Kungfu Panda Ciaatttt!!!!!!

"Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mistery and today is a gift that's why we call it present "

Kata mutiara diatas benar-benar membuat saya terenyuh, tapi jangan salah, selanjutnya tidak akan anda temui lagi kata-kata semacam itu. Atau setidaknya anda tidak akan sempat mendengarkannya karena anda akan sibuk TERTAWA.

Tidak perlu berkomentar banyak yang ingin saya katakan hanyalah : ANDA harus menonton film ini bersama seluruh keluarga, penting! and you will find a lot of fun

^__^

Casilla's BACK on Bussiness

Casillas' saves put Spain in semis

by John Atkin from Ernst-Happel-Stadion

Iker Casillas stops Daniele De Rossi`s penalty kick (©Getty Images)

Iker Casillas was the penalty shoot-out hero as Spain held their collective nerve to throw out the record book and claim a UEFA EURO 2008™ semi-final against Russia.

Record
Before tonight Spain had lost three quarter-final penalty shoot-outs on 22 June but they stopped the rot at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion, prevailing 4-2 on spot-kicks after 120 minutes had failed to produce a goal. Although Gianluigi Buffon saved from Daniel Güiza, Casillas denied Daniele De Rossi and Antonio Di Natale, allowing Cesc Fàbregas to step up and send his side through. In truth, Luis Aragonés's team had enjoyed the better of the play on a humid night in Vienna, Marcos Senna coming closest when he was denied by the post in the closing stages of normal time. They continued to press in the additional half-hour, David Silva and Santi Cazorla both firing narrowly wide before Casillas's heroics saw them through to a rematch with a Russia side they defeated 4-1 in the group stage.

Omens
The Italy squad had arrived at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion some time after their Spanish counterparts, and for much of the first half Aragonés's men were similarly first to everything. With Xavi Hernández providing the pivot in midfield, Spain bossed the play, caressing the ball one way and then the other – all one-touch passing and quick bursts of activity as they picked at Italy's high defensive line, looking for a chink in the armour. The ploy of Andrés Iniesta switching flanks to create the overlap on the left was too obvious for the wizened Azzurri rearguard, although David Villa's cute back-heel almost forced an opening soon after and it took a timely block to deny Silva.

Duo missed
Italy were struggling to gain a foothold, unable to fill the sizeable void left by suspensions to their usual suppliers of industry and finesse, Gennaro Gattuso and Andrea Pirlo. It was a hole that Fernando Torres, in particular, was keen to exploit as he popped up all over the pitch, drawing Aragonés from his bench to tell him to calm down. Perhaps Aragonés was aware the omens were hardly stacked in his team's favour as they sought their first win against the Azzurri in a competitive fixture, Olympic Games excluded. Midway through the half Massimo Ambrosini gave Spain more to think about but Simone Perrotta was unable to make the most of his arcing cross before another centre just evaded Luca Toni.

Silva threat
With King Juan Carlos in the crowd, it was largely Spain who were rising to the occasion. Villa tested Buffon with a free-kick but it was the waspish Silva who was displaying the most menace. Seven minutes before half-time he fired a low effort past the post after a blocked Torres shot fell his way. He then profited from another fortuitous opening soon after the restart, when the ball cannoned into his path eight metres out. After a clever turn it took a timely intervention from the excellent Giorgio Chiellini to deny Silva. The Azzurri centre-back was immense, and slowly his team-mates began to respond. Just past the hour a long ball caused mayhem in the Spain defence, dropping favourably for substitute Mauro Camoranesi who forced a smothering save from Casillas.

Buffon escape
At the other end, with time ebbing away, Senna worked Buffon with a free-kick and then a low shot that bounced awkwardly in front of the goalkeeper, the ball evading his grasp and spinning on to the post before he fell on to it at the second attempt. It was a propitious bounce but there was no luck involved when the Italy No1 dived to keep out Güiza's effort with three minutes remaining, even if play was subsequently called back for handball. Such reactions would prove invaluable in the concluding penalty shoot-out, but, unfortunately for Roberto Donadoni's world champions, they came predominantly from Casillas.

-euro2008.uefa.com-

What is he thinking about ??!!!!

Today, i fell so confused to one of my partner-worker and it is a man. Actually, there was a little problem (that i think it's not a big problem) and he just tell me some words just for giving a clue that he fells upset then he said nothing. Quiet and quiet.
Are you feeling the same like me ? got in a trouble like that ?
Don't worry anymore cause i've got the answer ....

Why Don't You Notice My Hair? and Other Frequently Asked Questions
by David Granger

Why do you get so angry when some jamoke cuts you off in traffic?
Two things. Testosterone is one. The automobile is the other. See, we have this fight-or-flight thing programmed into our DNA, and when another male of the species challenges us, we are coded to get our hackles up. Add to that the fact that from the moment we got our driver's license, the automobile has been the extension of our sense of both power and freedom, and you have a perfect storm of nature and nurture creating a hostile response to a challenge to the things that make us a man.

That said, we know we need to just calm down. One thing that would help is if you would just rub the back of our head and mutter "bastard" under your breath in sympathy.

You know when you just sit there with a scowl on your face, not saying anything? What is that about?
Generally, it's not about you. We tend to take everything personally, and we tend to anticipate not what can go right but what will inevitably go wrong. So, whether it's something complicated at work or getting that stinking sliding door to roll right, we're consumed with the obstacles in our path toward success.

Is everything really about sex?
Well, no. I mean, yes. Sex is one of the reasons we're together, you and us. There was something about you the first time we saw you that made our heart sing. If we're lucky, it's still there every time we see you. Plus, is there anything more affirming, more life affirming and satisfying than sex? Essentially, we don't see the downside. So the answer is no, not everything. And the answer is yes, a part of everything is, if we're both lucky, about sex.

What do men talk about?
Usually, we talk about what we're engaged in at that moment. Or we're telling each other stories of embarrassment or triumph. We grew up telling each other stories, and we'll never stop. We don't tell each other jokes. The topic of our conversation rarely matters, and we probably won't remember what we were talking about later when you ask. The only time we really talk seriously with each other is when we fear we might be failing. But that's rare, and it usually passes quickly. Which is why we didn't mention it.

We can't believe you didn't notice our hair.
Yeah, well. That might just be something you will have to learn to live with.

You don't seem to like it when we tell you what to do.
Oh, you noticed. Look, we tend to see ourselves as the initiators of action. If we know what needs to be done, usually we'll get it done. In fact, we take joy in accomplishing things. Let's compromise. Just stick a list somewhere of things that need to be done. Don't put our name on it. It's just a list of tasks. We like tasks. We like doing them. We like finishing them. But we like it best when it was our idea to do them.

What do you like most about us?
Oh, God. We love it when you sit down on the side of the bed and kiss us for no reason. We can't get over that. We love it when you ask us for advice on something that really matters to you. We love the way you smell. We love the way you smell right after you finish exercising. We love the way you look just before you wake up in the morning. We love it when you argue with us about something—movies, sports, politics—that really doesn't matter. We love the way you will fill a silence at a dinner party, and we love the way you give us guidance when it comes to our mothers. We love the way you look when you're half-dressed or half-undressed. We love your certainty, even when you're sure we're wrong.

And we love your hair.

-from oprah.com-

Put your strengths to work

by : Business expert Marcus Buckingham

Are you unhappy in your job? You're not alone. Four out of five people quizzed in a CareerBuilder.com survey are unhappy at work—that's 84 percent of the nation's workforce!

Business expert and best-selling author Marcus Buckingham has helped millions of people reach new levels of success and happiness at work—including employees at Coca-Cola, Gap and Microsoft—with his radical "strengths training" approach. His key to success is simple: Stop spending so much time trying to fix your weaknesses. Instead, focus on what makes you special and unique. "A strength is an activity that makes you feel strong," he says. "If you want to know what your strength is, you've got to pay attention to how you feel. It feels like focus. It feels like concentration. You feel invigorated. Energized."

Another way to think of strengths training is to look at it as a report card. When a child comes home with a report card, Marcus says most parents would focus more on an F than an A. Really, they should give more attention to the A. "You grow the most in the area where you already show some natural advantage, some natural area of talent or strength or passion. That's where you start," Marcus says.

Marcus says being dissatisfied with work can filter into other areas of your life. "Your family [and] people that are the most important to you in your life are the ones that hurt," he says. "If you're going to win at life—if any of you or any of us are going to win at life—we've got to flip that switch."

In October 2007, Oprah invited Marcus to Chicago to hold a special workshop for 30 working women to help them rediscover the passion in their careers. "Most of you in this room are not living a second-rate version of somebody else's life," Marcus told the group. "Most of you are living a second-rate version of your own. And what we have to help you to figure out how to do is to find your life within your life."

During the workshop, Marcus asked the participants one very important question: Do you play to your strengths during a typical day? Their answer was shocking. "We had nobody saying they played to their strengths most of the time," Marcus says. "When we asked them, 'Do you think you're the best judge of your strengths,' nobody said they're the best judge of their strengths."

The workshop also busted a common myth that led to many aha! moments—just because you're good at something doesn't mean it's a strength. If what you're doing completes you, it's a strength. If it depletes you, it's actually a weakness.

Ultimately, Marcus encouraged all the women to find something they are passionate about. "This is about contribution. It's about performance. It's about doing more and making it last," Marcus says. "If you're going to make a lasting contribution, then the activities that you're filling your job with have got to feed you."

- oprah.com -

Classic Potato Salad Recipes

Classic Potato Salad Recipes

They may take a little time to make, but these classic potato salad recipes are very popular and easy to make.

You don't need any fancy ingredients to make the basic version of this dish, just
start with potatoes and mayonnaise, add some vegatables of your choice, season with a little sal
or other condiment and you have your own unique version.

Here's an easy potato salad recipe with some step by step instructions...

Ingredients:

Potatoes
6 hard boiled eggs
mayonnaise

I added a few extra veggys:

Purple onion
Orange peppers
broccoli
celery

Peel and boil enough potatoes to fill your salad bowl. Rinse cooked potatoes under cold water and let cool. When cooled, put the potatoes back in the pot and chop them into roughly even sized pieces.

Peel and chop 4 of the hard boiled eggs and add them to the pot.

Chop the vegatables and add a little at a time until you have an even mix


Add mayo a little at a time while mixing it into the salad.



When you have the right consistency, sample and add salt to taste. For this salad I added a touch of louisiana sauce to give it a little zip.


When ready, transfer salad to your bowl, peel and slice the remaining 2 eggs and place on top of the salad. Garnish with a little paprika, if desired and you are ready to eat.

Classic Potato Salad

Secret to Gorgeous Legs

Show Some Leg!
Goodbye blotches. Hello skirts!

If you're letting a few veins, blotches, and bumps stand in the way of summer's fluttery little skirts and cool shorts…stop right now!

Can you hardly remember the feeling of a deliciously warm summer breeze brushing against your calves? Use our guide to common leg issues and their solutions.




Problem 1: Ghostly Pallor

Self-tanners can serve as a soft-focus light on your legs—blurring dimples, fading scars, making veins look less conspicuous. We tested dozens of them to come up with our favorites, and in the process we figured out the best way to apply them.

Exfoliate. Since self-tanners react with the upper layers of your skin, if certain areas have thicker skin than others, your "tan" will be more concentrated there. In other words, you'll be splotchy. Buffing your skin with a scrub evens the tanning field. Give scalier areas, like your knees and feet, extra attention.

Moisturize. A thin coating of moisturizer smoothes the surface of your legs and prevents streaks. It dilutes the self-tanner a bit—but what you lose in intensity you make up for in uniformity.

Apply. The directions on the bottle might tell you to start from your feet and work up—but don't. "Think about where the sun hits," says Kara Peterson, who trains aestheticians in the art of fake tanning at Clarins spas. "Start off in the middle of your thighs and the middle of your calves and blend out." Your feet and knees should get only whatever's left over. Also, do the job standing up, says Peterson—when your knees are bent, you might apply too much to the stretched skin.

Shimmer. After your self-tanner has done its work, blend a slightly iridescent lotion over the front and back of your thighs, along your shins, and down to your feet. "The strategically placed shine has a slimming effect," says Linda Hay, head makeup artist for Victoria's Secret Beauty. If you have olive or dark skin, you're lucky—just do step four.

Problem 2: Scary Bruises

Do your legs often look as if you just played a game of one-on-one with David Beckham? You probably haven't gotten clumsier—but you may have lost some padding. "As we age, we lose the fat just beneath our skin that protects our blood vessels from trauma," says Francesca Fusco, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine.

You can't do anything about the fat loss, but you can cut down on medications and supplements that make you more prone to bruising, such as aspirin, ibuprofen, and vitamin E. Fusco also recommends taking 250 to 500 milligrams of vitamin C, which can strengthen collagen in the blood vessel walls, every day.

Once the damage is done, bromelain supplements may help the discolored areas heal more quickly; take 500 milligrams twice a day, says Leslie Baumann, MD, professor of dermatology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that topical arnica creams (try Boiron Arnicare Cream, $6) speed healing.

Problem 3: Saggy Knees

We think it's a fine idea that our knees are located smack in the middle of our legs. Without knees, so many delightful things—walking, line dancing, the lotus position—would be a challenge. But when we recently noticed that our knees weren't looking as taut as they once did, their prominent placement began to seem unfortunate. Firming the quadriceps may improve things.

"Tightening the muscles above the knees helps lift them," says Johanna Subotovsky, a trainer at Equinox Fitness. To boost quadriceps strength, sit at the edge of a chair and extend each leg until it's parallel to the floor.

The only way to fully restore knees to their former glory involves surgery: No thanks. A less-invasive option could be coming soon. Doctors are investigating laser and radiofrequency treatments (brands include Titan and Thermage) as potential knee-lifters. These procedures heat collagen, causing it to contract and tighten skin over time; one treatment (about $3,000 for both knees) is supposed to yield results over six months, and the effects can last up to two years. "I'm not confident in these treatments yet, but as the technology evolves, the knees will be an area that could be treated successfully," says Ranella Hirsch, MD, president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology & Aesthetic Surgery.

Problem 4: Visible Veins

Maybe you noticed a couple of faint squiggles around your ankles a few years back. Now you see blue lines, like kudzu gone wild, creeping behind your knees, over your thighs. You have several options to get rid of them, depending on the type of veins you're dealing with; all require a doctor's appointment.

Itsy-Bitsy Spiders: The tiniest veins can be zapped with a Vbeam, YAG, or diode laser. The beam destroys the walls of the veins (it will feel like a few quick rubber-band snaps), causing them to disappear within about two weeks. About three treatments, at $300 to $400 each, are necessary.

Smooth Squiggles: When a vein is large enough to be threaded with a small needle, sclerotherapy is the most effective option. A solution is injected into individual veins to irritate and collapse them; the body then reabsorbs them over the following weeks. Glycerin works for smaller veins, and saline or Sotradecol (a sodium sulfate compound) is most effective on larger ones, says Neil Sadick, MD, clinical professor of dermatology at New York–Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. Two or three treatments are usually necessary, and the veins look worse before they get better (in about a month). Treatments cost $300 to $500.

Ropy Bulges: When veins protrude, doctors recommend "endovenous closure," a procedure performed under local anesthesia in which a radiofrequency or laser fiber is inserted into the vein; energy is applied to heat the vein's walls, causing it to collapse. One treatment is sufficient, but can cost from $3,500 to $6,000 per leg (doctors usually treat one leg at a time).

Problem 5: Lumps & Bumps

Cellulite is a fact of life for about 90 percent of us, and as of yet, there's not a lot we can do about it. A few high-tech machines are approved by the FDA for a temporary reduction in the appearance of cellulite (there is no indication how long results might last).

VelaShape and SmoothShapes are the most promising at the moment. VelaShape combines radiofrequency and infrared light energy, suction, and mechanical massage, and SmoothShapes is a hybrid of laser, light, massage, and suction. Most doctors say a series of treatments will noticeably smooth bumps—but consistent maintenance is necessary. VelaShape requires a touch-up every three to six months; SmoothShapes requires one at least once a year.

Liposuction is a one-shot deal, but even this invasive procedure won't necessarily improve cellulite. "Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't, and sometimes it makes cellulite worse," says Heidi Waldorf, MD, director of laser and cosmetic dermatology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. You can suck out some of the fat, but you can't do anything about the fibrous bands that create dimpling. (This is also why all the squats, lunges, and leg lifts in the world won't help cellulite.)

Mesotherapy is a catchall term for injecting who-knows-what into cellulite in an effort to liquidate it. "It's not regulated," Francesca Fusco says. Lipodissolve involves injecting a specific ingredient that has been shown to dissolve fat (in test tubes). "There have been reports of some very scary side effects, though," Fusco says. "It's promising, and some very respected doctors are conducting studies, but I wouldn't recommend it anytime soon."

Topical cellulite creams contain ingredients (usually caffeine or a derivative) that act as diuretics, removing moisture from the skin, which makes it firmer for a few hours. (So: Rub it in, get to the beach, and get back fast?) Some of these creams also contain retinol, which helps refine the surface of the skin and can boost collagen production. Over time, retinol improves the texture of your skin (but not your cellulite).

- oprah.com -

Salad 'favorit' ala HokBen

Pernahkah kamu mencoba salad di hoka-hoka bento ?
Awalnya saya bukanlah seorang penggemar salad dan tak pernah 'mau tahu' dengan makanan yang ternyata segar dan sehat itu.
Pertama kali nyoba, ya di HokBen, saya langsung suka dan habis! bersih!
hehehe
Kok bisa seenak ini, pikir saya waktu itu ternyata nggak terasa 'mentah' seperti bayangan saya sebelumnya dan kebetulan hari saya menemukan 'rahasia' itu dari sebuah blog 'mamanatrixie.multiply.com' and here is ...

Salad Ala Hoka Hoka Bento...

Ingredients:
SALAD:
200 gr kol buang tulangnya iris tipis
200 gr wortel potong kecil dan panjang, bisa juga menggunakan
parutan kasar
100 gr lobak potong kecil dan panjang, bisa juga menggunakan
parutan kasar
1 ½ st garam halus
1 ½ sm gula pasir
1 ½ sm cuka

SAUS SALAD:
Bahan A:
2 bt kuning telur
200 cc salad oil atau minyak goreng
1 st mustard sauce


Bahan B:
3 sm saus tomat
1 sm simple syrup/syrupgula/ gula tepung
1 sm air jeruk lemon
½ st garam halus
¼ st merica

jika ingin pedas bisa ditambahkan sambal


Directions:
SALAD:
1.. Campur wortel dg 1 st garam, 1 sm gula aduk rata, peras, beri 1 sm cuka
sisihkan
2.. Campur lobak dg ½ st garam, ½ sm gula aduk rata, peras, beri ½ sm cuka
sisihkan

SAUS SALAD:
1.. masukan kuning telur, mustard ke dlm Waskom kecil, aduk searah dengan
mixer sambil dimasukan minyak salad/minyak goreng sedikit demi sedikit sampai
minyak habis dan adonan menjadi kental
2.. masukan bahan B aduk lagi searah sampai rata
Angkat
hidangkan

Selamat mencoba tapi kalau anda malas membuatnya bisa langsung menuju Hoka Hoka Bento terdekat :)

Pangan organik, bisnis baru yang 'menjanjikan'

Pangan Organik dan Pengembangannya di Indonesia

kompas/anton sanjoyo

Gerakan Gaya Hidup Sehat sedang melanda dunia, yang bertemakan "Back To Nature". Tren baru tersebut telah bermunculan, di mana masyarakat menginginkan sesuatu makanan yang benar-benar serba alami, kurang dan bebas dari zat kimia, pestisida, hormon, dan pupuk kimia. Pangan organik dianggap memenuhi persyaratan tersebut sehingga permintaan dan peluang pemasarannya meningkat.

Setelah malapetaka 11 September 2001, ketika Gedung WTC diruntuhkan dan Pentagon di bombardir teroris, maka timbullah paradigma baru yaitu persyaratan dan tuntutan baru yang lebih ketat lagi ke arah Back To Nature. Permintaan dunia akan pangan organik melonjak tajam dan demam pangan organik melanda dunia bukan saja di bidang pangan, tetapi juga meluas ke bidang nonpangan. Majalah Fashion dinamakan organik fashion, mainan anak organik, peralatan golf organik (bola, tee, dan stick organik). Bola golf organik memiliki ciri bila kecemplung ke bungker air, dalam waktu 90 menit harus sudah larut dan bersifat biodegradable.

Di berbagai pasar swalayan telah banyak dipajang dan dijual pangan organik, yang sebagian besar masih terbatas pada produk buah-buahan dan sayuran. Sayuran dan buah-buahan yang bermerek organik harganya bisa 3-4 kali lebih mahal dibanding produk pangan non-organik. Diperkirakan, pertumbuhan pasar pangan organik di Indonesia tidak akan cepat bila tidak segera dikembangkan suatu sistem sertifikasi produk dan pedoman pola sertifikasi pertanian organik. Pemerintah Indonesia relatif sangat lamban dalam merespons tantangan masyarakat di bidang pertanian dan pangan organik.

Para konsumen pangan organik selalu dijangkiti perasaan was-was dan ragu-ragu tentang kebenaran label pada produk pangan di supermarket; apakah produk yang berlabel organik itu benar-benar organik ataukah organik-organikan. Siapakah sebetulnya yang bertanggung jawab dalam memastikan kepada konsumen bahwa produk-produk tersebut benar organik? Konsumen berhak menuntut perlindungan tersebut.

Kebiasaan di dunia internasional adalah bahwa yang berhak mengeluarkan sertifikat atau label organik adalah suatu lembaga yang telah diakreditasi oleh suatu badan. Di Indonesia, Komite Akreditasi Nasional (KAN) belum siap melakukan hal tersebut karena belum siap tenaga dan peraturan pedoman yang dapat mengaudit suatu calon lembaga sertifikasi.

Produk-produk organik yang beredar di Indonesia diproduksi oleh lembaga atau produsen yang mendapat akreditasi dari luar negeri. Contohnya, Organic Farming Romo Agatho di Tugu, Puncak, disertifikasi oleh NASAA (National Association of Sustainable Agriculture Australia). Penulis juga baru saja pulang dari Kuala Lumpur untuk menghadiri sidang Codex Asia, dan sisa waktu yang terluang, penulis sempatkan untuk mempelajari seluk-beluk pangan organik di Malaysia.

Tanggal 13 Agustus 2002, Departemen Pertanian Malaysia menyosialisasikan kepada khalayak ramai konsep sertifikasi pertanian organik. Dalam pengumuman tersebut, sertifikasi organik akan disusun berdasarkan Pedoman Standar Produksi, Labelling, dan Pemasaran bagi pangan organik yang berasal dari tanaman. Standar tersebut dikeluarkan oleh Departemen Standar Malaysia (DSM), suatu badan standardisasi nasional dan akreditasi. Di Indonesia, badan tersebut mirip dengan BSN (Badan Standar Nasional) dan KAN (Komite Akreditasi Nasional).

Standar yang sudah ada adalah SMN 1529, yang dibuat untuk melindungi produsen dan konsumen terhadap kemungkinan terjadinya pemalsuan produk pangan organik dari produk pangan non-organik. Pedoman untuk produk pangan non-organik akan dikeluarkan kemudian.

Masalah atau isu utama yang masih menggantung adalah kredibilitas bagi lembaga akreditasi yang telah ada. Meskipun masyarakat menyambut baik gerakan-gerakan proaktif dari masyarakat, Departemen Pertanian masih menyangsikan pemberian akreditasi yang dilakukan oleh wholesalers, retailer, dan Ikatan Petani Organik (OAM), yang oleh banyak pihak dapat dianggap mengandung conflict of interest, karena OAM dicurigai memiliki vested interest juga dalam bisnis tersebut.

Dalam bidang produk pangan dan pertanian organik, kebiasaan internasional yang ada adalah bahwa departemen pertanian merupakan competent authority. Departemen tersebut juga menentukan bagi registrasi terhadap lembaga sertifikasi dan sistem audit, sistem yang harus bersih dari korupsi, kolusi dan nepotisme (KKN). Swasta dapat saja bertindak sebagai lembaga sertifikasi. Idealnya, lembaga sertifikasi bersifat independen, bebas, dan lepas dari segala bisnis produksi dan pemasaran produk pangan.

Artinya, lembaga sertifikasi tersebut tidak terlibat dalam bisnis, misalnya memiliki saham dalam industri produksi serta pemasaran produk pangan organik sehingga dapat menghindarkan diri dari terjadinya vested interest.

Bila konsumen tidak lagi percaya terhadap sistem sertifikasi yang telah dibangun tersebut, seluruh program sertifikat akan rontok. Dan, yang terpenting yang masih harus dilakukan adalah perlunya dijaga proses sertifikasi secara benar, jujur, teliti, dan kredibel. Sebaliknya, bila hal tersebut dilakukan secara serampangan dan asal-asalan saja, akan berakibat tererosinya kepercayaan konsumen terhadap label pangan organik.

Konsumen perlu mendapat perlindungan terhadap kebenaran predikat organik bagi produk yang mereka beli dengan harga yang cukup tinggi.

DSM di Malaysia tidak mengambil risiko sebagai lembaga sertifikasi, tetapi lebih tepat melakukan akreditasi dengan melibatkan beberapa tokoh panelis atau auditor terpilih yang tidak ada vested interest.

Meskipun suatu produsen atau supplier telah tersertifikasi, tanggung jawabnya tidak 100 persen berada pada lembaga yang memberi sertifikasi tersebut. Setelah sertifikasi produk, masih diperlukan labelisasi produk yang semestinya harus mengikuti peraturan pemerintah (PP) mengenai label dan iklan di Indonesia, yang dikenal dengan PP Nomor 69 Tahun 1999.

Landasan pedoman

Penulis ingin menyarankan agar dalam merancang Standar Nasional Indonesia (SNI) di bidang produk pangan dan pertanian organik, Indonesia dapat menggunakan paling sedikit tiga acuan, yaitu FAO/ WHO Codex Alimentarius Commision (CAC), GL 29-1999 dan Pedoman International Federation of Organic Agriculture yang dikeluarkan Indian Standard Committee.

Meskipun disusun berdasarkan standar internasional, standar pangan organik Indonesia sebaiknya masih perlu disesuaikan dengan kondisi lokal. Karena jenis industri tersebut relatif masih sangat baru dan akan menghadapi banyak hambatan dan kekurangan, maka perlu dilakukan pengecualian terhadap penggunaan beberapa bahan yang alami dan non-organik yang dapat digunakan, tetapi harus dilakukan secara baik dengan rambu-rambu yang ketat.

Contohnya, persyaratan bibit yang dapat digunakan, karena ada peraturan yang mengharuskan bahwa bibit tidak boleh mengalami treatment. Barangkali untuk persyaratan tersebut perlu ada sedikit keleluasaan untuk dapat menggunakan treated seed. Bahkan, di Jepang, peraturan yang mengharuskan menggunakan organic seed baru akan diterapkan sekitar tahun 2005.

Karena persyaratan organik harus diterapkan pada lahan selektif, yaitu lahan organik, maka waktu konversinya perlu ditentukan, yaitu satu tahun untuk lahan bekas budi daya cash crops, dan tiga tahun untuk tree crops. Selain kurun waktu tersebut, petani harus memperbaiki mutu lahan pertaniannya dengan pemberian kompos organik. Selama waktu konversi lahan tersebut, petani tidak dapat meningkatkan produktivitas hasil tanam organik. Produk dari hasil pertanian tersebut hanya boleh dilabel transition atau transition to organic. Tentu saja competent authority dapat saja melakukan keputusan untuk memperpendek waktu transisi yang dianjurkan tersebut.

Konsep awal pertanian organik yang ideal adalah menggunakan seluruh input yang berasal dari dalam pertanian organik itu sendiri, dan dijaga hanya minimal sekali input dari luar atau sangat dibatasi. Jadi, sedapat mungkin pupuk yang digunakan dari kompos yang dibuat sendiri. Tetapi, karena sempitnya lahan yang dimiliki, barangkali kecil kemungkinannya hal itu dapat dipenuhi oleh petani kecil dan menengah sehingga mereka terpaksa harus menggunakan pupuk organik dari luar.

Sayang sekali jumlah penelitian di Indonesia mengenai pertanian masih terasa sangat terbatas, kalau tidak boleh dikatakan langka.

Harga pangan organik, khususnya produk hortikultura yang dipasarkan di Supermarket-supermarket di beberapa negara termasuk Indonesia, relatif tinggi, yaitu 3-4 kali lipat dibanding pangan yang bukan organik. Sebagai contoh, sebuah apel organik yang besar di Malaysia harganya 2,80 ringgit Malaysia per buah, sedangkan apel dengan ukuran sama, tetapi non-organik, harganya 90 sen.

Memang, pangan organik masih secara eksklusif ditujukan untuk masyarakat konsumen yang tingkat ekonominya tinggi dan menengah. Tingginya harga karena sebagian besar produk organik masih harus diimpor dari luar negeri, di samping produktivitas tanaman organik masih relatif rendah dan biaya tenaga kerjanya juga tinggi. Biaya pengangkutan dan operating cost meliputi dua pertiga dari jumlah harga eceran.

Hal baru

Bagi negara-negara berkembang, khususnya Indonesia, pangan organik masih merupakan hal baru, baru mulai populer sekitar 4-5 tahun lalu. Sebaliknya, di Malaysia pangan organik lebih dahulu populer sudah sejak 10 tahun lalu. Lahan yang semakin miskin kadar haranya dan ditambah ekosistem yang tidak seimbang, yang sebelumnya mengikuti praktik pertanian dengan bahan kimia, mengakibatkan tanaman akan berproduktivitas rendah.

Biasanya, pada tahap awal, petani organik banyak mengalami kegagalan dan kerugian karena serangan hama dan penyakit. Produktivitas yang sebenarnya baru akan dapat dikembalikan ke tingkat normal bila kondisi lahan dan keseimbangan ekosistem dapat dipulihkan.

Yang jelas, para petani kita masih pada tingkat "dengar-dengar" mengenai pangan organik dan pertanian organik. Mereka masih sangat "ignorance" dan belum paham benar bagaimana wujud sebetulnya pertanian dan pangan organik itu. Sosialisasi di bidang tersebut di Indonesia berlangsung sangat lambat. Karena alasan tersebut, penulis telah mencoba menulis buku Pertanian dan Pangan Organik, M-BRIO Press 2002, dengan harapan siapa tahu buku tersebut secara bertahap dapat mengikis ignorancy masyarakat petani dan konsumen pangan organik.

Karena para petani Indonesia sebelumnya tidak terlatih di bidang teknologi pertanian organik, biasanya mereka melakukan langkah-langkah trial and error, dan kebanyakan mereka suka tergesa-gesa atau grasa-grusu ingin cepat memproduksi pangan organik.

Semangat memang diperlukan, tetapi teknologi pertanian organik tidak cukup hanya dilandasi dengan sekadar membaca sekali, ditambah dengan kunjungan singkat ke pertanian organik. Keterampilan dan kesuksesan harus dipraktikkan melalui pengalaman. Di negara maju, sebelum mereka berusaha di bidang pertanian organik, mereka perlu menimba ilmu di perguruan tinggi atau melakukan "on the job training" selama dua tahun penuh.

Dr Tan Sieu Luang, Project Coordinator Organic Farming di Malaysia, menyatakan bahwa konsumen diimbau tidak terpaku pada produk impor dari luar negeri. Agar konsumen dapat membeli produk organik relatif murah, konsumen dapat memperoleh produk organik lokal, seperti bayam, kangkung, pisang, dan sebagainya. Dan, bila mungkin, tidak mengalami proses pengemasan yang mahal.

Para petani pangan organik harus pandai mengembangkan produk organik yang terdiversifikasi, bila perlu termasuk tanaman tahunan, hasil ternak, dan ikan. Usaha besar-besaran memang dapat mendatangkan banyak untung, tetapi risikonya juga tinggi. Pada prinsipnya, lahan 2-3 hektar dianggap cukup untuk melakukan diversifikasi, sehingga gagal satu dapat ditutup dengan keberhasilan usaha lain.

FG Winarno Guru Besar Ilmu Pangan IPB

13 Healthy Habits to Improve Your Life

By Dulce Zamora WebMD Feature

Disregard them and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well-being.

There are 13 ways to boost your chances of living a happy, healthy life. More can be added to this list, but, for simplicity's sake, we'll stick with this typically unlucky number.

Instead of bringing misfortune, however, the 13 habits promise a life of vigor and vivacity. There are, of course, no guarantees, but many of the practices mentioned here have been published in scientific journals. Disregard them and you may well be taking a big gamble with your mental and emotional well-being.

Healthy Habit 1: Eat Breakfast Every Morning

Breakfast eaters are champions of good health. Research shows people who have a morning meal tend to take in more vitamins and minerals and less fat and cholesterol. The result is often a leaner body, lower cholesterol count and less chance of overeating.

Healthy Habit 2: Add Fish and Omega-3 Fatty Acids to Your Diet

The AHA recommends a serving of fish two times per week. Besides being a good source of protein and a food relatively low in the bad type of dietary fat called saturated fat, fish has omega-3 fatty acids—which have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease.

Healthy Habit 3: Get Enough Sleep

"Your body has to have enough time to rest," says Michael Fleming, MD, president of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Otherwise, he says you may find yourself feeling cranky and tired.

Healthy Habit 4: Make Social Connections
Community ties also help improve mental functioning, Fleming says. Group activities can help keep the mind active and maintain desirable levels of serotonin—the brain chemical associated with mood. "Lack of social interaction will [decrease] serotonin levels," Fleming says

Healthy Habit 5: Exercise for Better Health

• Helps control weight
• Maintains healthy bones, muscles and joints
• Reduces risk of developing high blood pressure and diabetes
• Promotes psychological well-being
• Reduces risk of death from heart disease
• Reduces risk of premature death

Healthy Habit 6: Practice Good Dental Hygiene

Flossing your teeth every day could add 6.4 years to your life, according to Michael Roizen, MD, author of RealAge. In his book, Roizen lists flossing as one of the most important daily activities—along with exercise and quitting smoking—that could extend life span.

Healthy Habit 7: Take Up a Hobby

Look up the word "hobby" in the Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and you will find the definition as "a pursuit outside one's regular occupation engaged in especially for relaxation." Since they are relaxing activities, hobbies are usually enjoyable. Some people find joy in craftwork, bird-watching, sports, going to flea markets, walking in the park or playing cards.

Healthy Habit 8: Protect Your Skin
Avoiding the sun, however, is not always ideal or practical. To reduce the risk of skin damage, the AAD offers the following tips:

• Always wear sunscreen with SPF 15 or higher.
• Don a hat with a brim and wear other protective clothing.
• Don't deliberately sunbathe.
• Try to avoid sun exposure between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m

Healthy Habit 9: Snack the Healthy Way

The ADA recommends five or more servings of fruits and vegetables a day as part of a healthy diet. These plant foods can do many things to boost good health

Healthy Habit 10: Drink Water and Eat Dairy

Water and milk are essential fluids for good health, but they can also help with shedding pounds. The body needs water to keep properly hydrated, and individuals vary widely in how much water they need. Joints need it to stay in motion, and vital organs such as the heart, brain, kidney and liver need it to work properly

Healthy Habit 11: Drink Tea
There is some evidence that tea may help in improving memory and preventing cavities, cancer and heart disease. Fleming says, though, that the overall research is still inconclusive.

Healthy Habit 12: Take a Daily Walk
We're not talking about taking the time out of your busy schedule to work out—that's important, too—but infusing life- and limb-saving movement into your waking hours. "Just move. Pace during phone calls, while you're brushing your teeth, while watching your son's soccer game," says Bryant, noting that every 20 steps a person takes is one calorie burned.

Healthy Habit 13: Plan

There is, perhaps, no better word in the English language to better illustrate how you can incorporate healthy habits into your everyday life. "A little planning goes a long way," Johnson says. "Eating healthy never happens by accident."

- Oprah.com -

It's Time to Coloring your Home

Saatnya mengubah warna cat ruangan Anda

Warna menjadi perhatian para desainer interior dan arsitek. Mereka tidak sembarangan menentukan sebuah warna yang akan diaplikasikan pada sebuah ruangan dan properti interior lainnya. Ada begitu banyak warna di dunia ini. Masing-masing memiliki arti tersendiri dan memberikan efek psikologis bagi si penggunanya. Untuk itu kita harus mengenal terlebih dahulu motivasi dari sebuah warna sebelum kita memilih warna cat yang akan digunakan untuk ruangan. Pilihlah yang sesuai dengan efek psikologis seperti apa yang ingin Anda dapatkan.

1.Merah
Memberi dampak dinamis, sensual, dan mewah. Cenderung mendatangkan energi, aktif, suasana hangat dan komunikatif, optimis, antusias, dan bersemangat. Warna merah juga dapat meningkatkan aliran darah dalam tubuh. Tapi jika warna merah mendominasi ruangan dapat merangsang kemarahan dan agresivitas.

2. Pink (Merah Muda)
Untuk Anda yang ingin mendapatkan atmosfir energi muda, ceria dan romantis, gunakan cat berwarna merah muda. Warna merah jambu (pink) simbol dari kasih sayang dan cinta. Sehingga menimbulkan kesan lembut dan menenangkan. Warna ini juga menggambarkan sifat kekanak-kanakan.

3. Kuning
Warna kuning memberi suasana kehangatan, bercahaya dan cerah dalam ruangan. Kuning mewakili matahari yang cerah, membangkitkan energi, mood dan vitalitas. Memperbaiki komunikasi, keberanian ekspresi diri, merangsang kemudahan berpikir secara logis dalam mendapatkan inspirasi dan meningkat kemampuan intelektual. Tapi warna kuning ini akan menimbulkan ketakutan jika salah aplikasi.

4. Orange
Warna orange memberikan efek energic, vit, ramah dan kreatif. Berkarakter mirip dengan warna merah tapi lebih feminin dan bersahabat. Warna ini melambangkan sosialisasi, penuh harapan, percaya diri, Dapat menimbulkan perasaan positif, senang, gembira dan optimis, penuh energi, bisa mengurangi depresi atau perasaan tertekan. Bila berlebihan justru akan merangsang perilaku hiperaktif.

4. Coklat
Jika kesan rustic, aman, kaya dan tahan lama yang ingin Anda dapatkan gunakan warna cokelat. Coklat, merupakan warna netral yang natural, hangat, rendah hati, melindungi stabil, menghadirkan kenyamanan, memberi kesan anggun dan elegan. Dapat memberi keyakinan dan rasa aman, warna yang akrab(familiar) dan menenangkan, bisa mendorong komitmen, namun juga bisa menjadi berat dan kaku bila lebih dominan.

5. Biru
Biru mengesankan sesuatu yang konstan, keharmonisan, kebenaran, ketenangan dan kesan lapang.
Pemakaian warna biru dapat menimbulkan perasaan tenang dan dingin, melahirkan perasaan sejuk, tenteram, hening dan damai, nyaman dan aman. Warna ini juga memiliki kesan etnik, antik, country-stye. Warna biru yang kuat dapat merangsang kemampuan intuitif. Tapi, terlalu banyak biru bisa menimbulkan kelesuan.

6.Hijau
Kesan alamiah dan segar dalam ruangan dapat Anda dapatkan jika menggunakan warna hijau. Ruangan Anda akan terasa lebih segar, tenang, dan sejuk. Jika emosi Anda kurang stabil gunakan warna ini dalam ruangan untuk menyeimbangkan emosi. Warna ini mendorong perasaan empati terhadap orang lain, meredakan stres, menyembuhkan, memberi rasa aman, dan perlindungan. Namun sayangnya hijau juga bisa menimbulkan perasaan terperangkap.

7. Ungu
Atmosfir spiritual, magis dan mistis dimiliki oleh warna ungu. Warna ini mampu menarik perhatian orang. Warna ini sensual, feminin, antik, anggun dan hangat. Ungu gelap dapat memancarkan kekuatan, menambah kemampuan intuisi, kemampuan imajinasi, kreatif, sensitif, memberi inspirasi,dan obsesif.

8.Putih
Putih memancarkan kesan orisinilitas, ringan, polos, tentram, nyaman, terang. Terlalu banyak warna putih bisa menimbulkan perasaan dingin, steril, kaku, dan terisolir.

9.Hitam
Hitam memancarkan kekuatan, misterius, klasik dan elegan. Hitam merupakan warna yang kuat, penuh percaya diri dan perlindungan. Hitam mencermikan kesan maskulin, elegan, megah, dramatis, dan misterius. Tapi hitam juga merupakan warna lambang duka dan dapat menimbulkan perasaan tertekan.

10. Abu-abu
Abu-abu, termasuk warna netral yang dapat menciptakan kesan serius, namun juga menentramkan dan menimbulkan perasaan damai. Kesan lain dari abu-abu antara lain adalah independen dan stabil, menciptakan keheningan dan kesan luas. Abu-abu juga terkesan dingin, kaku, dan tidak komunikatif.

Anda dapat memilih warna-warna tersebut sesuai dengan selera Anda. Anda juga dapat mengkombinasikan sekian banyak warna sehingga lebih variatif baik dari estetika maupun efek psikologis. Biarkan satu warna sebagai warna dominan, dan jadikan yang lainnya sebagai aksen atau warna pendukung. Jika ruang Anda sempit, hindari warna-warna gelap karena akan menimbulkan kesan semakin sempit dan menekan. Untuk mengakalinya gunakan warna-warna terang sehingga ruangan terkesan luas.

10 Minutes for Your Life

Exercise: The Least You Can Do

Imagine if exercising 10 minutes a day were enough to improve your health, cheer you up, and help you maintain a steady weight. Well, it is, even though most experts stubbornly insist that you need 30 to 60 minutes daily to see results. The case for shorter sessions has been building for some time, but earlier this year results from a watershed study made the point loud and clear.

Researchers at Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, reported findings from a study involving 464 women who weren't exercisers. After six months, a group who walked an average of 72 minutes a week at two to three mph—that's about 10 minutes of mall-pace striding a day—had significantly improved heart strength and general fitness, nearly matching the efforts of women exercising almost twice as long. "Your body responds very positively, very quickly to even small amounts of exercise," says lead study author Tim Church, MD, PhD. "If you're sedentary, you'll see a lot of your greatest gains going from zero to 10 minutes a day."

More exercise is definitely better, but based on Church's findings and the studies below, there's evidence you can take your time easing into those longer workouts.

The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner
First paperback edition book cover
Author Khaled Hosseini
Cover artist Jacket design and imaging: Honi Werner
Country Flag of the United States United States
Language English
Genre(s) Novel
Publisher Riverhead Books
Publication date

May 29, 2003
Media type Print (hardcover & paperback), audio CD, audio cassette, and audio download
Pages 324 pp (first edition, hardcover)

ISBN ISBN 1-57322-245-3 (first edition, hardcover)

The Kite Runner is a novel by American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003, it is Hosseini's first novel,[1] and was adapted into a film of the same name in 2007.

* 1 Introduction
* 2 Plot
* 3 Characters

Introduction

The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, who is haunted by the guilt of betraying his childhood friend Hassan, the son of his father's Hazara servant. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet invasion, the mass exodus of refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the rise of the Taliban regime.

Plot
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Please discuss this issue on the talk page, if necessary split the content into subarticles and keep this article in a summary style.

The story of 25 chapters is narrated by Amir, directed to the reader, except that chapter 16 is narrated by Rahim Khan, directed to Amir.

The two main characters of the story are Amir, a well-to-do Afghan boy, and Hassan, a Hazara and the son of Amir's father's servant, Ali. The boys spend their days in a peaceful Kabul, kite fighting, roaming the streets and being boys. Amir’s father, Baba, loves both the boys, but seems critical of Amir for not being manly enough. Amir also fears his father blames him for his mother’s death during childbirth. However, he has a kind father figure in the form of Rahim Khan, Baba’s friend, who understands Amir better, and is supportive of his interest in writing stories.

Assef, a notoriously mean and violent older boy with sadistic tendencies, blames Amir for socializing with a Hazara, according to Assef an inferior race that should only live in Hazarajat. He prepares to attack Amir with his brass knuckles, but Hassan bravely stands up to him, threatening to shoot Assef in the eye with his slingshot. Assef and his henchmen back off, but Assef says he will take revenge.

Hassan is a successful "kite runner" for Amir, knowing where the kite will land without even watching it. One triumphant day, Amir wins the local tournament, and finally Baba's praise. Hassan goes to run the last cut kite, a great trophy, for Amir saying "For you, a thousand times over." Unfortunately, Hassan runs into Assef and his two henchmen. Hassan refuses to give up Amir's kite, so Assef exacts his revenge, assaulting and anally raping him. Wondering why Hassan is taking so long, Amir searches for Hassan and hides when he hears Assef's voice. He witnesses the rape but is too scared to help him. Afterwards, for some time Hassan and Amir keep a distance from each other. Amir reacts indifferently because he feels ashamed, and is frustrated by Hassan's saint-like behavior. Already jealous of Baba's love for Hassan, he worries if Baba knew how bravely Hassan defended Amir's kite, and how cowardly Amir acted, that Baba's love for Hassan would grow even more.

To force Hassan to leave, Amir frames him as a thief, and Hassan falsely confesses. Baba forgives him, despite the fact that, as he explained earlier, he believes that "there is no act more wretched than stealing". Hassan and his father Ali, to Baba's extreme sorrow, leave anyway. Hassan's departure frees Amir of the daily reminder of his cowardice and betrayal, but he still lives in their shadow and his guilt.

A short while later, the Russians invade Afghanistan; Amir and Baba escape to Peshawar, Pakistan and then to Fremont, California, where Amir and Baba, who lived in luxury in an expensive mansion in Afghanistan, settle in a run-down apartment and Baba begins work at a gas station. Amir eventually takes classes at a local community college to develop his writing skills. Every Sunday, Baba and Amir make extra money selling used goods at a flea market in San Jose. There, Amir meets Soraya Taheri and her family; Soraya's father has contempt of Amir's literary aspiration. Baba develops lung cancer but is still capable of granting Amir one last favor: he asks Soraya's father permission for Amir to marry her. He agrees and the two marry. Shortly thereafter Baba dies. Amir and Soraya learn that they cannot have children.

Amir embarks on a successful career as a novelist. Fifteen years after his wedding, Amir receives a call from Rahim Khan, who is dying from an illness. Rahim Khan asks Amir to come to Pakistan. He enigmatically tells Amir "there is a way to be good again". Amir goes.

From Rahim Khan, Amir learns the fates of Ali and Hassan. Ali was killed by a land mine. Hassan had a wife and a son, named Sohrab, and had returned to Baba’s house as a caretaker at Rahim Khan’s request. One day the Taliban ordered him to give it up and leave, but he refused, and was murdered, along with his wife. And the secret truth about Hassan is that Ali was not his father. He is the son of Baba, and is Amir's half-brother. Finally, Rahim Khan reveals that the true reason he has called Amir to Pakistan is to go to Kabul to rescue Hassan's son, Sohrab, from an orphanage.

Amir returns to Taliban-controlled Kabul with a guide, Farid, and searches for Sohrab at the orphanage. However, he does not find Sohrab there. The director of the orphanage tells them that a Taliban official comes often, brings cash and usually takes a girl home. Once in a while however, he takes a boy, recently Sohrab. The director tells Amir to go to a football match and the man "wearing black sunglasses" will be the man who took Sohrab. In order to enter Taliban territory, Amir, who is normally clean shaven, dons a fake beard and mustache, because otherwise the Taliban would exact Shariah punishment against him. Farid manages to secure an appointment with the speaker at his home, by saying that he and Amir have "personal business" with him.

Amir goes to the house where he finds out that the Taliban official, the man in sunglasses, is actually his childhood nemesis Assef, who recognizes his face behind the fake beard. Sohrab is being kept at the home where he is made to dance dressed in women's clothes, and it seems Assef might have been sexually assaulting him. (Sohrab later says, "I'm so dirty and full of sin. The bad man and the other two did things to me.") Assef agrees to relinquish him, but only if Amir can beat him in a fight to the death, with Sohrab as the prize. Assef brutally beats Amir, but Amir is saved when Sohrab uses his slingshot to shoot out Assef's left eye, fulfilling the threat his father had made years before.

Amir tells Sohrab of his plans to take him back to America and possibly adopt him, and promises that he will never be sent to an orphanage again. When difficulties arise in adopting Sohrab from Afghanistan, Amir tells Sohrab that he might have to stay in an orphanage for a while after all, and, Sohrab, devastated that Amir considers going back on his promise, attempts suicide by repeatedly cutting himself. Amir finds Sohrab in time to save his life, and takes him back to the United States. However, Sohrab is emotionally damaged and refuses to speak. This continues on for about a year until his frozen emotions are temporarily thawed when Amir reminisces about his father, Hassan, while kite flying. Amir shows off some of Hassan’s tricks, and Sohrab begins to interact with Amir again. In the end Sohrab only shows a lopsided smile, but Amir takes to it with all his heart as he runs the kite for Sohrab, saying, "For you, a thousand times over."

Characters

* Amir — protagonist and narrator of the novel, said to be born in 1963, in Kabul, who begins as a well-to-do boy in monarchical Afghanistan and later migrates to America following the downfall of the monarchy. Amir is Hassan's half brother; however, Amir does not learn of their relationship until much later in his life. Hassan never learns of the relationship.
* Hassan — a childhood friend of Amir, although Amir never explicitly admitted to this. He is described as having a China doll face and green eyes. Hassan is first thought to be the son of Ali (Baba's servant and inexplicit childhood friend) and Sanaubar; later in the story, Hassan is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Baba and Sanaubar. Hassan died without ever knowing about the truth of who his parents actually are.
* Assef — a sadistic teenage rapist (and later notorious pedophile) from Amir's neighborhood in Kabul, antagonist. He is described as being exceptionally handsome, blonde and blue-eyed. As a teenager, he rapes Hassan. As an adult he sexually assaults Hassan's son, Sohrab, and numerous other young children of both sexes. Assef is the son of a German mother and Afghan father. He is a Nazi sympathizer and a has hatred of Hazaras, giving a book about his "idol" Adolf Hitler to Amir for his thirteenth birthday. Many years later, he becomes a Talib-executioner and pedophile. Sohrab severely damages one of Assef's eyes during Assef's fight with Amir.
* Baba — The father of Amir and Hassan. He is said to be born in the year 1933 (when the Afghan king begins his 40-year reign). He is described as a big, strong, healthy looking man with wild brown hair and beard. Baba is depicted to be of about 1.96 meter (6'5") in height. He is a bit of a party-maker, and known for his strength. (He is said to have fought with a black bear and won the fight, in his younger years). Baba is a successful business man amend a benevolent force in the community, helping many other people establish businesses for themselves and constructing an orphanage. During the book, Baba seems to be a bit disappointed in his son Amir, who he wishes to be as much of a man as he is (but his son only reads books and lets others fight off bullies for him). After leaving Afghanistan for America, he ages quickly and dies at fifty-three, in 1986, of cancer. He lives long enough, though, to see his son Amir marry a young Afghan woman called Soraya. Many people attend his funeral.
* Ali — Baba's servant and inexplicit childhood friend. He is initially thought to be the father of Hassan. Before the events of the novel, he had been struck with polio, rendering his right leg useless. He is killed by a land mine.
* Rahim Khan — Baba's business partner and best friend in Afghanistan, later he was the one who tells Amir about Hassan's actual father. Amir liked him as a child, and Rahim Khan is also the one who invited Amir back to Afghanistan to pick up Sohrab. Later in the story, Rahim Khan goes off alone leaving a letter to Amir telling him not to find him. He dies peacefully knowing he has successfully made Amir the man Baba wanted him to be.
* Soraya — an Afghan woman living in Fremont, California. She marries Amir. Soraya wants to become a teacher. Before marrying Amir, she ran away with an Afghan boyfriend in Virginia, which, according to Afghan tradition, made her unsuitable for marriage. Because Amir also had his own regrets, he loved and married her anyway.
* Sohrab — son of Hassan, traumatized and sexually abused by Assef; Rahim Khan contacts Amir later in life in an attempt to get him to come back to Afghanistan to find Sohrab. In the end, he is adopted by Amir.
* Sanaubar — Ali's wife who gives birth to Hassan as a result of an affair with Baba. She then leaves home to pursue the life of a gypsy. She becomes involved with a soldier, who later nostalgically describes her "sugary little cunt" to Hassan. She later returns to Hassan in his adulthood to make up for her neglect of him when he was a child, providing a grandmother figure for Sohrab.
* Farid — bitter driver who is initially abrasive toward Amir but later befriends him. Farid's two daughters were killed by a land mine years back. Farid is Amir's means of transport, information, and knowledge of current Afghanistan when he returns.

It's a touching novel, more than ever another novel can do and it's bring our journey to remains about childhood life's inside. Read the novel and you will find it, feel it like me :)

Bravo The Oranje

Slick Dutch stun world champions

by Kevin Ashby from Stade de Suisse

Ruud Van Nistelrooy struck the Netherlands` opening goal (©Getty Images)

The Netherlands ended a 30-year wait for a victory over Italy in emphatic fashion as they began their Group C campaign with a rousing 3-0 win against the world champions in Berne.

Worst EURO defeat
Ruud van Nistelrooy side-footed the Oranje ahead in the 26th minute, a lead doubled superbly by his Real Madrid CF colleague Wesley Sneijder soon after. Edwin van der Sar, becoming only the third player to appear in four UEFA European Championships, then kept the advantage intact, leaving Giovanni van Bronckhorst to complete the scoring with a headed third in the 79th minute. The Netherlands can now look forward with confidence to Friday's meeting with France, while Italy must pick themselves up from a worst-ever EURO defeat when they face Romania.

Dutch dominant
The early skirmishes gave scant indication of what was to come. Andrea Pirlo dispossessed Van Bronckhorst with an exquisite tackle and freed Antonio Di Natale but his pass lacked the precision to pick out Luca Toni. The FC Bayern München striker did get a glimpse of goal in the 12th minute, rising to flick a header wide from an equally promising position, yet that was about as close as the world champions got in a first half subsequently dominated by Marco van Basten's side. Dirk Kuyt, ever willing on the right flank, outmuscled Gianluca Zambrotta in the 18th minute and slipped a delicious low ball to Van Nistelrooy who touched it beyond the outrushing Gianluigi Buffon but stayed on his feet after making contact with the Italy captain. That was the last act of charity from the Dutch, as Roberto Donadoni's team paid for the concession of a number of free-kicks on the periphery of their area.

Opening goal
Sneijder first fizzed one set-piece in from the left which Marco Materazzi headed clear. Then Rafael van der Vaart did likewise from the right, the scrambling Buffon's punched clearance eventually reaching birthday boy Sneijder whose powerful drive from the corner of the box was side-footed in by Van Nistelrooy as the Azzurri defence appealed for offside. Italy went close to levelling from an inswinging corner five minutes later yet were caught flat-footed in the 31st minute when Van Bronckhorst, who had cleared off the line, was able to charge half the length of the field unchallenged.

Probing Sneijder
The Feyenoord man made the most of the time afforded him, pinging a perfect crossfield ball to Kuyt whose cushioned header was spectacularly hooked inside Buffon's near post by the leaping Sneijder. Italy's three-man midfield of Gennaro Gattuso, Pirlo and Massimo Ambrosini could not contain Sneijder as he probed the left side, creating space for Van Bronckhorst. The full-back was able all too easily to dissect an Azzurri back line missing injured captain Fabio Cannavaro with a pass that released Van Nistelrooy on goal. Buffon stood tall, however, clipping the shot over with his feet.

Van der Sar saves
Italy sought a way back into the match after the break. Substitute Alessandro Del Piero failed to profit from two half-chances before Toni lofted a shot over when free on the penalty spot on 76 minutes. Van der Sar then foiled Fabio Grosso at close range before diving at full stretch to keep out a Pirlo free-kick, leaving Van Bronckhorst to wrap things up at the other end following smart work by Kuyt. The last time the Netherlands beat Italy they went on to reach the 1978 FIFA World Cup final – a lucky omen as they look to claim a first European crown since their coach volleyed them to glory in 1988.