Obama savors victory as Congress approves stimulus

President Barack Obama is expected to sign the $787 billion stimulus bill Monday that seeks to combat the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Obama on Saturday savored his first major victory in Congress, the day after the bill was passed with lawmakers largely oting along party lines.

The Senate approved the measure 60-38 with three Republican moderates providing crucial support. Hours earlier, the House vote was 246-183, with all Republicans opposed to the package of tax cuts and federal spending that Obama has made the centerpiece of his plan for economic recvery.

The president could sign the bill as early as next week, less than a month after taking office. He described the bill's passage as a "major milestone on our road to recovery."

Speaking in his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday, Obama said, "I will sign this legislation into law shorly, and we'll begin making the immediate investments necessary to put people back to work doing the work America needs done."

At the same time, he cautioned, "The problems that led us into this crisis are deep and widespread, and our response must be equal to the task."

Despite Obama's early biparsan goals, Republican opposition was nearly unanimous to the $787 billion package of tax cuts and federal spending on which Obama has staked his presidency.

Conservatives in both houses have been relentless critics, arguing the plan is filled with wasteful spending and that greater tax cuts would be more ffective in creating jobs.

Told that no House Republican backed the measure Friday, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs reacted by citing another number: "3.5 million jobs that we look forward to saving or creating."

Obama gave a thumbs-up sign upon hearing of the package's passage in the House. He hailed the massive bill and the "spirited debate" that accompanied it, but warned that "it's only the beginning of what we must do to turn our economy around."

He said those things include implementing the separate, newly reconfigured $700 billion financial industry bailout program, stemming home foreclosures, reforming financial sector regulations and crafting what he called a "responsible" federal budget.

The Senate vote was held up to allow time for Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown to fly back from Ohio, where his mother died earlier in the week. His was the decisive 60th vote for the bill in the 100-seat Senate.

The compromise stimulus bill includes spending on infrastructure projects, expanded unemployment benefits, aid for small businesses and billions to help strapped states. Obama's much touted tax break for middle- and working-class Americans survived but was scaled back. To tamp down costs, several tax provisions were dropped or sharply cut back.

The president also won money for two other administration priorities - information technology in health care, and "green jobs" to make buildings more energy-efficient and reduce the nation's reliance on foreign oil.

Final details included the drafting of precise language on trade. The House included a "Buy America" restriction forbidding the use of foreign steel and other products on infrastructure projects funded in the bill. Negotiators were largely going with a Senate version that is much less restrictive, saying the U.S. would abide by its international trade commitments.

The approval caps an early period of accomplishment for the Democrats, who won control of the White House and expanded their majorities in Congress in last fall's elections.

Since taking office on Jan. 20, the president has signed legislation extending government-financed health care to millions of lower-income children who lack it, a bill that President George W. Bush twice vetoed. He also has placed his signature on a measure making it easier for workers to sue their employers for alleged job discrimination, effectively overturning a ruling by the Supreme Court's conservative majority.

Obama made the stimulus a cornerstone of his economic recovery plan even before he took office, but his calls for bipartisanship were an early casualty.

Republicans complained they had been locked out of the early decisions, and Democrats countered that the Republican's House leader had tried to rally opposition even before the president met privately with his party's ranks.

taken from: the jakartapost

PEMILU ISRAEL: Instabilitas Politik Akibat Hasil Pemilu

Israel kini menghadapi kemungkinan instabilitas dan ketidakpastian politik maupun lumpuhnya proses perdamaian Timur Tengah. Itu disebabkan hasil pemilu yang menyatakan Partai Kadima unggul tipis, tapi pembentukan pemerintahan koalisi akan lebih condong jatuh ke tangan Partai Likud.

Kadima yang bergaris tengah dan dipimpin Menteri Luar Negeri Israel Tzipi Livni meraih 28 dari 120 kursi parlemen, unggul hanya satu kursi dari partai sayap kanan Likud pimpinan mantan Perdana Menteri Benjamin Netanyahu.

Hasil tersebut tidak langsung menjamin Livni naik sebagai perdana menteri. Para analis melihat justru Netanyahu yang lebih berpeluang membentuk pemerintahan. Berdasar pada hukum Israel, pemerintahan dibentuk orang yang mampu mengumpulkan suara mayoritas di parlemen.

Seperti diungkap AFP, ada kemungkinan Livni dan Netanyahu akan membentuk pemerintahan aliansi dengan mengikutkan Partai Buruh pimpinan Menteri Pertahanan Ehud Barak. Langkah itu sekaligus mampu melemahkan posisi partai kanan garis keras Yisrael Beitenu pimpinan Avigdor Lieberman yang meraih 15 kursi.

"Netanyahu kurang berminat dengan pemerintahan sayap kanan yang terlalu ekstrem karena akan ditanggapi negatif Amerika Serikat," tulis harian Maariv, kemarin.

Pejabat Palestina sudah memperingatkan pemerintahan Israel yang melibatkan partai sayap kanan akan bisa menghancurkan proses perdamaian Israel-Palestina yang digagas Amerika Serikat.

Presiden Israel Shimon Peres akan bertemu pemimpin para partai pada Rabu (18-2) untuk menentukan partai manakah yang akan ditunjuknya membentuk koalisi pemerintahan. n MI/N-2

Di sisi lain, juru bicara PBB Michele Montas, kemarin, menyebut tim PBB yang bertugas mengusut serangan Israel ke fasilitas PBB di Jalur Gaza bulan lalu segera bertolak ke Israel dan teritorium Palestina. Tim itu dipimpin mantan utusan PBB untuk Nepal, Ian Martin.

Pengamat PBB untuk Palestina Ryad Mansour menyatakan tim dijadwalkan berangkat 19 Februari. Serangan Israel itu menghancurkan kantor PBB untuk pengungsi Palestina dan sekolah yang didirikan PBB.

Sementara itu, kantor berita Mesir MENA menyatakan Hamas telah menerima usul Mesir mengenai gencatan senjata 18 bulan dengan Israel di Gaza. Imbalannya adalah Israel harus mencabut blokade terhadap Gaza.

taken from: lampungpost

Harga Minyak Dunia Kembali Menguat

Harga minyak kembali melambung hingga 10 persen setelah sepekan terakhir melemah. Kontrak pengiriman minyak mentah light, sweet untuk bulan Maret naik 3,53 dollar AS serta ditutup pada 37,51 di bursa komoditas New York Mercantile Exchange setelah sempat berada pada 38,25 dollar AS per barrel.

"Ini hanya aksi profit-taking sebelum datangnya liburan selama 3 hari," kata Phil Flynn dari Alaron Trading Corp. Hal itu disampaikan Phil Flynn menanggapi datangnya liburan Presidents Day (16/2).

Menurut Phil Flynn, pelaku pasar mengambil aksi pelepasan saham untuk kontrak Maret sepanjang pekan ini dan melakukan aksi pembelian untuk kontrak April, Mei, Juni, serta Juli. Setelah dibuka di atas 42 dollar AS per barrel, Senin (9/2), harga minyak mentah, sebelum memasuki akhir pekan ini, setiap harinya ditutup merosot saat pelaku pasar tak terlalu yakin paket stimulus ekonomi senilai 790 miliar dollar AS dapat menggairahkan kondisi ekonomi.

taken from: kompas

Banyak Makan Cegah Masuk Angin

MESKI ilmu kedokteran tak mengenal istilah masuk angin, banyak orang yakin masuk angin adalah masuknya pathogen angin atau pathogen dingin melalui kulit, mulut, atau hidung. Pathogen angin ini hanga masuk saat tubuh dalam kondisi menurun.

Jika tubuh dalam kondisi fit, pathogen atau virus angin bisa terhadang oleh daya tahan tubuh. Sebaliknya, saat badan drop, virus ini bisa herkembang menjadi masuk angin yang kalau berlanjut bahkan bisa memancing munculnya batuk dan pilek.

Agar daya tahan tubuh mampu menghalaunya, para dokter memberikan beberapa saran sebagai berikut:
Pertama, perbanyak asupan makanan dengan kalori yang tinggi. "Jika perut tak sanggup, Anda bisa menggantinya dengan sup kaldu berprotein tinggi," ajar Inayah Budiwati, dokter dari Klinik Hang Lekiu, Jakarta Selatan. Makanan atau asupan berkalori atau berprotein tinggi akan membantu tubuh kembali fit.

Pada musim hujan berhawa dingin, tubuh butuh asupan kalori yang cukup untuk menstabilkan suhu tubuh. Suhu tubuh nan stabil akan membuat seseorang mampu menangkal penyakit yang datang. Pola makan yang tinggi kalori selama musim hujan bisa membantu metabolisme tubuh sehingga badan tetap hangat.

Kedua, biasakan pola hidup yang bersih. Soalnya, apapun penyakit yang muncul umumnya bermula pada pola hidup yang tidak sehat serta kondisi lingkungan yang kotor. Saat musim hujan seperti sekarang, misalnya, pola hidup yang bersih dan seimbang akan berbagai serangan penyakit.

Namun, " Pola hidup yang bersih itu tetap harus ditunjang dengan aktivitas fisik yang pas serta gaya hidup yang seimbang," imbuh Saptawati Bardosono, dokter dari Fakultas Kedokteran Universitas Indonesia. Sebaliknya, lingkungan kotor akan membuat tubuh sangat rentan terhadap serangan penyakit.

Ketiga, biasakan untuk selalu mencuci tangan. Seperti kita tahu, tangan memegang fungsi penting dalam tubuh. Ada banyak sentuhan dan rangsangan yang membutuhkan tangan. Tangan dengan mudah bisa bersentuhan dengan seluruh bagian tubuh, seperti mata, hidung, mulut dan anggota tubuh lainnya. "Tangan yang kotor bisa menyebarkan virus ke tubuh," War Nella Suhuyanly, dokter dari Omni Hospital.

Oleh karena itu, biasakan memulai aktifitas apapun dengan mencuci tangan terlebih dulu. Sebagian virus, seperti flu, biasanya menyebar lewat kontak langsung. Menggunakan sabun dan air hangat bisa mematikan virus-virus yang menempel di tangan.

Keempat, ada baiknya kita mengonsumsi makanan yang mengandung phytochemical alias vitamin alami pada tumbuhan. Umumnya, vitamin ini ada banyak pada buah-buahan atau sayuran segar berwarna hijau, merah dan kuning gelap. Sayur atau buah yang mengandung phytochemical akan membantu memperkuat daya taban tubuh. "Mengkonsumsi buah yang kaya antioksidan sebenarnya sudah cukup efektif mengusir masuk angin," ujgr Mulyadi, dokter dari klinik Medizone.

Kelima, perbanyak minum air putih. Air berfungsi mengangkat racun-racun yang ada dalam tubuh. Air juga sekaligus mampu mengencerkan dahak yang terlanjur bersemayam dalam tubuh. Orang dewasa butuh minum sedikit-nya delapan gelas air sehari. Selain minuet air putih, kata Mulyadi, air jahe juga sangat bermanfaat untuk membantu mengembalikan tubuh agar kembali fit. "Sebetulnya masuk angin ringan itu tak membutuhkan obat," ajar Mulyadi.

Sebagai perbandingan, di Eropa, jika seseorang terkena gejala pegal, kembung, meriang, mereka biasanya mengonsumsi sup hangat dengan bahan kaldu untuk menghangatkan tubuh. Keraudian, mereka akan beristirahat dengan menyelimuti tubuh dengan selimut tebal.

Sementara, di Timur, seperti kebiasaan masyarakat Jawa, mereka mengonsumsi wedang jahe hangat atau teh hangat, Badan kemudian bisa dibalur dengan minyak kayu putih agar hangat. Kata Inayah, pijatan yang merata ke tubuh juga bisa berfungsi melancarkan timbunan asam laktat dalam tubuh sekaligus merilekskan otot agar aliran darah kembali lancar. "Yang juga penting, istirahat yang cukup," ajar Inayah.

taken from: kompas

Foreign investment up, Jakarta takes most

Endowed with rich natural resources and a large population, Indonesia is becoming more attractive for investors as indicated by an increase in the number of realized direct investment projects involving foreign businesspeople.

Chairman of the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) Muhammad Lutfi said Wednesday actual domestic and foreign investment had reached US$14.2 billion in the January to November period, higher than the full-year target of $9.92 billion.

Of the total, $12.5 billion was foreign direct investment (FDI), and the remaining $1.7 billion was domestic-based.

“FDI jumped by 40 percent during the period ... But domestic investment plunged by 51 percent,” said Lutfi, who was a member of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s campaign team during the 2004 election.

“The drop in domestic investment is due to the fact that local companies prefer to form joint ventures with foreign companies in order to pay less tax,” he said, adding that the condition was unlikely to continue as the government would soon implement a new tax law.

Under the new tax scheme, income tax will be slashed to 28 percent in 2009 and to 25 percent in 2010 from the current 30 percent.

The actual investment figure excludes those in the sector of oil and gas, mining, banking and financial institutions, including insurers.

Jakarta received the largest chunk of FDI, reaping $9.62 billion from 404 projects, followed by West Java with $2.39 billion from 255 projects, and Riau with $460.9 million from eight projects.
In domestic investment, West Java ranked the top with Rp 3.67 trillion (US$334 million) from 52 projects, tailed by East Java with Rp 2.56 trillion from 37 projects, and Banten with Rp 1.95 trillion from 29 projects.

According to Lutfi, the transportation, storage, telecommunications, metal, machinery, electronics and automotive sectors were the largest contributors to the investment.

“The good news is that so far some 650,000 people have been employed in the realized investment projects (begun) between January and November.” “This is a sign that our investment climate is getting better. We hope the trend will continue, especially through intense and serious efforts by local administrations to net more investors,” Lutfi said.

Last year, FDI reached $10.34 billion; with top sectors including transport, storage, communications and chemicals and pharmaceutical.

Domestic investment topped Rp 34.8 trillion ($3.16 billion), primarily due to projects involving the paper and printing industry, the food industry and the metal, machinery and electronics industry.

Informal sector seen as crucial to RI laborers

Layoffs will not reach into the millions next year as was feared, mainly because of the ability of the informal sector to absorb workers who have been dismissed from the formal sector, the World Bank says.

“The labor market (here) has been quite flexible, but we are expecting unemployment to rise,” World Bank lead economist Wil-liam E. Wallace told reporters Wednesday.

“The number will not reach a million, as people move from formal to informal (sectors). They will not be unemployed, but have less money.”

Businesses have announced possible layoffs for next year amid a rapid decline in export demand due to the global economic downturn.

The Indonesian Rattan Furniture and Craft Producers Association said the industry might lay off up to 35,000 workers, while the Indonesian Textile Association said the industry had temporarily laid off 14,000 workers due to decreased demand from overseas.

Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the government will prepare a “realistic” response to help businesses cope with slower growth next year, but warned that companies will have to make sacrifices to share the burden.

The government will inject Rp 12.5 trillion (US$1.13 billion) into the 2009 state budget to compensate for a move to waive income tax, value-added tax and import duties to help stimulate the real sector.

Meanwhile, the central bank cut its interest rate this month by 25 basis points to 9.25 percent, having aggressively increased it in previous months, to spur economic growth. A lower interest rate may reduce lending rates, thus lowering borrowing costs for businesses.

The World Bank said the government should speed up spending early next year to stimulate growth, which might reduce unemployment.

Indonesia’s informal sector, which encompass millions of micro and small businesses, is renowned for its resilience, which was tested and found true during the 1997/1998 Asian financial crisis.

Despite the number of layoffs being “manageable”, Wallace said that due to the global economic downturn, Indonesia would see a slower decline in poverty next year.

“The decline in poverty is not as dramatic as before,” he said.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), a poor person is defined as “consuming” less than Rp 166,700 per month. There are about 19.1 million poor households in Indonesia, or 76.4 million people out of a total population of 235 million.

However, the World Bank’s definition differs — instead classifying a poor person as earning less than US$2 per day.

Wallace forecast that, based on the BPS’s standard, the rate of poor people will fall to 13.8 percent next year from 15.4 percent this year.

He said the forecast included 1.6 million people who will likely not escape poverty because of the effects of the financial crisis on Indonesia.

The World Bank said Indonesia’s economy would grow 4.4 percent next year, a significant drop from 6.1 percent in 2008, in part due to slowing investment and exports as a consequence of the global liquidity crisis.

taken from: the jakarta post

Menuju perdamaian israel vs palestina

Israel harus rela mengalah untuk menyerahkan wilayah yang selama ini menjadi konflik antara Israel dengan Palestina. Hal itu ditegaskan oleh Mantan Perdana Menteri Israel, Ehud Olmert. Itu menjadi syarat tercapainya perdamaian diantara keduanya. Negara Palestina bersikeras untuk mendapatkan kembali tanah dudukan Israel yang telah diduduki Palestina sejak tahun 1967.

Selain itu, kemungkinan terjadinya perdamaian antara Israel-Palestina diungkapkan juga oleh Menteri Luar Negeri Amerika Serikat Condoleeza Rice. Ia mengatakan bahwa setelah kemenangan Barrack Obama dalam pertarungan Pemilihan Presiden dengan mengalahkan pesaingnya Mc Chain, perdamaian antara Israel versus Palestina kemungkinan besar dapat terwujud. Ia sedang menunggu waktu hingga Obama resmi menjabat sebagai presiden pada januari tahun depan untuk memberikan dokumen timur tengah kepadanya.