Podcasts about san francisco los angeles

Shownotes Nico's journey from tech bro to spiritual leader The most powerful way to reach a natural high How a ritual space can support pain and discomfort The 3 most important tools on Nico's path to Tantra Nico's advice for men: go twice as slow What Nico would say to men who feel resistant to Tantra The power of masculine presence during sex Bio @nicodimattina https://nicodimattina.com/ Nico is an inspiring meditation teacher, powerful speaker and popular Peak Performance Coach who began his career as a professional athlete. As an Australian football player, he discovered the required qualities for successful leadership and elite team performance. After relocating to the USA, Nico stepped into the world of Talent Acquisition, contributing his skills to renowned tech giants such as Google, Pandora Music and Coinbase. Residing in fast-paced locations like New York, San Francisco & Los Angeles, he spent most of his time in go-mode until discovering a daily meditation practice. Once engaged in a process of transformational and personal growth, Nico found himself blown away by the incredible and immediate impact his daily transcending meditation practice had on his health, energy levels, clarity of purpose and emotional balance. Since then, he's been on a profound mission to share these powerful benefits with the world and has spent the past decade dedicating himself to discovering and sharing this timeless wisdom. Timestamps 00:00:00 - Episode Intro clips 00:00:46 - This Tantric Life with Layla Martin 00:01:21 - Introduction to Nico Dimattina 00:04:05 - How did you go from tech bro (working at Google)  to spiritual leader? 00:11:48 - How high can we get naturally? Meditate twice a day, 20min each 00:16:36 - Gratitude is the highest practice 00:18:43 - Tantric Mastermind for Couples: https://vita.laylamartin.com/tantric-mastermind 00:20:10 - Enjoying some Sex Magic in martini glasses: https://shopmood.com/shop-all/mood-sex-magic-sexy-plant-activated-elixir/ 00:20:50 - Can I create a ritual space to feel the uncomfortable things? 00:24:22 - How they met and what happened in the backyard 00:29:51 - In your path to becoming a Tantric lover, what were the 3 most important tools for you? 00:37:18 - Working with a coach for a desirable outcome. Beautiful without penetration. Safe 00:41:18 - Advice for men: go twice as slow 00:44:13 - In meditation we talk allow & accept (let go of expectations). This extends to love making 00:49:22 - Can you explain being present during sex? 00:49:53 - Having a practice to keep in the 50 to 70% arousal zone 00:51:48 - How do you move the energy in your breathwork? (control ejaculation) 01:01:46  - Do you breath and microcosmic orbit the whole time?  01:02:38 - What does it do for you as a man? 01:06:03 - What would you say to other men that are resistant to doing the work to get to a Tantric experience? 01:09:03 - How to work with Nico: https://www.instagram.com/nicodimattina/ 01:11:11 - Conclusion - Thank you for listening  Connect with Layla: https://laylamartin.com/join-list/ ===   Follow Layla!  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thelaylamartin/ Website: www.laylamartin.com   Sign up to receive my free weekly email that allows you to slowly master the art of experiencing confidence, power, sexiness, radiance, and true love: https://laylamartin.com/join-list/   Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-tantric-life-with-layla-martin/id1685418994   Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/72iBpAwMSsTl9zLk8fHMp1?si=9f465574aa114d63   MOOD Sexy Plant Activated Supplements: https://shopmood.com/   For Men: Learn advanced sexual skills that will make you the best possible lover by unlocking your primal power AND your partner's pleasure in Men's Sexual Mastery - https://hubs.ly/Q01c_Wgx0   Obliss: The Sexual Masterclass for Women. This 6-week online course contains 24 transformative exercises and techniques. https://hubs.ly/Q01c0SWh0   TRUTH AND LOVE COACHING INTERNATIONAL, LLC – VIDEO DISCLAIMER The information contained within this video is for informational purposes only. We shall in no event be held liable to any party for any reason arising directly or indirectly for the use or interpretation of the information presented in this video. Copyright 2024, Truth and Love Coaching, LLC - All Rights Reserved.  

Dans ce 80ème épisode, Tom raconte sa traversée de la Californie

The infrastructure law provides the most significant investment in passenger rail in U.S. history, but substantial hurdles - including a powerful cartel - stand firmly in the way of a real national network. In this episode, learn the ways the infrastructure law paves the way for a better future for passenger rail along with the significant obstacles that it failed to address. Please Support Congressional Dish – Quick Links Contribute monthly or a lump sum via PayPal Support Congressional Dish via Patreon (donations per episode) Send Zelle payments to: Donation@congressionaldish.com Send Venmo payments to: @Jennifer-Briney Send Cash App payments to: $CongressionalDish or Donation@congressionaldish.com Use your bank's online bill pay function to mail contributions to: 5753 Hwy 85 North, Number 4576, Crestview, FL 32536. Please make checks payable to Congressional Dish Thank you for supporting truly independent media! Background Sources Recommended Congressional Dish YouTube Video What is the World Trade System? Contributors to Supply Chain Issues Matthew Jinoo Buck. February 4, 2022. “How America's Supply Chains Got Railroaded.” The American Prospect. “Cartel.” Merriam-Webster.com. 2022. “Energy Group Joins Shippers Alleging Price Fixing in Rail Transport.” January 6, 2020. The Houston Chronicle. Testimony of Dennis R. Pierce. Passenger and Freight Rail: The Current Status of the Rail Network and the Track Ahead. October 21, 2020. 116th Cong. U.S. Internal Revenue Service. December 31, 2019. “IRS issues standard mileage rates for 2020.” Dangers of Monster Trains and Rail Profiteering Aaron Gordon. Mar 22, 2021. “‘It's Going to End Up Like Boeing': How Freight Rail Is Courting Catastrophe.” Vice. U.S. National Transportation Safety Board. Dec 29, 2020. “Accident Report: Collision of Union Pacific Railroad Train MGRCY04 with a Stationary Train, Granite Canyon, Wyoming, October 4, 2018” [NTSB/RAR-20/05 / PB2020-101016.] Marybeth Luczak. Nov 30, 2020. “Transport Canada Updates Rail Employee Fatigue Rules.” Railway Age. U.S. Government Accountability Office. May 30, 2019. “Rail Safety: Freight Trains Are Getting Longer, and Additional Information Is Needed to Assess Their Impact” [GAO-19-443.] Christina M. Rudin-Brown, Sarah Harris, and Ari Rosberg. May 2019. “How shift scheduling practices contribute to fatigue amongst freight rail operating employees: Findings from Canadian accident investigations.” Accident Analysis and Prevention. Jessica Murphy. Jan 19, 2018. “Lac-Megantic: The runaway train that destroyed a town.” BBC. Eric M. Johnson. Dec 6, 2017. “Growing length of U.S. freight trains in federal crosshairs after crashes: GAO.” Reuters. Cumberland Times-News. Aug 12, 2017. “Last of Hyndman's evacuated residents return home.” The Tribune Democrat. Jeffrey Alderton. Aug 5, 2017. “Propane fire out at Hyndman train crash site, residents await news of when they can return.” The Tribune Democrat. Jeffrey Alderton. Aug 3, 2017. “Train derailment destroys Bedford County home, forces evacuation.” The Tribune Democrat. New Jersey Department of Health. Revised June 2011. “Hazardous Substance Fact Sheet: Sodium Chlorate.” Stephen Joiner. Feb 11, 2010 “Is Bigger Better? 'Monster' Trains vs Freight Trains.” Popular Mechanics. Lobbying and Corruption “CSX Corp: Recipients.” 2020. Open Secrets. CSX Corporation Lobbying Report. 2020. Senate.gov. “Union Pacific Corp: Summary.” 2020. Open Secrets. “Union Pacific Corp: Members Invested.” 2018. Open Secrets. Union Pacific Corporation Lobbying Report. 2020. Senate.gov. What you really pay for TV Gavin Bridge. Oct 27, 2020. “The True Cost to Consumers of Pay TV's Top Channels.” Variety. Laws H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act Sponsor: Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) Status: Became Public Law No. 117-58 Law Outline DIVISION A: SURFACE TRANSPORTATION TITLE I - FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS Subtitle A - Authorizations and Programs Sec. 11101: Authorization of appropriations Authorizes appropriations for Federal-Aid for highways at between $52 billion and $56 billion per year through fiscal year 2026 (over $273 billion total). Authorizes $300 million for "charging and fueling infrastructure grants" for 2022, which increases by $100 million per year (maxing out at $700 million in 2026) Authorizes between $25 million and $30 million per year for "community resilience and evacuation route grants" on top of equal amounts for "at risk coastal infrastructure grants" Authorizes a total of $6.53 billion (from two funds) for the bridge investment program Sec. 11102: Obligation ceiling Caps the annual total funding from all laws (with many exceptions) that can be spent on Federal highway programs. Total through 2026: $300.3 billion Sec. 11109: Surface transportation block grant program: Allows money from the surface transportation block grant program to be used for "planning and construction" of projects that "facilitate intermodel connections between emerging transportation technologies", specifically naming the hyperloop Sec. 11508: Requirements for Transportation Projects Carried Out Through Public Private Partnerships For projects that cost $100 million or more, before entering into a contract with a private company, the government partner has to conduct a "value for money analysis" of the partnership. Three years after a project is opened to traffic, the government partner has to review the compliance of the private company and either certify their compliance or report to the Secretary of Transportation the details of the violation. The certifications or violation notifications must be publicly available "in a form that does not disclose any proprietary or confidential business information." DIVISION B - SURFACE TRANSPORTATION INVESTMENT ACT OF 2021 TITLE I - MULTIMODAL AND FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION Subtitle A - Multimodal Freight Policy Sec. 21101: Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy Restructures/eliminates offices at the Department of Transportation to create an Office of Multimodal Freight Infrastructure and Policy The person in charge will be appointed by the President and has to be confirmed by the Senate Authorizes "such sums as are necessary" Subtitle B - Multimodal Investment Sec. 21201: National infrastructure project assistance Authorizes $2 billion per year until 2026 ($10 billion total) on projects that cost at least $100 million that include highways, bridges, freight rail, passenger rail, and public transportation projects. The Federal government will pay a maximum of 80% of the project costs. Sec. 21202: Local and regional project assistance Authorizes $1.5 billion per year until 2026 ($7.5 billion) (which will expire after 3 years) for grants for local transportation projects in amounts between $1 million and $25 million for projects that include highway, bridge, public transportation, passenger and freight rail, port infrastructure, surface transportation at airports, and more. Sec. 21203: National culvert removal, replacement, and restoration grant program Authorizes $800 million per year through 2026 ($4 billion) for grants for projects that replace, remove, or repair culverts (water channels) that improve or restore passages for fish. Subtitle C - Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Reforms TITLE II - RAIL Subtitle A - Authorization of Appropriations Sec. 22101: Grants to Amtrak Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak in the Northeast Corridor at between $1.1 billion and $1.57 billion per year through 2026 ($6.57 billion total). Authorizes appropriations for Amtrak in the National Network at between $2.2 billion and $3 billion per year through 2026 ($12.65 billion total). Sec. 22103: Consolidated rail infrastructure and safety improvements grants Authorizes $1 billion per year through 2026 ($5 billion total) for rail infrastructure safety improvement grants Sec. 22104: Railroad crossing elimination program Authorizes $500 million per year through 2016 ($2.5 billion total) for the elimination of railroad crossings Sec. 22106: Federal-State partnership for intercity passenger rail grants Authorizes $1.5 billion per year through 2026 ($7.5 billion total) for grants to states to expand intercity passenger rail grants Subtitle B - Amtrak Reforms Sec. 22201: Amtrak findings, mission, and goals Changes the goal of cooperation between Amtrak, governments, & other rail carriers from "to achieve a performance level sufficient to justify expending public money" to "in order to meet the intercity passenger rail needs of the United States" and expands the service areas beyond "urban" locations. Changes the goals of Amtrak to include... "Improving its contracts with rail carriers over whose tracks Amtrak operates." "Offering competitive fares" "Increasing revenue from the transportation of mail and express" "Encourages" Amtrak to make agreement with private companies that will generate additional revenue Sec. 22203: Station agents Requires that at least one Amtrak ticket agent works at each station, unless there is a commuter rail agent who has the authority to sell Amtrak tickets Sec. 22208: Passenger Experience Enhancement Removes the requirement that Amtrak's food and beverage service financially break even in order to be offered on its trains Creates a working group to make recommendations about how to improve the onboard food and beverage service The report must be complete within one year of the working group's formation After the report is complete, Amtrak must create a plan to implementing the working group's recommendations and/or tell Congress in writing why they will not implement the recommendations The plan can not include Amtrak employee layoffs Sec . 22209: Amtrak smoking policy Requires Amtrak to prohibit smoking - including electronic cigarettes - on all Amtrak trains Sec. 22210: Protecting Amtrak routes through rural communities Prohibits Amtrak from cutting or reducing service to a rail route if they receive adequate Federal funding for that route Sec. 22213: Creating Quality Jobs Amtrak will not be allowed to privatize the jobs previously performed by laid off union workers. Sec. 22214: Amtrak Daily Long Distance Study Authorizes $15 million for an Amtrak study on bringing back long distance rail routes that were discontinued. Subtitle C - Intercity Passenger Rail Policy Sec. 22304: Restoration and Enhancement Grants Extends the amount of time the government will pay the operating costs of Amtrak or "any rail carrier" partnered with Amtrak or a government agency that provides passenger rail service from 3 years to 6 years, and pays higher percentages of the the costs. Sec. 22305: Railroad crossing elimination program Creates a program to eliminate highway-rail crossings where vehicles are frequently stopped by trains Authorizes the construction on tunnels and bridges Requires the government agency in charge of the project to "obtain the necessary approvals from any impacted rail carriers or real property owners before proceeding with the construction of a project" Each grant will be for at least $1 million each The Federal government will pay no more than 80% of the project's cost Sec. 22306: Interstate rail compacts Authorizes up to 10 grants per year valued at a maximum of $1 million each to plan and promote new Amtrak routes The grant recipient will have to match the grant by at least 50% of the eligible expenses Sec. 22308: Corridor identification and development program The Secretary of Transportation will create a program for public entities to plan for expanded intercity passenger rail corridors (which are routes that are less than 750 miles), operated by Amtrak or private companies. When developing plans for corridors, the Secretary has to "consult" with "host railroads for the proposed corridor" Subtitle D - Rail Safety Sec. 22404: Blocked Crossing Portal The Administration of the Federal Railroad Administration would establish a "3 year blocked crossing portal" which would collect information about blocked crossing by trains from the public and first responders and provide every person submitting the complaint the contact information of the "relevant railroad" and would "encourage" them to complain to them too. Information collected would NOT be allowed to be used for any regulatory or enforcement purposes Reports to Congress will be created using the information collected Sec. 22406: Emergency Lighting The Secretary of Transportation will have to issue a rule requiring that all carriers that transport human passengers have an emergency lighting system that turns on when there is a power failure. Sec. 22408: Completion of Hours of Service and Fatigue Studies Requires the Administrator of the Federal Railroad Administration to start pilot programs that were supposed to be conducted no later than 2010, which will test railroad employee scheduling rules designed to reduce employee fatigue. They will test... Assigning employees to shifts with 10 hours advance notice For employees subject to being on-call, having some shifts when those employees are not subject to being on-call. If the pilot programs have not begun by around March of 2023, a report will have to be submitted to Congress explaining the challenges, including "efforts to recruit participant railroads" Sec. 22409: Positive Train Control Study The Comptroller General will conduct a study to determine the annual operation and maintenance costs for positive train control. Sec. 22418: Civil Penalty Enforcement Authority Requires the Secretary of Transportation to provide notice and an opportunity for a hearing to "persons" who violate regulations requiring railroads to report information about railroad crossings. Eliminates the minimum $500 fine for violating the regulations Allows the Attorney General to take the railroad to court to collect the penalty but prohibits the amount of the civil penalty from being reviewed by the courts. Sec. 22423: High-Speed Train Noise Emissions Allows, but does not require, the Secretary of Transportation to create regulations governing the noise levels of trains that exceed 160 mph. Sec. 22425: Requirements for railroad freight cars placed into service in the United States Effective 3 years after the regulations are complete (maximum 5 years after this becomes law), freight cars will be prohibited from operating within the United States if it has sensitive technology originating from or if more than 15% of it is manufactured in... "A country of concern" (which is defined as a country identified by the Commerce Department "as a nonmarket economy country"). Countries on the nonmarket economy list include... Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus China Georgia Kyrgyz Republic Moldova Tajikistan Turkmenistan Uzbekistan Vietnam A country identified by the United States Trade Representative on its priority watch list, which in 2020 included... China Indonesia India Algeria Saudi Arabia Russia Ukraine Argentina Chile Venezuela State owned enterprises The Secretary of Transportation can assess fines between $100,000 and $250,000 per freight car. A company that has been found in violation 3 times can be kicked out of the United States transportation system until they are in compliance and have paid all their fines in full. These rules will apply regardless of what was agreed to in the USMCA trade agreement. Sec. 22427: Controlled substances testing for mechanical employees 180 days after this becomes law, all railroad mechanics will be subject to drug testing, which can be conducted at random. Bills H.R.1748 - Safe Freight Act of 2019 Sponsor: Rep. Don Young (R-AK) Status: Referred to Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials 03/14/2019 Hearings Leveraging IIJA: Plans for Expanding Intercity Passenger Rail House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials December 9, 2021 During the hearing, witnesses discussed plans for expanding intercity passenger rail in their states, regions, and networks, and how the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was recently signed into law, will support these efforts. Witnesses: Stephen Gardner, President, Amtrak David Kim, Secretary, California State Transportation Agency Kevin Corbett, President and CEO of New Jersey Transit, Co-Chair, Northeast Corridor Commission, On behalf of Northeast Corridor Commission Julie White, Deputy Secretary for Multimodal Transportation, North Carolina Department of Transportation, Commission Chair, Southeast Corridor Commission, On behalf of the North Carolina Department of Transportation and the Southeast Corridor Commission Ms. Donna DeMartino, Managing Director, Los Angeles – San Diego – San Luis Obispo Rail Corridor Agency Knox Ross, Mississippi Commission and Chair of the Southern Rail Commission Clips 8:52 - 9:12 Rep. Rick Crawford: Finally, any potential expansion of the Amtrak system must include the full input of the freight railroads on capacity and track sharing issues. The ongoing supply chain crisis only further emphasizes the value of freight railroads and efficiently moving goods across the nation. The important work the freight railroads cannot be obstructed. 16:49 - 17:10 Rep. Peter DeFazio The law is pretty clear: preference over freight transportation except in an emergency. Intercity and commuter rail passenger transportation provided for Amtrak has preference over freight transportation and using a rail line junction crossing unless the board orders otherwise under this subsection. Well, obviously that has not been observed. 22:05 - 22:24 Stephen Gardner: With the $66 billion provided to the Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak we and our partners can finally have the chance to renew, improve or replace antiquated assets like the century old bridges and tunnels in the Northeast, inaccessible stations around the nation, and our vintage trains. 23:44 - 24:11 Stephen Gardner: Additionally, we'll continue to work collaboratively with our partners where they see value in working with other parties to deliver parts of their service and with new railroad entities that aim to develop or deliver their own service. We simply ask that key railroad laws like the Railway Labor Act and railway retirement apply to new entrants, that the federal government gets equity and accountability for investments it makes in private systems, and that any new services create connections with Amtrak's national network 1:25:00 - 1:25:37 Stephen Gardner: We've been working very closely with a variety of host railroads on opportunities to expand, notably Burlington Northern Santa Fe and our work to expand the Heartland Flyer service between Texas and Oklahoma and potentially extend that North to Wichita, Newton, in Colorado along the front range also with BNSF, to look at opportunities there. With Canadian Pacific we've been having really good conversations about launching a new service between the Twin Cities, Milwaukee and Chicago. Similarly, I think there's opportunities for that Baton Rouge to New Orleans service that Mr. Ross mentioned. 1:54:24 - 1:55:10 Rep. Chuy Garcia: You've each had different experiences with freight railroads as the host railroad for your respective services. What can Congress do to help you as you discuss expanding and improving passenger rail service with your freight railroad? You'll have about 15 seconds each. Knox Ross: Congressman, thank you. I think it's enforcing the will of Congress and the law that set up Amtrak in the beginning is, as the Chairman talked about, in the beginning, that people have a preference over freight. Now we understand that we all have to work together to do that. But we think there are many ways that Amtrak and other other hosts can work together with the fright to get this done, but the law has to be enforced. 1:55:14 - 1:55:30 Julie White: I would say that the money in the IIJA is going to be really important as we work, for example, on the S Line it is an FRA grant that enables us to acquire that line from CSX and enables us to grow freight rail on it at the same time as passenger. 1:58:05 - 1:58:23 Rep. Tim Burchett: Also understand that Amtrak is planning to either expand or build new rail corridors in 26 states across the country over the next 15 years and I was wondering: what makes you think Amtrak will turn a profit in any of those communities? 1:58:43 - 1:59:29 Stephen Gardner: But I would be clear here that our expectation is that these corridors do require support from states and the federal government, that they produce real value and support a lot of important transportation needs. But we measure those not necessarily by the profit of the farebox, so to speak, even though Amtrak has the highest farebox recovery of any system in the United States by far in terms of rail systems, we believe that Amtrak mission is to create mobility, mobility that creates value. We do that with as little public funding as we can, but the current services do require support investment and I think that's fair. All transportation modes require investment. 2:00:12 - 2:00:24 Rep. Tim Burchett: Since you mentioned that you needed more funding down the line, don't you think it'd be better to make your current service corridors more profit -- or just profitable before you build new ones in other parts of the country? When Unlimited Potential Meets Limited Resources: The Benefits and Challenges of High-Speed Rail and Emerging Rail Technologies House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials May 6, 2021 This hearing featured twelve witnesses from a range of perspectives, exploring the opportunities and limitations associated with high-speed rail and emerging technologies, including regulatory oversight, technology readiness, project costs, and available federal resources. Witnesses: John Porcari, Former Deputy Secretary of the US Department of Transportation Rachel Smith, President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce Phillip Washington, CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority Danielle Eckert, International Representative for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Carbett "Trey" Duhon III, Judge in Waller County, TX Andy Kunz, President and CEO of the US High Speed Rail Association Carlos Aguilar, President and CEO of Texas Central High Speed Rail William Flynn, CEO of Amtrak Josh Giegel, CEO and Co-Founder of Virgin Hyperloop Andres de Leon, CEO of Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Michal Reininger, CEO of Brightline Trains Wayne Rogers, Chairman and CEO of Northeast Maglev Clips 8:37 - 8:48 Rep. Rick Crawford: Rail is also considered one of the most fuel efficient ways to move freight. On average freight rail can move one ton of freight over 470 miles on one gallon of fuel. 18:05 - 18:46 Rep. Peter DeFazio: You know we have put aggregate with the essentially post World War Two, mostly the Eisenhower program, $2 trillion -- trillion -- into highways, invested by the federal government, a lot of money. But post World War Two $777 billion into aviation, airports, runways, air traffic control etc. And, and we have put about $90 billion total into rail. 22:45 - 23:25 John Porcari: As I evaluated ways to increase capacity in the Baltimore-New York City corridor, these were my choices: I could add air capacity between BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport and New York with 90% federal funding for runway and taxiway improvements, I could add highway capacity on I-95 to New York with 80% federal funding, or add passenger rail capacity with zero federal funding for that 215 mile segment. A passenger rail trip makes far more sense than driving or flying, yet passenger rail capacity was the least likely alternative to be selected. So if you wonder why we have the unbalanced transportation system we have today, follow the money. 23:26 - 23:54 John Porcari: It's an extraordinary statement of state priorities that the California High Speed Rail Authority's 2020 Business Plan anticipates 85% of its funding from state sources and only 15% federal funding for this project of national and regional significance. This is a remarkable state financial commitment and a clear declaration of the state's project priorities. Yet there's no ongoing sustained federal financial partner for this multi year program of projects. 23:54 - 24:28 John Porcari: To match the people carrying capacity of phase one of the high speed rail system, California would need to invest $122 to $199 billion towards building almost 4200 highway lane miles, the equivalent of a new six lane highway and the construction of 91 new airport gates and two new runways. The San Francisco-Los Angeles air loop is already the ninth busiest in the world, and the busiest air route in America. Doesn't it make sense to prioritize this finite and expensive airport capacity for trans continental and international flights? 24:28 - 24:40 John Porcari: For California the 120 to 209 billion of required highway and airport capacity as an alternative to high speed rail is double the 69 to 99 billion cost estimate for phase one of the high speed rail system. 25:05 - 25:18 John Porcari: Providing real transportation choices at the local and state level requires the establishment of a Passenger Rail Trust Fund on par with our Highway Trust Fund and Airport and Airway Trust Fund. 48:00 - 48:23 Trey Duhon: Texas Central promised this project was privately financed, and everything they've done today, including the EIS was based on that. So we say let it live or die in the free market and invest our tax dollars in more equitable transportation solutions. We should not have to pay for another train to nowhere while having our communities destroyed by the very tax dollars that we work hard to contribute. 49:48 - 50:42 Andy Kunz: High Speed Rail can unlock numerous ridership opportunities. Essential workers like teachers, police and firemen in the high price Silicon Valley could find affordable housing options with a short train ride to Merced or Fresno in California's Central Valley. Residents of Eugene, Oregon could access jobs in Portland's tech sector or booming recreational industry with a 35 minute commute. A Houston salesperson could prepare for an important client meeting in Dallas with dedicated Wi Fi and ample workspace while gliding past the notorious congestion on I-45. A college student in Atlanta could make it home for Thanksgiving in Charlotte while picking up grandma along the way in Greenville, South Carolina. International tourists visiting Disney World in Orlando could extend their vacation with a day trip to the Gulf beaches of the Greater Tampa Bay area. 51:41 - 54:58 Andy Kunz: High Speed Rail has an unmatched track record of safety. Japan, with the world's first high speed rail network, has carried millions of people over 50 years without a single fatality, in comparison as many as 40,000 Americans are killed every year in auto accidents on our highways. 52:22 - 52:45 Andy Kunz: China has invested over a trillion dollars in high speed rail, allowing them to build a world class 22,000 mile network in 14 years. Not taking a pause, China plans to construct another 21,000 miles of track over the next nine years. Modern infrastructure like this fuels China's explosive economic growth, making it challenging for us to compete with them in the 21st century. 52:46 - 53:10 Andy Kunz: On the other side of the globe, the United Kingdom is currently doubling their rail network with $120 billion investment. France has invested over $160 billion in constructing their system. Spain's 2000 mile High Speed Rail Network is the largest in Europe, costing more than 175 billion. These are considerable investments by nations that are similar in size to Texas. 1:08:00 - 1:09:00 Rep. Peter DeFazio: Are you aware of any high speed rail project in the world that isn't government subsidized? I know, Virgin in, you know, in Great Britain says, well, we make money. Yeah, you make money. You don't have to maintain the rail, the government does that, all you do is put a train set on it and run it. John Porcari: Yeah, that's a really important point, Mr. Chairman, virtually every one that I'm aware of in the world has had a very big public investment in the infrastructure itself, the operation by a private operator can be very profitable. I would point out that that is no different, conceptually from our airways system, for example, where federal taxpayer investments make possible the operations of our airlines, which in turn are profitable and no different than our very profitable trucking industry in the US, which is enabled by the public infrastructure investment of the highway system itself. 1:09:46 - 1:10:37 Philip Washington: The potential is very, very good to make that connection with the private railroad. And actually that is the plan. And we are working with that, that private railroad right now to do that. And that connection with the help of some twin bore tunnel will allow train speeds to be at anywhere from 180 to 200 miles an hour, getting from that high desert corridor to Los Angeles. And so it's a it's a huge, huge effort. It links up with high speed rail from the north as well, with the link up coming into Union Station as well. So I think the potential to link up both of these are very, very great. And we're working with both entities. 1:11:31 - 1:12:13 Philip Washington: Well one of our ideas very quickly is right now we have as you know, Mr. Chairman, assembly plants, assembly plants all over the country what we are proposing is a soup to nuts, all included manufacturing outfit in this country that manufactures trains from the ground up, forging steel, all of those things. So we have proposed an industrial park with suppliers on site as well to actually build again from the ground up, rail car passenger rail car vehicles and locomotives. It is the return of manufacturing to this country as we see it. 1:21:16 - 1:21:50 John Porcari: We have 111 year old tunnel in New York, we have a B&P tunnel in Baltimore, that Civil War era. Those are not the biggest obstacles. It is more a question of will. What we want to do as a country in infrastructure, we do, and we've never made rail, really the priority that that I think it needs to be. And we've never provided meaningful choices for the states to select rail and build a multi year rail program because we don't have the funding part of it. 1:21:55 - 1:22:19 John Porcari: Our passenger rail system in the US is moving from a survival mode to a growth mode. And I think that's a very healthy thing for the country. Whether you're talking about our cross country service, one of the coastal corridors or the Midwest service, all of that is really important. In just the same way we built the interstates, city pairs aggregating into a national system, we can really do that with the passenger rail system if we have the will. 1:27:13 - 1:27:41 Rep. Michelle Steel: My constituents are already taxed enough, with California state and local taxes and skyrocketing gas prices making it unaffordable to live. I just came back from Texas, their gas price was $2 something and we are paying over $4 in California. We must preserve our local economy by lowering taxes not raising them. And we must not continue throwing tax dollars into a high speed money pit. 1:30:53 - 1:31:11 Trey Duhon: The folks in Waller county the folks that I know, a family of four is not going to pay $1,000 To ride a train between Houston and Dallas, when they can get there on a $50 tank of gas an hour and a half later. It's just not going to happen. So it's not a mass transit solution, at least not for this corridor. 1:48:56 - 1:49:25 Andy Kunz: The other big thing that hasn't been mentioned is the the cost of people's time and waste sitting stuck in traffic or stuck in airports. It's estimated to be several 100 billion dollars a year. And then as a business person, time is money. So if all your people are taking all day to get anywhere your entire company is less competitive, especially against nations that actually have these efficient systems, and then they can out compete us 2:03:52 - 2:04:13 Seth Moulton: And I would just add, you know, we build high speed rail, no one's gonna force you to take it. You have that freedom of choice that Americans don't have today and yet travelers all around the world have. I don't understand why travelers in China should have so much more freedom than we do today. In America, high speed railway would rapidly rectify that 3:01:09 - 3:01:27 Josh Giegel: In 2014 I co-founded this company in a garage when Hyperloop was just an idea on a whiteboard. By late 2016 We began construction of our first full system test set, dev loop, north of Las Vegas. To date we've completed over 500 tests of our system. 3:01:38 - 3:01:48 Josh Giegel: Today we have approximately 300 employees and are the leading Hyperloop company in the world and the only company, the only company to have had passengers travel safely in a Hyperloop. 3:01:48 - 3:02:33 Josh Giegel: Hyperloop is a high speed surface transportation system. Travel occurs within a low pressure enclosure equivalent to 200,000 feet above sea level, in a vehicle pressurized to normal atmospheric conditions, much like a commercial aircraft. This, along with our proprietary magnetic levitation engine, allows us to reach and maintain airline speeds with significantly less energy than other modes of transportation. Not only is Hyperloop fast, it's a high capacity mass transit system capable of comfortably moving people and goods at 670 miles per hour with 50,000 passengers per hour per direction, on demand and direct to your destination, meaning no stops along the way. 3:02:54 - 3:02:58 Josh Giegel: We achieve all this on a fully electric system with no direct emissions. 3:11:34 - 3:11:53 Mike Reininger: Since our 2018 launch in Florida, we operate the only private high speed system in the US, showcasing the potential of American high speed passenger rail. We carried more than a million passengers in our first full year and learned a lot that is worth sharing from the investment of over $4 billion over the last 10 years. 3:12:45 - 3:12:57 Mike Reininger: We use existing road alignments and infrastructure corridors to leverage previous investments, reduce environmental impacts, lower costs, and speed execution as a basis for profitability. 3:13:00 - 3:13:28 Mike Reininger: In 2022, we will complete the extension into the Orlando International Airport, making our total route 235 miles, linking four of the largest cities in America's third largest state. 400 million annual trips occur between these cities today, 95% of them by car. By upgrading a freight railway first built in the 1890s and building along an Express Highway, we leveraged 130 years of previous investment to support our 21st century service. 3:13:31 - 3:13:51 Mike Reininger: Brightline West will connect Las Vegas to Los Angeles, where today 50 million annual trips and over 100 daily flights occur. Traveling on trains capable of speeds of 200 miles an hour using the I-15 corridor, but cutting the drive time in half, Brightline West's better option expects to serve 11 million annual riders. 3:14:56 - 3:15:08 Mike Reininger: Consider allowing private entities to become eligible parties for FRA grant programs by partnering with currently eligible applicants as a simple way to stretch direct government investment. 3:29:39 - 3:29:54 Rep. Rick Crawford: Amtrak announced plans to expand its routes including to several small cities where there doesn't appear to be enough demand or population to warrant those new lines. Can you guarantee that those new routes will be self sustaining and turn a profit or will they lose money? 3:38:42 - 3:38:55 Bill Flynn: 125 miles an hour on existing track infrastructure is high speed. The newest Acelas we ordered will have a top speed of 186 miles an hour. 3:36:46 - 3:37:05 Rep. Seth Moulton: What is the top speed of the Acela service? Bill Flynn: The Acela service in the southern network, Washington to New York, top speeds 135 miles an hour, and then in New York to Boston top speed of 150 miles an hour across different segments of the track. 4:11:57 - 4:12:30 Bill Flynn: When we think about NEPA and the other permitting processes that take place, and then ultimately into construction, on many major projects, we're talking a decade or more. So without the visibility and predictability and the certainty of funding, these projects are all affected, they ultimately become more high cost, and they take longer than they should. So if I were to recommend one policy action, creating a trust fund, or trust fund like structure, for intercity passenger rail would be key. Full Steam Ahead for Rail: Why Rail is More Relevant Than Ever for Economic and Environmental Progress House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials March 10, 2021 The hearing explored the importance of rail to the U.S. economy and as a tool to mitigate climate change. Witnesses: Shannon Valentine, Secretary of Transportation, The Commonwealth of Virginia Caren Kraska, President/Chairman, Arkansas & Missouri Railroad Greg Regan, President, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO Tom Williams, Group Vice President for Consumer Products, BNSF Railway Clips 18:17 - 18:50 Shannon Valentine: One of the worst rail bottlenecks, mentioned by Chairman DeFazio, along the east coast is at the Potomac River between Virginia and DC and it's called the long bridge which is owned by CSX. The bridge carries on passenger, commuter, and freight rail, nearly 80 trains a day and is at 98% capacity during peak periods. Due to these constraints, Virginia has been unable to expand passenger rail service, even though demand prior to the pandemic was reaching record highs. 18:50 - 19:42 Shannon Valentine: Virginia has been engaged in corridor planning studies, one of which was the I-95 corridor, which as you all know, is heavily congested. Even today as we emerge from this pandemic, traffic has returned to 90% of pre-pandemic levels. Through this study, we learned that adding just one lane in each direction for 50 miles would cost $12.5 billion. While the cost was staggering, the most sobering part of the analysis was that by the time that construction was complete, in 10 years, the corridor would be just as congested as it is today. That finding is what led Virginia to a mode that could provide the capacity at a third of the cost. 20:34 - 20:43 Shannon Valentine: According to APTA rail travel emits up to 83% fewer greenhouse gases than driving and up to 73% fewer than flying. 20:58 - 21:22 Shannon Valentine: Benefits can also be measured by increased access to jobs and improving the quality of life. The new service plan includes late night and weekend service because many essential jobs are not nine to five Monday through Friday. That is why we work to add trains leaving Washington in the late evening and on weekends, matching train schedules to the reality of our economy. 52:23 - 53:06* Rep. Peter DeFazio: I am concerned particularly when we have some railroads running trains as long as three miles. And they want to go to a single crew for a three mile long train. I asked the the former head of the FRA under Trump if the train broke down in Albany, Oregon and it's blocking every crossing through the city means no police, no fire, no ambulance, how long it's going to take the engineer to walk three miles from the front of the train to, say, the second car from the rear which is having a brake problem. And he said, Well, I don't know an hour. So you know there's some real concerns here that we have to pursue. 1:23:25 - 1:24:15 Shannon Valentine: When we first launched the intercity passenger rail, Virginia sponsored passenger rail, back in 2009, it really started with a pilot with $17 million for three years from Lynchburg, Virginia into DC into the new Northeast Corridor. And, and I had to make sure that we had 51,000 riders and we didn't know if we were going to be able to sustain it. And in that first year, we had 125,000 passengers. It always exceeded expectations for ridership and profitability. And today, that rail service which we now extend over to Roanoke, and we're working to get it to Blacksburg Christiansburg is really one of our most profitable rail services. In fact, probably in the country. It doesn't even need a subsidy because they're able to generate that kind of ridership. 2:10:21 - 2:12:11 Shannon Valentine: Our project, in my mind, is really the first step in creating a southeast high speed corridor, we have to build the bridge. In order to expand access, we need to be able to begin separating passenger and freight. And even before that is able to occur, building signings and creating the ability to move. We took a lot of lessons from a study called the DC to RDA again, it's the first part of that high speed southeast corridor. For us, it was recommended that we take an incremental approach rather than having a large 100 billion dollar project we're doing in increments. And so this is a $3.7 billion which is still going to help us over 10 years create hourly service between Richmond and DC. It was recommended that we use existing infrastructure and right of way so in our negotiations with CSX, we are acquiring 386 miles of right of way and 223 miles of track. We are also purchasing as part of this an S line. It's abandoned. It goes down into Ridgeway, North Carolina from Petersburg, Virginia, just south of Richmond. Because it's abandoned, we have a lot of opportunity for development for future phases or even higher speed rail. And we actually included part of Buckingham branch, it's an East West freight corridor that we would like to upgrade and protect for, for East West connection. All of these were incremental steps using existing right of way and tracks and achieving higher speeds where it was achievable. Examining the Surface Transportation Board's Role in Ensuring a Robust Passenger Rail System House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure, Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials November 18, 2020 Witnesses: Ann D. Begeman, Chairman, Surface Transportation Board Martin J. Oberman, Vice Chairman, Surface Transportation Board Romayne C. Brown, Chair of the Board of Directors, Metra Stephen Gardner, Senior Executive Vice President, Amtrak Ian Jefferies, President and Chief Executive Officer, Association of American Railroads Randal O'Toole, Senior Fellow, Cato Institute Paul Skoutelas, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Public Transportation Association Clips 27:31 - 27:59 Daniel Lipinski: Unlike Amtrak, Metra and other commuter railroads do not have a statutory federal preference prioritizing commuter trains over freight trains. Additionally, commuter railroads generally do not have standing to bring cases before the STB. Therefore, commuter railroads have very limited leverage when it comes to trying to expand their service on freight rail lines and ensuring that freight railroads Do not delay commuter trains. 35:42 - 36:27 Rep. Peter DeFazio: In fact, Congress included provisions to fix Amtrak on time performance in 2008. That is when PRIA added a provisions directing the FRA and Amtrak to work to develop on time performance metric standards to be used as a basis for an STB investigation. Unfortunately, those benefits haven't been realized. It's been 12 years since PRIA was passed. If our eyes metric and standards for on time performance were published this last Monday 12 years later, for the second time, and after this long and unacceptable delay, I look forward to seeing an improvement on Amtrak's performance both in in my state and nationwide. 38:01 - 38:32 Rep. Peter DeFazio: Worldwide, I'm not aware of any railroads, passenger railroads, that make money, although Virgin claims they do in England because they don't have to maintain the tracks. Pretty easy to make money if all you have to do is put a train set on it, run it back and forth. That's not the major expense. So, you know, to say that we shouldn't be subsidizing commuter or we shouldn't be subsidizing Amtrak is, you know, is just saying you don't want to run trains. Because everywhere else in the world they're subsidized. 43:45 - 44:30 Ann Begeman: Most intercity passenger rail service is provided by Amtrak, which is statutorily excluded from many of the board's regulatory requirements applicable to freight carriers. However, with the enactment of the Passenger Rail Investment Improvement Act of 2008 (PRIA) which both Chairman Lipinski and Chairman De Fazio has have mentioned in their opening comments, as well as the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act of 2015. FAST Act, the board assumed additional Amtrak oversight responsibilities, including the authority to conduct investigations under certain circumstances, and when appropriate, to award relief and identify reasonable measures to improve performance on passenger rail routes. 1:02:24 - 1:03:07 Stephen Gardner: Congress created Amtrak in 1970 to take on a job that today's freight railroads no longer wanted. In exchange for contracts assumption of these private railroads common carrier obligation for passengers and the associated operating losses for passenger service, the freights agreed to allow Amtrak to operate wherever and whenever it wanted over their lines, to provide Amtrak trains with dispatching preference over freight, and to empower what is now the STB to ensure Amtrak's access to the rail network. It's been nearly 50 years since the freight railroads and agreed eagerly to this bargain. And yet today, many of our hosts railroads fall short and fulfilling some of these key obligations 1:03:28 - 1:04:38 Stephen Gardner: Since our founding, Congress has had to clarify and amend the law to try and ensure host compliance. For example, by 1973, the freights had begun delaying Amtrak train so severely that Congress enshrined this promise of Amtrak preference into federal law, and in 2008, delays had gotten so bad that Congress created a new process to set Amtrak on time performance and provided the STB with the authority to investigate poor OTP. But for several reasons, these efforts haven't remedied the problems. For Amtrak and your constituents that has meant millions of delayed passengers and years of impediment as we try to add trains or start new routes to keep up with changing markets and demand. As the AAR are made clear and its litigation opposing the PRIA metrics and standards rule, many hosts see supporting our operation not as their obligation to the public, but as competition for the use of their infrastructure. But Amtrak wasn't created to relieve host railroads of their requirements to support passenger trains. It was created to help them reduce financial losses and ensure that passenger trains could still serve the country 1:04:38 - 1:05:15 Stephen Gardner: We need this committee's help to restore your original deal with the freights. For example you can provide us as you have in the moving forward Act, a way to enforce our existing rights of preference. You can make real Amtrak statutory ability to start new routes and add additional trains without arbitrary barriers. You can create an office of passenger rail within the STB and require them to use their investigative powers to pursue significant instances of for OTP. You can require more efficient STB processes to grant Amtrak access to hosts and fairly set any compensation and capital investment requirements. 1:06:19 - 1:07:57 Stephen Gardner: A rarely heralded fact is that the U.S. has the largest rail network in the world. And yet we use so little of it for intercity passenger rail service. A fundamental reason for this is our inability to gain quick, reasonable access to the network and receive reliable service that we are owed under law. This has effectively blocked our growth and left much of our nation underserved. City pairs like Los Angeles and Phoenix, or Atlanta to Nashville could clearly benefit from Amtrak service. Existing rail lines already connect them. Shouldn't Amtrak be serving these and many other similar corridors nationwide? 1:12:34 - 1:12:57 Randall O'Toole: Last year, the average American traveled more than 15,000 miles by automobile, more than 2000 Miles, road several 100 miles on buses, walked more than 100 Miles, rode 100 miles by urban rail, transit and bicycled 26 miles. Meanwhile, Amtrak carried the average American just 19 Miles. 1:13:35 - 1:13:55 Randall O'Toole: In 1970, the railroads' main problem was not money losing passenger trains, but over regulation by the federal and state governments. Regulation or not, passenger trains are unable to compete against airlines and automobiles. A 1958 Interstate Commerce Commission report concluded that there was no way to make passenger trains profitable. 1:14:52 - 1:15:20 Randall O'Toole: The 1970 collapse of Penn Central shook the industry. Congress should have responded by eliminating the over regulation that was stifling the railroads. Instead, it created Amtrak with the expectation that it would be a for profit corporation and that taking passenger trains off the railroads hands would save them from bankruptcy 50 years and more than $50 billion in operating subsidies later, we know that Amtrak isn't and never will be profitable. 1:15:40 - 1:16:10 Randall O'Toole: When Amtrak was created, average rail fares per passenger mile were two thirds of average airfares. Thanks to airline deregulation since then, inflation adjusted air fares have fallen by 60%. Even as Amtrak fares per passenger mile have doubled. Average Amtrak fares exceeded airfares by 1990 despite huge operating subsidies, or perhaps as has well predicted, because those subsidies encouraged inefficiencies. 1:16:50 - 1:17:15 Randall O'Toole: Today thanks to more efficient operations, rail routes that once saw only a handful of trains per day support 60, 70 or 80 or more freight trains a day. This sometimes leaves little room for Amtrak. Displacing a money making freight train with a money losing passenger train is especially unfair considering that so few people use a passenger trains, while so many rely on freight. 1:17:15 - 1:17:25 Randall O'Toole: Passenger trains are pretty, but they're an obsolete form of transportation. Efforts to give passenger trains preference over freight we'll harm more people than it will help. 2:42:40 - 2:43:50 Stephen Gardner: We think that the poor on time performance that many of our routes have is a significant impediment to ridership and revenue growth. It's quite apparent, many of our passengers, particularly on our long distance network, that serves Dunsmuir, for instance, you know their routes frequently experience significant delays, the number one cause of those delays are freight train interference. This is delays encountered, that Amtrak encounters when freight trains are run in front of us or otherwise dispatching decisions are made that prioritize the freight trains in front of Amtrak. And the reduction in reliability is clearly a problem for passengers with many hour delays. Often our whole long distance network is operating at 50% or less on time performance if you look at over the many past years. Even right now, through this period of COVID, where freight traffic has been down and we're only at 60% over the last 12 months on time performance for the entire long distance network. 2:52:44 - 2:53:23 Stephen Gardner: The difference between the US system and most of the international examples is that the infrastructure is publicly owned, publicly owned and developed in all of these nations, the nations that Mr. O'Toole mentioned, there is a rail infrastructure entity and they're developing it for both passenger and freight in some of those locations are optimized for passenger service primarily, that's for sure the case. China is a great example of a nation that's investing for both as a massive freight system and an incredible amount of investment for passenger rail. And again, they see high speed as a means of dealing with their very significant population and efficient way. Cover Art Design by Only Child Imaginations Music Presented in This Episode Intro & Exit: Tired of Being Lied To by David Ippolito (found on Music Alley by mevio)

The moment has arrived. The lads make their picks ahead of Cincinnati - Kansas City & San Francisco - Los Angeles.

With guest Jenie Fisher, we will discuss the matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship. What does the San Francisco- Los Angeles rivalry mean to California? Columbus State loses to Georgia Southwestern 70-67 in overtime and Ben Roethlisberger retries from the Pittsburgh Steelers.  --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/richard-holdridge/support

SportsLine's Allan Bell joins the show to share all of his favorite bets for San Francisco-Los Angeles. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ryan, Quinton & Trysta share their early thoughts on the spread and total for San Francisco-Los Angeles. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer takes a deep dive into the eight games on the back half of the Week 18 NFL schedule from a fantasy football and gambling perspective, including the pivotal San Francisco-Los Angeles and Seattle-Arizona contests in the NFC West and the Sunday night de facto playoff game between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the AFC West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sporting News' Vinnie Iyer takes a deep dive into the eight games on the back half of the Week 18 NFL schedule from a fantasy football and gambling perspective, including the pivotal San Francisco-Los Angeles and Seattle-Arizona contests in the NFC West and the Sunday night de facto playoff game between Los Angeles and Las Vegas in the AFC West. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sau khi được quốc tế ca ngợi về thành công trong việc kiềm chế đại dịch Covid-19, trong năm 2021, Việt Nam rốt cuộc cũng phải đối đầu với một đợt dịch bùng phát rất mạnh do tác động của biến thể Delta, vốn lây lan rất nhanh.  Tính đến ngày 22/12, số ca nhiễm Covid ở Việt Nam đã lên tới gần 1 triệu 600 ngàn ca và tổng số ca tử vong đã vượt qua ngưỡng 30.000. Hiện giờ trung bình mỗi ngày có khoảng 200 người chết vì Covid ở Việt Nam và số ca nhiễm mỗi ngày vẫn hơn 10.000. Covid-19: Lao đao vì biến thể Delta Tình hình dịch nghiêm trọng nhất là tại các tỉnh thành miền Nam, đặc biệt là tại Sài Gòn, nơi mà chính quyền địa phương thậm chí đã phải ban hành lệnh giới nghiêm, một biện pháp chưa từng có ở Việt Nam kể từ sau chiến tranh. Đã có nhiều tranh cãi về cách phòng chống dịch ở Việt Nam, nhất là về việc cách ly những người bị nhiễm, mà Việt Nam gọi là F0 và người tiếp xúc gần với F0 gọi là F1. Do số ca nhiễm tăng quá nhiều, nhà chức trách Việt Nam cuối cùng đã buộc phải để cho các ca F0 tự cách ly tại nhà chứ không thể tiếp tục cách ly tập trung như trước đây. Trả lời RFI Việt ngữ ngày 21/12, bác sĩ Trương Hữu Khanh, chuyên gia dịch tễ học, nguyên trưởng khoa Nhiễm-Thần kinh, Bệnh viện Nhi đồng 1, Sài Gòn: “ Khi cách ly một số lượng lớn như vậy thì chắc chắn sẽ làm quá tải cho khối điều trị, bởi vì đưa người ta vào trong đó không chỉ có chuyện chữa bệnh, mà còn các vấn đề hậu cần: ăn uống, ngủ nghỉ. Việc này còn quan trọng hơn chữa bệnh. Cách ly như vậy người ta sẽ khó vượt qua được về mặt tinh thần. Khu cách ly không thể nào hoàn hảo bằng ở nhà. Với lực lượng nhân viên y tế như vậy thì không thể nào chu toàn được chất lượng. Nếu mục tiêu của việc cách ly là để ngăn chận việc lây lan trong cộng đồng, thì có lẽ phải thay đổi, phải rút kinh nghiệm về việc này. Nhất là sau khi đã có vac-xin rồi thì phải bỏ chuyện đó đi. Nếu cách ly tại nhà và tuân thủ tốt thì đã bảo vệ được cộng đồng rồi.” Những biện pháp giãn cách xã hội kéo dài nhằm chặn đứng đại dịch đã khiến đời sống người dân thêm khốn đốn, nhất là những người lao động nhập cư tại Sài Gòn. Theo lời bác sĩ Trương Hữu Khanh, vấn đề là các biện pháp giãn cách xã hội đó đã không thật sự hiệu quả: “ Khi giãn cách như vậy thì hiệu quả không phải là tốt nhất như mình mong muốn. Thật ra lúc đó Sài Gòn giãn cách là giãn cách ở mặt đường, nhưng bệnh đâu có lây ở mặt đường đâu, mà nó lây trong các xóm, trong các khu nhà trọ. Nếu mình giãn cách bên ngoài mà mình không giãn cách bên trong thì không có hiệu quả. Giãn cách đúng thì mới có hiệu quả. Do đó, thất bại của giãn cách, không ngăn được dịch bệnh nhiều, đó là do mình không quyết liệt, để cho người dân đứng yên tại chỗ. Cho nên lúc đó virus vẫn còn lây lan trong các khu phố chật hẹp, số ca bệnh vẫn tăng”. Việc đóng cửa các nhà máy để ngăn chận sự lây lan của virus corona đã ảnh hưởng luôn cả chuỗi cung ứng toàn cầu, do Việt Nam là nơi gia công cho nhiều thương hiệu lớn của quốc tế như Nike. Kể từ tháng 10, chính quyền Việt Nam đã dỡ bỏ hoặc nới lỏng các biện pháp đó, dần dần mở cửa lại nền kinh tế, cho phép các nhà máy hoạt động lại. Covid-19: Nguy cơ Omicron  Hiện giờ, tuy số ca nhiễm hàng ngày vẫn tăng, nhưng nhờ có tỷ lệ tiêm chủng cao, Việt Nam dự trù mở cửa biên giới trở lại để cứu ngành du lịch đã gần như kiệt quệ sau nhiều tháng đóng cửa. Cụ thể, kể từ ngày 01/01/2022, Việt Nam sẽ đón khách ngoại quốc và công dân Việt Nam từ nước ngoài, với điều kiện những người này phải có kết quả xét nghiệm PCR âm tính trong vòng 72 tiếng trước khi nhập cảnh. Thời gian tự cách ly và được xét nghiệm lại là tùy theo người nhập cảnh vào Việt Nam đã được tiêm chủng đầy đủ hay chưa. Để chuẩn bị cho việc mở cửa biên giới, Việt Nam sẽ mở lại các đường bay quốc tế thường lệ theo hai giai đoạn. Trong giai đoạn một sẽ mở lại 9 đường bay giữa Việt Nam với Bắc Kinh/Quảng Châu, Tokyo, Seoul, Đài Bắc, Bangkok, Singapore, Vientiane, Phnom Penh, San Francisco/Los Angeles. Cho giai đoạn hai, sẽ được thực hiện sau khi kết thúc giai đoạn một, ngành giao thông đề xuất mở thêm các đường bay đi/đến Kuala Lumpur, Hồng Kông, Paris, Frankfurt, Sydney và Matxcơva. Nhưng những kế hoạch nói trên rất có thể sẽ lại bị xáo trộn, do hiện nay biến thể Omicron, được biết là lây lan nhanh hơn cả Delta, đã xuất hiện ở nhiều nước, kể cả ở những nước mà Việt Nam dự trù mở lại các chuyến bay. Trong những ngày qua, chính quyền Việt Nam đã tăng cường các biện pháp kiểm soát để cố ngăn chận biến thể Omicron du nhập vào Việt Nam. Tuy vậy, theo bác sĩ Trương Hữu Khanh, rất khó mà ngăn chận được sự lây lan của biến thể Omicron ở Việt Nam. Chính trị: Nguyễn Phú Trọng bất ngờ tái đắc cử Về mặt chính trị, năm 2021 đã được đánh dấu bằng việc ông Nguyễn Phú Trọng, sinh năm 1944, bất ngờ tái đắc cử tổng bí thư Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam thêm nhiệm kỳ thứ ba, trong khi theo điều lệ đảng, lãnh đạo đảng không được nắm quyền quá hai nhiệm kỳ và những lãnh đạo trên 65 tuổi phải nghỉ hưu. Sỡ dĩ ông Trọng phải tiếp tục giữ chức tổng bí thư vì Đại hội Đảng vào đầu năm 2021 đã không thể tìm ra một nhân vật nào có đủ khả năng và tầm cỡ để thay thế ông. Như vậy là “ trường hợp đặc biệt” Nguyễn Phú Trọng đã trở thành lãnh đạo Việt Nam có thế lực nhất kể từ thời Lê Duẩn, tuy rằng sau đó ông đã phải chuyển giao chức chủ tịch nước cho ông Nguyễn Xuân Phúc, được Quốc Hội chính thức bầu vào tháng 04/2021. Với thế lực như vậy, ông Nguyễn Phú Trọng đã tiếp tục đẩy mạnh chiến dịch chống tham nhũng trong đảng, qua đó loại trừ các đối thủ của ông. Một trong những “nạn nhân” của chiến dịch “đốt lò” do Nguyễn Phú Trọng phát động là cựu chủ tịch Ủy ban Nhân dân Hà Nội Nguyễn Đức Chung, giữa tháng 12 vừa qua đã bị tuyên án thêm 8 năm tù về tội “ Lợi dụng chức vụ quyền hạn trong khi thi hành công vụ”, trong khi đang thi hành án tù 5 năm sau phiên xử tháng 12 năm ngoái về tội “Chiếm đoạt tài liệu bí mật nhà nước”. Một nhân vật đáng chú ý khác bị đưa vào “lò” chính là cựu bộ trưởng Công Thương Việt Nam Vũ Huy Hoàng vào tháng 4 đã bị kết án 11 năm tù về tội "Vi phạm quy định về quản lý, sử dụng tài sản nhà nước gây thất thoát, lãng phí". Tiếp tục bị quốc tế lên án về nhân quyền Nhưng năm 2021 cũng là năm mà trang mạng The Diplomat gọi là “Annus Horribilis” về nhân quyền, tức là một năm vô cùng tồi tệ về nhân quyền, nhất là với việc một loạt nhà hoạt động dân chủ và nhân quyền lãnh án tù nặng nề. Tiêu biểu là nhà báo nổi tiếng Phạm Đoan Trang bị kết án 9 năm tù tại Hà Nội hôm 14/12 về tội « Làm, tàng trữ, phát tán hoặc tuyên truyền thông tin, tài liệu, vật phẩm nhằm chống Nhà nước », theo điều 117 bộ Luật Hình sự Việt Nam. Trong hai ngày sau đó, đến lượt ba nhà hoạt động khác ra tòa cũng với tội danh này: Trịnh Bá Phương bị tuyên phạt 10 năm tù và  5 năm quản chế, Nguyễn Thị Tâm 6 năm tù và 3 năm quản chế, Đỗ Nam Trung 10 năm tù và 4 năm quản chế. Các tổ chức nhân quyền quốc tế như Human Rights Watch, Phóng viên không biên giới, Ủy ban Bảo vệ Nhà báo … cũng như một số nước phương Tây đều đã mạnh mẽ lên án các vụ xử này. Hôm 17/12, Phủ Cao ủy Nhân quyền Liên Hiệp Quốc cũng đã ra thông cáo bày tỏ quan ngại về vụ kết án tù các nhà hoạt động đất đai và nhân quyền ở Việt Nam, kêu gọi chính phủ Hà Nội trả tự do ngay lập tức cho họ. Nhưng chưa hết, trên nguyên tắc vào ngày 31/12, sẽ đến lượt nhà báo Lê Trọng Hùng, người từng ý định ra ứng cử đại biểu Quốc Hội, bị bắt hồi tháng 3/2021, bị xét xử với tội danh tương tự. Như tổ chức Human Rights Watch có nhắc lại, chính quyền Hà Nội thường xuyên sử dụng điều luật hình sự 117 để dập tắt các tiếng nói phê phán chính phủ và Đảng Cộng sản Việt Nam. Chỉ riêng trong năm 2021, các tòa án đã kết tội ít nhất 18 người khác theo điều luật nói trên và xử họ mức án từ 4 đến 15 năm tù. Như nhận định của Stewart Rees, cộng tác viên của Dự án 88, một tổ chức hoạt động nhằm thúc đẩy quyền tự do ngôn luận ở Việt Nam, trên trang The Diplomat ngày 15/12, các án tù cuối năm " như một lời nhắc nhở rằng chính phủ Việt Nam cảm thấy mình có quyền tự do hành động mà không sợ bị quốc tế trừng phạt." Ông viết: " Việc Việt Nam có khả năng được bầu làm thành viên Hội đồng Nhân quyền Liên Hiệp Quốc vào năm tới càng làm tăng thêm sự xúc phạm sau những gì đã xảy suốt một năm qua ở quốc gia này. Đôi khi có vẻ như hành vi của Việt Nam cố tình nhằm chế nhạo nhân quyền." Ngoại giao: Vẫn “đi dây” giữa hai cường quốc Mỹ-Trung Về quan hệ Mỹ-Việt, tổng thống Joe Biden, lên cầm quyền vào tháng 1/2021, vẫn giữ nguyên chính sách của người tiền nhiệm Donald Trump đối với Việt Nam, vốn xem Hà Nội là một đối tác chiến lược quan trọng của Hoa Kỳ ở châu Á. Chính quyền Biden đã tăng cường các quan hệ chiến lược với Việt Nam, thậm chí để làm hài lòng Hà Nội, Washington đã không còn xem Việt Nam là một quốc gia thao túng tiền tệ.  Nhưng theo nhận định của học giả Richard Heydarian tại Manila, Philippines, viết trên trang web của South China Morning Post ngày 18/102, thay vì thiết lập liên minh với Mỹ, Việt Nam vẫn theo đuổi chiến lược cân bằng quan hệ với Hoa Kỳ và Trung Quốc. Hà Nội vẫn thi hành chính sách "ba không": không tham gia liên minh quân sự; không liên kết với nước này để chống nước kia; không cho nước ngoài đặt căn cứ quân sự hoặc sử dụng lãnh thổ Việt Nam để chống lại nước khác ( thật ra thì nay chính sách này đã trở thành “bốn không”, với điểm thứ tư là “không sử dụng vũ lực hoặc đe dọa sử dụng vũ lực trong quan hệ quốc tế”).  Chính là theo chiều hướng đó mà trong năm qua, Việt Nam đã tăng cường quan hệ với các đối tác quan trọng khác như Nhật Bản, qua chuyến viếng thăm Tokyo của thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính vào cuối tháng 11. Trong cuộc họp thượng đỉnh tại thủ đô Nhật Bản ngày 24/11/2021, thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính và thủ tướng Fumio Kishida đã thông báo hai nước sẽ gia tăng hợp tác an ninh, đồng thời cùng bày tỏ quan ngại về những hành động của Trung Quốc tại các vùng biển khu vực, trong đó có Biển Đông.  Trước đó, sau khi dự hội nghị thượng đỉnh khí hậu COP26 ở Glasgow, Scotland tháng 11, ông Phạm Minh Chính cũng đã ghé thăm Pháp, một đối tác quan trọng và nhân dịp này hai nước đã ký kết nhiều hợp đồng quan trọng.  Cam kết mạnh mẽ về biến đổi khí hậu Về mặt khí hậu, sự kiện đáng chú ý trong năm 2021 đó là tại hội nghị thượng đỉnh khí hậu COP26 thủ tướng Phạm Minh Chính đã thông báo cam kết của Việt Nam sẽ đạt đến trung hòa carbon ( net - zero emissions ) vào năm 2050. Đây được coi là một cam kết rất mạnh mẽ; bởi vì như vậy Việt Nam phải từ bỏ dần dần các nhà máy điện than vốn thải ra nhiều khí gây hiệu ứng nhà kính khiến Trái đất nóng lên, và sẽ phải đẩy mạnh phát triển các nguồn năng lượng thay thế, trong đó có các năng lượng tái tạo như điện Mặt trời, điện gió… Nhưng để có thể thực hiện được cam kết đó mà vẫn đáp ứng được nhu cầu ngày càng tăng về điện năng của một quốc gia đang tăng trưởng nhanh, ngoài năng lượng tái tạo, Việt Nam sẽ buộc phải tính đến chuyện khởi động lại các dự án nhà máy điện hạt nhân mà Việt Nam đã từ bỏ trước đây. Vấn đề này đã là một trong những chủ đề thảo luận giữa Việt Nam và Nga nhân chuyến viếng thăm Matxcơva của chủ tịch nước Nguyễn Xuân Phúc vào cuối tháng 11. Trước mắt, theo lời Viện trưởng Viện Năng lượng nguyên tử Việt Nam Trần Chí Thành tại hội nghị Khoa học và công nghệ hạt nhân toàn quốc khai mạc ngày 9/12 tại Đà Lạt, một Trung tâm nghiên cứu khoa học công nghệ hạt nhân, với lò phản ứng mới có công suất 10 MWt, sẽ được xây dựng với sự trợ giúp của Nga để phát triển ngành năng lượng nguyên tử Việt Nam.  Việt Nam và Nga đã từng ký một biên bản ghi nhớ vào năm 2011 về dự án nhà máy điện hạt nhân, nhưng dự án này đã bị đình chỉ do những lo ngại về an toàn hạt nhân sau thảm họa Fukushima xảy ra tháng 3 năm đó. Nếu các lãnh đạo Việt Nam quyết định trở lại với chương trình phát triển điện nguyên tử, lò phản ứng nói trên có thể sẽ là khởi đầu cho chương trình đó và dĩ nhiên đối tác hàng đầu gần như chắc chắn sẽ là Nga.

San Francisco - Los Angeles | 1 hour AIRPLANE Sound Podcast | White Noise | ASMR sounds for deep Sleep | Relax | Meditation | Colicky

This episode begins with the monologue of how the SportsBoys Podcast began. This podcast started long ago with a text thread but there was meaning to how the thread started. Check out how it all began for Coach, Running Man Joe, The Professor and The Vet. Now that we got back to sports we start with the Gordon Hayward trade exemption. Danny Ainge at it again to set the Celtics up the best he can. What does the exemption mean for the Celtics and how can they capitalize off of it? This may have been the biggest exemption ever in the NBA...was her worth it?Week 12 NFL recap. The Patriots win again but might have been a little luck....and good defense. We had Gilmore lock up Hopkins and a goal line stand at the end of the first half. Doe the Patriots still have playoff hopes? Detroit Lions finally fire Patricia. Had an absolute nightmare of a career as a head coach. We are wondering if Bill will bring him back to reunite with the Patriots. Not too sure if he would be worth the money. 5 teams score over 40 points in their games. Is this just 2020 or are teams having a harder time keeping up? Could just be that this is a crazy season and its hard to get into a groove. These were some straight up college scores.Kansas City/Tampa Bay....once again....Brady can't come through against a legit team. With that the Chiefs also showed they are beatable. Started the game strong and almost lost in the end. Is Brady straight up done? This may be the last straw. Also a good question, does she miss Bill and company? We think so.Denver Broncos play NFL game with no QB and play WR from practice squad. Funny how they have to play like that but the Ravens get to postpone their game a week late. Not too sure if this if fair football here.San Francisco/Los Angeles game full of turnovers. Each team took their turn. This game never should have been a loss for the Rams.Sara Fuller....kicker? Publicity? Find out!!WR from Texans Fuller tests positive for PEDs. No one cares. We have a fun one in store for everyone as we reveal out favorite or best holiday movie of all time. What could it be? Comment to us your favorite!!As always if anyone is drinking we share what we got and Kellin gives us almost possibly the best stat of all time.Enjoy the show!!

Welcome to the winners announcement for the 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards presented by Oatly, honoring the very best in coffee. Nominees for each category were chosen by a worldwide public ballot. Public voting for the Sprudgies took place over several weeks in December 2018, with the ballot box closing at 11:59 PM on Friday, January 4th, 2019. Thanks to the tens of thousands of voters who helped make this the biggest voting field in Sprudgies history. Congratulations to all the nominees—to us, every single 2018 finalist was a winner. Here they are: the winners, honorees, and finalists for the 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards, presented by Oatly! Notable Roaster Winner: Go Get Em Tiger (Los Angeles, CA) Honoree: Red Bay Coffee (Oakland, CA) Finalists: Devoción (Brooklyn), Black & White Coffee Roasters (Wake Forest, NC), Square Mile Coffee (London), Gardelli Coffee (Italy), Sey Coffee (Brooklyn), Coffee Manufactory (San Francisco & Los Angeles). Best New Cafe Winner: Dayglow Coffee (Los Angeles, CA) Honoree: Misión Café (Madrid, Spain) Finalists: Ladder Coffee (Spokane, WA), Mane Coffee (Boca Raton, FL), Provider (Indianapolis, IN), Rosslyn Coffee (London, UK), Center Coffee Myeongdong (Seoul, South Korea), Stumptown Coffee Cobble Hill (Brooklyn, NY). Sustainable Cafe Winner:  Smith Canteen (Brooklyn, NY) Honoree: Isla Cafe (Berlin, Germany) Finalists: Casa Quilha (Brasilia, Brazil), Bar Nine (Los Angeles, CA), Madcap Coffee (Grand Rapids, MI), Houndstooth Coffee Walnut Hill (Dallas, TX), Kokako Organic (Auckland, New Zealand), Miir Flagship (Seattle, WA). Best New Product Winner:  Modbar AV Honoree:  Umeshiso Cupping Spoons Finalists: Minor Figures Oat M*lk, Atmos Vacuum Canister by Fellow Products, Melodrip, Yes Plz Coffee Subscription, DrinkTrade.com, Huskee Cup. Best Coffee Video/Film Winner: Gender In Coffee Honoree: James Hoffmann on YouTube Finalists: Chris Baca on YouTube, AeroPress Movie, Go Get Em Tiger on YouTube, Cafe Imports Roasting Concepts Series, Flower Of Flowers by Stumptown Coffee, Unpacking Coffee. Best Coffee Writing Winner: Sabine Parrish for She's A Lady (originally appearing in Standart Magazine) Honoree:  Dear Coffee Buyer by Ryan Brown Finalists: James Hoffmann for JimSeven.com, Jenn Chen for Newsletter and Collected Works, Ashley Rodriguez for Barista Magazine Online, The Monk Of Mokha by Dave Eggars and Mokhtar Alkhanshali, RJ Joseph for The Knockbox, Phyllis Johnson for Strong Black Coffee (originally appearing in Roast Magazine). Notable Coffee Producer Winner: Juan Peña, Hacienda La Papaya (Ecuador) Honoree: Aida Batlle, Aida Batlle Selections (El Salvador) Finalists: Daterra Coffee (Brazil), Benjamin Paz (Honduras), Long Miles Coffee Project (Burundi), Gesha Village (Ethiopia), La Palma y El Tucan (Colombia), Gilberto Baraona (El Salvador). Best Coffee Magazine Winner: Standart (Slovakia) Honoree: Coffee People Zine (USA) Finalists: Roast Magazine (USA), Pour Over by Califia Farms (USA), Barista Magazine (USA), Caffeine (UK), Solo Magazine (Spain), Drift Magazine (USA). Best Design Packaging Winner: Coffee Manufactory (San Francisco and Los Angeles, CA) Honoree: Onyx Coffee Lab (Bentonville, AR) Finalists: Sweet Bloom Coffee Roasters (Lakewood, CO), Brandywine Coffee Roasters (Wilmington, DE), Kaffa (Oslo, Norway), Fjord Coffee Roasters (Berlin, Germany), Lüna Coffee (Vancouver, Canada), Friedhats (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). Best Coffee Podcast Winner: Cat & Cloud Honoree: Boss Barista Finalists: Keys To The Shop, The Coffee Podcast, Coffea, Coffee People MX, Coffee With April, SproCast. Best Instagram or Twitter Account Winner: @symmetrybreakfast Honoree:@coffeefeedpdx Finliasts: @umeshiso_, @dapperandwise, @catcloudcoffee, @coffeetablemags, @perfectdailygrind, @fellowproducts. Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence Winner: Umeko Motoyoshi Honoree: Agnieszka Rojewska Finalists: Phyllis Johnson, Michelle Johnson, T. Ben Fischer, Adam JacksonBey, Colleen Anunu. Lifetime Achievement Award Erna Knutsen The 10th Annual Sprudgie Awards are presented by Oatly. See all past winners of the Sprudgie Awards.

Wine is more than just any libation, it’s an experience steeped in history. It’s part of ritual and beliefs; it ties us with friends, family, cuisine, and for many – with their lineage. From the highest-end vintages that are matured & aged for decades, to the low-end box of wine at the corner store costing a few bucks – this cold fired fermenting extends a full spectrum of offerings that now accounts for a $62B domestic industry.  The success of the industry is tied to its ability to differentiate those offerings throughout that spectrum. From the region it’s from, to an elevated production approach, to the aging process, or its unparalleled cuisine connection that helps develop an ecosystem of aficionados that have become increasingly interested in each of all of these unique factors further connecting the consumer with their drink of choice and its affinities – it matters in wine. Producing Châteauneuf-du-Pape style Rhone wines native to the Southeast Corner of France, today we welcome Partner and General Manager of Tablas Creek Winery Jason Haas to Sourcing Matters.  Situated squarely between San Francisco & Los Angeles, Jason’s family began their California winery in 1989 using elevated practices that focused on Organic and regenerative in effort to benefit their soils, and the flavor of their wines.  Now, producing 360,000 bottles a year of biodynamic and diverse vitas – Tablas Creek has established themselves as a desired brand that engages consumers and progresses the industry through their commitment to producing world-class wine.   From "Place" and provenance, to cleaner and transparent production, to agritourism which engages & retains,  to preservation of values throughout the supply chain - have a listen and hear how this approach in wine can act as a new baseline for more food categories to follow.     So, when next marrying wine with your cuisine – we hope those expectations for quality and associated values on wine thus ports (carries-over) to the food you’re pairing.     www.SourcingMatters.show

2017-07-03 Special EnglishThis is Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.Chinese scientists have announced that they have realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data for more than 190 straight days, setting a new world record.During an expedition to the west Pacific at the end of last year, researchers with the Institute of Oceanology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences realized the real-time transmission of deep-sea data after improving the subsurface buoy observation network.They put a floating body on the sea, which was connected to a submersible buoy. The submersible buoy transmits data to the floating body, which then sends it to a satellite. Researchers then receive the data through the satellite.The real-time deep-sea data includes the condition of the subsurface buoy, the flow speed, direction and pressure of seawater.Real-time transmission of deep-sea data provides important technical support for research on the ocean environment and global climate. The data could enhance the precision in ocean climate and environment forecasts.The previous world record for the real-time transmission of deep water data was around 90 days.This is Special English.China's supercomputers remain the world's fastest and second fastest machines, but America's Titan was squeezed into fourth place by an upgraded Swiss system.The latest edition of the semiannual T0P500 list of supercomputers was released recently. China's supercomputer Sunway TaihuLight has been described by the T0P500 list as "far and away the most powerful number-cruncher on the planet. It maintained the lead since last June, when it dethroned Tianhe-2, the former champion for the previous three consecutive years.This means that a Chinese supercomputer has topped the rankings maintained by researchers in the United States and Germany nine times in a row.What's more, the Sunway TaihuLight was built entirely using processors designed and produced in China.Officials say it highlights China's ability to conduct independent research in the supercomputing field. In the latest rankings, the new number three supercomputer is the upgraded Piz Daint, a system installed at the Swiss National Supercomputing Center.Its current performance pushed Titan, a machine installed at the U.S. Oak Ridge National Laboratory, into fourth place. Titan's performance of 17.6 petaflops has remained constant since it was installed in 2012.You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.The European Union has reaffirmed its support for Paris agreement on climate change when its Foreign Affairs Council convened in Luxembourg.The Council said in a statement that the Paris Agreement is fit for purpose and cannot be renegotiated.U.S. President Donald Trump said on June 1 that he has decided to pull the United States out of the Paris Agreement, a landmark global pact to fight climate change.The Council said it deeply regretted the unilateral decision by the United States administration to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, while it welcomed the statements of commitment to the Agreement from other countries.The Council said the EU will lead in the global fight against climate change through its climate policies and through continued support to those which are particularly vulnerable.Besides this, the EU is strengthening its existing global partnerships and will continue to seek new alliances, from the world's largest economies to the most vulnerable island states.The Paris Agreement was agreed on by almost every country in the world in 2015. It aims to tackle climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions and sets a global target of keeping the rise in the average temperature no higher than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.This is Special English.It's possible for the European Union and Britain to strike a fair Brexit deal which is "far better than no deal". EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier told reporters that for both the EU and the UK, a fair deal is possible, and far better than no deal. He made the remarks at a joint press conference with his British counterpart David Davis, after wrapping up the opening salvo of the Brexit talks in Brussels.His remarks obviously alluded to British Prime Minister Theresa May's catchphrase "no deal is better than a bad deal".Barnier said the first session was "important, open and useful indeed to start off on the right foot as the clock is ticking".He outlined a two-step negotiation, saying they agreed on dates, organization, and priorities for the negotiation.You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.China is achieving landmarks in science and technology at breakneck speed.The country's Tianzhou-1 cargo spacecraft completed its second docking with the Tiangong-2 space lab recently. Chinese scientists have announced that they have realized the satellite-based distribution of entangled photon pairs over a record distance of more than 1,200 kilometers, a major breakthrough that could be used to deliver secure messages. China has successfully launched its first X-ray space telescope to study black holes, pulsars and gamma-ray bursts, receiving its first package of data.Officials say such a string of achievements shows China's innovation-driven development strategy is paying off.The latest Global Innovation Index showed that China rose three spots to 22nd place on the list of the world's most innovative nations this year, becoming the only middle-income country to join the top 25 innovative economies.However, China stepping closer to becoming an innovative power has aroused skepticism, with some arguing that its progress poses a threat to other countries.Chinese observers refuted the claim, saying China's science and technology innovation has injected fresh energy to the world's sluggish economy and brought a new opportunity to global industrial restructuring and sustainable development.This is Special English.Chinese bicycle-sharing giant Mobike says it has 100 million users worldwide.Mobike started its business in Shanghai in April last year, before expanding into major Chinese cities and branching out abroad. Users access a Mobike account and unlock the bicycles by scanning a QR code on the bicycles.It has over 5 million bicycles in 100 cities worldwide. Average daily orders top 25 million.The company says it is trying to expand its business in the European and Asian markets.Since April last year, Mobike users have logged 2.5 billion kilometers, equivalent to cutting the emissions of 170,000 cars for a whole year.Mobike's chief competitor is Ofo bike.According to the China E-Commerce Research Center, there were almost 19 million users of shared bicycles nationwide at the end of last year. The number is expected to hit 50 million by the end of this year.You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. You can access the program by logging on to crienglish.com. You can also find us on our Apple Podcast. Now the news continues.Five British secondary school students have won a free trip to Hong Kong to attend university summer courses after topping a design competition.The competition was organized earlier this year by the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in London. It invited British students to design a 48-hour travel itinerary for youth travelers visiting Hong Kong, with the aim of showing how the city is unique and attractive to youth travelers. The contestants were also expected to compare travel experiences between Hong Kong and a British city.The organizers say many British students presented their submissions through a variety of means, including an essay, a video clip on Youtube, a blog post, from which five best entries were selected.Carmen Truong was the winner from the Royal Latin School who impressed the judges with a beautiful scratch book. She will spend two weeks at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, learning Chinese and engineering.As a Chinese girl born in London, Truong says she likes to collect information and pictures about Hong Kong; and this competition was a good chance for her to explore more about her background.The annual competition is now in its sixth year. It seeks to encourage British students to consider going to universities in Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China. This is Special English.A "Chinese Ambassador Scholarship" has been launched at the Chinese Embassy in Romania.The Chinese Ambassador to Romania says the main goal of the scholarship is to encourage Romanian students to learn Chinese. It also aims to welcome as many young people as possible to jointly push forward Sino-Romanian friendly relations.The ambassador says learning Chinese enjoys great popularity in Romania, where over 8,000 people are studying Chinese in Confucius institutes, Confucius classrooms and other places.At the scholarship launching ceremony, around 20 students and four teachers were awarded with mobile phones and cash prizes to honor their efforts in learning and teaching Chinese.Romania is one of the countries along the ancient Silk Road. It is part of the Belt and Road initiative for common development. The official says this will bring about increasing demand for talents in Romania, including Romanians can speak Chinese.The ambassador says he hopes that more and more young people in Romania can play an active role in various fields including economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges between the two countries.You're listening to Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.The National Museum of China has opened an exhibition featuring the work of Dutch painter Rembrandt and other famous artists of the 17th century.The show includes more than 70 paintings, and is the largest exhibit featuring the prime age of Dutch painting ever staged in China.The items on display include 11 paintings by Rembrandt including Minerva in Her Study and The Unconscious Patient. The exhibition also features works by Vermeer and Rembrandt's students.The exhibition will last until September. It is organized jointly by the National Museum of China and the Leiden Collection.The Leiden Collection was founded in 2003 by American collector Thomas Kaplan and his wife. It has the largest collection of 17th century Dutch paintings in the world.This is Special English.The influential Committee for Melbourne has called for a "mega-region" to be formed along Australia's eastern coast.The chief of the committee Martine Letts said a rapid transport link between Melbourne and Sydney could see the "mega-region" become reality within a decade.She said the region can also include other regional centers, and it could rival others in the world including the San Francisco-Los Angeles area in the United States.The proposal by Letts came after the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University announced that it believed a hyper loop could provide the link between Melbourne and Sydney.The hyper loop works by propelling a pod-like vehicle through a reduced-pressure tube at the speed of sound.A local company in Melbourne says the technology already exists to make hyper loop a reality, and it just needed to be supported by the governments. It says a hyper loop project will take three to five years to complete.This is Special English.A 12th century castle which played a part in seeing the first female queen gain the throne of England has re-opened after a 1.6-million-U.S.-dollar conservation project.Framlington Castle in the southern county of Suffolk was used over centuries as the center of a vast network of power and influence to a 17th century home for the poor.It has reopened its doors, giving visitors a chance to explore its rich history spanning 900 years.（全文见周六微信。）

The Women of Marvel are live from San Francisco & Los Angeles on Margaret Stohl's "Black Widow: Forever Red" Book Tour! Including guests Margaret Stohl, Marguerite Bennett, Ann Foley, Lorraine Cink, and Sabrina Tahir!

Matt Quinn is the founder of Combined Art Form Entertainment and the Off Market Theatre. We talk with Matt about the San Francisco-Los Angeles "railroad", the "Asylum" theatre, "Eavesdropping", "C.A.F.E.", "Solofest", "Tilted Frame" and mixing digital media with live performance.