Fragrant and beautiful, some of the most prevalent flowers in nature offer more than good looks. Florals and their extracts have long been used as a way to heal common beauty ailments. Even in today's complex and scientifically advanced world, where it would seem fitting to use only modern ingredients, the simplistic restorative power of flowers remains unrivaled.
Commonly used in Ayurvedic practices and a key ingredient in Chinese medicine, the hibiscus flower effectively revives the skin since it's plentiful in anti-aging alphahydroxy acids (AHAs) and amino acids. The skin-perfecting benefits of hibiscus are endless—it exfoliates, protects against premature aging, tones, firms, hydrates and controls oil production—and is sometimes used in anti-cellulite creams and serums. Hibiscus is also revered for its scalp-replenishing and blood circulation–stimulating abilities. Indian women, known for their superthick, long and shiny hair, frequently use oil from the flower as an intense hair treatment.
With a history that spans thousands of years, the Asian-derived lotus flower is considered a sacred plant. Sweet and fragrant, this antioxidant-rich skin conditioner is touted for its ability to intensely hydrate parched and mature skin while also promoting a more elastic complexion, fading brown spots and erasing fine lines and wrinkles. Chock-full of anti-aging enzymes, the root of the plant is plentiful in vitamins B and C and iron—which are all beneficial for maintaining healthy skin.
Besides acting as an antiseptic and antibacterial, lavender is heralded for its multitude of skin benefits. A rather mild essential oil, lavender helps normalize oily, sensitive and dry skin types by balancing out sebum production. It's also routinely used in spa treatments to relieve stress and tension, and induce a state of relaxation and promote a good night's rest.
Jasmine is favored not only for its heady scent and uplifting powers but also for its propensity for declogging pores and hydrating and softening the skin. "Most products that use jasmine actually contain jasmine wax because high-quality jasmine flowers can be pretty pricey," says Florian. "The wax also offers the skin protective measures, too." Jasmine, which typically blooms at night, is a mainstay ingredient found in a plethora of body lotions and creams mainly because "it has a warming effect and increases circulation," says Fender.
Life can get pretty hectic. It's important to tackle the tension before it begins to build up. Take a cue from Hollywood with these star-approved stress-busters that are guaranteed to relax, rejuvenate and help you reset your routine.


text:
World of Rally
Motorsports Classifieds
Citroën isn't going anywhere, they're building a new champion!
by Tom Stajduhar · Published December 10, 2014 · Updated December 10, 2014
Buying or selling motorsport related stuff? Post an ad in WRB CLASSIFIEDS!
Just some things to buy and wear :)
Absolutely fantastic piece of news by Citroën Racing to wrap this Wednesday up: the newly crowned Junior World Rally Champion did not have to wait for his promotion for too long. Staying true to their image and tradition of supporting young talents through lower ranks and into the elite WRC category, Citroën Racing will continue to support young Frenchman Stephane Lefebvre next year. The jump from JWRC to WRC is a big one, and yes, you read that right – on top of six rounds in a DS3 R5, Stephane is also looking at additional four rounds some of which will be in a proper DS3 WRC machine, Citroën revealed. Needless to say, there will be quite a bit of pressure on Lefebvre, but the fact that Citroën entrusted him with this programme means he is up for the task.
Finally, this appointment is also a nice little reminder and a confirmation of Citroën's dedication to World Rally Championship. Unless I am very much mistaken, it's things like this that say "we're here to stay" more than anything else. It's now up to Stephane to learn and adapt to new cars and new performance requirements. If you were still not sure who to follow and support in WRC next year, well, here is your answer.
Official announcement by Citroën Racing follows below.
AN EXTENDED PROGRAMME FOR STÉPHANE LEFEBVRE
After producing a near flawless performance in the FIA Junior WRC last season, winning three of the opening four rallies, Stéphane Lefebvre secured the title at the Rallye de France-Alsace. Following in the footsteps of other Citroën drivers – including Sébastien Loeb – he therefore claimed the "two-wheel drive" crown in his first season in world rallying.
In line with its policy of identifying and supporting talented young drivers, Citroën Racing will give Stéphane Lefebvre the opportunity to move up a level in 2015. In addition to competing in six rounds of the WRC 2 in a DS 3 R5 – the prize rewarded to the FIA Junior WRC champion – Stéphane Lefebvre will also take part in at least four other rounds, some of which in a DS 3 WRC !
After winning on all road surfaces in the DS 3 R3, Stéphane Lefebvre will have the chance to reach new heights in a four-wheel drive car.
"I had given myself two years to win the FIA Junior WRC," recalled Stéphane. "I knew that it would be a major challenge to get to grips with the World Championship. The events call for a lot of experience. It wasn't easy, but we managed to be quick and kept out of trouble. I have set myself the same goals for 2015. After a couple of run-outs with the DS 3 R5 in Spain and Wales, we are going to work hard to improve and prepare for the step up to the DS 3 WRC. I'm very pleased that Citroën Racing has put their faith in me. Yves Matton and his team are very close to the drivers. It's also an advantage to be able to learn in a team that has already won the World Championship eight times."
Yves Matton, Citroën Racing Team Principal, added: "Since it was first set up, our team has looked to take talented young drivers to the upper echelons of the sport. Sébastien Loeb is the most famous example of this, but he is not the only one. Stéphane Lefebvre had a great season in 2014 with the DS 3 R3. It makes sense for us to support his progression with the DS 3 R5. He still has things to learn but we will do everything we can to help him take another step towards the elite level. He will therefore be taking part in at least two rallies in a DS 3 WRC. This programme, our involvement in the FIA Junior WRC and the Citroën Racing Trophy series held in the various countries show how our brand is committed to the sport at all levels."
22-25/01/2015 – Rallye Monte-Carlo
12-15/02/2015 – Rally Sweden
21-24/04/2015 – Rallye de Portugal
11-14/06/2015 – Rally Italia
02-05/07/2015 – Rally Poland
30/07-02/08/2015 – Rally Finland
20-23/08/2015 – Rallye Deutschland
01-04/10/2015 – Rallye de France
22-25/10/2015 – Rally de España
12-15/11/2015 – Wales Rally GB
Tags: citroencitroen racingstephane lefebvreyves matton
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New threat looms over the WRC
Let's Speculate, Shall We?
Video: Rally Wales-meets-Finland which is in fact Sweden is still fun
Should we stay or should we snow?
Ogier's frustration – I hope it's real!
Voice of… Dirtfish?
Follow @WorldRallyBlog
Contact WRB
Rally Basics
About WRB
2015 WRC Calendar

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Would Nieuw Statendam be for us on our next cruise?
Aimcat, we're 45 and 43 (but I like to think we have a 30's mentality). There are basically not activities most of the day. The only activities were the like of play bingo, learn about our next port, secrets of diamonds (to try to sell you something) and learn about some fitness program (to try to sell you something again). But that would only be a minor problem only on sea days and it's a great moment to indulge yourself on the pool, jacuzzi, the great buffet at Lido, some movies in your room. When it speeds up is at 5 pm altough it depends of the like of music you prefer. There are 2 or 3 classic music plays of about 40 minutes each. The amazing and dynamic piano duo and the rock band alternates playing 3 shows each one of 45 minutes. And the BB King Blues Club has music to dance beginning I think at 9 pm. The shows at the theater are so so, with the exception of Humanity which was very good. The bars were animated until about 11:30 pm.
We had rooms 4150, 4152 and 4154 on our december 29 cruise. Stateroom 4154 is exactly the same type and size as 4156 and I can tell it's great for kids. It's a quad stateroom, with that big queen size bed, the very useful sofa bed and an upper bed that my niece loved. And the balcony!! It's enormous. Your twins could run and play many games there.
We've enjoyed the complementary ice creams at Lido in previous HAL cruises. Also, I remember it was serving ice cream most of the day. Do you if it's also in the Nieuw Statendam? If so, is it open most of the day?
The "A" mystery resolved, thank you Crystalspin!
catl331, you're amazing! thank you for taking your time for do this research, I'll do as you suggest, thank you so much!
Thank you catl331 We're an extended family and have 3 cabins, and all 10 guests received the same message. Do you know how do we get to be seated in the same table?
We just received our boarding passes for the Nieuw Statendam's december 30 departure and among its information it says: "Confirmed dining: Main, Table of A on request" I´m confused, we didn´t something specific. Do you know what does it mean?
This was what I was looking for, thank you so much!
Do you know which pier is for HAL cruises? I see there's Punta Langosta and International Pier (Puerta Maya seems to be only for Carnival).
Nieuw Statendam identical to Koningsdam?
We'll navigate on Nieuw Statendam begining december 30 and because it has not had its inaugural trip, so far I've researched all the information about the Koningsdam asuming it's identical to Nieuw Statendam. Do you know if that's accurate? Are there in facts differences in the configuration of the ships, public spaces or cabins?


text:
<?php

namespace Telegram\Bot\Objects\Keyboard;

use Telegram\Bot\Objects\AbstractCreateObject;

/**
 * Class KeyboardButton.
 *
 * Represents one button of the reply keyboard.
 * For simple text buttons String can be used instead of this object to specify text of the button.
 *
 * Optional fields request_contact, request_location, and request_poll are mutually exclusive.
 *
 * @link https://core.telegram.org/bots/api#keyboardbutton
 *
 * @method $this text(string $text)                                            Required. Text of the button. If none of the optional fields are used, it will be sent as a message when the button is pressed
 * @method $this requestContact(bool $requestContact)                          (Optional). If True, the user's phone number will be sent as a contact when the button is pressed. Available in private chats only.
 * @method $this requestLocation(bool $requestLocation)                        (Optional). If True, the user's current location will be sent when the button is pressed. Available in private chats only.
 * @method $this requestPoll(KeyboardButtonPollType $KeyboardButtonPollType)   (Optional). If specified, the user will be asked to create a poll and send it to the bot when the button is pressed. Available in private chats only
 */
class KeyboardButton extends AbstractCreateObject
{
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Make Sure to Upload a Professional Photo on Social Media Sites With more and more people signing up for online networking sites, selecting the correct picture (otherwise known as avatar) to use becomes a very essential aspect of creating a profile. You probably want to use an informal profile photo on your Facebook account, if this will only be for family as well as friends. When it comes to professional networks such as LinkedIn, keep in mind the impression you would like to pass on and opt for professional profile photos of yourself that aptly describe who you are. Imagine how it would like if you were in a business meeting in a pair of ripped jeans or a bathing suit. However, a great number of business professionals do that virtually with their own websites or profiles on social networking sites including LinkedIn.
Sometimes, even people whose profiles are great and with intelligent comments make a mistake through their photograph. Some professionals, out of privacy or a bid at branding, pick the logo of their business as their photo on social media. On the other hand, there is a reason why it is called "social" media. People wish to associate with their kind, not mysterious computers, and this is why you should try not to use your business' logo. Your photo personifies you; it confirms that you are alive and breathing, and not a puzzling corporation.
When it involves selecting a photograph, consider professional. It is not unusual to find professional people displaying photos of them at the beach or with their dogs, the kids, or peculiar close-ups of their one eye if not their ear. A business professional who uses such photos only creates conflict with his site's otherwise business-like quality. Except if it is some unconventional business you have where would-be clients must see you as an outgoing personality, remember to use professional profile photos that look as if you were on your way to a business conference. You should be going for an no-frills head shot with yourself in business clothing. Consider attempting to trademark yourself using your photo. An excellent photo maybe uploaded to LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, your website in addition to being an advertising shot. By using one photo in any site, people will be able to recognize you as if they did in person. This photo will give you lots of mileage, so if ever you can, go for a professional photo shoot. You don't have to spend so much on it. Even going to a professional LinkedIn photographer will deliver a nice photo that you can post everywhere. Remember that you will never get to meet many of the people you network with on the Internet. They will get to see you through your photo alone. Why not use an excellent one then?


White Label Projects needed a new stationery design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 102 designs submitted by 14 freelance designers.
simple, elegant, but not too formal. something professional and sharp. not casual or too busy. No photos.
over busy cards. too much colour (1-3 ideal) and in line with logo.


Writing Systems Technology (WSTech) is a department of SIL International whose task is to provide computing resources for minority language groups around the world who write their languages in complex ways.
Our vision is that language communities and the people who work for them be able to work effectively and productively regardless of the writing system used in a given community, i.e., that script-related computing issues do not impede them in their work.
The mission of WSTech is to provide guidance, information, research and development for SIL International and its partners to facilitate the use of non-Roman and complex scripts in linguistic study, translation, literacy and publishing.
Technical Projects Manager: helps the rest of the team make progress in their work!
WSTech staff are volunteers who are financially sponsored by others who want to support these various projects. There are also opportunities for part-time involvement. For more information on these opportunities and how you might fit in to the team, contact WSTech at: .


text:
import Ember from 'ember';

const {
  Controller
  } = Ember;

export default Controller.extend({});


The new year has begun with some stronger economic data worldwide. While persistent challenges remain - most notably in Europe, but also some lingering fiscal worries in the United States - the overriding trend has been for some modest gains in new orders, production and hiring in a number of key markets for U.S.-manufactured goods. Seven of the top 10 export markets have economies that are expanding, and there were signs that the pace of the contraction in Europe and Japan eased a little. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the Eurozone rose from 46.1 in December to 47.9 in January. The largest improvements in manufacturing, however, were in Asia, where the pace of industrial production has picked up some steam in the past few months. This news spreads beyond China and into other parts of Asia as well.
Our largest trading partners are Canada and Mexico. Much like the United States, Canada's economy appears to have stalled of late. This is not surprising given the closeness of our two nations in terms of commerce. U.S. frustrations with the fiscal cliff and upcoming federal budgetary battles tend to resonate beyond our borders, with the effects most felt in Canada. Real GDP is expected to grow around 2 percent this year in Canada, mirroring the forecasts for the United States and essentially repeating last year's rate. Reflecting these trends, Canada's PMI suggested very slow growth in January, unchanged from December. Mexico's economy, meanwhile, decelerated throughout much of the second half of 2012, both leading up to and after its presidential elections. Some of the slowdown involved a wait-and-see approach as business leaders assessed the impact of possible new policies coming from the new presidential administration. Industrial production and PMI values tend to reflect this easing, but Mexican real GDP is still expected to grow 3.8 percent in 2013, which is a solid number.
Even with the progress in foreign markets, the most recent international trade figures were a bit of a surprise. The U.S. trade deficit declined sharply from $48.6 billion in November to $38.5 billion in December. Changes in the petroleum balance partially contributed to the decline, but in general, it was a healthy increase in goods exports corresponding with a decrease in goods imports. For the year as a whole, U.S.-manufactured goods exports rose 4.9 percent in 2012 at the non-seasonally adjusted rate, well below the 15 percent rate necessary for the United States to double exports by 2015. While we were on pace for that in 2011, a number of headwinds globally—including a recession in Europe and slowdowns elsewhere—eased the growth of new export sales significantly in 2012, frustrating manufacturers in the United States. Perhaps the improvements noted in this document more recently will bode well for better export figures in 2013.
Next week, we will be closely following industrial production and GDP releases worldwide. Provisional GDP in the Eurozone is expected to show continental output shrinking around 0.3 percent, with data from a number of member countries reflecting weaker conditions as well. Similarly, Eurozone industrial production is forecasted to fall 1.4 percent. Outside of Europe, China will release its trade figures at the beginning of the week, and if recent surveys are accurate, its exports should be improving. In the United States, the Federal Reserve Board will unveil its latest industrial production figures, with an expected slight gain in January.
The global economy continues to improve. The JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI increased from 50.1 in December to 51.5 in January, rising for the fourth straight month and reaching its highest point since last March. New orders, output and employment were expanding as a whole worldwide, and most notably, the pace of hiring began to pick up. Activity in the United States was higher, with the Markit Manufacturing PMI jumping from 54.0 to 55.8 on increased output, hiring and sales. The competing PMI from the Institute for Supply Management also reflected gains in the United States for the sector, up from 50.2 to 53.1.
As we saw last month, seven of the top 10 markets for U.S.-manufactured goods have PMI readings greater than 50 - the threshold for growth. This represents an improvement from October's data, when just four had readings greater than 50, suggesting that international economies have seen some progress in the past few months. This should bode well for better U.S. exports moving forward. January's PMI values reflect some progress in two of the contracting nations - Germany (up from 46.0 to 49.8) and Japan (up from 45.0 to 47.7) - with new orders falling at a slower rate in both countries. South Korea was the other market to contract, albeit slightly (down from 50.1 to 49.9), replacing the Netherlands , where the opposite occurred (up from 49.6 to 50.2).
The Eurozone shows some gains despite persistent challenges. The Markit Eurozone Manufacturing PMI rose from 46.1 in December to 47.9 in January, the highest level since March 2012. Nonetheless, the continent continues to contract, with PMI values below 50 in each month since July 2011. January's increase stems from gains in output, new orders and exports, but employment continued to lag behind.
Looking at specific countries within the Eurozone, France (down from 44.6 to 42.9) appears to be moving in the wrong direction as we begin the new year. However, a handful of nations made some progress in January, even as some continued to be below 50 in their PMI readings. This includes Germany, Italy (up from 46.7 to 47.8), the Netherlands and Spain (up from 44.6 to 46.1). Meanwhile, manufacturing activity in both Ireland (down from 51.4 to 50.3) and the United Kingdom (down from 51.2 to 50.8) continued to grow, just more slowly than in December, mainly on sales weaknesses (domestic in Ireland, exports in the United Kingdom).
Industrial production in the Eurozone declined 0.3 percent in November, smaller than October's 1.0 percent decrease. On a year-over-year basis, industrial production was off 3.7 percent. November's data from Eurostat also found that production had fallen 7.6 percent in Italy, 7.2 percent in Spain, 3.6 percent in France, 3.0 percent in Germany and 2.5 percent in the United Kingdom over the past 12 months. The unemployment rate in the Eurozone remained at 11.7 percent in December for the third straight month, with Spain's 26.1 percent being the highest in Europe. However, manufacturer confidence was up slightly in January, but it remains quite challenged.
The pace of growth in Asia's economies picks up . The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI rose to 52.3 in January, up from 51.5 in December and the fifth consecutive monthly gain. The Chinese PMI value is at its highest point since January 2011 and reflects an improvement from the November 2011 to October 2012 time frame when Chinese manufacturing activity was contracting. The higher PMI values stem from increases in new orders and exports, and the latest industrial production figures indicate a pickup in Chinese industrial production , with year-over-year growth of 10.3 percent in December. It fell to an annualized growth rate of 8.9 percent in August. Similarly, real GDP increased 7.8 percent in the fourth quarter, slightly faster than expected and stronger than the third quarter's 7.4 percent gain. Chinese real GDP is expected to increase by 8.0 percent in the current quarter.
Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong (up from 51.7 to 52.5), Japan, Taiwan (up from 50.6 to 51.5) and Vietnam (up from 49.3 to 50.1) saw improving performance in January, with Markit PMI values rising on stronger growth in new orders, exports and employment. There were some areas of weakness, however, with Australia (down from 44.3 to 40.2), India (down from 54.7 to 53.2), Indonesia (down from 50.7 to 49.7) and South Korea experiencing slower output and sales growth. India, in particular, was hit with power outages , which cut into production.
In the last report, we discussed how Japan's manufacturing sector was hurting. As seen in the PMI values, there were some gains since then. Industrial production rose 2.5 percent in December, a nice turnaround from November's 1.4 percent decline. Even with that growth, however, year-over-year production fell 7.8 percent, reflecting the nation's continuing challenges.
The economies in Canada and Mexico continue to grow, but at mixed paces. For its part, Canadian industrial production was flat in December and essentially unchanged (up just 0.1 percent) for the year. The RBC Canadian Manufacturing PMI was equally tepid, as worries about the global economy weighed on business owners' minds. The PMI edged up from 50.4 in December to 50.5 in January, indicating only marginal growth. New orders and production were higher for the month, but hiring and exports grew more slowly.
In Mexico, industrial production is expected to grow around 3.8 percent in 2013, and if so, that would represent an increase from its current pace of just below 3 percent. (New numbers will be released next week.) The Mexican economy continues to show some weakness, as reflected in the lower HSBC Mexico Manufacturing PMI in January (down from 57.1 to 55.0). Some easing in new orders, output and employment contributed to the slower pace. Exports also declined for the first time in 14 months. Still, even with these numbers, Mexico continues to grow and is one of the healthier economies in the world right now.
The U.S. economy shrunk in the fourth quarter of 2012. Real GDP decreased by 0.1 percent at the end of last year, weaker than consensus estimates of around 1 percent. There were significant weaknesses of note, with slowdowns due to Hurricane Sandy and uncertainties related to sales and the fiscal cliff paramount in manufacturers' minds. Defense spending, exports, nonresidential construction and inventories were the main drags on growth.
At the same time, consumer spending grew modestly, which was particularly beneficial for manufacturers, especially for motor vehicles. Overall, durable goods consumption added 1.02 percentage points to growth. Nondurable goods spending increased more slowly, adding just 0.06 percent to real GDP. Other indicators largely support the data, including industrial production numbers, which have shown the auto sector recovering from some of its autumn woes. Other sectors were more mixed, but largely improving.
Federal defense spending declined sharply in the fourth quarter, down 22.2 percent. The decline more than offset the 12.9 percent rise in the previous quarter, and anxieties about defense sequestration took a toll in this sector. Federal government expenditures - wholly the result of lower defense spending - subtracted 1.25 percentage points from real GDP. With the threat of across-the-board spending cuts slated for March 1, manufacturers remain worried about the impact of sequestration on their businesses and the economy moving forward. This has caused many of them to pull back on hiring and capital spending.
The U.S. trade deficit plummeted in December. The Bureau of Economic Analysis and the Census Bureau reported that the U.S. trade deficit fell from $48.6 billion in November to $38.5 billion in December. This was the lowest deficit since January 2010 and resulted from an uptick in goods exports and corresponding decrease in goods imports. Goods exports rose from $129.3 billion to $132.6 billion. At the same time, goods imports dropped from $194.9 billion to $188.8 billion. Meanwhile, the surplus in trade services increased by $669 million to $17.7 billion.
The largest change occurred within industrial supplies and materials, with exports up $3.8 billion and imports down $4.2 billion. Outside of industrial supplies, the largest net winner was foods, feeds and beverages (up $96 million). There were fewer net exports, however, among non-automotive capital goods (down $431 million), automotive vehicles and parts (down $292 million) and consumer goods (down $240 million).
For good imports, there were across-the-board declines in all major categories except consumer goods, which eked out a gain of $43 million. Sectors with reduced imports - beyond industrial supplies - included automotive vehicles and parts (down $944 million), non-automotive capital goods (down $264 million) and foods, feeds and beverages (down $75 million).
Overall, manufacturers sold $1.02 trillion in goods in 2012, at the non-seasonally adjusted rate. This was an increase of 4.9 percent from the $971.7 billion sold in 2011. This suggests that U.S. businesses continue to find opportunities overseas, even as the pace of growth obviously has slowed with numerous headwinds in international economies.
The NAM continues fight for passage of Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB). Manufacturers of all sizes benefit from MTB tariff suspensions for raw materials and inputs that are not available in the United States. Congress's failure to pass the MTB by the end of 2012 has resulted in a tax increase on manufacturers in the United States, hurting their competitiveness and putting jobs at risk. The NAM is intensifying its calls to the new House and Senate to work together to get the MTB to the President's desk as soon as possible. As part of its ongoing efforts to see the MTB enacted, the NAM is calling on manufacturing CEOs to sign onto a letter to congressional leadership, urging them to act on the MTB as quickly as possible.
Argentina repeals 17 non-automatic import licenses; other trade-distorting measures remain. The United States, along with the European Union (EU) and Japan, requested a dispute settlement panel challenging Argentina's trade-distorting import policies at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in December. The WTO's Dispute Settlement Body established a panel to review U.S., EU and Japanese complaints about Argentina's import policies. In addition, Argentina's Ministry of Economy and Public Finance repealed 17 of its non-automatic import licensing requirements. Argentina argued at the WTO that its decision to roll back import licenses rendered the dispute settlement panel unnecessary; however, the United States, EU and Japan are moving forward with their challenge on the grounds that other problematic trade policies implemented by Argentina remain in effect, including trade balancing rules and domestic investment requirements.
The United States and EU continue to prepare for the potential launch of broad trade negotiations. U.S. and EU negotiators continued to meet in January and early February to finalize the High-Level Working Group Report that is widely expected to call for the launch of U.S.-EU trade negotiations.
U.S. Customs reform legislation. Late in the 112th Congress, customs reform and reauthorization legislation was introduced by then-Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-TX) ( H.R. 6642 ) and separately by Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D-MI) and Rep. Jim McDermott (D-WA) ( H.R. 6656 ). While virtually identical in other respects, the bills differ regarding their treatment of trade enforcement. The NAM has provided recommendations on these bills, which will form the foundation for Customs reform and reauthorization legislation in the 113th Congress. New legislation should be introduced in the coming months, and the NAM is urging Congress to help make manufacturers in the United States more cost competitive by passing a Customs reform and reauthorization bill this year.
WTO trade facilitation negotiations moving forward. WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy recently urged the chairs of Doha negotiating bodies to accelerate work on a trade facilitation agreement and requested an outline by April. In a February 1 speech, Lamy said that "removing barriers to trade and cutting red tape in half . . . could stimulate the $22 trillion world economy by more than $1 trillion." An informal trade facilitation negotiating session is scheduled for March 11, where WTO Negotiating Group on Trade Facilitation Chair Eduardo Ernesto Sperisen-Yurt will decide whether to consider new approaches to an agreement. Sperisen-Yurt is slated to issue a 14th version of the draft negotiating text in mid-February, which should include improvements suggested by industrialized and developing countries that are part of the so-called "Colorado Group" on issues such as expedited shipments, authorized operators and goods in transit, among others. A study by the World Economic Forum released on January 22 concluded that reducing trade barriers in global supply chains could result in a nearly 5 percent increase in global GDP, far outweighing potential income gains from complete elimination of import tariffs.
Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks head toward 16th round in Singapore next month. TPP negotiators have been engaged in intercessional meetings on targeted issues following the 15th round of negotiations in Auckland, New Zealand, in December. Each of the TPP negotiating countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam) are also in preparation for the 16th round of negotiations in Singapore (March 4 - 13) where progress is sought across key negotiating groups.


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text:
Q: What does the VB.NET UBound function ACTUALLY do, and why does the MSDN documentation appear to be inaccurate? What does the UBound function actually do in VB.NET, and why doesn't the MSDN documentation appear to be accurate?
According to the MSDN documentation (here) the UBound function:

Returns the highest available subscript for the indicated dimension of an array.

More specifically:

The highest value the subscript for the specified dimension can contain. If Array has only one element, UBound returns 0. If Array has no elements, for example if it is a zero-length string, UBound returns -1.

But, in my testing the (and in some examples found in the documentation) the UBound function returns the length of an array instead of the highest available subscript:

It's also important to note that UBound returns 1 for an Array containing one element, not 0 as the documentation states.

In response to an answer:
I now see that when you declare an array in vb.net you are declaring the highest desired subscript NOT the length of the array as in C#.
Understanding that, I now understand why UBound was returning 1 instead of 0 for an array declared Dim c(1). Because this array will have the highest subscript of 1 thus giving it 2 elements. Further, to declare an array with only one element in vb.net it should be declared like this Dim b(0).

A: The documentation is accurate:
Your example:
Dim a(100,5,4)

is the same as (*)
Dim a(0 To 100, 0 To 5, 0 To 4)

UBound(a,1) returns the highest available subscript of the first dimension, which is 100 (there are actually 101 elements, indexed from 0 to 100).
(*) Actually in VB6 and VBA you can override the default lower bound using the Option Base statement.  But if you don't do this (and you shouldn't!), it will default to 0.
Personally I always use 0 To N when declaring VB arrays, to be absolutely explicit and not to rely on the Option Base setting.  a(N) or a(0 To N) declare an array with N+1 elements, indexed from 0 To N, and the latter syntax makes this clearer IMHO.
Note that in VBA/VB6 (from which VB.NET was derived) it is possible to use any lower bound, so you can also declare an array as, say:
Dim a(500 to 600)

If you want to write code that can iterate over such arrays, you should always use:
For nIndex = LBound(a) To UBound(a)

It's also important to note that UBound returns 1 for an Array containing one element

Not true - the following array has one element, and UBound(a) returns 0:
Dim a(0)

or
Dim a(0 To 0)

The array
Dim a(1)

is the same as:
Dim a(0 To 1)

and has two elements a(0) and a(1).  LBound returns 0 and UBound returns 1, just as you'd expect.
One final point: UBound(a) will return -1 for an empty array (no elements).  AFAIK you can't create such an array with VB6/VBA code, but you can get one returned from code written in other languages, including VB.NET

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Blake Paterson
Blake Paterson is the reporting fellow for ProPublica's Electionland project. He graduated from Harvard University, where he studied history and economics. Blake was previously an intern at Politico, the Houston Chronicle, and Fox News Sunday.
Tensions Run High as Early Voting Continues in Texas
There are increasing reports of voter harassment in Dallas County as the hotly contested Senate race between Ted Cruz and Beto O'Rourke hurtles toward its culmination.
By Blake Paterson
The Texas Democratic Party May Be Investigated for a Confusing Voter Registration Mailer
The Texas secretary of state's office has asked the state's attorney general to investigate a democratic mailer that had a checkbox indicating citizenship pre-checked.
When Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the American Civil Liberties Union Teamed Up for Voting Rights
Although the Trump administration wants to restrict access to the ballot box, its chief spokesperson once sued to overturn a ban on student voting.


I ended up promoting my car to mobile office and phone booth. It worked well in the sense that it's pretty quiet in there, but it became warm quickly. I was done just in time. As I hung up, a truck filled with landscapers came to work on the median - there's a pretty planted thingy in the middle of the road outside my house - and right now I can barely hear myself think.
Anyway, Hear me at 2012 writers Alive! I talk about my books, about Desert Breeze Publishing and the wonderful editors they have, and about Ewenity Farms Border Collie Haven.
While you're there, you can also check out the interview with lovely Christy Elkins!


A must have contemporary living room, quite enough for day dreaming or spacious enough for a large gathering. The twin water features grace the newly designed fireplace clad in Porcelanosa natural stone. The large pivot metal door accented with stainless steel surely will pique ones curiosity to enter. Metallic glazed walls soften the colors of the house.


Are Surveillance Camera Rules Different for Apartment Complexes?
PENBROOK, Pa. (WHTM) – When Deborah White was walking into her apartment complex in Penbrook, something caught her eye.
"I just looked in the air conditioning covering and I saw this thing looking back at me," White said.
It was a hidden surveillance camera set up by a neighbor.
White contacted Pennsylvania Properties, which manages Penn Square Apartments. Shortly after, signs saying "property under surveillance" were posted at the entry to the apartment complex.
White also noticed more cameras on her neighbor's window and decided to check her lease.


text:
Q: Why is horizontal scroll bar visible and vertical isn't? With HTML below, why is horizontal scroll bar visible and vertical isn't?
This is true for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, but not for Edge where both scroll bars aren't visible.
To me, it will be logical that both scroll bars aren't visible as it is in Edge browser.

A: The second div has height 0 because its only inner element is a div with position: absolute. By default, div elements have width 100% and height to be the minimum to comport all inner elements, but elements with position absolute or fixed don't need to be comported inside their parent container, so they don't contribute with their container's height.
If you want the vertical scrollbar to show up, you can either force the second div's height to something greater than 300px or add more child elements with other types of position.


Yes! Hackney Pirates is a charity working to help young people in Hackney achieve their full potential through building confidence, perseverance and literacy skills. They sail from their magical Ship of Adventures in Kingsland High Street (where you can also get a really great hot chocolate – the shop and café support the work of the charity). This summer the young pirates joined the V&A Museum of Childhood exhibition team to help us create an interactive story for our upcoming exhibition.
That all sounds like fun. Didn't you make them do some work?
Of course we did! The project took a week. On day one – in the middle of the heat wave – the MoC team boarded the Ship of Adventures to meet the crew. Led by Captain Aaron Piper, the young Pirates rose to the challenge and for sensory inspiration visited the Eastern Curve Garden, which stood in as the desert island; Ridley Road market as our exotic pirate bazaar; and their own Ship of Adventures. We didn't get a ration of grog but the exhibition team found their own booty in the form of some well-deserved ice lollies and a seat in a shady corner of the Curve Garden, while the Pirates encountered imaginary jungles, sand dunes and monkeys. They also voyaged to Bethnal Green to visit the Museum.
But what did they do at the Museum? Surely there's no treasure to find there!
There's all sorts of treasure waiting to be discovered! Our visiting Pirates had the chance to explore some of the hidden items in the Museum stores, toured the galleries and followed a tricky treasure map to discover a stash of gold doubloons hidden in one of our exhibits. The superheroes and dolls' houses were the objects voted most wanted by the pirate crew.
When did they find time to write their stories?
Wow! I want to hear their stories – when can I do that?
You'll have to join us on our swashbuckling journey at the V&A Museum of Childhood from 20 October to 22 April, when the stories will form part of the interactive route through the exhibition. We can't wait!
Can't wait to encounter these fearsome stories in the exhibition!


It is not extremely hard to enjoy Las Vegas on a price range! With a very little research and preparing, a customer can anticipate and manage vacation expenditures. Airline, auto club, vacation review and discounter internet websites present advertising data it can be basically a make any difference of choosing what is most essential to the customer.
A significant section of the vacation may perhaps be airline expense. It is essential to look at flight expenditures often (as they often alter) and to make reservations perfectly in progress. Decreased-price ranges may perhaps be located for early morning, evening, or connecting flights. But, if a favorite Vegas display has readily available seats for the 7 PM display that are $50 less than the 10 PM one, shelling out a very little much more on airfare to get there before will be really worth it. If you would like to encounter Las Vegas on a price range, have the significant image in thoughts of how you want to enjoy Las Vegas, in purchase to approach an itinerary that maximizes your used dollar.
People have a lot of options regarding accommodations. Older rooms in Downtown Vegas may perhaps be less than $50 for each night time, but resorts a block or two from the Strip may perhaps offer newer services and pools at comparable or just somewhat larger price ranges. Very good purchases can also be located at the magnificent Strip resorts via auto club, senior, and army bargains, or mid-7 days specials An additional option is to keep at an cheap lodging for section of the vacation, then go to fancier accommodations. If one does not thoughts logistics involved with packing, it may perhaps be really worth cab fare and a number of more dollars to enjoy upgraded facilities for a night time or two.
Food stuff can be dear on the Strip, but for quick bites, the Excalibur and Circus-Circus house quickly food chains, while pizza shops and delis are located behind a lot of casinos. Food stuff courts in the Venetian, New York New York and Wonder Mile offer average price ranges and good-sized parts. Downtown places to eat offer superb bargains to travelers in that place, but cab fare from the Strip is about $20. For satisfaction and worth, take into consideration a mid-stage resort brunch buffets for about $15 for each particular person. They offer plenty of range to gas the customer via a busy working day, removing the need to have to eat once again till evening. It's very best to stay away from large-priced, resort counter service, but a lot of casual, sit-down places to eat have a wide variety of choices substantial plenty of to be shared.
Las Vegas also features cost-free entertainment. Treasure Island's "Sirens" creation retains several displays day by day and the fountains at Bellagio display screen dancing waters and wonderful new music each individual 15-30 minutes. Bellagio's Conservatory, MGM's Lion Habitat, the Tiger Exhibit and the Erupting Volcano at the Mirage are also cost-free. Free of charge performances at Caesar's, Circus Circus and Excalibur are specially entertaining for youngsters, and permit attendees to rest in air-conditioned consolation for an hour or so.
Other sights carry a value tag that may perhaps not be the very best use of some travelers' sources. The Venetian Gondola rides, Paris's Eiffel Tower, Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum, Mandalay Bay's Shark Reef, and the amusement park rides atop the Stratosphere can consider a significant chunk out of a wallet-even with discount coupons. It's just as a great deal enjoyment to stroll via the Caesar's Forum Shops, snap photos within the Luxor pyramid, rest around the Wynn Waterfall, or simply look through the European markets of Paris and the Venetian.
Casinos will monitor person gaming and reward it with "comps" on upcoming resort stays and meals. Inquire casino representatives just before gaming to be presented complete credit score. It is also a fantastic plan to consider only consider a part of one's gambling price range on every vacation to a casino, and stop when it has been depleted, irrespective of winnings. The satisfaction of staying inside a price range while heading residence with winnings can make the vacation that a great deal much more enjoyable and memorable!


We asked for it and you gave it to us, one fairly brutal paragraph at a time, and now here it is: your friends J. and Clsn reading more than 30 (!) entries for our First Ever National Novel Writing Month contest! No notes could do this one justice, so just slip into your favorite podcast-listening mask and don't forget that you've got that bowl of soup in the microwave, because it is time to hear what the minds of the IDEOTVPOD Community can come up with when asked to write bad paragraphs. This time, we're all winners!


As mentioned on this week's Bobcat Blast: GMAS test scores will be available in the media center on Friday, September 2 at 7:30 - 8:30, 12:00 - 1:00. and again from 2:30 - 3:00. Scores will not be discussed until conferences and families who are unable to pick them up on Friday will receive them at those conferences.
UPDATE: Because of the tropical storm, GMAS pickup has been cancelled. More information rescheduling will be made available through the Bobcat Blast.


They're the men and women behind today's rock-star Realtors. With names like "Ferry," these real estate gurus promise to transform average performers into top-producing superstars for a price that ranges from a few hundred dollars to thousands a month.
Find out why 9 out of 10 respondents to a recent Inman survey said their business climbed by 10 percent or more the first year they worked with a coach when Inman Publisher Brad Inman goes head to head with Mike Ferry, the dean of real estate coaches, and his son, Tom Ferry, during Real Estate Connect New York City 2015, Jan. 27-30, at the Marriott Marquis.
Mike Ferry is founder and chief executive officer of The Mike Ferry Organization, which had 2013 revenues of $28 million, up from $22 million in 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal. A successful agent and national training director early in his career, Ferry is among the most popular speakers and trainers on the nationwide seminar and coaching circuit. "Real estate agents, mortgage professionals' title representatives, and business executives alike have increased their production and profit because of the real estate selling skills and mindset they have learned through Mike Ferry," his biography states.
To register for Connect, go to http://bit.ly/connectnyc.


Vedic Astrology gives you hope, pinnacle of success, makes you stronger, brings selflessness and ultimate bliss. How? Check out this article by Pratik Pandey to know four ways astrology can help you become happier and live a richer life.
Vedic Astrology is almost as old as history itself. It is considered a Vedanga – a limb of Vedas. Studying astrology is a must to understand Vedas and the spiritual truths these sacred scriptures contain. Astrology, in several ways, can make you happier and enrich your life. If we understand astrology in its core, we can get immense benefits out of it. In this article, we are discussing four main points showing how astrology can improve you physically, mentally and spiritually, and make you happier.
The basis of Vedic Astrology is the "Law of Karma". "Law of Karma" says whatever happens to you is due to your past deeds. Your birth-chart or Kundli (Click here to make your Kundli) represents your past Karmas. You are now reaping what you sowed. There is no escape from it. But Vedic Astrology emphasizes that you that you can also create your own future. As your past deeds have created your present, what you do now will create your future. You are the maker of your future. According to astrology, you sculpt your own destiny. Vedic Astrology gives you hope that you can improve your career, overcome delay in marriage, become successful and get happiness.
When you know that there is a solution of your problems – a remedy to eradicate your troubles, you keep on fighting and do not give-up. Vedic Astrology peps you up and makes you happier. Astrological remedies can help you great deal in all sort of troubles. Obviously, there is no magic wand and troubles cannot end like drop of a heat. But, there is always something that you can do. This faith keeps you going and makes you stronger. It gives a die-hard attitude and determination to overcome all the problems.
Do you know the remedies to eliminate your problem? Check out: Remedies & Gemstones.
As circumstances are written in your chart – both positive and negative – you face what comes to you. Therefore, Vedic Astrology insists you're not a doer. You are just a witness, a part of all pervasive consciousness that witnesses cosmic play all the time. You are just a medium and do what God or cosmos wants you to do. In Gita, Krshna asks Arjuna to surrender to God and perform actions selflessly. Astrology provides a practical tool or it. It shows that the flow of events is incessant and cannot be controlled by you. You must be like a medium performing all sorts of actions without any attachment. It destroys ego and self-centeredness of mind. So, whatever you do knowing this purifies your heart, makes you selfless and brings you closer to divinity within. Selflessness is the key to true happiness.
Astrology teaches the principles of Vedanta. Your chart isn't just your chart, not only an individual's chart. Your chart also tells about your father, your mother, your siblings, your spouse, your neighbours and much more. Your chart is a cosmic chart encompassing entire universe. It teaches that you aren't just an individual as you believe now – you are the entire universe. Your body is the point of manifestation of this universal consciousness. Believing that one is just a separate being different from others is mere illusion. Astrology, like Jnana Yoga, is a way to realize ultimate reality. When one realizes that one has everything and lacks nothing, one reaches to ultimate happiness, the ultimate bliss.
To know more about different forms of Yoga, please visit - All About Yoga.


This is a beach towel and a chess board is on the towel, comes also with the pieces and a set of rules. So go to the pool or beach and play chess on your towel. Great for all year around and have some summer time fun.


text:
At least 5 pro-Trump rioters charged in the Capitol insurrection have already been released from custody
In: News
Summary List PlacementThe Boise, Idaho, man photographed hanging from the wall of the US Capitol on January 6 was released from custody on Wednesday.
Josiah Colt is charged in federal court with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building and violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
He is one of at least five pro-Trump rioters charged with federal crimes who have already been allowed to go home pending trial.
Dozens of people who were at or around the violent siege of the Capitol building last week have been charged — some of them also indicted — with crimes in DC or federal courts, and that list is growing by the hour.
The Department of Justice said Tuesday that is had already opened 70 criminal cases, but not all of their court documents have been released yet.
Among the 26 federal defendants identified by the Department of Justice on Wednesday afternoon, a handful have already been released on pretrial conditions.
Judge Robert Bush ordered that Colt be released from custody on a long list of conditions, including that he stay away from the state and federal capitol buildings, abstain from drinking alcohol, and actively seek work.
Adam Johnson and Joshua Pruitt
Adam Johnson, the Florida man captured in a Getty photo carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's lectern, was also released after his initial appearance in court.
He is charged with one count of knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority; a count of theft of government property; and a count of violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds.
Johnson's conditions of release include surrendering his passport and firearms, consenting to drug screenings, and wearing a tracking device.
Joshua Pruitt was initially arrested on a curfew violation and later charged with with knowingly entering or remaining in any restricted building or grounds without lawful authority. He was released from custody after his first federal court hearing.
Mark Leffingwell
Even those who have been charged with violent crimes are starting to be allowed to go home to their families.
Mark Jefferson Leffingwell, of Seattle, Washington, was among the few people who were arrested while still inside the Capitol last week.
Capitol Police Officer Daniel Amendola wrote in an affidavit that he and other officers were attempting to form a barrier to prevent the mob from further entering the Capitol when Leffingwell pushed by him and then punched him repeatedly with a closed fist in his helmet and chest.
A grand jury has since indicted Leffingwell on charges that include assaulting a federal officer, entering or remaining in a restricted building and disorderly conduct, violent entry into the Capitol building, and being involved in violence in a capitol building.
Leffingwell, who served in the Washington National Guard, was released from custody on Tuesday.
Nich Ochs
Law enforcement in Hawaii arrested local Proud Boys leader Nicholas Ochs as soon has he got off his plane from DC.
Ochs took a selfie smoking a cigarette the Capitol and posted it to Twitter. The far-right member also participates in creating content in the "Murder the Media" podcast. At the Capitol, Ochs posed in front of "Murder the Media" graffiti, which was drawn on a door.
He is charged with one count of unlawful entry to restricted buildings or grounds.
US Magistrate Judge Wes Porter allowed Ochs to be released from the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu, the Honolulu Civil Beat reported.
The judge declined a request from the government to order that Ochs stay away from Capitol grounds or political protests.
How the pre-trial release process works
Judges in state and federal courts are tasked with ruling on whether defendants should be released before trial.
Many state courts operate using a bail system, where judges determine an individuals financial means and likelihood to skip out on their next hearing. If the individual can post the set bail, they will be released, usually with a set of conditions. If they don't return to court, they forfeit the bail. If a judge finds the person to be a danger to the community, they can decide to hold them without bail pending trial. Some states require defendants, usually those accused of violent crimes, to stay in custody before trial.
In federal courts, there is no monetary bail set — rather judges decide whether to release a defendant based on the seriousness of the offense, their likelihood of showing up for court, and whether or not they pose a threat to the public.
As of 2018, nearly 75% of federal defendants were detained ahead of their trial, according to a report by the US Courts Probation and Pretrial Services office. Many immigration cases are held in federal court, in addition to cases regarding federal law, the Constitution, bankruptcy, or any case where the United States is a party.
The pretrial detention rate among white defendants was 45%. For Black defendants it was 55%. For Hispanics it was 79%.
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Have you ever felt this way? No matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, it just seems that you can't win in life? Sometimes it feels like you just get an edge up and get knocked down again? When it rains it pours!
Now the critical question, have you turned away from God? I'm not saying that God is taking His revenge on you. God doesn't take revenge on anyone. But are you trying to get through life all on your own?
God is waiting with open arms for us to come back to Him. When we come back to the Sacraments to replenish our Grace, life goes so much better.
I heard someone say one time, "If you aren't going toward God, you are going away from God. There's nothing in the middle." Which way are you going??


text:
René Twardzik (born 25 June 1970) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Career

Club career
Born in Třinec, Twardzik played for TZ Třinec, Slavia Prague, VTJ Tábor, VTJ Karlovy Vary, Boby Brno, FC Vítkovice, Opava, Sachsen Leipzig and FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt. Twardzik played four matches for Czechoslovakia U21.

Later career
He became the goalkeeping coach of FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt in July 2010. From September 2018 to November 2018, Twardzik sat on the bench for FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt for five games due to injuries. At the end of January 2020, the club ceased operations due to financial difficulties, and as a result, withdrew from the Regionalliga Nordost. The day after, he was released by the club.

Personal life
His sons Dan, Filip and Patrik are also all professional footballers.  he has lived in Germany for 15 years.

References

1970 births
Living people
Czech footballers
Czech expatriate footballers
Czech expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Association football goalkeepers
FK Fotbal Třinec players
SK Slavia Prague players
FC Zbrojovka Brno players
MFK Vítkovice players
SFC Opava players
FC Sachsen Leipzig players
FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt players
Czech First League players
2. Bundesliga players
Czechoslovakia under-21 international footballers
Czechoslovak footballers
Sportspeople from Třinec

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Happy Holidays from Heart Tree Yoga!
Our 2 Selves: who's the other gal/guy inside?
Yes, there is another one of you in there . .
Don't be afraid. The other person means you well. Just who is it?
As many of you know, I enjoy running. It is freeing and produces that inner natural high that feels so satisfying. I'm not fast and I don't run far. None of that has ever been really important to me (although I appreciate how it is part of the joy for other people.) I just want to be able to run however long I want, whenever I want to go. Pretty simple.
I'm not a quiet-minded runner. Instead for me, running often uncovers a solution to a problem I'm grappling with, some insight into myself, or an exciting idea to pursue. Moreover, since I'm a planner by nature, my runs usually include sorting out various scheduling challenges. So, no. Not a quiet-minded runner.
"You don't need to worry about that right now.
Just F*&king take care of your health and the rest of it will unfold."
To which I responded, "Ok, then."
Just who was the other person inside me? And why is it being so flipping emphatic about taking care of myself?
I'll address these 2 points separately.
* the other person sometimes is your body answering for youwhen you think you want to do something and the body thinks otherwise. This is a huge and complicated topic in and of itself. In Canada we spent a lot of time exploring the brain's propensity for keeping you safe and how in doing so it can limit your movement choices because it doesn't believe certain movement options are safe for you to do. Sometimes you simply need to teach the body/mind that you are safer then it thinks you are. As you do so, the brain can ease up on the fear response to potential actions and agree to let you do new things. It simply begins to understand you won't necessarily hurt yourself.
* other times the other person is your body putting up stoppers because you haven't been listening to subtle messages it's been sending. So it needs to send something larger to get your attention. An injury, for example. Think of times when you have pushed through pain or exhaustion and ended up pulling a muscle or running yourself down until you caught a cold.
* and sometimes that other person is the wise counsel, or the observer, talking some flipping sense into you.
Yesterday my other person was trying to talk sense into me (and truthfully well on its way to becoming the person who puts up stoppers when the next day I woke up in complete exhaustion.) In the last month I've been on the West Coast twice and have been jet lagging myself back and forth, not to mention delightfully taxing my brain to learn and integrate fantastic new information about both pelvic floor health and how side dominance and brain hemispheric patterns impact movement and emotional regulation.
Um. well then. Yes. Thank you wise counsel. Time for a sleep, down-time, and a digestion reset.
The point here is that our 2nd selves are in us 100 percent of the time. As we grow our inner awareness, we can begin to ask what the 2nd self is telling us about our state of being. Sometimes it will mean listening to wise counsel and subtle messages so that you don't get sick or injured. And sometimes you may need to dialog with yourself in the form of teaching your body/mind that it is actually safer than it thinks you really are. As with everything in life, what action you need to take depends . . .on where you really are. It requires paying attention.
In the coming months I'll come back to sharing more about outcomes of these recent trainings, which also touched on how the brain maps where you are in space, physiological responses in the body, and how this and hemispheric patterns influence emotional regulation.
A endless opportunity for learning stands before me. I hope you will journey along with me too.
I hope that as this year draws to a close you will ask yourself about your deep heartfelt desires for 2019.
How do you want to feel in the year ahead?
Where do you want to go in your life?
What support do you need to pursue these goals?
I'll be working on my answers to these questions myself.
I want to further embrace vitality. I want to live abundantly in love, laughter, grace, and compassion. I want a good dose of self-discipline to help me pursue my dreams. I want to be open to new experiences so that I can more fully participate in the richness of being a human. Essentially, I want to willing to fall sometimes, make mistakes and teach myself that I'm safer than I think I am so that fear won't be my master. I want to meet new people and connect with old friends. I want to grow my inner awareness more fully. I want to LIVE this beautiful, sometimes crazy life in more connection with the NOW.
and likely much more . . .


text:
Theodor Heinrich Reich (* 31. Oktober 1823 in Muskau; † 30. September 1892 auf Gut Biehla bei Kamenz) war ein deutscher Rittergutsbesitzer und Politiker (Deutschkonservative Partei). Er war Abgeordneter des Sächsischen Landtags und des Reichstags.

Leben und Wirken
Nach seiner Gymnasialbildung widmete sich Reich ausgedehnten Reisen. Er war als Kaufmann in Dresden tätig. Nach dem Tod von Wolf Friedrich von Walter-Jeschki erbte er gemeinsam mit dem königlich preußischen Major Gustav Adolph von Ludewig das Rittergut Biehla zur ideellen Hälfte. 1871 bis 1873 ließ er auf den Grundmauern des alten, aus dem Jahr 1661 stammenden Herrenhauses ein neues Gebäude im Stil der italienischen Renaissance errichten.

Von 1877 bis 1890 gehörte er als Vertreter des 3. sächsischen Wahlkreises (Bautzen-Kamenz) dem Reichstag in Berlin an. Von 1881 bis 1892 gehörte er als Rittergutsbesitzer durch Königliche Ernennung der I. Kammer des Sächsischen Landtags an. 1893 wechselte er von der Deutschkonservativen Partei in die antisemitische Deutsche Reformpartei.

Des Weiteren gehörte Reich dem Kirchen- und Schulvorstand in Biehla sowie dem Kreis- und Bezirksausschuss an. Er war Direktor der Bezirks-Arbeitsanstalt in Jesau bei Kamenz.

Weblinks

Einzelnachweise

Reichstagsabgeordneter (Deutsches Kaiserreich)
Mitglied der Ersten Kammer der Ständeversammlung des Königreichs Sachsen
Mitglied der Deutschkonservativen Partei
Mitglied der Deutschen Reformpartei
Deutscher
Geboren 1823
Gestorben 1892
Mann


Assemble your own Hagrid's Hut from the Harry Potter film series with ease, with this Harry Potter Rubeus Hagrid's Hut Metal Earth Model Kits from Fascinations! These amazingly detailed DIY models start as 2-sheets and finish as amazing 3-D models. Use the easy-to-follow instructions included with the sheet to pop out the pieces, bend the tabs, and connect them at the attachment points! Ages 14 and up.


It's almost September, and September calls for Back-To-School and Autumn trendsetting! Even though it was a trend that started this winter, the feather extension trend is still in and will likely be until the end of the year. Thanks to the lovely and talented Laura Vargas at Shape-Up Day Spa in Newport Beach, CA, I joined in on the trend and had 4 feather extensions applied to my hair! I opted for a subtle look, but I probably should have been a little bit more bold… maybe next time!


text:
Q: ionic apk dont show Splash Screens I'm building an application based on the WordPress blog using ionic. I added Splash Screens and switched it on my device but it's not working. i took The apk file from ant-build folder but when I run it on the machine does not show me anything. Is not closed right file? The settings in xml or incorrect?
          <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
      <widget xmlns:cdv="http://cordova.apache.org/ns/1.0" xmlns:vs="http://schemas.microsoft.com/appx/2014/htmlapps" id="io.cordova.myappe2785d518e9f4f6ea03055878dd7a400" version="1.0.0" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/ns/widgets" defaultlocale="en-US">
        <name>kikarNews</name>
        <description>A blank project that uses Apache Cordova to help you build an app that targets multiple mobile platforms: Android, iOS, Windows, and Windows Phone.</description>
        <author href="http://cordova.io" email="dev@cordova.apache.org">Apache Cordova Team </author>
        <content src="index.html" />
        <access origin="*" />
        <vs:features />
        <preference name="SplashScreen" value="splash" />
      <preference name="SplashScreenDelay" value="3000" />
        <preference name="windows-target-version" value="8.1" />
        <preference name="windows-phone-target-version" value="8.1" />
        <preference name="SplashMaintainAspectRatio" value="true|false" />
        <platform name="android">
          <icon src="res/icons/android/icon-36-ldpi.png" density="ldpi" />
          <icon src="res/icons/android/icon-48-mdpi.png" density="mdpi" />
          <icon src="res/icons/android/icon-72-hdpi.png" density="hdpi" />
          <icon src="res/icons/android/icon-96-xhdpi.png" density="xhdpi" />
        </platform>
        <platform name="ios">
          <!-- iOS 8.0+ -->
          <!-- iPhone 6 Plus  -->
          <icon src="res/icons/ios/icon-60-3x.png" width="180" height="180" />
          <!-- iOS 7.0+ -->
          <!-- iPhone / iPod Touch  -->
          <icon src="res/icons/ios/icon-60.png" width="60" height="60" />
          <icon src="res/icons/ios/icon-60-2x.png" width="120" height="120" />
          <!-- iPad -->
          <icon src="res/icons/ios/icon-76.png" width="76" height="76" />
          <icon src="res/icons/ios/icon-76-2x.png" width="152" height="152" />
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        <platform name="windows">
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        <platform name="wp8">
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        <vs:plugin name="org.apache.cordova.battery-status" version="0.2.12" />
        <vs:plugin name="org.apache.cordova.dialogs" version="0.3.0" />
        <vs:plugin name="org.apache.cordova.device" version="0.3.0" />
        <vs:plugin name="org.apache.cordova.splashscreen" version="1.0.0" />
      </widget>

A: I do not know the method that you used for generating splash screens.I have used ionic CLI.
By using this method,you can generate splash screens automatically  from source images to create each size needed for each platform.There is no need of copying each resized and cropped image into each platform's resources directory.
Save a splash.png, splash.psd or splash.ai file within the resources directory at the root of the Cordova project. The source image's minimum dimensions should be 2208x2208 px.Additionally, when the Orientation preference config is set to either landscape or portrait mode, then only the necessary images will be generated.
$ ionic resources --splash

Refer


text:
What Ducey told McCain ahead of his big vote to kill GOP 'repeal' bill
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey chatted by phone about the "skinny repeal" bill with Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake before the historic health-care vote.
What Ducey told McCain ahead of his big vote to kill GOP 'repeal' bill Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey chatted by phone about the "skinny repeal" bill with Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake before the historic health-care vote. Check out this story on azcentral.com: http://azc.cc/2vjwYna
After being diagnosed with brain cancer, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., July 25, 2017, as the Senate was to vote on health-care legislation. Associated Press
Sen. John McCain returns to Washington
After being diagnosed with brain cancer, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017, as the Senate was to vote on health-care legislation. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., center, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017, as Sen. McCain returned to Capitol Hill to vote on health-care legislation. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
In this image from video, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. is embraced by Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer of N.Y. as he arrives on the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017. C-SPAN2/Associated Press
In this image from video, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. is applauded as he arrives on the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017. C-SPAN2/Associated Press
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas, followed by Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., center, and Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., greets Cindy McCain, wife of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017, as Sen. McCain returned to Capitol Hill to vote in the health bill. Andrew Harnik/Associated Press
In this image from video provided by Senate Television, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. speaks to the floor of the Senate on Capitol Hill in Washington, July 25, 2017. McCain returned to Congress for the first time since being diagnosed with brain cancer. Associated Press
After being diagnosed with brain cancer, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C., July 25, 2017, as the Senate was to vote on health-care legislation.
Dan Nowicki and Yvonne Wingett Sanchez, The Republic | azcentral.com Published 1:03 p.m. MT July 30, 2017 | Updated 1:54 p.m. MT July 30, 2017
Sen. John McCain(Photo: AP)
Throughout U.S. Senate deliberations over a proposed repeal of the Affordable Care Act, Sen. John McCain repeatedly invoked the name of Gov. Doug Ducey, saying he wanted to ensure any new law didn't punish their home state of Arizona.
"My position on this proposal will be largely guided by Governor Ducey's analysis of how it would impact the people of our state," McCain, R-Ariz., said Thursday during a news conference hours before the late night vote in which he would give a thumbs down to the Senate GOP's so-called "skinny repeal" bill.
"My friends, this is legislation that directly affects the people of my state," he continued. "I trust my governor. I trust his people and he is looking carefully at this."
But despite eventually getting the go-ahead from Ducey, McCain, who turns 81 on Aug. 29 and starts treatment Monday for brain cancer, voted against the "skinny" legislation, killing it and stopping the current Republican push to undo the Affordable Care Act.
Three Republicans senators,John McCain of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, held a press conference Thursday saying they cannot vote for the GOP health care bill in its current form. (July 27) AP
The day before, McCain had filed three amendments drafted in consultation with Ducey, who like McCain has long emphasized the need to get rid of the Affordable Care Act — which critics refer to as "Obamacare". Those amendments aimed to shield the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state's Medicaid program, from any financial hit from the Republican-backed repeal proposal.
However, the amendments became moot after GOP leaders settled on the "skinny repeal" bill. The measure didn't change Medicaid funding, which was at the heart of what had troubled Ducey and AHCCCS officials. It would instead have left the Affordable Care Act largely in place, ending only its individual and employer mandates and repealing, for three years, a medical-device tax, among other changes.
However, I agree with @SenJohnMcCain that the bill on the table clearly isn't the right approach for Arizona. 2/4
— Doug Ducey (@dougducey) July 27, 2017
On Thursday afternoon, Ducey tweeted that he agreed with McCain "that the bill on the table clearly isn't the right approach for Arizona."
But ahead of the early Friday vote — and after talking to Vice President Mike Pence — Ducey spoke by speaker phone to McCain and Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., in the Senate's GOP cloakroom. During the conversation, Ducey gave his blessing to their voting for the "skinny repeal."
A Republican aide familiar with conversations between the governor and the senators told The Arizona Republic the governor "was OK with this moving forward if it meant it was going to be a vehicle for a better bill."
There were fears that the House GOP might send a Senate-passed "skinny repeal" to President Donald Trump for his signature. Because of such fears, McCain had demanded earlier Thursday that House Republicans agree to a joint House-Senate conference committee to work out a final bill drawing from the two versions passed by each chamber.
Ducey didn't necessarily believe the "skinny" bill was the best policy outcome, the aide said, but he was not opposed to McCain and Flake moving it forward if they thought it could be improved upon and had assurances from leadership.
Ultimately, the governor didn't want to see the GOP-driven effort to repeal the ACA die. McCain, who preferred to start over using them in a more bipartisan fashion, came to a different conclusion.
The repeal of Obamcare is a top priority for Trump, who said on Twitter Saturday that Republicans should not give up on the goal.
Unless the Republican Senators are total quitters, Repeal & Replace is not dead! Demand another vote before voting on any other bill!
A Ducey aide also confirmed that the governor got a call Thursday from Pence, who was among those lobbying McCain to vote for the bill.
Another Republican aide briefed on the conversation said Ducey and Pence had two conversations in the hours before the final vote. At least one of those discussions centered on how McCain would vote, the aide said, requesting anonymity so he could speak freely about the exchanges that had not been publicly disclosed.
McCain's office on Sunday declined to comment on any private discussions McCain may have had with Ducey.
Flake, who is up for re-election in 2018, voted in favor of the "skinny" bill, officially known as the Health Care Freedom Act.
The U.S. Senate rejected a Republican measure to repeal portions of former President Obama's health care reform law. Republicans John McCain, Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins joined the Democrats in voting down the measure, 49-51. (July 28) AP
"Too many Arizonans go without health coverage because Obamacare premiums are unaffordable, and too many Arizonans who have health coverage can't afford to utilize it because of exorbitant deductibles," Flake said in a written statement provided to The Republic. "I supported the bill because it kept the possibility of reform alive for those who have to purchase insurance on the individual market."
With all Democrats in opposition, the 52-member Republican Senate majority could only afford two GOP defections. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski had already staked out ground as "no" votes. Other senators audibly gasped and clapped when McCain delivered the death blow.
The vote should not have come as a total surprise to anyone who followed McCain's comments since the original GOP plan, the failed Better Care Reconciliation Act, first emerged from behind closed doors.
He gave multiple signals along the way that he had serious misgivings.
Besides oft-repeated worries about the bill's impact on Arizona, McCain decried the secretive process in which the proposals were written. He predicted the GOP effort would fail, and urged Republicans to reach out to Democrats in hopes of finding a sustainable healthcare solution.
And in a dramatic Tuesday floor speech, McCain put Trump on notice that senators "are not the president's subordinates," but are his equal.
"Whether or not we are of the same party, we are not the president's subordinates. We are his equal," McCain said in dramatic floor speech. pic.twitter.com/zXkP19ZKZU
— Dan Nowicki (@dannowicki) July 25, 2017
"From the beginning, I have believed that Obamacare should be repealed and replaced with a solution that increases competition, lowers costs, and improves care for the American people," McCain said in a written statement issued after the vote. "The so-called 'skinny repeal' amendment the Senate voted on today would not accomplish those goals.
"While the amendment would have repealed some of Obamacare's most burdensome regulations, it offered no replacement to actually reform our health care system and deliver affordable, quality health care to our citizens."
By stopping the unpopular legislation, McCain "actually may have saved the (Republican) Party in the long term," said Jennifer Duffy, a national political analyst who handicaps Senate races for the influential and non-partisan Cook Political Report in Washington, D.C.
Ducey's role advising the senators also was not a surprise to those who closely follow his administration.
He frequently references discussions with the senators. And while he has long called Obamacare a "monumental failure and rolling disaster," he has said a replacement should not be rushed through Congress. Ducey is running for re-election in 2018.
Photos: John McCain through the years
Sen. John McCain poses at the Republic Media building in downtown Phoenix on Thursday, August 3, 2017. Tom Tingle/The Republic
U.S. Sen. John McCain at his office in Phoenix on Monday, April 6, 2015. Michael Schennum/The Republic
This is an undated file photo of Sen. John McCain, lying injured as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam. It was among 4,000 photos and documents given to a U.S. delegation by Hanoi. McCain was a U.S. Navy pilot downed in Vietnam in 1967. Associated Press
John McCain is escorted by Lt. Cmdr. Jay Coupe Jr., public relations officer, March 14, 1973, to Hanoi's Gia Lam Airport after the POW was released. Associated Press
Lt. Cmdr. John McCain, a POW for over five years, waves to well-wishers on March 18, 1973, after arriving at Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. Associated Press
Then-U.S. Navy Commander John McCain, a guest of the South Vietnamese government, visits an orphanage that cares for youngsters fathered by American G.I.s in Saigon, Vietnam, on Oct. 30, 1974. McCain, a son of the admiral who commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific at the height of the Vietnam War, was shot down over Hanoi and spent several years as a POW. Associated Press
Then-U.S. Navy Commander John McCain, a guest of the South Vietnamese government, visits the Holt orphanage in Saigon, Vietnam, on Oct. 30, 1974. The institution cares for many youngsters fathered by American G.I.s. McCain, son of the admiral who commanded U.S. forces in the Pacific at the height of the Vietnam War, was shot down over Hanoi and spent several years as a POW. Associated Press
U.S. Rep. John McCain holds a photo of a marker in Hanoi, Vietnam, at Truc Bach Lake where he parachuted after being shot down as a Navy pilot in the Vietnam War. McCain, who was a POW for 5½ years in Hanoi, was in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 18, 1985, en route to Hanoi to visit this site. Associated Press
John McCain speaks to an audience in Encanto Park in Phoenix on Oct. 18, 1986. Larry Woodall/The Republic
As John McCain looks on (left), Vice President George H. W. Bush is greeted by Evan Mecham during a visit to Phoenix in October 1986. The Republic
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., center right, huddles with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., to discuss strategy at the conclusion of the daily members meeting in the Mansfield room near the Senate floor in Washington on March 26, 2001. Associated Press
Sen. John McCain addresses the media at Swift Aviation at Sky Harbor International Airport on May 5, 2008. Tom Tingle/The Republic
Sen. John McCain and President George Bush shake hands at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport at the end of the president's brief visit to the Valley on May 27, 2008. Jack Kurtz/The Republic
Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., smiles as he appears with former first lady Nancy Reagan Tuesday, March 25, 2008, in Bel Air, Calif. Reagan endorsed McCain for president as the Arizona senator continued to collect the backing of leading Republicans who might help him win over critical conservative voters. Mary Altaffer/Associated Press
Republican presidential nominee U.S. Sen. John McCain concedes victory on stage during the election night rally at the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa on Nov. 4, 2008, in Phoenix. Getty Images
Republican presidential nominee John McCain and his running mate, Sarah Palin, bask in the celebration at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul on Sept. 4, 2008. Charlie Nye/The Indianapolis Star
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (R) (D-Ill.) and Republican presidential candidate U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) shake hands after the first of three presidential debates before the 2008 election on Sept. 26, 2008. Win McNamee/Getty Images
Then-President-elect Barack Obama applauds Arizona Sen. John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, during a bipartisan dinner in McCain's honor on Jan. 19, 2009, in Washington, D.C., on the night before Obama's inauguration as 44th U.S. president. AFP/Getty Images
Arizona Sen. John McCain talks with host David Letterman in this 2008 Late Show appearance. CBS via Associated Press
Sen. John McCain and former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin make a campaign appearance on March 26, 2010, at the Pima County Fairgrounds in Tucson, Arizona. Rob Schumacher/The Republic
Sen. John McCain gets his own apron after talking to employees at the Home Depot Rapid Deployment Center in Tolleson, to campaign and tour the new facility on July 30, 2010. Deirdre Hamill/The Republic
Sen. John McCain and wife Cindy cast their ballots at Madison Camelview Elementary School in Phoenix on Aug. 24, 2010. Deirdre Hamill/The Republic
U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his wife, Cindy McCain celebrates his win in the GOP primary race, on Aug. 24, 2010, at the Phoenix Convention Center in Phoenix. Sen. McCain defeated former Rep. J.D. Hayworth. Rob Schumacher/The Republic
U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) speaks as Sen. Joseph Lieberman (ID-Conn.) (center) and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) (left) listen during a news conference about the crisis in Syria on May 11, 2011, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Former presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) (R) announced that he is endorsing Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney during a town hall meeting at Central High School January 4, 2012, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Getty Images
Sen. John McCain celebrates a goal by the Phoenix Coyotes as they host the Nashville Predators in the first period of Game 2 of the second round playoff series Sunday, April 29, 2012, in Glendale. David Kadlubowski/The Republic
Senator John McCain speaks during a gathering of supporters for presidential candidate Mitt Romney Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency in Phoenix. David Kadlubowski/The Republic
Sen. John McCain holds a town hall with West Valley residents at Peoria City Hall, on Aug. 23, 2012. Tom Tingle/The Republic
From left, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. sit on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013, before President Barack Obama's State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress. Associated Press
Sen. John McCain speaks with those gathered at a town hall meeting at the Goelet A.C. Beuf Community Center in Phoenix on March 24, 2013. Patrick Breen/The Republic
Sen. John McCain visits U.S. troops at a missile site in Turkey on May 27, 2013. McCain quietly slipped into Syria for a meeting with rebels. Associated Press
Jack (from left), Renee, Cindy and John McCain are pictured at Jack and Renee's weekend wedding in San Francisco in summer 2013. Crisman Studios
Sen. John McCain laughs during an exchange with Secretary of State John F. Kerry. The two spoke during a 2013 U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations hearing about the authorization of use of force in Syria. Jack Gruber/USA TODAY
Sens. John McCain and Jeff Flake address members of the media at McCain's Phoenix office on May 28, 2014, following the release of a report stating by the Veterans Affairs that at least 1,700 veterans at the medical center were not registered on the proper waiting list, putting them at risk in the convoluted scheduling process. Charlie Leight/The Republic
Sen. John McCain hugs Mitt Romney during a rally for John McCain's re-election campaign at Dobson High School on Dec. 12, 2015, in Mesa. Patrick Breen/The Republic
Sen. John McCain with his wife Cindy gives a victory speech to his supporters during his campaign party at Heard Museum, Steele Auditorium in Phoenix on Nov. 8, 2016. Nick Oza/The Republic
U.S. Sen. John McCain reacts at The Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law at Arizona State University on Aug. 15, 2016. Charlie Kaijo/The Republic
Sen. John McCain greets supporters after winning his sixth Senate term during his campaign party at the Heard Museum in Phoenix on Nov. 8. Sen. John McCain greets supporters after winning sixth Senate term during his campaign party at the Heard Museum in Phoenix on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016. Nick Oza/The Republic
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. walk on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, July 13, 2017, for a meeting on the revised Republican health-care bill which has been under attack from within the party. Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press
Sen. John McCain listens to former FBI director James Comey at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing. FBI director James Comey testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee as part of its investigation into Russia's interference in last year's presidential election and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials on June 8, 2017, in Washington. Henry Taylor/USA TODAY
Sen. John McCain receives the Liberty Medal from Chair of the National Constitution Center's Board of Trustees, former Vice President Joe Biden, in Philadelphia on Oct. 16, 2017. The honor is given annually to an individual who displays courage and conviction while striving to secure liberty for people worldwide Matt Rourke/Associated Press
Sen. John McCain and his daughter, Meghan McCain, sitting outside the family's cabin in Sedona in February 2018. Special for The Republic
Sen. John McCain and his daughter, Meghan, in an undated photo posted to Instagram on March 18, 2018. Meghan McCain/Special for The Republic
Sen. John McCain torpedoes Republican health-care effort, kills 'skinny repeal' bill
Sen. John McCain returning to Arizona to start cancer treatment on Monday
Obamacare repeal is dead for now. What could that mean for you?
Read or Share this story: http://azc.cc/2vjwYna
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What Donald Rumsfeld taught me about writing | Thinking is the enemy.
Donald Rumsfeld, secret wordsmith of the Pentagon.
I recently went to see The Unkown Known, the documentary about Donald Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld, for those of you who didn't have to suffer through the '70s and '80s, is an American political survivor who served under four Republican presidents, including two stints as Secretary of Defense. Interestingly, he was both the youngest and oldest person to serve in that position.
After thinking about the film for a few days, I realized Donald Rumsfeld had a lot to say — about writing.
Whatever it was he said.
The documentary makes use of thousands of Rumsfeld memos to zero in on issues surrounding the Iraq war. The film estimates that in his last six years of service alone, Rumsfeld produced approximately 10,000 of these "snowflakes," as he calls them. That means Rumsfeld was writing something like five memos a day — and that assumes he worked every day of the week.
Rumsfeld was obsessed, perhaps unsurprisingly, with language. His memos frequently advised the recipient to look up terms in the Pentagon's official dictionary, or included definitions from the OED. Sometimes he gave the impression of being confused or obtuse, but it was almost always deliberate. Rumsfeld carefully considered every word he put to paper, and if caught in a lie, used words to worm his way back out.
I guess advice on writing is everywhere, if we look hard enough. Just make sure you have something more substantial than words if you plan on invading Iraq.
This entry was posted in Film, Writing and tagged donald rumsfeld, poetry, rumsfeld, the unknown known, writing. Bookmark the permalink.
Very interesting post, Chris. I'll have to take a look at the documentary and the book you mention. I spent a lot of time hating Rumsfeld when he was SOD, but I guess we can learn a lot even from people we dislike.


Researchers in Texas, mark your calendars and get ready for an upcoming BioResearch Product Faire™ Event at university near you!
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Lab suppliers working to meet researchers in Texas may be interested in the option to market life science solutions at Texas A&M University life science marketing events. Our College Station BioResearch Product Faire™ Event will be held on the Texas A&M University campus on January 29th, 2014. Biotechnology Calendar, Inc. life science marketing events attract a large number of researchers with a wealth of life science funding available to meet their lab supply and research needs.