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As of 10AM Sunday Dec 4, all applications and infrastructure are back in operation, except for the HPC Services scheduled to return to operation on Monday.
Older Information:
Virtually all IT services including business systems, windows home directories, and scientific clusters will be offline beginning this Friday evening in order to accomodate power upgrades to Building 50.
All Business Systems (HRIS,FMS, all EHS and Facilities Apps, etc). Additional list of services is here.
All Local Collaboration Systems (Commons.lbl.gov, software.lbl.gov, windows file services, webspace, local google search, antivirus updates, etc)
Virtually all HPC Services (click here for more information)
IT Virtual Machine Hosted Systems - including newscenter.lbl.gov, today.lbl.gov.
Google Services
Mail Handling Services
LDAP / login.lbl.gov
Network connectivity to buildings with power.
Telephone systems.
LBNL cluster architect Greg Kurtzer of the IT Division's HPC Services Group hosted a very well-attended discussion in the LBNL Booth at SuperComputing 2011 to highlight the new features in the Warewulf Cluster Toolkit 3.1 release. Warewulf3 has been redesigned from the ground up and the new version takes a comprehensive approach towards efficiently managing and operating multiple large clusters.
The next Lawrencium downtime is scheduled for the afternoon of Dec 2, 2011.
LBNL Facilities division has scheduled a power outage to 50B Bldg on the weekend of Dec 3rd 2011, to perform electrical work. In preparation for this power outage, we will have to shutdown all cluster resources located in the Bldg 50B room 1275 Data Center.
Access will be turned off by 4:00 pm on Friday, Dec 2nd and we expect to bring clusters back online by 5:00 pm on Monday, Dec 5th.
All the clusters in our supercluster infrastructure namely Alsacc, Berkelium, Baldur, Cumuls, Esd01, Euclid, Hbar, Lawrencium (Lr1, Lr2 and associated PI-owned condo nodes) MHG, Musigny, Nano, Natgas, Plutonium, Voltaire,Vulcan and Yquem will be affected by this outage.
User access to the cluster front end nodes and data on the file systems will be blocked. Job blocking reservations will be in place such thatno jobs will be running in the queues during shutdown. If you aresubmitting jobs to the queues before the shutdown make sure you request proper wallclock times such that jobs would finish before the start of the downtime at 4:00 pm on Dec 2nd.
When a lab employee or affiliate needs to update information in the lab directory, go to
www.lbl.gov/ds - "Edit your directory entry"
With the agreement of the Business Managers at their 11/4/11 meeting, we changed the system to allow any authenticated lab person to change any entry. This change was made to allow Division administrative assistants, supervisors and others to help keep this important information up to date. When a change is made, the person whose information was changed will be notified in email.
This is an automated notification. No action is required on your part unless you disapprove of the changes detailed in this message.
The directory entry for employee number 000NNN (Smith, Joe) has been updated. These updates were performed by employee number/username 00NNNN (Earnest Lawrence)
The directory entry now contains the following information:
Telephone numbers: NNN-NNN-NNNN
Fax number: NNN-NNN-NNNN
Locations: 050B-NNNN
Mailstop: 50B-NNNN
Prior to these changes, the directory entry contained the following information:
Telephone numbers: YYY-YYY-YYYY
Fax number: YYY-YYY-YYYY
Locations: 050B-YYYY
Mailstop: 50B-YYYY
If you believe these changes were made in error or by an unauthorized individual, please contact the Help Desk at email@example.com or x4357.
The New Look for Gmail has been turned on for Berkeley Lab. This is similar to the look consumer users of Gmail have had for a number of weeks. It may take awhile for this to roll out to all users.
One change may confuse you: where we now see Mail, Contacts, and Tasks as separate links in the upper left hand corner, the new look has a single choice with a drop down allowing you to select something different.
As was the case in Google Docs, you can select the density (comfortable, cozy, compact). Click the gear icon to see the choices including one that allows you to temporarily switch back to the old look.
For more information, check out the learning center which has video and written explanations - most are very intuitive.http://learn.googleapps.com/new-look-gmail
If you've ever used or thought about room based videoconferencing systems in the past half decade, you've probably gotten frustrated. These setups are expensive, somewhat proprietary despite their support for open standards, shockingly frustrating to use, and often end up as wall decoration in conference rooms where they are rarely, if ever, turned on. Contrast that with the relative simplicity of Google Video Chat, Skype, or any of the other web conferencing services, and you might conclude that the era of the video conferencing unit has passed.
Here's the thing though - the idea of a reliable appliance that sits in the conference room just waiting to open up your meeting or seminar to your colleagues in the wider world is awfully appealing. And high definition video conferencing (when it works) is a better experience then computer based video conferencing. The question is: how can we make that experience more reliable and make the technology more useful?
To answer this, IT is launching a new initiative around video conferencing. It's based on two simple goals:
Video Conferencing is Easy to Use
It's simple to attend any meeting anywhere, and share your meeting with others.
To help achieve these goals, we've working on the following:
Let's examine that last point for a second. Let's say you're having a seminar in 50b-4205. You have a colleague at CERN and a colleague at FNAL that would like to attend too. Let's imagine that they want to see the seminar, but don't necessarily need to "be seen" or interact. With our new streaming service, you'll be able to set up a stream from the video conferencing unit in the conference room and share the link with your colleagues - all very simply and with little or any prior coordination.
This is cool, but the goal above that is even more important. It should be really easy for you to participate in a video conference from your desktop or laptop. Surprisingly, the interface between these devices and room based video conferencing isn't usually very simple or effective, and requires comparatively expensive software licensed on a per user basis. However, new developments in this market are very exciting. The two products above take different approaches to bridging the world of computers/mobile devices with video conferencing units. We hope to be able to report more about what we've found in the next few weeks.
Videoconferencing has the potential to improve collaboration and reduce our carbon footprint, so we want to get this right. We'll be updating the blog as we continue to consider how best to offer these services.
Until then, let us know - what can we do to improve your experience of videoconferencing at LBL? -email@example.com
Note: No doubt someone will say that the remote desktop/laptop problem has been solved by EVO/Koala. The problem is that this tool isn't really that easy for non-technical people to use. We have recommended it for years as the good free alternative to connect to H.323 and SIP, but it remains a complex tool with a UI that's easy to be put off by, and an install process that's anything but straightforward.
Russ Pond is the new DOE (and Berkeley Lab) Account Manager for the Government Enterprise Division at Apple. He and Ron Ustich (continuing on as our primary systems engineer contact) attended the Nov 14 Mac User Group Meeting and then visited staff in the IT Division.
Future presentations and webinars concerning iCloud, mobile device management options, high performance computing initiatives, and workstation management were discussed.
For those of you who use iPads at work, this link might be of interest.
LBL CIO Rosio Alvarez and HPC Services Manager Gary Jung present their experiences using cloud services for HPC at Information Week's GovCloud 2011 conference in Washington DC. More.
Researchers from Berkeley Lab and MIT have teamed up to develop a new tool, as part of the Materials Project, led by LBL PI Kristen Persson to speed up the development for new materials. The project incorporates the use of supercomputing resources including Lawrencium to characterize the properties of inorganic compounds. More.
The Lab's voice mail system will be unavailable from 10 a.m. until approximately 11 a.m. on Saturday (November 12) for system maintenance and updates. During this time, voice mail messages will be unavailable and callers will be unable to leave messages. For more information, contact Telephone Services (x7997).
What was installed:
Cluster support group added the following:
Business Systems group added the following:
What was removed:
Cluster support group removed the following:
Business Systems group removed the following:
October average Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE): 1.55
Data Center Efficiency Progress:
The DOE national average PUE for data centers is 1.75. 50B-1275 data center has evolved from an average PUE of 1.65 (calculated in 2009) to today's 1.47. Getting there, staying there, and further improving the PUE is an ongoing effort.
Key highlights for this month include:
Google+ was released to Enterprise Customers and we added it to the LBL domain on October 27.
Also, when posting content, you can quickly share it with everyone in our organization, even if you haven't added all of them to a circle, by choosing Berkeley Lab from the list of sharing options.
With Google+, you can share information that's visible to others outside our organization. When sharing outside Berkeley Lab, please follow these guidelines:
Make sure you check out these Google+ resources:
Business Systems
Cyber Security
Research Services
Workstation Support
A U.S. Department of Energy National Laboratory Operated by the University of California


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Saturday, March 03, 2007
Art hates my favorite Flintstones Sequence + Flintstone Flyer
I got your email with more detailed step by step procedures. That was great! Thanks.
Your comments about the Flintstones baffle me though. Are we talking about the same title sequence? I'm talking about the one from 1960. Not the one where they go to the movie theatre and drive in.
The first one had no song, just instrumental music. It was called "Rise and Shine".
Ed's layouts are spectacular in it and your colors and brush tecnique are amazing. It's like you took the early HB simple techniques and turned them into a more elaborate art.
The skies are greenish and the whitish cave buildings are complex in all the layers of textures and hues.
all kinds of stuff: Ed Benedict , 1912-2006
Scroll down to the frame grabs.
That's what you think are not very good?
Things must have really sunk since then!
I would kill to have BGs that looked this good in my cartoons.
Your pal,
Hi John,
OK. I'll concede.
I downloaded the video and did some closer looking at what you pointed out; and I had the chance to look at the still frames, the one by ones, like in a photo album.
Also as a fast moving clip, as the TV audience sees it, where it's all tied together. Then I asked myself, "But what is it that doesn't sit right with me?" I believe that the whole sequence is done too fast. Too much car. The movement is too fast, the car with Fred in it shoots by fast, through traffic, there are fast repeats and fast music. Yes, the pace is consistent but it simply looks too much like a modern LA freeway to me and not Bedrock. Bedrock begins when Fred stops to buy a news-slab, climbs the dino's "stairs" to pick up something from the tailor's and arriving home...the house, the garage, the interiors, etc. This is Bedrock.
I believe it was this, John, that I might've reacted to and not the treatment of the bgs. I agree with you (in retrospect) that the layouts and painting techniques were OK. Ed's work is unquestionably OK. And I'm trying to figure out what it really was that comes across negative to me. The thread of the story?
It's me. I like to think of the Flintstone territory as warm and more natural, not crowded, not so much a busy, dense neighborhood. Remember: there's a sign in there that says Bedrock -Population 2500- Not 25,000. Too many houses, overly populated, too much stone, not enough trees and plants. Yes, I guess that this is my objection...the freeway look. The older opener you mentioned was the drive-in movie. I don't recall details, but I do remember that it was 'friendlier', realer. It took the audience back into space and time where Bedrock was more believably prehistoric... such a pleasure. Maybe my biggest objection with ANYplace is traffic and speed, freeways and highways. Can't stand the stuff.
The sky color, btw, does look greenish. It was a sort of tinged ochre and it was the Flintstones sky in practically every show, one that we established as a basic so that we could simplify and 'standardize'. It was made up by our color supplier and delivered in quantities all mixed.
I appreciate the comments. Keep it going.
Art L.
14 comments:
- S.G.A said...
even when I was a kid I noticed those old flinstones Bk rounds , so I knew I liked the Flinstones before Pebbles was born,..Cause to me the backrounds were better.
But even more than those backrounds I liked Yogi Bear Bkrounds , and Huckleberry Hound.. I know it doesn't really matter , just sharing my thoughts.
I like all of them, except for the fourth one becasue it's very simple and you can't see the brush strokes.
- LeoBro said...
It's fun to see how they re-used the same background cards with different overlays to create different scenes.
#6 and #7 are the same background, but one has a wall with a door on top and the other has a dining table.
#9, #11 and #12 are all the same backbround. #10 has the same wall-and-door overlay as #6.
- Cayen said...
I really should pick up the early flintstones episodes and watch them again. I have a better perspective now that I've read all these posts from Art on the flintstones that now I want to see them in action again.
- Rafi said...
what a great lesson int he effectiveness of simplicity in design. great post John and Art aswell - keeping the comments suncsinct (sp?) and letting the images do most of the talking.
very inspiring, this medium knows no bounds
- Gary M. said...
This is somewhat OT. Given how much you love and were influenced by Clampett AND by TV animation like early H-B and Roger Ramjet, why no discussion yet of the merits of Beany & Cecil?
Are you going to have Art Lozzi do some BGs when you start your studio? I hope so. I'd like to see BGs like that in cartoons again.
- Jenny said...
Art Lozzi--what a genius.
I love being able to peek over your shoulder, as it were, and read his thoughts on this stuff--his work. I wouldn't have been in any doubt that he and the other guys on "Flintstones" took their jobs seriously and gave it their all...it's also particularly neat that he harbors no false sentimentality over it, but still clearly has a keenly appraising eye(and mind). His remarks about what bother him in the sequence are on the money(good as it is--and I agree, it's great).
Thanks, Art! from a total stranger, fan and artist.
- Max Ward said...
Art Lozzi paintings make my spine tingle.
- Sean Worsham said...
I guess the saying "Two great minds think alike," doesn't apply to this. When two great geniuses like Art and John disagree it shows they can both see differences in the genius of the piece but not necessarily on the same page. In other words there is something that each sees wrong and right in the piece but in a different way and can appreciate it for what it is.
Maybe the saying should go something like this, "Two great minds, could look at one thing and pull it apart and learn from each other more." That's the key to knowledge! :)
- Charlie J. said...
How can anyone dislike this beauty?
- art lozzi said...
I keep saying how overwhelmed I am at the contents, at the comments, the exchanges, the interest that people are showing and expressing. And I keep saying it.
Yes, I've been away too long. I had NO idea that things -the Industry- have grown at such a pace, to such an extent. Here, in Greece, I haven't seen a Flintstone except for very few times...years ago. How can I get hold of copies, CD's, videos? I want to see what everyone's talking about.
Love you all,
Art Lozzi
- Kali Fontecchio said...
Hi Art!
Can't you order them online from amazon?
First Season
- J C Roberts said...
These sure look familiar. I guess that's because I used a lot of them in my "Flintstones Forgery" clip that can be found on YouTube.
Early on in my Flash studies, I wanted to see how close I could get to classic Flintstones look in Flash, and used a lot of elements from the Laser Disc set. I got all the voice clips from the "Monster From The Tar Pits" episode (wishing more episodes had the voice only alternate audio track) and used most of these backgrounds in it. The idea was to jumble the few generic enough lines of dialog I had into a new narrative even if it didn't make much sense. I couldn't resist tweaking it slightly, but I tried to remain fairly faithful to the look of the first season.
Seeing them in this post caused me to do a double take, thinking my clip was being discussed for a second.

subset: commoncrawl


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Yoshio and I were wondering how we would switch gears after an insanely busy six weeks. We didn't have to worry because nature nudged us to a solution. It's getting chilly here in Southern Vermont. I want to spend time in the kitchen, puttering. Puttering inspires creative tweaking. Creative tweaking leads to tastier, more efficiently prepared food. For instance, making and serving maple butter with our Japanese milk bread is both yummier and more efficient than serving one bowl of cut butter and one bowl of jelly. It is also way more Vermonty. Another idea that came to fruition in the last week is healthy homemade maple sausage, half ground turkey and half ground pork. Our taste-tester guests gave both the thumbs up.
Yoshio has also spent some time being creative. How do we keep enough ceramic mugs in the dining room while encouraging guests to use the Keurig machine and the instant hot water dispenser for tea and cocoa? He (with the help of our daughter, Kelly) designed an Ormsby Hill take out cup. They are a big hit, and a stress buster for us.
We are both looking forward to the ebbs and flows of inn keeping; finding the balance between doing and thinking.


text:
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Now that the presidential election is over, health-care costs and Social Security moved up to the top of transition boomers' economic worries.
Continue Reading Below
A new study released by Allianz Life Insurance Company shows that among boomers ages 55-65, rising health-care costs and the future of Social Security were their main worries heading into retirement. With retirement 10 years away for this age group, these two issues transcend political lines and have boomers worried about their future financial security.
I had a chance to speak with Katie Libbe, vice president of consumer insights for Allianz Life about the impact of the election and how it impacts baby boomers' retirement paths. Here is what she had to say:
Boomer: How would you advise a 50-year-old baby boomer with no retirement plan or savings to do now to jump start a savings program?
Libbe: There are two key steps that baby boomers at that stage in life should take:
The first step is to develop a budget. You don't know how much you can save until you determine what you need to spend on a monthly basis. This involves not only analyzing monthly expenses, but also determining wants versus needs. Especially when close to retirement, boomers need to take an honest look at their spending and understand how it affects their future retirement plans.
For example, many people believe that their spending will go down in retirement. Popular financial planning wisdom says that without the costs associated with day-to-day work, retirees will save money – about 20% of their pre-retirement expenses - but this doesn't always happen. A consumer survey of retirees ages 50 to 70 overturned some traditional ideas about retirees' expenses. The survey divided the participants into four wealth quartiles, with total wealth ranging from $26,000 to more than $1 million. No group reduced spending by 20% in retirement. The most sizeable reduction was less than 14%, while the most affluent group actually increased spending by 7%.
The second step is to look for online resources that can help you understand retirement income planning concepts including Social Security. This resource should help you understand what gap you might experience between expenses and what Social Security will fund.
Finally, boomers should look at how aggressively they can ramp up their savings, including their 401(k), IRA, etc. By cutting down on expenses and exploring other options for adding income - such as finding a roommate or taking on a second job - boomers can help jump-start their savings and begin the process of following a true retirement plan.
Boomer: As shown in the survey, transition boomers believe that rising health-care costs will have the greatest effect on their retirement. Why?
Libbe: Transition boomers believe that rising health-care costs will have the greatest impact on their retirement security because they are already seeing the effects in their pay stubs via rising health-care insurance premiums.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation and HRET Survey of Employer-Sponsored Health Benefits from 1999 to 2011 (Sept. 2011), while wages have increased 50%, health-care premiums have increased 160% over the same time period. This is a staggering increase and one that boomers recognize is only going to get worse. Without employer-provided health-care insurance, many people won't be able to pay for health-care expenses in retirement, which tend to increase as we age.
Boomer: Did the survey show any difference with party affiliation on how boomers approach retirement savings?
Libbe: When it comes to overall retirement savings philosophy, 59% of Republican Transition Boomers identified themselves as being conservative or moderately conservative compared to 36% of Democrats. However, Democrat Transition Boomers were more likely to be balanced in their retirement savings approach, with 29% identifying themselves as balanced versus 18% for Republican Transition boomers.
Regarding the effect the election will have on their approach to retirement savings, 29% of Republican Transition Boomers said they were likely to become more aggressive if Romney had won while 30% of Democrats said they would have become more conservative. With President Obama re-elected, 81% of Democrat Transition boomers anticipate no changes to their retirement approach while 42% of Republicans said they will become more conservative.
Transition boomers who did not identify with either major political party also reported being more conservative or balanced in their retirement savings philosophy. Thirty-nine percent of Independents and 29% of those with no preference identified themselves as conservative or moderately conservative, while 30% of Independents and 34% with no preference identified themselves as balanced in their retirement savings approach.
The majority of this group of Transition boomers also said the outcome of the election would not trigger a change in their retirement savings strategy. Specifically, with President Obama's re-election, 64% of Independents and 75% of no preference Transition boomers said they will keep the same retirement savings strategy. If had Romney won, 61% of Independents and 73% of no preference Transition boomers said they would have kept the same retirement savings strategy.
Boomer: How much of an impact on my Social Security benefits will working to age 70 give me?
Libbe: Although people are eligible to claim Social Security benefits starting at age 62, it doesn't mean they should. People may receive 20-30% less in their benefits based on current Social Security Administration calculations if they start withdrawals before their full retirement age, which is age 66 for those born between 1945 and 1954. If they delay taking Social Security benefits past full retirement age, they will receive an additional 8% more per year up until age 70 when they would receive the maximum. Make sure you have a strategy for taking your benefits that helps you meet your retirement income needs without sacrificing benefits unnecessarily.
Boomer: At age 55, what does separation of service exception for early withdrawals mean?
Libbe: The separation of service exception for early withdrawals allows for early withdrawals from ERISA qualified employer sponsored plans without a 10% federal tax penalty for early withdrawals if you are age 55 or older when you leave the employer. IRAs do not qualify for this separation from service exception so the money would have to stay in the employer plan. Some exceptions also exist to the 10% federal tax penalty for early withdrawals with 72(t) distributions (substantially equal and periodic payments) if taken from an ERISA qualified plan or from an IRA .
Boomer: What do baby boomers - particularly Transition Boomers - need to know about retirement income?
Libbe: There are 75 million baby boomers in the United States. Every day for the next 19 years, 10,000 of these boomers will reach age 65, the traditional age for retirement in America. Many of these boomers are part of the first pension-less generation. Unlike previous generations, their retirement savings are not guaranteed in the form of a pension that pays out every month for the rest of their life. They are responsible for making that money last and need to determine a strategy to ensure it does just that. In order to add a level of security to their retirement plan and include some guarantees, boomers should consider allocating a portion of their assets to an annuity with some kind of guaranteed income stream that they can't outlive. Allocating a portion of their retirement portfolio to an annuity can also protect that piece from market volatility.
Guaranteed income is also important in connection with inflation. For the last 20 years, inflation has been less than 3% per year – but that's no guarantee that it can't spike above that level. The average inflation rate since 1914 is 3.4% and the average rate during the 1970s was a staggering 8.1%. Given an assumed average of 3% annual inflation, $100,000 of purchasing power decreases by 14 percent in five years and by 45% in 20 years. Thus, even a modest average annual increase in inflation can be a significant hit to your retirement savings. In order to be truly protected, boomers should incorporate some form of guaranteed income that offers options for increasing income to keep up with inflation.
Working in retirement is another topic that baby boomers need to understand. When people are confronted with the reality that they won't be able to retire on time, many assume they'll just be able to work longer. However, according to a different EBRI study (March 2012), 50% will retire earlier than planned. Reasons include their own health issues (51%), caring for a spouse (19%), or job loss/downsizing (21%). Others said changes in skills required for their job (11%) or other work-related reasons (23%) played a role. Bottom line, the ability to work longer is not always in your control, so you should plan accordingly.


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text: Latest Analysis News Putin to meet with Merkel in Sochi, discuss Iran, Ukraine, and energy Will they find common ground? Published 8 months ago on May 18, 2018 By Frank Sellers 819 Views Share Tweet After over a year of poor relations between Moscow and Germany spanning a multitude of issues ranging from Russia's annexation of Crimea, differences in position relative to the ongoing war in Syria, alleged hacking of the German FM office, and the alleged poisoning of the Skripals, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi today. More recently, Washington and Berlin have been at odds recently over Trump's withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear accord on Iran's nuclear program, the reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, and companies that do business with Iran, NATO defense spending, military strikes in Syria, and the North Stream project, with the Iran issue taking the fore. The Anti-Trump rhetoric in Europe at this time is somewhat staggering in its response to Trump's actions, which undermine Europe's economic and security interests. Given Russia's good relations with Iran, including the new deal between Moscow and EAEU nations and Iran, Berlin looks to Russia to help secure the status of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which Trump scrapped Washington's commitment to last week, as well as reviving peace talks with the Ukraine, Syria, and energy cooperation between Moscow and Berlin. France24 reports: SOCHI (RUSSIA) (AFP) – Russian President Vladimir Putin is due to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel in the Black Sea resort of Sochi on Friday, as Moscow and Europe make rare joint efforts to save the Iran nuclear deal. The pair's first face-to-face meeting in a year will take place less than a week before French President Emmanuel Macron is due to visit Russia. The meeting will take place in Putin's Sochi residence and is expected to be dominated by US President Donald Trump's decision to pull out from the Iran agreement. The fallout over the Iran deal is a rare topic for rapprochement between Europe and Moscow, whose relations are marred by disagreements over the Syria conflict, Moscow's 2014 annexation of Crimea and the subsequent war in eastern Ukraine. These tensions have only worsened in recent months following the poisoning of former Russian spy Sergei Skripal in Britain that led to an unprecedented wave of expulsions of Russian diplomats from Western countries. As part of the historic 2015 Iran deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program by pledging not to seek an atomic bomb in exchange for the lifting of some international sanctions on the Middle East country. The Europeans now want to avoid at all costs Tehran abandoning the deal and relaunching its program to acquire a nuclear weapon. They also want to protect their economic interests in Iran, threatened by Washington's reintroduction of sanctions. The Kremlin, allied with Iran in its support for the Bashar al-Assad regime in the Syrian conflict, has in recent days increased its diplomatic efforts to try to maintain the agreement it described as "crucial for regional stability and for the stability of the entire world". Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was in Moscow Monday before visiting Brussels for talks Iran said were aimed to "seek assurances" from countries that signed the deal. Merkel's visit comes ahead of Macron's trip to Saint Petersburg on May 24. Putin and Merkel last met for bilateral talks in May 2017, also in Sochi. "It will be a very interesting exchange of views, since there has been no direct contact (between the two leaders) for a very long time," said Kremlin advisor Yury Ushakov. Putin, who worked as a KGB agent in Dresden in the late 1980s, and Merkel, who grew up in East Germany, speak each other's languages. – Syria, Ukraine and energy – The pair are also expected to discuss the Syrian crisis and the conflict between Kiev and eastern Ukraine's pro-Russia rebels. Berlin and Moscow, along with Paris, signed peace agreements in Minsk in 2015 that aimed to put an end to a conflict that has left more than 10,000 dead since it began in April 2014. On May 12, Merkel expressed concern about the situation in Ukraine, where she said there are "violations of the truce every night and loss of life every day". According to Moscow, the two leaders will try to organise a four-way meeting with the presidents of France and Ukraine to advance a possible UN peacekeeping meeting. The last summit between the four countries in October 2016 was inconclusive. Merkel and Putin are also expected to discuss the construction of a second North Stream underwater pipeline linking the two countries via the Baltic Sea, a project several EU countries oppose. North Stream 2 aims to double the capacity of North Stream 1 by the end of 2019, and allow more Russian gas to arrive directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine. It's beginning to look like a particularly vulnerable time for German, and European foreign policy in general, relations with Washington's foreign policy interests. The Iran deal is a major issue for both Germany and the other European signatories, and Trump's undermining of it is a huge slap in the face to Europe in a manner that really can't be overstated, after the European signatories for France, Germany, and Britain travelled to Washington to safeguard it. Washington seems to be demonstrating to Europe its disregard for Europe's security and economic interests. It emphasizes this fact in demanding that Germany dump its participation in the North Stream LNG and oil cooperation, which would suit only Washington's anti-Russia foreign policy, rather than the energy interests of those European nations who stand to benefit 'bigly' from it. Washington's joint military action in Syria received a condemnation as a violation of international law by members of the German parliament. Add to these the tariffs on aluminum and steel which adversely impacts European firms. It's a growing list of conflicts of interest between Europe, particularly Germany, and the US. But Trump isn't slowing down. He's keeping the harsh criticism coming, together with his administration's continuance of stoking conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, the issues that Berlin has with Moscow are not as much issues that directly or even actually injure Germany, unlike Trump's actions, hence, the situation is increasingly becoming such that it could be easier for Berlin to deal with Moscow on shared interests than with Washington. Essentially, Trump is the gift that just keeps on giving sour gifts, while Putin demonstrates actual and feasible approaches to achieving stability, both economically and security. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Related Topics:RussiaDonald TrumpVladimir PutinAngela MerkelEUGermanySyriaMoscowNATOUkraineBritainsanctionsFranceIranUnited States Up Next US to build international 'coalition' against Iran Don't Miss Trump slams Germany over 'not paying its fair share' of NATO defense bill Advertisement You may like The 'Gilets Jaunes' Are Unstoppable: "Now, The Elites Are Afraid" US Blunders Have Made Russia The Global Trade Pivot Historic Eastern Christianity: An Uncertain Future Click to comment Leave a Reply This comment form is under antispam protection This comment form is under antispam protection Subscribe Notify of new follow-up comments new replies to my comments Latest The 'Gilets Jaunes' Are Unstoppable: "Now, The Elites Are Afraid" Now the elites are afraid. For the first time, there is a movement which cannot be controlled through the normal political mechanisms. Published 13 hours ago on January 21, 2019 By The Duran Authored by Christophe Guilluy via Spiked-Online.com: The gilets jaunes (yellow vest) movement has rattled the French establishment. For several months, crowds ranging from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands have been taking to the streets every weekend across the whole of France. They have had enormous success, extracting major concessions from the government. They continue to march. Back in 2014, geographer Christopher Guilluy's study of la France périphérique (peripheral France) caused a media sensation. It drew attention to the economic, cultural and political exclusion of the working classes, most of whom now live outside the major cities. It highlighted the conditions that would later give rise to the yellow-vest phenomenon. Guilluy has developed on these themes in his recent books, No Society and The Twilight of the Elite: Prosperity, the Periphery and the Future of France. spiked caught up with Guilluy to get his view on the causes and consequences of the yellow-vest movement. spiked: What exactly do you mean by 'peripheral France'? Christophe Guilluy: 'Peripheral France' is about the geographic distribution of the working classes across France. Fifteen years ago, I noticed that the majority of working-class people actually live very far away from the major globalised cities – far from Paris, Lyon and Toulouse, and also very far from London and New York. Technically, our globalised economic model performs well. It produces a lot of wealth. But it doesn't need the majority of the population to function. It has no real need for the manual workers, labourers and even small-business owners outside of the big cities. Paris creates enough wealth for the whole of France, and London does the same in Britain. But you cannot build a society around this. The gilets jaunes is a revolt of the working classes who live in these places. They tend to be people in work, but who don't earn very much, between 1000€ and 2000€ per month. Some of them are very poor if they are unemployed. Others were once middle-class. What they all have in common is that they live in areas where there is hardly any work left. They know that even if they have a job today, they could lose it tomorrow and they won't find anything else. spiked: What is the role of culture in the yellow-vest movement? Guilluy: Not only does peripheral France fare badly in the modern economy, it is also culturally misunderstood by the elite. The yellow-vest movement is a truly 21st-century movement in that it is cultural as well as political. Cultural validation is extremely important in our era. One illustration of this cultural divide is that most modern, progressive social movements and protests are quickly endorsed by celebrities, actors, the media and the intellectuals. But none of them approve of the gilets jaunes. Their emergence has caused a kind of psychological shock to the cultural establishment. It is exactly the same shock that the British elites experienced with the Brexit vote and that they are still experiencing now, three years later. The Brexit vote had a lot to do with culture, too, I think. It was more than just the question of leaving the EU. Many voters wanted to remind the political class that they exist. That's what French people are using the gilets jaunes for – to say we exist. We are seeing the same phenomenon in populist revolts across the world. spiked: How have the working-classes come to be excluded? Guilluy: All the growth and dynamism is in the major cities, but people cannot just move there. The cities are inaccessible, particularly thanks to mounting housing costs. The big cities today are like medieval citadels. It is like we are going back to the city-states of the Middle Ages. Funnily enough, Paris is going to start charging people for entry, just like the excise duties you used to have to pay to enter a town in the Middle Ages. The cities themselves have become very unequal, too. The Parisian economy needs executives and qualified professionals. It also needs workers, predominantly immigrants, for the construction industry and catering et cetera. Business relies on this very specific demographic mix. The problem is that 'the people' outside of this still exist. In fact, 'Peripheral France' actually encompasses the majority of French people. spiked: What role has the liberal metropolitan elite played in this? Guilluy: We have a new bourgeoisie, but because they are very cool and progressive, it creates the impression that there is no class conflict anymore. It is really difficult to oppose the hipsters when they say they care about the poor and about minorities. But actually, they are very much complicit in relegating the working classes to the sidelines. Not only do they benefit enormously from the globalised economy, but they have also produced a dominant cultural discourse which ostracises working-class people. Think of the 'deplorables' evoked by Hillary Clinton. There is a similar view of the working class in France and Britain. They are looked upon as if they are some kind of Amazonian tribe. The problem for the elites is that it is a very big tribe. The middle-class reaction to the yellow vests has been telling. Immediately, the protesters were denounced as xenophobes, anti-Semites and homophobes. The elites present themselves as anti-fascist and anti-racist but this is merely a way of defending their class interests. It is the only argument they can muster to defend their status, but it is not working anymore. Now the elites are afraid. For the first time, there is a movement which cannot be controlled through the normal political mechanisms. The gilets jaunes didn't emerge from the trade unions or the political parties. It cannot be stopped. There is no 'off' button. Either the intelligentsia will be forced to properly acknowledge the existence of these people, or they will have to opt for a kind of soft totalitarianism. A lot has been made of the fact that the yellow vests' demands vary a great deal. But above all, it's a demand for democracy. Fundamentally, they are democrats – they want to be taken seriously and they want to be integrated into the economic order. spiked: How can we begin to address these demands? Guilluy: First of all, the bourgeoisie needs a cultural revolution, particularly in universities and in the media. They need to stop insulting the working class, to stop thinking of all the gilets jaunes as imbeciles. Cultural respect is fundamental: there will be no economic or political integration until there is cultural integration. Then, of course, we need to think differently about the economy. That means dispensing with neoliberal dogma. We need to think beyond Paris, London and New York. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest US Blunders Have Made Russia The Global Trade Pivot Even if Europe is somehow taken out of the trade equation, greater synergy between the RIC (Russia, India and China) nations may be enough to pull their nations through anticipated global volatilities ahead Published 18 hours ago on January 21, 2019 By The Duran Authored by Mathew Maavak via ActivistPost.com: The year 2019 had barely begun before news emerged that six Russian sailors were kidnapped by pirates off the coast of Benin. It was perhaps a foretaste of risks to come. As nations reel from deteriorating economic conditions, instances of piracy and other forms of supply chain disruptions are bound to increase. According to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), 107 cases of piracy were noted during the first half of 2018 vis-à-vis 87 throughout 2017. The 2018 tally included 32 cases in Southeast Asian waters and 48 along African shores – representing 75% of the total. To put this figure into perspective, Asian behemoths India and China – despite their vast shorelines – recorded only 2 cases of piracy each during the study period. Russia had none. In terms of hostages taken, the IMB tally read 102 in H1 2018 vs 63 in H1 2017. Piracy adds to shipping and retail costs worldwide as security, insurance and salaries are hiked to match associated risks in maritime transport. Merchant vessels will also take longer and costlier routes to avoid piracy hotspots. A United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) report in 2016 sums up the perils ahead: As over 90% of global trade is carried out by sea, the economic effects of maritime crime can be crippling. Maritime crime includes not only criminal activity directed at vessels or maritime structures, but also the use of the high seas to perpetrate transnational organized crimes such as smuggling of persons or illicit substances. These forms of maritime crime can have devastating human consequences. Indeed, cases of human trafficking, organ harvesting, and the smuggling of illicit substances and counterfeit goods are proliferating worldwide in tandem with rising systemic debt and suspect international agendas. Australia offers a case in point. While it fantasizes over a Quad of allies in the Indo-Pacific – to "save Asians from China" – criminal elements from Hong Kong, Malaysia to squeaky-clean Singapore have been routinely trafficking drugs, tobacco and people right into Sydney harbour for years, swelling the local organised crime economy to as much as $47.4 billion (Australian dollars presumably) between 2016 and 2017. With criminal elements expected to thrive during a severe recession, they will likely enjoy a degree of prosecutorial shielding from state actors and local politicians. But this is not a Southeast Asian problem alone; any superpower wishing to disrupt Asia-Europe trade arteries – the main engine of global growth – will have targets of opportunity across oceans and lands. The US-led war against Syria had not only cratered one potential trans-Eurasia energy and trade node, it served as a boon for child trafficking, organ harvesting and slavery as well. Yet, it is President Bashar al-Assad who is repeatedly labelled a "butcher" by the Anglo-American media. Ultimately, industries in Asia and Europe will seek safer transit routes for their products. The inference here is inevitable: the greatest logistical undertaking in history – China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – will be highly dependent on Russian security umbrella, particularly in Central Asia. Russia also offers an alternative transit option via the Northern Sea Route, thereby avoiding any potential pan-Turkic ructions in Central Asia in the future. Russo- and Sinophobia explained? In retrospect, Washington's reckless policies post-Sept 11 2001 seem aimed at disrupting growing synergies between Asia and Europe. This hypothesis helps explain the relentless US-led agitprops against Russia, China and Iran. When the gilet jaunes (yellow vest) protests rocked France weeks ago, it was only a matter of time before some pundits blamed it on Russia. US President Donald J. Trump cheered on; just as "billionaire activist" George Soros celebrated the refugee invasion of Europe and the Arab Spring earlier. If the yellow vest contagion spreads to the Western half of Europe, its economies will flounder. Cui bono? A Russia that can reap benefits from the two-way BRI or Arctic trade routes or a moribund United States that can no longer rule roost in an increasingly multipolar world? Trump's diplomatic downgrade of the European Union and his opposition to the Nord Stream 2gas pipeline matches this trade-disruption hypothesis, as do pressures applied on India and China to drop energy and trade ties with Iran. Washington's trade war with Beijing and recent charges against Huawei – arguably Asia's most valuable company – seem to fit this grand strategy. If China concedes to importing more US products, Europe will bear the consequences. Asians love European products ranging from German cars to Italian shoes and Europe remains the favourite vacation destination for its growing middle class. Eastern European products and institutions are also beginning to gain traction in Asia. However, these emerging economies will suffer if their leaders cave in to Washington's bogeyman fetish. Even if Europe is somehow taken out of the trade equation, greater synergy between the RIC (Russia, India and China) nations may be enough – at least theoretically – to pull their nations through anticipated global volatilities ahead. In the meantime, as the US-led world crumbles, it looks like Russia is patiently biding its time to become the security guarantor and kingmaker of Asia-Europe trade. A possible state of affairs wrought more by American inanity rather than Russian ingenuity… Dr Mathew Maavak is a regular commentator on risk-related geostrategic issues. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading Latest Historic Eastern Christianity: An Uncertain Future The survival of historic Eastern Christianity, particularly in Syria, is critical for several reasons. Published 18 hours ago on January 21, 2019 By Strategic Culture Foundation Authored by Elias Samo via The Strategic Culture Foundation: The survival of historic Eastern Christianity has never been as urgent as it is today. Christianity saw its beginning in Greater Syria which was subdivided by France and Britain after WWI into modern day Syria, Lebanon, Palestian/Israel and Jordan. The land that housed, nurtured and spread the teachings of Jesus Christ for over two millenniums, now threatens children of that faith. The survival of historic Eastern Christianity, particularly in Syria, is critical for several reasons: Greater Syria is the homeland of Jesus and Christianity. Abraham was from modern day Iraq, Moses from Egypt, and Muhammad from Mecca; Jesus was from Syria. Paul converted to Christianity and saw the light while walking through 'The Street Called Straight' in Damascus. Jesus' followers were called Christians for the first time in Antioch, formerly part of Syria. One of the earliest churches, perhaps the earliest, is in Syria. The potential demise of historic Eastern Christianity is reflected in the key question Christians ask: should we stay or emigrate? The urgent question – in the face of the ongoing regional turmoil – precipitated with the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and escalated since the Arab uprisings in 2011. Historic Eastern Christians' fears were further magnified when Archbishop Yohanna Ibrahim of the Syriac Orthodox Church and Archbishop Paul Yazigi of the Greek Orthodox Church, both of metropolitan Aleppo, were kidnapped on April, 22, 2013; with no traces of their whereabouts, dead or alive, since. For many years, I was deputy, friend, and advisor to the Archbishop Ibrahim, which provided me an opportunity to meet many Christians. I have, over time, noticed the change in their sentiment, with more considering emigration after the uprising and the kidnapping of the two Archbishops. Historic Eastern Christians survived the Ottoman Genocide in 1915 and thereafter; they multiplied and thrived in the Fertile Crescent despite some atrocities until the start of the misnamed "Arab Spring" in early 2011. Prior to the "Arab Spring", historic Eastern Christians were victims of violence on several occasions. In the mid-1930s, the historic Assyrian community in Iraq suffered violent onslaughts and were driven to Syria. In the 1970s and 1980s, during the Lebanese Civil War, Christians were victims of sectarian violence. During the American invasion of Iraq in 2003, Christians were victims of widespread sectarian violence which led to mass migration. The "Arab Spring" began with great hope for the right of the people to "Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". However, it was swiftly hijacked by Islamists and Salafists and turned into an "Islamic Spring, an Arab Fall and a Christian Winter"; bringing along with it a new massacre of Christians. Presently, Eastern Christianity is at the mercy of clear and identifiable domestic, regional, and international, historic and contemporary conflicts in the Fertile Crescent, namely: Jihad vs. Ijtihad: A long standing conflict amongst Muslims between the sword vs. the pen. Sunni vs. Shiite: A conflict which began following the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Arabism vs. Islamism: The former has territorial limitations, the later has no territorial limitations. Syria vs. Israel: It is an essential component of the Palestinian problem, not the presumed Arab- Israeli conflict. West vs. East: A throwback to the Cold War, or its revival. Historic Persian, Ottoman and Arab Empires animosities: Each seeking regional hegemony. One is reminded of the proverbial saying, "When the elephants fight, the grass suffers." Certainly, Eastern Christianity is suffering and threatened with extinction. Syria was a model of religious tolerance, common living and peaceful interaction amongst its religious, sectarian, cultural and ethnic components. Seven years of turmoil, in which various international and regional powers manipulated segments of Syrian society by supplying them with an abundance of weapons, money and sectarian ideologies, has heightened Eastern Christians' fears. During the seven-year turmoil in Syria, the entire society has suffered; Sunnis, Shiites, Alawites, Yazidis, Kurds, Christians and others. Christians, being a weak and peaceful component of the society, have suffered immensely. Ma'aloula; a religious treasure for Christians globally, and the only city in the world where Aramaic – the language of Jesus Christ – is spoken, was attacked and besieged by ISIS. Numerous historic Churches were damaged, and many destroyed. Christians in Raqqa were forced by ISIS into one of three options: 1. Pay a penalty in pure gold – known as a 'Jizya' to keep their life and practice their faith – albeit in secret only; 2. Convert into Islam; or 3. Face immediate death. To top their pain, the kidnap of the two prominent Archbishops meant no Eastern Christian believer was safe. Amidst all the doom and gloom, however, there remains hope. The survival of Christianity depends on the actions and reactions of three parties: Eastern Christians: During the last hundred years, 1915-2015, since the Ottoman Genocide, Eastern Christians have been victims of a history of massacres, which meant that every Eastern Christian was a martyr, a potential martyr or a witness of martyrdom; if you fool me once, shame on you, if you fool me twice, shame on me. The ongoing regional turmoil has heightened their sense of insecurity. The answer to an age-old question Eastern Christians had on their mind: To flee Westwards or remain in their land, in the face of death, is increasingly becoming the former. Eastern Muslims: There is a difference in perceptions between Eastern Christians and mainstream Muslims regarding the massacres committed against Christians. When certain violent groups or individuals kill Christians, while shouting a traditional Islamic profession: "No God but one God and Muhammad is God's messenger", it is reasonable for Christians to assume the killers are Muslims. However, for mainstream Muslims, the killers do not represent Islam; they are extremists, violating basic Islamic norms such as Muhammad's sayings, "Whoever hurts a Thummy – Christian or Jew – has hurt me", "no compulsion in religion" and other Islamic norms regarding just treatment of people of the Book; Christians and Jews. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the Muslim elites to impress upon their fellow Muslims that: a. The three monotheistic religions believe in one God and all 'faithfuls' are equal in citizenship, rights and duties. b. Christians participated in the rise of Arab Islamic civilization. They were pioneers in the modern Arab renaissance and they joined their Muslim brethren in resisting the Crusades, the Ottomans and Western colonialism. c. Christians are natives of the land and they provide cultural, religious, educational, and economic, diversity. d. Christians are a positive link between the Muslims and the Christian West, particularly in view of the rise of Islamophobia. Massacres of Christians and their migration provide a pretext for the further precipitation of Islamophobia. e. Civilization is measured by the way it treats its minorities. The Christian West: The Crusades, Western colonialism, creation and continued support of Israel, support of authoritarian Arab political systems, military interventions, regime change, and the destabilization of Arab states made Muslims view Eastern Christians 'guilty by association'. The Christian West helped Jews come to Palestine to establish Israel. Shouldn't the same Christian West also help Eastern Christians remain in their homeland, rather than facilitate their emigration? Western Christians, particularly Christian Zionists, believe that the existence of Israel is necessary for the return of Jesus to his homeland. However, it would be a great disappointment for Jesus to return to his homeland, Syria and not find any of his followers. Prior to 2011, Eastern Christian religious leaders were encouraging Syrian Christians in the diaspora to return to Syria, their homeland, where life was safe and secure with great potential. Now, the same leaders are desperately trying to slow down Christian emigration. Eastern Christians' loud cries for help to remain are blowing in the wind. Liked it? Take a second to support The Duran on Patreon! Continue Reading JOIN OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL Your donations make all the difference. Together we can expose fake news lies and deliver truth. 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California processing tomato contract tonnage totals 11 million tons.
As of May 15, California's tomato processors reported they have or will have contracts for 11.4 million tons of processing tomatoes for 2006. This production is 2 percent more than the contracted production of last year.
The production for 2006 is expected to come from 288,000 acres. The estimated acreage is 10 percent more than last year's contracted planted acres. The June acreage is 2 percent less than the January intentions forecast of 293,000 acres.
Fresno County retains the top spot over all the counties in contracted planted acreage for 2006 with 111,000 acres. San Joaquin County grabbed the number two position with 38,800 contracted planted acres. Rounding out the top five counties for contracted planted acreage in 2006 were Yolo, Kings, and Colusa.
Heavy and seasonally late precipitation disrupted the processing tomato planting schedule. With wet weather conditions, many growing areas experienced planting delays, which will potentially affect harvest schedules and perhaps production. Growers were hindered from entering their fields due o muddy conditions and flooded fields. Yields could be affected as a result of heavy equipment compacting the wet soil. Heavy rains last year were earlier and concentrated over a few days compared to this year; heavy rains fell continuously for a few weeks during March and most of April.


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Along with running the free world, President Barack Obama has spent the past seven years guiding U.S. science and technology policy. The initiatives and goals he puts in place—in clean energy, space, medicine, education, nanotechnology, and more—help direct research, which in turn directs the future. With one year left in the Oval Office, the president talks about what he's achieved, what's left to do (a lot), and why being a nerd is one of the best ways to serve your country.By Cliff Ransom Photography by F. Scott Schafer
Popular Science: You have been a very pro-science president. Why do you see science and technology as being so important?
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PS: Among your White House initiatives, you've focused heavily on improving STEM education in America. What's your proudest achievement on that front?
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One of the new traditions I've started as president is the White House Science Fair. We ought to celebrate science fair winners at least as much as Super Bowl winners. And when young people are excited about science, technology, engineering, and math, that's not just good for them. That's good for America. We want the next game-changing industry or life-saving breakthrough to happen right here in the United States.
PS: Do you consider yourself a nerd and, if so, what's your nerdiest pastime?
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PS: You also put heavy emphasis on developing innovation and entrepreneurship. How do you make Silicon Valley happen all over the country?
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BO: When it comes to precision medicine, advances in technology, data science, and clinical research are already curing diseases that were once thought to be incurable. It's entirely possible that a decade or two from now, treatments would be tailored not just to the disease, but also to the individual patient. We're being careful to protect patient data and to make participants partners in this work. Because if we embrace precision medicine in the right way, the possibilities for better treatments are practically endless.
The BRAIN Initiative is another project whose time has come. Right now, we can identify galaxies billions of light-years away. We can study particles smaller than an atom. But we still haven't unlocked the mystery of the 3 pounds of matter that sits between our ears. I believe that with America leading the way, we can change that. Hundreds of scientists and dozens of universities, companies, foundations, and other organizations have stepped up to help us tackle this challenge.
PS: You've also advocated the development of a private space industry to work alongside and complement government efforts. What is your vision for space exploration and commercialization? Who does what?
BO: I've laid out a vision for space exploration where our astronauts travel out into the solar system not just to visit, but to stay. To build a sustainable human presence in space, we'll need a thriving private-sector space economy. I see the expanding space industry as an addition to, not a replacement for, the extraordinary work of NASA. With industry taking over tasks like ferrying cargo and crew to the International Space Station, NASA can focus even more intensely on the most challenging exploration missions, like landing astronauts on Mars or learning more about Earth and the rest of our solar system.
As we set our sights toward other planets, we can also create good jobs here on this one. American companies have begun to reclaim the lucrative market for launching commercial satellites. That's just one example of the way that a growing space economy can help American workers succeed.
PS: If you were to end up on Mars, who would you want as your companion: Mark Watney from The Martian, or Ellen Ripley from Alien?
BO: As long as it's a hypothetical question, can't I pick both? If I've got Matt Damon growing potatoes and Sigourney Weaver taking care of any unwelcome intruders, I like my chances.
PS: It's been barely two months since a climate agreement was struck in Paris. How do you think the agreement will be remembered 20 years from now?
BO: I believe the Paris agreement can be a turning point for our planet. It's the biggest single step the world has ever taken toward combating global climate change. When I traveled to Paris at the beginning of the climate conference, I said we needed an enduring agreement that reduces global carbon emissions and commits the world to a low-carbon future. That's exactly what we achieved.
The American people should be proud because this historic agreement is a tribute to American leadership. The skeptics said that taking action to transition to a clean-energy economy would kill jobs. Instead, we've seen the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. We've driven our economic output to all-time highs, while driving our carbon pollution to its lowest level in nearly two decades.
These kinds of concrete steps helped bring more countries to the table. With our historic joint announcement with China last year, we showed it was possible to bridge the old divides between developed and developing nations that had stymied global progress for too long. And that accomplishment inspired dozens and dozens of other nations to follow our lead and set ambitious climate targets of their own.
BO: Before you can solve a problem, you have to understand it. That's why we've fought hard to protect the funding for the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a government-wide effort to help us see what's happening in the present so we can better predict the future. Thanks to their efforts, our satellites, aircraft, ships, buoys, and terrestrial-monitoring systems are providing indispensable insights and strengthening the models that tell us what to expect going forward.
My administration hasn't just helped to advance climate science—we've also made good use of the results. We used the most up-to-date insights from climate science as the basis of our national Climate Action Plan. And we've begun to develop accessible climate databases and tools that help governments, businesses, and citizens protect themselves from the effects of climate change that we can't avoid.
President Obama, photographed on January 4 at the White House
BO: Fifteen of the planet's 16 warmest years have come in the first 16 years of the 21st century. The warmest year yet was 2015. The Pentagon is warning us that climate change will threaten our national security by fostering instability overseas. Here at home, we're seeing longer and more dangerous wildfire seasons, coupled with devastating droughts. Last year I visited Alaska, where towns are literally being swallowed up by rising sea levels. Miami now routinely floods at high tide. So this debate is over. The question now is what we do about climate change because there is such a thing as being too late. And I think that regardless of their party, if candidates for elected office want to resign your children and grandchildren to a world that's broken beyond repair, then there's simply no way they deserve your vote.
BO: Well, here's what we've done. Over the past seven years, we have transformed America into the global leader in fighting climate change. We've set new fuel standards for cars and trucks, invested more than any administration in history in growing industries like wind and solar, taken unprecedented steps to protect our natural resources, and set limits on the amount of carbon pollution that power plants can dump into the air. Most important, we've proved that we don't have to choose between a growing economy and a safer planet for future generations. We can have both.
But in the end, when I think about our efforts to combat climate change, I don't just think about CO2 emissions levels or degrees of global temperature rise. I think about my two girls, and the grandchildren I'd hope to have one day. I imagine myself pushing a little boy or girl on a swing set, out in the open air, looking up at the sun. In that moment, I want to know that the planet's going to be in pretty good shape. And I want to have contributed to that.
Because that's our goal: to leave behind a better, safer, more prosperous world for our kids and grandkids. That's our most important mission in the time we have on Earth. And after seven years as president, I've never been more confident that together, we'll succeed.


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DailyDirt: There's No Such Thing As Free Water
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
- A water sommelier is a serious profession in the $12+ billion bottled water industry. Drinking water might not seem like a luxury item now... (let's hope free sources of potable water continue to exist). [url]
- The water in various beverages can be traced back to its geographical origin by the isotopic ratios of oxygen and hydrogen. Bottled water, beer and soft drinks can be analyzed, and the purchase locations of these drinks can be roughly determined. [url]
- The price of bottled water is not highly correlated to the cost of the water or the materials used in making the bottle. Processing/Distribution and marketing are significant components of the price of bottled water, but ultimately, bottled water prices are set by what consumers are willing to spend on a refreshing bottle of H2O. [url]


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Deputies: Man stabbed in face, robbed at Upstate motel on Christmas
Deputies: Man stabbed in face, robbed at Upstate motel on Christmas
An Upstate man is facing charges after deputies said he broke into a hotel room and stabbed a man in the face.
Joshua Lamar Edwards, 28, is charged with attempted murder, kidnapping, burglary, robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime.
According to an arrest warrant, on Christmas Day Edwards forced his way into a room at the Economy Inn at 3905 Augusta Road and stabbed the victim in the face with a knife.
The victim had to have surgery for his injuries.
The warrant said Edwards held the victim at knife point and demanded money from the victim.
According to the warrant, Edwards did take money from the victims.
Edwards was arrested Thursday.


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The following is a reply to Steph S's discussion on the purpose of life for an atheist. I'm posting it here because there's much food for thought and discussion. It's the most important pages of my book.
Steph, Teleology (the study of the purpose of life) is a major theme of Mirror Reversal. The following scene takes place at the end when Prof. Cynthia Whipple faces final retribution at the hands of Mr. Morality. I think it's beautiful, but I wrote it.
Mr. Morality's heart began to patter in sweet anticipation as the van traversed the dreary dirt road twisting and winding its way up the hill to the farmhouse. "Leave the gag off, I want to hear what she has to say when I recite the word of God."
Cynthia gazed through the window at the darkness and vastness of the infinite heavens. She began to think of the end of life. It wasn't death that scared her, just death's portal. To her mind, she was going to the same place she had been before she was born. Not sleep, but non-existence—the non-caring, dispassionate inertia of rock. Nothing bothered her that went on during the billions of years she had waited to be born. She doubted that anything in the future would inconvenience her in the least. And missing eternal bliss won't be a problem either. Who the heck wants eternal bliss? Judging by all the squares she met in her life that believed in it, and even blew themselves up for it, they can have it. Beatific vision, keep it. Just give me my tropical lagoon with the inquisitive red uakari monkey and the orange-cheeked parrots of this life—even if for a moment, so I know what a real heaven is.
"Hey, Cynthia," called her mother, Elizabeth, from the depths of subconscious memory, "would you care to be born? Your father and I will love you and give you a good home. In the vast universe you'll be alone and insignificant, but in our loving home you'll be important and rare. And we have enough money to lavish you with all the education your mind desires. Through books, you'll be able to converse with humanity's greatest geniuses. You'll find that the more you learn about how you got here, the more you'll appreciate how lucky you are to be alive. Would you like to come to us? We promise to love you."
"Nah, not unless you bestow on me eternal bliss. Talk about missing the boat! What an ungrateful position to hold. Just the fleeting glimpse of the cosmos is enough to make life worthwhile. Just to know it's there, even if for the lifetime of a mayfly. And in addition to nature's greatest spectacle of the stars in the sky, I get sea otters teasing a polar bear and sliding down the icy mound. My eyes get to behold a giant cloud of flamingo feathers flickering multi-hued rays of buffered light in the sunset. And my hummingbirds! Capricious pixies doing nature's work of providing balance, making love to orchids, and performing aerial acrobatics for my enjoyment as they grant my primate eyes a feast of dazzling color.
"Plus I get Disney, the opera, Mozart and Beethoven, Rembrandt and Van Gogh, a career, adventure, travel, cooking, cinema, and the Internet. Plus through sex I physically touch the mammalian force that makes all the mundane chores and toil of life worthwhile more than anything else: the moment we touch the force of all life that ever lived.
The van reached the farmhouse and the gnomes jumped out to fetch another wheelchair.
Views: 308
Heh, heh, you clever chap! Here is dictionary.com on teleology:
What is the purpose of life?
A bee wakes up in the morning, leaves its hive and flies from flower to flower in order to get nectar that is its food. In the process it pollinates plants. And we all know how important bees are to agriculture for food for humans. The bee doesn't rub its front legs together saying, "I have to do the will of god." It does what it does to maintain itself and to participate with other bees to produce the next generation, to maintain and protect it.
A robin gets up, sings, searches for worms, pulls them out of the ground and eats them or takes them to a nest of baby robins. It sings, flies, runs, listens, eats, poops, lays eggs, maintains, and protects the next generation. It doesn't say, "I must pray to god for guidance."
A human gets up, does whatever it takes to maintain oneself, socializes, finds a mate of the other sex or the same sex, learns, explores, experiments, fails and succeeds at whatever interests him or her, some have babies, some adopt babies or children, and does what is necessary to be healthy, active and participate in living. There is no meaning or purpose to life, at least not as imagined by those who seek meaning and purpose. There is no grand plan or blueprint for the individual.
Whether bee, robin, or human, there is no grand design, meaning or purpose. Life is. That is all. And then it is over. One's life creates meaning and purpose, for good or for ill. It is not a goal that is one's purpose; it is one's effect on oneself and others. Thriving, flourishing, comes about by living in balance.
Evolution is a process of change and adaptation and flexibility of thought and act. If there were another planet that supported life, there is no reason to believe it would develop Homo sapiens or other life forms such as found on Earth. There is not a silent hand of god directing evolutionary processes, no one to ask for help or guidance, no divine power to protect one. Life is. That is all.
Quite so, Joan. We certainly see eye to eye.
"There is no grand plan or blueprint for the individual."
That's why I feel the line by Gaylord G. Simpson is so important. Paraphrased, "Mankind is the result of random and purposeless forces of nature that did not have him/er in mind."
If people would only realize this, we'd be better able to cope with the serious problems that threaten the world. No God is coming to save us. There's no good or evil in nature. The only thing that counts is if it works to increase chances of survival.
I like your line about, "Life is. That is all." Similar to what Barbara said about the universe. "It just is, what meaning could it possibly have?"
That line of reasoning leads to Cynthia's enticing conclusion, ""C'mon, do I have to write you a memo? What can I say? We evolved from oversexed primates; that's not my fault. Let's make the best of it."
These conclusions lead to an entire different worldview of just about everything.
James, hoping not to appear too much a modern-day Humpty Dumpty, "A word means what I want it to mean," the word "teleology" has varied meanings but I'm using it to refer to the study of purpose or goal.
I've always had an interest and fascination with etymology. A really fun study. Words like companion, for instance, from the Latin for "bread" and "with," someone you eat with. I recently learned some beauties: How about "movies" and "gypsy"? Barbara's Man Made God has a treasure trove full of them. Words like hag, berserk, and crone. The middle one, as I remember, is from the Celtic referring to getting high, putting on a bear skin and running around the campfire.
My examples refer to the abbreviation or shortening of the term, "moving pictures" and the latter people who said they were from Egypt but were actually migrants from the Russian Steppes.
A few days later, Dad came home grumbling about the Catholic Church. "They won't let the Captain be buried in sacred ground."
I can imagine if they ever told me that. I'd say, "Who the heck wants to be buried on sacred ground with all those holier-than-thou spooks flying around?"
More pertinent to the discussion above, neology also enters the picture. Put simply it's the study and coining of new words, which I always had a penchant for. Mirror Reversal introduces three which I hope will someday be household words.
I believe they would be very important to a new religion based on the revelation of science. "Endmeme" refers to the belief that Christ or the Holy Prophet is coming to destroy the world and bring on the Day of Judgment. It's a perilous situation when you consider that most of the world's population believes it. The possibility of self- fulfilling prophecy increases tremendously. Used in a sentence, "Mitt Romney shouldn't be elected because he's infected by the endmeme."
The next word I made up (as far as I know) and is equally important is "futureworld." What does that say about society when we don't even have a word to describe what continues after we're gone? Futureworld should be a major concern of our lives, and we don't even have a word for it.
The last word is, "Ga-Ga", a word I was using in Mirror Reversal years before the popular lady came around. In deference to time and brevity, it's a sorority word that the girls use to describe a particular type of sister. Cynthia was the biggest ga-ga they had ever seen. I'll let your imagination figure this one out.
Thanks for your comment. Fun stuff, Rich.
Just to add the inimitable Tim Minchin's ideas on the purpose of life to the mix, from his epic and amazing piece Storm (link):
Isn't this enough?
Just this world?
Just this beautiful, complex
Wonderfully unfathomable world?
How does it so fail to hold our attention
That we have to diminish it with the invention
Of cheap, man-made Myths and Monsters?
If you're so into Shakespeare
Lend me your ear:
"To gild refined gold, to paint the lily,
To throw perfume on the violet… is just fucking silly"
Or something like that.
Or what about Satchmo?!
I see trees of Green,
Red roses too,
And fine, if you wish to
Glorify Krishna and Vishnu
In a post-colonial, condescending
Bottled-up and labeled kind of way
That's ok.
But here's what gives me a hard-on:
I am a tiny, insignificant, ignorant lump of carbon.
I have one life, and it is short
And unimportant…
But thanks to recent scientific advances
I get to live twice as long as my great great great great uncles and auntses.
Twice as long to live this life of mine
Twice as long to love this wife of mine
Twice as many years of friends and wine
Of sharing curries and getting shitty
With good-looking hippies
With fairies on their spines
And butterflies on their titties.
Logan, just great! Some really cleaver, tricky rhymes in there: Vishnu/wish to, lily/silly. You have talent.
You remind me of the great songwriter Lorenz Hart. He's probably before your time, but his talent always amazed me since I was a kid. He's a fellow Brooklynite, maybe that's why. Lorenz Hart was Richard Rogers' partner before the great Oscar Hammerstein. Just a charming man. A lot of the old standards were written by him. Consider, "you'll look so fancy on old Delancy, Street you know." Or, "the city's a great big world (pronounced 'whirl'). Just made for a boy and girl (pronounced 'goyl')." Your line about the "advances and uncles and auntses" reminds me of it.
I wonder if you heard of these songs: Where or When, My Heart Stood Still, Blue Moon, Mountain Greenery. Here's an example of what I'm trying to get at. From the latter song, here's some fun stuff: Dig how great it sounds when sung. Hope you enjoy it.
When you love your lover, let
Blue skies be your coverlet.
Now's the time to trust
To your wanderlust.
Beans could get no keener reception in a beanery.
Bless our mountain greenery home.
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text: Are you looking to join Boy Scouts? Troop 1 is the troop for you! Do you want to learn how to camp out in high mountains and have fun doing it? Troop 1 can get you there. Our weekly monday night meetings are a great way to Be Prepared for our fun monthly campouts, and summer camp is really fun! If you are a Webelos scout, you probably already know that Cub Scouts is great, and guess what: Boy Scouts is even greater! If you've never been a scout before, you will soon find that there is so much that Troop 1 can offer! You will have the chance to go where you've never been before, have fun, learn how to survive, and become a better person. Come to one of our troop meetings to try us out - An adult leader will give you more information about how to become a member of Troop 1. For more information, click on "about us" or "troop meetings" at the left, or browse the rest of our site. We hope you join our troop!


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Technical Support
Here are some helpful guides to keep your Canyon in top shape! Just pick the relevant category to find the solution to your issue.
Replacing of rear derailleur hanger Mountainbike
The rear derailleur is the most exposed part on the bicycle. If force is applied to this part, the bike frame or the rear derailleur could be damaged. To prevent damage on these expensive parts, the rear derailleur is connected to the frame with a rear derailleur hanger. If lateral force is applied to the rear derailleur, for example by a fall or during transport, it absorbs the force and protects the frame and the rear derailleur from damage. In this case it breaks or bends.
A bent or broken rear derailleur hanger needs to be changed.
Hint: Check from time to time if the rear derailleur hanger is not bent. In many cases a bent derailleur hanger results in a malfunctioning rear derailleur.
1. Check the rear derailleur hanger as follows: Lean the bicycle on a wall and look at the hanger from behind. The cage of the rear derailleur hanger should be positioned plumb-vertical to the sprockets.
Picture 1
2. If the hanger is bent or broken, you need to change it. Firstly, unscrew the rear derailleur. Picture 2
3. The hanger is attached to the frame with two small allen screws, of either 2mm or 2,5mm.Picture 3
4. You can attach the new hanger in the same way. Always mind the correct torque. Picture 4
Apply grease to the hanger to avoid creaking sounds.
Mounting of rear derailleur hangers, model year 2015, for Nerve CF Serie (except Nerve AL29), all Strive models, all Spectral models, all Dude CF models and the Grand Canyon CF 5.9
1. Grease the assembly area Picture 5
2. Mount the plate from outside Picture 6
3. Mount the hanger Picture 7
4. Screw together both parts. Tighten the screw with 3Nm. Picture 8
5.Grease the thread of the derailleur hanger and mount it. Picture 9


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Celebrity Saturdays At Hudson Terrace Rooftop| Ladies Free
G6 Luxury Events
Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 10:00 PM - Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 4:00 AM (EDT)
Event Details
Hudson Terrace, located in the heart of Hell's Kitchen, is a full-service, bi-level NYC event venue with a one-of-a-kind view of the Intrepid on the Hudson River. Since its opening in 2008, this venue has become the location of choice for spectacular and unforgettable celebrations of all kinds, from corporate fêtes and press events to fundraisers, galas and weddings. Located in a transformed turn-of-the-century stable, Hudson Terrace caters to all types of events for up to 775 guests, whether intimate private parties, large-scale, opulent affairs, corporate meetings / functions or post-convention company celebrations.
The venue's setting is versatile, with a unique combination of upscale lounge and modern nightclub. Hudson Terrace imaginatively unites these elements with its intimate interiors, magnificent private event rooms and a climate-controlled retractable rooftop that can be easily transformed for any type of private event you can envision. State-of-the-art lighting, audio and visual technology is also an integral part of this facility, allowing for a wide array of corporate and social events.
When & Where
Hudson Terrace
621 West 46th Street
New York,
Saturday, April 7, 2018 at 10:00 PM - Sunday, April 8, 2018 at 4:00 AM (EDT)
Add to my calendar
G6 Luxury Events


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- Premier League
Baggies reject Odemwingie transfer request
West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie has handed in a transfer request in a bid to push through a January move to Queens Park Rangers, but it has been rejected by the club.
Odemwingie scored 11 goals last season and has found the net five times in 19 games this campaign to help Albion into eighth place in the Premier League. But the club revealed earlier this week that they are not willing to let him go, and have already rejected a £2 million bid, reportedly from Harry Redknapp's Rangers.
The Nigeria international is keen to move on, though, and has made his desire to quit the Hawthorns clear on paper. However, it was rejected as well.
A statement on the West Brom website read: "Albion have this afternoon rejected a transfer request from Peter Odemwingie. The Baggies recently turned down an offer from QPR for the Nigerian international's services and the club insist none of their core players are for sale."
Sporting and technical director Richard Garlick added: "Peter is hugely popular with our supporters and it is disappointing that he has decided to hand in a transfer request. It was immediately turned down and has done nothing to change our stance during January.
"Peter is under contract until the summer of 2014 and we have no need or desire to sell our core players. We want to keep the squad intact to enable us to build on an encouraging first six months of the season."
Albion, the striker's first English club, rejected a QPR bid of around £2m a week and a half ago and had hoped that would end the matter. But Loftus Road boss Harry Redknapp has remained hot on the trail despite being busy with other targets and successful with at last kick-starting Rangers' bid to climb out of trouble.
Odemwingie was impressive in Albion's most recent game - the 2-2 home derby draw with Aston Villa - and scored their equaliser in the final ten minutes.