Voici Tommy Emmanuel... On le dit appartenir au spt des plus grands guitaristes de tous les temps (...) Un conseil : prendre du recul pour apprécier réellement...

Un bon anniversaire au blond qu'on croise et que l'on reconnait par sa longue tignasse emmêlée qui au soleil blondit tellement qu'on croirait une illumination divine...

Un petit séjour d'une journée avec ma demoiselle à Gand pour constater qu'en quelques kilomètres, les coutumes changent... Voici l'américain avec frites que nous commandâmes avec grand faim au détour d'un restaurant tout ce qu'il y a de plus européen... un beau pâté de tartare sauce mayonnaise. Absence de compréhension ou vigilance amoindrie...?

Mis à part ce détail dont nos estomacs se souviennent néanmoins encore, Gand est une très jolie ville, un mélange déroutant entre Amsterdam (que je ne connais pas encore) et le monde merveilleux de Walt Disney avec ses châteaux, ses canaux, ses maisons patibulaires. Mais le charme est là. Des maisons justement qui, par leur architecture, aguichent l'oeil et sourient aux audacieux. Un architecture vraiment intéressante. Une culture culinaire déplorable...

We all need someone to talk to

Aucune disposition de la présente Déclaration ne peut être interprétée comme impliquant pour un Etat, un groupement ou un individu un droit quelconque de se livrer à une activité ou d'accomplir un acte visant à la destruction des droits et libertés qui y sont énoncés.

FBI SPECIAL AGENT PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS

Serving as an FBI Special Agent is a demanding job. A Special Agent is often placed in situations that make great demands on his/her physical capacity. In these instances, physical fitness is often the factor that spells the difference between success and failure - even life and death. Therefore, all candidates for the position must be in excellent physical condition with no disabilities which would interfere in firearm use, raids, or defensive tactics. All Special Agent candidates must be able to pass several tests to gain admittance to the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia.

Physical Fitness Test
To ensure that FBI Special Agents are fully prepared to meet their responsibilities as leaders in the law enforcement community, applicants must pass a standardized Physical Fitness Test. The test consists of four mandatory events that are administered in the following order:

1. Maximum number of sit-ups in one minute
2. Timed 300-meter sprint
3. Maximum number of push-ups (untimed)
4. Timed one and one-half mile (1.5 mile) run

The Physical Fitness Test is administered to a Special Agent applicant at his/her processing FBI Field Office. Special Agent applicants must pass the Physical Fitness Test as the next step after passing Phase II testing in order for any further background processing to take place and to be eligible for admission into a New Agent Training Class. A Special Agent applicant will have a total of three opportunities to achieve a passing score on the Physical Fitness Test. One immediately after Phase II testing, a second a minimum of sixty days after the initial test, and a final Physical Fitness Test one year from the date of the second Physical Fitness Test. If a passing score is not achieved in any of the tests, the Special Agent applicant will not be eligible in the future for the Special Agent position. There is a strictly defined scoring scale and protocol for each event. In order to pass the Physical Fitness Test, Special Agent applicants must achieve a minimum cumulative score of twelve points with at least one point in each of the four events. Special Agent applicants who pass the Physical Fitness Test are considered sufficiently fit to safely and successfully complete the physical training and defensive tactics portion of New Agent's Training at the FBI Academy.
New Agent Trainees admitted to the FBI Academy must re-pass the Physical Fitness Test in their first week at the Academy. The test, scoring scale, and protocol are exactly the same, except a fifth event is added - standard pull-ups. The score on pull-ups is not used for pass/fail purposes, but is used by the FBI Training Division for fitness awards, including the 50-point award. Please note: some Field Offices may administer the pull-ups test during the Field Office Physical Fitness Test.
Before attempting any of these events, please review the FBI's Physical Training Guidelines in order to maximize performance and avoid injuries.

Vision Requirements
Special Agent candidates should possess uncorrected visual acuity no worse than 20/200 (Snellen) in each eye, with correction to 20/20 in one eye and at least 20/40 in the other eye. Individuals unable to meet the 20/200 minimum uncorrected acuity may be considered if they provide medical documentation of use of soft contact lenses for at least one year without significant problems or adverse events. If an applicant has had laser eye corrective surgery, a six-month waiting period is required prior to beginning New Agents' Training at the FBI Academy.
The applicant must also provide evidence of complete healing by an ophthalmology clinical evaluation. Policy for color vision allows continuation of applicant processing if those who fail initial color vision screening are able to successfully complete the Farnsworth D-15 color vision test.

Hearing Requirements
Special Agent applicants must take an audiometer test and meet specified hearing standards. Please note that no applicant will be considered who exceeds any of the following:

a) average hearing loss of 25 decibels (ANSI) at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hertz
b) single reading of 35 decibels at 1000, 2000, and 3000 Hertz
c) single reading of 35 decibels at 500 Hertz
d) single reading of 45 decibels at 4000 Hertz

Medical Review
An applicant's medical history will be reviewed thoroughly and a determination will be made whether any medical issue (or condition) could potentially affect the applicant's ability to perform the basic functions of the Special Agent position. This medical review ensures that each candidate's situation is reviewed on an individual basis. If you have undergone a particular surgical procedure (e.g., radial keratotomy) and/or have some preexisting medical condition (e.g., hypertension), this will require careful review during the physical examination process. Issues/conditions that surface during the Medical Reviews may delay the final processing for employment. Although an applicant's doctor provides information about the applicant's medical condition, it is the FBI's Chief Medical Officer who decides if the applicant is physically able to perform the duties of the job. This decision is based on the review of the applicant's doctor's findings and the FBI's knowledge of the requirements of the job. The FBI is committed to treating all applicants fairly and equitably in all aspects of our hiring/selection process.

The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an independent US Government agency responsible for providing national security intelligence to senior US policymakers.

Director Tenet's Statement to CIA Workforce About Terrorist Attacks
Director Tenet's Statement to CIA Workforce


September 12, 2001

Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet spoke to the CIA workforce this afternoon about yesterday’s terrorist attacks. Here are excerpts of his remarks:

Good afternoon.

Yesterday, the entire American people—joined by men and women around the globe—recoiled in horror at the barbaric acts against our country.

In my hometown of New York, at the Pentagon, and in the skies over Pennsylvania, the bloody hand of evil struck again and again, stealing thousands of innocent lives.

As the devastating toll of terror comes into focus, we are sure to find among those who were lost friends, colleagues, and others we hold dear.

Our thoughts and prayers are with all the victims, with those searching and caring for them, and with those who mourn them.

I urge all of you to take the time to think of brothers and sisters that we, as Americans, have lost and to pray for those who survive them.

The images of fire and destruction are forever etched in our minds. And in our hearts, amid the numbing shock, there has been profound grief and renewed resolve.

As President Bush said last night, the search for the sponsors of these unspeakable acts has already begun. Our Agency is among the leaders of that search.

The fight against those who use the weapon of terror to menace and murder is necessarily hard. The shield of fanaticism—wielded by those ready to forfeit their lives to achieve their twisted dreams—is not easily pierced.

But it has been pierced before, and it will be pierced again.

Though we did not stop the latest, terrible assaults, you—the men and women of CIA and our Intelligence Community—have done much to combat terrorism in the past.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of American lives have been saved by the brave men and women of our Counter-Terrorism Center, our Directorate of Operations, our analysts, our scientists, our support officers—all who work relentlessly every day against this difficult target.

I know that together, we will do even more in the future.

The response yesterday—from our Counter-Terrorism Center, the Ops Center, Global Support, our entire Security Staff, and many, many others—was absolutely magnificent. Today, I am—as I always have been—very, very proud of all the men and women in this organization.

The important thing for us now is to do our job. To run to ground a vicious foe—one without heart or pity. A foe who has killed Americans, but who hopes in vain to kill the ideals and values that define all of us as Americans.

The terrorists behind these atrocities—and those who give them shelter and support—must never know rest, ease, or comfort. The last word must not be theirs.

For the future must belong to the champions of freedom, not its enemies. That is our aim—today, tomorrow, always.

This is a time for us to come together. To bring all our talents to bear in a steely determination to do what we are called to do—protect our fellow citizens.

It is our turn again to step up to a challenge, and to meet it as we meet all challenges: With commitment and courage.

Put some spirit in your step, square your shoulders, focus your eyes…we have a job to do.

Many years ago, Winston Churchill—a giant of democracy—recalled his reaction on hearing the news of another surprise attack on America, this one at Pearl Harbor:

There were, he wrote, "many, not only in enemy countries [who] might discount the force of the United States. Some said they were soft, others that they would never be united. They would fool around at a distance. They would never come to grips. They would never stand blood-letting."

But, Churchill concluded, "I had studied the American Civil War, fought out to the last desperate inch. American blood flowed in my veins. I thought of a remark which Edward Grey had made to me more than thirty years before—that the United States is like ‘a gigantic boiler. Once the fire is lighted under it, there is no limit to the power it can generate.’"

Indeed there is not.

I thank you all very, very much for your hard work. May God bless you all.

Quand je vous disais qu'un jour nous ferons de grandes choses...

ARCHITECTURAL, E par ext. : architectonique, auguste, colossal, considérable, écrasant, élevé, énorme, étonnant, fantastique, formidable, grand, grandiose, imposant, impressionnant, magistral, magnifique, majestueux, monumental, noble, olympien, pyramidal, pompeux, solennel, somptueux, superbe.
Contr. : Modeste (...)

Le compagnon de Pantagruel, Panurge, s'est embarqué pour le pays des Lanternes. Sur le bateau il rencontre Dindenault, marchand de moutons qui emmène un troupeau avec lui.
Panurge, ayant obtenu pour un prix élevé l'une des bêtes, la saisit et la jette à la mer. Tous les moutons suivent et se précipitent dans les flots, avec le marchand qui tente de les retenir.
C'est depuis cette époque que l'expression "les moutons de Panurge" désigne les gens qui suivent les autres sans réfléchir.

"Soudain, je ne sais comment, le cas fut subi, je n'eus loisir de le considérer, Panurge, sans autre chose dire, jette en pleine mer son mouton criant et bêlant. Tous les autres moutons, criant et bêlant en pareille intonation, commencèrent à se jeter et à sauter en mer après, à la file. La foule était à qui le premier y sauterait après leur compagnon. Il n'était pas possible de les en empêcher, comme vous savez du mouton le naturel, toujours suivre le premier, quelque part qu'il aille".

Rabelais, Pantagruel: Le Quart Livre, chapitre VIII.

Un film mythique... Sur la toute beauté du bowling.

Une météorite est un corps matériel extra-terrestre de taille comparativement petite qui atteint la surface de la Terre. Lorsqu'ils sont encore dans l'espace, ces corps sont appelés « météoroïdes ». De façon arbitraire, les météoroïdes sont les bolides de moins de 50 mètres de diamètre, au delà de cette taille, on parle d'astéroïdes.

La masse totale de matière interplanétaire balayée par la Terre est estimée à 1012 kg/jour ; cette matière est constituée essentiellement de poussières, avec un nombre de corpuscules dépendant (approximativement) du logarithme de l'inverse de leur masse, avec un seuil d'environ 10-16 kg, en-dessous duquel il y a très peu de poussières.

Ainsi, la Terre ne rencontre guère plus de 2000 à 3000 météorites de plus d'un kilogramme par jour.