Kudus set to build fossil museum

The Kudus Regency administration in Central Java is planning to build a museum to preserve and showcase various animal fossils and ancient remains found in the area.

Kudus Culture and Tourism Agency secretary Eko Hari Djatmiko said the regency administration had allocated Rp 600 million (US$66,000) from its 2012 regional budget to build the museum in a 500-hectare land area located in Terban village, Jekulo district, where the Patiayam archaeological site lies.

“We are now waiting for final approval for our regional budget from the Central Java Governor,” Eko said as quoted by kompas.com on Saturday.

Eko, however, said the administration would also ask for financial support from the central government to buy supporting facilities for the museum because thus far the allocated budget was only enough to build physical structure.

Among animal fossils recovered from the Patiayam site are those belonging to ancient elephant (Stegodon Trigonochepalus and Elephas Sp) and deer-like species (Ceruss Zwaani and Cervus Lydekkeri Martin).

A team of archaeologists from the Yogyakarta Archaeology Office have also recently found three ancient hand axes at the site.

Most fossils and ancient remains found at the site are currently kept in a building belonging to the Terban community.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/10/kudus-set-build-fossil-museum.html

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Hyundai, Kia named most fuel-efficient carmakers

Hyundai, Kia named most fuel-efficient carmakers
Kim So-hyun (The Korea Herald), Asia News Network | Sat, 03/10/2012 12:04 PM

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. were named the most fuel efficient and environmentally-friendly carmakers by the US Environmental Protection Agency, outperforming rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp.

In the EPA’s annual report “Light-Duty Automotive Technology, Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Fuel Economy Trends,” Hyundai and Kia cars for the model year 2010 showed the highest average fuel economy of 27 miles per gallon, or 11.5 kilometers per liter.

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Understanding The Different Types Of Acne

Though all pimples form the same way, they often take on different shapes and characteristics, and react differently on different people. Acne is formed when a hair follicle becomes clogged and what is called a comedo is formed. As the follicle becomes clogged with more oil, the comedo becomes larger, inflaming the skin around the area and forming what we know of as a pimple. There are several types of acne, each requiring different methods of treatment. This article covers some of those types, explaining each and making treatment suggestions.

Non-inflammatory acne often takes the form of a closed comedo, or whitehead. This occurs when the plugged hair follicle stays beneath the surface of the skin, and appears on the skin as a small whiteish bump.

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Treating Your Acne Scars

Perhaps one of the most difficult effects of acne is the physical scarring it can leave behind. Even the mildest form of acne can scar, but the more severe types can leave very visible scars that won't go away on their own. There are things you can do to try to avoid these scars, like properly cleansing your skin, or refraining from popping zits, as this can cause scarring, but this doesn't mean scars won't develop. This is especially true in more severe types of acne where the lesions are on the skin for longer periods of time than in milder forms. In cystic acne, the nodules or cysts can stay on the skin for weeks, or even months, and can leave behind very noticeable scars.

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Tips For Acne Prevention

Acne has long been one of the most common problems among many people, causing nnot only physical effects, but also psychological and social ones as well.

So how can you combat this problem? There are various treatments available both over-the-counter and prescribed by a physician, but perhaps, the best way to begin treating your acne is to take steps to prevent it. Below are tips that will show you how to do just that.

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The True Cause Of Acne

There are many possible causes for acne. People of all ages, lifestyles, and backgrounds can develop it, and the causes can be different for each. The first step to understanding what is causing your acne is knowing your skin type and how to care for it. If you have oily skin, you wouldn't want to use a facial cleanser containing oil because your body is already producing a good amount of it. Likewise, if your skin is dry, you wouldn't want to necessarily use a product that is oil free. Perhaps, one of the most common myths is that oily skin does not need to be moisturized. Oil is not moisture, and skin needs moisture. Determining the cause and caring for your type of acne, as well as properly caring for your skin is crucial in curing acne.

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Malnourished kids still forlorn even after media hype

Two young siblings in Polewali Mandar, West Sulawesi are like bags of bones due to malnutrition.

The local health agency only inspected the conditions of Sahrul, 6, and Sahril, 5, when they came into the media spotlight nearly a year ago.

After the media hype on malnutrition in the country died down, they were left neglected, making their conditions worse.

Nurhayati, the aunt who takes care of the children after being abandoned by their parents, said she could not afford to give them adequate nutrition as her income as a vegetable vendor at a local market hardly makes ends meet, kompas.com reported Tuesday.

The children's father, Imran, had left them four years ago, while their mother Rini also later abandoned them. (iwa)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/06/malnourished-kids-still-forlorn-even-after-media-hype.html

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Ten briefly missing mountain bikers found

Sidenreng Rappang (Sidrap) Military District Command found on Monday 10 mountain bikers reported missing during a cross-country ride from Sidrap to Barru regency in South Sulawesi on Sunday.

The 10 cyclists, most of whom were aged between 45 and 65, were found on Mount Kere. Sidrap district chief Andi Syarifuddin, 48, and a 10-year-old boy were among the group.

One of the bikers, identified as M. Abduh, 65, was taken to Belokka Hospital for treatment by a team led by Maj. A. Parenrengi. The rest were given meals by local residents.

The 10 cyclists, who are members of the Pangkajene Sidrap Cycling Club (PSCC), were reported missing on Monday after one of them texted a friend for help. They were weak, lost and had not eaten since Sunday.

When reached for confirmation on Monday, Parepare District Military Commander Lt. Col. Afridas said his command had coordinated with the Sidrap Military Command and mobilized three teams to search for the missing cyclists.

“We are searching around the border between Sidrap and Barru regencies because that is where they are believed to have gone missing,” said Afridas, who led the search.

When contacted separately on Monday, PSCC member Andi Onda said he had received a text message from Andi Syarifuddin informing him that they were lost.

“Syarifuddin texted me this morning, saying, ‘We’re exhausted and lost’. It hadn’t occurred to me that they were lost as I thought they had finished yesterday,” said Onda, who had initially planned to join them.

The cyclists traveled along a hilly and forested trail stretching around 40 kilometers. They started at around 7 a.m. local time. Under normal conditions, they should have arrived back at 2 p.m. at the latest.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/06/ten-briefly-missing-mountain-bikers-found.html

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RI democracy weak without social trust: CSIS

A survey found that the fabric of democracy in the country is fraying with a majority of respondents professing low trust in their community.

A new study from the Jakarta-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) shows that only 27.5 percent of respondents are willing to trust their neighbors and only 4 percent said that they could trust people of different faiths.

The survey also found that there is a high degree of mistrust toward the government with only 11.3 percent of respondents saying that they could trust government officials.

In the survey, conducted between Jan. 18 and Jan. 24, researchers interviewed 2,220 respondents from 23 of 33 provinces in the country.

CSIS’s head of politics and international relations department Philips J Vermonte said that if the trend continued, tension could quickly explode as members of the community were sequestered to their own exclusive confines.

Philips also said that the absence of social trust could also undermine the country’s fledgling democratic traditions.

“Public trust is necessary to support active participation and is also important because trust can be considered as social capital for democracy,” he said.

He asserted that no democracies in the world could run smoothly without sufficient social capital.

Philips attributed the lack of social trust to the poor performance of the state’s bureaucracy and the actions of law enforcers, which the public saw as bolstering injustice.

CSIS researcher Sunny Tanuwidjaja said that in rural areas, 57.3 percent of respondents perceived that discontent was brewing in their community.

The portion of rural respondents claimed that in the past six months civil conflicts broke out in their areas as a result of juvenile brawls, election-related conflicts or land disputes, Sunny said.

“Conflicts and unrest are spreading everywhere in the country. For the time being, we can’t say that the current security situation is under control,” he said.

The survey also found that 55.3 percent of respondents had anarchistic tendencies. The respondents said that they could condone an attack on government officials.

On Wednesday, NGO activist Deddy Sugarda assaulted Sistoyo, a prosecutor who was convicted of accepting bribes, after a hearing at the Bandung Corruption Court in West Java.

The incident serves as example of the public’s growing disgust for corruption among law enforcers.

Earlier in February, CSIS announced the results of its survey, which revealed waning public trust in political parties.

The survey found that only 22.4 percent of respondents believed that political parties still performed well.

The survey further found that 92.2 percent of respondents did not know the names of the legislators who came from the party of their choice.

Analysis of the results found that the deep distrust could reduce the quality of the upcoming 2014 general election, as more people might abstain from voting or turn in a “donkey vote”, a term for an uneducated vote based solely on the order in which candidates appear on a ballot.

An official from the Home Ministry, Bangun Sitohang, responded to the survey’s findings by pointing out that the least that the government could do was educate the public about politics.

“We have run our programs since 2005, we educate people about politics through seminars,” he said.

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/03/02/ri-democracy-weak-without-social-trust-csis.html

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