The Brazilian Texas Magazine - Edition - July 2015

Antonio J. Galafassi, President and CEO of TRAMONTINA USA,INC

Honorable Ambassador MĂ rio Ernani Saade Consul General of Brazil in Houston

GOURMET

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MADE IN

In this issue Obama refers to Brazil as global power P:7

General News Obama refers to Brazil as global power

A giant in the sky Embraer successfully completed the first flight of the KC-390 P:24

P:7

BRATECC Offshore 2015 P:5

Ricardo Anawate Vice President and General Manager of Gerdau’s steel mill in Jackson, Tennessee

While speaking to the press next to President Dilma Rousseff, Obama said he “trusts her completely,” and that he has had an “excellent relationship” with the Latin American country ever since she took office. After unveiling a deal in which both agree to increase the share of renewable energy in their total production, the two heads of state answered questions posed by journalists. One of them addressed Rousseff.The inquiry raised doubt as to what to make of diverging views on the role of Brazilwhile the Latin American country sees itself as a key world power, the US regards the nation as playing a local role.

P:8

Brazil and US sign climate change deal

Speeding into Today: The Texas Central High Speed Rail P:18

Rising to the challenge P:12

P:7

Otto Dasilva Vice President of Engineering Exmar Offshore Rising to the challenge P:14

During a meeting between Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Barack Obama held in Washington, Brazil and the US reached an agreement affirming both governments’ commitment to mitigate the causes of climate change.

To achieve this goal, the two countries agreed to raise the production of renewable energy to a target of 20 percent of the total. The Brazil-US Joint Statement on Climate Change commits Brazil to implementing policies to eradicate illegal deforestation and bring about an ambitious increase in the carbon dioxide trapped through reforestation and forest restoration.

Brazil has further pledged to bring 12 million hectares of forest back to life by 2030.

Quilombo is in Rio de Janeiro at the top of lope, near the street Fonte da Saudade, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, south of the city, one of the neighborhoods with the most expensive square meter of the country.

P:22

Editorial

12 Year Service our commuinty Time doesn’t stand still, neither do we! We give continuity to our work, focusing in providing quality, and in expanding our objectives as a communication vehicle, as well as a promoter of businesses’ interests between Brazil and United States. This is our mission. We do not want to give emphasis to any specific subject matter; we strive to be open to all segments of the community and to be an independent and truthful instrument for the exchange of ideas that benefit our general audience. Our principal objective has always been the spread of our culture and to expose Brazil’s business potential in many sectors. Our efforts were recently rewarded with the Brazilian Press Award 2013. Through these 12 years of service, we are grateful to have achieved this. Again, as the time continues to pass, we will continue to endeavor to offer the best. We hope, through this edition, to offer you a pleasurable reading experience with our articles, interviews, and general information. Thanks so much for those that have deposited their trust on us for many years and a special mention to the Magazine cooperators, readers, and places that have warmly allowed us to place our publication for distribution.

Sergio Lima

Editorial Staff Editor-in-Chief Sergio Lima Foreign Correspondents Brazil Sergio Luis Sergio@braziliantexasmagazine.net Rio das Ostras, RJ Brazil Leandro Lima Leandro@braziliantexasmagazine.net Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil Mexico Jobell Lima Jobell@braziliantexasmagazine.net Guadalajara, Mexico Editorial Board Joe Rondan Claudio Teixeira Mario A. Campos Claudia Leonora Glaspel Associate Editor Valter Aleixo Contributing Editor Otto Fanini Cover Joe Rondan Photos Maria Lima Contact Email vidabrasil@hotmail.com sergio@braziliantexamagazine.net Address 19335 Cypress Peak Ln. Katy,Tx-77449 Phone: (832) 206 8419 Members of Brazilian Press International Association Phone: 954-548-5626 E-mail: info@abiinter.

NEWS Obama refers to Brazil as global power US President Barack Obama described Brazil as a global power, and not just a regional player, adding that international talks on such crucial topics as economy, climate, and terrorism can only be successful if Brazil takes part in them. While speaking to the press next to President Dilma Rousseff, Obama said he “trust[s] her completely,” and that he has had an “excellent relationship” with the Latin American country ever since she took office. After unveiling a deal in which both agree to increase the share of renewable energy in their total production, the two heads of state answered questions posed by journalists. One of them addressed Rousseff. The inquiry raised doubt as to what to make of diverging views on the role of Brazilwhile the Latin American country sees itself as a key world power, the US regards the nation as playing a local role.

In his turn to reply, Obama made a point of saying that Brazil is a major “global power.” “We see Brazil as a global power, not a regional player. If you think about the preeminent economic forum for coordinating between major economies, the G-20 [the world’s top 20 economies], Brazil is a major voice in that,” the US president said, adding that issue of climate change can only succeed if Brazil takes the lead.

It shows how much of a global power Brazil is, he argued.

In her response, Dilma Rousseff once again mentioned the similarities between the two countries, and said that, just as the US overcame the 2008-2009 economic crisis, Brazil will also “tackle the effects currently making an impact on itself.” According to Obama, if the North American country is looking to be successful in such pursuits as the eradication of misery and the fight against extreme poverty in the world, it needs partners and Brazil is one of them “I told President Dilma last night that, you know, the US, as powerful as we are and as interested as we are in solving a whole range of international issues, recognizes we can’t do it alone.”

Rousseff also mentioned the surveillance allegations targeting Brazilian nationals and authorities made by the National Security Agency (NSA), which forced the Latin American president to call of her official visit to Washington, slated for 2013, and said that “from then on, a few things have changed.” She noted “the fact that Obama and the US stated on other occasions that there wouldn't be any more intrusive acts against partner countries,” and added, “I believe Obama; he told me that, if he needed any classified information on Brazil, he would call me. I’m sure conditions are significantly different now.”

Brazil and US sign climate change deal During a meeting between Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Barack Obama held Tuesday (Jun 30) in Washington, Brazil and the US reached an agreement affirming both governments' commitment to mitigate the causes of climate change.

To achieve this goal, the two countries agreed to raise the production of renewable energy to a target of 20 percent of the total.

The Brazil-US Joint Statement on Climate Change commits Brazil to implementing policies to eradicate illegal deforestation and bring about an ambitious increase in the carbon dioxide trapped through reforestation and forest restoration. Brazil has further pledged to bring 12 million hectares of forest back to life by 2030.

In the statement, the two heads of state acknowledged the need to boost the use of renewable energy to help stimulate the economy in both countries. They also agreed to work towards an agreement at the 21st Conference of Parties

(COP 21) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held late this year in France. The expansion of cooperation in matters related to the sustainable use of land, clean energy, as well as new and better forest and agricultural land management models was also among the topics in the agreement In addition, Brazil and the US promised to strengthen the ties between universities and educational institutions in the two countries.

Brazil and the US are also expected to join efforts in the generation of safe and sustainable nuclear energy, sharing expertise and adapting to climate changes in such areas as biodiversity and ecosystems, infrastructure, agriculture, food safety, and water resources. Projects are many, with goals ranging from reducing water consumption to cutting down on pollutants, apart from educational and awareness campaigns.

Gerdau

in Jackson, Tennessee Gerdau, one of the largest suppliers of long steel in the world, has been in operations for more than 114 years. The company, which transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into steel every year, started operations as a nail factory in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 1901.

Ricardo Anawate Vice President and General Manager of Gerdau’s steel mill in Jackson, Tennessee While actively participating in the Brazilian steel sector privatization, the company continued its growth internationally with the purchase of Courtice Steel located in Ontario, Canada, in 1989. The expansion of the business outside Brazil resulted in the entry of markets in Chile, Argentina, the United States, Colombia, Spain, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Guatemala and India.

Since then, Gerdau has established 337 industrial units in 14 countries. Globally, the company employs 45,000 people and has an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel. It is the largest recycler in Latin America and one of the largest recyclers in North America.

Gerdau’s long steel business division, with main offices located in Tampa, Florida, has 16 operating steel mills throughout the U.S. and Canada. In addition, the company has a network of downstream, rebar fabrication facilities and scrap recycling facilities throughout North America. With a staff of approximately 8,500, the company serves customers by offering a diverse and balanced product mix of merchant steel, rebar, structural shapes, fabricated steel, special bar quality steel and wire rod.

João Gerdau, a German immigrant, and his son Hugo acquired the nail factory that laid the foundation for what Gerdau is today.

From there, a successful business legacy was built and marked by the entrepreneurial spirit of the following generations of the Gerdau-Johannpeter family. Today the company's management includes members of the fourth and fifth generation of the family.

In 1946, Curt Johannpeter, Hugo's son-in-law, took over the company and led it through a decisive phase of business expansion the beginning of steel production. In 1948 it acquired the Riograndense mill, also located in Porto Alegre, to ensure the supply of raw material for the nail factory. The new plant used the minimill concept, a model based on the use of scrap and regional sales, keeping its operating costs more competitive. The first step in the internationalization process occurred in Uruguay with the acquisition of Siderurgica Laisa in 1980.

Generally, Gerdau‘s North American products are sold to steel service centers, steel fabricators and original equipment manufacturers for multiple industries, including non-residential, infrastructure, commercial, industrial and residential construction. Brazilian-native, Ricardo Anawate, vice president and general manager at Gerdau’s steel mill in Jackson, Tennessee, has been with Gerdau for more than 34 years. Anawate spent more than six years in Texas as vice president and general manager of Gerdau’s steel mill in Beaumont, before moving to Tennessee.

“Gerdau‘s mission is to create value for our customers, shareholders, employees and communities by operating as a sustainable steel business,” Anawate said.

“As a company, we intend to accomplish this mission by being a global organization, geographically diverse, and being the benchmark in any business we conduct.”

Gerdau steel mills produce steel using an electric arc furnace, rather than a blast furnace, which is the equipment used to create steel from liquid iron. The technology used in an electric arc furnace involves the melting and conversion of recycled steel scrap into high-quality steel products.

Gerdau’s consumption of steel scrap, which would otherwise sit in landfills, makes the company one of the top recyclers in the country. As with many successful companies, Gerdau believes in strong ethics and values. For Gerdau, these values are strongly related to customers and employees, the safety of our people, focusing on results, displaying integrity with all stakeholders, and economic, social and environmental sustainability.

“Ultimately, we aim to be the customer’s supplier of choice.

The Jackson Steel Mill, which began operations in 1981 and has the capacity to produce 700,000 tons of steel annually, employs approximately 350 people. It manufacturers merchant bar products and light structural products such as flats, squares, angles and channels, which are used in the civil construction and consumer product markets. The products are shipped to steel service centers and end-use customers for use in a wide variety of applications such as civil, construction, agricultural, telecommunications, marine and more.

These values became part of the company’s culture throughout the 114 years of existence and five generations of leaders,” he added. Due to its commitment to the communities in which it operates, Gerdau has a robust social responsibility program, and Gerdau and its employees have a long history of community involvement. “We sponsor and support a wide variety of community and charitable organizations, and we are actively involved with educational initiatives that impact children and young adults,” Anawate said.

“Specifically at our Jackson mill, we’re Partners-in-Education with our local high school in addition to partnering with local elementary schools for Earth Day activities,” Anawate said.

About Gerdau

“Gerdau strongly believes in sustainability and values the long-term relationships that have developed with the communities surrounding our locations,” Anawate said.Gerdau’s social responsibility program extends globally to the 14 countries where the company operates. Employees at Gerdau’s Jackson mill participate in food drives by donating thousands of pounds of canned food to organizations such as the Regional Interfaith Association. Additionally, they partner with a number of organizations on social responsibility activities, including local high schools on mentoring programs, employee blood drives, and providing Holiday gifts to local nursing homes.

Gerdau is the leading producer of long steel in the Americas and one of the largest suppliers of special long steel in the world. It has more than 45,000 employees and industrial operations in 14 countries with operations in the Americas, Europe and Asia, which together represent an installed capacity of more than 25 million metric tons of steel per year.

Gerdau is the largest recycler in Latin America and around the world and transforms millions of metric tons of scrap into steel every year. Gerdau is listed on the stock exchanges of São Paulo, New York and Madrid and has approximately 140,000 shareholders.

Kimberly M. Selph Senior Manager, Communications and Public Affairs Gerdau Long Steel North America Tel. (813) 362-6394 kimberly.selph@gerdau.com Kaley E. Goodfellow Specialist II, Communications and Public Affairs Gerdau Long Steel North America Tel. (813) 207-2235 kaley.goodfellow@gerdau.com

GOURMET

An innovative use of the ballast system on LLOG’s Delta House improved safety and saved time during riser installation. Exmar Offshore experts explain the process to Jennifer Pallanich.

ON dep has Hou

Rising to the challe (Photo credit: Exmar Offshore)

Otto Dasilva graduated from the Polytechnic School of Engineering at the University of São Paulo in 1987.

For the last 18 years he has been working at Exmar Offshore Company where he currently holds the position of Vice President of Engineering.Otto was intimately involved with the concept development, design and construction of the OPTI production semisubmersible hulls from Exmar over the past six years and most recently implemented a new method for installing risers on their floating production platform, the Delta House.The innovative method was recognized during the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in May 2015 in which a technical paper on the subject and the following interview and article, that was featured in Upstream Technology magazine by Jennifer Pallanish.

Exmar designed the OPTI-11000 deep-draft semisubmersible for Delta House around several criteria, one of which was easy riser installation. The floating production unit installed in 1372-metre water depths at Mississippi Canyon

block 254 has space allocated for 18 risers, so efficient and safe riser installation was crucial.To date, six production risers and two export risers have been installed at the Gulf of Mexico facility using what Exmar dubbed the Fully Aligned Stress-joint Trimming (FAST) Riser Pull-In method.

“We were thinking about installation at the beginning,” says David Lim, managing director of Exmar Offshore. The OPTI hull designs feature an extended pontoon combined with a deck inboard of the multi-sided columns, which create a 12-degree angle that “allowed us to play with the ballast”. Otto DaSilva, Exmar’s VP of engineering, says the design “created a perfect geometry” for the riser installation.

The FAST Riser Pull-in method calls for trimming and heeling the OPTI-11000 hull to create sufficient clearance between the pull-in cable and riser adapter prior to installation.

“Most take the semi, any hull, and leave it.We’re all trying to design something that doesn’t move,” Lim says, noting the company has also done “significant work” on a dry tree version of the OPTI design. “And here we are, demonstrating

"This article originally appeared in Upstream Technology magazine - copyright 2015".

STREAM: Moored in 4,500 feet water pth in the Gulf of Mexico, the OPTI-11000 s been on production for LLOG at Delta use since earlier this year.

enge

to the world that this thing moves but according to a precise and controlled method.”At each of the eight currently in-use riser porches – ten porches remain open for future expansion – a proprietary riser adapter was installed. Each adapter was designed with the specific declination and azimuth of its riser in mind.“The adapter is a big piece of it,” Lim says.

DaSilva says the adapter seems “deceptively simple, but it is really complex. ”The adapters can be installed on the platform during construction or at any other point ahead of riser installation, and they are angled to allow proper alignment and address the varying azimuths of risers.Exmar Offshore will again take advantage of this later this year when it uses the FAST Riser Pull-in method to install two more production risers.Due to the porch design, they can be installed without requiring any underwater welding.

A sufficient clearance run around the Delta House topsides perimeter deck provides room for the 4.5inch wire running between the main winch and the turn down sheave.‘The difficulty was visualisation. We had to show the various companies involved visually how the process would work,” DaSilva says of the other companies involved in the riser installation process. “We had to explain to them how the equipment should be laid out” for the FAST Riser Pull-in method to be conducted.

Time saver

“We were thinking about installation at the beginning,” David Lim, managing director of Exmar Offshore.

Installing the steel catenary risers requires between 100 tons and 500 tons of hoisting capacity. A single pull-in winch was located on the main deck to provide that capacity, while corner deflector sheaves and turndown sheaves were temporarily and strategically placed in line with each of the eight riser pull-in locations. The 4.5inch wire wound around the perimeter of the deck to the point of each riser as it was installed. When the cable was not in tension, it lay in a wooden trough around the perimeter of the deck. The overall deck layout, with the clear 2-meter perimeter to accommodate the cable, was designed to prevent the need for major equipment moves between each riser installation.Not having to relocate most equipment between each riser installation resulted in over 20 hours of time saved per riser, the company says. “The process was simple.

LOCK IN: The riser adapter can be installed from a crane above the porch. The porch saddles self-align the adapter and lock in position.

(Photo credit: Exmar Offshore)

ALL SET: The riser adapter has been installed on a riser porch.

The riser installation contractor never had to wait for the platform to be ready for a pull-in,” says Blair Kirkland, Delta House hull coordinator.The contractor also indicated the fastest time between landing risers was 36 hours, with an average wait of 48 hours. The original schedule called for about 72 hours on average for the riser installation. “The contractor repeatedly told us they had never seen a job be done this fast,” Kirkland adds.Technip’s Deep Blue pre-laid four of the production risers and the two export riser lines.

Exmar says the efficiency of the FAST Riser Pull-in method allowed the i nstallation contractor to reduce the duration of the schedule’s critical path when pulling in risers, resulting in an accelerated schedule for the overall project. During that process, a tapered titanium stress joint was welded to the riser, and a pull-in head was attached.

When it was time for each riser to be installed, a remotely operated vehicle pulled a winch wire from the production semi to the pull-in head on the riser, while the riser was still supported by the Deep Blue. The ROV connected the pull-in cable and the pull-in head.

"This article originally appeared in Upstream Technology magazine - copyright 2015".

Otto Dasilva Vice President of Engineering Exmar Offshore “We removed the exposure of divers, so that’s one less player exposed.”

(Photo: Khalil AbuSharekh)

At that point, the winch on the semi began pulling in the riser. This maneuver transferred the riser load from the Deep Blue to the Delta House semi, which took on additional list and trim. Once the “handshake” was complete and Deep Blue no longer bore the riser load, an ROV cut the sacrificial grommet to disconnect the wire to the installation vessel.

The winch on the topsides pulled in the riser until the pull-in head was above the riser adapter.

“We had zero downtime on all eight pull-ins due to weather despite experiencing sea states of seven to nine feet and winds up to 25 knots,” Kirkland adds. Exmar Offshore’s part in the riser installation operations took placeduring October and November of 2014.

The riser’s weight combined with the angle change of the riser created a gap of several meters between the riser and the adapter. The semi redistributed ballast to reduce list and trim, thereby lowering the deck and movingthe adapter toward the riser. Using computer models that replicated the images from underwater cameras, the procedure aligned the riser to the adapter for successful installation of each of the risers. “In our opinion, steering winches don’t let you control the riser as well as our ballasting procedure,” Kirkland says. DaSilva says installing each riser took six hours, from connecting the platform winch cable to the riser pullhead to the riser landing on the porch. The method provided a total schedule savings of about 30 percent versus traditional riser installation approaches,he says.

Initial Delta House production began in early 2Q 2015, and LLOG has said it expects to bring eight wells online by the end of the year. The production semi is designed for peak capacity of 100,000 barrels of oil per day and 240 million cubic feet of gas per day (Upstream Technology 02/2014).

Improved safety DaSilva says traditional riser installation requires divers in the water at times when a lot of activity is going on and while the installation vessel is close to the platform. The divers would be required to connect additional cables between the

"This article originally appeared in Upstream Technology magazine - copyright 2015".

HEEL AND SHAKE: Initial heel on Delta House before the handshake transfers riser loads from the Deep Blue installation vessel to the production semi.

(Photo credit: Exmar Offshore)

“The riser installation contractor never had to wait for the platform to be ready for a pull-in.”

Blair Kirkland, Exmar Offshore (Photo: Khalil AbuSharekh)

DEEP VISION: Exmar confirmed proper riser alignment during installation by using cameras on the pontoon and computer modeling.

(Photo credit: Exmar Offshore) steering winches and the riser pull head, passing to multiple underwater sheaves located on the platform columns. “This creates a lot of exposure to dangerous situations for divers,” he says. “We removed the exposure of divers, so that’s one less player exposed.” During the installation, CalDive’s divers were only in the water to install the cameras on the pontoon before the pull in, disconnect the riser pull head and install the jumpers between the riser and the on-hull piping after the pull in.

The company gained international attention in 2006 when it announced it would build an OPTI-EX unit on spec. “We’re still the only company in the world that has built a production semisubmersible on spec. We got to start with a clean sheet of paper and build what we wanted,” Lim says “Of course, we needed an operator, a partner to believe in what we designed, and that was LLOG.” LLOG purchased the OPTI-EX to produce its deepwater Who Dat field in the Gulf of Mexico.

The real-time camera display angle did not always match the computer models generated during the engineering phase. DaSilva modified his spreadsheets to reconcile the discrepancy of view angles. The final result was “a perfect match” between the computer model and the live feed that was used to guarantee the riser alignment ahead of the final lowering into the adapter.

The OPTI-EX has been online since 2011. “When I look back at it now, the risk we took in building a production semisubmersible was enormous, crazy. I know that because enough people told me that,” Lim adds. As for the FAST Pull-in Riser method, Exmar may license it, but the FAST system is “part and parcel of what makes the OPTI,” Lim says. “It’s about the whole thing, all these things you get with it. All the pieces are proprietary. They can stand on their own, but it works best together.” Lim says the ability to successfully change the ballast in a hull for riser installation opens up a host of other possibilities. “If you’re prepared to go that far, there are other things you can do to improve installation. We’re looking at that and want to go forward with it,” Lim says.

Celebration time “That project is finished. We celebrated, we drank the champagne, we blew out the candles and ate the cake,” Lim says.

While Exmar didn’t have a contract for a third OPTI as of early May, Lim is “confident one’s coming.” In the meantime, he says, Exmar’s engineers are working through the lessons learned from Delta House. “Even when we design something that is innovative and out of the box and objectively impressive, we always wish we could have another bite of the apple,” Lim says. Exmar Offshore had plenty of freedom from its parent company, Exmar NV, to create the OPTI design. Much of the success of the OPTI design is owed to the accumulation of practical experience of the company’s staff, Lim says.

"This article originally appeared in Upstream Technology magazine - copyright 2015".

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Speeding i The Texas Centra

It’s no secret that I’m a big supporter of railways in

all forms.In previous issues of Brazil Texas magazine, I’ve written about São Paulo Metrô Line 4 and the Rio-São Paulo Bullet Train, both projects I’ve been involved with. And now, here is an article about the Texas Central Railway project. This is a great project to provide 200+ mph high speed rail service between the two largest metropolitan areas in Texas: Houston and the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex.

The Texas Central Railway (TCR) project is planned to be a high-speed railway that will run between Dallas and Houston, using technology similar to that being used in Japan on the Tokaido Shinkansen System. That railway in Japan is what many people know of as the Japanese Bullet Train.The technology to be used in Texas would have trains capable of traveling up to 205 mph, with a journey time between Dallas and Houston at under 90 minutes.

The project is privately funded, would use no taxpayer money to build or operate, and would be economically and environmentally sound. Like other rail projects I’ve written about, I’m a big supporter of this one. All of the information in this article and much more can be found on the internet, primarily the Texas Central Railway website ( www.TexasCentral.com), and the Federal Railroad Administration’s website (http://www.fra. dot.gov/Page/P0700).

Service will run out of Houston and Dallas. From the stations, passengers will easily be able to rent a car, be picked-up by a family member, friend or colleague, hail a cab, or access public transportation such as the DART in Dallas or Houston’s METRO. The plan is to have service beginning as early as 2021. Once completed, passengers will be able to purchase their ticket online, similar to purchasing an airline ticket, or at the station like any other train service.

into Today: al High Speed Rail The project is currently in the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process. The EIS process is required by law under the National Environmental Protection Act, or NEPA. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) is leading the EIS, and coordinating with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT). TCR has spent several years identifying potential routes for high-speed rail service between Dallas and Houston.

They are now looking at a number of alternative routes.

The selection process can be followed on the FRA’s website. Once the preferred alignment is selected, and the project is approved through the NEPA process, a Record of Decision (ROD) will be issued by the FRA. The ROD and other necessary permits will allow the project to move forward into construction. It is anticipated that the ROD will be issued in late 2016, and that construction of the project can begin in 2017, with commercial operations starting in late 2021.

Through a very extensive process of detailed analysis and public involvement, a single preferred alternative will be determined. When finally selected, the preferred alternative will be an alignment that is best suited to satisfy the goals of the project and provide reliable, safe and economically viable high-speed rail service.

One of the company’s stated goals is to reduce the project’s impact on communities and landowners to the extent practicable by using existing rights of way.

It’s estimated that nearly 50,000 Texans travel back and forth between Houston and Dallas more than once per week, and many others make the trip very regularly. The trip between the two cities is approximately 240 miles and those making this journey have the choice of private automobiles, airline flights between the two cities’ airports, and bus service. While there is currently no direct rail service by Amtrak between the two cities, it is possible to travel by train.

Speeding into Today: The Texas Central High Speed Rail

But most people would likely not want to do it today.

According to the Amtrak reservation system, to get to Dallas from Houston, one would leave Houston at about 6:55pm, and arrive in San Antonio at about 12:05 am that night.In San Antonio there would be a wait until about seven hours for the train from San Antonio that leaves at 7:00 am and arrives in Dallas at 3:20 pm. The total journey would take about 20 hours!

All that would change with the TCR project: a clean, safe, comfortable journey time in under 90 minutes.

Many people will likely tell you that their travel time by car between Dallas and Houston is currently around four hours. To make the journey by air is typically two and one half to three hours, including airport time, and that is when everything goes right. Any weather or mechanical delays only makes it longer. Express bus service is available with a journey time of around four hours. And according to TxDOT, the journey by highway is expected to increase to over six and one half hours in the next 20 years. While unofficial, the railway company’s projections show that approximately 10,000 jobs will be created each year over the project’s planned 4-year construction period. And then, once it is up and running, 750 full-time skilled jobs will be created along the route, and at each end for the railroad’s operations. Something that is not immediately realized by many people is that as a private company, the project will be a significant taxpayer to the state, counties and school districts where tracks, stations and other facilities are located. The construction job opportunities, employment from on-going operations, great transportation service, and the tax revenue stream from a project of this magnitude seems to me like a great deal for the people of Texas.

The N700-I technology is the international version of the Tokaido Shinkansen system currently in operation between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, and very similar to that being used on the Taiwan high speed railway. This international version will feature all the core system parts and corresponding maintenance and operations protocols that have made Tokaido Shinkansen operations safe, efficient and successful. The technology to be deployed in Texas is based on technology that has operated for over 50 years in Japan, boasting a perfect track record of zero passenger fatalities or injuries due to train accidents. The development of high speed rail in Texas has been a long journey. But it is now looking more and more like a reality. There are many people, including myself, who have been early supporters of high speed rail for Texas and continue to be so. I encourage the readers to check out the Texas Central Railway website, and follow the project on the FRA’s website as it makes its way through the environmental process. And I hope that many of us will be taking a ride together on the first true high speed railway in the United States.

Culture

Law protects Quilombo Sacopã the First Urban Quilombo in Rio de Janeiro The Municipality of Rio de Janeiro published a law recognizing the Quilombo Sacopã as a Special Area of ​​Cultural Interest (SAIC). The project became law after the house overthrow, by 28 votes to five, the veto made one year ago by Mayor Eduardo Paes. Quilombo is at the top of Sacopã slope, near the street Fonte da Saudade, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, south of the city, one of the neighborhoods with the most expensive square meter of the country. The maroon community is composed of eight remaining families of slaves for more than 100 years old live in an area of​​ 2.4 hectares surrounded by native forest and surrounded by high-class buildings. In town, overlooking part of the lagoon and the Corcovado Mountain, used to occur, every second Saturday of the month, the traditional samba with feijoada prepared firewood, to be prohibited by an injunction of Justice filed by neighboring condominiums. The community, located in the Morro da Saudade, the neighboring hill of Goats and between the neighborhoods of Ipanema and Copacabana, was especially known when big names in samba started attending the wheels in the 60s, attracting since many artists and becoming attraction tourist.

Walked around wobbly as João Nogueira, Zeca Pagodinho, Beth Carvalho, Dona Ivone Lara and Arlindo Cruz, in addition to writer and journalist Sergio Cabral (father of Rio governor) and the world-renowned designer Hans Donner, responsible for the visual identity of the Rede Globo . The actress Regina Case, celebrated his birthday on site last year with your family and friends. Early last month, officers sealed off the entrance to the maroon village as a development of a lawsuit filed in 1989 by a luxury condo neighbor who claims the input section. The quilombo land is also the subject of a repossession lawsuit filed by the estate construction Pronil on the grounds donate it to the area of environmental ​​ preservation of the municipality in which housing is sealed and trade.

However, the leader maroon Luiz Sacopã, president of the Union of the Remnant of Quilombo of the State of Rio de Janeiro, says that one of the main features is the Quilombo environmental preservation, inherited from an ecological conscience of their ancestors.According Sacopã, police action to block the community input directly hurt the constitutional right to come and go.

What is

were villages that refuge slaves escaping from farms and family homes, and Angola is a source term. The slaves went to the quilombos not be found, because where they lived were always exploited and suffered ill-treatment.

Quilombos were villages that were hidden in the woods, preferably in inaccessible places such as high mountains and caves, and was then where the slaves gathered and could lead a free life.

Small villages were also mocambos calls, and both they and quilombos lasted throughout the period of slavery in Brazil.

Culture Quilombo is at the top of Sacopã slope, near the street Fonte da Saudade, the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, south of the city, one of the neighborhoods with the most expensive square meter of the country.

Quilombo:

The term quilombo, was originally used just to get a place used by nomadic populations, or small camps traders, and with the onset of slavery, the slaves adopted the term for the place they fled, and was in Brazil that the term It won the sense that currently have.

One of the most famous quilombo was Palmares, which was then the captaincy of Pernambuco, currently the Brazilian state of Alagoas.

This quilombo was named as a slave called Zumbi was the great leader of the village.

The leader also recalled that successive attempts to remove the community contravention of article 68 of the Federal Constitution, printed on a sign on access to the Quilombo: “To the remnants of quilombo communities who are occupying their lands definitive ownership is recognized, and the state must issue Them the definitive titles. “The Sacopã is recognized since 2004 by the Palmares Cultural Foundation, Ministry of Culture of the body in charge of preserving the african-Brazilian cultural heritage. The new law recognizes as cultural interest area gives way to the final land regularization by the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform (INCRA).

History

Doing what their parents in the late nineteenth century, the end of slavery in Brazil, the couple Maria Rosa of the Carmelite Conception and Manoel Pinto Junior fled with her five children in a coffee farm in Nova Friburgo municipality to Rio de Janeiro at the end of the 1920s, coming to settle in what is now the number 250 Sacopã street and who was then a scrub. In the early twentieth century, due to its natural beauty, then virtually uninhabited neighborhood of Lagoa suffered an accelerated process of urbanization, advancing towards the south of the city, attracting interest from builders.

At the same time also occurred one slum process, culminating in the removal, in the 60s and 70s, resulting from a state policy to remove the poor of the region. Since then the neighborhood became prime area for the upper class of Rio de Janeiro. Because of this housing boom, twenty two luxury condos were built in the area of ​​street Fonte da Saudade, around the Sacopã quilombo. Among them was Sacopã Ranch, coming of the maroon ground. Urban growth swallowed the Sacopã quilombo, making it the first urban quilombo of the state of Rio de Janeiro and one in the south, procedure similar to that suffered by the Pedra do Sal quilombo, also in Rio. Despite urbanization, urban quilombos not mischaracterize with her and keep alive their traditions and ancestral customs, inseparable from its territory and history. The Family Pinto, as it is called black community, lies in the place 108 years ago and is already now in its sixth generation.

Besides the traditional feijoada with samba, quilombo Sacopã, currently consisting of 32 people, also hosts a carnival block, one of Rio created and controlled by a maroon community. Quilombos are differentiated collective properties guaranteed by Article 68 of the Constitution and regulated by Decree No. 4887/03 to be understood as ethnic and cultural resistance territories, maintains elements of national identity.

A giant in

Embraer successfully complete On August 19, 1969, Embraer – Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A. was founded. Their first mission was to produce and market the Bandeirante, a turboprop aircraft, intended for dual civilian and military use, with a capacity for transporting 15 to 21 passengers. Then came a request from the Brazilian Government to manufacture the EMB 326 Xavante, an advanced jet trainer and ground attack aircraft, under license from Italian company Aermacchi. Other notable developments during the beginning of our activities included the EMB 400 Urupema, a high performance glider, and the EMB 200 Ipanema, an agricultural crop duster. At the end of the 1970s, the development of new products – such as the EMB 312 Tucano and the EMB 120 Brasilia, followed by the AMX program, in cooperation with Aeritalia (now Alenia) and Aermacchi – enabled our company to move on to a new technological and industrial plane. Since then, the huge success achieved by the ERJ 145 platform and the E-Jet family, as well as the confirmation of Embraer’s definitive presence in the executive jet market with the launch of the Phenom, Legacy and Lineage families and the expansion of its operations in the aeronautical services market, have established solid bases for the future of our company.

With customers all over the world and important partners of international renown, today we are a major Brazilian exporter, with a rich portfolio of products and services in four business units: Commercial Aviation, Executive Aviation, Defense & Security, and Systems. This year, Embraer achieves an important milestone. The KC-390, the biggest project signed by Embraer, took to the skies on its maiden flight. This is an aircraft that promises to set a new standard in military tactical airlift capability.

Embraer KC-390 completes first flight Embraer’s KC-390 military transport aircraft has completed its first test flight. The maiden flight of the military transport and air-to-air refuelling aircraft took place at Sao Jose dos Campos in Brazil on February 3. Embraer said the aircraft flew for 85 minutes with test pilots Mozart Louzada and Marcos Salgado de Oliveira Lima, as well as flight test engineers Raphael Lima and Roberto Becker, at the helm. The pilots conducted a series of system tests and performed various manoeuvres to evaluate the flight characteristics of the aircraft.

“The KC-390 behaved in a docile and predictable manner,” Captain Louzada said in a statement on Tuesday Brazil time.

n the sky

ed the first flight of the KC-390 “The advanced fly-by-wire flight control system and the latest-generation avionics make flying easy and render a smooth and precise flight.”The KC-390 has garnered 28 orders from the Brazilian Air Force as well as 32 “purchase intentions” from other countries such as Argentina, Colombia and Chile

First delivery was expected in 2016.

“The KC-390 is the result of a close cooperation with the Brazilian Air Force and international partners, representing what is most likely the greatest technological challenge that the company has ever encountered in its history,” Embraer chief executive Frederico Fleury Curado said. Brazillian aeronautics commander Lieutenant-Brigadier General Nivaldo Luiz Rossato said the KC-390 would be the “backbone of transport aviation” for the country’s Air Force. “From the Amazon to Antarctica, the fleet of 28 aircraft will play a key role in the diversity of projects of the Brazilian State, from scientific research to the maintenance of sovereignty,” he said. The KC-390 is powered by International Aero Engines (IAE) V2500-V5 engines, which were rated at

31,330 pounds of thrust and a variant of the power plants used on the Airbus A320 family of aircraft. The engine supplier offered its congratulations following the first flight. “We are incredibly proud to support our partner Embraer in the development of this cutting-edge, world-class military aircraft,” IAE said in a statement. “We look forward to closely collaborating with Embraer through the next phase of testing to ensure on-time entry into service. “While Embraer and its customers desire maximum commonality with the V2500 engine, changes have been made to optimize installation with the new airframe.” Embraer defence and security chief executive Jackson Schneider said the KC-390 would “set a new standard in the category of tactical military transport”.

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