The world’s 10 best commutes...

Riding the rails in Osaka, Japan, or biking in Berlin rank high on the list

Berlin's compact layout and commitment to bicycle lanes have made riding to work a popular option
You can arm yourself with an iPod full of movies, install fine leather seats and satellite radio, and convince yourself some poor sap has a commute worse than yours.
Except that isn't likely to improve it.
Chances are, those traveling to work in Hong Kong, Berlin and Osaka, Japan, don't need to adopt such tactics. That's because their commutes are among the world's most reliable, cheap and efficient.
The dense cluster of jobs on Hong Kong Island makes it possible for 90 percent of residents to commute on public transit. Osaka's high-speed rail connects it to the suburbs of Kobe and Kyoto, and Berliners, who rely heavily on bicycles, have few traffic problems compared with residents of cities like New York or Rome.
Dakar, Senegal, London and Chennai, India, also make the list.
Ease of urban mobility
We compiled our rankings using data and research supplied by Jeffrey Kenworthy, a transportation professor at Murdoch University in Perth, Australia. He measured the world's 84 largest cities on the following criteria: the cost to the consumer and the government, overall investment in improvements, and the speed and safety with which workers are delivered to offices.
Scores were adjusted for gross domestic product, which allowed developing cities like Dakar or Krakow, Poland, to compete with cities from highly developed G8 nations.
Dense cities perform particularly well by our measures. There are only 8,000 full-time residents in the City of London, but there are 320,000 jobs there, according to the City of London Economic Development Office. That sort of commercial density makes the London rail system a very efficient mechanism for delivering people to their offices. The Tube, which is the world's largest urban railway, and commuter trains efficiently move people in and out of the city, whereas cars in such a small space would overwhelm the system.
The speed of transit not only benefits commuters; it contributes to a city's economic competitiveness. Outsourcing capitals like Chennai, which are heavily reliant on attracting informational technology companies, do well on our list due to the city's high investment rate in projects like the IT highway, and its MSRT mass transit rail system.
"Ease of urban mobility is a prerequisite for business to reach supplies and customers," says Maria Krautzberger, permanent secretary of the Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development. "Cities cannot secure their position in global networks otherwise."

Infrastructure improvements
The problem, however, is paying for those sorts of infrastructure improvements.
"When you add to taxation in order to pay for improvements, it makes the citizenry less competitive, compared to another city because of the tax burden," says Francine Senecal, vice chair of the City of Montreal's Executive Committee. At the Metropolis Conference in Sydney, Australia, last week, a meeting of private and public funding bodies, she pointed to the need for public/private partnerships in infrastructure development, a joint investment in roads, or works projects.
"Public-private partnerships allows the public sector more maneuverability because they don't have to increase the tax burden," she says. "Though obviously regulation is very important."
Seoul, South Korea, for example, relies on a $2.5 billion Macquarie investment fund to spend on transportation and infrastructure improvements, while cities in India have sought market funding in the form of investment-grade municipal bonds for $302 billion in improvements over the next five years.
Of course, each city's traits come into play. Berlin's compact nature and commitment to bicycle lanes have made riding to work a popular option. According to the city government, 13 percent of all traffic is bicycle traffic, which keeps transit costs low for residents on the whole, and alleviates road traffic for drivers because there are fewer cars on the road.
And in Houston, jobs and population are so spread out that a relatively complex train system is needed. The city government has proposed between $3 billion and $7.5 billion of light rail improvements since 2003, though little has been done to successfully alleviate mounting traffic, which consistently ranks the city towards the bottom of our U.S. commute lists.
In the end, though, a poor commute is "a relative concept," says Nathan Rees, premier of New South Wales, Australia. "It's like being in love. If you think you are love, you are in love. If you think you are in traffic, you are in traffic."

Penyakit Yang disebabkan Oleh Global Warming !!!

October 15, 2008

Global warming (pemanasan global) merupakan
salah satu isu yang sangat penting di seluruh dunia
saat ini, selain terorisme. Para kepala negara di
seluruh dunia selalu menyempatkan diri membahas
isu ini pada momen-momen pertemuan tingkat
regional maupun internasional. Begitu pentingnya isu
ini, baru-baru ini panitia pemberi Nobel, The
Norwegian Nobel Committee menganugerahkan
Nobel Perdamaian kepada mantan Wakil Presiden
Amerika Serikat, Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr, dan
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
atas usahanya untuk membangun dan menyebarkan
pengetahuan tentang global warming pada
masyarakat dunia.
Global warming merupakan istilah yang menunjukkan peningkatan suhu ratarata
udara permukaan bumi dan lautan pada dekade terakhir dan peningkatan
suhu ini masih akan terus berlangsung. Suhu udara rata-rata permukaan
bumi meningkat 0.74 + 0.18 °C dalam 100 tahun terakhir. Sedangkan IPCC
memprediksi bahwa suhu global cenderung meningkat sebesar 1.1 sampai
6.4 °C antara tahun 1990 dan 2100. Peningkatan suhu bumi sebenarnya
dapat terjadi secara alami, namun penyebab utama global warming ini adalah
tingginya level greenhouse gases, terutama CO2 dan metan di atmosfer
akibat aktifitas manusia, seperti tingginya laju pembakaran bahan bakar fosil
dan perubahan fungsi lahan terutama deforestasi.
Ada beberapa istilah lain di dalam literatur selain global warming yang biasa
digunakan untuk menunjukkan perubahan iklim yang disebabkan oleh
manusia, yaitu climate change dan anthropogenic climate change.
Global warming telah terbukti memiliki dampak yang sangat luas pada
kesejahteraan dan kesehatan manusia. Banyak literatur yang menyebutkan
bahwa global warming turut bertanggungjawab terhadap terjadinya becanabencana
alam di belahan bumi ini, seperti gelombang panas, badai-badai
tropis, banjir besar, ataupun kekeringan berkepanjangan yang melanda
1
Gambar diambil dari: http://images.epilogue.net/users/dearden/Global_Warming.jpg
beberapa negara beberapa tahun terakhir ini. Selain menelan korban jiwa,
bencana-bencana tersebut telah menimbulkan kerugian ekologi, ekonomi,
dan sosial yang sangat besar. Meningginya level permukaan laut akibat
global warming juga telah menimbulkan kekhawatiran pada masyarakat
penghuni pulau-pulau kecil di beberapa negara akan keberadaan tempat
tinggalnya pada beberapa tahun yang akan datang.
Global warming juga diyakini sebagai penyebab munculnya wabah penyakitpenyakit
yang disebarkan oleh vektor. Dimana, perubahan iklim dapat
merubah pola distribusi dari vektor-vektor tersebut dan juga mempengaruhi
laju reproduksi dan maturasi dari agen infektif yang ada di dalam tubuh
vektor. Kondisi inilah yang diyakini menjadi salah satu penyebab tingginya
kejadian Malaria dan Dengue pada beberapa negara, termasuk Indonesia.
Lalu apa dampak global warming terhadap kesejahteraan dan kesehatan
hewan? Ilmuwan telah meyakini bahwa suhu bumi yang semakin tinggi akan
mempercepat hilangnya spesies-spesies hewan dari muka bumi. Global
warming pada skala global dan regional diprediksi akan merubah distribusi
spesies, sejarah hidup spesies, komposisi komunitas, dan juga fungsi
ekosistem. Selain itu, merebaknya penyakit infeksius pada beberapa hewan
domestik maupun hewan liar yang disebabkan oleh global warming telah
menjadi bukti bahwa ancaman global warming terhadap kesehatan hewan
benar-benar sudah ada di depan mata.
Bukti pertama. Merebaknya penyakit Bluetongue di dataran Eropa antara
tahun 1998-2005. Penyakit ini telah membunuh lebih dari 1.5 juta ekor
domba dan menyebabkan periode ini sebagai periode wabah bluetongue
terlama dan terbesar dalam sejarah Eropa. Lima serotipe virus bluetongue
diketahui telah menginvasi Eropa pada periode ini. Kasus wabah bluetongue
ini terjadi di beberapa negara atau wilayah yang sebelumnya dilaporkan sama
sekali tidak pernah terdapat kasus Culicoides-borne arboviral disease, seperti
Turki, dataran Yunani, Bulgaria, beberapa negara Balkan, dataran Italia, Sicily
dan Sardinia, Corsica, kepulauan Balearic, dan Tunisia. Kejadian ini
sekarang dihubungkan dengan kejadian pemanasan global di wilayah Eropa.
Dari hasil penelitian yang dilakukan, terindikasi bahwa penyebaran dramatis
dari vektor Culicoides imicola ke wilayah yang tidak pernah mengalami infeksi
bluetongue sebelumnya atau transimisi virus bluetongue oleh vektor baru, C.
obsoletus dan C. pulicaris, hanya terjadi di area-area yang secara nyata
mengalami pemanasan suhu. Hal ini menunjukkan bahwa adanya hubungan
langsung antara kemunculan bluetongue di Eropa dengan global warming.
Bukti kedua. Adanya keterlibatan global warming terhadap punahnya 67%
dari sekitar 110 spesies katak Atelopus sp. dari pegunungan Costa Rica
akibat infeksi fungi patogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis sekitar 20 tahun
lalu. Atelopus sp merupakan spesies katak endemis di wilayah tropis benua
Amerika. Analisa hubungan periode kepunahan terhadap perubahan level
permukaan laut dan suhu udara menunjukkan bahwa pemanasan global telah
menyebabkan suhu lingkungan pada sebagian besar pegununganpegunungan
di wilayah Amerika Selatan dan Tengah bergerak mendekati
suhu optimum pertumbuhan fungi pathogen B. dendrobatidis sehingga
menyebabkan wabah dan mengakibatkan punahnya sebagian spesies
Atelopus sp.
Dua kasus di atas telah memperlihatkan bahwa dampak negatif global
warming terhadap kejadian penyakit pada hewan adalah nyata. Tidak hanya
itu, peristiwa El Nino-Southern Oscillation, salah satu fenomena alam yang
juga dipengaruhi oleh global warming, diketahui juga berpengaruh pada
patogen yang hidup di laut yang menyebabkan penyakit pada oyster dan
coral.
Walaupun sampai saat ini bukti keterlibatan global warming terhadap wabah
penyakit menular pada hewan domestik baru ditunjukkan oleh munculnya
wabah bluetongue di dataran Eropa yang telah disebutkan di atas, kita harus
tetap waspada terhadap kemunculan-kemunculan wabah penyakit lainnya jika
tidak ada usaha-usaha untuk memperlambat laju global warming. Banyak
penyakit penting hewan domestik yang baik kemunculannya atau pun siklus
hidup agen penyebabnya secara langsung maupun tidak langsung
dipengaruhi oleh faktor-faktor cuaca, seperti suhu dan kelembaban udara.
Misalnya :
Anthrax. Suhu, kelembaban udara, dan kelembaban tanah mempengaruhi
keberhasilan germinasi dari spora Bacillus anthracis. Wabah biasanya
berhubungan dengan perubahan musim hujan dan kemarau, serta suhu
lingkungan yang tinggi.
Haemorrhagic septicaemia (pasteurellosis). Agen penyebab, Pasteurella
multocida, dapat bertahan hidup di luar tubuh inang pada lingkungan yang
lembab dan kejadian penyakit biasanya terjadi pada musim hujan.
Haemonchosis. Kemampuan hidup telur dan larva dari Haemonchus
contortus, sampai mereka termakan oleh inang, bergantung pada suhu dan
kelembaban. Pada kondisi lingkungan yang hangat dan kelembaban yang
moderat, larva dapat hidup berminggu-minggu sampai berbulan-bulan.
Masih banyak lagi penyakit-penyakit pada hewan domestik dan hewan liar
yang kemunculannya atau pun siklus hidup vektor dan agen penyebabnya
dipengaruhi oleh faktor suhu dan kelembaban lingkungan. Sehingga,
perubahan cuaca akibat global warming dapat mempengaruhi waktu
kemunculan wabah ataupun intensitas wabah dari penyakit-penyakit tersebut.
Bahan bacaan :
Blaustein AR dan Dobson A. 2006. A message from the frogs. Nature 439
(12 Januari 2006), 143-144
Climate Change 2001 : Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/index.htm
Diffenbaugh NS et al. 2005. Fine-scales processes regulate the response of
extreme events to global climate change. PNAS 102 (44), 15774-
15778
Emmanuel K. 2005. Increasing destructiveness tropical cyclones over the
past 30 years. Nature 436 (4 Agustus 2005), 686. 688
Harvell CD et al. 2002. Climate warming and disease risks for terrestrial and
marine biota. Science 296, 2158-2162
McLaughlin JF et al. 2002. Climate change hastens population extinctions.
PNAS 99 (9), 6070-6074
Pounds JA. et al. 2006. Widespread amphibians extinction from epidemic
disease driven by global warming. Nature 439 (12 Januari 2006), 161-
167
Purse BV et al. 2005. Global warming and the recent emergence of
Bluetongue in Europe. Nature Reviews Microbiology 3, 171-181
Ruddiman WF. 2005. How did humans first alter global climate?.
Scientific American (March 2005), 46-53
Thomas CD et al. 2004. Extinction risk from climate change.
Nature 427 (8 Januari 2004), 145-148

Sahur On the road...

Cacing Lemes Team !!!

September 23, 2008

Nie dia anak-anak cacing lemes…

Senin, 2008 September 22

Sahur On The Road !!!

Sahur ON The Road Di Yayasan Darrul Aittam

Cilandak

Jakarta malam itu tanggal 20 sept menjelang pagi Cacink Lemez dan HIMASI BL bersama anak2 yatim piatu mengadakan saur bareng coyyy…. acaranya cukup meriah yang di hadiri oleh bintang tamu pemain tawa sutra diantaranya ::: Budi Anduk (Tomy), Rico Ceper (Okta) Pepi empat mata (Black) Ginanjar (Syahril Hidayat)…. pokoke seru banget dahhhh….. Kami Mengucapkan terima kasih kepada anak2 himasi yang bekerja keras sehingga acara berjalan dengan lancar…. Sukses terus Buat HIMASI.. terutama untuk ketuanya …Mbak DIAN (Mardiana)

By: Dhani Cacink Lemez

September 23, 2008. Cacink Lemez. No Comments.

Buka Puasa Anak” Cacing Lemes

(Plaza semanggi‘Sky Dining’)

GokiL… Itulah kata-kata yang bisa terucap dalam hati gwe ketika buka bersama pada tanggal 9 september 2008. Bayangin aja, ngebatalin puasa make es buah dikampus langsung meluncur ke plangi. Awalnya seh cuma pengen makan di benhil. Tapi berhubung anak2 ga ngambil keputusan bablas ke plangi deh. Di jalanan gwe ma anak2 Cacink Lemez kena macet di jalan. Maklum aja gwe searah ma orang pulang kantor. Ditemenin sama lagunya kerispatih yang bila rasaku ini rasamu. Berisik, Gokil, usil itulah yang ada waktu cacink Lemez Berbuka Bersama. Masuk Plangi, langsung parkir menuju lantai 10. Masuk Solaria, Langsung Pesen Degh. Bagusnya suasana disana asik banget so Kebayar semua capenya anak2 cacink lemez ketika dijalan.. neh foto2nya:

No Comments » | Cacing Lemes | Permalink
Posted by wandi220487

Fuel consumption and emissions reductions

The hybrid vehicle typically achieves greater fuel economy and lower emissions than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEVs), resulting in fewer emissions being generated. These savings are primarily achieved by three elements of a typical hybrid design:

1. relying on both the gasoline (or diesel engine) and the electric motors for peak power needs resulting in a smaller gasoline or diesel engine sized more for average usage rather than peak power usage.
2. having significant battery storage capacity to store and reuse recaptured energy, especially in stop-and-go traffic.
3. recapturing significant amounts of energy normally wasted during braking etc. (regenerative braking) This is a mechanism that reduces vehicle speed by converting some of its kinetic energy into another useful form of energy, dependent upon the power rating of the motor/generator;

other techniques that are not necessarily 'hybrid' features, but that are frequently found fuel saving measures on hybrid vehicles include;

1. shutting down the gasoline or diesel engine during traffic stops or while coasting or other idle periods;
2. improving aerodynamics ; (part of the reason that SUVs get such bad gas mileage is the drag on the car. A box shaped car or truck has to exert more force to move through the air causing more stress on the engine making it work harder. Improving the shape and aerodynamics of a car is a good way to help better the gas mileage and also improve handling at the same time.
3. using low rolling resistance tires ; (tires were often made to give a quiet, smooth ride, high grip etc. but efficiency was a lower priority. Tires cause mechanical drag, once again making the engine work harder, consuming more fuel. Hybrid cars may use special tires that are more inflated than regular tires and stiffer or by choice of carcase structure and rubber compound have lower rolling resistance while retaining acceptable grip, and so improving fuel economy whatever the power source.

These features make a hybrid vehicle particularly efficient for city traffic where there are frequent stops, coasting and idling periods. In addition noise emissions are reduced, particularly at idling and low operating speeds, in comparison to conventional gasoline or diesel powered engine vehicles. For continuous high speed highway use these features are much less useful in reducing emissions.

An addition to the hybrid market is the Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV). The PHEV usually consists of a gasoline-electric hybrid with increased energy storage capacity (usually Li-ion batteries). It may be connected to mains electricity supply at the end of the journey to avoid charging using the on-board internal combustion engine.

This concept is attractive to those seeking to minimise on-road emissions by avoiding - or at least minimising - the use of ICE during daily driving. As with pure electric vehicles, the total emissions saving, for example in CO2 terms, is dependent upon the energy source of the electricity generating company.

For some users, this type of vehicle may also be financially attractive so long as the electrical energy being used is cheaper than the petrol/diesel that they would have otherwise used. Current tax régimes in many European countries use mineral oil taxation as a major income source. This is generally not the case for electricity, which is taxed uniformly for the domestic customer, however he/she uses it. Some electricity suppliers also offer price benefits for off-peak night users, which may further increase the attractiveness of the plug-in option for commuters and urban motorists.

Paying Taxes 2009: New Report Finds that 21st Century Economies Can Benefit from Simpler Business Tax Systems

The Hague, November 10, 2008—A new report, launched today by the World Bank, IFC and PricewaterhouseCoopers, shows that tax authorities worldwide are overhauling tax systems by reducing taxes, streamlining administrative processes and modernizing payment systems. Paying Taxes 2009, the third report in an annual series, is expected to prompt further dialogue between governments and businesses on improving tax systems.

The report draws on the Doing Business 2009 report that measures the ease of paying taxes for mid-size domestic companies in 181 economies, analyses tax systems and tracks related reform efforts. It includes examples of how 18 economies have made use of data from the previous global Doing Business reports and provides insight into discussions with governments and other stakeholders generated by earlier Paying Taxes reports.

Paying Taxes 2009 finds that in 2007/08:

• Thirty-six economies made it easier to pay taxes. This year’s top reformer is the Dominican Republic. Malaysia is the runner-up.
• The most popular reforms were reducing corporate income tax rates (in 21 economies) and improving electronic filing and payments systems efficiency (in 12 economies).
• Eight economies reduced the number of taxes paid by business.
• On average, corporate income tax accounts for only 13 percent of tax payments, 26 percent of compliance time, and 37 percent of the total tax rate (tax cost to the case study company).
• Employment taxes account for 34 percent of the total tax rate, taking into account only amounts borne by the employer. Employment taxes are particularly prevalent in the European Union and account for 65 percent of the total tax rate for the case study company in the region.
• On average, 36 percent of the overall time to comply with tax systems and 48 percent of the number of tax payments are spent on consumption taxes.

Susan Symons, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP partner, said, “Corporate income tax reform has had a positive impact for government and business in a number of economies, yet these benefits could be multiplied if tax reform is looked at in its entirety. Tax reform should include all business taxes - not just corporate income tax. It should include all administrative aspects and the relationships between government and business generally. These are all fundamental to effective tax systems.”

Rita Ramalho, World Bank-IFC economist, said, “Countries are easing the complexity of their tax system and reducing the cost burden for businesses. Since 2004, average total tax rates have been reduced by 3 percent and time to comply with taxes decreased by 5 percent. This reform effort can broaden the tax base and increase tax revenues.”

Doing Business Report on Small Island States Identifies Opportunities to Strengthen Competitiveness

Doing Business Report on Small Island States Identifies Opportunities to Strengthen Competitiveness

Port Louis, Mauritius, November 12, 2008—A new report from IFC and the World Bank finds that some of the world’s small island states are creating more opportunity for local businesses through regulatory reforms that help boost competitiveness and set standards worldwide for good practice.

Doing Business in Small Island Developing States 2009, the second in a series, examines the performance of 33 small island states based on the Doing Business indicators and compares the regulatory environment for business in these economies. The report finds that Singapore is the easiest place in the world to do business, while Mauritius, St. Lucia, and Fiji are leading the way in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, respectively. The Dominican Republic is this year’s top small-island reformer as well as a top-10 reformer globally.

Svetlana Bagaudinova, author of the report, said, “Better business regulations give firms more opportunities to grow and create jobs, which is critical for small island states that have to overcome challenges posed by size and distance. Being small can even be an advantage because reform can happen faster and deliver results sooner.”

Small states with lagging regulatory environments can learn from each other. Mauritius, which ranks 24^th on the ease of doing business globally, is an example of how a sustained, high-level commitment to reform can transform the business environment and deliver results. Over the past two years, Mauritius has enjoyed a steady increase in the annual growth rate, from 2.2 percent in 2005 to 5.4 percent in 2007. Also, unemployment has dropped from 9.6 percent in 2005 to 8.5 percent in 2007.

Thordur Gudjonsson, Director of Iceland’s Department of International Development, said, “Small island economies need global integration, regional cooperation, and to share good practices in regulatory reform to better compete in the world economy. This report is a navigation card on business regulatory reforms tailored to their specific needs and challenges.”

The report was launched on November 12 in Mauritius. The event was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Empowerment and the Board of Investment of Mauritius, and sponsored by the Iceland government, IFC, USAID, and the World Bank.

For more about the report, visit www.doingbusiness.org/features/smallislands2009.aspx.

About the Doing Business Project

The Doing Business project ranks economies based on 10 indicators of business regulation that record the time and cost to meet governments requirements in starting and operating a business, trading across borders, paying taxes, and closing a business. The rankings do not reflect such areas as macroeconomic policy, quality of infrastructure, currency volatility, investor perceptions, or crime rates. For more information, visit www.doingbusiness.org.

Multi-Million Dollar Home Equity Line of Credit, Identity Theft and Computer Intrusion Ring Busted

NEWARK, N.J. – Law enforcement personnel in three states arrested four men this
morning who are charged with engaging in an international conspiracy to deplete millions
of dollars from U.S. victims’ home equity lines of credit using personal information
obtained through identity theft and unauthorized computer access, U.S. Attorney
Christopher J. Christie announced.
Today’s arrests bring to eight the number of individuals charged to date in New Jersey
with participation in the scheme, in which the defendants conspired to deplete available
funds from home equity lines of credit (“HELOCs”) belonging to identity theft victims,
either by engineering fraudulent wire transfers or by gaining unauthorized access to the
victims’ on-line bank accounts.
The four men arrested earlier today are Derrick Polk, 45, of Los Angeles, Calif.; Oludola
Akinmola, 37, and Oladeji Craig, 39, of Brooklyn, New York; and Oluwajide Ogunbiyi,
32, of Springfield, Ill., who were expected to make initial appearances in federal courts in
Newark, Buffalo, Los Angeles, and Springfield.
The defendants are part of a multi-national identity theft ring that operates in the United
States, the United Kingdom, Canada, China, Japan, Vietnam, and South Korea, among
other places. The defendants and their co-conspirators have acquired identity information
of thousands of victims and used that information to conduct numerous fraudulent
schemes, including depleting their victims’ home equity line of credit (HELOC) accounts.
The Complaints charge that co-conspirators have withdrawn more than $2.5 million from
HELOC accounts belonging to innocent customers of banks and credit unions, and have
attempted to withdraw at least approximately $4 million more in ultimately unsuccessful
transfers from HELOC accounts.
The Complaints charge that the defendants and their co-conspirators initiated the HELOC
fraud by gaining access to confidential customer and account information used by
customers of banks, credit unions, and credit card issuers to conduct financial transactions
in the United States. This information included account holder names, addresses, dates of
birth, account numbers, Social Security numbers, and account balances. Other account
information frequently obtained by the co-conspirators during the course of the fraud
included mothers’ maiden names, security question answers, on-line user names,
passwords, and other data used by banks and lending institutions to service and secure
customer accounts.
According to the Complaints, the defendants and their co-conspirators compromised
confidential customer account information relating to several large and small banks,
credit unions, and credit issuers throughout the United States. The larger institutional
victims identified in the Complaint included Citibank, JPMorganChase, Wachovia,
Washington Mutual, and Bank of America, among others. Dozens of smaller banks and
credit unions have also been victimized, including the Navy Federal Credit Union,
Pentagon Federal Credit Union, U.S. Senate Federal Credit Union, the State Department
Federal Credit Union, and at least approximately eleven New Jersey-based financial
institutions.
Each of the defendants is charged in a three-count complaint with conspiring to possess
personal identification information with the intent to commit wire fraud (Count 1);
conspiring to commit wire fraud (Count 2); and conspiring to gain unauthorized access to
computers (Count 3). If convicted of charges in the complaint, each defendant would
face a maximum of 50 years’ imprisonment and up to $1.5 million in fines.
The investigation to date has resulted in separate complaints brought between August and
October 2008 against Hakeem Olokodana, 41, and Yomi Jagunna, 44, both of Queens,
N.Y.; Abayomi Lawal, 45, of Brooklyn; and Daniel Yummi, 40, of New York. These
four men were also charged with conspiring to identify HELOCs with large balances and
to acquire all of the confidential customer information necessary to transfer money out of
victim accounts.
To further the fraud and to avoid detection, co-conspirators routinely traded confidential
customer information such as Social Security numbers, mother’s maiden names, and online
banking passwords over e-mail; impersonated bank customers through a process
known as “social engineering”; used technology to disguise caller identification
information; and changed customer address information in bank files. Proceeds from the
scheme, which currently exceed at least approximately $2.5 million, made their way to
conspirators in Japan, Nigeria, Canada, South Korea, among other countries.
In connection with this morning’s arrests, agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
also executed three search warrants in Illinois and New York. Additional search warrants
have been executed in New York and California in furtherance of the investigation.
“Home equity lines of credit are an expanding front in the battle against mortgage fraud,”
Christie said. “Home owners should carefully review their statements to make sure their
hard-earned equity is not disappearing from under their noses.”
“Mortgage fraud affects the soundness of our credit markets,” Christie said. “We must be
vigilant against those who would threaten the American dream of home ownership.”
A criminal Complaint is merely an accusation, and all defendants are presumed innocent
unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Christie credited the Special Agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in
Charge Weysan Dun, for their work in the investigation. Christie also thanked Special
Agents of the U.S. Secret Service and the IRS Criminal Investigations Division.

SABER Reveals the Upper Atmosphere's "Breathing" Pattern, In Rhythm With the Sun

A coronal hole, the dark spot beginning just below the sun's center and extending to the right, is shown opening up in this image by NASA satellite STEREO. The NASA satellite SABER has detected a periodic "breathing" response in the Earth's upper atmosphere in response to never before observed regular coronal hole openings on the sun's surface. The coronal holes release high-powered solar winds that disturb the upper atmosphere of Earth and force it to emit energy to maintain the earth's radiation budget. Image credit: NASA/STEREO
San Francisco -- A NASA satellite has observed for the first time a "breathing," an expansion and contraction, of the Earth's upper atmosphere in response to periodic, high-speed solar winds.

Jeff Thayer, of the University of Colorado, Geoff Crowley, of Atmospheric and Space Technology Research Associates and Marty Mlynczak, of NASA Langley Research Center, will present their findings on Monday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. at the American Geophysical Union conference in San Francisco. The instrument, SABER, which stands for Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry, was developed at NASA Langley.

SABER has revealed solar flare-ups -- and a rapid Earth cooling response -- on a nearly regular nine-day schedule. The cause appears to be coronal holes, which project strong solar winds, positioned 120 degrees apart on the sun’s surface. As the sun rotates every 27 days, these solar winds typically hit Earth every nine days. The high-speed winds sometimes appear with a seven-day periodicity, indicating that a fourth hole opens up.

Sunspots unleash solar flares that create a ripple effect well beyond Earth. But when that energy flow does reach Earth, the atmosphere reciprocates by ejecting radiation as a cooling effect to maintain the planet's energy balance. That cooling response creates the expansion and contraction of the upper atmosphere.

"No one's ever seen this type of data because it's never been measured," said Mlynczak, SABER's associate principal investigator.

The findings open the possibility of improving predictions of satellite drag (which are important for tracking low earth orbiting spacecraft) and predictions of the ionospheric electron concentration, which affects radio communications and GPS signals. The periodic nature of the solar disturbances may also influence the climate and climate change of the upper atmosphere.

"It seems these periodicities have appeared in this last solar cycle, not necessarily in the previous two cycles," said Janet Kozyra, George Carignan research professor at the University of Michigan, who has worked with SABER data. "This was never reported in past solar cycles."

Kozyra said learning about a regular feature of a climate system advances knowledge.

"When you have a periodic behavior in a chaotic system, it helps you to predict," she said. "We learn a lot about how the whole system functions."

Through the end of September 2008, the sun was "spotless" on 200 days of the year. Not a single sunspot flared up on those days. The Earth's reaction to this period has been dramatic and directly observed for the first time. In addition to observing the nearly clockwork response to coronal holes opening up on the sun's surface, SABER has also observed the Earth's upper atmosphere's muted response to the sun's lull – one of its quietest periods in half a century.

SABER, operating since 2002, has been approved for four more years of operation, which should allow for a critical 11-year data set. That would cover the radiative activity of Earth's upper atmosphere for the entirety of an 11-year solar cycle.

In addition to the "breathing," the atmosphere’s response to the sun’s sometimes furious, sometimes-quiet activity has surprised Mlynczak in a number of ways.

In the quiet solar year of 2008, for instance, the upper atmosphere’s ultraviolet radiation emissions have dipped to levels 10 times lower than when SABER’s observations began in 2002. At the same time, SABER detects far more short-term changes in solar activity than previously thought.

"It looks noisy," Mlynczak said. "But it's not statistical noise, it's not instrument noise. It's geophysical noise."

SABER also spots massive spikes in energy flow that rise and then dissipate quickly. The atmosphere, it turns out, can dump radiation into space extremely efficiently to respond to a burst of solar activity and maintain Earth's radiation budget.

Kozyra has been fascinated by the role the sun continues to play in Earth's upper atmosphere even during one of the quietest solar periods in centuries. She expected that this solar minimum would allow for study of how the troposphere influences the rest of the upper atmosphere without solar interference.

"What we actually found was that it didn't happen. We were seeing the atmosphere was being very strongly driven by the sun," Kozyra said. "That's very surprising. We're learning more about what space weather looks like, and it wasn't what we thought."

Questions follow these discoveries. Do the short-term fluctuations need to be programmed into climate prediction models? Mlynczak isn't sure yet. Getting it right will be important to the continued refinement of climate prediction.

"What's the response of the upper atmosphere to global change?" Mlynczak said. Climate change is causing a cooling effect in the upper atmosphere, compared to the warming trend with surface temperature. "We need to make sure we've got the predictions of global cooling of the upper atmosphere correct."

OPEC cuts production by 2.2 million barrels a day

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has drastically cut the daily production of oil by 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd). In a decision reached in Oran, Algeria, energy ministers from all 12 OPEC members agreed to make the largest cut in OPEC's history.

Oil prices have fallen from a high of $140 in July to just around $40; a decrease of $100. OPEC has cut 4.2 million bpd since September, when the price of oil decreased suddenly over fears of a global recession and lower usage of oil. With this new decrease, production by OPEC members will be 24.845 million bpd. Saudi Arabia ,is taking the majority of the cut by decreasing their production by 1.2 bpd.

• NYMEX/WTI: $40.54/barrel $-3.06 (-7.02%)

• ICE/Brent: $42.98/barrel $-.96 (-2.19%)

20:00, 17 December 2008 (UTC)

Prices displayed in U.S. dollars.

In the statement released by the organization, they wrote "...that crude volumes entering the market remain well in excess of actual demand: this is clearly demonstrated by the fact that crude stocks in OECD countries are well above their five-year average and are expected to continue to rise. Moreover, the impact of the grave global economic downturn has led to a destruction of demand, resulting in unprecedented downward pressure being exerted on prices..."

OPEC faces a tough task in trying to level the price of oil to a reasonable amount. Most experts and oil officials believe that $75 is the 'fair price' for a barrel of oil. Chakib Khelil, the OPEC president, said during the meeting that "OPEC has a long-established record in meeting the challenges it faces, however tough they may be. The challenge facing the oil market today is clearly a formidable one."

Russia, which is not a member of OPEC, also agreed that a cut was needed and would cut its production by 600,000 barrels. OPEC will also urge other non-OPEC members who are oil exports, to cut their production. Mexico and Norway are two of the largest oil producers that not members of OPEC. Russia's action is not official and Russia has had a history of failing their pledge to cut their output.