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Ethiopia starts filling the basin in their GERD water project, cutting waters to Sudan and Egpyt on the Blue Nile. Ethiopia essentially telling its neighbors that it will do as it GERD dam wants to.

https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/egypt-informs-ethiopia-its-categorical-refusal-second-gerd-filling-statement-2021-07-05/

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Jul 6, 2021Liked by SGBear

I imagine that Egypt and Sudan will act Aswan on this matter

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Egypt at one point said it would bomb the dam. These kind of natural resource struggles will get increasingly prevalent as climate change continues.

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Today in Covid

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The other reopening activity - threw a 4th of July party at one of my live/work buildings, which was very nice, and it was broadly palpable how happy people were to see each other again. It was kinda emotional. Outside of course - I provided the drinks, the tenants brought various foodstuffs. Then later I watched the local fireworks from the roof deck where I live, Atoms came over and I shared 3 bottle of Bourbon & Rye with various tenants - oddly, from what I've read, the volume of fireworks was about 1/3 of a normal year.

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Last week I went out to lunch with a business partner for the first time post-pandemic, early on he asked if I was vaccinated. I said of course, as I can't imagine not being so, when vaccines are safe and available. But he recounted that in the prior week he when out to lunch with a couple of big RE guys (that he respects), and asked them toward the end about being vaccinated - and they were "oh no, experimental, etc..." no surprise, the RE industry has a large supply of Trumpers, even in CA.

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The old man basketball league I play in has talked about possibly restarting the weekly pickup games when we are able to get back into the gym. Just about everyone that has replied in the thread has said they want everyone to be vaccinated. There are about 3 that have said that they don't feel like people who want to play should be required to take an experimental vaccine with unknown long term effects (right wing talking points). At least 2 of them have said it's illegal to require vaccines (it isn't). That's the ones that have done a reply-all. I guess we'll see but I hope it will be vaccine required, and given how many reply-alls have said they want it to be vaccine required, I'm guessing it will end up that way.

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I have come out of my retirement to play for the Cal team in a US university tournament. The guy running the Cal team is a little bit annoying - declaring himself point guard and sending around youtube videos of Jrue Holiday running pick and rolls "maybe we should run this play?" - dude I saw you play at practice, You cannot run a pick and roll.

But I'm going to shut up - because he organized everything. I just plan to find my outside shot (absent at the first practice) and when I find it, I'm going to make it rain. Only one other guy has played organized basketball before, but the last decade that I played and then stopped playing, I played very passively. Sit at the top of the key, rotate the ball, find open shooters, run back and play defense, yell out rotations. I feel like I might have to be more aggressive, but I'm also afraid of injury. Next practice I'll look for my shot more.

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The nephew who refused to be vaccinated finally caves in and will get the vaccine this week.

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That is good news!

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I think I heard on the news that 99 per cent of new cases are unvaccinated. Seems like it works and reports of side effects are rare.

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https://twitter.com/dsilvermint/status/1411227186896379905?s=10

@dsilvermint: Look, either get vaccinated before more strains appear or we all have to learn the Greek alphabet. Those are the options.

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Case loads in DC, MD, and VA have absolutely plummeted - amazing what happens when you get folks vaccinated:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-hospitals-empty-covid/2021/07/02/cce9d414-d9bc-11eb-bb9e-70fda8c37057_story.html

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[WaPo/ABC Poll]: We've nearly run out of non-vaccinated Democrats and GOP who want to be vaccinated.

‘The survey finds that 86 percent of Democrats have received at least one shot of a vaccine, compared with 45 percent of Republicans. Another 7 percent of Democrats say they are likely to do so, compared with 4 percent of Republicans.’

https://twitter.com/carlzimmer/status/1412227915102703618

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Phenomenally stupid...

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Miniature

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Disneyland Fantasyland boat ride

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Legoland

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Bonzai

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There's a place in the Hague called Madurodam which is basically "Holland in miniature" - one of the few tourist attractions we went to more than once in the time that we lived there, between occasional visitors, school trips, etc. It seems like it's a bit fancier now than in the late 70s, can't imagine why.

https://www.madurodam.nl/en

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Elsewhere in college

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Terry Donahue dies at 77: Winningest football coach in UCLA history also served as 49ers GM

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/terry-donahue-dies-at-77-winningest-football-coach-in-ucla-history-also-served-as-49ers-gm/

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for a long time he was the highest paid employee in the State of California.

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second only to my crippling social awkwardness in screwing up my fall Sundays as an undergrad

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Apparently most Pac wins of any coach too.

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And the guy with the best tan.

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SJSU back-up Trujillo transfers to Iowa Cental CC. Cal Poly's starting QB Jalen Hamler transfers to SJSU. Spencer Brasch, who transferred to Cal Poly from Cal, is now in a good position to compete for a starting role vs. Hunter Raquet and Bruce Connor.

https://twitter.com/JHussle4/status/1412094781459603460

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About Cal Poly... granted, they had a short and horribly Covid-affected 2020 season. However, their defense was historically bad. How bad? On a per game average, they gave up the equivalent of what 2014 Jared Goff passed **and** the 2004 Cal Bears with JJ Arrington/Marshawn Lynch rushed. That was the average with some being worse.

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Our damaged democracy

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Biden allies brace for GOP attacks when southern border reopens

https://www.politico.com/news/2021/07/06/biden-gop-southern-border-498206

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I mostly took the weekend off doom scrolling and you know what? It was great.

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Agreed! Me too (for the most part)

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PRO

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3rd year receiver/former 1sts round pick N'Keal Harry requests a trade from the Pats via a public announcement through is agent. He has 2 years left on his rookie contract.

https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/1412472216235749377

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Columbus Blue Jackets back-up goalie killed in tragic fireworks accident.

https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/31764017/columbus-blue-jackets-goalie-matiss-kivlenieks-24-dies-tragic-accident

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So awful

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Yeah I heard about that. Initially they said he died when he hit is head on concrete after slipping but then after the autopsy they said he died of blunt force trauma when he was hit by a shell.

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NBA

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Suns/Bucks start tonight. Predictions? I don't see Giannis playing this series, especially if there is potential for long term damage. Suns in 5.

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A's don't lose the off-day

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*against

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Giants lose 5-3 to the Cardinals

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Meanwhile, the new alternate uniforms suck.

https://www.mccoveychronicles.com/2021/7/6/22564116/san-francisco-giants-city-connect-jerseys

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Better than the Johnnie LeMaster, Friday-night orange Fanta garbage

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I agree with this. I don't like these new ones, but I fucking hate those Friday night orange jerseys.

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Who thought either were even necessary, much less a good idea?

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Lots of squads do an alternative uni, and while I acknowledge I’m in the minority, I don’t despise the new ones, altho I find the G to be rather meh...an SF logo, would’ve sufficed.

But those orange numbers are awful...the black jerseys were ok, tho.

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I don't think it is, actually. The faded, color-gradient numbers are an instant fail for me.

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But, but, but that's Karl, the Fog... so, so clever. 🤣

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I like the bridge...depending on how often they use it.

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[New Era]: "Hold my beer."

https://twitter.com/ASCSportsMedia/status/1412476102149349376

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Holy crap.

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Dodgers’ nine-game winning streak snapped in Miami

https://www.truebluela.com/2021/7/5/22564500/los-angeles-dodgers-mlb-miami-marlins-walker-buehler

The Dodgers’ nine-game winning streak came to an end on Monday, as they fell to the Marlins, 5-4.

The Dodgers put two across the board in the third inning. Walker Buehler scorched a double to lead off the inning for his fifth hit of the season. He’d come in to score on a double from Chris Taylor, giving LA the 1-0 lead. Justin Turner brought in Taylor with a single, putting LA up by two runs.

It looked like it was going to be a 1-2-3 bottom of the third for Buehler, but chaos with two outs ensued. After two quick outs, everything just went wrong. He hit Starling Marte with a pitch, putting a runner on. He then proceeded to steal second base. Garrett Cooper followed by singling in Miami’s first run of the game. Cooper then stole second for his first stolen base of the season.

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A's set to take on Trashtros in Houston this evening. Hopefully the impact of Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Red Sox is behind the team. Ramon Laureano appears to still be bothered by his groin injury both at bat and on the base paths.

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I went to see DC United - Toronto FC on Saturday.. sports! in person! DCU won 7-1 and it could have been 8 but for a merciful offsides decision by the referee

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CAL

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Cory Hall

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"Built 1950. Named for Clarence L. Cory, dean of the College of Mechanics and a faculty member for almost 40 years, Cory had a fifth floor added in 1985, the exterior of which features a computer chip-inspired design motif. The building houses a state-of-the-art electronic micro-fabrication facility and labs devoted to integrated circuits, lasers, and robotics. Cory has the dubious distinction of being the only site bombed twice by "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski in the 1980s."

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Go Bears!!!

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