Iliya Cobb Reports from Alpharetta city, GA

Around a month ago, the city of Dhaka suffered a civil unrest of the worst kind. The disaster resulted in massive destruction and hurt thousands of people and numerous of businesses. Fire fighters  were called to the area but even after extremely long rescue attempts the degree of property damage was unprecedented.  Various ministers came to the area to help the victims and assist rescue workers. The city mayor also rushed to the area to assess the situation.
Iliya questions: Can this terrible incident be avoided? Technicians, engineers, the police, and major officials were interviewed to investigate this question. After several days of discussions, however, no consensus was reached to why this occurred. Some politicians claim the damage could have been reduced if more monies had been provided for disaster preparedness ahead of time.
Iliya has more astonishing news. At least nine or more robberies have been counted since and it appears the financial harm of this disaster will be continuing to grow for a while.
Seana Atkins who moved from Garland town, NC commented: "Our company lost at least  7 million dollars worth of data and tools." Another witness, Johathan Carr originally from Inverness CDP, CA noted "I don't believe it. We lost everything. Our customer data took so long to set up, now it's all destroyed". Paidyn, a lead investigator added: "It will definitely take a year for the community to recover"
The loss of information can be a seriously expensive event for any business. When businesses can't locate their data they basically lose their lifeblood. Imagine the effort involved in recreating all the files lost in addition to the labor required to determine what has actually been lost. It is estimated that over the year each work area loses over $6,000 worth of data. Typical causes include theft, break-ins, employee theft, PC damage, and natural disasters. Power failures, software, and hardware crashes can also lead to data corruption. Accidental deletions are also quite common because even if a backup exists, it goes unnoticed for quite some time. The backup history length used by most teams is rarely long enough to cover for all eventualities as backup space after all is a cost factor and involves managerial labor, too. In a large business it is not uncommon to employ an entire division of people who manage tape libraries on a daily basis.
Computers are quite delicate. A little humidity can cause serious data loss  quickly to the point of total breakdown. Most people don't know that entering and leaving an air conditioned area in winter or humid summer weather may in fact damage their electronic devices. Condensation can form very quickly on cold surfaces and form droplets. The accumulated moisture can then penetrate into hard disks and processors and other components were it remains locked forever until enough of it causes a short. Mechanic shock is another example and common cause of disaster. Hard drives in particular are very sensitive to shock; hence, a drop from a couple of feet high will usually cause a head crash and destroy all files on the drive. Magnetic fields are becoming less of a problem since flat screen TVs took over. Yet, magnetic interferences are still an issue, such as those generated by motors and microwave ovens. Again hard drives and their magnetic interiors are most susceptible to magnets because the interference can affect their sensitive magnetic layers.
Cantrall village, IL, according to Iliya, where a recent study was conducted, appears to be a city with experienced data experts. Jafar Lam comments: "We copy our files several times an hour. This strategy has saved us many times from potentially expensive disasters." Jyrin Medina adds: "We now use VMware and virtualized our servers in all locations. Because we had too many data loss events in the past, we decided to copy our machines to several branch offices. " Ilena Contreras has another interesting idea: "Perhaps a lot of data we have isn't worth backing up forever. Every piece of information has a lifespan after which it is no longer interesting."
Cloud backup data replication is an important part in all data centric businesses because it protects from damage. Backup software solutions are the important technologies necessary for institutions to protect their vital data. Computer backup has been adapted by most experienced businesses since the beginning of the PC era. The challenge with backups is that files may need to be backed up while the employee is working; hence, the VM backup solution needs to impact the system a little, yet provide satisfying performance. Furthermore, the software needs to repeat this process routinely.
Dashae Chapman correctly maintained in the famous publication that data losses are part of life and need to be managed for. With the advent of virtualization and advanced backup tools these events are now less of a risk; however, a lot of businesses are not well prepared. High-tech methods have been proposed by various experts for virtual machine, virtualization, and Windows and should be presented to company managers as feasible options to consider.
Iliya Cobb, Security expert

BTS Releases North American Surface Trade Numbers for December: December 2012 U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico Totaled $71.9 Billion

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BTS 10-13

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Contact: Dave Smallen

Tel: 202-366-5568

 

BTS Releases North American Surface Trade Numbers for December: December 2012 U.S. Surface Transportation Trade with Canada and Mexico Totaled $71.9 Billion

 

 

Trade using surface transportation between the United States and its North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) partners, Canada and Mexico, decreased 3.2 percent in December 2012 compared to December 2011, totaling $71.9 billion, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) of the U.S. Department of Transportation.  

BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that in December 2012, $48 billion of U.S. trade with Canada and Mexico moved by truck, $14 billion moved by rail, and $6 billion moved by pipeline.   Surface transportation includes freight movements by truck, rail, pipeline, mail, other modes of transport, and goods moving into Foreign Trade Zones. Surface transportation trade with Canada and Mexico accounted for 17 percent of total U.S. foreign trade in December 2012.

 

U.S.-Canada surface trade was $42.1 billion in December 2012, while U.S.-Mexico surface trade was $29.8 billion. For trade statistics by mode, see Table 3 for Canada and Table 5 for Mexico.

 

In December, Michigan led all states in surface trade with Canada, at $5.6 billion. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Canada by surface modes of transportation in December was vehicles and parts, valued at $7.8 billion.

 

Texas continued to lead all states in surface trade with Mexico at $10.3 billion. The top commodity category transported between the U.S. and Mexico by surface modes of transportation in December was electrical machinery with $6.3 billion in trade.

 

See BTS Transborder Data Release for summary tables, state rankings and additional data. See North American Transborder Freight Data for historical data.

                                                                                                                                   

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The Federal Transit Administration is hosting its 8th Annual Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference - April 9-11, 2013

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The Federal Transit Administration is hosting its 8th Annual Drug and Alcohol Program National Conference on April 9 – 11, 2013.

Information and registration on the conference is available at:

 http://transit-safety.fta.dot.gov/DrugAndAlcohol/Training/NatConf/2013/

Please contact the FTA Drug and Alcohol Project Office at (617) 494-6336 if you have any questions.

 


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BTS Releases December Passenger Airline Employment Data

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BTS 9-13

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Contact: Dave Smallen

Tel: 202-366-5568

 

BTS Releases December Passenger Airline Employment Data;

December 2012 Employment Down 2.6 Percent from December 2011

 

 

U.S. scheduled passenger airlines employed 379,571 workers in December 2012, 2.6 percent fewer than in December 2011, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today. Scheduled passenger airline categories include network, low-cost, regional and other airlines. This was the fourth consecutive month that full-time equivalent (FTE) employment for U.S. scheduled passenger carriers has been lower than the same month of the previous year. This follows 21 months of increases over the same month of the previous year that began in December 2010 and ended in August 2012.

 

BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that the December 2012 FTE total for scheduled passenger carriers was 10,157 fewer than in December 2011 and is the lowest monthly total for any month since December 2010.  

There were 0.5 percent fewer FTEs in December 2012 than in November 2012. Month-to-month changes can be affected by seasonal factors, such as the number of flights and passengers.

 

The five network airlines that collectively employ two-thirds of the scheduled passenger airline FTEs reported 3.3 percent fewer FTEs in December 2012, the fifth consecutive decline for the group. Delta Air Lines, eliminating positions following its merger with Northwest Airlines, reduced FTEs by 4.5 percent from December 2011. American Airlines, which filed for bankruptcy in November 2011, reduced FTEs by 9.9 percent. United Airlines reported a post-merger total of 82,383 FTEs in December 2012, 1,299 or 1.6 percent more FTEs than the 81,084 United and Continental Airlines reported separately in December 2011. US Airways reported 0.5 percent fewer FTEs while Alaska Airlines increased FTEs by 3.3 percent from December 2011. Network airlines operate a significant portion of flights using at least one hub where connections are made for flights to down-line destinations or spoke cities.

 

Among the six low-cost carriers, Allegiant Airlines, Virgin America Airlines, Spirit Airlines and JetBlue Airways reported an increase in FTEs. Frontier Airlines was the only low-cost carrier reporting fewer FTEs. Southwest Airlines reported 45,861 FTEs in December 2012 in a joint report following its merger with AirTran Airways. The combined total was 198 or 0.4 percent more than the 45,663 FTEs the two airlines reported separately in December 2011. Low-cost airlines operate under a low-cost business model, with infrastructure and aircraft operating costs below the overall industry average.

 

See Passenger Airline Employment press release for summary tables and additional data. Historical employment data can be found on the BTS web site.

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BTS Releases November 2012 Airline Traffic Data

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BTS 8-13
Friday, February 22, 2013
Contact: Dave Smallen
Tel: 202-366-5568 

BTS Releases November 2012 Airline Traffic Data;
System Passengers Up 0.8% from November 2011  

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) reported today that U.S. airlines carried 58.7 million scheduled systemwide passengers in November 2012, 0.8 percent more than in November 2011. The systemwide increase was the result of a 0.4 percent increase in the number of domestic passengers (51.8 million) and a 4.3 percent increase in international passengers (6.9 million). 

BTS, a part of the Department’s Research and Innovative Technology Administration, reported that U.S. airlines carried 0.9 percent more total system passengers during the first 11 months of 2012 (677.7 million) than during the same period in 2011. Domestically, U.S. airlines carried 591.0 million passengers, up 0.7 percent from 2011. Internationally, they carried 86.7 million passengers, up 2.0 percent from 2011. See Tables 2, 8 and 14 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data.

Additional traffic data can be found on the BTS Airlines and Airports page.  Click on a link in the Quick Links box on the right.  For more historical data, see Traffic on the BTS website.

Load Factor and Capacity

The international load factor in November 2012 rose 1.5 points from November 2011 to reach a record for the month of November (79.5). The load factor is calculated by dividing production by capacity. Production, measured by revenue passenger-miles (RPMs), rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier, while capacity, measured in available seat-miles (ASMs), increased at a slightly slower rate of 0.9 percent (Table 13). The domestic load factor in November 2012 (82.8) declined from November 2011 (83.6) as a result of the year-to-year growth in capacity (1.6 percent) outpacing the growth in RPMs (0.8 percent) (Table 7). Systemwide capacity increased 1.4 percent compared to a 1.3 percent increase in RPMs with the load factor remaining level with November 2011 at 81.9 (Table 1). See Tables 1, 7 and 13 of Air Traffic Press Releases for previous-year data. 

Top Airlines

In November 2012, Delta Air Lines carried more system passengers than any other U.S. airline and Southwest Airlines carried the most domestic passengers.  United Airlines, following its merger with Continental Airlines, carried the most international passengers. The top 10 U.S. airlines in terms of passengers carried 80.2 percent of systemwide passengers, up from 75.4 percent carried by the U.S. airlines that were in the top 10 in November 2011.

 

                     See Air Traffic Release for summary tables and additional data.

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U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $12.5 Million to Improve Access to America’s National Parks and Protected Areas

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DOT 18-13
Monday, February 18, 2013
Contact: Amy Bernstein
Tel: 202-590-6615                                                                

U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood Announces $12.5 Million to Improve Access to America’s National Parks and Protected Areas

 

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced $12.5 million in grants for 29 projects in 20 states to improve access to America’s national parks, forests, and wildlife refuges. The selected projects will help reduce traffic congestion and make it easier for millions of visitors to enjoy the nation’s scenic Federal lands. The funds are provided through the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in Parks program, which awarded $40.8 million for similar projects in January 2012.

A map and a complete list of projects can be found here.

“In his State of the Union address last week, President Obama called on us to upgrade our nation’s transportation infrastructure to help grow our economy and improve energy efficiency,” said Secretary LaHood. “Improving access to modern transit services throughout our scenic parklands and protected areas will help us to preserve these national treasures for future generations.”

Secretary LaHood, U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, and FTA Administrator Rogoff traveled to Commerce City, Colorado, to announce a $1,735,000 grant to expand the Rocky Mountain Greenway, a pedestrian and bicycle trail system that will connect the Denver metropolitan area’s trail systems, three National Wildlife Refuges in the region and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Secretary LaHood and Administrator Rogoff also visited Glacier National Park in West Glacier, Montana, to announce a $250,000 program grant for new, fuel-efficient buses to continue providing free shuttle service for park visitors, which helps to reduce traffic congestion along the park’s 50-mile road.

“By taking cars off the road and reducing harmful emissions and pollutants in our nation’s most natural and pristine settings, we’re helping Americans and visitors from around the world enjoy these public lands as they were meant to be enjoyed,” said Federal Transit Administrator Peter Rogoff. “From new pedestrian walkways and bicycle trails to energy-efficient shuttle buses, these investments help to keep our parks sustainable for years to come.”

The funds announced today are part of $80 million distributed to 134 Transit in the Parks projects across the country over the last three years. This grant program was not reauthorized under the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) which was passed by Congress last year. Going forward, public transportation projects serving national parks and other federal lands remain eligible for funding under the Federal Lands Transportation Program administered by the Federal Highway Administration.


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