Argan Oil from Morocco

The Argan tree, from which the oil is extracted, grows exclusively in the South
Western part of Morocco.It is a very resistant tree which can live up to 200 years
and it is perfectly adapted to the harsh climate of the South Western regions of
Morocco. It’s sort of a semi-desert environment. Its roots grow deep in search of
water, and so, they help retain the soil, limiting the advance of the desert. The
fruits of the Argan tree are green and they look like an olive but are larger and
rounder. Inside, there is a hard shell nut from which the oil is extracted. The
production of this oil is a demanding and laborious process which is still almost
completely realized by hand.

For centuries, women of this mostly rural region
have produced Argan oil which was used for their consumption and traditional
Moroccan medicine. It is believed to help many skin conditions such as wrinkles
and scars. Now, it has found way into prestigious laboratories and is exported to
the most luxurious spas around the world. The Argan Tree has an important
significance to the tribeswomen in the South and they refer to it as "The Tree of
Life" because it has sustained a living for generations in periods of drought. The
traditional methods of harvesting and producing the oil preserve an ancient way
of life. It is now part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Relations Between Turkey and Russia

The high level of economic relations between Turkey and Russia has become the most important component of our bilateral multidimensional relations.

Trade volume between our countries exceeded 25.2 billion Dollars, as of the first 11 month of 2007, making Russia, Turkey’s second trading partner after Germany.

Russia is now the main import source for the Turkish economy. Imports from Russia account for about 13% of overall imports.

Turkey’s share in Russia’s foreign trade also reached significant levels. As of 2007, Turkey, with a share of about 5%, is Russia’s 4th export country. Russia’s imports from Turkey are also increasing and reached 4,3 billion Dollars in the first 11 month of 2007.

The total value of projects undertaken by Turkish contractors in Russia surpassed 26 billion Dollars, making Russia by far the most important market for Turkish construction services. As for Turkish direct investments in Russia, they are estimated to have reached 5,6 billion Dollars.

At the same time, there is a growing interest by the Russian firms, especially in the telecommunications, energy and tourism sectors, in investment in Turkey.

Tourism is yet another economic area where our bilateral relations have grown at a very rapid pace. Where in 1999 the number of Russian tourists visiting our country was bellow 500 thousand, this figure reached 2,4 billion in 2007. Turkey has become the most preferred holiday destination for Russians. The number of Turkish tourist visiting Russia is also rapidly growing and reached about 200 thousand.

http://www.mfa.gov.tr

Terrorist Attack Weakness on Starbucks Sarinah Jakarta

This attack is a bloody reminder for Indonesia of the dark pools of intolerance hidden among a people who are mostly open and welcoming.

A rampage on the streets of Jakarta - though shocking - comes as no great surprise. Warnings have been growing for more than a year that the insidious hate preached by Islamic State from long distant Syria and Iraq had found receptive ears in Indonesia.

Up to 700 Indonesians are estimated to be fighting with Islamic State, and while the true number is likely to be fewer, there are grave fears about the mayhem any of these fighters who return home may seek to create.

Whether this assault on Thursday was indeed an Islamist attack, we don't yet know. The police in Indonesia were quick to blame Islamic State, but in the years after September 11, 2001, they also blamed al-Qaeda as a scapegoat for many locally spawned plots.

As it happens, just hours before, Al Qaeda's 's leader Ayman al Zawahiri coincidentally urged his followers to strike in South East Asia. 

What is clear is that the method fits the pattern of bloody mayhem Islamic State has tried to foment - killings to sow fear, anywhere and everywhere.

But this rampage, at least as it has initially unfolded, lacked the deadly sophistication of the Bali bombings or Australian embassy attack, where destructive and complex homemade explosive wrought such havoc.

Not to diminish the terrible cost here, with at least seven dead, including a policeman. But it suggests weakness on the part of the terrorists, not strength.

The extremists appear to have posted false reports on social media of other attacks elsewhere in the city, in what may have been a bid to divert police attention or simply create more panic.

It seems doubtful that this attack could have been directly orchestrated in Syria, at least in the formal sense of a terrorist mastermind directing the attack from afar.

And that is significant as it could increase the chance of rounding up suspects to prevent further attacks.

The police claimed to have warning of a "concert in Jakarta", which sounds a similar code to that used in the past, when terrorists used the word  "wedding" to signify a suicide bombing.

Early reports indicated about half a dozen attackers threw grenades from motorcycles and firing guns, but this has yet been confirmed. 

The targets appears to have international links, a Starbucks cafe and building home to a United Nations office, but not in the wealthiest or most overtly Western zones of the city.

That might also be a consequence of the often heavy-handed crackdown by Indonesian police and security agencies to defend obvious targets and an attempt to evade scrutiny.

The pressure on Indonesia as a nation now is to withstand the poison of intolerance, to maintain its open and welcome demeanour, and to prevent the terrorists  from achieving their goal of division by fear.

http://www.smh.com.au

Rosetta Stone Homeschool Language Program download

Rosetta Stone Homeschool features a foreign language curriculum specially designed to provide homeschool students with a rich, fully interactive and engaging language-learning experience, while giving parents the tools and resources needed to manage student progress without extensive planning or supervision.

Rosetta Stone Homeschool is self-paced and designed to make it easy for parents to offer language learning even if they don't understand the language their students are studying. Students are instantly captivated by Rosetta Stone so they stay engaged. Plus, with positive reinforcement and quick results, their language-learning confidence soars!

A SOLID FOUNDATION FOR FLUENCY

Rosetta Stone provides up to five levels of instruction in select languages, beginning with a foundation of listening comprehension, speaking, reading and writing. With Rosetta Stone, your children will do more than learn about a language. They'll learn to use it.

PARENT ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS

Parent Administrative Tools let you track your student's progress with just a few mouse clicks. You'll see which exercises they have completed, assess how well they've done and determine how long it took them to finish. You will also be able to select predefined lesson plans and generate progress reports, documenting student achievement for college and job applications.

Get you need at http://www.rosettastone.com

President Joko Widodo Visits Qatar

Doha, September 14 (QNA) - HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani held Monday an official talks session with HE President Joko Widodo at the Emiri Diwan. 
HH the Deputy Emir Sheikh Abdullah bin Haman Al-Thani attended the session. A number of Their Excellences Ministers were also present. 
On the Indonesian side, the session was attended by members of the official delegation accompanying President Widodo. 
Talks during the session dealt with bilateral relations and means to develop them in different spheres in addition to a host of regional and international issues of common concern. 
Following the talks session, HH the Emir and the President of Indonesia witnessed the signing of an agreement on abolition of entry visa requirement for holders of diplomatic, service and special passports and the annex of memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of Republic of Indonesia and Qatar Investment Authority. 
Official reception ceremony was as accorded to HE the Indonesian President upon his arrival at the Emiri Diwan. (QNA)

http://www.qna.org.qa

President Obama Welcomes His Majesty King Salman bin Abd alAziz of Saudi Arabia

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Well, it’s a great pleasure to welcome His Majesty, King Salman, to the Oval Office.  This is the latest of several meetings that I’ve had with His Majesty.  And the fact that he has chosen to take this first visit to the United States is indicative of the longstanding friendship between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

This is obviously a challenging time in world affairs, particularly in the Middle East, and so we expect this to be a substantive conversation across a wide range of issues.  We share a concern about Yemen and the need to restore a functioning government that is inclusive and that can relieve the humanitarian situation there.

We share concerns about the crisis in Syria, and we’ll have the opportunity to discuss how we can arrive at a political transition process within Syria that can finally end the horrific conflict there.  

We continue to cooperate extremely closely in countering terrorist activity in the region and around the world, including our battle against ISIL.  And we’ll discuss the importance of effectively implementing the deal to ensure that Iran does not have a nuclear weapon, while counteracting its destabilizing activities in the region.

We’ll also have an opportunity to discuss the world economy and energy issues.  And I look forward to continuing to deepen our cooperation on issues like education and clean energy and science and climate change because His Majesty is interested, obviously, ultimately in making sure that his people, particularly young people, have prosperity and opportunity into the future.  And we share those hopes and those dreams for those young people, and I look forward to hearing his ideas on how we can be helpful.

So, Your Majesty, welcome, and let me once again reaffirm not only our personal friendship but the deep and abiding friendship between our two peoples.

HIS MAJESTY KING SALMAN:  (As interpreted.)  Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for allowing us to enjoy your hospitality.  I intended to make my first official visit to the United States as a symbol of the deep and strong relationship that we have with the United States that’s indeed historical relations that go back to the day when King Abd alAziz met with President Roosevelt in 1945. 

Our relationship is beneficial not only to our two countries, but to the entire world and to our region.  And this is significant, and we must always affirm that and deepen such relations.  We always emphasize that we want to deepen our relations and further our cooperation in all fields.

As you know, Mr. President, our economy is a free economy, and therefore we must allow opportunities for businesspeople to exchange opportunities, because if people see that there are common interests, they will further themselves the relations between them.  And our relationship must be beneficial to both of us, not only on the economic field but on the political and military and defense field, as well.

Once again, Mr. President, I’m happy to come to a friendly country to meet a friend.  And we want to work together for world peace.  Our region must achieve stability, which is essential for the prosperity of its people.  And in our country, thank God we are prosperous, but we want prosperity for the entire region.  And we are willing to cooperate with you in order to achieve that.

Thank you, Mr. President, for your hospitality.  And I look forward to seeing you in Riyadh and seeing American officials coming to see us in Riyadh, and also Saudi officials coming to the United States.  

PRESIDENT OBAMA:  Thank you very much, everybody.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/09/04/remarks-president-obama-and-his-majesty-king-salman-bin-abd-alaziz-saudi

Learn Pimsleur Eastern Arabic Lesson

Arabic has one standard, formal, written form, Modern Standard Arabic or MSA, that is used and understood throughout the Arab world.  While primarily written, MSA is also spoken in highly formal situations, in higher education, in sermons, and in the courts of law.  In the reading component of the Pimsleur Arabic courses (Egyptian and Eastern), the Arabic alphabet is introduced in MSA.  In its every day spoken form, however, Arabic is represented by many regional, generally mutually intelligible dialects.  Of these many dialects, the seven primary ones are: Eastern Arabic, Egyptian Arabic, Gulf Arabic, Iraqi Arabic, Saudi Arabic, North African Arabic, and Yemeni Arabic.

Eastern Arabic is the dialect spoken in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine.

Download it at http://www.pimsleur.com

API RP 686 for Machinery Installation & Installation Design

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is a leader in the development of petroleum and petrochemical equipment and operating standards covering topics that range from drill bits to environmental protection. These embrace proven, sound engineering and operating practices and safe, interchangeable equipment and materials. Many have been incorporated into state and federal regulations and adopted by ISO for worldwide acceptance.

API distributes more than 200,000 publications each year. The publications, technical standards, and electronic and online products are designed to help users improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of their operations, comply with legislative and regulatory requirements, and safeguard health, ensure safety, and protect the environment.

API RP 686 is recommended practice for Machinery Installation & Installation Design

Contents:

Chapter 1 - Introduction

Chapter 2 - Rigging and Lifting

Chapter 3 - Jobsite Receiving & Protection

Chapter 4 - Foundations

Chapter 5 - Mounting Plate Grouting

Chapter 6 - Piping

Chapter 7 - Shaft Alignment

Chapter 8 - Lubrication System

Chapter 9 - Commissioning

Solar Turbines Manuals

Solar Turbines manufactures mid-size industrial gas turbines for use in electric power generation, gas compression, and pumping systems. Products from Solar Turbines include six families of gas turbine engines, Saturn®, Centaur®, Mercury™, Taurus™, Mars®, Titan™ rated from 1590 to 30,000 horsepower. 10 models of Solar® centrifugal gas compressors and gas turbine-powered compressor sets for both production and pipeline applications, mechanical-drive packages, and generator sets ranging from 1.1 to 22 megawatts. Solar also manufactures Turbotronic™ microprocessor-based control systems.

Solar’s rugged, reliable industrial gas turbines can operate on a wide variety of fuels, including natural gas, distillates, NGL, LNG, coal-seam methane, hydrogen, and renewable fuels, such as landfill and sewage gases. Around the world, more and more people are recognizing the benefits to the environment and the favorable economics of renewable fuels. With low emissions and quiet operation Solar gas turbine engines provide clean, sustainable energy solutions for customers, helping to protect the health of workers and job sites, and respecting residents of communities and neighborhoods around the world.

The Solar brand delivers high value, products and services to customers. More than 70% of Solar’s products are exported from the United States. Solar sells, manufactures, and services its products in 98 countries from 43 locations. Solar participates in two major market segments: Oil and Gas Production and Transmission (O&G), and Power 

Solar’s customers put the company’s products to work in many areas including production, processing and pipeline transmission of natural gas and crude oil and generation of electricity and thermal energy for processing applications, such as manufacturing chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and food products. To learn more about Solar, please visit mysolar.cat.com.

http://www.caterpillar.com

Oil Prices Might Collapse to $20 a Barrel in 2016

Crude oil prices are tumbled 2.9 percent Wednesday to close at $36.76 a barrel after inventory data released Tuesday afternoon showed a stockpile build of 2.9 million barrels, far ahead of expectations.

Adding additional pressure were comments from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that his country's oil output strategy is "reliable" and won't be changed. Other wrinkles include rising U.S. oil production and the fact that global crude storage is quickly approaching capacity. Seasonally, stockpiles tend to drop at the end of the year and rise in the first few weeks of the New Year due to tax implications.

A repeat in early 2016 could well push crude oil to fresh closing lows not seen since the early 2000s. While that's great for American drivers, the costs to investors, oil workers, OPEC countries and others are starting to mount and make this a potentially destabilizing force for the global financial system.

Related: 10 Things That Will Cost Less in 2016

Remember that deflation mixed with high indebtedness is the stuff of nightmares since it precipitates the debt-default spiral economist Irving Fisher warned of in the maw of the Great Depression.

That's exactly what's threatening the U.S. shale industry, and by extension, the entire U.S. bond market. The Barclays High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) recently traded down to levels first reached in 2012 and is down more than 11 percent from its 2014 high — a stomach punch wiping away years of dividend payouts for conservative fixed-income investors.

Energy stocks as represented by the Energy Select SPDR (XLE) are down 38 percent from their 2014 highs. And because of the drag from the decline in energy sector profits, S&P 500 earnings growth is on track for a third consecutive quarterly decline — something not seen since the financial crisis.

A "tank tops" — a situation where oil storage capacity is maxed out — is looking increasingly likely. According to Goldman Sachs analysts, avoiding this outcome will require rapid production cuts driven by financial stress and funding cuts for the weaker shale players. 

That's just not happening. While U.S. drilling rig counts have fallen sharply, production is barely off its recent high as shale producers have focused on low-cost wells. As credit costs rise, thanks to the Federal Reserve's rate hikes, the incentive will be for U.S. producers to pump even more — despite the lower per barrel price — to try to cover increasingly expensive financing costs.

Goldman's warning: Oil may need to fall to near $20 a barrel to force production cuts. Defaults and bankruptcies will follow, further widening junk bond spreads in the energy industry, further increasing credit costs and accelerating the pump-more-to-survive dynamic.

The International Monetary Fund also called attention to the $20-a-barrel level by warning the return of Iranian crude oil to world markets — a consequence of the end of economic sanctions — could push prices down by $5 to $15 from current levels.

Related: As OPEC Loses Control, There’s a New Power in the Oil Market

Many are already feeling the heat. Homeowners in the U.S. shale oil regions of Texas and North Dakota are watching in horror as sales slump and prices drift lower. Saudi Arabia, under budgetary pressure, is risking social unrest by dialing back its welfare state with measures like raising price-controlled fuel prices by 50 percent.

Unless global energy demand accelerates even faster than it already is, the extra supply will push energy inventories to the brim. Tank topping will dump millions of barrels that could've been sold down the futures curve into the cash market, swamping prices.

The thing is: Cheaper prices have already encouraged American (as well as Chinese) drivers to indulge in road trips and increase their gasoline consumption.

But more stringent vehicle efficiency standards and an emphasis on hybrid electrics and battery electrics have lessened the impact. Gasoline usage, as shown above, has lagged behind the increase in vehicle miles traveled.

As a result, the world is simply awash in energy, a consequence of the push to fight climate change coinciding with the shale revolution. Financial markets, hurt by falling prices for energy stocks and bonds, will suffer the consequences as this becomes increasingly clear in the months to come.

http://finance.yahoo.com

First Tanker of U.S. Crude Oil for Export

US Congress lifted ban on exporting oil before new year 2016.

The first oil tanker of freely traded U.S. crude launched Thursday afternoon from the Port of Corpus Christi, about 160 miles north of the Texas border with Mexico.

ConocoPhillips Co. and NuStar Energy LP loaded the tanker with oil pumped from the Eagle Ford Shale of South Texas. The companies have skipped ahead of Enterprise Products Partners LP, which said last week that it expected to load the first oil export cargo in Houston during the first week of January.

President Barack Obama signed legislation lifting the long-standing ban on exporting U.S. oil less than two weeks ago. It was put into place during the mid-1970s in the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo, which caused fuel rationing and price spikes for American drivers.

Vitol Group, a Dutch oil-trading powerhouse, is buying the oil cargo, according to NuStar. Vitol also is buying the U.S. crude-oil cargo that will ship out of Houston during the first week of 2016. The company has a subsidiary that owns a refinery in Switzerland.

Source: http://www.wsj.com