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Game-Changer Software to Help Developing Countries Monitor

UN Launches Game-Changer Software to Help Developing Countries Monitor Forests

FAO has launched free software tools that it hopes will improve the way many developing nations monitor the state of their forests to tackle deforestation and climate change. Photo: FAO/Joan Manuel Baliellas

10 October 2014 Accurate information is crucial for governments to manage their natural resources sustainably, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said today as it announced the launch of new software it hopes will help developing nations monitor the state of their forests.

Many countries simply do not have a full picture of what is happening in their forests, and without that knowledge it is hard to develop effective forest policies to combat deforestation and forest degradation or to advance national climate change strategies, said Eduardo Rojas-Briales, Assistant Director-General for FAO Forestry, in a press release.

As it stands now, nearly 80 percent of developing countries have difficulty obtaining and using basic information about their forest resources.

Open Foris is a FAO-led initiative designed to assist countries in forest inventory from assessment, design and field data collection to analysis and reporting. Released today at the International Union of Forest Research Organizations' World Congress in Salt Lake City, Open Foris tools are already being tested in more than ten countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

We hope that Open Foris will be a game changer, as it is the first comprehensive open source tool that will not only guide the countries through the whole process of data collection and analysis but will also encourage and facilitate open knowledge sharing in an innovative way, said Mr. Rojas-Briales.

The new software includes built-in tools to help countries meet international reporting requirements related to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation and increasing the carbon stock in forests. In addition, the FAO tools simplify the complex process of transforming raw data such as tree measurements and satellite imagery into interactive web pages with statistics, graphs, maps and reports.

Increased transparency will help the policy makers obtain the information they need to make informed decisions, said Mr. Rojas-Briales, adding that earlier this year Ecuador and Tanzania have already completed their first national forest inventories with the help of Open Foris tools.

Meanwhile, experts from Argentina, Bhutan, Papua New Guinea and Uruguay have recently received training to use different components of the software.

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Game-Changer Software to Help Developing Countries Monitor

Gun law overhaul could go to governor

In the few weeks remaining in the legislative session, lawmakers may send Gov. John Kasich a bill eliminating the legal duty of Ohioans to retreat from danger before using deadly force to protect themselves.

A person facing a life-threatening situation should not have a duty to flee and hope for the best, Rep. Terry Johnson (R., McDermott) told the Senate Civil Justice Committee weighing his bill containing numerous changes to Ohio gun laws.

They should have the right to protect themselves and protect their loved ones.

House Bill 203 passed the House nearly a year ago by a bipartisan vote of 63-27. It has drawn comparisons with Floridas controversial Stand Your Ground law.

Floridas law was tried in the court of public opinion but not in the actual courtroom when George Zimmerman was accused but acquitted in the 2012 shooting of unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

But Dr. Johnson noted that Ohioans in such situations would still have to show they acted in self-defense and did nothing to escalate the danger. Under Floridas law, the prosecutor bears the burden of proving the shooter did not act in self-defense.

Ohio is one of the toughest states in the union to prove self-defense, Dr. Johnson said. In other states you dont have nearly that barrier to get across.

The provision is essentially an extension of Ohios Castle Doctrine law, which states that residents do not have a duty to retreat when they believe they are endangered in their homes or cars. House Bill 203 extends that to anywhere a legal gun owner has a right to be.

It is a continual effort to try to take away regulations on carrying weapons, said Toby Hoover, executive director of the Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence. With Stand Your Ground, were already covered in this state with self-defense.

This is just telling people to go and act as law enforcement if they feel threatened, but how can we judge how you or I would feel threatened? she asked. We dont have people locked up in jail because they defended themselves.

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Gun law overhaul could go to governor

A Guide To Optimizing Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

We often hear about website and search engine optimization, but social media optimization hasnt quite made it into the mainstream vernacular. Whether youve heard the term or not, you may already optimizing your social media posts every day.

Here are a few examples:

One of the main goals of social media optimization (SMO) is to increase awareness of your business or products using social media, and it has many benefits. This means making your content as shareable as possible by focusing both on industry best practices as well as whats worked for you in the past.

Some aspects of SMO will happen as an organic by-product of creating high-quality content: when people visit your site and love your content, theyll be more likely to share it via Facebook, Twitter or other social networking sites. As more people see and share your content, your site acquires buzz, inbound links, referral traffic, and strong social signals, all of which help your organic search visibility.

So, what factors are important for SMO? What strategies can you use to increase both the visibility and reach of your social media posts? How can you structure your posts to give them the best chance of clicks and conversions? Following are five tips to get you on the right track.

1.Dont underestimate the importance of your headlines

I cant emphasize enough the importance of using attention-grabbing headlines. This requires an understanding of best practices as well as what works for your particular audience.

When were talking about social media headlines, we could be referring both to blog post titles as well as to opening lines for your social networking posts. When we talk about Twitter headlines, we often mean the entire content of a tweet, given that you only have 140 characters to work with.

Your headline is what will capture the attention of your audience, and makes the difference between a post that gets read and shared, and one that sits and collects dust.

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A Guide To Optimizing Your Social Media Marketing Campaign

Ten Best Enterprise Search Engine Optimization Firms Ranked in November 2014 by topseos.com

SOURCE: topseos.com

November 17, 2014 03:00 ET

NAPLES, FL--(Marketwired - November 17, 2014) - The independent authority on online marketing services, topseos.com, has reported the ten top enterprise SEO agencies in the November 2014 edition of the rankings revealed online. Businesses looking for distinguished enterprise SEO agencies access the rankings at topseos.com. Each service showcased within the rankings has been put through a rigorous examination to determine how well they perform compared to industry standards and competitors.

The topseos.com independent research team spends time evaluating enterprise SEO services by taking a thorough look at key strengths and competitive advantages of contending internet marketing services. The rankings are formulated through the use of a set of evaluation criteria. The five criteria used to benchmark and compare services include service, technology, on-page and off-page optimization, core leadership & people, and process and strategy. Internet marketing services are put to the test to ensure the top services are included to assist businesses in selecting the absolute top services to meet their specific requirements.

The 10 best enterprise search engine optimization companies for November 2014 are:

1- Bruce Clay

2- Rank Executives

3- Netmark

4- 180Fusion

5- OneIMS - Integrated Marketing Solutions

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Ten Best Enterprise Search Engine Optimization Firms Ranked in November 2014 by topseos.com

Gun Lobby Organizes & Open Carry March In St Louis Smith & Wesson And Bushmaster – Video


Gun Lobby Organizes Open Carry March In St Louis Smith Wesson And Bushmaster
Gun Lobbyist explains gun owners don #39;t have the same rights as the elderly or the disabled because they are singled out in spite of their Second Amendment Rights To Bare Arms. Lobbyist states...

By: IBWC KC

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Gun Lobby Organizes & Open Carry March In St Louis Smith & Wesson And Bushmaster - Video