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19/08/08

Juices & drugs don't mix

WASHINGTON - GRAPEFRUIT, orange and apple juices can harm the body's ability to absorb certain medications and make the drugs less effective, said a Canadian study released on Tuesday in the United States.
 
The research showed that these juices can decrease the effectiveness of certain drugs used to treat heart disease, cancer, organ-transplant rejection and infection, 'potentially wiping out their beneficial effects', it said.
 
David Bailey, a professor of clinical pharmacology with the University of Western Ontario and leader of the study, was the first researcher to identify grapefruit juice's potential to increase the absorption of certain drugs two decades ago, possibly turning some doses toxic.
 
The new findings came as part of his continuing research on the subject, and were presented at the 236th annual meeting of the American Chemical Society on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
 
'Recently, we discovered that grapefruit and these other fruit juices substantially decrease the oral absorption of certain drugs undergoing intestinal uptake transport', said Mr Bailey.
 
'The concern is loss of benefit of medications essential for the treatment of serious medical conditions'.
 
Healthy volunteers took fexofenadine, an antihistamine used to fight allergies, along with either a glass of grapefruit juice, a glass of water with naringin (which gives the bitter taste to grapefruit juice), or plain water. Those who drank the grapefruit juice absorbed only half the amount of fexofenadine, compared to those who drank plain water. Researchers said the water with naringin served to block 'a key drug uptake transporter, called OATP1A2, involved in shuttling drugs from the small intestine to the bloodstream'.
 
'Blocking this transporter reduces drug absorption and neutralises their potential benefits', the study said.
 
'By contrast, drugs whose levels are boosted in the presence of grapefruit juice appear to block an important drug metabolizing enzyme, called CYP3A4, that normally breaks down drugs'.
 
Among the drugs affected by consumption of grapefruit, orange and apple juices are: etoposide, an anticancer agent; beta blockers (atenolol, celiprolol, talinolol) used to treat high blood pressure and prevent heart attacks; and certain antibiotics (ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, itraconazole).
 
The drug-lowering interaction also affected cyclosporine, a drug taken to prevent rejection of transplanted organs, and more drugs were expected to be added to the list as the research continued. Prof Bailey said patients should consult with a doctor about taking medications with juice, and stick to plain water when taking most medications.
 
'This is just the tip of the iceberg', Prof Bailey said. 'I'm sure we'll find more and more drugs that are affected this way'.
 
AFP

Birds 'can't keep up'

The delicate balance of wildlife in different ecosystems is changing up to eight times more quickly than previously suspected.
 
PARIS - THE habitats of wild bird species are shifting in response to global warming, but not fast enough to keep pace with rising temperatures, according to a study released on Wednesday. Researchers in France also found that the delicate balance of wildlife in different ecosystems is changing up to eight times more quickly than previously suspected, with potentially severe consequences for some species.
 
'The flora and fauna around us are shifting over time due to climate change', said lead author Victor Devictor, a researcher at the French National Museum of Natural History. 'The result is desynchronisation. If birds and the insects upon which they depend do not react in the same way, we are headed for an upheaval in the interaction between species', he explained in a telephone interview.
 
These 'mismatches' are likely to become greater over time, and could eventually threaten some birds with extinction, he added. The study showed that the geographic range of 105 birds species in France - accounting for 99.5 per cent of the country's wild avian population - moved north, on average, 91 kilometres from 1989 through 2006.
 
Average temperatures, however, shifted northward 273 kilometres over the same period, nearly three times farther. The fact that some birds have responded to climate change had already been noted in individual species. What surprised Dr Devictor and his colleagues was that the shift held true for virtually all birds in France, and that the gap with the rising temperatures was big and getting bigger.
 
'The response is faster than we thought, but it is still not fast enough to keep up with climate change', he said.
 
Earlier studies looked at the impact of global warming by comparing 'snapshots' - taken years or decades apart - of the range across which a given species lived. But trying to define the outer boundary of a shifting habitat is extremely difficult because data is, by definition, scarce.
 
Dr Devictor took another approach, taking advantage of France's French Breeding Bird Survey, which has gathered data collected by hundreds of ornithologists from more than 1500 well-defined plots since 1989. This made it possible to look at the entire distribution of a species over a continuous period, he explained. The northward shift of most species 'is most likely changing at its maximal possible rate, which is insufficient to catch up to climate change', Dr Devictor said.
 
'This discrepancy may have profound consequences on the ability of species to cope with climate change in the long run.'
 
The study was published in the British journal Proceedings of The Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
 
AFP

Stay together - and healthy

By Barton Goldsmith
 
Statistics proving that people who live with others live longer than those who are alone have been around for several decades. More recent research has discovered that living in isolation may be more destructive to physical well-being than smoking cigarettes. This doesn't mean that if you are happily enjoying the single life you're going to die prematurely, but it might make you think about life and love a little differently. Those who have survived unharmonious relationships may well find it easier to take care only of themselves and perhaps their children or pets.
 
Dealing with another person's problems can be exhausting, especially if that individual also gives you a hard time in the process. But if you enjoy sharing your life and bed with someone but also require your space, you need to get creative and discover some of the many ways to maintain your individuality and sanity while having a close relationship with another adult. Many couples not living together take "nights off", where they have established safe boundaries that allow them to have their own time without making their partner insecure.
 
Usually a phone call before the night off, followed by a catch-up conversation is enough to maintain a good connection. If the person you love withdraws frequently and you have to go hunting for him or her, it could be time for a deep conversation about the reason. This kind of action can make you feel abandoned, and that will take away from the depth of your love. If you isolate as a means of getting back at someone, you are also hurting yourself. This passive-aggressive behaviour may feel right in the moment, but after a little time has passed, you will feel lonely because you never shared what it was that hurt you in the first place. And if you don't talk about what bothers you, it will never stop.
 
Those who sequester themselves may also be dealing with depression and/or anxiety. Somehow there's an illusion that being alone makes it all better. Not everyone who chooses to be alone has a mood disorder, but if you're also a little blue, you should get yourself checked out by a professional. Being disconnected from the rest of the human race may make you feel safe or empowered, but it's only temporary.
 
We are social beings, and life is much more meaningful when you have someone to share it with.
 
* Dr Barton Goldsmith is a Californian marriage and family therapist and the author of Emotional Fitness for Couples.
- AP

Hair irons causing 'massive damage' to women's tresses

Straight hair may be desirable but dermatologists warn some women are overdoing it. File photo / Herald on Sunday
 
 
Sydney - Women love them and hairdressers swear by them, but dermatologists warn the obsession with hair straightening irons is ruining tresses everywhere. A meeting of international hair and skin specialists in Chicago has been told the trend towards daily use of hair-styling flat irons is causing "massive damage" to hair through strand burns and breaks.

Dermatologists warned the problem was with newer, ceramic-coated tongs that, ironically, were designed to protect hair by getting hotter and straightening faster than the traditional metal irons.

"It is really a classic case of buyer beware," one professor told the meeting.

"We're seeing that when these ceramic flat irons are used at the highest heat settings and on a daily basis to achieve straight hair they can really take a toll on the structure of the hair and cause very noticeable problems that can be hard to repair."

Sydney dermatologist Dr Phillip Artemi said the problem was becoming increasingly prevalent in Australia, with more women presenting at clinics with severe hair damage.

"If you look at the sales statistics you see that people are pursuing straighter hair with more vigour," Artemi said.

"Most people on TV and in films have straight hair and it's a trend the public is trying to emulate.

"The problem starts when they do it wrong or too frequently and they cause a real mess that takes a long time to fix."

He said the tongs damage the outer part of the hair fibre, leading to a "dry, weathered look" with strands that split and snap off easily. Patients with major hair damage from tongs are told to keep their hair short for one to two years, stop use of tongs, hair dryers and heat products altogether and avoid sun exposure.

But to avoid damage in the first place, only use the equipment on dry hair, never more then twice a week and at temperatures under 170 degrees celsius, Artemi said.

"If you want to join the trend, fine, but do it with common sense or you could wind up with massive damage," he said.

- AAP
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/6/story.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10527905
 
 

Coming soon: 'wallet phones' from Japan

TOKYO, Japan (AP) -- Japan will start an aggressive push to market abroad its mobile technology, especially the nation's popular "wallet phone," a government official said Tuesday.
 
Japan plans to launch an aggressive global push to market its cell phones, such as this prototype from Hitachi.
 
Although Japan boasts some of the most sophisticated cell phones in the world, delivering high-speed Internet connections, digital TV broadcasts and video downloads, the nation has failed to make its handsets, wireless technology and mobile services hits outside of Japan.
 
The latest initiative spearheaded by the government with an industry group of Japanese carriers and manufacturers is an effort to help Japan catch up in wooing global users, said Masayuki Ito, official at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.
 
Among the wireless innovations Japan hopes to peddle is the wallet phone. The technology relies on a tiny computer chip called FeliCa, embedded in each cell phone, which communicates with a reader-device at stores, train stations and vending machines for cashless payments.
 
FeliCa was developed by Japanese electronics and entertainment company Sony Corp. Such technology is more common in smart cards, popular in Singapore and parts of Europe. But Japan hopes to market the technology abroad for cell phones.
 
In Japan, wallet phones have been available since 2004, introduced by top mobile carrier NTT DoCoMo. Most recent handset models here have the wallet function. Older Japanese technology had compatibility problems with other global standards, but new third-generation technology allows new products to be used outside the country, and can be more easily adapted to overseas products.
 
Japan leads the rest of the world in 3G cell phone proliferation, with nearly 104 million 3G handsets in use, or about 90 percent of cell phones being used in Japan. Japan also hopes to promote overseas other kinds of wireless technology, including 3G mobile phones with GSM, or Global System for Mobile communications, which allows the same phone to be used in most countries.
 
Ito acknowledged that wireless technology must adapt to differing social needs around the world. Wallet phones have been hits in Japan because of the omnipresent convenience stores and vending machines, as well as the relative lack of credit card use here. But conditions in other nations may differ.
 
"Some critics say Japanese mobile technology tends to be quirky like the Galapagos Islands," he said, referring to the isolated Pacific islands reputed to have averted evolutionary changes in a reference of the incompatibility of older Japanese cell phones and their quirky services.
 
"But Asian nations such as Taiwan and South Korea have for years expressed great interest in Japanese cell phones," he added.
 
Other technology Japan hopes to promote abroad are more futuristic such as fourth-generation wireless, Ito said. Details and budget plans for the government effort are being outlined in the next few months, but a proposal was approved at a ministry meeting last month.
 
The ministry is planning international missions and seminars to spread the word about Japan's technology, he said
 

Digital Sky Survey Detects New Stars in the Milky Way

Sharon Guynup for National Geographic Today
Tools like the Hubble Space Telescope have given astronomers a new view of the cosmos, allowing them to gaze deep into the universe to observe far-off galaxies. But a new digital telescope here on Earth has opened a revelatory view of the universe as well as our own galactic neighborhood.
 
In 2001, an international consortium of about 200 astronomers began the Sloan Digital Sky Survey—the largest international astronomical survey ever undertaken--using a specialized telescope atop a peak in New Mexico's Sacramento Mountains.
 
Their mission: to map one-quarter of the entire universe out to 1 billion light years from Earth by 2005. It is expected that Sloan will find 500 million galaxies and a slightly larger number of stars—and will accurately chart their positions in the heavens.
 
"Sloan has changed the way that astronomers do astronomy," says Michael Turner, a cosmologist at the University of Chicago. "With Sloan, you can look at millions of objects: the structure of a galaxy or the universe."
 
The telescope was designed to see a much wider area of the sky than other telescopes—and uses new digital imaging technology and computer software to detect the dim, older stars that telescopes using photographic techniques missed. The universe contains many more of these faint stars than bright, hot stars.
 
Finding New Stars Close to Home
At last week's meeting of the American Astronomical Society meeting in Seattle, some of the excitement focused on discoveries much closer to home, including a previously unseen circle of stars surrounding the Milky Way.
 
What we uncovered was numerous stars that seemed to be where they didn't belong," says Brian Yanny, an astronomer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory in Batavia, Ill.
 
"The Milky Way resembles a big Frisbee," Yanny says. "We kept seeing these hot blue stars at a constant distance from the center of the galaxy that seemed to form a ring."
 
The ring was hidden from view behind stars and gases on the same visual plane as the Milky Way. But Sloan's digital cameras observe objects in the sky that appear in various colors according to their composition.
 
"These stars were bluer than stars of our sun's population, which are yellow or red," Yanny says. "This suggests that they were created at a different time or out of a different batch of gas."
 

Ekonom: KPK Jangan Tanggung Obok-obok BI

JAKARTA (Suara Karya): Ekonom Institute for Development of Economy and Finance (Indef), Aviliani meminta Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) tidak tanggung-tanggung dalam mengobok-obok Bank Indonesia agar kredibilitas otoritas moneter tersebut bisa terjaga.
 
"Kalau masih banyak yang bermasalah tersisa di dalam, kredibilitas BI tetap buruk. Tapi kalau penyakitnya diangkat, BI bisa kembali jadi `credible`," kata Aviliani di Jakarta, Selasa (19/8) saat diminta komentarnya tentang pengakuan mantan anggota Komisi IX DPR Agus Condro yang menerima Rp 500 juta tepat dua bulan setelah Miranda Goeltom terpilih sebagai Deputi Gubernur Senior BI.
 
Meski kasus-kasus terkait BI yang mengemuka di permukaan adalah kasus-kasus di masa lampau, dia menambahkan, BI tetap berada dalam situasi yang tidak menguntungkan sehingga bisa saja mempengaruhi kinerja lembaga yang seharusnya independen itu.
 
Namun demikian, tambahnya, BI diuntungkan oleh kehadiran sosok Boediono sebagai Gubernur BI yang baru saja terpilih untuk masa jabatan enam tahun ke depan.
 
"Tapi seharusnya tidak mempengaruhi kinerja BI karena Gubernurnya kan baru, Pak Boediono. Kasus-kasus di masa yang lalu ini memang tidak menutup kemungkinan kredibilitas BI akan terganggu. Tapi, kalau mengenai kinerja sejauh ini Gubernur sudah mendapatkan kepercayaan dari pasar dan tidak menimbulkan gejolak," tutur Aviliani yang juga komisaris BRI ini.
 
Dalam kesempatan itu, Aviliani juga meminta agar BI dapat membuka diri kepada publik, terutama kepada Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (KPK) terkait dengan kasus-kasus di masa lampau sehingga pasar tetap melihat positif terhadap BI.
 
Sebelumnya, Agus mengaku kepada KPK bahwa uang panas tersebut dibagi-bagikan melalui teman satu komisinya waktu itu Dudhie Makmun Murod (anggota Komisi XI waktu itu), di ruang kerja teman satu fraksinya yang juga Ketua Komisi IX saat itu, Emir Moeis.
 
Miranda dalam pemilihan kali itu berhasil menyisihkan dua pesaingnya untuk menduduki jabatan Dewan Gubernur Senior BI, yaitu Budi Rochadi yang sebelumnya menjabat Kepala Perwakilan BI dan Hartadi A Sarwono yang kini menjabat Deputi Gubernur BI.
 
Siap Beberkan Kasus Suap
Dari Batang, mantan Anggota Komisi IX DPR RI dari Fraksi Partai Demokrasi Perjuangan Indonesia (F-PDIP), Agus Condro mengaku siap membeberkan kepada KPK dugaan kasus suap dari Deputi Gubernur Senior BI, Miranda Gultom sebesar Rp 500 juta.
 
"Saya siap untuk menceritakan dengan berkata jujur jika KPK mengundang untuk memberikan klarifikasi terhadap masalah itu," kata mantan anggota Komisi IX DPRRI, Agus Condro do Batang, Selasa (19/8).
Politisi dari PDIP asal Kabupaten Batang ini, mengatakan, uang sebesar Rp 500 juta itu diakui tidak hanya diterima dirinya tetapi ada empat anggota lain yang menerima uang itu di salah satu ruang fraksi setelah terpilihnya Miranda Gultom.
 
"Ya, saya akui menerima uang sebesar Rp 500 juta yang terdiri atas 10 lembar travel cek dari Dudhie M. Murod, bersama empat rekan lainnya," kata Agus, yang kini menduduki kursi DPR RI Komisi II itu.
 
Menurut dia, uang sebesar Rp 500 juta diberikan sekitar dua hingga tiga minggu setelah pemilihan Deputi Gubernur Senior BI, Miranda Gultom. "Dari 10 lembar travel cek, masing masing senilai 50 juta yang dimasukan dalam satu amplop warna putih. Uang tersebut diberikan Dudhie M. Murod saat berada di ruang kerja Emir Moeis," katanya.
 
Ia mengatakan, keempat anggota Fraksi PDIP DPR RI yang saat itu menerima amplop warna putih, yaitu Matheos Pormes, Willem Tutuarima, Budi Ningsih, dan Emir Moeis, sedangkan anggota lainnya diakuinya tidak mengetahui. "Yang jelas, saat itu yang memilih Miranda Gultom ada 41 orang dari 50 anggota Komisi IX DPR RI," katanya.
 
Namun, kata Agus, ada salah satu anggota DPR RI Komisi IX yang juga anggota Fraksi PDIP yang saat itu sedang pergi ke luar negri, yakni Daniel Budi Setiawan. "Karena pergi, Daniel diganti dengan Budi Ningsih yang saat itu menjabat anggota Komisi VII," katanya.
 
Ia menambahkan, pada prinsipnya, dirinya siap proaktif terhadap pemeriksaan dari KPK dan akan memberikan keterangan dalam rapat paripurna yang akan digelar nanti. "Saya siap klarifikasi untuk menceritakan dengan berkata jujur dengan KPK terkait dengan kasus itu," katanya.
 
(Antara)

Indonesia Tuan Rumah Olimpiade Astronomi dan Astrofisika

TEMPO Interaktif, Bandung: Indonesia menjadi tuan rumah Olimpiade Internasional Astronomi dan Astrofisika II (IOAA) yang akan berlangsung di Bandung dan Lembang, Jawa Barat, 19-28 Agustus 2008. Olimpiade ini akan dibuka oleh Presiden Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono di Istana Negara, hari ini.
 
Sekretaris Jenderal Olimpiade, Chatief Kunjaya, menyatakan bahwa Menteri Pendidikan Nasional Bambang Sudibyo menunjuk Institut Teknologi Bandung (ITB) sebagai pelaksana kegiatan. "Pusat pendidikan astronomi berada di Kota Bandung, dan kami juga mempunyai fasilitas untuk pertandingan serta pelatihan seperti observatorium Bosscha," kata Chatief yang juga astronom dari ITB.
 
Dalam ajang yang diikuti oleh peserta dari 24 negara itu, Indonesia mengirimkan dua tim. Tim A terdiri dari Ady Suwardi (SMA Soetomo Medan), Eky Valentian Febriano (SMAN 3 Bogor), Esther Brigitta (SMAK Penabur 1 Jakarta), Mikha Benanta Purba (SMA Taruna Magelang), dan Lorent Da Silva (SMA Semesta Semarang). Tim utama ini dipimpin oleh Suryadi Siregar dan Hesti Wulandari.
 
Tim B, yang merupakan tim tamu, terdiri dari Ridlo Wahyudi (SMAN Rembang), Veena Salim (SMA Metodis 3 Medan), Marshiella (SMAN 8 Jakarta), Amar Kusuma (SMA Taruna Magelang), dan Ahmad Yudo Diponegoro (SMA Taruna Magelang). Tim ini dipimpin oleh Mahasena Putra dan Ikbal Arifyanto.
 
Mereka adalah peserta Olimpiade Sains Nasional tahun lalu dan siswa-siswi dari SMP dan SMA yang berprestasi. "Dari 30 orang yang diseleksi pada bulan Maret, disaring menjadi 15 orang, dan akhirnya pada bulan Juli menjadi 10 orang yang dibagi menjadi dua tim," kata Chatief.
 
Chatief berharap tim Indonesia kembali meraih emas dalam ajang internasional itu. Dalam kompetisi bidang astronomi sebelumnya, Indonesia meraih tiga medali emas. Tahun lalu, Indonesia memperoleh satu medali emas, dua medali perak, satu medali perunggu, dan satu honorable mention dari ajang serupa. Di ajang International Astronomy Olympiad, Indonesia meraih satu medali emas pada 2004, dan satu lagi emas pada 2007.
 
Jumlah peserta yang mengikuti Olimpiade kali ini adalah 95 orang, 41 pemimpin tim, dan 12 observer. 24 negara yang mendaftar dalam ajang IOAA II yaitu Indonesia, Iran, Myanmar, China, Singapura, Thailand, India, Kamboja, Brazil, Polandia, Lithuania, Bolivia, Sri Lanka, Romania, Korea, Greece, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Ukraina, Slovakia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, dan Nigeria.
 
Sebenarnya, Meksiko, Kuba, Portugal, Czech, Laos, dan Filipina juga berminat berpartisipasi. "Tapi negara-negara itu mengundurkan diri karena kenaikan harga minyak bumi yang mengakibatkan melonjaknya harga tiket pesawat," tutur Chatief.
 
Selain mengadu otak serta kemampuan di bidang astronomi dan astrofisika, para peserta juga akan mengikuti kuliah umum dari astronom terkemuka, Profesor Ron Ekers dari CSIRO Australia National Telescope Facility. Ekers akan memberikan kuliah dengan tema "The Big Bang, Black Holes, Pulsars, and Extraterrestrial Life" pada 25 Agustus di Gedung Sasana Budaya Ganesha ITB.
 
"Selain kuliah umum, juga akan ada simulasi komputer tentang alam semesta dan demo tentang sistem pertandingan astronomi dengan bantuan teknologi informasi," Chatief menambahkan.
Adelheid Sidharta

KPI Nyatakan Empat Tayangan TV Bermasalah

Komisi Penyiaran Indonesia (KPI) mengumumkan empat tayangan stasiun TV bermasalah, sebagai hasil pemantauan tim panelis KPI pada periode Juni 2008 yang dikhususkan pada tayangan anak dan remaja.

"Judul tayangan bermasalah itu adalah Bleach di Indosiar, Cerita SMA di RCTI, Detective Conan di Indosiar, dan Naruto di Global TV dan Indosiar," kata Koordinator Pemantauan Langsung KPI Pusat, Yuzirwan Uyun dalam jumpa pers sosialisasi hasil pemantauan periode Juni 2008 di kantor KPI Jakarta, Selasa.

Yazirwan mengatakan, keempat tayangan tersebut dinilai oleh tim panelis yang diketuai oleh tokoh pendidikan Arief Rahman, melanggar UU Penyiaran No.32 /2002 dan Pedoman Perilaku Penyiaran dan Standar Program Siaran (P3SPS).

Tim Panelis yang terdiri dari Arief Rahman (Ketua), Dedy Nur Hidayat (Wakil Ketua), Seto Mulyadi, Nina Armando, Bobby Guntarto , Razaini Taher dan dibantu 11 orang analis, telah memantau 84 judul tayangan dari 316 episode yang disiarkan oleh sembilan stasiun TV nasional (Indosiar, SCTV, RCTI, Global TV, ANTV, TVRI, TransTV dan Trans7).

Yazirwan mengatakan, pemantauan yang dilakukan 14-29 Juni 2008 kali ini difokuskan pada tayangan anak dan remaja dengan titik berat pada perlindungan terhadap anak dan remaja dengan tiga jenis tayangan yang dipantau yaitu film animasi, sinetron dan variety show.

Pada kesempatan tersebut, anggota tim panelis KPI, Nina Armando mengatakan tayangan animasi Bleach di Indosiar setiap Minggu pukul 11.00 ini dinilai tidak cocok untuk anak karena menampilkan cerita dunia mistis dan penuh kekerasan yang ditampilkan secara ekspresif.

"Tayangan itu tidak pantas ditampilkan pada jam tayang pagi hari libur, tidak menampilkan klasifikasi acara. Seharusnya dipindahkan jam tayangnya menjadi lebih malam dengan menampilkan klasifikasi R (Remaja) dan BO (Bimbingan Orang tua) sekaligus," jelas Nina.

Sedangkan sinetron Cerita SMA di RCTI yang ditayangkan setiap hari pukul 19.00, dinilai melanggar peraturan karena ada adegan yang menampilkan secara close up alat kelamin pemeran anak laki-laki, dan tidak memerhatikan norma kesopanan dan kesusilaan.

"Tayangan ini banyak menampilkan tokoh pemain anak-anak dalam setting yang tidak pas, banyak menampilkan pelecehan terhadap orang, terutama yang bertubuh gemuk, dan tidak mencantumkan klasifikasi acara," jelas Nina.

Sementara, film animasi Detective Conan di Indosiar yang diputar setiap hari Minggu pukul 08.30 menampilkan cerita yang tidak tepat bagi anak, dan hampir pada setiap episode menampilkan secara detil tentang rekonstruksi pembunuhan.

"Acara ini tidak tepat dikategorikan sebagai film anak, tidak menampilkan klasifikasi acara dan seharusnya dipindah ke jam tayangnya menjadi lebih malam dengan menampilkan klasifikasi R dan BO sekaligus," kata Nina.

Sedangkan, film animasi Naruto di Indosiar dan Global TV menampilkan kekerasan secara ekspresif baik bersifat fisik maupun mistis yang terkadang disertai darah.

Nina mengatakan, Naruto ini juga tidak tepat dikategorikan sebagai film anak, tidak menampilkan klasifikasi acara dan seharusnya dipindah ke jam tayangnya menjadi lebih malam dengan menampilkan klasifikasi R dan BO sekaligus. Sementara itu, hasil evaluasi secara umum tayangan TV yang dipantau oleh tim panelis, Nina menjelaskan banyaknya acara yang tidak dicantumkan klasifikasi acara berdasarkan usia kalayak penonton, banyak film animasi yang memuat materi tidak sesuai untuk anak misalnya memuat kekerasan.

"Adanya tampilan yang tidak memperhatikan norma kesopanan dan kesusilaan, ada adegan-adegan yang melibatkan anak dalam setting yang tidak pantas dan ada acara yang menampilkan pelecehan terhadap orang lain," kata Nina.

Dia menjelaskan periode pemantauan KPI pada Juni 2008 ini lebih memfokuskan pada tayangan anak dan remaja dengan pertimbangan anak dan remaja yang sering mengkonsumsi tayangan TV, serta anak merupakan kelompok pemirsa yang paling rentan terpengaruh TV.

Sementara itu Arief Rahman mengatakan, tayangan kartun Tom and Jerry dan Popeye juga perlu diwaspadai karena adanya tayangan yang tidak pantas dilihat anak-anak.

Arief memperingatkan orangtua agar ikut menemani anak menonton film kartun karena tidak semua film kartun tersebut pantas ditonton oleh anak-anak.

[TMA, Ant]
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