Wasit Akui Atur Laga MU Vs Shenzhen

BEIJING, KOMPAS.com - Kepada pengadilan, seorang wasit China, Huang Junjie, mengaku menerima suap untuk mengatur dua pertandingan persahabatan antara tahun 2005-2009. Salah satu pertandingan itu adalah antara Manchester United (MU) dan Shenzhen, pada 2007. Belum ada indikasi bahwa klub yang terlibat mengetahui adanya skandal tersebut.

Kasus Huang Junjie, yang telah menjadi wasit selama lebih dari 20 tahun dan masuk nominasi wasit terbaik China pada 2009 lalu, adalah salah satu kasus dugaan korupsi di sepak bola China.

Huang Junjie mengaku menerima 245.000 dollar AS untuk mengatur dua pertandingan persahabatan internasional dan 20 suap lainnya dari enam klub China, antara tahun 2005-2009.

Menganai pertandingan MU melawan Shenzen, Huang Junjie mengaku menerima 13.000 dollar AS supaya Shenzen memenangi undian koin untuk kick-off. MU memenangi pertandingan itu dengan skor 6-0.

Pertandingan lain yang diatur Huang Junjie adalah antara Shenhua dan klub Australia Sydney, pada 2009.

Seorang wasit lain, Lu Jun, akan menjalani sudang pada Rabu (21/12/2011). Sementara 20 mantan ofisial pertandingan dan wasit dijadwalkan menjalani sidang pada beberapa hari setelahnya.

Menurut media-media lokal, Federasi Sepak Bola China secara rutin mengatur pertandingan, termasuk pertandingan tim nasional dan liga. Mereka diduga membayar tim atau wasit yang terlibat. Mereka juga disebut menerima bayaran dari pemain yang ingin masuk tim nasional.

Hal itu mengakibatkan sepak bola China ditinggalkan sponsor. Stasiun Televisi CCTV bahkan menolak menyiarkan pertandingan liga utama China.

Sumber :
AFP

Drogba Ingin ke China, Lampard Menyusul

. Sementara Frank Lampard mengindikasikan akan menyusul pergi.

Sepak bola China memang sedang bergairah. Sebelumnya, striker Chelsea lainnya, Nicolas Anelka, pindah ke Shanghai Shenhua. Kini, Drogba ditawari klub China lainnya, Dalian Aerbin, dengan iming-iming gaji 200.000 pounds per pekan (sekitar Rp 2,8 miliar). Gaji sebesar itu juga diberikan kepada Anelka di Shenhua.

Sementara dalam pembicaraan kontrak baru di Chelsea, Drogba hanya dijanjikan gaji 120.000 pounds (sekitar Rp 1,7 miliar) per pekan. Artinya, jika Drogba membela Dalian Aerbin, dia akan mendapat penghasilan 20 juta pounds (sekitar Rp 281,3 miliar) dalam setahun. Sementara jika bertahan di Chelsea, dia hanya akan mendapatkan penghasilan 6,5 juta pounds (sekitar Rp 91,4 miliar).

Sebenarnya, Drogba ingin bertahan di Chelsea asal tuntutan gajinya dipenuhi. Namun, Chelsea menolaknya. Maka, Januari 2012, dia kemungkinan besar menerima tawaran klub China tersebut.

Sementara Frank Lampard merasa tak masuk dalam rencana utama Manajer Andre Villas-Boas (AVB). Ia mulai sering menjadi pemain cadangan, bahkan pernah tak dimasukkan ke dalam skuad. Sudah 10 tahun membela Chelsea, merasa pantas mendapat penjelasan dari AVB, tetapi hingga kini belum dijelaskan juga.

Sebab itu, Lampard pun mulai berpikir pindah klub. Maka, kemungkinan pada Januari nanti Chelsea akan kehilangan Drogba dan Lampard.

Sementara itu, AVB menjelaskan, "Banyak pemain yang mendesak untuk dimasukkan ke dalam tim dan Lampard bukan satu-satunya. Lampard dan John Terry merepresentasikan hal terbaik dalam sejarah klub. Namun, setiap pemain harus diperlakukan seadil mungkin," kata AVB kepada The Sun.

Kontrak Lampard masih tersisa 18 bulan. Dia digaji 170.000 pounds (sekitar Rp 2,3 miliar) per pekan. Namun, dia merasa tak bahagia karena dicadangkan dalam dua pertandingan terakhir saat melawan Valencia dan Manchester City.

Saat melawan City, Senin (12/12/2011), dia tampil sebagai pemain cadangan dan mencetak gol. Chelsea pun menang 2-1 dan rekor tak terkalahkan City terhenti. Namun, Lampard kemudian menyatakan kekecewaannya menjadi pemain cadangan.

AVB menambakan, "Saya berbicara dengan Lampard setiap hari dan dia akan tetap menjadi pemain penting di klub ini. Saya tahu agennya, Steve Kutner, telah mengontak Ron Gourlay (Kepala Eksekutif Chelsea) tentang kontraknya. Namun, kami belum membuat keputusan."

Ron Gourlay membenarkannya, "Benar, kami sudah melakukan pembicaraan belum lama ini. Kami mendiskusikan peran penting Lampard di klub, baik di lapangan maupun di sisi bisnis. Kami bahagia masih mengikatnya dengan 18 bulan kontrak."

Nazaruddin Bicara Soal Kisah Asmara Angelina

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com — Nama Angelina Sondakh tak asing lagi bagi Muhammad Nazaruddin. Wakil Sekretaris Jenderal Partai Demokrat itu pernah menjadi rekan kerja Nazaruddin baik di partai maupun di Dewan Perwakilan Rakyat.

Belakangan ini, Angelina kembali menjadi sorotan karena hubungan asmaranya dengan seorang perwira polisi yang sebelumnya penyidik Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi, R Brotoseno.

Terkait hubungan Angelina dengan Brotoseno itu, Nazaruddin pun angkat bicara. "Mungkin Anas (Anas Urbaningrum) yang suruh kali, tanya saja sama Pak Anas," kata Nazaruddin di Pengadilan Tindak Pidana Korupsi, Jakarta, Rabu (14/12/2011).

Nazaruddin memang kerap mengait-ngaitkan nama Ketua Umum DPP Partai Demokrat Anas Urbaningrum terkait kasus yang melilitnya. Lebih jauh, Nazaruddin enggan menjelaskan pernyataannya. "Itu urusan pribadi Ibu Angie," ucap mantan anggota DPR itu.

Seperti diberitakan, akibat kedekatannya dengan Angelina, Brotoseno dikembalikan oleh KPK ke institusi Polri. Alasannya, untuk menghindari konflik kepentingan. Hal tersebut mengingat Angelina menjadi terperiksa kasus yang ditangani KPK.

Kemarin, Angelina berkomentar soal isu kedekatannya dengan Brotoseno. Wanita asal Manado itu tidak membantah, tetapi juga tidak membenarkan hal tersebut. "Teman saya banyak ya. Dari pengusaha ada, politisi ada, tukang koran, tukang bakso, juga ada. Apalagi polisi," katanya.

Physicists Anxiously Await New Data on ‘God Particle’

Dennis Overbye in The New York Times:

High noon is approaching for the biggest manhunt in the history of physics. At 8 a.m. Eastern time on Tuesday morning, scientists from CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, are scheduled to give a progress report on the search for the Higgs boson — infamously known as the “God particle” — whose discovery would vindicate the modern theory of how elementary particles get mass. The report comes amid rumors that the two competing armies of scientists sifting debris from hundreds of trillions of proton collisions in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider, or L.H.C., outside Geneva, have both finally seen hints of what might turn out be the elusive particle when more data is gathered next year. Alternatively, the experimentalists say that a year from now they should have enough data to rule out the existence of the most popular version of the Higgs boson, sending theorists back to their blackboards in search of another explanation of why particles have mass.

So the whole world will be watching.

Among them will be Lisa Randall, a Harvard particle theorist and author of the new book “Knocking on Heaven’s Door: How Physics and Scientific Thinking Illuminate the Universe and the Modern World.” In an interview with Dennis Overbye of The Times, Dr. Randall provided this guide to the action for those of us in the bleachers.

Q. What is the Higgs and why is it important?

A. The name Higgs refers to at least four things. First of all, there is a Higgs mechanism, which is ultimately responsible for elementary particles’ masses. This is certainly one of the trickier aspects of particle physics to explain, but essentially something like a charge — not an electric charge — permeates the vacuum, the state with no particles.

Blagojevich Sentence: 14 Years In Prison For Former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich

CHICAGO (AP) — Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a national spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, one of the stiffest penalties imposed for corruption in a state with a history of crooked politics.

Among his 18 convictions is the explosive charge that he tried to leverage his power to appoint someone to President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat in exchange for campaign cash or land a high-paying job.

Judge James Zagel gave Blagojevich some credit for taking responsibility for his actions – which the former governor did in an address to the court earlier in the day – but said that didn't mitigate his crimes. Zagel also said Blagojevich did good things for people as governor, but was more concerned about using his powers for himself.

"When it is the governor who goes bad, the fabric of Illinois is torn and disfigured and not easily repaired," Zagel said.

As the judge announced the sentence, which includes a $20,000 fine, Blagojevich hunched forward and his face appeared frozen. Minutes later, his wife, Patti Blagojevich, stood up and fell into her husband's arms. He pulled back to brush tears off her cheek and then rubbed her shoulders.

On his way out of the courthouse, Blagojevich cited author Rudyard Kipling and said it was a time to be strong, to fight through adversity and be strong for his children. He said he and wife were heading home to speak to their daughters, and then left without answering any questions.

The twice-elected Democrat received by far the harshest sentence among the four Illinois governors sent to prison in the last four decades. He is the second in a row to go to prison; his Republican predecessor, George Ryan, currently is serving 6 1/2 years. The other two got three years or less.

Blagojevich, in a last plea for mercy, tried something he never had before: an apology. After years of insisting he was innocent, he told the judge he'd made "terrible mistakes" and acknowledged that he broke the law.

"I caused it all, I'm not blaming anybody," Blagojevich said. "I was the governor and I should have known better and I am just so incredibly sorry."

But Zagel gave him little leeway.

"Whatever good things you did for people as governor, and you did some, I am more concerned with the occasions when you wanted to use your powers ... to do things that were only good for yourself," Zagel said.

The judge said he did not believe Blagojevich's contention, as his lawyers wrote in briefings, that his comments about the corruption schemes were simply "musings." Zagel said the jury concluded and he agreed that Blagojevich was engaged in actual schemes, and the undeniable leader of those schemes.

"The governor was not marched along this criminal path by his staff," Zagel said. "He marched them."

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence of 15 to 20 years, which Blagojevich's attorneys said was too harsh. The defense also presented heartfelt appeals from Blagojevich's family, including letters from his wife and one of his two daughters that pleaded for mercy.

But the judge made it clear early in the hearing that he believed that Blagojevich had lied on the witness stand when he tried to explain his scheming for the Senate seat, and he did not believe defense suggestions that the former governor was duped by his advisers.

The 54-year-old was ordered to begin serving his sentence on Feb. 16. In white-collar cases, convicted felons are usually given at least a few weeks to report to prison while federal authorities select a suitable facility. Blagojevich is expected to appeal his conviction, but it is unlikely to affect when he reports to prison.

Most of the prisons where Blagojevich could end up are outside Illinois. One is in Terre Haute, Ind., where Ryan is serving his own sentence. In prison, Blagojevich will largely be cut off from the outside world. Visits by family are strictly limited, Blagojevich will have to share a cell with other inmates and he must work an eight-hour-a-day menial job – possibly scrubbing toilets or mopping floors – at just 12 cents an hour.

According to federal rules, felons must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence a judge imposes – meaning Blagojevich wouldn't be eligible for early release until he serves nearly 12 years.

Going into the sentencing, many legal experts said the governor – who became a national punch line while doing reality TV appearances such as "Celebrity Apprentice" while his legal case unfolded – was likely to get around 10 years. A former Blagojevich fundraiser, Tony Rezko, recently was sentenced to 10 1/2 years, minus time served.

Prosecutors have said Blagojevich misused the power of his office "from the very moment he became governor." He was initially elected in 2002 on a platform of cleaning up Illinois politics in the midst of federal investigations that led to the prosecution and conviction of Ryan.

Defense attorneys have said Blagojevich has already paid a price in public ridicule and financial ruin, and had proposed a term of just a few years.

Blagojevich's sentencing came just days before his 55th birthday on Saturday, and nearly three years to the day of his arrest at dawn on Dec. 9, 2008, when the startled governor asked one federal agent, "Is this a joke?" In a state where corruption has been commonplace, images of Blagojevich being led away in handcuffs still came as a shock.

It took two trials for prosecutors to snare Blagojevich. His first ended deadlocked with jurors agreeing on just one of 24 counts – that Blagojevich lied to the FBI. Jurors at his retrial convicted him on 17 of 20 counts, including that he demanded a donation from a hospital executive in return for increased state support for children's health care, and seeking to extort donations from a racing executive in exchange for quick approval of legislation.

FBI wiretap evidence proved decisive. In the most notorious recording, Blagojevich is heard crowing that his chance to name someone to Obama's seat was "f---ing golden" and he wouldn't let it go "for f---ing nothing."

Blagojevich clearly dreaded the idea of prison time. Asked in an interview before his retrial about whether he dwelled on that prospect, he answered: "No. I don't let myself go there."

In the same interview, Blagojevich also explained that the family dog Skittles was bought after his arrest in to help his school-age daughters, Amy and Annie, cope with the stress of his legal troubles. He said he joked with them that, "If the worst happens (and I go to prison), you can get another dog and call him `Daddy.'"

BCS Standings create Alabama-LSU rematch in title game

By Kelly Whiteside, USA TODAY

For all those not looking forward to a rematch in the Bowl Championship Series title game between No. 1 LSU and No. 2 Alabama after the Tigers won 9-6 in overtime last month, Alabama coach Nick Saban says look to the NFL.

• 

As for those not looking forward to another defensive slugfest, Saban countered, "Two great defensive teams, no doubt. … There are so many good players on both sides for both teams …I think there's a lot of opportunity for the game to be completely different and have a completely different flavor from what the first game did."

A rematch seemed like a foregone conclusion heading into conference championship weekend until Oklahoma State narrowed the gap behind Alabama in the polls. But the Crimson Tide edged No. 3 Oklahoma State by .0086 in the final BCS rankings released Sunday, the closest margin in the eighth year under the current formula. The previous closest margin between No. 2 and 3 was .0157 separating No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 3 Auburn in 2004.

While the BCS title game selection held to form, the Sugar Bowl provided the controversy. The Sugar bypassed BCS No. 7 Boise State and No. 8 Kansas State in favor of No. 11 Virginia Tech and No. 13 Michigan. The Hokies, the most baffling pick, were routed by Clemson 38-10 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game.

Clearly, ticket sales trumped rankings. Chief executive officer Paul Hoolahan said Virginia Tech's history of bringing fans to New Orleans was "extremely important."

Hoolahan also said he wasn't concerned that Virginia Tech hasn't beaten any opponents in the BCS top 25. "They've proven over the years the caliber of football team that they are," Hoolihan said.

Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer also cited the program's previous body of work, as opposed to this season's performance, when asked why the Hokies were chosen over higher ranked teams.

"I think Virginia Tech over the years has built a name for itself. … We've been to three BCS bowls over the last four years. … The number of years we've won 10 games, I think that's another thing," Beamer said.

This is the first time in the BCS era that two teams not in the top 10 of the USA TODAY Coaches Poll will meet in the Sugar Bowl. Virginia Tech is No. 11 in the coaches poll and Michigan is No. 12. Since USA TODAY started administering the coaches poll in 1991, there has never been a Sugar Bowl with both teams outside the top 10 of the coaches poll.

With No. 14 Clemson, the ACC champs, headed to the Orange Bowl, it's the first time two ACC teams are headed to BCS bowls. The Tigers will face Big East champ No. 22 West Virginia.

Though LSU vs. Alabama on Jan. 9 in New Orleans might seem like a been there, done that bowl, it's also a matchup of firsts. It's the first rematch in BCS title-game history and the first time teams from the same conference will meet in the BCS' 14-year-history. The matchup also guarantees the Southeastern Conference its sixth consecutive BCS title.

Though it's a rematch, what's at stake makes the game bigger than Nov. 5, LSU coach Les Miles said.

"The opportunity to go play for the national championship is a completely different scenario," Miles said. "It's a different place. It's the same opponent. But it will be played with the title at stake."

•Western Kentucky (7-5), which won seven of its last eight games, with the loss to No. 1 LSU, was the only team with a winning record that did not get a bowl spot. Ball State (6-6) was the only other bowl-eligible team not selected. Meanwhile, 6-7 UCLA is in.

•The Harris Interactive Poll produced a final regular-season Top 25 that mirrored the USA TODAY Coaches Poll, down to BYU being the first team among others receiving votes. The Harris poll does not begin its balloting until roughly the first month of the season is played partly in response to concerns that there is too much importance placed on the preseason poll — yet both ended in the same spot.

BCS Rankings: Alabama Or Oklahoma State For No. 2 Spot?

BY RALPH D. RUSSO, Associated Press

Too soon to call, but things are looking up for Alabama.

Alabama and Oklahoma State are awaiting word on which team will play LSU in the BCS national title game on Jan. 9 in New Orleans.

The returns have been trickling in Sunday, and so far the Crimson Tide seems to be in the lead.

In the USA Today coaches' poll, Alabama was No. 2, but the commanding lead it had last week is now down to 22 points. The coaches' poll and the Harris poll count for two-thirds of a team's BCS score.

The Harris poll was due out later Sunday.

A compilation of six computer ratings will determine the final third of a BCS score. The Sagarin ratings released early Sunday had Alabama No. 2 and Oklahoma State No. 3.

Unbeaten LSU is the top-ranked team in all the polls out so far, including the AP Top 25, which is independent from the BCS rankings.

A rematch between LSU and Alabama in the national title game seemed almost a foregone conclusion heading into conference championship weekend.

But with Alabama idle, Oklahoma State made one last, strong push by beating Oklahoma 44-10 to win the Big 12 title.

Now, instead of Sunday being a coronation there's another BCS controversy: Should Alabama get another shot at the only team that beat the Tide, even if that means an all-SEC title game and a matchup that will surely play far better in the South than anywhere else? Or should the Cowboys, who beat five teams ranked in the last BCS standings and whose only loss was a double-overtime upset on the road to Iowa State, get the nod?

"If you want the best two teams in college football to play then there has to be a format to decide that," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Saturday on ESPN as he made sure the Tide wasn't forgotten while the other top teams played. "If you want a regional game that matches up people from different parts of the country you can't say `Let's have the best two teams play.' It's not really up to me. I can't really be objective here. We do have a dog in this hunt. That's my opinion."

Working in Alabama's favor is the Crimson Tide's dominance throughout the season - all of its victories have been by at least 16 points - and the fact that no other team has challenged LSU this season.

The Tide and Tigers played what was billed as the Game of the Century on Nov. 5 in Tuscaloosa, Ala. The Tigers won it 9-6 in overtime, a hard-hitting defensive slog that didn't exactly have fans around the country clamoring for more.

Immediately the talk of rematch started, pro and con. But Oklahoma State was in position to keep it from happening. The Cowboys were undefeated and second in the BCS standings heading into a Friday night game at Ames, Iowa, a day after Oklahoma State women's basketball coach Kurt Budke and an assistant coach were killed in a plane crash.

The Cowboys lost 37-31 in double OT to the so-so Cyclones (6-6), missing a potential game-winning field goal at the end of regulation by inches.

With no other undefeated teams left from the major conferences, Alabama returned to No. 2 and the debate has grown more furious ever since.

On one side, Alabama supporters say it's simple: The system is supposed to match the best two teams, regardless of conference, and the Tide have been one of the two most dominant teams in the country.

On the other side, the Oklahoma State supporters say the Cowboys have accomplished more to get to 11-1 than the Tide, playing a tougher schedule and winning their conference.

Alabama fans counter by saying the SEC is the best conference in the land. What more proof is needed than five straight BCS championships?

"I would certainly understand if college football decides it should be two SEC teams playing for the national championship," LSU coach Les Miles said after the Tigers pounded Georgia 42-10 in the SEC championship game. "It's a very special conference with very special teams."

Oklahoma State fans say their team's super-charged offense, second in the nation in scoring and third in yards, would put up some touchdowns against LSU's tenacious defense.

Alabama fans think those flashy Big 12 offenses are no match for an SEC defense, and no team, not even LSU, has allowed fewer yards and points than the Tide.

Oklahoma State's reply: If the regular season is a playoff, the way BCS officials suggest, didn't LSU eliminate Alabama?

"They had their shot," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said after the Oklahoma game. "Give us ours."

Alabama fans say this isn't pee-wee soccer where everybody gets a chance to play.

Whichever team wins out, expect another of blast of criticism directed at the BCS. As the power-brokers in college football start to plot how top-tier bowls will be set up in the future, the 2011 season is once more exposing the flaws in the system now.

Two teams with perfectly good arguments are fighting over one spot, with subjective voters and mysterious computer ratings - the formulas of which are not even publicly known - doing the choosing.

If Alabama is the pick, the Tide will be playing for its second BCS title in three seasons. Alabama claims 13 national championships overall and is one of the most decorated programs in the land. It's won seven AP titles since the wire service started its poll in 1936.

For Oklahoma State, just getting into any of the marquee BCS bowls will be a first. The Cowboys have never won a national title, and some Oklahoma State fans have wondered if their team is also losing the battle of the brands.

There has never been a rematch in the previous 13-year history of the BCS, nor has there ever been a championship game with both teams from the same conference.

The closest thing to a potential Alabama-LSU II college football has had in recent years was in 1996, when Florida State beat Florida in its final regular season game then drew the Gators again in the Sugar Bowl.

Steve Spurrier's Gators beat Bobby Bowden's Seminoles 52-20 to win the national championship.

Bowden wasn't happy to face Florida again.

"If it's somebody you beat, you don't want to play them," Bowden said Sunday in a phone interview.

"The team that won, it's just hard to get your boys as inspired as the other team can get inspired."

Yet as far as a rematch this year, Bowden said both teams can make a good case, and he's not opposed to giving Alabama a second chance.

"If that's the way it shapes up that's OK," he said. "You got to get the best two teams in the country playing for the national championship."

Remember, of course, that Bowden was born in Birmingham, Ala.

Emanuel’s Point Man on School Closings

Jose More

CPS Chief Portfolio Officer Oliver Sicat is leading the district's school closing and turnaround efforts. The list of schools targeted for closure next year will be announced by Dec. 1.

by REBECCA VEVEA | Nov 22, 2011

Closing down underperforming public schools in Chicago has historically been a traumatic process, with battle lines drawn between affected communities and district leaders.

School closures take on an even greater significance this year, because they are designed to be the first step in the strategic plan of Mayor Rahm Emanuel and his handpicked school administration to overhaul the struggling system.

The Chicago Public School district, which has closed about 50 schools in the last decade, this year is expected to increase the number of schools being turned around and to expand the number of charter schools. Officials must release the list of schools they plan to shutter by Dec. 1.

The leader of the process is Oliver Sicat, 32, the district’s new chief portfolio officer, a newly-created position focused on providing, in the words of Chief Executive Jean-Claude Brizard, a “high-quality seat” in a good school for every child. Sicat is a former teacher and principal—positions Emanuel said would be on the resumes of his new district leaders.

The son of Filipino immigrants, Sicat grew up in Santa Ana, Calif., where he said his parents had to game the system to get him into a good public school.

“I learned early on that there are different inequities based on where you live,” Sicat said, noting that at one point, his parents used a different address to get him into a better school.

“Looking back now, I see exactly why my parents were doing that,” he said. “But I think there’s something really unfair about it. There’s no reason why families and parents should have to do that.”

If Sicat is successful in the task handed to him by Emanuel and Brizard, families will not have to gamble on where their children go to school. After low-performing schools are closed, Sicat and district leaders say they plan to reorganize or replace them with schools managed by both public and private operators that have proven track records of success.

When Arne Duncan, now the U.S. secretary of education, served as chief executive, he sought to increase the number of high-quality schools under the Renaissance 2010 initiative, opening 100 new schools over a five-year period—most of them charter schools. Research findings on the Renaissance 2010 initiative were mixed but mostly showed little improvement in academic achievement.

Sicat, who previously served as the principal of UIC College Prep, a Noble Street Charter School, has already met his opponents. Last week at a community hearing on the plan for school closings, audience members shouted at Sicat, questioned his decision-making power, and demanded that the district invest in existing schools rather than close them and open up new ones.

“Everyone agrees that we’re trying to improve the educational options for our students, but I think how we get there is where we disagree,” Sicat said at a recent Chicago Board of Education meeting.

A group of community organizations were scheduled on Tuesday to release their own agenda for improving schools, calling on the district to invest in neighborhood schools by providing preschool and full-day kindergarten, supporting after-school programs, and taking better advantage of community partnerships. The groups had already presented their proposal to Beth Swanson, Emanuel’s deputy chief of staff for education, and Jamiko Rose, the district’s chief officer for family and community engagement.

Joanna Brown, the lead education organizer at the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, said Swanson and Rose seemed receptive to their ideas, but added, “The question is where the priorities and the resources are.”

At the last two school board meetings, Sicat has given glimpses of the district’s strategy and priorities.

In October, he said school-closure decisions will be made primarily on academic performance. In November, the board approved a contract with an outside consulting firm to develop a “school choice matching system” that would require all prospective students to apply to the public schools. The district also sent parents a new school report card recently that labels their child’s school as a high or low performer. The city’s public charter schools were not given a report card, causing some to question why they are not being exposed to the same high-stakes evaluations as others.

Barbara Radner, director of the Center for Urban Education at DePaul University, said there is “no question” that the number of charter schools will increase under the new administration.

The Chicago Teachers Union is vehemently opposed to charter schools, and last week president Karen Lewis said the new guidelines for school closings unfairly favor “publicly-funded, but privately-managed charter schools” that are not held accountable to the same standards.

“The guidelines are more of the same failed policies and practices of previous CPS administrations: moving too quickly to close neighborhood schools and replace them with charter schools without ever demonstrating that CPS faithfully tried to adequately support struggling neighborhood schools,” Lewis said.

The CTU does not represent teachers at city charter schools.

Sicat and other district officials say the aim is to expand good schools, regardless of who runs them and whether they are charters or not.

Research on the impact of closing and opening schools on the basis of student achievement has been inconclusive.

A 2009 report from the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research showed that student achievement dipped in the year leading up to closure, but was largely unaffected once a student was placed in a different school. Researchers found that only 6 percent of students moved into high-quality schools, while 42 percent continued to attend low-achieving ones.

The plan is to close those low-achieving schools as soon as possible. But opening “high-quality” schools in their place may take time, and even so, may still not produce the results Sicat and others are hoping for. Multiple Analyses of schools opened under Renaissance 2010 showed that most of them performed only slightly better or about the same as nearby neighborhood schools.

Still, “We want to make sure we’re giving our students better options now,” Sicat said.

Real Housewives of Atlanta’ recap, season four, episode 4: ridiculous?

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Good ol’ Phaedra Parks helped instigate the Peter/Apollo fight last week.

Tonight, she again initiated another verbal altercation, this one between Kandi Burruss and Kandi’s opinionated mom Joyce.

Why? As Phaedra noted last season, she loves the strippers. As an attorney, she even represents one (named Ridickulous) who is so big, well, he has talents that most men are incapable of. And he demonstrated this said talent at Kandi’s 35th birthday party on the rooftop of the Renaissance Hotel in Midtown.

Kandi was cool with it. And Phaedra was in heaven.

“You won’t be able to find that in your local retailer,” Phaedra drawled.

Noting that Phaedra is his attorney, Kandi cracked, “Given how big that is, he probably gets sued for damages.” (A cymbal should have went off after that clunker!)

Kandi’s mom Joyce walked away disgusted. “I don’t like no damn strippers!” she yelped.

NeNe, despite her own stripper past, acted all grossed out. by Ridickulous. “It’s disgusting,” she said, especially since people were wearing Gucci and Versace. (huh?)

“Me and Phaedra and Sheree were laughing,” Kandi explained later. “I wasn’t thinking about everybody else.” Especially her mom, who left early, cursing up a storm.

“It’s my 35th birthday,” said Kandi, chagrined, “And I feel like five.”

By the way, Kandi invited everyone to this party – except Kim, who is eight months pregnant. So the separation between Kim and NeNe continues. Sheree and Phaedra keep their distance from NeNe. Kandi said she hates being in the middle – but she invited them all there. (It’s a TV show. Everyone goes with it.)

“It’s like the Crips and the Bloods,” Phaedra notes. But no bloodshed happens. Just a big chill.

What happened to the other housewives?

- Cynthia Bailey brought her sister Malorie to see her husband Peter at his new bar Bar One, which was about to open. Since Malorie and Cynthia’s mom were so worried about Cynthia’s mental state last season before her wedding, they pondered hiding the marriage certificate. Peter found out later, probably when the episode aired. He was peeved. He thought he was cool with Malorie until then and was hurt. Malorie tried to explain to him that she protecting her sister. He didn’t really buy it. “It wasn’t your day!” he said. In frustration, he got up and left, saying it was okay, even though it wasn’t. Malorie started crying.

Later, Malorie and Cynthia got into an argument because Malorie disapproved of Cynthia even pondering helping Peter out financially with his bar. (His last one belly flopped.) Cynthia got defensive and called out Malorie on her marriage issues. They then tried to cool down but it’s obvious the issue will rear its ugly head again in the future.

- Kim Zolciak got very little airtime this week. She opened the episode meeting with Phaedra, who carried a peace offering gift basket for what happened at the baby shower with her husband and Peter. Kim appreciated it, noting that Cynthia didn’t call her to apologize. She also met with a baby consultant (despite the fact she’s had two kids already) since her third will be a boy. They queasily talked circumcision.

- Sheree Whitfield saw no progress on her new home and brought Phaedra to be her lawyer. They verbally roughed up the contractor in hopes that they don’t have to go to court down the road.

- NeNe revealed to Cynthia that she had sex with Gregg after she got back from Miami though they are still technically separated. “Greg likes it down,” NeNe said. “He can be a tiger!”

NOTABLE QUOTES (there were plenty this week!)

“Note to self: keep the ex cons and ***holes off the guest list next time.” - Kim Zolciak, about any future parties, after the Peter/Apollo dust up last week.

“I don’t know how old Peter is. 65? 75? He’s entirely too old to be yelling at a ***king baby shower.” - Kim, in classy verbal mode again.

“I was on morphine. I was on epidural. I was crazy as a vampire in sunlight!” - Phaedra, on having her baby.

“I’m turning 35 this year. I’m feeling like I’m not married. I want to have another child. It’s kind of depressing. But it is like a milestone so it’s time to party.” - Kandi, rationalizing a party when it was probably the producers’ idea.

“I think Kandi wanted a friendship and Kim wanted a hit song.” - NeNe, pondering why Kandi and Kim have grown apart since “Tardy for a Party” became a huge hit.

“When you are as low down as Sheree, hitting below the belt, trying to dig up your past, you don’t deserve the friendship of NeNe Leakes.” – NeNe Leakes, placing herself in third person like Prince or Shaq.

“I don’t want him growing up with his peepee wearing a turtleneck.” - Kim, on getting her baby circumcised.

“Cynthia needs to set boundaries” between her husband and her family.” - NeNe.

“For a black man, it’s better to see you going than coming. Having a nice donkey booty is like having a carrot and dangling it in front of a horse.” - Phaedra, who teased and threatened a contractor, often at the same time.

“I never leave home without a taser. They’d be glad I left the .357 in the car!” - Phaedra, on her self-defense methods. Watch out Mr. Contractor!

“Lawrence looks like Mr. T dipped in Wonder Woman. Super hero of the South!” - Phaedra, after seeing Lawrence at the 35th birthday party.

“I just enter and my presence takes over the room.” NeNe, modest as always.

TEASER FOR NEXT WEEK

Peter loses $40,000 from an investor for his new bar. Cynthia is thinking about chipping in herself but is not happy about it. We see ex-hubby Bob Whitfield for the first time as Sheree tries to wrangle child support from him. And “Housewives” wannabe Marlo Hampton makes her debut. The rumore: she was dating an NFL player Chris Grant that NeNe also had dated.

RATINGS

Last week, ratings were up to 3.2 million from 3 million the week before. The first three episodes were up 700,000 viewers over a year ago, averaging 3 million. I’ll update this Monday or Tuesday with the ratings from episode No. 4.

Deadline Passes For Occupy Philly Eviction

PHILADELPHIA – A deadline set by the city for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the site where it has camped for some two months passed without scuffles or arrests Sunday as police watched and protesters sang and spoke of their dreams -- while some prepared for the possibility of arrest.
The scene outside City Hall was far different from encampments in other cities where pepper spray, tear gas and police action resulted in the removal of long-situated demonstrators since the movement against economic disparity and perceived corporate greed began with Occupy Wall Street in Manhattan two months ago.

Occupy Philadelphia has managed to avoid aggressive confrontations so far, and on Sunday night there was hope the City of Brotherly Love would continue to be largely violence-free.

"Right now, we have a peaceful demonstration," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Joe Sullivan, nearly 45 minutes after the 5 p.m. deadline. By 11 p.m., the crowd had thinned a bit, but the calm remained.

Along the steps leading into a plaza, about 50 people sat in lines with the promise that they would not leave unless they were carried out by authorities. For a time, they linked arms. But as it seemed that a forceful ouster was not imminent, they relaxed a bit. A police presence was heavier than usual but no orders to leave had been issued.

A few dozen tents remained scattered on the plaza, along with trash, piles of dirty blankets and numerous signs reading, "You can't evict an idea."

Several hundred supporters surrounded those who were prepared to face arrest for one of the Occupy movement meetings known as a general assembly.

The meeting started out with logistics -- making sure those sitting in had quarters to make calls from jail and that someone was gathering important medical information -- but it soon turned to big ideas.

The protesters described their many hopes for a better world. Among them: reparations for slavery and Native American lands, better and more inspiring schools, recognizing gay marriage, and end to homelessness, fewer TVs and better pay for artists. Some of those who spoke with hope and joined in rendition of "Lean on Me," had goggles with them, just in case pepper spray is used.

There was a sense that the occupation in front of Philadelphia's Gothic-style City Hall would soon be over, but hope that the movement would last.

"This is just baby steps," said R.W. Dennen, who said he felt a bit guilty that he wasn't preparing to be arrested.

Elsewhere on the East Coast, eight people were arrested in Maine after protesters in the Occupy Augusta encampment in Capitol Park took down their tents and packed their camping gear after being told to get a permit or move their shelters.

Protesters pitched tents Oct. 15 as part of the national movement but said Sunday they shouldn't have to get a permit to exercise their right to assemble. Occupy leaders said a large teepee loaned by the Penobscot Indians and a big all-weather tent would stay up.

The Augusta arrests came when police say people jumped a waist-high, wooden fence on the governor's mansion lawn and some climbed a portico to the building and unfurled an Occupy banner. As many as 50 protesters, some holding signs and beating a drum, gathered near the Blaine House gates.

In Los Angeles, another deadline was getting closer, too, for hundreds of demonstrators to abandon their weeks-old Occupy Los Angeles protest.

Although city officials have told protesters they must leave and take their nearly 500 tents with them by 12:01 a.m. Monday, just a handful were seen packing up Sunday.

Instead, some passed out fliers containing the city seal and the words: "By order of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, this notice terminates your tenancy and requires you to attend the Occupy L.A. Eviction Block Party," which the fliers' said was scheduled for 12:01 a.m.

Others attended teach-ins on resistance tactics, including how to stay safe should police begin firing rubber bullets or breaking out tear gas canisters and pepper spray.

Back in Philadelphia, Steve Venus was fortifying the area around his tent with abandoned wood pallets left over from those who had already packed up. He said the $50 million construction project, including a planned ice skating rink, was not a good enough reason for Occupy Philadelphia to leave the plaza.

Venus, 22, said that by enforcing the deadline, the city was essentially telling Occupy supporters "your issues are not important. The only issue that's important is the ice skating rink."

On Friday, Mayor Michael Nutter expressed support for the movement's ideals but said protesters must make room for the long-planned project, which they were told of when they set up camp Oct. 6.

Nutter was out of town Sunday, but his spokesman reiterated that "people are under orders to move."

The mayor himself had an exchange on Twitter with hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons, who asked Nutter "to remember this is a non-violent movement -- please show restraint tonight."

Nutter's response: "I agree."

Members of the governing body of Occupy Philadelphia, the general assembly, previously approved a move to a plaza across the street after union officials stressed the hundreds of jobs being created by the Dilworth reconstruction. But that vote mistakenly assumed protesters would be able to pitch tents there.

Graffiti, lack of sanitation and fire hazards, including smoking in tents, were among the city's chief concerns at Dilworth, which had about 350 tents at the height of the movement. The encampment also attracted significant numbers of homeless, although the plaza had long been frequented by that population even before the camp was established.

The city did issue a permit to an Occupy Philadelphia faction called Reasonable Solutions that planned to continue demonstrating across the street beginning Monday. However, activities are limited to between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., and no overnight camping is allowed.

How to Use Assessment Centers to Your Business Advantage

by: BMA Editorial Team 3

To start with, let's look at it from the side of the business owner. Are you familiar with the role of assessment centers in business?

If you want to maximize the productivity of your business then you may well need to use an assessment center to make the most of it. So, why do you need the services of an assessment center?

The Value of Assessing Job Candidates Properly

First of all, an assessment center can help you decide who the right people are for a certain job. For instance, if you want to find a person that will be able to speedily execute a lot of accounting transactions in a given period of time, then you can build into the assessment center to test if they can do that.

Whilst it's possible, if you do this on your own, without testing appropriately, there is a fair chance that you will not get the right person for the job

If you get the wrong person for the job then you will have trouble running the business. You will need to go through the process of hiring someone else, just because you didn't do the job right first time!

If you don't learn from your mistakes, then, without question, you will go on in this cycle over and over again until you find the right person.

And what happens if you do not get the right person for the job? Your business will struggle and you will not be able to grow and prosper. This is why you need the services of an assessment center.

Set up well, an assessment center can readily assess whether a person is right for the job or not.

You May Already Have Great People

Second, you may need to use an assessment center within your business or organization, because apart from looking for the right person for a job, you also need to know who should be promoted. Internal assessment centers can be used for specific jobs, or even when you just want to benchmark your people along the way.

Your business or your company needs to grow and if you want to grow then you need to know which of your existing people are capable of making the company grow.

An assessment center can find out who the right people are when it comes to company growth - who has potential even, such that they will be just right for the future.

If you want to make sure that your business succeeds and grows going forward, then you need to know who to spend time with to prepare for promotion.

People Management Can Be Tricky!

Business can be very tricky because it deals with a lot of human beings. People management is part science and part artform, because human beings can be very complex creatures! If you do not know how to manage people then your business growth will suffer.

With the help of assessment centers internally, you can focus your energies where people need it most - on the people you will get the very best value out of.

By valuing the services of an assessment center to measure capabilities of internal and external people, it will give you a serious helping hand in getting the best from your people, now and in the future.

Assessment Centers - What's There To Lose?

So, if you have not considered the services of an assessment center then you might want to try it now. Do you wonder why your business is not growing, or it puzzles you why certain employees work well together and others don't in your team?

If you want to find answers to questions like this then you will definitely find value in using the services of an assessment center.

Don't wait for all your competitors to overtake you in your business or for your business to start sliding down a slope. Get the best people for now and the future.

Using an assessment center is one way you can do it!

(c) How To Win At Assessment Centers.
http://human-resources-mgt.bestmanagementarticles.com/a-43119-how-to-use-assessment-centers-to-your-business-advantage.aspx

Encouragement ..

by RHENALD KASALI – Ketua Program MM UI

Lima belas tahun lalu saya pernah mengajukan protes pada guru sebuah sekolah tempat anak saya belajar di Amerika Serikat. Masalahnya, karangan berbahasa Inggris yang ditulis anak saya seadanya itu telah diberi nilai E (Excellence) yang artinya sempurna, hebat, bagus sekali. Padahal dia baru saja tiba di Amerika dan baru mulai belajar bahasa. Karangan yang dia tulis sehari sebelumnya itu pernah ditunjukkan kepada saya dan saya mencemaskan kemampuan verbalnya yang terbatas. Menurut saya tulisan itu buruk, logikanya sangat sederhana.

Saya memintanya memperbaiki kembali,sampai dia menyerah.Rupanya karangan itulah yang diserahkan anak saya kepada gurunya dan bukan diberi nilai buruk, malah dipuji. Ada apa? Apa tidak salah memberi nilai? Bukankah pendidikan memerlukan kesungguhan? Kalau begini saja sudah diberi nilai tinggi, saya khawatir anak saya cepat puas diri. Sewaktu saya protes, ibu guru yang menerima saya hanya bertanya singkat. “Maaf Bapak dari mana?” “Dari Indonesia ,” jawab saya. Dia pun tersenyum.

Budaya Menghukum ..

Pertemuan itu merupakan sebuah titik balik yang penting bagi hidup saya. Itulah saat yang mengubah cara saya dalam mendidik dan membangun masyarakat. “Saya mengerti,” jawab ibu guru yang wajahnya mulai berkerut, namun tetap simpatik itu.
“Beberapa kali saya bertemu ayah-ibu dari Indonesia yang anak-anaknya dididik di sini,” lanjutnya. “Di negeri Anda, guru sangat sulit memberi nilai. Filosofi kami mendidik di sini bukan untuk menghukum, melainkan untuk merangsang orang agar maju. Encouragement!” Dia pun melanjutkan argumentasinya.

“Saya sudah 20 tahun mengajar. Setiap anak berbeda-beda. Namun untuk anak sebesar itu, baru tiba dari negara yang bahasa ibunya bukan bahasa Inggris, saya dapat menjamin, ini adalah karya yang hebat,” ujarnya menunjuk karangan berbahasa Inggris yang dibuat anak saya.

Dari diskusi itu saya mendapat pelajaran berharga. Kita tidak dapat mengukur prestasi orang lain menurut ukuran kita. Saya teringat betapa mudahnya saya menyelesaikan study saya yang bergelimang nilai “A”, dari program master hingga doktor. Sementara di Indonesia, saya harus menyelesaikan studi jungkir balik ditengarai ancaman drop out dan para penguji yang siap menerkam. Saat ujian program doktor saya pun dapat melewatinya dengan mudah.

Pertanyaan mereka memang sangat serius dan membuat saya harus benar-benar siap. Namun suasana ujian dibuat sangat bersahabat. Seorang penguji bertanya dan penguji yang lain tidak ikut menekan, melainkan ikut membantu memberikan jalan begitu mereka tahu jawabannya.

Mereka menunjukkan grafik-grafik yang saya buat dan menerangkan seterang-terangnya sehingga kami makin mengerti. Ujian penuh puja-puji, menanyakan ihwal masa depan dan mendiskusikan kekurangan penuh keterbukaan. Pada saat kembali ke Tanah Air, banyak hal sebaliknya sering saya saksikan. Para pengajar bukan saling menolong, malah ikut “menelan” mahasiswanya yang duduk di bangku ujian.

Ketika seseorang penguji atau promotor membela atau meluruskan pertanyaan, penguji marah-marah, tersinggung, dan menyebarkan berita tidak sedap seakan-akan kebaikan itu ada udang di balik batunya. Saya sempat mengalami frustrasi yang luar biasa menyaksikan bagaimana para dosen menguji, yang maaf, menurut hemat saya sangat tidak manusiawi. Mereka bukan melakukan encouragement, melainkan discouragement. Hasilnya pun bisa diduga, kelulusan rendah dan yang diluluskan pun kualitasnya tidak hebat-hebat betul. Orang yang tertekan ternyata belakangan saya temukan juga menguji dengan cara menekan.

Ada semacam balas dendam dan kecurigaan. Saya ingat betul bagaimana guru-guru di Amerika memajukan anak didiknya. Saya berpikir pantaslah anak-anak di sana mampu menjadi penulis karya-karya ilmiah yang hebat, bahkan penerima Hadiah Nobel. Bukan karena mereka punya guru yang pintar secara akademis, melainkan karakternya sangat kuat: karakter yang membangun, bukan merusak. Kembali ke pengalaman anak saya di atas, ibu guru mengingatkan saya.

“Janganlah kita mengukur kualitas anak-anak kita dengan kemampuan kita yang sudah jauh di depan,” ujarnya dengan penuh kesungguhan. Saya juga teringat dengan rapor anak-anak di Amerika yang ditulis dalam bentuk verbal.

Anak-anak Indonesia yang baru tiba umumnya mengalami kesulitan, namun rapornya tidak diberi nilai merah, melainkan diberi kalimat yang mendorongnya untuk bekerja lebih keras, seperti berikut. “Sarah telah memulainya dengan berat, dia mencobanya dengan sungguh-sungguh. Namun Sarah telah menunjukkan kemajuan yang berarti.

Malam itu saya mendatangi anak saya yang tengah tertidur dan mengecup keningnya. Saya ingin memeluknya di tengah-tengah rasa salah telah memberi penilaian yang tidak objektif. Dia pernah protes saat menerima nilai E yang berarti excellent (sempurna), tetapi saya mengatakan “gurunya salah”. Kini saya melihatnya dengan kacamata yang berbeda.

Melahirkan Kehebatan ..

Bisakah kita mencetak orang-orang hebat dengan cara menciptakan hambatan dan rasa takut? Bukan tidak mustahil kita adalah generasi yang dibentuk oleh sejuta ancaman: gesper, rotan pemukul, tangan bercincin batu akik, kapur, dan penghapus yang dilontarkan dengan keras oleh guru,sundutan rokok, dan seterusnya. Kita dibesarkan dengan seribu satu kata-kata ancaman: Awas…; Kalau,…; Nanti,…; dan tentu saja tulisan berwarna merah menyala di atas kertas ujian dan rapor di sekolah.

Sekolah yang membuat kita tidak nyaman mungkin telah membuat kita menjadi lebih disiplin. Namun di lain pihak dia juga bisa mematikan inisiatif dan mengendurkan semangat. Temuan-temuan baru dalam ilmu otak ternyata menunjukkan otak manusia tidak statis, melainkan dapat mengerucut (mengecil) atau sebaliknya,dapat tumbuh.Semua itu sangat tergantung dari ancaman atau dukungan (dorongan) yang didapat dari orang-orang di sekitarnya. Dengan demikian kecerdasan manusia dapat tumbuh, sebaliknya dapat menurun. Seperti yang sering saya katakan, ada orang pintar dan ada orang yang kurang pintar atau bodoh.

Tetapi juga ada orang yang tambah pintar dan ada orang yang tambah bodoh. Mari kita renungkan dan mulailah mendorong kemajuan, bukan menaburkan ancaman atau ketakutan.

Bantulah orang lain untuk maju, bukan dengan menghina atau memberi ancaman yang menakut-nakuti..

- Phillip Lahm Inc. -

CEO dalam Cracking Zone

kupikir CEO itu orang yg lulus fit&proper test, teruji managerialnya, lama pengabdiannya dibidangnya.ternyata gak cukup.CEO itu orang yg mencintai dan menikahi produk yg dia geluti shg bs lahir produk turunan baru.dan ternyata pengabdian dan percintaan yg.lama blm.tentu kawin dan lahir produk baru.inikah yg dinamakan cracking zone?!

Cracker, bukan Sekedar Leader

saat ini semakin tdk.jelas dr.mana datangnya kompetitor bisnis.Ancol dg Mall apa hubungannya?tp bs jd kompetitor.Manakala dl.team bergerak dg instruksi pimpinan yg jelas spt kompetisi kapal naga, kini butuh inisiatif masing2 individu untuk bergerak maju, krn.makin tdk.jelas dr.mana datangnya kompetitor, ibarat arung jeram, jika tdk.berinisiatif perahu akan keburu tenggelam.

Kompetisi Arung Jeram vs Kapal Naga

saat ini semakin tdk.jelas dr.mana datangnya kompetitor bisnis.Ancol dg Mall apa hubungannya?tp bs jd kompetitor.Manakala dl.team bergerak dg instruksi pimpinan yg jelas spt kompetisi kapal naga, kini butuh inisiatif masing2 individu untuk bergerak maju, krn.makin tdk.jelas dr.mana datangnya kompetitor, ibarat arung jeram, jika tdk.berinisiatif perahu akan keburu tenggelam.