NBA News

Bryant, Howard and Paul out for Lakers-Clips game

Posted Oct 24, 2012 9:52 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard are sitting out of the Los Angeles Lakers' preseason game against the Clippers, who are giving Chris Paul a rest on Wednesday night.

Bryant has a strained and bruised right foot, while Paul was hit accidentally by a teammate in practice.

Coach Mike Brown says he wanted to rest Howard, who was recovering from general soreness after his Lakers debut on Sunday.

Brown says Bryant won't play in San Diego against the Kings on Thursday night, when the Lakers conclude their preseason schedule. Bryant missed an exhibition game earlier this month to rest a sore right shoulder.

The Clippers wrap up their preseason schedule Thursday night at Denver, and coach Vinny Del Negro said Paul will play in that game. He said he wanted to rest Paul heading into back-to-back games.

NBA News

Warriors pick up team option for guard Thompson

Posted Oct 25, 2012 9:45 PM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- The Golden State Warriors have exercised their third-year option on shooting guard Klay Thompson.

The announcement Thursday will keep Thompson with the Warriors through the 2013-14 season.

The 22-year-old played in all 66 games last season. He averaged 12.5 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 24 minutes to earn first-team All-Rookie honors.

Golden State drafted Thompson 11th overall out of Washington State. He led all rookies in 3-point percentage at 41 percent, and 3-pointers made with 111.

The Warriors open the regular season Wednesday night at Phoenix. Thompson is expected to start at shooting guard this season.

NBA News

Mavs pick up center Curry off waivers

Posted Oct 25, 2012 9:42 PM

DALLAS (AP) -- The Dallas Mavericks claimed free-agent center Eddy Curry off waivers Thursday.

The 7-foot Curry was waived Wednesday by San Antonio after averaging 8.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 15.4 minutes in five preseason games. He played 14 games last season for Miami, averaging 2.1 points and 5.9 minutes.

"We are excited to bring Eddy Curry to Dallas," said Donnie Nelson, the Mavericks' president of basketball operations. "He has worked extremely hard this offseason and can provide our front line with much needed depth."

Drafted fourth overall by Chicago in 2001, Curry has averaged 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds in 525 career games with Chicago, New York and Miami.

NBA News

LeBron aims to leave as 'best of all-time'

Posted Oct 26, 2012 5:09 PM - Updated Oct 26, 2012 5:31 PM

MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James won a championship and nothing changed.

Sure, there were a few events. The obligatory champagne shower at his stall in the Miami Heat locker room. The parade through before an estimated 400,000 fans. A pep rally at his high school. And Tuesday night brings the ultimate capper, the ring-and-banner ceremony just minutes before the start of a new season.

Then it begins again, another year, another quest for a title.

Having one title is not completely satisfying for James, who put the he-can't-win notion to rest when the Heat beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games for last season's NBA crown. It was a perfect run for the perennial All-Star: Besides getting engaged and winning his second Olympic gold, James walked away with the NBA's three most coveted trophies: MVP, Finals MVP and the championship.

For an encore, he wants more.

"I want to be the best of all-time," James said in an interview with The Associated Press. "It's that simple."

He expressed similar sentiment last year, and the year before that, and probably all the way back to high school in Akron, Ohio. He always wondered if a championship would change that perspective.

He now has his answer.

"Not really, honestly," James said. "I haven't had much time to really just think about what actually happened. At the end of the day, there's still going to be people that say, well, he's not going to be able to win two. He's not going to be able to do it again."

Time will tell.

At 6-foot-8, 260 pounds and blessed with a speed-and-strength combination - "he's a freak," Detroit coach Lawrence Frank said - James is widely considered the best player in the game today. He has won three MVP awards and some opposing coaches say he might keep winning those until voters get tired of selecting him.

But the best of all time, that title will obviously take some work.

So this summer - partly because of the desire to win another ring, partly because of his incessant need to silence doubters, partly because it's just who he is - James took very little time off. He went straight from the finals to the Olympics, then rested briefly before getting back in the gym. James arrived at camp in essentially the same shape as he ended last season.

"He has great perspective on this game and what it takes to be a champion," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "He's one of the most self-motivated players I've ever been around. But yes, he also needs to be stimulated from time to time. It's a joy for our franchise to have this opportunity to be able to work with him."

Last season was a joy for James as well, and not just because of the title.

After the hating-the-Heat phenomenon that followed his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami in 2010 - and the manner in which he made that decision - James said last season was about getting back to the basics of basketball. He surrounded himself with friends and family whenever he could. He tried to ignore at least some of the round-the-clock coverage of all things LeBron. He was going to be happy again, no matter what.

It worked.

The two knocks about James a year ago were that he couldn't close games, that he couldn't rise to the ultimate moments and that he couldn't win a title. He debunked all of that - the 45-point game in win-or-else Game 6 at Boston in the Eastern Conference finals, the one-legged 3-pointer when he was cramping against Oklahoma City that helped the Heat win Game 4 of the finals, and then, the triple-double in the season's last game.

James went to the bench with 3:01 left in that game, and within moments, started dancing and jumping around, waving his arms and grinning.

Happy, personified.

"The best thing about last year is we got all the way to the mountaintop and then we crossed over," James said. "So now I know what it takes to get there and actually get over the top of that mountain."

James is on the verge of entering even more rarefied NBA air.

He enters the season 47th all-time in scoring, with a chance to move up to around No. 30 if he posts average-for-him numbers over the next 82 games. Among active players, he's ninth in scoring, and each of the eight names above him on that list have completed at least 14 NBA seasons. James has completed nine.

"LeBron takes no days off," Heat forward Udonis Haslem said. "After winning the championship, he goes straight to the Olympics, then comes back and is straight into the season. It'd be easy for him to make excuses and take a practice day off. But not this guy. No days off. He's nonstop, he's motivated and he brings it every day."

With James, as most basketball fans know, scoring is just part of the story.

He's 10th among active players in assists. James enters the season with three more assists than San Antonio's Tony Parker - a point guard who has played 117 more games than James. And James' average combined points, assists and rebounds per game (41.7) is considerably ahead of the No. 2 active player on that list, that being Heat teammate Dwyane Wade (36.4).

"LeBron is very talented on the court and he's probably the best player in the NBA," Heat forward Rashard Lewis said. "But I don't think people know his personable side. He's a great guy, loves his teammates, is very sharing, is always bringing gifts into the locker room for his teammates. He's a funny guy, a class clown, but when he steps on the court he's all about the game."

And he insists nothing has changed in that respect.

The Heat are generally considered favorites to win another title this season, though the external expectation does little to faze James. At this point, he knows championships will define whether it was a good year or not, much as it was for the stars before him like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, some of the few on whom the spotlight has shone brightest.

"The target, that doesn't change for me," James said. "I've had a target, champion or not champion, since probably `05. And now that we've won one, the target, it's no different for me."

NBA News

Knicks waive guard Chris Smith

Posted Oct 26, 2012 6:49 PM

NEW YORK (AP) -- The New York Knicks waived guard Chris Smith on Friday, cutting their roster to 19 players.

The 6-foot-2 rookie from Louisville didn't appear in any preseason games after having surgery on his left patella tendon. He averaged 9.7 points last season for the Cardinals

NBA News

NBA continues to grow internationally

Posted Oct 26, 2012 6:53 PM

MIAMI (AP) -- Over nearly a two-week stretch in January, the Detroit Pistons play four straight "home" games. First comes Utah, then New York, followed by Boston and Orlando.

It's a most unusual run of home games - since the one against the Knicks will be played in London.

The league calls itself the National Basketball Association, though the National part hardly tells the whole story. Maybe now more than ever, the NBA continues to look for growth on the international side of the game, a stretch that seems to have started when the group of U.S. players forever to be known as the Dream Team took center stage at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Commissioner David Stern has talked for years about the prospects of more NBA games, possibly even teams, abroad. On Thursday, Stern announced his plan to step down in 2014, but it's certain that at least some - probably quite a bit - of his remaining tenure will be spent on laying more groundwork for the league to keep evolving internationally.

"Look, if you said 10 years ago that we were going to be playing regular-season games in Europe, I would have probably said, `Not a chance,"' Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "And last year they played two games over there. So anything's possible. The fan base continues to grow over there. It's cool to be part of a league that has become so global."

The numbers are eye-popping. The league's games are now shown in 215 countries and territories. The NBA says a total of 114 games have been played in 32 international cities across 17 foreign countries since 1988. Through social media, the league says it engages 320 million fans - that's more than the entire U.S. population - across the globe, and seems to put the NBA at the front when it comes to interest internationally among the four major U.S. leagues.

Stern says international potential is an area "of extreme importance" for the league, which is clear. The NBA has a newly opened office in Brazil, which will play host to the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. There's an NBA office in Mumbai now, for the growing market in India. And Stern said he wasn't even sure the league would be able to respond to all the requests from firms there to do business with the NBA.

"It's the reality of the game," Stern said. "There has been enormous improvement in the quality of the basketball around the world. In the London Olympics on 11 of the 12 teams, we had 59 current or former NBA players. That just speaks to the quality of the international competition. The quality being that international players make our game better by playing in the NBA, and then they return to play for the national teams."

Even before the league formally announced the Pistons-Knicks game in London - which will bring reigning gold medalists Tyson Chandler and Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks back to the city where they helped the U.S. win the Olympic title - fans in England were asking around about tickets.

"I think it is a good thing," Chandler said. "I think the game is slowly turning into a global game. I think it's good for everybody. It's good for the fans over there, it's good for the game, it's good for players as well, as long as it's done correctly."

The ideas for foreign growth have been a constant in the NBA, including Stern's oft-repeated hope of eventually adding a division of teams in Europe. (He has long said the idea is 10 years away, which has almost become a bit of a running joke since his prediction never changes even as the calendar flips from one year to the next.)

But in a global economy, and as the dominant force in a global game, reaching the billions of people who aren't exposed to elite-level basketball remains a top priority. That was even illustrated on Thursday, when Stern's decision to leave the commissioner's office was announced, but with the caveat that he will continue helping the NBA with certain issues - international ones in particular.

"At our urging we are going to also sit down with David, and have him continue to help us to be available to the partners or to the new commissioner after that time, to help us in particular on new projects or probably international projects," said Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor. "We just think that his leadership will be important to our future."

Markets differ widely from one country to the next. Interest in certain players, apparently, does not.

Earlier this year, the NBA released the list of best-selling jerseys in international markets. In China, the top three were the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant, Chicago's Derrick Rose and Miami's LeBron James, respectively. In Europe, the order was the same. In Latin America, Bryant was again No. 1, followed by James and Rose.

Notice a trend there?

"Every time I go to another country, I'm always amazed by where the game's going," James said. "I think the interest in our game just keeps growing. You're talking about billions of people in this world, and a lot of people know the NBA."

There were seven preseason games abroad this season: Istanbul, Milan, Berlin, Barcelona, Shanghai, Beijing and Mexico City were the host cities. Each venue sold out, the NBA said.

Given the interest, and given the dollars that are out there, no one would be surprised to see more NBA games abroad - and regularly.

"I would never underestimate the creativity of the league," Spoelstra said.

NBA News

Time Warner Cable sign first major Lakers deal

Posted Oct 26, 2012 8:39 PM - Updated Oct 26, 2012 11:00 PM

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Time Warner Cable Inc. says it has reached its first major agreements to receive payment for carriage of two new channels carrying Lakers basketball games.

The company said Friday it had signed up Charter Communications Inc., which has around 290,000 subscribers in the Los Angeles area. Time Warner Cable also said it had agreed to terms with Verizon Communications Inc., whose subscriber numbers in the region were not immediately clear.

The first regular-season game to be carried on the channels is Wednesday night at Portland. The Lakers' season opener is at home against the Mavericks on Tuesday in a game to be broadcast on TNT.

Time Warner Cable bought the regional TV rights to Lakers games last year for an estimated $3 billion over 20 years, in a deal that also included games of pro soccer's LA Galaxy and the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks. It must sign deals with other TV distributors to help offset costs.

Earlier this month, Time Warner signed up partner Bright House Networks, which only has a few thousand subscribers in Bakersfield.

Time Warner Cable has about 1.7 million customers in the region, but there are more than 2 million other pay TV subscribers, including customers of DirecTV and Dish Network Corp., who might lose access to games if their providers don't reach a deal to carry the channels.

There are also nearly 700,000 TV households in the area that get their signals for free via antenna that will lose access to the Lakers' away games this year unless they opt to pay for TV. Lakers away games used to be broadcast over the airwaves for free by KCAL, a CBS Corp. TV station.

From Yahoo

Jika Sahabat Selalu Merebut Pria yang Kita Sukai

Tanya: 
Saya punya seorang teman yang sangat-sangat akrab dengan saya. Masalahnya adalah, setiap kali saya mengenalkan pria yang merupakan gebetan saya, dia pasti akan minta nomor HP pria tersebut, meng-SMS pria tersebut setiap waktu, dan akhirnya malah teman saya yang menjadi akrab dengannya bahkan sampai pacaran. Padahal teman saya ini tahu bahwa pria-pria yang saya kenalkan itu adalah pria-pria yang saya sukai. Bagaimana harusnya saya menyikapi teman saya ini? 
 
Christine, Medan


Jawab:

Hai Christine,

Hidup ini pilihan. Apapun pilihan yang diambil pasti ada risikonya. Begitu juga dengan pilihan memberikan nomor kontak seseorang yang Christine suka kepada teman yang ternyata juga suka melakukan pendekatan.

Baiknya apabila Christine memang memiliki niat melakukan pendekatan pada seseorang, cobalah untuk tidak mengenalkannya terlebih dulu pada sang teman (seberapapun akrab dengannya). Nanti apabila sudah ada kepastian cinta, barulah dikenalkan.

Di sisi lain, pendekatan yang dilakukan sang sahabat pada pria yang Catherine suka, juga bisa merupakan tes untuknya. Apabila sang pria benar-benar menyukai Christine, seharusnya dia tidak akan tergoda dan beralih ke wanita lain, kan? Sehingga keseriusan dan cintanya sudah teruji pada awal hubungan.  

Terima kasih sudah berbagi.

Stay In Love,

From Yahoo

Stonehenge Swedia? Makam Zaman Batu yang Mungkin Lebih Tua dari Stonehenge Inggris

Oleh Tia Ghose, Kontributor LiveScience

Sebuah makam berusia 5.500 tahun yang mungkin milik seorang kepala suku Zaman Batu telah ditemukan di sebuah monumen megalitikum dan berbentuk sebuah kapal yang disebut Ale’s Stenar (Batu Ale). 

Makam yang berada di Swedia tersebut tampaknya merupakan bebatuan yang diambil dari situs lain untuk digunakan membangun monumen kapal era Viking tersebut. 

"Kami menemukan jejak — sebagian besar petunjuk — dari bebatuan besar," kata pimpinan arkeolog Bengst Soderberg dari Swedish National Heritage Board. "Saya yakin bahwa beberapa batu itu setidaknya, berdiri menyerupai kapal." 



Berlokasi di tebing pantai desa Kaseberga, terdapat Ales Stenar yang juga disebut  Batu Ale, yang terdiri dari 59 batu besar yang tersusun sepanjang 67 meter menyerupai sebuah kerangka kapal. Sebagian besar peneliti percaya, struktur kapal yang berusia 1.400 tahun itu adalah monumen pemakaman yang dibangun menjelang akhir Zaman Besi Swedia.

Menurut legenda, Raja Ale dimakamkan di bawah situs tersebut. 

Megalitikum Ales Stenar yang beberapa di antaranya memiliki berat hingga 1.800 kilogram tersebut, memiliki potongan khas yang mirip dengan yang ditemukan di situs Zaman Batu. Jadi peneliti mulai bertanya-tanya, apakah batu-batu itu dicuri dari sebuah monumen yang usianya lebih tua, ungkap Soderberg kepada LiveScience.

Pada 2006 lalu, para arkeolog menggunakan sensor magnetik dan radar untuk memetakan medan tanah daerah tersebut dan menemukan struktur melingkar yang lebih besar dengan diameter sekitar 165m dengan sebuah persegi 20mx8m di bagian tengah.

Pekan lalu, tim peneliti akhirnya menggali sebuah parit kecil melalui pusat lingkaran tersebut dan menggali jejak batu-batu raksasa yang telah lama hilang. Meskipun mereka tidak menemukan kerangka, jejak yang tersisa menandakan bahwa situs tersebut merupakan sebuah ruang penguburan Neolitik yang disebut dolmen atau bebatuan tegak dengan beberapa batu horizontal di atasnya tempat jasad ditempatkan. 

"Semua batu telah dipindahkan. Dan saya akan mengatakan, kemungkinan besar mereka berdiri 40 meter dari dolmen tempat bangunan berbentuk kapal tersebut berada," kata Soderberg. 

Berdasarkan tata letak, dolmen tersebut mungkin berusia  hingga 5.500 tahun — yang berarti mungkin lebih tua dari Stonehenge. Ruang pemakaman besar yang kemungkinan  adalah lokasi jasad seorang kepala suku lokal atau kepala suku saat Era Neolitik, ujarnya. Karena hanya ada sedikit bukti dari luar lingkaran tersebut, para peneliti belum yakin untuk apa ruang tersebut digunakan atau apakah usianya setua dolmen tersebut. 

Ribuan situs dolmen tersebar di seluruh daratan Skandinavia, meskipun peradaban yang selanjutnya mencuri banyak batu-batu itu untuk membangun gereja dan bangunan lain.

Monumen batu raksasa tersebut menunjukkan bahwa bahkan nenek moyang orang Swedia dari Zaman Batu memiliki keturunan dan keabadian, kata Magnus Andersson dari Swedish National Heritage Board. 

Makam baru tersebut juga menunjukkan bahwa tempat tertentu, dengan tebing mengagumkan yang menghadap ke Laut Baltik, telah mengilhami banyak generasi, ungkapnya. 

"Tempat yang indah di tepi tebing pasti menarik banyak orang di seluruh zaman," katanya. "Ini menunjukkan bahwa orang-orang dalam jangka yang panjang membangun monumen mereka dan melakukan upacara mereka di situs yang sama."

From Yahoo

Keracunan Makanan Akibat Bakteri: Ancaman Serius Bagi Orang Lanjut Usia

Roti bakar dengan telur setengah matang adalah sarapan yang populer di Singapura, tetapi bagi lansia Singapura dan orang yang memiliki kekebalan tubuh yang lemah, mungkin lebih baik untuk tidak memakan telur yang kurang matang. Sebabnya? Anda berisiko keracunan makanan yang disebabkan bakteri Salmonella.
Bagi lansia, lebih baik untuk tidak memakan telur yang kurang matang. (iStockphoto)
Menurut Weekly Infectious Disease Bulletin dari Kementerian Kesehatan, Salmonella adalah penyebab utama keracunan makanan di Singapura dengan 1.480 kasus yang dilaporkan pada 2010 dan 1.383 kasus pada 2011. Keracunan bakteri bisa sangat berbahaya.

"Keracunan makanan yang disebabkan oleh Salmonella atau bakteri lain yang dikenal dengan nama Listeria bisa menjadi masalah serius bagi lansia karena bakteri bisa menyebar ke organ lainnya," ujar Dr Limin Wijaya, konsultan Department of Infectious Diseases, Singapore General Hospital.

"Kekebalan tubuh lansia yang lebih lemah membuat mereka rentan mengidap infeksi bakteri serius dan komplikasi." ujar Dr Wijaya menambahkan.

Penyebab keracunan makanan oleh Salmonella
Sebagian besar keracunan makanan disebabkan kesalahan dalam mengolah makanan. Salmonella bisa menyebar ke makanan akibat terkontaminasi kotoran binatang atau manusia. Daging, susu, telur dan unggas adalah tempat berkembang yang umum bagi bakteri Salmonella. Bakteri tersebut bisa menyebar ke makanan lain secara tidak langsung melalui kontak dengan makanan mentah, peralatan dapur atau perabot.

Buah-buahan dan sayur-mayur yang terkontaminasi dengan kotoran manusia di tanah maupun air juga dapat menyebabkan keracunan makanan Salmonella.

Orang yang mengolah makanan yang tidak mencuci tangan secara benar setelah pergi ke toilet kemungkinan akan menyebabkan makan terkontaminasi oleh Salmonella.

Keracunan makanan akibat bakteri Listeria
Listeriosis adalah jenis lain dari racun makanan yang dikenal dengan nama Listeria monocytogenes.
Bakteri Listeria biasanya menyebar melalui makanan mentah seperti keju lunak, daging yang tidak dimasak dan sayuran dan susu yang tidak dipasteurisasi. Bakteri ini juga bisa menyerang makanan siap santap, hotdog dan daging untuk makan siang.

From Yahoo

Bintang Televisi Berbusana Terbaik Saat Ini

Dalam hal fashion, para aktris di serial-serial televisi banyak memberikan inspirasi kepada Anda mengenai bagaimana tetap tampil baru dan bervariasi dalam bergaya. Lalu tak hanya di tontonan yang mereka bintangi, para aktris ini juga mampu memberi inspirasi gaya di dunia nyata lewat aksi mereka di acara-acara bergengsi di luar sana.

Siapa saja mereka? Video dari Style Factor ini  akan menjawabnya.

Sports From Yahoo

PSSI Rilis 35 Nama Pemain Untuk AFF Cup 2012

Sebanyak 35 pemain Timnas Indonesia sudah didaftarkan PSSI ke AFF. Nantinya, skuad asuhan Nil Maizar tersebut, akan tampil pada ajang Piala AFF di Malaysia dan Vietnam, 24 November-22 Desember 2012.

Irfan Bachdim dan kawan-kawan tergabung di Grup B bersama Malaysia, Singapura, dan Laos. Di pertandingan perdana, skuad asuhan Nil Maizar itu akan berhadapan dengan Laos pada 25 November 2012.

"Hari ini adalah batas terakhir entry by name kepada pihak panitia, sehingga kami bergerak cepat. Semoga, pemain mampu merealisasikan target yang diberikan," ujar koordinator Timnas, Bob Hippy.

Dari jumlah sebanyak 35 nama tersebut, PSSI memasukkan empat nama baru, yakni Agung Supriyanto, Arthur Irawan, Raphael Guillermo Eduardo Maitimo dan Tonnie Cusell Lilipaly, sebagai pengganti empat pemain yang bermain di klub Belgia, CS Vise.

Sementara, I Made Wirawan akan mengantikan pos pemain naturalisasi, Stefano Lilipaly. Dua pemain senior, Bambang Pamungkas dan Firman Utina juga tetap dimasukkan ke dalam skuad tersebut.

Kembali dikatakan Bob, dari 35 pemain tersebut, nantinya akan dipilih 23 pemain seminggu sebelum Piala AFF dilangsungkan.

Daftar 35 Pemain Timnas Senior:

Kiper: Syamsidar, Wahyu Tri Nugroho, Endra Prasetya, I Made Wirawan

Bek: Hengky Ardiles, Hamdi Ramdhan, Wahyu Wijiastanto, Diego Michiels, Fachruddin, Valentino Telaubun, Novan Setya Sasongko, Nopendi, Hamka Hamzah, Arthur Irawan

Gelandang: Elie Aiboy, Vendry Mofu, Taufiq, Oktovianus Maniani, Hendra Adi Bayauw, Jajang Paliama, Rasyid Assyahid Bakri, Firman Utina, Ahmad Bustomi, Raphael Guillermo Eduardo Maitimo

Penyerang: Irfan Bachdim, Samsul Arif, M. Nur Iskandar, M. Rahmat, Bambang Pamungkas, Patrich Wanggai, Cornelius Gedy, Andik Vermansyah, Johnny Van Beukering, Tonnie Cusell Lilipaly, Agung Supriyanto. (esa/dzi)

From Yahoo

Bisnis Gelap ‘Like’ di Facebook

Para pengguna Facebook yang mengklik link yang berbunyi “Klik ini jika Anda membenci kanker” bisa jadi mendapatkan kejutan yang tidak menyenangkan. Link seperti gambar ini tidak berpengaruh apa-apa dan hanya digunakan untuk mengumpulkan “like” yang akan dijual. Membuat para penipu online menjadi kaya.
Like yang Anda berikan bisa membuat mereka makin kaya. (Facebook)
Begitu telah mengumpulkan banyak “like”, halaman itu kemudian dijual untuk mendapatkan uang kepada para pelaku bisnis agar mereka agar terlihat populer.

Sebuah blog yang diposkan oleh Daylan Pearce, ahli mesin pencari di Next Digital di Melbourne, menjelaskan bagaimana cara kerja penipuan (scam) dan menunjukkan bagaimana halaman-halaman tersebut dijual.

Unggahan gambar yang berisi deskripsi seperti “Klik ‘like’ jika Anda bisa melihat harimau”, atau “Berikan komentar dan lihatlah apa yang akan terjadi” digunakan untuk mengumpulkan “like” dan komentar untuk sejumlah halaman.

Begitu halamannya telah mengumpulkan ribuan “like” dan komentar, maka halaman itu akan memiliki posisi tertinggi dalam News Feed para pengguna Facebook. “Like” bagaikan mata uang bagi situs tersebut.

Pearce mengungkapkan bahwa halaman dengan 100.000 “like” dapat dijual seharga $200 (sekitar Rp2 juta).

Pearce menjelaskan dalam blognya, semakin banyak “like” dan “share” dan komentar yang didapat, semakin terbuka pula peluang mendapatkan keuntungan dalam jangka waktu pendek dan panjang.

Begitu sebuah halaman sudah mendapatkan 700 ribu “like” (dengan cara menipu), maka halaman itu akan dijual ke orang lain yang ingin populer dalam waktu cepat. Informasi halaman pun diubah — bukan lagi soal kanker, binatang dsb tetapi mengenai bisnis.

David Em, peniliti jaringan keamanan senior di Kaspersky Lab berkata, “Situs jejaring sosial seperti Facebook dan Twitter mengalami peningkatan target kejahatan dunia maya.”

“Alasan utamanya adalah kepercayaan yang dirasakan oleh orang-orang saat berhubungan dengan para sahabat mereka secara online. Orang-orang lebih senang mengklik sebuah link yang dibagikan teman, dan rasa kepercayaan itulah yang dimanfaatkan oleh para pelaku kejahatan di dunia maya.” (Yahoo! News)

From Yahoo

Film yang Dirilis Minggu Keempat Oktober 2012

Tak banyak film baru yang menonjol di minggu ini. Karena itu, Anda mungkin sedikit kesulitan menemukan film yang layak disaksikan di akhir pekan terakhir bulan Oktober ini. Tapi, panduan singkat berikut mungkin dapat membantu Anda untuk memilah-milah tontonan yang cocok berdasarkan genre dan kisahnya. 

Ingin tahu lebih banyak tentang film-film baru yang dirilis di bioskop minggu ini? Berikut adalah daftar film-film yang dirilis di minggu keeempat bulan Oktober 2012:

1. FrankenweenieCuplikan adegan "Frankenweenie (Dok. Disney)
Animasi stop-motion hitam putih karya Tom Burton ini adalah film paling layak tonton minggu ini. Alasan kenapa “Frankenweenie” pantas mendapat perhatian penonton dari berbagai usia sudah dijabarkan panjang lebar di sini. Banyak yang mungkin akan merasa tak bersemangat menyaksikan film ini karena warnanya hitam-putih. 

Tapi, yakinlah bahwa hal ini justru menjadikan “Frankenweenie” semakin unik dan relevan dengan apa yang ingin diceritakannya. Para penggemar Burton rasanya akan senang menyaksikan film ini. Sementara mereka yang merupakan penggemar film horor klasik akan tersenyum menyaksikan berbagai referensi filmnya yang melimpah.

PLOT: Victor (Charlie Tahan) adalah seorang anak laki-laki jenius yang tinggal di kota New Holland. Meski tak punya teman, Victor selalu ditemani oleh Sparky sang anjing kesayangan sehingga dirinya tak pernah kesepian. Ketika Sparky mati tertabrak mobil, Victor yang merasa sangat kehilangan mendapat inspirasi dari gurunya, Mr Rzykruski (Martin Landau), dan akhirnya mencoba untuk menghidupkan kembali anjingnya dalam sebuah eksperimen sains. 

Ajaibnya, Sparky bisa hidup kembali. Meski tubuhnya tak lagi sempurna, Sparky ternyata masih merupakan anjing yang lucu dan baik seperti dahulu. Tetapi, karena tak ingin menakuti orang-orang, Victor memutuskan untuk menyembunyikan Sparky di rumahnya. Sayangnya, ketika rahasia ini bocor, bangkitnya kembali Sparky dari kematian mulai menganggu ketenteraman kota New Holland.

Sutradara: Tim Burton
Penulis Naskah: John August
Pengisi Suara: Charlie Tahan (Victor Frankenstein), Winona Ryder (Elsa Van Helsing), Catherine O'Hara (Mrs. Frankenstien / Weird Girl / Gym Teacher), Martin Short (Mr. Frankenstein / Mr. Burgemeister / Nassor), Martin Landau (Mr. Rzykruski), James Hiroyuki Liao (Toshiaki), Atticus Shaffer (Edgar 'E' Gore), Robert Capron (Bob), Conchata Ferrell (Bob's Mom)
Durasi: 87 menit
Rating: PG
Tanggal Rilis: 24 Oktober 2012
Produksi: Walt Disney Pictures, Tim Burton Animation Co., Tim Burton Productions

2. Alex Cross
Cuplikan adegan "Alex Cross" (Foto: Sidney Baldwin/Summit Entertainment)Alex Cross bukan nama yang asing bagi para penggemar film. Karakter ciptaan James Patterson ini memang sudah dua kali hadir dalam film adaptasi layar lebar berjudul “Kiss the Girls” (1997) dan “Along Came a Spider” (2001). Bila Alex Cross versi lawas diperankan dengan begitu karismatik oleh Morgan Freeman, Alex Cross versi barunya yang dibawakan oleh Tyler Perry sebaliknya malah tampil hancur-hancuran. 

Perry jelas tidak bisa dibandingkan dengan Freeman. Apalagi, dengan penyutradaraan kacau dari Rob Cohen dan naskah yang lemah, “Alex Cross” sama sekali tidak bisa meninggalkan kesan positif dan justru tampil mengecewakan.

Cuplikan adegan "Alex Cross" (Foto: Sidney Baldwin/Summit Entertainment)PLOT: Alex Cross (Tyler Perry), seorang detektif dan psikolog forensik, sedang menyelidiki sebuah pembunuhan misterius. Meski rekannya berpendapat bahwa hal ini dilakukan oleh seorang yang sakit jiwa, Cross justru berpikir bahwa pembunuhan ini dilakukan oleh seorang yang rapi dan terorganisasi. Ketika Cross berhasil mengidentifikasi siapa yang akan menjadi korban selanjutnya dan berhasil mencegah sang pembunuh melakukan aksinya, kasus ini pun berubah menjadi personal. Demi menghentikan sang pembunuh, Cross akhirnya harus mendobrak semua aturan yang ada.

Sutradara: Rob Cohen
Penulis Naskah: Marc Moss dan Kerry Williamson
Pemeran: Tyler Perry (Dr. Alex Cross), Matthew Fox (Picasso), Carmen Ejogo (Maria Cross), Rachel Nichols (Monica Ashe), Giancarlo Esposito (Daramus Holiday), Edward Burns (Tommy Kane), Jean Reno (Leon Mercier), John C. McGinley (Richard Brookwell)
Durasi: 101 menit
Rating: PG-13
Tanggal Rilis: 24 Oktober 2012
Produksi: QED International, Envision Entertainment Corporation, IAC Productions, James Patterson Entertainment

3. The Woman in the Fifth
Cuplikan adegan "The Woman in the Fifth" (Dok. ATO Pictures)Meski dibintangi oleh nama-nama menjanjikan seperti Ethan Hawke dan Kristin Scott Thomas, drama berlatar kota Paris ini gagal menampilkan sebuah kisah yang memikat. Walaupun dijual sebagai sebuah thriller dengan balutan kisah percintaan yang sensual, “The Woman in the Fifth” yang bertempo lambat justru tampil membosankan. Dengan fokus yang begitu mudah berubah, penonton akan sulit memahami apa yang sebenarnya ingin disampaikan oleh sutradara merangkap penulis naskahnya, Pawel Pawlikowski. 

Akhir cerita dari “The Woman in the Fifth” sebenarnya cukup menarik. Namun, dengan apa yang sudah dikisahkan di babak pertama dan keduanya, kejutan yang seharusnya mengagetkan penonton malah terasa sangat aneh.

Cuplikan adegan "The Woman in the Fifth" (Dok. ATO Pictures)PLOT: Tom Ricks (Ethan Hawke), seorang penulis dan profesor sastra, datang ke Paris untuk mencoba rujuk dengan istri dan putrinya. Ketika Tom dirampok saat berada dalam bis dan kehilangan semua barang miliknya, ia terpaksa harus tinggal di sebuah hotel kumuh di pinggiran kota dan bekerja sebagai penjaga malam untuk mencari uang. Dalam sebuah pesta, Tom bertemu dengan seorang wanita misterius bernama Margit (Kristin Scott Thomas) dan dua orang yang kesepian ini pun menjadi dekat. Hubungan mereka yang intens dan berlandaskan nafsu pun memicu terjadinya serangkaian kejadian aneh dalam hidup Tom.

Sutradara: Pawel Pawlikowski
Penulis Naskah: Pawel Pawlikowski
Pemeran: Ethan Hawke (Tom Ricks), Kristin Scott Thomas (Margit), Joanna Kulig (Ania), Samir Guesmi (Sezer), Delphine Chuillot (Nathalie), Julie Papillon (Chloé), Geoffrey Carey (Laurent), Mamadou Minte (Omar)
Durasi: 85 menit
Rating: R
Tanggal Rilis: 26 Oktober 2012
Produksi: Haut et Court, Film4, UK Film Council, SPI International, Bureau The, Canal+, Orange Cinéma Séries, Artificial Eye, Memento Films International, Coficup, Backup Films, Soficinéma 6, Polish Film Institute