World

US-Russia Partnership Reaches Key Milestone in Converting Russian Nuclear Weapons into US Nuclear Fuel

by

HEU. Courtesy/NNSA
 
NNSA News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) today announced that it has monitored the elimination of more than 475 metric tons (MT) of Russian highly enriched uranium (HEU) under a landmark nuclear nonproliferation program, commonly known as Megatons to Megawatts.
 
With today’s 475 MT HEU milestone, deliveries under the U.S.-Russia HEU Purchase Agreement of low enriched uranium (LEU) produced from Russian HEU are 95 percent complete, and HEU roughly equivalent to 19,000 nuclear weapons has been permanently
Read More

Los Alamos Soldier Injured in Afghanistan

by

Micah Jay Andersen of Los Alamos during a ceremony in Afghanistan in which he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant. Courtesy photo

COMMUNITY News:

On June 1, 2013, First Lieutenant Micah Jay Andersen formerly of Los Alamos was severely injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) while leading his platoon on a mission near Kandahar Afghanistan. 

Andersen lost both legs above the knees. One soldier was killed and six others injured in the attack that included multiple IEDs. Andersen was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 36th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division Read More

Udall on Syria: Intervening in Another Middle Eastern Civil War Not in U.S. Interests

by

Sen. Tom Udall
 
U.S. SENATE News:
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. – In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Monday urged those pushing for military intervention to answer three basic questions before rushing into a Middle Eastern civil war in Syria.
 
To watch video of Udall’s speech, click here.
 
Below are Udall’s remarks as prepared for delivery:
 
Like many others, I am deeply disturbed by the current situation in Syria. The appalling atrocities. The tragic loss of human life. The reported use of chemical
Read More

U.S. Army Col. Bob Loy (Ret.) Shares Experience With Operation Tomodachi

by

U.S. Army Col. Bob Loy (now retired) was the guest speaker at the June 4 Rotary Club lunch meeting at the Dixie Girl Restaurant in downtown Los Alamos. Loy was a liaison officer working at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo when the devastating tsunami of 2011 struck Japan’s shores. During his talk, Loy shared his experiences leading the evacuation in Operation Tomodachi. Loy is married to Rotarian Laura Loy and is the son in law of Rotarians Anne and Hal Davis. Photo by Carol A. Clark/ladailypost.com

U.S. Army Col. Bob Loy, retired, now lives in Los Alamos with his wife Rotarian Laura Loy and their daughter.  Read More

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Lessons Learned in Fort Worth

by

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
By ANN MCLAUGHLIN

Lessons Learned in Fort Worth

The fine folks at the Los Alamos Daily Post have let me chew up a lot of digital space over the past 10 days writing about an event in (gasp!) Texas. I have been known to grouse about our local media covering off-the-hill arts events at the expense of local efforts. So what’s going on here? What does the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition have to do with us?

The most obvious answer is, of course, that the Los Alamos Concert Association will be presenting one of the three Cliburn medalists Read More

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Three Magnificent Performers

by

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
By ANN MCLAUGHLIN

Three Magnificent Performers

Hello from high in the Texas sky.

On day three of the Cliburn Competition finals, Russia’s Nikita Mndoyants surprised the audience with two original cadenzas in his performance of Mozart’s Concerto No. 20. On day four, Ukrainian Vadym Kholodenko went him one better by performing a cadenza that he composed during his nine-hour flight to Fort Worth. (I’m usually satisfied if I manage to finish the in-flight crossword and get a good nap.) His performance of one of Mozart’s happiest concertos Read More

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Three Finalist, Three Concertos

by

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
By ANN MCLAUGHLIN

Three Finalist, Three Concertos

Something unique in my concert-going experience happened last night. Cliburn Competition finalist Nikita Mndoyants played his own cadenzas.

A cadenza is a virtuosic solo interlude inserted into a movement of a concerto, an opportunity toreally show off. In the good old days, when pianists were trained to do this, they often improvised elaborate cadenzas on the spot. Composers usually wrote cadenzas for their pieces and those the ones most frequently performed.

Mndoyants has Read More

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: Final Three Finalists Display Their Talents

by

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
By ANN MCLAUGHLIN
 
Final Three Finalists Display Their Talents

The weather in Fort Worth has been one of many very pleasant surprises during the Cliburn Competition. The oppressive heat and humidity one expects at this time of year have been blessedly absent.

The Bass Performance Hall, however, maintains the arctic chill typical of every interior space in the city. No wonder the Cliburn’s back stage “mom” keeps a heating pad on hand, reportedly clutched like a teddy bear by the competitors before each performance.

The youngest Read More

Moscow Hosts International Drug Enforcement Conference

by

DEA News:

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Government of Russia, in cooperation with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), presided over the 30th Annual International Drug Enforcement Conference (IDEC) June 5-7.

The conference brought together high-level drug law enforcement officials from more than 100 countries throughout the world. IDEC typically focuses on issues such as global drug trafficking organizations, precursor chemical control, the nexus between drugs and terrorism, financial facilitators, demand reduction, and intelligence sharing across multi-national law Read More

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition: First Three Finalists Perform with Fort Worth Symphony

by

Posts Live from Van Cliburn International Piano Competition
By ANN MCLAUGHLIN
 
First Three Finalists Perform with Fort Worth Symphony

Last night, the audience was much larger and the stage was filled with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra for the finals of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition.

Leonard Slatkin, in his first appearance at the Cliburn, led the orchestra through some very challenging repertoire. This gig makes unusual demands on everyone involved. Each pianist has about an hour to rehearse with the orchestra, precious little time when the works they are playing Read More