and reach a wider circle. "To realize this purpose, the Microsoft Windows Multipoint applications, where one computer can be accessed by 30 students together so that it can create the active participation during the process of learning in the classroom.


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MILAN, Kompas.com - Champion of the world motor racing 250 cc original Italian, Marco Simoncelli will start in MotoGP next season by joining together with Gresini Honda team.

This was announced by Honda Gresini team management through a written statement on Wednesday (25 / 6). "Marco Is Rider that we want," said Fausto Gresini, team owner.

Simoncelli will participate impressions colleagues one country, world champion Valentino Rossi. Rider also a close colleague Simoncelli before this fight is also in the MotoGP world champion 250 cc.


Rossi is now the middle to victory in the 100 MotoGP event at the Dutch GP which will take place this weekend.


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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Volkswagen 1.4 TSI engine Get 3 Awards


KOMPAS.com - TSI engines (twin stratified injection) 1.4 liter Volkswagen have chosen as the "International Engine of the Year" in Stuttgart, Germany. In addition, the TSI engine also call as "Best Green Engine 2009" and "Best Engine" category for the 1.0 to 1.4 liters.

Politics "International Engine of the Year" performed by 65 journalists from 32 countries. The award for best engine directly received by Dr. Rüdiger Szengel, Head of Engine Development at Volkswagen Diesel Stuttgart, Germany.

When receiving the award, and Dr. Rüdiger Szengel said, "Technology TSI VW used at this time will be the mainstay engine of the future. The combinations, with a small, low waste gas emission and economical fuel consumption.


"Win Awards in three categories, is the pride and honor for our team of developers. TSI engine will be trensetter. So far, we have created a unit of almost 2.3 TSI engine in the world, "added Szengel.

1.4 liter TSI technology has also been used on Ford products built and marketed that in Indonesia, the MPV Touran. ATPM in his Volkswagen Touran Sport Car Family as the perform can reach 200 km / hour.

TSI engines are supported by the supercharger and turbocharger, available with a variety of performance, namely 103kW (140 PS), 110 (150 PS) 118 kW (160PS) and 125 kW (170PS). The jury selecting the "International Engine of the Year", called as the most efficient gasoline engine at this time.

"Volkswagen does not only maintain the victory, the victory also, the" Best Green Engine ".The fuel consumption is also economical. More terrible, can be made in a single package, "Dr firm. Rüdiger Szengel.

TSI engine currently used in various models by VW. Injection gasoline engine is used on the entire line-up Passat. Golf, the engine also uses TSI Twincharger with 118kW/160PS power, acceleration and transmission 7 dual clutch. Fuel consumption 6.0 liters per 100 km or 16.6 km / liter.

Volkswagen has been multiply TSI engine technology applications in the car with the produc cheaper and more cost effective, that is by using a turbo-stage (single stage turbocharging). Latest TSI engine, although with a 1.2 liter, However able to produce power 77 KW (105 PS) and used at the New Polo will in the market the end of this year.

1.4 liter TSI engine pride and used on the VW MPV Touran recently launched in Indonesia, snatch three awards in Germany.


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(CNN) -- Four Iranian footballers have been "retired" from the national side after protesting against the contested election result in the country during a match against South Korea, according to media reports.

The players drew attention to the situation in Iran by wearing green armbands during last week's World Cup qualifying match in Seoul.

Green was the color used by opposition leader Mir Hossein Moussavi during his campaign for the presidency and has been widely worn by supporters protesting since Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was announced the winner.


Six players wore the armbands during the first half of the match, returning in the second minus the accessories.

However, according to Iranian news reports four players -- Ali Karimi, 31, Mehdi Mahdavikia, 32, Hosein Ka'abi, 24 and Vahid Hashemian, 32 -- have been "retired" from the sport following the gesture.

The pro-government newspaper, Iran, reported the players had received the equivalent of a life ban.

Ahmadinejad is a known football fan, and has taken a keen interest in the national team's affairs.
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Last week he compared protesters in Tehran to fans of a losing soccer team.

In 2006 Iran was banned from international competition for a short time by the world governing body FIFA after claims of improper interference by his government.


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(CNN) -- Nearly a decade after she was rescued from a remote Antarctic research station after diagnosing herself with breast cancer, Dr. Jerri Nielsen died early Tuesday, her brother said. She was 57.

Nielsen had been fighting the latest round of cancer for the past five years, brother Eric Cahill said. She died just before 4 a.m. in Massachusetts, surrounded by her family, he said.

"She would want to be remembered for the adventure and, you know, living every day, and not just the sickness," said sister-in-law Diana Cahill. "She was very much active and still even doing talks as late as March of this year. Then the last month or so, she was pretty sick."


Nielsen caught the nation's attention in 1999, when she found a lump in her breast as a 47-year-old physician stationed at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station.

After finding the lump in June, she diagnosed herself with breast cancer and began treating herself using chemotherapy agents that the U.S. Air Force parachuted to the station the next month.

It was later revealed, according to a March 2009 article in the Detroit Free Press newspaper, that Nielsen -- an emergency room doctor from Cleveland, Ohio -- performed a biopsy on herself with the help of non-medical crew, who practiced using needles on a raw chicken.

While treating herself, Nielsen carried on her duties as the sole doctor for the 41-person research group. She consulted with her doctors in the United States by e-mail and teleconference. They recommended that she return as soon as possible for treatment.

Although flights in support of the South Pole program don't usually begin until late October or early November, the start of Antarctic spring, it was October 6 when two planes set out on what was dubbed Operation Deep Freeze.

Ten days and a handful of stops later -- California, Hawaii, Pago Pago, New Zealand and then Antarctica -- rescuers braved temperatures of nearly minus 60 degrees Fahrenheit to land a ski-equipped plane at the pole, drop off a replacement doctor and pick up Nielsen. It was the earliest such flight attempted.

Once she returned home and was treated, Nielsen's cancer went into remission, and she wrote about her experience in a best-selling book, "Icebound." She married and became a public speaker, Diana Cahill said.

But in 2005, Nielsen's cancer returned in her bones and liver, later spreading to her brain.

"My experience at the pole had to do with accepting things that most people fear most deeply and coming to feel that they need not be feared," Nielsen told Psychology Today magazine in 2006. "It certainly had far more to do with peace and surrender than it did with courage. Being 'on the ice' was a great good fortune: It created a much greater clarity for me about what was essential in life.

"I'm not afraid of death. I've come to accept it as being part of life, and I think I've come to accept it earlier than my years because of what's happened to me."

She said that after learning her cancer had returned, "after about three weeks of going through a kind of terror, I felt the most incredible peace come over me. Now I am very happy and excited about going forward with my life. The metastatic disease is now just another part of me, another thing that has happened to me."

"She was always upbeat," Diana Cahill said. "She never really dwelled upon her illness. She told people to live every day, and it was about what kind of life you lived. She was really inspirational to a lot of people around the world."

In October 2008, Nielsen spoke at the University of Toledo College of Medicine, formerly her alma mater the Medical College of Ohio, according to the Free Press. She took off her wig to show students her bald head, the newspaper said, and told them not to be discouraged: "There is no end of life until your last breath. We can all do something to help someone."

She told the Free Press in March that the cancer had spread to her brain but still displayed her inspiring grit.

"I'm not as smart a girl as I used to be," she told the newspaper. "I'm not as hard a worker, that's for sure. But I'm still doing everything, I'm writing a book and giving speeches, and I'm really having a beautiful winter."

Nielsen told Psychology Today, "The things that make you strong, and make you feel as though you've accomplished something, are not the easy ones; it's the things you had to work and struggle through. Those are what give us our depth -- that make us not gray and plain and nothing but give us depth and texture and longing.

"I believe you're always much better off knowing what the real truth is. I think it's only then that you can come to grips with your illness, or with any difficult situation. Some people call this process 'mourning.' I prefer to call it tiring of the fear and the depression and the denial, and the fake optimism and the irritation of it all -- and just saying, 'Hey, I'm tired of feeling bad about this. Now I go on.' "


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TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- The young woman who last weekend emerged as a powerful symbol of opposition to the Iranian government embraced life in many ways, but there was little about her that would have led her friends to predict she would become a martyr, one of them told CNN.

Neda Agha-Soltan, 26, rose to prominence within hours after a crudely shot video documenting her final moments was uploaded to the Web shortly after she died Saturday from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

"It's heartbreaking," President Obama said Tuesday in Washington, referring to the video of the woman the world has come to know simply as Neda, which means "divine calling" in Farsi. "And I think anyone who sees it knows there's something fundamentally unjust about it."


Since Saturday, the Iranian government has sought to minimize the impact of her death, but one of her friends on Tuesday described her to CNN in an attempt to inject life and context into what has been -- for much of the rest of the world -- just a few seconds of powerful, if grainy, video.

Much about her remains unclear, but here is what CNN has learned from at least one source:

The second of three children, Neda lived with her parents in a middle-class neighborhood east of Tehran.

She was a happy, positive person. Though she studied philosophy and religion at the Azad Islamic University, she was more spiritual than religious. She also loved music. She once studied violin but had given it up and was planning to take up piano next. She had just bought a piano, but it had not yet been delivered.

Her demeanor was typically calm, even serene, but she had a quirky, playful sense of humor. A friend recalled that once, when Neda was visiting her friend's house, she picked up a white Teddy bear, took off her big, purple-studded earrings and put them on the bear. Then she removed a necklace from around the neck of a friend and put it around the bear's neck, taking delight in the bear's transformation.

She liked to travel, having visited Turkey three months ago with a tour group. And she believed in human rights, her friend said.

That may have explained why she was at an anti-government demonstration in Tehran on Saturday afternoon. After being stuck in traffic for more than an hour inside a Peugeot 206 -- a subcompact with a poorly working air conditioner -- Neda and a family friend decided to get out of the car for some fresh air.

Shaky video captured on a cell phone shows her walking with the man, a teacher of music and philosophy, near an anti-government demonstration.

The two are near where protesters were chanting in opposition to the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose calls for an end to anti-government demonstrations have sparked defiance across the nation.

Neda, wearing a baseball cap over a black scarf, a black shirt, blue jeans and tennis shoes, does not appear to be chanting and seems to be observing the demonstration.

Suddenly, Neda is on the ground -- felled by a single gunshot wound to the chest. Several men kneel at her side and place pressure on her chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding. "She has been shot! Someone, come and take her!" shouts one man.

By now, Neda's eyes have rolled to her right; her body is limp.

Blood streams from her mouth, then from her nose. For a second, her face is hidden from view as the phone camera goes behind one of the men. When Neda's face comes back into view, it is covered with blood.

Then, the teacher pleads with her by name. "Neda, do not be afraid, do not be afraid," he repeats.

Another man curses as the first man begins to wail. "Somebody come and get her in a car and take her away!" a voice pleads.

She was taken to a nearby hospital and, within a day, she was buried at Behesht Zahra, the city's largest Muslim cemetery, on the outskirts of the capital.

A friend of hers interprets the fact that her body was released so quickly as a tacit acknowledgment by the government that the killing was carried out by government forces. That theory is supported by the fact that Iran's strict gun-control laws mean private citizens cannot carry firearms, the friend said.

Since her death, public displays of mourning for Neda have been prohibited, the friend said.

A gathering of about 60 people at a mosque was broken up by members of the Basij, the pro-government vigilantes blamed for much of the violence against demonstrators, according to New York Times columnist Roger Cohen, who observed the incident.

Neda's family has not been allowed to post a black banner of mourning outside the family's house, the friend said.

Yet Neda's influence may not diminish soon. Under Muslim tradition, the seventh and 40th days after someone dies are devoted to mourning and reflection.


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Madrid, KOMPAS.com - half-Manchester United (MU), Cristiano Ronaldo can proudly bear the title fooball player these balls in the world. But for a matter of popularity, according to a research team from the University of Barcelona, Lionel Messi more prosperous.

Messi increased popularity refers to the success of the Barcelona Champions League win out, and the performance of Messi printing one goal in Champions League final round. That makes it was ranked first in the popularity of the media.

For these players, Messi only occupied the second place. First place is still filled with Ronaldo. Research that revealed that Ronaldo reached the value of 82 million euros, or about Rp 1.2 trillion. This value is cheaper than the value actually paid to him, Madrid, which is Rp 93 million euros, or around Rp 1.35 trillion.


Messi own place in the second category. Research shows that the value Messi almost reached Rp 1.2 trillion. Third place filled attacker Liverpool, Fernando Torres with the value reached 67 million euros, or Rp 984 billion.

For the season ahead, predicted, Ronaldo and Messi will compete tight snatch media attention. Moreover, they will be in one league and each club who defend each other "hostile".

Meanwhile, for coach, Alex Ferguson (MU) is in the first category the most popular trainers in the media. Pep Guardiola (Barcelona) are in second place.

In the club category, Barcelona is in the top ranking with 86.2 points. Second position temporarily filled MU with 86 points. (AP)


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Miami, KOMPAS.com - Andres became the first storm this season in the Pacific Ocean. Such information the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Tuesday (23 / 6), when the storm is moving toward the west coast of Mexico.

As write in AFP, Andres, which contains the wind speed of 120 kilometers per hour, so changed the tropical storm category one, on Tuesday afternoon.

However, Andres will estimated loss of strength in the next few days. "While Andres has been a storm today, power will be weakened in the predicted one or two days," said the NHC.




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(CNN) -- "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" -- the most terrible revenge since Montezuma's -- is louder, longer and lamer than the 2007 hit it succeeds.Which is saying a lot.

Long story short: The Decepticons are back, fixed on destroying Sam (Shia LaBeouf), Optimus Prime and the Earth, in that order.

Produced by Hasbro -- the accompanying trailer for "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" suggests that the company's not-exactly-subtle strategy is to mass market war toys for boys -- "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" is a grotesque exercise in hyperinflation. At 149 minutes, it's longer than "2001," "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" or "Star Wars." In fact, this may be the emptiest epic ever made.


Director Michael Bay is famous for blowing things up, but you could invade a small country with less firepower than he expends on this extended-length commercial.

For all his sound and fury, Bay isn't much of an action director. There's no rhythm in his slam-bang cutting, no discipline in his orientation, and there's so little to distinguish an Autobot (the good Transformers) from a Decepticon (the bad) that at any given moment, it's a toss-up who is pulverizing who.

Combat scenes are a bewildering blur of crunching metal. On top of that, the humans are essentially bystanders and onlookers here, so that LaBeouf's primary contribution to the fighting is to run away, duck and cover. It's the same deal for Megan Fox, only in lingering slow motion.

The Defense Department does get the opportunity to show off its hardware, even if most of the missile strikes fall wide of the mark -- probably because there aren't enough Decepticons to sustain heavy losses. If he ever needs another job, Bay should consider a move into arms procurement.

At least the nonstop carnage is on a scale to satisfy the demolition derby crowd, down to destroying one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The effects work is mostly rock-solid, and the Transformers themselves have a chromatic showroom gleam. As a kind of 21st-century Mechano movie, it could have hit the right buttons.

It's not the extravagant fireworks display that rankles, it's everything else: the dull and pompous exposition, the trite characterizations, the tacky love story, the dismal comic relief and incongruous pretensions to the status of a popcorn epic.

Here's a sample of what Bay throws at the wall in the hope of generating some stray laughs: small dogs humping. Hysterical middle-aged women. Autobots with effeminate voices. A miniature Decepticon dry-humping Fox's leg. John Turturro improvising. Tasers. A cowardly Latino. A short Arab. Snails.

None of these things is funny. Not in this movie, anyway.

The truth is, Bay is a rotten fit for this assignment; he's much too self-important to recalibrate his approach for the younger audience this material demands.

Memo to Michael: It's a toy movie. Your audience is predominantly teen and pre-teen. My kids don't need to see your salivating soft-porn fantasies or your reactionary militaristic politics.

Most of all, none of us needs to sit through 2½ hours of this inane and mind-numbing movie. Better it should be melted down for scrap.


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The Swedish ambassador met with two imprisoned American journalists in Pyongyang on Tuesday, a state department spokesman said, their first visit with him since a North Korean court handed down their 12-year sentence.

The spokesman said he could not provide details of the conversation between the Swedish ambassador and Current TV journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling.

The journalists were apprehended in March near North Korea's border with China and accused of illegally crossing the border and plotting a smear campaign against North Korea. After a closed trial, Lee and Ling were sentenced to 12 years in prison earlier this month.


Also on Tuesday, a statement obtained by CNN from the families of Ling and Lee expressed gratitude that North Korean officials permitted the Swedish ambassador's visit.

"The families of Laura Ling and Euna Lee are grateful to the North Korean government for allowing the Swedish ambassador to visit Laura and Euna. We continue to appeal for their release on humanitarian grounds," the statement read.

The Swedish ambassador met with the journalists in March and May. He last visited them June 1, said State Department spokesman Ian Kelly. The ambassador has requested more access to the journalists, but has not received it.

"Well, I know that he's in constant contact with the North Korean foreign ministry, is constantly pressing them for more information about these two young women," Kelly said.

The Swedish ambassador represents U.S. interests in the country because the United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea.

The United States, though, is "pursuing many different avenues" to free the journalists, Kelly said. He declined to elaborate.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has called on North Korea to release the journalists on humanitarian grounds.

Families of the women said they were shocked and devastated after the trial and subsequent sentences of Ling and Lee.

Family members have said Ling suffers from an unspecified serious medical condition and that Lee has a 4-year-old daughter "who is displaying signs of anguish over the absence of her mother."


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WASHINGTON (CNN) -- After touring the wreckage Tuesday of two Metro transit trains that crashed the day before, killing nine, Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty said it was a sight that "no one should have to see."

Officials said that all the wreckage has been cleared and that no other bodies have been found in what was the worst subway train accident in the history of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

Three bodies discovered Tuesday were lodged behind the driver's compartment of the rear train, an official said at the scene.


The driver of that train, who was among the dead, was Jeanice McMillan, 42, of Springfield, Virginia, Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said. McMillan had worked at Metro since January 2007.

McMillan's aunt, Venice Foster, said her niece loved her job and "was just a joy to be around."

The names of four other casualties were released by the transit authority Tuesday afternoon: Mary Doolittle, 59, Lavanda King, 23, and Dennis Hawkins, 64, all of Washington; and Ana Fernandez, 40, of Hyattsville, Maryland.

The Metro's board approved a $250,000 hardship fund to assist the victims' families with funerals and other immediate expenses.

According to Fenty, at least three bodies were trapped in a "very compressed area." It wasn't clear whether those were the bodies found behind the operator's station.

"It just brings home what an awful tragedy this was," the mayor said.

The crash occurred along the Red Line just before 5 p.m. Monday on an above-ground track in the District of Columbia near Takoma Park, Maryland.

Both cars were on the same track, traveling in the same direction: southward from the Fort Totten Metrorail station to the Shady Grove station. The train in front had stopped behind another train undergoing service and awaited directions to move ahead.

"We don't know at this point whether the operator could see the train in front of her in time to stop," said Deborah Hersman, who is leading the investigation for the National Transportation Safety Board.

The weather at the time of the crash was good, she said.

"I did have the opportunity to walk the track with our investigators. I can tell you it is a scene of real devastation," Hersman said.

Jamie Jiao was sitting in the front car of the second train. He said he suffered injuries to his feet and back.

"I see the train in front a split second before we crashed. That's all. You don't have time to react or do anything," he told CNN's Jeanne Meserve.

He said that after impact, "You just hear really loud noises, as if there was an explosion. I could see things falling apart, tearing apart."

A pole fell on top of him, but he was able to throw it off. The car broke open, and he crawled outside, where he waited for firefighters. He said he didn't notice whether the driver tried to brake before the hitting the other train.

Many of the passengers in his car were injured, he said.

"I'm lucky to be alive," Jiao said. "My injuries aren't too bad."

Hersman said there was a telescoping effect when the second car slammed into the first and landed atop it.

"The first car [of the second train] overrode the rear car [of the front train], and much of the survivable space on that first car of the striking train was compromised," she said.

One of the factors the NTSB will examine is the crash-worthiness of the cars.

"The safety board has long been on record making recommendations about survivability when accidents do happen to make sure that operators and passengers are protected as much as possible," Hersman said, but those haven't been implemented. She didn't elaborate.

The safety board has urged called since 2006 for the transit authority to modernize its fleet of transit cars. The agency has sought more safety features and higher technology, such as data boxes on each car that can provide valuable information in case of a crash, Hersman said.

Citing the most recent federal data, she said the average age of the cars in the fleet was 19.3 years old.

The lead train in the crash contained 5000-Series and 3000-Series cars, which are newer and have better technology than the cars in the rear train, with 1000-Series cars.

The Metro board is "aggressively seeking" to replace 300 1000-Seriesl cars purchased between 1974 and 1978, said Jim Graham, chairman of Metro's board of directors.

There should be nine data recorders aboard the first train, which will aid the investigation a great deal if they aren't damaged, Hersman said. The recorders provide data on such things as speed, braking and emergency applications. She said there were no recorders on the rear train.

"We've recommended for years that WMATA either retrofit those cars or phase them out of the fleet. They have not been able to do that. And our recommendation was not addressed, so it has been closed in an unacceptable status," she said.

"If there are changes we can make to those cars, we will do so," said John Catoe Jr., general manager of the transit authority.

Fenty said 76 people were injured, and two remained in critical condition Tuesday. The condition of another critical patient was upgraded. Two of the injured were emergency responders, Washington Fire Chief Dennis Rubin said. Video

Officials planned to begin notifying next-of-kin Tuesday, Fenty said, adding that offices have been fielding calls from families seeking information.

All trains were to operate in manual, instead of automatic, mode Tuesday, Catoe said at the briefing. He called the move "an extra safety precaution" until there is more information on the crash.

The rear train was operating on "automatic" mode, which is routine during rush hour, and preliminary evidence shows that the driver may have employed the brakes, Hersman said.

Hersman addressed reports that the trains may have been two months past due on brake inspections, saying, "We are very interested in looking at those records, and we're interested in looking at all of the records."

She said cell phone and texting records would also be reviewed, which is standard.

"We've investigated a number of accidents where there were distractions," she said, adding that it's unknown whether cell phone use was a factor in this crash.

Nine safety board teams are set up that will examine aspects such as train operations and communications, signals, tracks, crash-worthiness of equipment, maintenance and survivability -- ease of fleeing the trains after the crash and other survivability factors, Hersman said.

The transit authority gave Red Line riders several options for commuting Tuesday morning and was providing free shuttle buses to drive people around the accident scene.

The only other time in Metrorail's 33-year history that there were customer fatalities was in January 1982, when three people died as a result of a derailment between the Federal Triangle and Smithsonian Metrorail stations.

In 2004, two trains collided at the Woodley Park/Zoo-Adams Morgan Metrorail station. There were minor injuries.


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