Caliper's Maptitude 2012 On Its Way

Caliper corp. just released the latest Maptitude GIS 2012. Mine is on its way. As soon as I've had a chance to use it, I'll post a review. Maptitude has always been my GIS of choice for several reasons - affordability, ease of use, tons of free current data.... While you wait for the review you may want to check out Why We Use Maptitude GIS and new Maptitude 2012 features and bundled data.

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
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Sanctions on Iran Results in Iran blockading Strait of Humoz Reducing Fuel Flow from Middle East. Will This Fuel the Fire for U.S. Oil, Gas and Nuclear Energy?

It looks like were drawing ever closer to a war with Iran even though it is not clear at all whether or not Iran is actually building nuclear weapons. In response to increasing U.S. and European sanctions, Iran has threatened to blockade the Strait of Humoz. Around 13 loaded oil tankers travel through the Straits of Humoz each day. Oil and gas prices are already very high. What will this mean for the future? Perhaps those in the U.S. that are pushing for the Keystone XL project, drilling in the Arctic, fracking for natural gas, wrongly pushing for nuclear as a sustainable alternative and blowing off the tops of mountains for coal will see the threat of less oil flowing from the Middle East as a good thing. It will surely provide fuel for the fire of domestic oil, gas and nuclear energy production. Too bad that it won't, instead, fuel the fire for solar and other alternative energy technologies in the U.S. - the real solution to increasing domestic energy production, creating high paying jobs here in the U.S.

Here's a description from Wikipedia

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow, strategically important strait between the Gulf of Oman in the southeast and the Persian Gulf. On the north coast is Iran and on the south coast is the United Arab Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.
The strait at its narrowest is 54 kilometres (34 mi) wide.[1] It is the only sea passage to the open ocean for large areas of the petroleum-exporting Persian Gulf. About 13 tankers carrying 15.5 million barrels (2,460,000 m3) of crude oil pass through the strait on an average day, making it one of the world's most strategically important choke points. This represents 33% of the world's seaborne oil shipments, and 17% of all world oil shipments in 2009.[2]...Read more at Wikipedia.

Source: Truthout

As US Readies Sanctions, Iran Threatens to Block Oil Route
Wednesday 28 December 2011

by: David E. Sanger, The New York Times News Service | Report

Washington - A senior Iranian official on Tuesday delivered a sharp threat in response to economic sanctions being readied by the United States, saying his country would retaliate against any crackdown by blocking all oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery for transporting about one-fifth of the world’s oil supply.

The declaration by Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad-Reza Rahimi, came as President Obama prepares to sign legislation that, if fully implemented, could substantially reduce Iran’s oil revenue in a bid to deter it from pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

Prior to the latest move, the administration had been laying the groundwork to attempt to cut off Iran from global energy markets without raising the price of gasoline or alienating some of Washington’s closest allies.

Apparently fearful of the expanded sanctions’ possible impact on the already-stressed economy of Iran, the world’s third-largest energy exporter, Mr. Rahimi said, “If they impose sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz,” according to Iran’s official news agency. Iran just began a 10-day naval exercise in the area.

In recent interviews, Obama administration officials have said that the United States has developed a plan to keep the strait open in the event of a crisis. In Hawaii, where President Obama is vacationing, a White House spokesman said there would be no comment on the Iranian threat to close the strait. That seemed in keeping with what administration officials say has been an effort to lower the level of angry exchanges, partly to avoid giving the Iranian government the satisfaction of a response and partly to avoid spooking financial markets.

But the energy sanctions carry the risk of confrontation, as well as economic disruption, given the unpredictability of the Iranian response. Some administration officials believe that a plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States — which Washington alleges received funding from the Quds Force, part of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps — was in response to American and other international sanctions...Read more at Truthout

Related

Download IAEA Report: IAEA Claimed Iran "Weapons Expert" Never Actually Worked on Nuclear Weapons At All

World Energy Requirements Can Be Met With Renewables

Download free Iran maps

Download Free Oil and Gas Reserves, Production and Exploration Maps

Free Iran Country, Cities and Places GIS Shapefile Map Layers

Download Free World Ethnicity & Religion Maps

Download Free Middle East Country Atlas Maps

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming

Interactive Maps: Billions Given to State and Local Law Enforcement for War on Terror

Interesting interactive maps. Look at the line items. Some are straightfoward but what is "non-profit security" and "operation stone garden?"





View Maps and Learn More

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

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Do You Live Within 30 Miles of a Nuclear Power Plant? Maps of Evacuation Areas

Physicians for Social Responsibility Create Maps of Nuclear Accident Evacuation Zones in the U.S.

Though we hear little about the Fukushima nuclear accident in our mainstream media or from our government, the situation just keeps getting worse. Many more people were affected and continue to be affected by radiation. Crops and fields have been ruined... the list goes on and on. PSR has prepared a a press release that outlines lessons unlearned. See: Remembering "3/11": Six Months After the Fukushima Reactor Disaster, Key Lessons Appear to be Going Unlearned.

Here are a few screenshots. For more maps and information visit Nuclear Accident Evacuation Maps.







For more maps and information visit Nuclear Accident Evacuation Maps.

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
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Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

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List of World Shapefiles Now Available for Free Download

These are the country, city and place shapefiles in the new updated world shapefiles set. They are free to download and use as you wish subject to the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 2.0 License.

Iraq
Palestine
Israel
Afghanistan
Iran
Pakistan
Burundi
Comoros
Djibouti

Each set contains the following:

* Files with 'highway' suffix describe country's highways in form of polylines and associated attributes - highway type, name, is highway oneway.
* Files with 'poi' suffix describe country's points of interest in form of points and associated attributes - name and type.
* Files with 'natural' suffix describe country's areas marked as woods, forests, parks, and water surfaces in form of polygons and their names and types.
* Files with 'administrative' suffix contain administrative boundaries including country's international boundaries.
* Files with 'location' suffix contain locations and addresses.
* Files with 'coastline' suffix contain osm coastline and water bodies extracts in form of polylines and their names.
* Files with 'water' suffix contain osm water bodies in form of polygons and their names.

I'll be adding a few a day until I've got them all done. If you have a request, be sure to let me know and I'll put it at the tops of the list.

Click here for the new world shapefiles

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming

New Updated Series of World County, City and Place GIS Shapefiles

Free downloads of world country, city and place GIS shapefile map layers. This is a works in progress. Take a look and if you have a request, email me and let me know and I'll get it online as soon as possible.

Access the world country, city and place shapefiles

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming

IAEA Claimed Iran "Weapons "Expert" Never Actually Worked on Nuclear Weapons At All

Read about the supposed "weapons expert" and download the full November 8, 2011 IAEA Report: Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement and relevant provisions of Security Council resolutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Mike Meuser

GIS Project Development, Data Research and Custom Shapefile Creation
Free GIS Software, Shapefiles, Maps and Tutorials
Free GPS, Aerial, TOPO Maps and News

If you have data, GIS project or custom shapefile needs send me an email

Premium Shapefiles: ZipCode, Indian & Federal Lands, School Districts, Tornadoes, Dams, Climate Change & Global Warming