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text: This Echo is READ ONLY ! NO Un-Authorized Messages Please! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ European Space Agency Press Release Passing its global sight test leaves MERIS ready for work 10 July 2003 The MERIS sensor on ESA's Envisat environmental satellite is ready for operational use by science and industry. A lengthy test campaign spanning the globe has validated the complex software systems that convert top-of-atmosphere radiation readings into useful measurements of ocean colour, atmospheric water vapour and land cover. The Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS) was launched along with nine other instruments aboard Envisat in March last year. It measures the solar radiation reflected off the Earth in 15 separate bands of visible and near-infrared light. Initial MERIS data are error-corrected and georeferenced to a quality called 'Level 1'. Then software packages called 'processors' making use of algorithms - mathematical instructions based on physics models - tailor this basic data into what are known as 'Level 2' products. These are specific measurements of geophysical parameters such as oceanic phytoplankton chlorophyll concentration, cloud-top pressure or terrestrial vegetation cover, to a maximum resolution of 300 metres from 800 km away in space. Immediately Envisat was launched ESA began a calibration campaign to make sure all instruments, including MERIS, were working optimally. But the processor algorithms applied to MERIS data also needed validation, to see how much they needed 'tuning up' for maximum accuracy. What this came down to was checking if what the processors reported was really there. Some of this job could be done by cross-checking data with similar spacecraft instruments like CNES's POLDER or NASA's SeaWiFs, but independent verification of ground conditions was also required. This entailed international efforts to mount a worldwide 'sight test' that ranged from the Greenland ice cap to African deserts, aircraft flights above Europe, buoys in coastal zones and research vessels out in the open ocean. To ensure overall accuracy all the radiometer instruments used to gather local measurements across the world were first inter-calibrated by the UK Plymouth Marine Laboratory, one of the leading partners in validation efforts. Checking results on land was the simplest part of the validation campaign, as many cross-comparisons could be done with a European Commission land cover database. Stable desert sites in Africa that are usually cloud-free and have not changed their surface character in many years were also used. MERIS was built primarily to chart ocean colour - a task involving a quite different set of algorithms - so gathering in-situ data on this and other local variables was crucial, both inside coastal zones and out in the open ocean. Close to land, specially equipped buoys were deployed close to Envisat orbit times in the Baltic, North Sea, the Skagerrak and the Mediterranean. Readings were also taken from whatever ships that were available. Journey to a cold ocean current teeming with life For open ocean data, in October 2002 ESA helped fund the South African Fisheries Research Ship Africana for a two-week cruise along the Benguela Current off the west coast of South Africa, an upwelling of cold nutrient-rich water. Exposed to the hot sun, the waters are able to support an abundant population of individually-microscopic phytoplankton, whose chlorophyll pigments MERIS was designed to see from space. "The phytoplankton blooms were indirectly visible to us," explained Andre Morel of the French Observatoire Océanolgique de Villefranche, who took part in the validation cruise. "With a high phytoplankton chlorophyll content, oceanic waters are very dark, greenish-brown in colour, whereas they are deep blue when chlorophyll is very low." "Accurately measuring phytoplankton is important because it determines the primary production of the sea, and all the food chain up to fisheries, and it also regulates the fixation of carbon dioxide by photosynthesis." The latter is a key variable in global warming. The optical properties of the ocean and phytoplankton populations were measured with surface and submersible instruments. And as with all readings carried out - on sea and land - atmospheric data were also recorded, including surface pressure, local aerosol properties and how light scatters in the air. Raw MERIS results represent light recorded shining through the top of the atmosphere, but typically what is being sought after is located down at the base of the atmosphere. Indeed the signal received by the sensor when aiming at the ocean is more than 90 per cent derived from the atmosphere, rather than the ocean itself. So the algorithm-based process known as atmospheric correction is crucial to ensure reliable data. Another algorithm is used to derive atmospheric water vapour content from MERIS data over both land and ocean. To validate this data, tracking GPS signals and other radio-based methods were used - the way radio waves propagate through air changes in the presence of water vapour in such a way it can be used for estimating its amount. Cloud reflectivity and cloud-top pressure are two more atmospheric products derived from MERIS data. And to validate this, the Freie Universität Berlin (FUB) flew survey planes through clouds in Northern Germany. MERIS calibration and validation activities will continue throughout the active life of the instrument, but the data already gathered have enabled the validation of the MERIS Level 2 products - announced by ESA last week. To find out more about how to acquire and make use of MERIS and other Envisat data, go to http://envisat.esa.int - END OF FILE - ========== @Message posted automagically by IMTHINGS POST 1.30 --- * Origin: SpaceBase(tm) Pt 1 -14.4- Van BC Canada 604-473-9358 (1:153/719.1) SEEN-BY: 633/267 270 @PATH: 153/719 715 7715 140/1 106/2000 633/267

subset: commoncrawl


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South Australia & Victorian Border Expo (Mt Gambier) - Speakers
Kerry Farmer
- Tracing English ancestors
- DNA for genealogists
Kerry worked for many years designing, writing and testing computer software. Teaching family history classes since 1997, Kerry is on the Education Committee of the Society of Australian Genealogists, and presents seminars and classes there as well as at adult education colleges and elsewhere. She currently teaches online courses in "Australian and New Zealand Genealogy" through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (see www.genealogicalstudies.com ). Kerry and Rosemary Kopittke recently wrote the book "Which Genealogy Program?" published by Unlock the Past. More recently Kerry wrote the book "DNA for Genealogists", also published by Unlock the Past. Kerry's website is www.familyhistoryresearch.com.au. More details.
Graham Greenwood
- Regional newspapers: a wonderful resource, featuring the Border Watch 150 years on
Graham is a former Border Watch manager and now sits on the newspaper's board. He is the author of a number of biographies and histories.
Jacqui Haraldstad
- 1942: War comes to Australia
Jacqui is Business Development Manager for Clean Cruising, and is partnering with Unlock the Past in organising and managing the Unlock the Past cruises and War Comes to Australia tour of the Northern Territory.
Shauna Hicks
- It's not all online
- Asylums: Looking for the sick, the poor and the aged
- Google Your Family Tree: Tips & Tricks
- Are you making the most of TROVE?
Shauna Hicks has been tracing her own family history since 1977 and worked in government for over 35 years primarily in libraries and archives in Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. She is currently Director of Shauna Hicks History Enterprises and a collaborative partner in Unlock The Past. Shauna has a number of tertiary qualifications from Queensland universities as well as the Diploma in Family Historical Studies from the Society of Australian Genealogists. She is a Fellow of the Queensland Family History Society; a recipient of the Australian Society of Archivists Distinguished Achievement Award and in 2009 received the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Service to Family History. More details.
Graham Jaunay
- Identifying and dating old photographs
- South Australia's major archives for family historians
Adelaide Proformat is the trading name used by professional genealogist, Graham Jaunay based in Adelaide. Graham is a history/politics graduate of the University of Adelaide, a registered teacher and life member of the Australian College of Educators. He is an adjunct lecturer in genealogy with Flinders University. He is a member of the Australasian Association of Genealogists & Record Agents. Graham's experience in family history goes back to 1968 when he started researching his own family. Graham Jaunay believes in giving back to the hobby and has held a number of leadership roles in Australian Family History Societies. He operates a number of free services and freely accessible databases holding South Australian material. Visit these via the Free Help and Name Lists buttons on his website.
Andrew Kilsby
- Our early citizen soldiers: volunteers and militia prior to the First World War
- South Australia and Victoria in war: the story of the 9th Light Horse and men from the region who served
Andrew is an early career historian, published author and researcher. His strengths as an historian lie with military, biographical, business and social history in the period 1850-1920, but he has wide ranging history interests across most periods. His history consulting firm, Cooee History & Heritage, was established in 2009. More details.
Rosemary Kopittke
- Findmypast.co.uk
- Findmypast.com.au
- Connecting with family lines online
- ScotlandsPeople
Rosemary has been tracing her family since 1985. A statistician by training, she has worked as an hydrologist, teacher and biometrician though now works as a consultant for Gould Genealogy & History. She has published numerous indexes but is best known for Emigrants from Hamburg to Australasia 1850-1879. A current member of the AFFHO Council and the Queensland FHS Management Committee, Rosemary is a Fellow of QFHS and in 2006 received the AFFHO Award for Meritorious Service to Family History. More details.
Judy Murdoch
- Community history: research and writing
Judy is Naracoorte's best known historian. She was a former Deputy Principal of the School and is actively involved in the Kanawinka Writers and Historians and National Trust, Naracoorte. She has written a number of books, including Bool Lagoon: A Changing Balance, History of Naracoorte, Light on Dark: Caves of the S.E., The Last Jam Sandwich and The More Things Change.
Pam O'Connor
- Community history: research and writing
Paul Parton
- FamilySearch: Ancestors At Your Fingertips
- FamilySearch: More Records to More People Faster
Paul Parton is a presenter for FamilySearch in their Outreach program. He also gives technical support to 145 Family History Centres Australia-wide. He has had an interest in family history for more than 40 years. Paul was a professional trainer prior to his retirement as Pacific Area Director of Information Technology Services with FamilySearch's parent organisation. He was also involved in the early development of data acquisition systems for Australia's nuclear research facility.
Alan Phillips
- 1942: War comes to Australia
Alan has been involved in local and family history since 1971. He was foundation President of the Torrens Valley & District Historical Society in 1976 and The Gumeracha and District History Centre soon after. He has contributed to, and published, a number of books and booklets on the Hannaford, Kelly and Randell families of South Australia - as well as assisting with 3 historical books on the North Adelaide Football Club. He established the following historical/genealogical services.
- Gould Genealogy & History (1976)
- Gould Publishing Services (1990)
- Archive Digital Books Australasia (2003)
- Family Photo Book (2009)
- Unlock the Past (2009)
Carole Riley
- Australian government & police gazettes
- Social media for family historians
Carole Riley is a professional genealogist based in Sydney, Australia with a background in computer programming and an interest in using the web to further genealogical education and networking. Carole serves on the Council of the Society of Australian Genealogists and is the Convenor of their IT Committee. She is also the founder of the Sydney User Group of The Master Genealogist (TMG) and is currently serving as a Director of the Association of Professional Genealogists . She has a Master of Applied Science (Psychology of Coaching) and a Bachelor of Science from the University of Sydney, and a Diploma of Professional Counselling. Carole writes two blogs - Genealogy in New South Wales about genealogy research in NSW and elsewhere; and Carole's Canvas , which is her personal blog about her own family history and other topics. More details.
Neil Smith
- Australia's ANZAC Heritage
Lieutenant Colonel Neil Smith, AM was raised near Perth and spent 24 years in the Australian Regular Army. He has a keen interest in Australian and British military history and has published on a wide range of related matters with the emphasis on those who served. Based on Melbourne, Neil frequently works with the media, often addresses family history and other groups and provides a rapid and unique military history research facility.
Richard Sullivan
- South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society
Executive Officer, South Australian Genealogy & Heraldry Society
Susie Zada
- Genealogical Society of Victoria: GSV @ Home
- Sewerage records: an untapped magnificent resource
Susie Zada has been researching her family since the late 1960s and working as a genealogist, historian and researcher since 1990. She completed an Associate Diploma in Local and Applied History at University of New England (Armidale) in 1996 and has been working in the area of the built Heritage since 1996. Susie has been guest speaker on various topics at genealogical and historical societies and community groups across Victoria and has worked on Heritage Studies in various municipalities in Victoria. She has researched and published five books as well as historical interpretive displays, CD-Roms, indexes and extensive web sites on local history. Susie is currently Assistant Resources Manager at the Genealogical Society of Victoria.
Regional Genealogy Societies
- South East Family History Group
... others to be advised
Regional History Societies
- ... to be advised
Regional Libraries
- Mount Gambier Library
... others to be advised
Regional Museums
- ... to be advised


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So Pat Kaleta got five games for this hit on Brad Richards of the New York Rangers last night.
I have no issue with the penalty called in the game (a 5 minute major and a game misconduct for Boarding), or with the suspension handed down by the league. While Kaleta has made great strides to change both his image and the way he plays the game, this was a dangerous play and was dealt with appropriately.
My frustration lies more with the way the NHL arbitrarily metes out its punishments. It started with Colin Campbell, who had an awful track record with the way he handed down punishments.
Take the hit by Zdeno Chara on Max Pacioretty in 2011.
One could argue that this play was signifiantly more dangerous than Kaleta's check on Richards last night, yet Campbell decided that this hit warranted no additional discipline. You'll never convince this blogger that Chara didn't know exactly where he was on the ice and that there was no intent to injure. You'll also never convince me that Campbell wasn't influenced in his decision by the fact that his son played for the Bruins at the time of this hit.
When Brendan Shanahan took over, I thought things would improve and, for a brief period, they seemed to. But it wasn't long before we were back to the same old same old.
Exhibit B: Milan Lucic's hit on Ryan Miller.
This time, it was Shanahan who decided that no discipline was warranted. Coincidence that it happened to be the Bruins again? I don't know.
What I do know is, even though these are just two examples, there are many more that all combine to suggest that the league seems to pick and choose how it applies its rules. While I understand that it must be difficult to review and decide on some of the borderline plays, the two examples shown above seem abundently obvious. And, to many of us, the way the disciplinary rules are applied seems random and arbitrary.
The one thing I'll give Shanahan credit for is at least he publishes a video record of each play that is reviewed, along with his explanation of why he made his decision, so, at least he owns it. But that doesn't make it easier to swallow when fans are trying to understand why some players get punished and others don't.


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Put away the X-box, Derek Hagan is back.
The Raiders confirmed Thursday they had signed the veteran wide receiver to a contract to shore up a position group that could be short-handed when they open the regular season Monday night against the San Diego Chargers.
Hagan, 27, made the Raiders with a strong training camp as a possession receiver last season and played in six games, catching 11 passes for 114 yards. He was cut to make room for T.J. Houshmandzadeh and finished the season with 13 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown in four games with the Buffalo Bills.
A strong veteran presence, Hagan falls in line with the type of attitudes sought by general manager Reggie McKenzie and coach Dennis Allen. Former coach Hue Jackson noted the serious nature displayed by Hagan during last year's camp.
"He understands that instead of going in and playing X-Box at night and trying to figure out how to score on that video game, he goes in, takes his book, opens it and works on it,'' Jackson said.
When asked about it by reporters, Hagan said, "I don't play X-box too much. I do, but there's no reason. We're in training camp, and you shouldn't even be playing video games. You got to get your study time in. This is my job, this is my profession and it's something I love to do. I try to stick what I do best and that's playing football."
In seven seasons with Miami, the New York Giants, the Raiders and most recently Buffalo, Hagan has 109 receptions for 1,221 yards and six touchdowns. He played the final four games of the 2012 season in Buffalo with 13 catches for 138 yards and one touchdown.
The Raiders also reportedly looked at veteran wide receiver Jabar Gaffney Wednesday as they could enter their season opener against the San Diego short on receivers.
Denarius Moore (hamstring) and Jacoby Ford (foot) have been out for extended periods of time and rookie Juron Criner (ankle) has been hobbling in practice.
To make room for Hagan on the roster, cornerback Coye Francies was waived.


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Selecting Plants: Learn About Climate Zones for Plants from MTD
Seeding Plants for Your Spring Landscape
When you're selecting plants, it's not only important to choose varieties that will complement your home and existing landscape. Selecting plants that are suited to your climate is essential to creating a lush garden. So how do you know which plants will grow best where you live?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a map of climate zones for plants, known as the Plant Hardiness Zone Map, in 1960. A plant's "hardiness" is determined by its ability to withstand conditions, such as low temperatures, that are not considered optimal for growth. Plants are assigned to the zones where they are most likely to thrive, so selecting plants assigned to your zone will help ensure your garden thrives too.
About the climate zones for plants
The USDA climate zones for plants are determined by average minimum temperatures. When a plant is tagged for a particular zone, it should be able to survive the coldest weather that typically occurs in that zone.
There are 11 climate zones for plants in North America. In Zone 1, the coldest, average minimum temperatures dip below minus 50 degrees. In Zone 11, the warmest, average lows range from 30 to 40 degrees. Only zones 2 through 10 fall in the U.S. The United States' nine climate zones for plants are color coded on the hardiness map. Each zone is divided into two sub-zones: A and B. A, the colder of the two, is shaded with a lighter color than its warmer counterpart.
To figure out which climate zone you live in, simply locate your city on the USDA map. Then, use the key to identify your zone. You can also enter your zip code into an online zone finder to get a quick answer. Once you've determined which zone you live in, begin selecting plants tagged for your zone.
In addition to taking climate effects on plants into consideration when you're planning your spring landscape, take time to prepare your soil for planting. MTD garden tillers will help you cultivate the fresh soil your plants need to flourish. To turn over your soil beds more easily and effectively, make sure the tines are sharp and that the other tiller parts are also in good condition.
Part Finder
Don't know your model number?
You can use the Part Finder to help find your model and the right part for your machine.Find Matching Models


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Wednesday, April 26, 2006
What does Cullen mean anyway?
And when I've been looking thru the records for my family from near Clogher, in County Tyrone, starting in 1860, my own ancestors seem to prefer to call themselves "Cullian", but they are also called Cullion, Cullen, Cullan, and even Cullinan.
Irish is hard@!
9 comments:
The Irish for holly is cuileann, pronounced 'quillan', and is the Irish for the surname Cullen.
The Irish for whelp or puppy dog is coileán, pronounced 'quillawn', and is the Irish for the surname Collins.
Submitted by:-
Brendan Cullen,
- February 20, 2008
- Bernie said...
Thank you Brendan,
That's helpful, especially the pronunciation. Do you know if Cullen , its Irish equivalent or any similar name was ever used as a given name? (like Conor name O'Connor surname)
- February 22, 2008
- Frank said...
In the town of Cullen,in Scotland, in the old church graveyard, there is a headstone erected for one of Robert Bruce's wives, which says she died in 1402, in Cullen.(it is all in latin, and cullen is spelled cvllen)The town obviously had that name in 1402.
One of my friends from France told me my name exists in Normandy, and in spelled Cullain. (The Norman Invasion of England?)
Frank Cullen
- February 29, 2008
- Bernie said...
There certainly is a Cullen town in Scotland, but not too many people named Cullen from Scotland. I am preparing a new post to this blog that will explain more. Where are your Cullens from, Frank?
- June 28, 2008
My Cullen family came to Canada from Dalry, in Ayrshire, in the mid- 1800s
My gg grandfather's siblings apparently didn't marry, because there seem to be few Cullens in the area.
Frank Cullen
- July 12, 2008
- Bernie said...
Hello Frank,
Have you seen my posting of July 1 about Cullens in Scotland? It seems that most of the original Scottish Cullens were from Lanarkshire and so they are hard to distinguish given the industrialization and Irish emigration to the area.
I think I've found some old posts to message boards by you where there was some dispute about the origin of your early Cullen ancestors. I agree that they were likely Scottish for hundreds of years at least.
Please email me directly, berniecullen AT gmail.com, I would like to learn more.
- July 18, 2008
Hello Bernie.
In answer to your question of Feb 22, 2008 re Cullen as a given name, I've never come across it in Ireland, but have seen it on some American web sites.
- August 07, 2008
hi my friend told me that theres a cardiff by the sea in san diego and he also said it was founded by a cullen
david cullen,
S Wales
- January 17, 2009
Hi I have just recently wencomed a new addition into my family and whilst waiting for my new addition to arrive I was gripped by the twilight books, As im sure you are all aware the main characters surname is indeed Cullen so I googled it to find out it's meaning and I was delighted to see the most up to date meaning for the name is "handsome" and in greek "famous one".. So my very handsome little boys first name is Cullen, I just hope as a result of the twilight success the name doesn't become too popular lol...
- November 01, 2009


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AB goin' in on em'
More Drake goodness, this time from Star Slinger, some jersey biz.
Came across this today, it's vibing like a mugg. Watch these dudes for sure.
dat nigga Toyko Hands is up with this future bass vibe, this shit is drippy.
Too good not to post. way back!
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NHL CapsulesNHL.com @NHLdotcom
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Corey Perry had two goals and two assists, Teemu Selanne had two goals and an assist, and the relentless Anaheim Ducks beat the Vancouver Canucks 9-1 Wednesday night for their 18th victory in 19 games.
Nick Bonino scored also two goals for the NHL-leading Ducks, who earned their eighth consecutive victory by scoring a club-record six power-play goals in the highest-scoring performance in the franchise's two-decade history.
Andrew Cogliano, Jakob Silfverberg and Sami Vatanen also scored, and Frederik Andersen made 31 saves as Anaheim joined the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens as the only teams in league history to win 18 times in a 19-game span.
Zack Kassian scored for the Canucks, who picked up 58 penalty minutes in the third period of their seventh loss in eight games.
PITTSBURGH (AP) ? Olli Maatta's slap shot beat Michal Neuvirth with less than 2 minutes remaining to rally Pittsburgh for the victory against Washington.
Maatta's fourth goal of the season gave Pittsburgh its only lead as the Penguins won their 13th straight home game, a club record.
Jussi Jokinen, Taylor Pyatt and Kris Letang also scored for the Penguins. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 shots to pick up his NHL-leading 27th victory.
Alexander Ovechkin's 34th goal of the season gave Washington a 3-2 lead midway through the third period, but the Capitals collapsed over the final 10 minutes. Brooks Laich and Jason Chimera also scored for Washington, which lost for the seventh time in nine games. Neuvirth made 33 stops, but didn't see Maatta's blast from the point with 1:54 left.
TORONTO (AP) ??? Tyler Bozak scored the clinching goal in the third round of the shootout and Toronto won its third straight by beating Buffalo.
James van Riemsdyk, Joffrey Lupul and Bozak scored in the shootout for Toronto.
Matt Moulson scored in the first round for Buffalo, but James Reimer stopped Cody Hodgson after Lupul tallied in the second, setting up Bozak's winner.
Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin and Morgan Rielly scored in regulation for the Leafs, while Matt Ellis, Moulson and Hodgson had goals for the Sabres.
Toronto earned its league-leading ninth shootout victory in its 13th shootout.
Reimer stopped 27 shots in regulation and overtime, while U.S. Olympic goaltender Ryan Miller made 36 saves for the Sabres.


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Vishnu Hariharan, KF10 Philippines
When I read a Kiva Fellows blog, it is a chance for me to switch off from the sparks of self awareness. I teleport across the world for 10 minutes to experience life as another Kiva Fellow – exposing me to the elements shaping the lives of Kiva clients. I would like to expose what I have found to be one of the key elements shaping the lives of ASKI's clients – El Nino.
El Nino is a seasonal warming of the Pacific Ocean that upsets normal weather patterns and is causing droughts in Northern Philippines. ASKI serves over 4,000 Kiva clients in this area (Luzon) which is the most important island economically in the Philippines. With the agricultural sector employing most of ASKI's clients and 1/3 of Filipinos; the country's economy is at the mercy of a prolonged drought induced by El Nino.
Many of the borrower profiles and journals of ASKI clients mention the El Nino phenomenon as the cause for diminished income, food shortages and difficulty in raising standards of living. If an ASKI borrower is not engaged directly in farming, their partner or neighbours almost certainly will be. As rice is the country's staple, it is intricately connected to the national economy. Its supply is so important that it usually influences inflation. My current location in Isabela province is the worst-hit by the dry spell among 14 provinces nationwide. Statements below illustrate the devastation of El Nino on rice farmers in Northern Philippines and the economy.
Impact to Northern Philippines:
- US$33m – loss to agriculture this year. Could reach US$ 400m if El Nino continues until July.
- 2.5 million – lost metric tonnes of rice and corn since the start of the year.
Economic effects:
- El Nino limited the country's recovery from the global meltdown that slowed last year's growth to 0.9%.
- The Philippine government has trimmed its 2.6% from 3.6% growth forecast for 2010 given that El Nino is expected to stay for the first half of 2010.
Below is a TV news clip on the impact of El Nino on Northern Philippines. (It is in Tagalog but the footage tells the story)'
However, with the Philippines experiencing tsunamis, typhoons and 'El Nina' on a regular basis, they have overcome many climatic catastrophes in the recent past. I have found ASKI clients to be exceptionally hard-working, adaptable and committed to providing for their families. ASKI itself provides several training programs for clients on new businesses such as soap-making to provide new sources of income. In the event of the unforeseen, one thing I have learnt from the Philippines is that people share their problems and communities come together in difficult times. For these reasons and many others, I encourage you to join me in lending to an ASKI entrepreneur today!
Lend to an ASKI entrepreneur today! Your loan will change lives!
Vishnu Hariharan is a Kiva Fellow (KF10) working with ASKI in Cabanatuan City, Philippines. Please click the links for info on ASKIfield partner page & how to join the lending team.


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It's easy to imagine how computer games greatly improve verbal and mathematical proficiency, but can they be used to foster an interest in science? Stanford University's Ingmar Riedel-Kruse is convinced they can.
An assistant professor of bioengineering, Riedel-Kruse and his lab group have developed the first biotic games, which involve manipulating biological processes in real time. They use various visualization techniques to illustrate and monitor these processes on a computer screen with a gamelike interface.
Inspiration to create biotic games came from reading the history of computers and video games, Riedel-Kruse explained.
"Computer development enabled video games. Since biotechnology is currently undergoing a similar revolution, it struck me that biotechnology could also be a medium for a new type of game," he said.
Many video games attempt to mimic real life, but biotic games use actual life forms, such as paramecia and yeast. Players learn about a variety of biological, chemical and physical properties without dealing with the rigors of formal experiments. Additionally, living organisms often respond in random ways, which makes them fascinating to watch.
"Biotic games enable interesting play experiences based on real-life phenomena, biological unpredictability or the stimulation of olfactory senses," Riedel-Kruse said. "We hope that by playing games involving biology of a scale too small to see with the naked eye, people will realize how amazing these processes are, and they'll get curious and want to know more."
Riedel-Kruse designed three types of games inspired by classic video games. The results of the design efforts are reported in the 10th-anniversary issue of Lab on a Chip, published by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
The first set of games uses single-celled organisms that lack a brain and the capacity to feel pain. Higher-level organisms are not being used, Riedel-Kruse emphasizes, as "safety and bioethical issues were considered in the design of the games."
Other scientists have designed Internet-based video games to utilize the collective power of many people working on one problem. In the gaming world, this is referred to as crowdsourcing or citizen science, in which a task is delegated to a group of individuals with one common goal.
Vijay Pande at Stanford University created a protein-folding game (folding@home) that is run on the world's largest supercomputer to generate new ideas about how proteins fold. In addition, EteRNA, a ribonucleic acid folding game, allows the public to create new RNA molecular structures. The players are scored based on known chemical properties of the RNA structure. The highest-scoring RNA molecules are tested in the laboratory. EteRNA was developed as a collaboration between the Carnegie Mellon University and the Bio-X.Game Center, an interdisciplinary research center at Stanford University.
The organism of choice was the paramecium, which is a ciliated single-celled organism that swims in a run-and-tumble motion and can be directed to move in a guided direction through both electrical and chemical signals. Paramecia can be prompted to change directions, but they move in a random path, which makes the games challenging.
In a game inspired by the classic arcade game Pac-Man, which Riedel-Kruse's team has dubbed PAC-mecium, paramecia are placed in a square fluid chamber that has electrodes along each side. The player controls the swarm by applying electric fields along two axes with a hand-held controller. The motion of the paramecia is recorded with a webcam and displayed on a computer screen. Points are scored by directing the paramecia to gobble up virtual yeast food shown on the computer screen. However, players have to help the paramecia avoid hungry virtual zebrafish larvae that move across the screen.
The second class of games involves risk and logic. PolymerRace is inspired by horse racing, in which gamblers make bets on the order that horse-jockey pairings will reach the finish line. In the biotic version, the horse-jockey pairs are small DNA oligonucleotides, or primers, that bind with a range of affinities to DNA during a polymerase chain reaction, a common molecular technique used to replicate DNA sequences.
Players watch in real time the amplification of DNA and with each cycle obtain new information about the order and reaction efficiencies of the primer pairs. In each subsequent cycle, players make more bets; thus, the strategy is to balance risky, limited-information bets with secure, logic-driven bets.
The final class of games involves the use of olfactory senses. Prisoner's Smellemma is based on the classic problem in game theory known as the Prisoner's Dilemma, which demonstrates that people may not always cooperate even if it is in their best interests. Prisoner's Smellemma is played with yeast, which emit a vinegarlike smell similar to that of freshly baked bread. Each player receives a yeast strain and buffer. Players mix either buffer or yeast strain with their opponent's, smell the mixture and guess what the other player did. Players score points by guessing correctly whether their opponent is cooperating or opposing them.
These biotic games mark a milestone in the computer gaming world. It's the first time a game has been created in which the player's actions influence living organisms in real time. It's easy to see how these games can be used for educational purposes, Riedel-Kruse said, especially in the classroom to get students excited about biology.
"Many computer experts discovered their love for computers when playing games," he said. "Biotic games could have the same inspiring effect for biology and biotechnology."
Riedel-Kruse said he also is optimistic that these games will inspire the public to contribute to biomedical research, because games can be used to target small armies of players or researchers who can run experiments and gather data as they play.
"Ideally we would like to structure a game so that many people will play, and each person feels like they are making a valuable contribution," he said. "The more people thinking about a common problem with different backgrounds, the more likely we are able to solve that problem."
More from the current issue


text:
Tuesday, July 12
Vincentennial Post #21 - Vincent Price, chef
Vincent Price was definitely a man who had a taste for the finer things in life, and the finer tasting things as well. Vincent was a well documented gourmet chef, and together with second wife Mary Grant published two cookbooks, Come Into the Kitchen (1969) and A Treasury of Great Recipes (1965). Here are the two books below, with alternate covers for the Come into the Kitchen book.
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Changing Tech, Changing Law School
I'll be speaking Thursday at the 2013 Chapman Law Review Symposium on how law school (and particularly IP law) curriculum should change to keep pace with technology. Our moderator is the brilliant John Tehranian (TWiL fans will remember him from Episode 120), and it'll be great to meet David Levine (me = huge fan of Hearsay Culture) and Deven Desai (me = huge and very long-time fan of Concurring Opinions).
Here are some points I'd like to raise:
Online distribution, licensing, and selective enforcement. A traditional IP law education probably equips lawyers to help clients address the "Hey, they're using my thing and I didn't say they could" problem. I don't know if it adequately equips lawyers to help clients with the "Hey, how do I get them to use my thing?" issue, however. How can clients effectively use Creative Commons? How can they effectively partner with YouTube and other distribution hubs? In the case of Psy, thousands of parodies and remixes of an original work turned relative obscurity into global ubiquity. A modern IP curriculum should give granting rights equal shrift with establishing and preserving them.
IP for all, and terms of service. IP lawyers are traditionally well equipped to help commercial clients manage IP, but IP is increasingly something that touches people in their daily lives. Can Facebook sell photos of your kid to AT&T? What happens to IP you've posted to a social networking site after you terminate your account? After your death? Even though people don't read terms of service they care a lot about what rights they may be granting in their online photographs, reviews, tweets, blog posts, etc. Lawyers should be learning how to draft IP terms of service that are clear and not overbroad. They should also be learning how to advise clients about their rights in materials submitted to social networks, and about related right of publicity issues.
Globalization. I don't know how well a traditional IP law education equips lawyers trained in the U.S. to deal with the fact that a business with an online presence or business model is an international one. Lawyers should be learning about treaties and global policies that effect IP considerations around the world.
IP Policy. I hope a modern IP law curriculum looks at the state of
IP lawmaking: recent unsuccessful attempts to extend IP protections
(SOPA, PIPA), the competing interests shaping IP legislation,
copyright and patent reform, etc.
If you're a law student and have any thoughts about what kind of changes you'd like to see in the IP law curriculum, please chime in. (You'll be doing me a huge favor, as the last time I directly experienced IP law in the law school context, Ronald Reagan was President.)


text:
PILOT LIGHT 380V 30MM TYPE K +OPTIONSShow more characteristics >
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Republic of the Congo Population: 4,852,41216 VISITORS FROM HERE!
« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter Overview
|Upon independence in 1960, the former French region of Middle Congo became the Republic of the Congo. A quarter century of experimentation with Marxism was abandoned in 1990 and a democratically elected government took office in 1992. A brief civil war in 1997 restored former Marxist President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso, and ushered in a period of ethnic and political unrest. Southern-based rebel groups agreed to a final peace accord in March 2003. The Republic of Congo is one of Africa's largest petroleum producers, but with declining production it will need new offshore oil finds to sustain its oil earnings over the long term.
About 70% of the population lives in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, or along the railroad between them
|Central Africa, bordering the South Atlantic Ocean, between Angola and Gabon
|Geographic coordinates:
| total: 342,000 sq km
land: 341,500 sq km
water: 500 sq km
Size comparison: slightly smaller than Montana
|Land Boundaries:
|total: 5,008 km border countries (5): Angola 231 km, Cameroon 494 km, Central African Republic 487 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 1,229 km, Gabon 2,567 km
|169 km
|Maritime claims:
| territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
|tropical; rainy season (March to June); dry season (June to October); persistent high temperatures and humidity; particularly enervating climate astride the Equator
|coastal plain, southern basin, central plateau, northern basin
|Elevation extremes:
|Natural resources:
|petroleum, timber, potash, lead, zinc, uranium, copper, phosphates, gold, magnesium, natural gas, hydropower
|Land use:
| agricultural land: 31.1% arable land 1.6%; permanent crops 0.2%; permanent pasture 29.3% forest: 65.6%
other: 3.3% (2011 est.)
|Irrigated land:
|20 sq km (2012)
|Natural hazards:
|seasonal flooding
|Current Environment Issues:
|air pollution from vehicle emissions; water pollution from raw sewage; tap water is not potable; deforestation
|International Environment Agreements:
| party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
|^Back to Top
| noun: Congolese (singular and plural)
adjective: Congolese or Congo
|Ethnic groups:
|Kongo 48%, Sangha 20%, M'Bochi 12%, Teke 17%, Europeans and other 3%
|French (official), Lingala and Monokutuba (lingua franca trade languages), many local languages and dialects (of which Kikongo is the most widespread)
|Roman Catholic 33.1%, Awakening Churches/Christian Revival 22.3%, Protestant 19.9%, Salutiste 2.2%, Muslim 1.6%, Kimbanguiste 1.5%, other 8.1%, none 11.3% (2010 est.)
|4,852,412 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
|Age structure:
| 0-14 years: 41.53% (male 1,016,677/female 998,331)
15-24 years: 17.26% (male 419,248/female 418,397)
25-54 years: 34% (male 831,091/female 818,853)
55-64 years: 4.18% (male 101,118/female 101,879)
65 years and over: 3.03% (male 64,519/female 82,299) (2016 est.)
|Dependency ratios:
| total dependency ratio: 86.2%
youth dependency ratio: 79.4%
elderly dependency ratio: 6.8%
potential support ratio: 14.7% (2015 est.)
|Median age:
| total: 19.7 years
male: 19.6 years
female: 19.9 years (2016 est.)
|Population growth rate:
|2.06% (2016 est.)
|Birth rate:
|35.1 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Death rate:
|9.7 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
|Net migration rate:
|-4.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
| urban population: 65.4% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 3.22% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
|Major urban areas - population:
|BRAZZAVILLE (capital) 1.888 million; Pointe-Noire 969,000 (2015)
|Sex ratio:
| at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
|Mother's mean age at first birth:
|19.8 note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011/12 est.)
|Maternal mortality rate:
|442 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
|Infant mortality rate:
| total: 56.4 deaths/1,000 live births male: 61.4 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 51.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
|Life expectancy at birth:
| total population: 59.3 years male: 58.1 years
female: 60.6 years (2016 est.)
|Total fertility rate:
|4.63 children born/woman (2016 est.)
|Contraceptive prevalence rate:
|44.7% (2011/12)
|Health expenditures:
|5.2% of GDP (2014)
|Physicians density:
|0.1 physicians/1,000 population (2007)
|Drinking water source:
| improved:
urban: 95.8% of population
rural: 40% of population
total: 76.5% of population
urban: 4.2% of population
rural: 60% of population
total: 23.5% of population (2015 est.)
|Sanitation facility access:
| improved:
urban: 20% of population
rural: 5.6% of population
total: 15% of population
urban: 80% of population
rural: 94.4% of population
total: 85% of population (2015 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|2.75% (2014 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|80,700 (2014 est.)
|HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|4,400 (2014 est.)
|Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
|9.7% (2014)
|Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
|12.3% (2015)
|Education expenditures:
|6.2% of GDP (2010)
| definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.3%
male: 86.4%
female: 72.9% (2015 est.)
|School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
| total: 11 years male: 11 years
female: 11 years (2012)
|^Back to Top
|Country name:
| conventional long form: Republic of the Congo
conventional short form: Congo (Brazzaville)
local long form: Republique du Congo
local short form: Congo
former: French Congo, Middle Congo, People's Republic of the Congo, Congo/Brazzaville
etymology: named for the Congo River, which makes up much of the country's eastern border; the river name derives from Kongo, a Bantu kingdom that occupied its mouth at the time of Portuguese discovery in the late 15th century and whose name stems from its people the Bakongo, meaning "hunters"
|Government type:
|presidential republic
| name: Brazzaville
geographic coordinates: 4 15 S, 15 17 E
time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
|Administrative divisions:
|12 departments (departments, singular - department); Bouenza, Brazzaville, Cuvette, Cuvette-Ouest, Kouilou, Lekoumou, Likouala, Niari, Plateaux, Pointe-Noire, Pool, Sangha
|15 August 1960 (from France)
|National holiday:
|Independence Day, 15 August (1960)
|previous 1992; latest approved by referendum 20 January 2002; amended 2015; note - the constitutional referendum approved in October 2015 changed the head of government from the president to the prime minister, eliminated the presidential age maximum, reduced the presidential term from 7 to 5 years and limited total presidential terms to 3 (2017)
|Legal system:
|mixed legal system of French civil law and customary law
|18 years of age; universal
|Executive branch:
| chief of state: President Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (since 25 October 1997)
head of government: Prime Minister Clement MOUAMBA (since 23 April 2016); note - a constitutional referendum held in 2015 approved the change of the head of government from the president to the prime minister
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for 2 additional terms); election last held on 20 March 2016 (next to be held in 2021)
election results: Denis SASSOU-Nguesso reelected president; percent of vote - Denis SASSOU-Nguesso (PCT) 60.4%, Guy Price Parfait KOLELAS (MCDDI) 15.1%, Jean-Marie MOKOKO (independent) 13.9%, Pascal Tsaty MABIALA (UPADS) 4.4%, other 6.2%
|Legislative branch:
| description: bicameral Parliament or Parlement consists of the Senate (72 seats; members indirectly elected by regional councils by simple majority vote to serve 6-year terms with one-half of membership renewed every three years) and the National Assembly (139 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by absolute majority popular vote in two rounds if needed; members serve 5-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held on 12 October 2014 for 36 of the expiry seats (next to be held in 2020); National Assembly - last held on 15 July and 5 August 2012 (next to be held in July 2017)
election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - RMP 33, FDU 23, UPADS 2, other 7, independent 7; National Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PCT 89, MCDDI 7, UPADS 7, RDPS 5, MAR 4, RC 3, MUST 2, UPDP 2, CPR 1, PRL 1, PUR 1, UFD 1, UR 1, independent 12, vacant 3
|Judicial branch:
| highest court(s): Supreme Court or Cour Supreme (consists of NA judges); Constitutional Court (consists of 9 members); note - a High Court of Justice, outside the judicial authority, tries cases involving treason by the president of the republic judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court judges elected by Parliament and serve until age 65; Constitutional Court members appointed by the president of the republic - 3 directly by the president and 6 nominated by Parliament; members appointed for renewable 9-year terms with one-third of the membership renewed every 3 years
subordinate courts: Court of Audit and Budgetary Discipline; courts of appeal; regional and district courts; employment tribunals; juvenile courts;
|Political parties and leaders:
|Action Movement for Renewal or MAR [Roland BOUITI-VIAUDO] Citizen's Rally or RC Congolese Labour Party or PCT [Denis SASSOU-NGUESSO] Congolese Movement for Democracy and Integral Development or MCDDI [Guy Price Parfait KOLELAS] Movement for Unity, Solidarity, and Work or MUST [Claudine MUNARI] Pan-African Union for Social Development or UPADS [Pascal Tsaty MABIALA] Party for the Unity of the Republic or PUR Patriotic Union for Democracy and Progress or UPDP [Auguste-Celestin GONGARD NKOUA Prospects and Realities Club or CPR Rally for Democracy and Social Progress or RDPS [Bernard BATCHI] Rally of the Presidential Majority or RMP Republican and Liberal Party or PRL Union for the Republic or UR Union of Democratic Forces Union for Democracy and Republic or UDR United Democratic Forces or FDU [Sebastian EBAO]; many smaller parties
|Political pressure groups and leaders:
|Congolese Trade Union Congress or CSC General Union of Congolese Pupils and Students or UGEEC Revolutionary Union of Congolese Women or URFC Union of Congolese Socialist Youth or UJSC
|International organization participation:
|ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
|National symbol(s):
|lion, elephant; national colors: green, yellow, red
|National anthem:
| name: "La Congolaise" (The Congolese)
lyrics/music: Jacques TONDRA and Georges KIBANGHI/Jean ROYER and Joseph SPADILIERE
note: originally adopted 1959, restored 1991
|Diplomatic representation in the US:
| chief of mission: Ambassador Serge MOMBOULI (since 31 July 2001)
chancery: 1720 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone: [1] (202) 726-5500
|Diplomatic representation from the US:
| chief of mission: Ambassador Stephanie S. SULLIVAN (since 12 August 2013)
embassy: 70-83 Section D, Maya-Maya Boulevard, Brazzaville
mailing address: B.P. 1015, Brazzaville
telephone: [242] 06 612-2000
|^Back to Top
The economy is a mixture of subsistence farming and hunting, an industrial sector based largely on oil and support services, and government spending. Oil has supplanted forestry as the mainstay of the economy, providing a major share of government revenues and exports. Natural gas is increasingly being converted to electricity rather than being flared, greatly improving energy prospects. New mining projects, particularly iron ore, which entered production in late 2013, may add as much as $1 billion to annual government revenue. Economic reform efforts have been undertaken with the support of international organizations, notably the World Bank and the IMF, including the recently concluded Article IV consultations. The current administration faces difficult economic challenges of stimulating recovery and reducing poverty. The recent drop in oil prices has constrained government spending; lower oil prices forced the government to cut more than $1 billion in planned spending. However, the government increased infrastructure spending for the September 2015 All-Africa Games and also ahead of the March 2016 presidential election, putting further pressure on the budget. Officially the country became a net external creditor as of 2011, with external debt representing only about 16% of GDP and debt servicing less than 3% of government revenue.
|GDP (purchasing power parity):
| GDP (purchasing power parity): $30.27 billion (2016 est.) $29.75 billion (2015 est.) $29.08 billion (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|GDP (official exchange rate):
|GDP (official exchange rate): $8.834 billion (2015 est.)
|GDP - real growth rate:
|1.7% (2016 est.) 2.3% (2015 est.) 6.8% (2014 est.)
|GDP - per capita (PPP):
| GDP - per capita (PPP): $6,800 (2016 est.) $6,800 (2015 est.) $6,800 (2014 est.)
note: data are in 2016 dollars
|Gross national saving:
|22.1% of GDP (2016 est.) 12.4% of GDP (2015 est.) 38.9% of GDP (2014 est.)
|GDP - composition, by end use:
| household consumption: 50%
government consumption: 10.5%
investment in fixed capital: 48.7%
investment in inventories: 0.2%
exports of goods and services: 44.5%
imports of goods and services: -53.9% (2016 est.)
|GDP - composition, by sector of origin:
| household consumption: 50%
government consumption: 10.5%
investment in fixed capital: 48.7%
investment in inventories: 0.2%
exports of goods and services: 44.5%
imports of goods and services: -53.9% (2016 est.)
|Agriculture - products:
|cassava (manioc, tapioca), sugar, rice, corn, peanuts, vegetables, coffee, cocoa; forest products
|petroleum extraction, cement, lumber, brewing, sugar, palm oil, soap, flour, cigarettes
|Industrial production growth rate:
|3.5% (2016 est.)
|Labor force:
|1.807 million (2013 est.)
|Unemployment rate:
|53% (2012 est.)
|Population below poverty line:
|46.5% (2011 est.)
|Household income or consumption by percentage share:
| lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 37.1% (2005)
| revenues: $3.562 billion
expenditures: $4.233 billion (2016 est.)
|Taxes and other revenues:
|40.3% of GDP (2016 est.)
|Public debt:
|49.3% of GDP (2016 est.) 48% of GDP (2015 est.)
|Fiscal year:
|calendar year
|Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|Inflation rate (consumer prices): 2.3% (2016 est.) 2.6% (2015 est.)
|Current account balance:
|-$728 million (2016 est.) -$1.861 billion (2015 est.)
|$4.777 billion (2016 est.) $5.231 billion (2015 est.)
|Exports - commodities:
|petroleum, lumber, plywood, sugar, cocoa, coffee, diamonds
|Exports - partners:
|China 42.1%, Italy 16.9%, US 4.9%, India 4.7%, Portugal 4.2% (2015)
|$3.447 billion (2016 est.) $3.934 billion (2015 est.)
|Imports - commodities:
|capital equipment, construction materials, foodstuffs
|Imports - partners:
|China 20.3%, France 14.2%, South Korea 9.8%, US 4.9%, UK 4.4%, Italy 4.1%, India 4.1% (2015)
|Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|$1.989 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $2.244 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
|Debt - external:
|$4.817 billion (31 December 2016 est.) $4.324 billion (31 December 2015 est.)
|Market value of publicly traded shares:
|Exchange rates:
|Cooperation Financiere en Afrique Centrale francs (XAF) per US dollar - 589.4 (2016 est.) 591.45 (2015 est.) 591.45 (2014 est.) 494.42 (2013 est.) 510.53 (2012 est.)
|^Back to Top
|Electricity - production:
|1.7 billion kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - consumption:
|900 million kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - exports:
|22 million kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - imports:
|18 million kWh (2014 est.)
|Electricity - installed generating capacity:
|500,000 kW (2014 est.)
|Electricity - from fossil fuels:
|12.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from nuclear fuels:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from hydroelectric plants:
|87.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Electricity - from other renewable sources:
|0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)
|Crude oil - production:
|269,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
|Crude oil - exports:
|252,300 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - imports:
|0 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Crude oil - proved reserves:
|1.6 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)
|Refined petroleum products - production:
|18,550 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - consumption:
|16,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - exports:
|5,426 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Refined petroleum products - imports:
|2,615 bbl/day (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - production:
|1.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)
|Natural gas - consumption:
|1.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)
|Natural gas - exports:
|39 million cu m (2012 est.)
|Natural gas - imports:
|0 cu m (2013 est.)
|Natural gas - proved reserves:
|90.61 billion cu m (1 January 2016 es)
|Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy:
|6.5 million Mt (2013 est.)
|^Back to Top
|Cellular Phones in use:
|total: 5.216 million subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 110 (July 2015 est.)
|Telephone system:
| general assessment: primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable with services barely adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order
domestic: fixed-line infrastructure inadequate, providing less than 1 connection per 100 persons; in the absence of an adequate fixed-line infrastructure, mobile-cellular subscribership has surged to 110 per 100 persons
international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2015)
|Broadcast media:
|1 state-owned TV and 3 state-owned radio stations; several privately owned TV and radio stations; satellite TV service is available; rebroadcasts of several international broadcasters are available (2007)
|Internet country code:
|Internet users:
|total: 362,000 percent of population: 7.6% (July 2015 est.)
|^Back to Top
|27 (2013)
|Airports (paved runways):
| total 8
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 (2013)
|Airports (unpaved runways):
| total 19
1,524 to 2,437 m: 8
914 to 1,523 m: 9
under 914 m: 2 (2013)
|gas 232 km; liquid petroleum gas 4 km; oil 982 km (2013)
| total 510 km
narrow gauge: 510 km 1.067-m gauge (2014)
| total 17,000 km
paved: 1,212 km
unpaved: 15,788 km (2006)
|1,120 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui Rivers above Brazzaville; there are many ferries across the river to Kinshasa; the Congo south of Brazzaville-Kinshasa to the coast is not navigable because of rapids, necessitating a rail connection to Pointe Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only) (2011)
|Merchant marine:
registered in other countries: 1 (Democratic Republic of the Congo 1) (2010)
|Ports and terminals:
| major seaport(s): Pointe-Noire
river port(s): Brazzaville (Congo); Impfondo (Oubangi); Ouesso (Sangha); Oyo (Alima) oil terminal(s): Djeno
|^Back to Top
|Military branches:
|Congolese Armed Forces (Forces Armees Congolaises, FAC): Army (Armee de Terre), Navy, Congolese Air Force (Armee de l'Air Congolaise); Gendarmerie; Special Presidential Security Guard (GSSP) (2013)
|Military service age and obligation:
|18 years of age for voluntary military service; women may serve in the Armed Forces (2012)
|^Back to Top
|Transnational Issues
|Disputes - International:
|the location of the boundary in the broad Congo River with the Democratic Republic of the Congo is undefined except in the Pool Malebo/Stanley Pool area
|Refugees and internally displaced persons:
|refugees (country of origin): 8,549 (Rwanda) (2015); 29,304 (Central African Republic); 12,223 (Democratic Republic of the Congo) (2016) IDPs: 7,800 (multiple civil wars since 1992) (2015)
|^Back to Top
« Previous Country | Next Country » Back to Flag Counter Overview
Source: CIA - The World Factbook


text:
Valentine's Day never the same for those widowed young
Giddy young lovers can't wait to exchange perfect gifts on a romantic Valentine's Day they've planned for weeks. Old married couples make do with an obligatory Valentine gesture, content in knowing they celebrate their love every day. Some single people worry about whether their fledging relationship can live up to the holiday's hype. Others don't have a date and fear that they will never find a true love.
Then there are the people who observe Valentine's Day as part of a new and growing club founded by Wendy Doyle Diez and Laura Tully Dennis -- the Chicagoland Young Widowed Connection.
The stories required to gain entrance into this exclusive club with the mostly suburban members all have the same sad ending.
Wendy and Chris Diez and their baby boy, Ian, were in the midst of a joyous Christmas season in 2008 with Wendy just days away from giving birth to a daughter. Then Chris developed a headache bad enough to send him to the hospital. That's where doctors discovered two large brain tumors that were going to kill him.
"Chris saw her as a newborn and then that was it," Wendy Diez recalls, showing the photo of her husband holding their baby, Claire, in a hospital moments after her birth on Jan. 3. Chris died 10 days later at age 48.
Everything happened so fast, "we were getting three different cards at the same time -- condolences, congratulations on your baby and get well," Diez remembers.
"Since Claire and Chris had such little time together, I wanted to do whatever I could to make those moments special," says Diez, who had their daughter baptized in the hospital room where Chris was dying. "Our pastor baptized her and then anointed Chris. Everyone said their goodbyes and he literally died about 10 minutes later. I swear, it was like he was waiting for all that to happen first. It is surreal to experience the bookends of life in the short time that I did. All I can say is that thank goodness I had the joy part of the equation with Claire."
Dennis didn't get a chance to plan a goodbye for her husband. Married with preschool sons, Jack and Quinn, she was having a fun day with friends and family in Wisconsin in 2009 when Kevin Dennis struggled to climb a ladder from the swimming pool and staggered to a chain-link fence.
"He leaned against it and just fell over," his widow says. "He got out of the swimming pool and never got back up."
Her father, a retired Chicago firefighter, performed CPR as she dealt with her young sons. Attempts to revive Kevin continued at the hospital, but the 31-year-old man thought to be in good shape died of a heart attack known as the widow-maker.
A lingering illness provides a chance to say goodbye while a sudden death alleviates suffering. "We talk about this all the time," says Dennis, 34, adding that her widowed friends all reach the same conclusion. "There is no good way to go."
One night after her boys were in bed and before she would cry herself to sleep, Dennis went on the Internet.
"I was looking for somebody who knew what it felt like," she says. "Everybody else was worried about when their husbands were coming home for dinner and my husband was never coming home for dinner."
On a widow chat site, she found a posting from Diez that mentioned St. Paul of the Cross, the nearby Park Ridge church where Chris Diez had been choir director.
"It had been nine months for me, so I was a veteran," Diez, 42, says about being a widow.
"I had a very hard time with that word for a long time," admits Dennis. "I felt much more comfortable with wife or mother."
Meeting in person, the women "made the word conform to us" and decided to form a club for the widowed, Dennis recalls.
"We doubled membership in one day by adding two friends," says Diez. The first official outing was in December 2011.
"Everything was done at a restaurant," a chuckling Diez says.
"With a glass of wine," Dennis adds with a laugh.
They needed a name. One that wouldn't make their group seem like organized grief therapy sessions, a dating service or a gathering for senior citizens.
"The word we talked about the most was 'connection.' We kept coming back to the important thing is the connection," Diez says.
"We're all in this club we don't want to be in," says Scott Bauer, a Long Grove father of three teenage boys and one of the few male members of the Chicagoland Young Widowed Connection group. His wife, Lauri, was 43 and in great shape when she died of a sudden heart arrhythmia in 2011. As active members of the community, the family had a wonderful support network of family and friends that others often do not, says Scott. To help remedy that, he founded the Lauri S. Bauer Foundation For Sudden Loss, which funds counseling and other services for children coping with a loss. In addition to a grief center in Deerfield, the group plans to open a center in Evanston on April 1.
The 46-year-old dad writes a blog for the Chicagoland Young Widowed Connection, which now boasts 150 people on its rolls.
"We're not single parents. We're only parents, which is a huge difference," Scott notes.
"Valentine's Day is probably one of the toughest holidays because of what it is with love and couples and being together," says Paula La Gioia of Mount Prospect, who was 46 with a first-grade daughter, Grace, when her husband, Bill Hunt, died of a blood clot in 2007. But there is no predicting when the grief will wash over her.
"It can be the second Wednesday of the month and you're driving in the car and it hits you," La Gioia says.
With the widowed group, she doesn't have to worry about keeping a stiff upper lip or forcing a smile. "You don't need to say anything because you know they get it," Dennis says of the members.
"You just feel a comfort knowing there are other people. On some level everybody is walking a similar path," La Gioia says. "Whatever you say, you know somebody has experienced something like that."
"You feel safe," Bauer says. "You can cry, and you can laugh."
People probably will do both Saturday at the group's Valentine & Wine, from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. at WineStyles, 1517 Waukegan Road in Glenview.
"I don't know if that Valentine & W-i-n-e or Valentine & W-h-i-n-e," La Gioia quips.
Tickets for Valentine & Wine are $25 each and a portion of the proceeds will help fund CYWC's not-for-profit 501(c)(3) filing fees and its outreach efforts. Tickets can be purchased online at chicagolandwidowed.org. For more information, email
"It's one-stop shopping," Diez says, noting members find resources, help with grief and a social outlet in the club. Perhaps most important, it provides a chance to regain something that can be lost -- fun. "I have not laughed as hard as I do when I get together with other widowed people," Diez says. "It's crazy."">firstname.lastname@example.com
"It's one-stop shopping," Diez says, noting members find resources, help with grief and a social outlet in the club. Perhaps most important, it provides a chance to regain something that can be lost -- fun.
"I have not laughed as hard as I do when I get together with other widowed people," Diez says. "It's crazy."">email@example.com


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How to Use the Images Illustration 1
Illustration 1
Photo 2 shows where Wilson spent a great deal of his time: in the library among his books and memorabilia. The portrait over the mantel was commissioned after his death. Photo 3 is the drawing room of the Wilson retirement home. A copy of Mrs. Wilson's portrait shares the room with a mosaic of St. Peter, presented to the Wilsons at the Vatican during their tour of Europe in 1918.
Questions for Photos 2 & 3
1. What objects in the library and drawing room convey Wilson's social and economic position?
2. How did the Wilsons spend their leisure time? Compare with modern-day leisure activities. What has changed?
* The image on the screen has a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi), and therefore will print poorly. You can obtain a high resolution version of Photo 2 and Photo 3 but be aware that each will take about 30 seconds to load with a 28.8K modem.


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Hugh Jackman urged movie bosses to ditch his superhero character Wolverine's metal claws after he almost sliced off his private parts during a nude scene.
The actor thrilled his female fans by getting naked for 2013 film "The Wolverine," but peeling off on set while wearing the razor sharp blades on his hands almost caused an eye-watering injury.
Jackman is adamant he enjoyed the "freeing" feeling of shedding his clothes, but producers were persuaded to replace the metal claws with a plastic pair when he came perilously close to cutting off his manhood as he tried to cover up in front of the female crewmembers.
He tells talk show host Graham Norton, "I quite enjoyed (being naked) really; it's a very freeing feeling. … There was a very intense first scene and I insisted on a closed set. I ran round the corner and all the female members of the crew were gathered there. I tried to cover myself and cut my inner thigh – it was just the inner thigh thankfully! The metal claws had to go – you can't have bits and pieces flying off."


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- Free Consultation and Quote
- Most Reputable Company
- Certified by Recycling Association
- Certified Carpet Repair
Avoiding unforeseen surprises
On the subject of Carpet Repair in Albert, KS, you have to be knowledgeable to make the very best decisions. We make sure that you know exactly what should be expected. You won't need to confront any sort of unexpected situations when you deal with Carpet Repair Team. Start by talking about your job with our customer service staff once you call 800-807-1247. With this phone call, you're going to get all your questions responded to, and we will schedule a time to start services. We consistently show up at the appointed hour, ready to work closely with you.
When you need Carpet Repair in Albert, Wyoming, consider Carpet Repair Team
You have got many great reasons to rely on Carpet Repair Team for your requirements when it comes to Carpet Repair in Albert, KS. We've got the highest customer support scores, the very best quality products, and the most effective and powerful money saving strategies. Our company has the skills you need to fulfill your ambitions. Call 800-807-1247 to reach Carpet Repair Team and review all of your goals when it comes to Carpet Repair in Albert.


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Supported Browsers and Applications
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Browsers not included in the supported browser list should perform normally. If your browser does not appear to be functioning normally, please try upgrading the browser to the most recent version or use one of the supported browsers listed above.
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To better serve our customers, Digi-Key will update the supported-browser list every three months to accommodate current browser trends and new technology.
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Hakuouki DS
What do you need help on? Cancel X
Hakuoki: Demon of the Fleeting Blossom is a Samurai Romance game set at the end of the Edo period of Japanese history - a period that witnessed the decline of Shogunate as the ruling of power in Japan. One of the few example of the Japanese sub-genre of Otome, which centers on story-driven romance from a female perspective, the game features a unique blend of adventure and decision-dependant gameplay. Additional features include: multiple possible endings depending on choices made, and fluid anime style animation.
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Management of Vulvar Dysplasia
Dear OncoLink "Ask The Experts,"
Is there a protocol in regard to follow ups after a wide local excision of the vulva? My daughter who is twenty years old was diagnosed with VIN III caused by the HPV virus, and had to have a wide local excision with grafting. Right after the surgery, the doctor told us that she was not able to achieve free margins in certain areas due to the multifocal dysplasia. She said that she was going to laser those sites four months after the surgery. When we went to her office four months later, she did not mention anything in regard to the laser, nor did she perform a vulvoscopy. The exam was done by naked eye. We also could not get a clear answer as to whether she should see a specialist in regard to the anal area since the dysplasia was only about a centimeter from it. I am having second thoughts on our choice of doctor; we do not get our questions answered and we feel there is a sense of apathy on the part of the doctor. Could you tell me what type of follow ups are performed on patients like my daughter?
Stephen C. Rubin, MD, Professor and Chief of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology, University of Pennsylvania Health System, responds:
Vulvar dysplasia is difficult to manage because it is often multifocal, and it may be difficult to determine, even with the use of the colposcope, where the limits of the abnormal tissue are exactly. It is therefore quite common for the margins of an excision to be involved. Patients are typically followed with examinations, sometimes including colposcopy, every four to six months. Often, patients develop recurrences or new areas of dysplasia from time to time, and require additional treatment.
If you are not comfortable with your daughter's current physician, it would certainly be appropriate to see a gynecologic oncologist.


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Ramos keeps White Sox off board for first win
CHICAGO -- For a guy with only six career starts on his resume, Cesar Ramos is starting to get the hang of this whole starting pitching thing.
Ramos was shaky in his first start this season -- allowing four runs in two innings against the Reds -- but the 29-year-old has been solid ever since. In his last two starts, against the Yankees and White Sox, he's allowed just one run over 10 innings.View Full Game Coverage
CHICAGO -- For a guy with only six career starts on his resume, Cesar Ramos is starting to get the hang of this whole starting pitching thing.
Ramos was shaky in his first start this season -- allowing four runs in two innings against the Reds -- but the 29-year-old has been solid ever since. In his last two starts, against the Yankees and White Sox, he's allowed just one run over 10 innings.View Full Game Coverage
He didn't allow any against the top-scoring offense in baseball on Saturday night over five-plus innings, helping the Rays to a 4-0 win over the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.
"He kept the ball down," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "He did. He kept the ball down. He elicited weak contact, for the most part. They weren't all over him. He didn't make a lot of mistakes up in the strike zone."
Ramos, who earned his first career win as a starter, retired the White Sox 1-2-3 in the first inning and allowed just one hitter to reach base in the second, third and fourth innings. He gave up a leadoff double to Gordon Beckham in the third before retiring the next three batters.
"I was just getting ahead, especially with the way the weather was," said Ramos, who kept battling as temperatures dipped into the low 30s. "They don't want to be out there any longer than we do. They were aggressive, and I was throwing strikes."
Ramos ran into two jams in the fifth, but didn't let the ball leave the infield either time. He put runners on second and third with only one out, but gloved a grounder from Adam Eaton, who was thrown out at first.
"He doesn't have explosive stuff, but he's smart with his pitches and he makes things look better than what they are -- and credit to him," Eaton said. "But as we mature as a team and as young hitters, we'll learn better how to approach that."
Then, after walking Marcus Semien, Ramos faced Friday night's walk-off hero, Jose Abreu -- again coming up with the bases loaded -- but induced a dribbler to third base, which Evan Longoria fielded for the final out.
"It was huge," Ramos said. "It kind of took their wind out. If they get a hit, they're right back in the game."
While the conventional play may have been to remove Ramos, Maddon stuck with him.
"I don't know Abreu well yet, but I thought the first couple at-bats he didn't see him that good," Maddon said. "So, I know it looked kind of counter-intuitive to leave him in there at that point, but I kind of liked what I saw in the first two, and that's why I did it."
Paul Konerko and Beckham went a combined 4-for-4 against Ramos, but everyone else in Chicago's lineup went 1-for-15.
"He's effectively in and out of the zone, and he had us chasing, taking a lot off," White Sox manager Robin Ventura said. "He wasn't adding anything. He was just going slower than slow. It's tough to hit when you have conditions like this and a guy has a good change-up. He was moving the ball pretty good."
The Rays got out to a three-run lead for the second straight night -- only this time, they made it stick.
Ryan Hanigan opened the scoring in the second inning with a two-out, two-run double to left that plated James Loney and Logan Forsythe, while Loney singled home Wil Myers in the third to make it 3-0. Loney went 3-for-4 with three singles.
The Rays threatened again in the fourth inning -- Yunel Escobar and Hanigan led off with a single and double, respectively -- but failed to score. Ben Zobrist grounded out to third, Desmond Jennings struck out and Myers flied out to left.
Still, the Rays made John Danks work. Danks had thrown 88 pitches through four innings. Ramos, by comparison, had thrown just 38.
Ramos threw a career-high 65 pitches -- 39 for strikes. His previous high was 57 against Toronto on May 14, 2012.
The Rays added a run in the sixth, when Zobrist scored on an RBI triple by Jennings to make it 4-0.
Danks threw 123 pitches, 63 for strikes, in 5 2/3 innings. He had four strikeouts, four walks and allowed four runs on seven hits. Chicago has lost Danks' last five starts against the Rays, who snapped a three-game losing streak.
Ramos allowed a leadoff single to Dayan Viciedo in the sixth and -- with Konerko striding to the plate -- was quickly replaced by Brandon Gomes, who needed just four pitches to get out of the inning.
"Konerko is so good against left-handed pitching," Maddon said. "I've seen enough of that. For many years, I've seen that. And I thought if he had one more crack against [Ramos], it would have been difficult for us."
Overall, Gomes pitched three innings of shutout ball.
"Just ride him, baby," Maddon said. "Gomer was outstanding. He looked so darn good, why take him out with a four-run lead? That's what we got to do. To be really good, you got to utilize your 25-man roster. You got to give everybody an opportunity to make an impact, and Gomer definitely made an impact tonight."
The White Sox were shut out for the second time this season. The first came April 18 at Texas, where they lost 12-0.
Maddon, who was ejected in the bottom of the eighth inning for arguing a check-swing on Eaton, was happy to see his team respond after Friday's crushing loss.
"I'm really proud of the guys after a really difficult loss last night to come back and play as well as we did today and shut them out," Maddon said.
Tony Meale is a contributor to MLB.com.


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I am running Worpdress on an CentOS Webserver.
Now, to enable wordpress to be able to upload/write files to the default webserver directory
I had to do the following change on the server as root user:
[user@host ~]$ chown apache /path/to/upload/dir
[user@host ~]$ chmod 755 /path/to/upload/dir
What security implications does this have?
I know I can move all my files to say the /home/ directory and point Apache to it, but it is too much effort...
Can I keep it like this or it it unsafe to do so?


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Acid Rock
Acid rock is a form of psychedelic rock, which is characterized by long instrumental solos, few (if any) lyrics and musical improvisation.
Acid rock got its name because it served as "background" music for acid trips in underground parties in the 1960s (e.g. the Merry Pranksters' "Acid Tests"). ("Acid" is a slang term for LSD.) In an interview with Rolling Stone, Jerry Garcia quoted Grateful Dead band member Phil Lesh stating, "acid rock is what you listen to when you are high on acid." Garcia further stated there is no real psychedelic rock and that it is Indian classical music and some Tibetan music that are examples of music "designed to expand consciousness.
The term "acid rock" is generally equivalent to psychedelic rock. Rolling Stone magazine includes early Pink Floyd as "acid-rock". In June 1967 Time magazine wrote, "From jukeboxes and transistors across the nation pulses the turned-on sound of acid-rock groups: the Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, Moby Grape". In 1968 Life magazine referred to The Doors as the "Kings of Acid Rock".
When hard rock and heavy metal became prominent in the early and mid-1970s, the phrase "acid rock" was sometimes mistakenly applied to these genres. Over time, these bands such as Alice Cooper fell in under the term "heavy metal" which replaced "acid rock" for these styles of music.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acid_RockAcid Rock bands starting with 'Z': no records found
|Carl Zarcone
© Boar 2011 - 2019


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Skip to Content
EXPO is the Office of Community-Based Learning and Research's online community-based learning system where community partners can input community-based learning positions. EXPO allows students, faculty, and community partners to organize, disseminate information, and connect with each other and community-based learning opportunities. EXPO is also used by the Carlson Center, office that coordinates service-learning at UW Seattle.
Click here to access EXPO.
Community Partner Tutorial for using EXPO (logging into EXPO, using the EXPO Dashboard, entering or updating your community-based learning positions).
Forgot your username and password? Email firstname.lastname@example.com for assistance.


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Cheers, Good People
Type: Album
Artist: Black Balloon Studio
Released: September 27th, 2012
|Track List:
Apple Music
One More Round
Type: Single
Artist: The Charlee Copper Band
Released: September 12th, 2012
|Track List:
Apple Music
What others are saying about Catapult
"Submitting my album through Catapult was literally as easy as setting up an email account. It walked me through the process step by step. It even had roll-over text to dumb it down for slow learners such as myself. With detailed weekly reports, I can get up to date information on the number of downloads the album is getting and what regions the downloads are coming in from. I know I made the right choice going with Catapult, and I couldn't be happier with the results."Randy Fuller - Independent Artist


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KWill wrote:bustertheclown wrote:since I just made a resolution to become an expatriot sometime this year.
I think you mean "expatriate", no? Bit harder to do than becoming an "expatriot"
Hmmm, that sounds like something I'd say, oddly enough.Noise Monkey wrote:I kinda need to go to the bathroom. Not too bad. I'll probably do something about it later.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


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Weekend McMahon event held in Northern England
Originally held in The Marton Arms in Thornton in Lonsdale, which was then owned by Go player Tim Hazleden. It continued for several years there after Tim's tragic death and raised money for local charities. Eventually it had to find a new location and moved, via another pub which closed shortly thereafter, to the Commodore Inn in Grange-over-Sands.
From 2016 it moved back to its roots in Ingleton, but at the Wheatsheaf.


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EarthTalk: Keeping polluters at bay
Dear EarthTalk: What can communities do to keep polluters out of their neighborhoods? -- Wendell Bovey, Los Angeles
Attending planning and zoning or city council meetings is a first line of defense against letting polluters in. Be prepared by getting meeting agendas in advance and looking for red flags that can be discussed with the powers-that-be in person or at public sessions. And keep up with the public notices section of the local paper, where public hearings concerning local land use must be announced by law.
The Natural Resources Defense Council, a leading nonprofit organization recommends paying close attention to plans for incinerators, landfills, waste transfer stations, water pollution control or sewage treatment plants, bus or truck depots and parking lots, power plants, highways, airports, metal plating and auto body or auto repair shops. Beyond looking out for these and other types of polluting projects, community residents should be aware of and ask questions about any proposed change in zoning or in the local municipal or county "Master Plan" or "Community Environmental Plan."
Finding out about a bad project coming your way is only the beginning. Arranging for a time and place where locals can meet to discuss what's happening and organize around preventing it is the next step.
Some of the tasks necessary to mounting a good defense include thoroughly researching a proposed facility's potential impacts (including contacting people in other areas where similar types of facilities have been sited), bringing in experts and reaching out to more community members to align them accordingly.
If community members are focused on their goals and have enough support from neighbors they can succeed in either blocking a proposed new facility or expansion, or at least in increasing pollution controls. Another positive outcome could be a revision to local ordinances to prevent future polluters from moving in.
For more information, see NRDC's free online guide, "You Can Beat City Hall," which outlines how to watch out for and organize against polluting entities in our own backyards, so to speak.
More InformationFact box
EarthTalk is by Roddy Scheer and Doug Moss of E -- The Environmental Magazine (www.emagazine.com). Send questions to firstname.lastname@example.com.


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A team of advocates for U.S. Border Patrol Agent Jesus E. "Chito" Diaz Jr. is demanding his immediate release from prison after an appeals court judge said during oral arguments in the case that the officer's actions may have been a misdemeanor.
"We, LEOAC, have long investigated this pattern of government protecting illegal alien drug cartel smugglers by the Justice Department [which] prosecutes Border Patrol agents instead of bad guy," said Andy Ramirez, president of the Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council.
"Agent Diaz' case screams for oversight review, as an innocent agent has been imprisoned for 16 months including jail time," he said.
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The group charges that the Diaz case is "another overreach by DOJ to give the Mexican government a scalp, while they protected the drug smuggling [suspect] MBE."
The case developed when Diaz was on hand for the capture of a suspect who was hauling 75 pounds of drugs into the United States. Even though the suspect was returned to Mexico almost immediately without any complaint "that he was injured, hurt, or in pain," the Mexican government later alleged that he was arrested "with excessive force" and that the "minor complained about the incident once he arrived to the South Station."
Diaz, who was sentenced to 24 months, was found guilty of denying the teenager his constitutional rights by applying excessive force during the arrest. He was accused eventually of violating the smuggler's rights by forcing him to the ground during his arrest, handcuffing him, then pulling on his arms to coerce him into complying with orders.
Sign a petition demanding Jesus Diaz be freed from a case launched because of pressure from the Mexican government.
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Ramirez now says that the agent, who has been represented by the LEOAC in non-courtroom issues, should be released, reinstated to his position with back pay and benefits, and issued an apology.
|Jesus Diaz Jr.
"It is imperative that this be done given a key statement made by Presiding Judge E. Grady Jolly during the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals' oral arguments phase of Agent Diaz' appeal, which just heard Chito's case on July 12, 2012, in New Orleans," he said.
The audio of that hearing has been posted on the LEOAC site.
In it, Jolly stated, "Nobody's arguing, really, that the officer did the right thing or that it can be justified so much. The question is it just sounds more like a misdemeanor instead of a felony to me…"
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According to the FreeAgentDiaz.com website, Diaz was "maliciously prosecuted at the request of the Mexican consul in Eagle Pass, Texas."
The legal case against the officer was "solely motivated by politics and is yet another example of prosecutorial abuse and misconduct while protecting Mexico's narco-terror influences," organizers of the website said. They have been collecting donations to help with the officer's fine as well as the needs of the agent's family.
According to the discovery documents, other agents, hours after the alleged incident, claimed to an off-duty Border Patrol officer that Diaz used "excessive force" on the drug smuggler. That's even though the suspect "was processed for voluntary return to Mexico by BPA Marco A. Ramirez, and subsequently returned to Mexico on the same date."
Several members of Congress, including Reps. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Lamar Smith of the House Judiciary Committee had been asked to look into the situation.
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Hunter told LEOAC, "It's good to see that this case may be finally receiving the impartial attention and due process it deserves, both for the personal respect of Agent Diaz and his family, and for the 'far-reaching implications on law enforcement personnel,' as the defense stated.
"I'm looking forward to the court's decision, which I'm confident will be in Agent Diaz's favor," he said.
LEOAC said U.S. officers remain in grave dangers on the U.S.-Mexico border and are not backed up by the Justice Department when "assaulted, rocked, or shot at by illegal alien drug smugglers, human traffickers, and other individuals who have waged this new war…"
Weeks ago, the DOJ responded to Hunter's request for leniency in the case with a flat refusal.
Diaz' wife earlier said she was outraged because the government told her that her husband would not be allowed to return home even after serving his prison term.
That's because she also is a Border Patrol agent, and is armed.
"I have to ask what does the DOJ want me to do? I can't retire, I'm too young. Divorcing him is not an option as he would still have to come around for the children. What is Chito going to do about his brother, not see him for the next five years? He carries a gun," Diana Diaz, said in a statement released at the time.
The group has called for the U.S. House of Representatives to investigate the case.
WND reported earlier when the federal government started reaching into the prison commissary fund belonging to Diaz to address part of a $7,000 fine imposed by the judge. That's even though the court earlier told Diaz the fine would not be paid until after his jail sentence.
|Ignacio Ramos and Jose Alonso Compean
Border watchers will remember the extended battle fought by Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean after they were prosecuted, convicted and jailed, again at the request of the Mexican government, for shooting at and striking a drug smuggler who reportedly dropped a load in the U.S. and was fleeing back to Mexico.
Their punishments ultimately were commuted by President George W. Bush, although they did not receive pardons, leaving their convictions on their records.
Their original case stemmed from the Feb. 17, 2005, shooting of Oswaldo Aldrete-Davila. The two officers said they thought Aldrete-Davila was armed and made a threatening move.
WND was among the first to report Aldrete-Davila then committed a second drug offense, smuggling a second load of 750 pounds of marijuana across the border while he was under the protection of immunity from federal prosecutor Johnny Sutton's office and in possession of a border-pass card authorized by the Department of Homeland Security.
WND also reported when Aldrete-Davila admitted to federal drug smuggling charges, was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for 57 months.
Aldrete-Davila was granted immunity for his drug smuggling by federal prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against the agents. He had crossed the Rio Grande and picked up a marijuana-loaded vehicle near El Paso. After a car chase in which he fled from the officers, he abandoned the vehicle and ran back across the border on foot. He was shot in the buttocks as he ran.


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Hello everybody, remember us?
It's been too long since we were last on air but we are back and ready to entertain once more. This week Quim and I are discussing the latest teasers coming out of the telltale HQ featuring the latest Batman trailer and the latest Walking Dead Season 3 screens and info.
We round up the show by talking about our personal top couch multiplayer games, we'd love to hear what yours are in the comments below.
Thanks for listening as always and hit us up through the usual channels.
Right click 'save link as..' download


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How to convert DVD to 3GP on Mac?
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Jul 14, 2011, 03:40 AM
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How to remove PDF password on Mac?
AnyBizSoft PDF Password Remover for Mac is a small yet powerful PDF decryption tool on Mac OS X. It enables Mac users to remove copying and printing restrictions from encrypted PDF files. It's quick and easy-to-use. Batch decryption is supported.
Step 1 Import
Drag PDF files on your Mac and drop them into the panel. Or choose File-> Add PDF Files in the menu bar to add PDF files.
PDF Password Remover for Mac can decrypt PDF files with Owner Password directly without knowing the password. But if the PDF file is encrypted with User/Open Password, you need to unlock it before decryption. Otherwise descryption of the file will be skipped.
Actually even Acrobat also requires the password if you want to remove pdf password on mac from encrypted PDF files. And most PDF decryption tools on the market can't remove Open Password from PDF files even if you know the password. It's reasonable because the Open Password is set by authors to protect copyrights of their works. You can't get access to the file without permission.
If you have permission to get access to the file and want to remove the pdf password for easier reading, just click on the lock icon beside the PDF file and type correct password in the pop-up box to unlock the PDF file for decryption.
Step 2 Select an output folder
Choose PDF Password Remover-> Preferences... in the menu bar, you can select an output folder for the output files.
Step 3 Decrypt
Click Start button to decrypt the encrypted PDF files. The decryption will be finished in seconds. Then you can click on the PDF icon to open the restriction-free PDF files.
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