soapbox

....THIS IS A TRUE DATED PICTURE OF A TOMATO PLANT GROWING OUTDOORS IN THE GARDEN . . . . .NOTICE THE FALLEN AUTUMN LEAVES ON THE GROUND BESIDE THE PLANT . . . .CAN GLOBAL WARMING BE FAR BEHIND . .? . . .ITS ALMOST NOVEMBER ALREADY . . . .TOMATOES GROW BEST IN HOT 28 DEGREES CELCIUS (82 F) . . . .GO FIGURE .

The vast majority of this oil, 64 percent, is sold to China, now the world's second-largest consumer of oil. And while neither Khartoum, China, nor Petrodar release any statistics – this is generally believed to be an oil deal worth at least $2 billion a year. China's National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) is the majority shareholder in both Petrodar and the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, two of the biggest oil consortiums in Sudan. CNPC has invested billions in oil-related infrastructure here in Paloich, including the 900-mile pipeline from the Paloich oil fields to the tanker terminal at Port Sudan on the Red Sea, a tarmac road leading to Khartoum, and a new airport with connecting flights to Beijing. But they have not invested in much else here. . . .. . ... .. .. .. . ... ... . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE ABOVE NEWS EXCERPT CAME FROM A NEWS ARTICLE IN THE CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR SEVERAL MONTHS AGO . . . . . .I WAS UNA...

World's addiction to coal growing, despite worries about global warming October 25, 2007, 12:00 a.m. EST Associated Press JUNGAR QI, China (AP) _ Almost nonstop, gargantuan 145-ton trucks rumble through China's biggest open-pit coal mine, sending up clouds of soot as they dump their loads into mechanized sorters. The black treasure has transformed this once-isolated crossroads nestled in the sand-sculpted ravines of Inner Mongolia into a bleak boomtown of nearly 300,000 people. Day and night, long and dusty trains haul out coal to electric power plants and factories in the east, fueling China's explosive growth. Coal is big, and getting bigger. As oil and natural gas prices soar, the world is relying ever more on the cheap, black-burning mainstay of the Industrial Revolution. Mining companies are racing into Africa. Workers are laying miles of new railroad track to haul coal from the Powder River Basin in Wyoming and Montana. And nowhere is coal bigger than in China. But th...

Eighty-one workers and five rescue personnel abandoned a subcontractor's drilling rig known as the Usumacinta on Tuesday, after it hit the Kab 101 light-production platform and damaged a valve amid 25-foot (8-meter) waves and winds gusting to 80 mph (130 kph)."All night long I was alone at sea, sad, and thinking of my family," survivor Jesus Manuel Garcia, who floated on the ocean for 16 hours before his rescue off the Gulf coast state of Tabasco, told the Televisa television network in an interview Thursday. "I saw a lot of my colleagues floating around. ... Thank God I get a second chance."Another survivor, Eder Ortega Flores, 25, told Televisa that workers abandoned the rig and braved the raging seas only after leaking gas rose to unbearable levels and the supply of air from emergency breathing devices ran out.Flores said the covered life raft in which he and others escaped broke apart under the force of the waves and "all my co-workers went into the sea...

CNN takes viewers around the world in a two-part, four-hour documentary that examines our changing planet. This worldwide investigation, shot in high definition, looks at four key issues: climate change, vanishing habitats, disappearing species and human population growth. To tell this story, Anderson Cooper, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Animal Planet's Jeff Corwin traveled to some of the most remote and remarkable places on Earth. From exposing illegal wildlife trading undercover in Southeast Asia to seeing first–hand the devastating effects of deforestation in Brazil, they have gathered evidence on the unsettling changes taking place all around us. . . . . . . . . . . . . . THE ABOVE TV SHOW IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED . . . . .

. . . . . . .ACCORDING TO CFRB RADIO,THE ALBERTA GOVERNMENT HAS AGREED TO INCREASE ROYALTIES ON OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION BY A WHOPPING TWENTY(20) PERCENT (YIPPEE) . . . THATS THE GOOD NEWS . . . .NOW THE BAD NEWS . . . .THE NEW ROYALTY SCHEME WON'T BE IN EFFECT TILL THE YEAR 2009... . . .(GLOOM). . .IN MY OPINION,THATS ENOUGH OF A LOOPHOLE THAT WILL GAURANTEE THAT ALBERTA WILL BECOME DRIED UP WASTELAND RESEMBLING THE MOON LANDSCAPE . . . .. AT THE RATE THAT THE TAR SANDS ARE BEING PROCESSED RIGHT NOW.

. . . . . . . . . IS NOW OVER . . . . . $90.00 . . . A BARREL . . .A NEW RECORD HIGH PRICE . . . . . . AND . . .GUESS . . . .WHO . . .JUST GOT RICHER ? . . . . . .THE OIL . . .COMPANIES . . . .LOOK FOR AN OIL DRILLING RIG IN YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD . . . .SOON . . .THEY GOT TO DO SOMETHING WITH ALL THAT MONEY OTHER THAN BUYING GOLD PLATED HUMMERS.

. . . . . . . . . . . . .WEST WYALONG, Australia (Reuters) - Farmer John Ridley won't be harvesting so much as a bag of wheat this season from fields that stretch to the horizon as Australia's worst drought in 100 years takes its toll on the country's grain belt. Beneath a cloudless sky, 60-year-old Ridley, a descendant of one of Australia's pioneering farming families, pulls a clump of brittle stubble from the dusty earth. "It should be this high, waving green in the breeze," he says. "Farmers are in a stunned state at the moment. In a state of disbelief, shock, helplessness." Ridley's farm is in the epicenter of devastation from the drought, about 500 kilometers (310 miles) west of Sydney. Prime wheat growing territory, the district normally grows much of the wheat that makes Australia the world's second-biggest exporter. Yet this year the district will produce almost nothing. Drought which has struck intermittently since 2002, and which fa...

. . . . . . . . . . . . .A COLLISION BETWEEN TWO (2) OIL DRILLING PLATFORMS TOOK PLACE IN THE ROUGH WATERS OF THE GULF OF MEXICO TODAY KILLING 18 MEN .MANY MORE MISSING . . . . . REPORTED BY AL JAZEERA WEB SITE OCT 25,2007. ESCAPING GAS AND OIL INTO THE GULF WATERS IS NOT EXPECTED TO BE SEALED FOR SEVERAL DAYS.

. . . . . ..YESTERDAY CHINA LAUNCHED A ROCKET THAT WILL CIRCLE THE MOON . . . . . . .THE PICTURE IS FROM THE SPACE COMMAND CONTROL ROOM . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . WILD FIRES IN CALIFORNIA AND RECORD BREAKING TEMPERATURES IN TORONTO,CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .WHAT DOES IT ALL MEAN ? . . . . . I . .DON'T HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS . . . . . . BUT . .MY OPINION . . . . . . .IS THAT ITS CONNECTED TO GLOBAL . . . WARMING . . . .( I CAN ALMOST HEAR THE HOWLS FROM THE . . . . .DENIALISTS) THESE ARE JUST SOME OF THE BAD SIDE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE. . . . . . . .ACCORDING TO NEWS REPORTS TODAY OVER 250,000 PEOPLE HAVE BEEN DISPLACED BY THE FIRES AND ITS PREDICTED TO CONTINUE FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK BEFORE ANY RAIN.

. . . . .Britain last week said it is preparing a claim under a U.N. treaty that allows countries to claim continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (402 statute miles) off their shores. The treaty also gives countries the right to search for oil and natural gas there. . .. . .. . .... . . . . . . . . WHILE THE REST OF THE WORLD IS TRYING TO BATTLE THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE CERTAIN COUNTRIES LIKE BRITAIN AND CHILE ARE QUIETLY LAYING CLAIM TO THE MINERAL RIGHTS IN ANTARCTICA AT THE SOUTH POLE . . . . . . ..YOU CAN BET THAT SHORTLY THEREAFTER .. . . . . . . .. . . . OIL DRILLING RIGS AND PLATFORMS WILL . . BE APPEARING AT THE SOUTH POLE . . . AND ALSO THE NORTH POLE . . . .IS THERE NO LIMIT TO MAN'S GREED ?

. . . . . .Brazil: World’s fourth largest climate polluter Deforestation is responsible for three quarters of Brazil's greenhouse gas emissions, and makes the country the fourth largest climate polluter in the world. Our exhibition using the Brazil nut tree to highlight this has wide support across the country. Governors of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo have already confirmed their attendance.Brazil wants to be recognized as a serious player on the international stage, yet can’t even uphold its own constitution in the Amazon. Greenpeace is calling for including deforestation in the post-2012 Kyoto climate regime to be discussed in Bali, Indonesia this December. As Marcelo Maquesini, one of the team trapped inside the Ibama office said, "If Brazil is to be taken seriously by the international community in negotiations on climate, biodiversity or human rights, then they need to be able to enforce basic law and order in the areas where forests are being destroyed." . . . . ...

. . . . . BUTTERFLIES AND STILL GROWING TOMATO PLANTS WITH BLOSSOMS . . . . . . . . . .APPEARS TO BE THE NEW "NORMAL" IN THE NOW TROPICAL(?) TORONTO,ONTARIO,CANADA . . . . . . . . . .NO FROST IN THE WEATHER FORECAST SO FAR THIS SEASON . . . . . . .THE PLANTS . . .AND ANIMALS . . . . MUST BE . . .UNDERSTANDABLY CONFUSED . . . . . .AND THE HUMANS . . . . . . . .IT SEEMS TO BE BUSINESS AS USUAL . . . .THE POLLUTERS STILL POLLUTE . . . . . .. .. .. .AS THEY SAY IN THE SONG . . . . . WHEN . . WILL . . .THEY EVER . . .LEARN . . . . THE ANSWER IS BLOWING IN THE WIND. . . . . . . . . . . . . . the above picture was taken in the backyard garden on october 21,2007 . . . . . .a butterfly was seen in the same area also . . . .at this time of the year in this region frost would have killed the tomato plants right after labor day (sept-5). . . .but due to global warming this is happening.

. . . . . . . . . TWO (2) INDUSTRIES THAT CONTRIBUTE MOST TO THE POLLUTION ON PLANET EARTH ARE BEING GENEROUSLY. . . . .REWARDED . . . . .HOW COME, YOU ASK ? ?WELL VIRGINIA YOU SEE, WE (CANADA/USA) HAVE A SYSTEM IN PLACE THAT WHENEVER THE PRICE OF CRUDE OIL GOES UP IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS,WE INCREASE THE PROFITS to the oil companies IN PROPORTION TO THE NEW INCREASE.FOR EXAMPLE RIGHT NOW THE PRICE OF A BARREL OF CRUDE OIL IS UP TO NINETY DOLLARS ($90) . . . . . . .ALSO AT THE SAME TIME CAR MAKERS CONTINUE UNABATED TO PRODUCE MORE AND MORE CARS(THE BETTER TO DESTROY THE PLANET WE LIVE ON) . . . . . ..OVER 800,000,000 AND COUNTING MOTOR VEHICLES IN THE WORLD NOW AND EVERY ONE OF THESE CARS NEED GAS. . . . . WE HAVE REACHED A LIMIT ON CHEAP OIL . . . AND STILL THEY PRODUCE MORE CARS . . . . .SO YOU SEE VIRGINIA WE HAVE BECOME BRAINWASHED TO BELIEVE ALL THOSE GLOSSY CAR COMMERCIALS . ..EVEN IF IT MEANS WE DESTROY THE PLANET WE LIVE ON. . . WE CANT CHANGE OVER NITE FROM OUR HABITS BUT WE ...

週一， 2007年10月8日 LESSONS-4-TORONTO 教訓- 4 -多倫多 > HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong's air pollution reached dangerous levels on Monday, reigniting concerns about public health and fears that the city could lose out on crucial foreign investment due to the thick smog. 香港（法新社） -香港的空氣污染達到危險水平對週一， r eigniting關注公眾健康和恐懼，這個小城市有可能失去對關鍵的外商投資，由於厚厚的煙霧。 A 1 Across the southern Chinese territory, the Air Pollution Index on Monday passed the critical 100 mark, the point at which the Environmental Protection Department warns anyone with respiratory or heart problems to stay home. 橫跨中國南部地區，空氣污染指數週一通過臨界100馬克，而在這環境保護署已發出警告，任何人的呼吸或心臟問題，以留在家中。 At the weekend, the index reached 144. 上週末，該指數達到144 。 The high on Monday was 113. 高對週一為113 。 The poor air quality -- which left the city's Victoria Harbour shrouded in haze -- was recorded even though many factories in the neighbouring Pearl River Delta in mainland China have been closed for a week-long holiday. 空氣質素惡劣-使得這個城市的維多利亞港籠罩在煙霾-記錄...

. . . . . . . . . OIL PROFITS . . .WHO . . .SHOULD. . . GET THEM ? ? . . .. WITH THE PRICE OF A BARREL OF OIL OVER EIGHTY SEVEN DOLLARS A BARREL TODAY . . . . . . . .ITS TIME . . . THE CANADIAN GOVERNMENT IN CO-OPERation with alberta government implement a new profit sharing arrangement which would return a bigger share of the oil profit pie to a new independant environment department branch which would use the revenues to protect and preserve the clean air,water and land that is currently being destroyed by the corporate dinasaurs that inhabit the board rooms of multi-national carmakers and oil companies.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Another unbalanced legislature demonstrates need for electoral reform TORONTO – October 11, 2007: Yesterday's Ontario election once again produced results mismatched with voter preferences, and a phoney-majority government facing a weaker opposition than Ontarians voted for.The 58 per cent of Ontarians who voted for opposition parties received only 33 per cent of the seats, significantly weakening the checks and balances needed for accountable and effective government. Meanwhile, the party receiving just 42 per cent of the vote has been given a false "mandate" to act as though it enjoyed majority support of the electorate. "This week's election results in both Ontario and Newfoundland underline the need for the electoral reform process to continue in Ontario and across Canada," said Rick Anderson chair of Vote for MMP, the campaign that supported the mixed member proportional alternative proposed by the Ontario Citizens...

If you're still tempted by the endangered sea bass flown in from the tip of Chile or the Chinese snow peas (that can easily be grown in Canada), know that by reaching for plate number two instead, you're not just cutting back on food miles. You're also helping local farmers resist the temptation to sell their land to developers, you're avoiding the 'cardboard effect' of shipping unripe produce in refrigerated containers, you're supporting local economies, connecting to those who sow the land and sinking your teeth into tastier ingredients packed with extra vitamins, since they're fresh from the earth. But you need to know how to eat local right. Say no to energy vampires like hothouse tomatoes grown in carbon-heavy greenhouses mid-winter. Say yes to local farmers' markets and a louder yes to local organic farms. Sign up for shares in community-supported agriculture. Bug your grocery manager to stock local organic produce, and snatch it up when it arr...

. . . . . THE PRICE OF A BARREL OF OIL TODAY HAS PASSED $83.00 A BARREL . . . . . WHICH MEANS THAT COMPANIES LIKE EXXON,SHELL,BP AND GASPROM ARE GETTING FILTHY RICH. . .. . . . . . . . .AS THE WORLD SUPPLY OF CHEAP OIL IS DECREASING, DEMAND FOR OIL IS INCREASING, THANKS TO THE 800 MILLION CARS IN THE WORLD(AND COUNTING) . . . . .MEANWHILE IN THE . . .REMOTE AREAS OF ALBERTA CANADA . . . . . . .OIL COMPANIES ARE PLEADING POVERTY . . . .BECAUSE . . .THE ALBERTA . . PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT . . . .HAS DARED TO TRY TO INCREASE THE ROYALTIES ON OIL AND GAS PRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . .MY . . . OBJECTION . . .TO THIS CURRENT SYSTEM OF SHARING OIL REVENUE IN CANADA IS THAT IT IS GROSSLY UNFAIR. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON GAS IN CANADA UP TO 85% OF THAT DOLLAR GOES TO THE OIL COMPANY . . . .WHICH IN TURN WILL USE THAT INCREASED WEALTH TO PLUNDER THE REMAINING SPARSE OIL RESERVES IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES AND IN THE PROCESS DESTROY THE ENVIRONMENT . . . ...

. . . . . . . . . .. . . VOTE . .TOMORROW . . OCT-10-07-ONTARIO . . . . . . . . . . RECOMENDED - -VOTE GREEN PARTY- -4 THE PLANET- -4 UR-SELF OR - -4 UR CHILDREN AND/OR GRAND CHILDREN

HONG KONG (AFP) - Hong Kong's air pollution reached dangerous levels on Monday, reigniting concerns about public health and fears that the city could lose out on crucial foreign investment due to the thick smog. A Across the southern Chinese territory, the Air Pollution Index on Monday passed the critical 100 mark, the point at which the Environmental Protection Department warns anyone with respiratory or heart problems to stay home. At the weekend, the index reached 144. The high on Monday was 113. The poor air quality -- which left the city's Victoria Harbour shrouded in haze -- was recorded even though many factories in the neighbouring Pearl River Delta in mainland China have been closed for a week-long holiday. More than a dozen Hong Kong pensioners were hospitalised on Saturday alone for breathing ailments, prompting local aid charities to cry foul. "Even I could see the air quality was particularly bad," said Esther Yuen, a spokeswoman at Senior Citizen Home S...

. . . . . . .AND DEMONIZE THE ECOLOGISTS . . . .THAT SEEMS TO BE THE PREVAILING ATTITUDE . . . .FOR EXAMPLE . . . . .AS THE PRICE OF GASOLINE INCREASES SO DOES THE PROFITS OF THE MAJOR POLLUTERS AKA:EVERY DOLLAR SPENT ON GAS AT THE PUMP OVER 75.00 GOES TO THE OIL COMPANY . . . . .SO IF GAS DOUBLES IN PRICE TO 2 DOLLARS A LITER THE OIL COMPANY GETS DOUBLE THE PROFITS . . . .NOT TO FORGET THE OTHER POLLUTERS ,THE AUTO MAKERS HAVE BEEN PIGGY BACKED ON THE ONTARIO TAXPAYER ALL THESE YEARS . . . . . .BY HAVE CHEAP ELECTRICITY FROM NUCLEAR POWER STATIONS FINANCED BY ONTARIO TAXPAYERS . . . . . . .THEY GET A MUCH REDUCED ELECTRICITY RATE THAN EVERYONE ELSE (WHO KNEW ?) . . . IN FACT LESS THAN 10 % OF CONSUMERS (INDUSTRIAL-IN ONTARIO,CANADA ) USE UP TO 50 % OF THE ELECTRICITY.

. . . . . . I JUST LISTENED TO A TALK RADIO STATION IN TORONTO,CANADA ,AND I'M WONDERING OUT LOUD WHETHER I SHOULD CONTINUE TO LISTEN. . . .THE TALK SHOW HOST WAS GIVING A VERY SINCERE SOUNDING COMMERCIAL ABOUT THE VIRTUES OF BUYING A NEW OR USED CAR FROM A LOCAL DEALER. . .HE EXPLAINED THAT THE DEALER HAD A 100 ACRES FULL OF CARS,AND THAT HE WAS REPUTABLE,YA,DA,YA DA,ETC.,ETC, . . . . . .MY QUESTION . . . .WHAT PLANET DO THESE PEOPLE COME FROM ?? DO THEY REALIZE THAT THEIR "PRODUCT" IS DESTROYING THE ENVIRONMENT ? ?DO THEY CARE . ??BUT I DIGRESS . . . .THIS SAME TALK SHOW HOST WILL CONDUCT AN OPEN RADIO PHONE-IN SHOW FOR FOUR HOURS ON THE PUBLIC AIR WAVES . . . . . .AND WHEN A CALLER PHONES IN WITH TRUE STORIES ABOUT THE DAMAGE DONE BY AUTOMOBILES TO THE ENVIRONMENT . . . . .GUESS . . .HOW QUICKLY . . . THE CALLER GETS DUMPED . . . .AH . . FREE SPEECH . . .ITS WONDERFUL . . AS LONG AS YOU DON'T SAY ANYTHING NEGATIVE ABOUT THE SPONSOR (THE GUY WITH A 100 ACRES OF...

. . . . . . . IN THE ELECTION ON OCT 10. . . . .DO YOU WANT TO LIVE IN A PROVINCE THAT IS CRISCROSSED BY SUPER HIGHWAYS,ELECTRIC TRANSMISSION LINES,GAS AND OIL PIPELINES WHICH ARE BULLDOZED THROUGH PRISTINE FORESTS AND FARMLANDS AND HAVE INCREASED TAXES TO PAY FOR A MULTITUDE OF MEGA-PROJECTS INCLUDING A 40 BILLION NUCLEAR POWER SYSTEM.ALSO YOU'LL HAVE INCREASED SMOG,AND TRAFFIC AND CLIMATE CHAOS. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . IF . . .YOU WANT ALL THIS . . .THEN GO . . .AND VOTE . .EITHER LIBERAL . . .OR PC . .PARTY. . .BOTH . . . WHO . . .WANT ..A . .PROVINCE .. .BUILT FOR CARS . . . AND NOT . . . . PEOPLE . .OR . . . THE ENVIRONMENT

Taxing the Good the Bad and the Ugly "Something is drastically wrong with the Green Party. They couldn’t possibly do what they’re proposing. It’s not realistic." That was what Don Cousens told The Liberal after the Sept 25 Richmond Hill All Candidates meeting. But now, having spent quite a few hours walking the streets of Richmond Hill over the past few weeks, I wonder how realistic — how sustainable — our town is these days? We now know that climate change is a fact. Yet, we continue to pave over our region at an alarming rate. Despite rising transportation costs, we import close to 80% of our food instead of adopting policies that would make local farming both possible and profitable. We have designed our town so pedestrians have to compete with 6 and 8-lane roads while many of us fill our SUVs with cheap food, cheap goods and cheap gas (by world standards). How "realistic" is this? How sustainable? Writing in the Oct 2 Globe and Mail, Gary Mason captures the ...

PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU VOTE IN ONTARIO-FUTURE GENERATIONS SAKE by Anthony D. Lafratta September 25, 2007 As the Liberal government pumps another $40 billion into nuclear power, prevailing evidence continues to suggest that investment in nuclear energy is neither financially nor environmentally sound. The truth about nuclear energy, particularly in practice in Ontario, is that—aside from being environmentally unsustainable—it simply does not make economic sense. The history of Ontario’s nuclear generating stations reveals a pattern of cost overruns and low performance rates. Not only have the actual construction costs of all five of Ontario's nuclear generating stations significantly exceeded their original cost estimates, but each facility was also completed well behind schedule. Pickering A generating station ran 40% over estimated cost, while Bruce B overran costs by 50%, Bruce A by 90%, Pickering B by a whopping 140%, and Darlington by a staggering 270%. The Liberal plan, m...

. . . .SINCE ELECTION IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER IN ONTARIO,ITS AMAZING HOW CERTAIN SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS CAN HI-JACK THE HEADLINES .FOR INSTANCE ALL THE TALK NOW ABOUT FAITH BASED SCHOOLS . . . . .WHILE SCHOOLS ARE IMPORTANT,THE ENVIRONMENT TRUMPS THEM ALL IN IMPORTANCE I BELIEVE. . . . . .. . . . . my opinion.

. . . . . . . . . . .It's the first time in 81 years that the biggest and deepest of the lakes has reached a new monthly low, Sellinger said. The Army Corps recorded Superior as also setting a record by a half-inch in August. But the NOAA lab had the lake at slightly above its record level then. Either way, the lake has plummeted over the past year and has dipped beneath its long-term average level for a decade — the longest such period in its known history. "I've been here since 1959 and this is the lowest I've seen it," said Joel Johnson, owner of Lakehead Boat Basin in Duluth, Minn. Some areas had so little water last spring and summer that recreational boats couldn't reach docking slips, although other marina operators managed to operate normally. Commercial shippers, who haul iron ore and coal across the lakes to manufacturing centers such as Detroit, have been unable to fill cargo holds to capacity for fear of scraping bottom in shallow channels. . . . ....