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A nation must think before it acts.
This is the second in a series of three essays on the challenge of strategic foreign policy planning for the next administration. In Part One, I described problems with the national security decision-making process under the current president, then considered and rebutted the argument that any sort of strategy in US foreign policy is impossible. Here in Part Two, I outline the uses of strategic planning, and put forward specific recommendations for an improved decision-making process. In Part Three, I will offer some guidelines for the substance of an alternate US strategic direction.
On January 20, 2017, the next American president will inherit a powerful array of international challenges, capabilities, and opportunities. Apart from the naturally current focus on the election season itself, the various presidential campaigns and their leading foreign policy advisers would benefit from thinking through how they plan to tackle these international security challenges, not only country by country, but overall. A genuinely prudent US foreign policy strategy, starting in 2017, would involve a shift toward a different presidential decision-making style along with a shift in overall direction. In terms of decision-making style, if a president wanted to impose greater order and coherence on US foreign policy strategy, it would certainly be possible to do so. Based on both recent and historical experience, a variety of instruments might be developed. These are laid out in the essay below. In truth, the precise organizational flowchart adopted is less important than the fact of genuine interest and trust from the top down. No formal arrangement for strategic planning will avail if it does not fit the personality of the president, or if it does not have his confidence. On the other hand, any one of several mechanisms could help considerably if a president decided to get serious about conceiving, developing and imposing a successful strategy on US foreign and security policies. Since these are literally matters of life and death, getting serious would seem appropriate.
The Uses of Strategic Planning
Crushing time constraints on top US foreign policy officials these days leave precious few moments to think strategically. In his memoir, George Shultz wrote that he had his own private routine for strategic planning, first developed as Secretary of Labor, and then used as Secretary of State:
In any day, or certainly any week, I would block out periods of time when nothing was scheduled and I wasn't going to deal with things in my "in" box. I was going to sit with a piece of paper and think ahead about key problems, ways of getting at them, what I wanted to work on, and what I wanted to cause others to work on. This was my own personal version of policy planning.[1]
A good model for any cabinet official, or indeed any president. And proper staffing arrangements can help. Dean Acheson records that when George Marshall established a policy planning staff at the State Department in 1947, he intended it:
To look ahead, not into the distant future, but beyond the vision of the operating officers caught in the smoke and crises of current battles; far enough ahead to see the emerging forms of things to come and outline what should be done to meet or anticipate them.[2]
Or in Marshall's own characteristically trenchant instructions: "avoid trivia."[3]
A coherent strategic planning process can assist the president and his leading foreign policy advisers in several ways. Aaron Friedberg suggests four.[4] First, it can help them to consider and develop alternative strategies and courses of action in a systematic fashion, weighing explicitly the costs and benefits of each. Second, it can help policymakers to assess current strategies, including whether existing policies are actually working, along with recommended adjustments if they are not. Third, it can help them to identify some possible high-impact future contingencies, including recommended policy responses should these contingencies occur. Fourth, it can help them to recognize key long-term trends or emerging issues of potential significance for ongoing policy, and think through the potential implications.
In order to be genuinely strategic, all such planning must necessarily factor in the current and possible future reactions and responses of international adversaries, along with possible US counter-reactions and adjustments. There is no pretense here that any such 'plans' can be carried out to the letter operationally. Indeed the failure to adapt day-to-day to international events would itself be un-strategic. Yet there is ample evidence to indicate that a more rational strategic planning process both can and could contribute to an improvement in the quality of US foreign policy decision-making. Dwight Eisenhower himself suggested, based upon his own considerable experience, that while plans necessarily change, the process of strategic planning is indispensable, because it helps decision-makers better respond to actual events.[5]
One might assume that given the resources and expertise available to the federal government, this kind of planning is already done. Yet all too often it isn't, at least not in a coordinated and impactful manner. As Friedberg notes, the consequences in such cases have frequently been misallocated resources, suboptimal policies, duplication of effort, lost opportunities, costly improvisation, and even catastrophic failure. Significant improvements to the National Security Council (NSC) decision-making process are possible. Here are six specific recommendations:[6]
Ever since the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986, presidents have produced a public national security strategy roughly every four years. A common criticism of these types of documents is that they rationalize existing policies more than guide them.[7] Certainly this would seem to be the case with the 2015 National Security Strategy (NSS), which calls for "strategic patience" in allowing existing policies to work, reveals limited conceptual learning since 2009, and seems oddly disconnected from pressing challenges in numerous regions overseas.[8] To be fair, there is a persistent problem in terms of the timing of these quadrennial statements. Such documents can take months or even years to produce, and in the meantime, US officials in relevant departments and agencies must act upon events and implement what they understand to be the president's policy.[9] Still, abolishing a national security strategy of any kind would be unlikely to improve the quality of US foreign policy. A better course would be to take it seriously.
Part of the dilemma lies in formulating and implementing a proper national security strategy when that strategy is required to be public.[10] Critics such as David Edelstein and Ronald Krebs suggest in their recent Foreign Affairs article that what's needed in US security strategy is "meaningful transparency" and "more regular venues for officials to articulate the logic behind policy."[11] This is a strange conclusion to draw in the age of Julian Assange and Bradley/Chelsea Manning. By any reasonable comparative or historical standard, American foreign policy is formed, debated, and then regularly leaked in a way that is astonishingly public. How is the United States supposed to compete with serious adversaries internationally, if its every thought and move is deliberately signaled to these same adversaries ahead of time? The debate over US foreign policy already too often resembles a circus. What's needed is not an even bigger carnival tent, but some sort of rational process whereby a popularly elected president can formulate a coherent American security strategy with fair expectation of discretion.[12]
As Paul Lettow and Thomas Mahnken have suggested, the example of the Reagan administration is useful here.[13] Early in his presidency, and even prior to entering the White House, Ronald Reagan developed a conceptual framework for pressuring and weakening the Soviet bloc worldwide through a variety of political, military, economic, technological, ideological, and diplomatic tools. The details of this strategy didn't come together all at once, and its precise implementation was naturally the subject of serious internal bureaucratic debate once he was in office. But documentary evidence clearly indicates that Reagan had a distinct, self-conscious approach for competing with the Soviet Union relentlessly — and the development and execution of a classified national security strategy early on was crucial to that effort.[14] The president's National Security Decision Directive 32 (NSDD-32) from May 1982, entitled US National Security Strategy, declared the administration's aim was "to contain and reverse the expansion of Soviet control and military presence throughout the world," to "weaken the Soviet alliance system by forcing the USSR to bear the burden of its economic shortcomings, and to encourage long-term liberalizing and nationalist tendencies within the Soviet Union and allied countries."[15] In order to produce this document, Reagan's National Security Advisor and NSC staff led an extensive, rigorous, classified interagency planning effort that helped guide the administration's policy successfully over the course of two terms. Despite hostile caricatures of Reagan at the time, the president was personally invested in this process – generally businesslike, diligent, and in charge of the key decisions. Further presidential strategy directives flowed from NSDD-32, laying out policies for specific regional and functional issues with appropriate flexibility. These directives were then sent out to the relevant departments and agencies to be implemented – an expectation that was enforced by the White House.[16]
The next president should follow Reagan's example, and develop a classified national security strategy early in his administration to help guide a successful foreign policy. He can then decide how much to make public, in order to build support from allies, Congress, and public opinion. At the very least, a classified annex to a public document could help to ensure the kind of frank internal discussion and direction necessary for genuine strategic analysis. Streams of classified papers can also be commissioned to flow from such a document.
These strategy documents are valuable mainly and only insofar as they constitute a relatively brief, crisp, timely encapsulation and description of the president's aims. The current interagency paper churn should therefore be reformed and simplified in that direction, in cooperation with Congress.[17] It might even be worth considering short annual white papers with classified annexes as a substitute for the current variety of strategy reports, a few of which – like the Quadrennial Defense Review – are truly gargantuan exercises. The important thing for the next president is to have some kind of early, streamlined opportunity for genuine strategic planning, in whatever precise form that takes. As Jordan Tama argues in a recent issue of Political Science Quarterly:
The American public would probably be better served by a system wherein the White House directs a comprehensive interagency national security planning process at the outset of an administration that generates both the public NSS and classified guidance regarding priorities and key policies, to be followed by more narrow reviews by individual agencies aimed at implementing the output of the interagency process – with the precise timeline for those follow-on reviews set by the White House. Limiting the scope of the agency reviews to implementation of the interagency review would also reduce the number of person-hours spent on the agency reviews.[18]
A sensible, reformed national security strategy process can be used to drive interagency planning and set the agenda so that the United States takes the initiative internationally, rather than constantly allowing its adversaries to do so. Any such strategy released by the White House does have the great advantage that by definition it is an authoritative description of the president's views. This forces officials at high levels to think about the president's priorities and worldview in a systematic way, and to confront tensions or contradictions within existing US policies.[19] The response to valid criticisms of the current NSS process is therefore to give it real impact: treat it as an opening opportunity for an administration-wide exercise in basic strategic thought. This can be a chance for incoming officials to think through fundamental issues, including long-term trends and challenges; establish some hierarchy of goals, priorities, and threats; consider how the policy pieces fit together; and start building internal consensus and cohesion, by giving everyone their say upfront. The beginning of a new administration is exactly the right time to do this. For all of these reasons, the prompt completion of a serious national security strategy should be a top priority for the next president.[20]
The Obama White House mimics the hyper-centralization of the Nixon-Kissinger foreign policy team without their geopolitical aptitude. The unfortunate result has been NSC micromanagement and indecision simultaneously.[21] The execution of policy should be treated as the province of agencies and departments that actually have their hands on the tools of implementation. The proper role of the National Security Advisor and their staff is to manage the interagency process and arm the president for policy engagement – to monitor what is going on inside government, generate ideas for presidential initiatives, and provide the president with the wherewithal to make decisions and conduct foreign policy successfully.[22] The overarching size of the NSC staff should therefore be reduced from its current excess level. It should be a relatively flat, streamlined, and elite group, with the appropriate mix of political appointees and career detailees in regional and functional directorates. They should each be able to handle multiple topics, and to work together with collegiality and discretion. Senior positions should have some prior stature in the policy world. They should furthermore have some incoming awareness of the specific instruments available to help develop and implement the president's policies.
NSC staff can help to improve the quality of information search. Like the National Security Advisor, they can play the role of honest broker, and also an entrepreneurial role that respects the prerogatives of line departments and agencies while ensuring the president's options are not limited to those favored by the interagency. NSC staff should ensure that interagency perspectives are included in the policy development process. They should further ensure that deputies and principals committee meetings do not consume too much valuable interagency time. Departments and agencies should, in turn, send appropriately senior representatives to participate in NSC meetings, and then faithfully implement the president's policies once decided. This would be the implicit struck bargain of a functional interagency process headed by the NSC.[23]
Overall, the next administration should restore a proper balance of responsibilities between NSC staff on the one hand, and the various departments and agencies on the other. NSC staff should bring up to the deputy level those issues — and only those issues — requiring senior-level attention.[24] They should reach out and build informal relationships with staff across the various agencies who may not frequent interagency meetings, but are running critical initiatives and implementing policies within the bureaucracy.[25] As stated by Peter Feaver and William Inboden, both of whom worked in strategic planning for the White House from 2005 to 2007, the NSC needs to "listen more and meet less."[26] It is perfectly reasonable for the president to appoint and empower people not only at the cabinet level, but inside departments and agencies, who understand his priorities and are able to represent them effectively.[27] This is doubly true for NSC staff, who are after all a centripetal force in US national security policy.[28] Ideally they can provide coordination, breadth, coherence, integration, and proximity to political authority in a way that regular bureaucratic settings do not.[29] But this is no reason to disdain career civil servants. On the contrary, it is those with decades of practical experience in the career military, intelligence, and diplomatic services that bring situational awareness and case-specific understandings indispensable to any successful foreign policy strategy. The same might be said of political appointees working at the head of line departments and agencies; NSC staff need not duplicate their work. There are already thousands of people in government whose job it is to carry out and implement US foreign policy. When it comes to policy execution, NSC staff should work to ensure implementation on a few key issues of high priority to the president – and then get out of the way.
Among the principal players in the foreign policy process, only the National Security Advisor can represent the president's distinct overarching perspective, separate from specific departmental responsibilities. In order to be fully effective however, this official must play several roles simultaneously. This is difficult, not impossible. Stephen Hadley for example was able to do so as National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush during the late 2006 Iraq war strategy review.[30] First, the president needs a National Security Advisor to be an honest broker. An honest broker probes existing assumptions, considers alternative policy directions, weighs the costs and benefits of each possible course, and ensures that all relevant bureaucratic actors receive a fair hearing. More than one National Security Advisor has actually done this, and in doing so improved the quality of the deliberative process. No other cabinet official is adequately placed to perform this role.[31] Second, a National Security Advisor must be an effective agent of the president. In other words, they must act upon the president's evident concerns and priorities, to ensure those priorities are being followed. The National Security Advisor's authority derives precisely from the fact that they act on behalf of the president and are understood to do so. Any conception of the office detached from that foundation will not allow it to have much practical influence over the decision-making process. Third, a National Security Advisor can and should act as policy entrepreneur from time to time. Policy entrepreneurs connect viable alternative solutions, to pressing problems, to political conditions.[32] This need not contradict the role of honest broker if handled with integrity. The key is for the National Security Advisor to manage the process scrupulously, so all cabinet officials can be confident their views are being honestly represented to the president and vice-versa.[33] Procedural propriety does not require National Security Advisors to be completely indifferent to the substantive merit of policy alternatives, nor to be silent when asked for their personal views by the commander-in-chief. Only by joining the role of honest broker to that of policy entrepreneur, when necessary, can the National Security Advisor be an effective agent of the president. Academic analyses tend to appreciate the first role, while underestimating the significance of the other two.
Needless to say, any incoming National Security Advisor should possess serious prior foreign or defense policy experience within the executive branch. What is the best historical model for this complex, vital office? Henry Kissinger is of course the most famously influential National Security Advisor in American history, and in that capacity he centralized the foreign policy process tightly inside the White House with President Nixon's full support.[34] Kissinger was, unusually, both a brilliant conceptualizer and a canny implementer of an innovative foreign policy agenda. In my view the Nixon-Kissinger innovations were on the whole productive for American interests, and largely necessary at the time. But Kissinger's sidelining of the State Department during Nixon's first term – with the president's approval – cannot be a model for the future. Indeed Kissinger himself later admitted as much, after serving at Foggy Bottom: a president must have confidence in his Secretary of State, and should make that appointment accordingly.[35] In the words of the late Peter Rodman, who served every Republican president since Nixon, the purpose of a National Security Advisor is not to substitute for a weak Secretary of State, but among other things to ensure presidential control of a strong Secretary of State.[36] This is exactly the role Brent Scowcroft played for President George H.W. Bush, in relation to Secretary of State James Baker, and organizationally it worked well. Scowcroft operated as a truly scrupulous honest broker. Yet any notion that he did only this is mistaken. As historian Bartholomew Sparrow makes clear in a recent biography, Scowcroft was also the president's strong right arm, and an influential voice on behalf of specific foreign policy choices more than once.[37] He was in fact honest broker, occasional policy entrepreneur, and presidential agent simultaneously. For all of these reasons, it is Scowcroft rather than Kissinger who provides the best model for this office looking ahead.
The overall size of the NSC staff should be reduced from its current numbers. Within the area of strategic planning however, there would be little gained and potentially much lost by further decimating any presidential capacity for overall foreign policy planning. Only presidents have the authority to cut across interagency tensions and interests. Yet strategic planning cells for American foreign policy have had a precarious and uncertain history in the White House. The result has been a persistent gap in the president's institutionalized ability to oversee coherent foreign policy and security strategies. This gap can be addressed in part by establishing a properly staffed and empowered strategic planning directorate on the staff of the NSC.
An effective strategic planning directorate inside the White House can perform several useful tasks for the National Security Advisor, and consequently for the President:[38]
Such a planning cell would include a senior director, along with a number of directors, counselors, advisers, and/or assistants, on par with other functional and regional NSC directorates. In terms of numbers and expense, the planning directorate would not have to be very large. Access to the National Security Advisor and quality of personnel would be more important than sheer numbers. Planning staff would need to have a demonstrated ability to provide added value, to defer credit, and to work collegially with line directorates in order to earn their trust.[39] But such a planning directorate would work best if supplemented by a sister cell charged with overseeing implementation and execution, along with at least one staff member responsible for working directly with the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The planning directorate would also be well advised to work closely with other officials in the Executive Office of the President oriented toward top presidential priorities, and to remember that in a successful administration the White House functions as a team.
An effective NSC planning directorate could play a useful role in helping to coordinate strategic and policy planning cells at the various departments and agencies. This in turn could encourage more coherent presidential foreign policy strategies. But of course such a directorate will only work if the principal decision-makers — particularly the President and his National Security Advisor — are truly interested in using it to secure better policy outcomes. According to Rosa Brooks, who worked in the Department of Defense from 2009 to 2011, "if President Obama lacks a clear strategic foreign policy vision, it's partly because the strategic planning shops within the White House's National Security Staff…have been marginalized and disempowered."[40] Shawn Brimley of the Center for a New American Security, having directed strategic planning efforts on Obama's NSC staff, is more diplomatic, but makes an important point about the centrality of command climate:
In general, greater strategic thinking and planning often comes down to greater intentionality and intellectual honesty about decision-making….Being strategic at the NSC is as much a mindset and managerial demand signal as it is a set of documents. The degree to which the NSC makes time for strategic deliberations versus day-to-day crisis management rests largely with the people in the top leadership positions and the messages they send to staff.[41]
Again: if principal US foreign policy decision-makers are not interested in either acting or thinking strategically, then it certainly will not happen.
On organizational matters related to strategic planning, Dwight Eisenhower provides a leadership model worth emulating in certain significant ways. Upon becoming president, Eisenhower decided it was "inconceivable…that the work of the White House could not be better systematized."[42] He decided to institute a strategic planning board to generate and debate policy recommendations for consideration by the NSC. The board was made up of top officials responsible for strategic policy planning from each of the relevant departments and agencies, including those related to foreign economic policy. The president himself considered it vital, and gave the board instructions to meet regularly in order to "supply a continuity of planning and thought."[43] The board's function was to analyze trends, anticipate problems, consider alternative proposed solutions, and explicitly confront questions of ends and means through rigorous deliberation. It formed a mechanism by which the relevant experience and expertise of various departments and agencies were gathered and integrated effectively. In their policy papers, members of the board were not to split the difference between departmental positions, but if necessary "bring out conflicts," and see themselves as part of a corporate body whose responsibilities were to the president.[44] Each member had an "unbreakable engagement" to brief one principal decision-maker before every NSC meeting, and to lay out key differences in order to help structure top-level deliberations.[45] The president expected his cabinet officials to arrive at NSC meetings properly briefed and ready to discuss planning board options and recommendations. The board's value to the principals was not in specific operational blueprints, since Eisenhower understood very well the day-to-day need for flexibility, but rather in "living with the problem before it becomes acute."[46] Indeed this was the essence of Eisenhower's view regarding the value of strategic planning. Responsibility for execution was delegated to the relevant agencies, but Ike created and used an operations coordinating board to help implement approved policies.
Ike's successor, John F. Kennedy, abolished the strategic planning coordination board in favor of a more freewheeling approach. Certainly this suited Kennedy's rather dismissive attitude toward his predecessor, and it also suited conventional academic wisdom at the time, but the United States paid a price for it in the loss of a sensible planning mechanism. Eisenhower knew what he was doing. He used a strong staff system to inform lively, thorough debate in regular meetings with top advisers, explicitly weighing the costs and benefits of various policy options while maintaining firm control of the entire process.[47] As President Carter's national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski noted years later, ever since the abolition of Ike's strategic planning board, there has never really been a reliable substitute in terms of institutional capacity.[48] Numerous administrations have been forced to learn this through painful experience. President George W. Bush during his final months in office established a national security policy planning committee, to institutionalize regular meetings between strategic policy planners from various departments and agencies. Any new administration would do well to create and rely upon something like this from the very beginning, in a meaningful way.
The next president should create and empower a strategic planning coordination board to link the various policy planning cells across the executive branch and connect them to the NSC. The pieces are already in place at strategic and policy planning offices inside the various agencies and departments, but they rarely integrate effectively. A true planning board, or at the very least some sort of robust interagency working group, would help to address that problem. Such a group or board could assist the president and his leading advisers in bringing greater coherence to US foreign policy. Because of changes since Eisenhower's day, its recommendations would probably go to the NSC deputies committee for subsequent consideration by the principals. Indeed it might be worth appointing an experienced deputy national security advisor, distinct from operations, specifically to oversee strategic planning.[49] Presidents further need to be well advised as to how economic and commercial considerations impact national security and vice-versa. Any interagency planning board should therefore integrate economic considerations into US national security strategy through formal input and representation from the departments of Treasury, Commerce, and Agriculture. This would have the effect of usefully connecting the work of the NSC with that of the National Economic Council.[50] The planning board should be complemented by an interagency operations or implementation group to ensure that strategies are actually executed successfully. Admittedly this will all require some political lift on the president's part. But it would help to reverse America's current strategic dysfunction.
The United States has the richest, most dynamic civil society in the world. It's clear the federal government could do a better job tapping into that vast private expertise in specific areas like foreign aid and democracy promotion. Strategic planning in foreign policy benefits from the input and advice of think-tanks, NGOs, consultants, and outside experts who possess time, insight, and objectivity.[51] Yet this is not the limit of what can be learned from private sector experience.
Over the years, many leading companies have utilized internal strategic planning processes in an attempt to foster innovation and productivity. And what they have learnt is extremely relevant to the concept of strategic planning. They have long since learnt that strategy cannot realistically be detached from operations. To some extent, it emerges as a pattern from action, decision, learning, and adaptation, whether or not entirely preplanned. The formulation of strategy thus walks on two legs, one deliberate, and the other emergent.[52] Indeed these private sector lessons are in keeping with some of the most cutting-edge research in political science on how American grand strategy is really made.[53] As Andrew Erdmann points out in a very useful essay on the subject, the implications for strategic planning are profound. The chief executive must own the strategy; it cannot be outsourced. This actually requires a serious attention to process. Those who would implement any strategy must be involved in developing it, not only to bring ownership, but crucial situational awareness and understanding. The purpose of strategic planning is therefore not so much to fabricate plans, as to help prepare policymakers to make better decisions and then execute them when the opportunity arises. This was precisely Eisenhower's own insight. In the end, strategic planning cells do not literally make strategy; they help those who do.[54]
Presidential Leadership and the Necessity of Choice
This brings us back to the centrality of presidential leadership in the NSC system and in any US foreign policy strategy. Informally, a great deal depends upon the personal qualities of the president and his leading advisers, including whether they are compatible and trust one another. No organizational structure can substitute for real presidential engagement. No foreign policy strategy is credible if not backed up by him. Presidential authority provides democratic legitimacy and accountability to the entire process. It also provides executive direction. When presidents don't engage personally, forcefully, and consistently, they frequently lose control. Attempts at, or assumptions of bureaucratic consensus then turn out to be a recipe for deadlock and incoherence.
Presidents must face up to the fact that difficult tradeoffs in US foreign policy are inevitable. There are often serious risks in trying to split the difference between sharply opposing policy positions. If there is no bureaucratic consensus on a given leading issue, then pushing departments and agencies to compromise may be a real abdication of responsibility.[55] The presentation of real choices to the chief executive is central to his authority. A president ought to be made aware of his options. Then it is up to him to decide. Strategic planning can help.
[1] George Shultz, Turmoil and Triumph: My Years as Secretary of State (New York: Scribner, 1993), 32.
[2] Dean Acheson, Present at the Creation (New York: WW Norton, 1969), 214.
[3] Cited in Richard Haass, "Planning for Policy Planning," in Daniel Drezner, ed., Avoiding Trivia: the Role of Strategic Planning in American Foreign Policy (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009), 23.
[4] Aaron Friedberg, "Strengthening U.S. Strategic Planning," Washington Quarterly 31:1 (Winter 2007-8), 48-50.
[5] Eisenhower: "The plans are nothing, but the planning is everything." Quoted in Robert Bowie and Richard Immerman, Waging Peace: How Eisenhower Shaped an Enduring Cold War Strategy (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998), vii.
[6] For some similar lists of proposals to which I'm indebted, see Shawn Brimley et al, Enabling Decision: Shaping the National Security Council for the Next President (Washington, DC: Center for a New American Security, 2015); Peter Feaver and William Inboden, "Implementing an Effective Foreign Policy," in Choosing to Lead: American Foreign Policy for a Disordered World (The John Hay Initiative, 2015); Friedberg, "Strengthening U.S. Strategic Planning"; Paul Lettow and Thomas Mahnken, "Toolbox: Getting Serious About Strategic Planning," The American Interest (September-October 2009).
[7] Jordon Tama, "Does Strategic Planning Matter? The Outcomes of U.S. National Security Reviews," Political Science Quarterly 130:4 (Winter 2015-16), 754-56.
[8] President Barack Obama, National Security Strategy, The White House, February 2015.
[9] Tama, "Does Strategic Planning Matter," 736-37, 741-42, 758.
[10] Ibid., 742, 755.
[11] David Edelstein and Ronald Krebs, "Delusions of Grand Strategy," Foreign Affairs 94:6 (November/December 2015).
[12] Gabriel Schoenfeld, Necessary Secrets: National Security, the Media, and the Rule of Law (New York: WW Norton, 2010).
[13] Lettow and Mahnken, "Toolbox: Getting Serious About Strategic Planning."
[14] For useful commentary on the overall formulation and execution of Reagan's foreign policy strategy, see Martin Anderson and Annelise Anderson, Reagan's Secret War (New York: Crown Publishers, 2009); John Arquilla, The Reagan Imprint (Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2006), 38-43, 51-53, 227-35; John Gaddis, Strategies of Containment (New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 edition), 353-56, 369-77; Mark Lagon, The Reagan Doctrine (Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994), 78-82; Paul Lettow, Ronald Reagan and His Quest to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (New York: Random House, 2005), 61-72, 75-82; Henry Nau, Conservative Internationalism (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2013), chapter 7; and Richard Pipes, Vixi: Memoirs of a Non-Belonger (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003), 170-73, 179-80, 188-202.
[15] NSDD-32, "US National Security Strategy," May 20, 1982, Ronald Reagan Library, Simi Valley, California.
[16] Lettow and Mahnken, "Toolbox: Getting Serious About Strategic Planning."
[17] Feaver and Inboden, "Implementing an Effective Foreign Policy."
[18] Tama, "Does Strategic Planning Matter?" 765.
[19] Interview with Peter Feaver, December 4, 2015. Feaver headed the office responsible for drafting President Bush's 2006 National Security Strategy.
[20] Hal Brands, What Good is Grand Strategy? (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2014), 198.
[21] Karen DeYoung, "How the Obama White House runs foreign policy," The Washington Post, August 4, 2015.
[22] Peter Rodman, Presidential Command: Power, Leadership, and the Making of Foreign Policy from Richard Nixon to George W. Bush (New York: Vintage, 2010), 284.
[23] Feaver and Inboden, "Implementing an Effective Foreign Policy."
[24] Brimley et al, Enabling Decision, 5, 13.
[25] Ibid., 8.
[26] Feaver and Inboden, "Implementing an Effective Foreign Policy."
[27] Elliott Abrams, "The Prince of the White House," Foreign Policy, March 4, 2013; Rodman, Presidential Command, 284.
[28] Lettow and Mahnken, "Toolbox: Getting Serious About Strategic Planning,"
[29] Bert Rockman, "America's Departments of State: Irregular and Regular Syndromes of Policy Making," American Political Science Review 75:4 (December 1981), 911-27.
[30] Colin Dueck, "The Role of the National Security Advisor," Orbis 58:1 (Winter 2014), 15-38.
[31] John Burke, Honest Broker? The National Security Advisor and Presidential Decision Making (College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press, 2009), 283-84, 288.
[32] John Kingdon, Agendas, Alternatives, and Public Policies (New York: Longman Classics, 2003 edition), 179-83.
[33] Brent Scowcroft, quoted in Karl Inderfurth and Loch Johnson, eds., Fateful Decisions: Inside the National Security Council (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 138, 140.
[34] For useful commentary on Kissinger's incoming foreign policy preferences and procedures, from a range of perspectives, see Henry Kissinger, White House Years (Boston: Little Brown, 1979), chapters I-III; Walter Isaacson, Kissinger: A Biography (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2005 edition), chapters 8, 10; Niall Ferguson, Kissinger, 1923-1968: The Idealist (New York: Penguin, 2015), chapter 22; Jussi Hanhimaki, Flawed Architect: Henry Kissinger and American Foreign Policy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), chapter 2; and Jeremi Suri, Henry Kissinger and the American Century (Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard, 2007), 7-15
[35] Henry Kissinger, Years of Upheaval (Boston: Little Brown, 1982), 434.
[36] Rodman, Presidential Command, 282-85.
[37] Bartholomew Sparrow, The Strategist: Brent Scowcroft and the Call of National Security (New York: Public Affairs, 2015), chapters 17-27. For further evidence that Scowcroft was more than simply an honest broker, see George Bush and Brent Scowcroft, A World Transformed (New York: Vintage Books, 1999).
[38] Brimley et al, Enabling Decision, 13; Peter Feaver and William Inboden, "A Strategic Planning Cell on National Security at the White House," in Daniel Drezner, ed., Avoiding Trivia: the Role of Strategic Planning in American Foreign Policy (Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2009), 98-109; Friedberg, "Strengthening U.S. Strategic Planning"; Lettow and Mahnken, "Toolbox: Getting Serious about Strategic Planning." On contingency planning, see Michael Oppenheimer, Pivotal Countries, Alternate Futures: Using Scenarios to Manage American Strategy (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015).
[39] Feaver and Inboden, "A Strategic Planning Cell on National Security at the White House," 106.
[40] Rosa Brooks, "The Case for Intervention," Foreign Policy, October 18, 2012.
[41] Brimley et al, Enabling Decision, 10-11.
[42] Dwight Eisenhower, "The Central Role of the President in the Conduct of Security Affairs," in Amos Jordan, ed., Issues of National Security in the 1970s (New York, 1967), 87.
[43] Notes on Planning Board meeting, May 6, 1953, CJCS 334 (NSC) 1953, Record Group 218, National Archives.
[44] Foreign Relations of the United States [FRUS], 1952-54, 2:251.
[46] Eisenhower, "The Central Role of the President," 214. For a good summary description of how Eisenhower created and used his strategic planning board, see Bowie and Immerman, Waging Peace, chapters 5, 8-9, and 11.
[47] Fred Greenstein, The Hidden-Hand Presidency: Eisenhower as Leader (New York: Basic Books, 1982).
[48] From "The NSC at 50: Past, President, and Future," Council on Foreign Relations, October 31, 1997.
[49] Friedberg, "Strengthening U.S. Strategic Planning," 56.
[50] Laurence Zuriff, "Connecting Economics and Security," in Choosing to Lead: American Foreign Policy for a Disordered World (The John Hay Initiative, 2015).
[51] Feaver and Inboden, "A Strategic Planning Cell on National Security at the White House," 105.
[52] Henry Mintzberg and James Waters, "Of Strategies, Deliberate and Emergent," Strategic Management Journal (July-September 1985), 271.
[53] Ionut Popescu, The Process of Grand Strategy: Planning and Improvisation in America's Global Leadership (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, forthcoming).
[54] Andrew Erdmann, "Foreign Policy Planning Through a Private Sector Lens," in Drezner, ed., Avoiding Trivia, 137-52.
[55] Rodman, Presidential Command, 275-80, 287-89.


text:
Wisteria Creative Elements Card
October 27, 2011
Hello, how are we all? I've conducted a couple of Stampin' Up workshops in the past couple of weeks (waving a hello to Michelle and her guests and Marie and her guests.) I thought I'd share the project we did for our make and take.
Colours: Confetti White base, Wisteria Wonder, Blush Blossom and Cherry Cobbler. (Be back soon with another colour combo for this card, actually no - the same combo but different colours featured!)
We stamped the swirl from Creative Elements then added some texture using a crimper. The butterfly is done with 3 markers for a multicolour effect. I love the Lace Ribbon Border punch - in Cherry Cobbler here. The Wisteria ruffled ribbon and a string of 5 pearls are the finishing touches.
This card was inspired by one of our make and takes at Convention 2011.
One more pic of the crimping. Doesn't it bring back memories of 80's hair styles!
Speaking of hair - we've been doing some major practising lately of independently looking after long hair at our place in preparation for camp. My little crafting girl is off at camp this week. Looking forward to seeing her again tomorrow and finding out about all the fun things they've been doing. Jack's been quite enjoying having his parents all to himself but I think he'll be happy to see Hannah again tomorrow too.
And camp has inspired a new milestone - washing, drying, and deknotting long hair without mum. Now just to get Jack up to jumping in and out of the shower all by himself and I can sit on the couch with a glass of wine and celebrate. :-)
Happy stamping! Cheers, Sue

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Deploying Printers Using Active Directory
I have had a few days to try to make deploying printers easier for my works remote site setup. We use to go to every machine and install the printers on each of the machines. I knew that it could be done through Active Directory but I just had not done this before. So today I set it up and it worked like a charm. There are a few other guides to do this out there but I wanted to share my take on the mater. To start out you can deploy the printer on a Per User or Per Machine basis. We set up computers in certain areas and the users change so having a per machine deployment would work best for our situation. We also want to install the minimum amount of printers to each area to avoid the users printing to printers all the way across the building.
First thing I had to do is setup the AD structure, which I am not going to show here. So here is a basic way I setup the AD tree to work with the way I want our printers to work. Our remote networks are small and temporary so we don't put a great deal of time into the type of configuration you would do for a fixed site. Anyhow, I setup an OU for each of the work areas and assigned a group policy to it that is only used for the computer accounts and deploying the printers.
This all assumes that you have print services installed and the printers that you are going to deploy are all installed on the server. We run the print server on the DC because the remote site is only a few hundred machines and we run a mix of Windows and Linux servers. Using AD to deploy printers is great, it puts the printer on the machines and you don't have to install drivers on each individual host.
I used CompGroup_1 and 2 for test OUs for the computer accounts. Once these were setup I created GPOs for the OUs that only deploy the printers. The rest of group policy is applied to the User accounts.
With the OUs created you need to make the GPOs for the printers. Like I said earlier we only want a few printers in each work area and we don't want everyone to have access. This will help to relieve some of the PEBKAC!! Anyhow with the GPOs created you simply edit them to add the Pushprinterconnection.exe to the startup scripts for the per machine deployment. If you want per user you would do the same thing but do it in the Logon scripts. I found my Pushprinterconnection.exe in c:\Windows\Servicepackfiles\i386.
In the properties of Startup scripts you need to add the PPC to it. You click show files that will open a window that you will copy the PPC to. Close it and select add, you need to repeat this for each OU that you are going to use to deploy printers. Also when you add the PPC you can enter parameters, enter –log to allow logging of the events. Here are some screen shots of these menus.
This is just the order I went in you should be able to change things around to work for you better. I have to wait for all of the printers to be put in before I can add them to the server so I setup the AD part first and then the printer connections. So now we will deploy the printers using the Printer Manager. It is pretty straight forward and you simply select the printer you want to work with and right click. Then select deploy with group policy. This will being up a new menu where you browse for the GPO attached to the OU that you want to deploy the selected print in. Now that it is selected you can select the method of deployment, per machine or user. You will repeat this for every GPO and you can add multiple printers to the same GPO. Here are some screen shots of the menus. These screen shots show per user being selected, I used these because of time and not have per machine shots.
Once this is complete the printers show up in the Deployed Printers menu in Printer Management. Finally after everything was completed I enforced the GPOs on the OUs. Then I ran a script the executed a gpupdate /force on all of the workstations and rebooted. After everything came up I logged in the machines and every printer was present and worked. I did have some issues when I was complete and renaming, and I also had a typo with one of the IPs. So make sure you have everything planned out and check your work and you should be golden. This really makes it easy to deploy printers on remote nodes, mass numbers of nodes, or just because you want to be lazy. I know this isn't nothing new but maybe I can I help one person and then I am happy. However I did have to find some screen shots that weren't from my server just to allow me to finish this post, I hope no one get confused by the different AD layouts.


text:
Lantmännen is an agricultural cooperative and Northern Europe's leader in agriculture, machinery, bioenergy and food products.
Earth's inhabitants are ever-increasing. At the same time we need to eat and be healthy within the limits of what our one planet can produce. To supply the entire population of the world requires a change in the way we produce and consume food.
The greatest impact and potential lies in the cultivation stage. The road to sustainable cultivation involves managing and balancing several different challenges. Learn more about some of the most important challenges – the impact and how different cultivation methods can move us in the right direction. Lantmännen takes an active role in the development of a more sustainable farming where we can make a big difference for the climate and nature.
Lantmännen's knowledge and operations in every stage represent an opportunity to drive and contribute to development in the grain value chain. We focus on research that can develop and move the entire grain sector forward.
Lantmännen works together with other players to drive the development of cultivation in a sustainable direction. We do this by offering advisory services to farmers and developing technology and methods. We conduct plant breeding with a focus on sustainable cultivation and we are at the forefront of non-chemical seed treatment. Working with farmers and customers, we can also develop new grain concepts with differentiated quality and improved environmental properties. Climate performance and traceability are examples of parameters that make the difference between one grain and another.
Sustainable cultivation is not about choosing between organic and conventional, but exploiting the best from different production methods and aids. It is also very much about taking into account local cultivation conditions and challenges as well as local solutions.
The cultivation concept Climate & Nature
Lantmännen has developed a new grain cultivation concept, Climate & Nature, with up to 30 % lower impact on the climate than the average Swedish wheat production. The method also increases biodiversity. Lantmännen is the first in the world to use the method in large scale grain farming.
Consumers can buy a more environment-friendly wheat and farmers can earn more since both the size of their harvest and the value of their grain increases.
The cultivation concept with up to 30% lower climate impact and with greater consideration for the environment and nature
Fertilizer with low carbon footprint
Fossil-free fuels
Crops are cultivated and dried without the use of fossil fuels.
Eco-driving and energy audits at the farm
Skylark plots promotes biodiversity and is one of the criteria in cultivation concept Climate & Nature. The large unsown patches attract sun-loving insects and spiders that can become bird food. A new study from Lantmännen, WWF, BirdLife Sweden and SLU shows that skylark plots have a significant positive effect on breeding skylarks!
With cultivation concept Climate & Nature Lantmännen contributes to addressing the key challenges in the cultivation stage.
Flour with up to 30 percent lower climate impact
With Lantmännen's new cultivation programme Climate & Nature, we have developed flour with lower climate and environmental impact.
Flour from the cultivation programme Climate & Nature enables consumers to easily make a sustainable choice. Since autumn 2015, all wheat flour from Kungsörnen is developed by Lantmännen's new cultivation programme Climate & Nature. It is the result of cooperation between Lantmännen's owners and Swedish farmers, dialogue with our customers and extensive research and development.
Other players in the food industry are offered flour that is cultivated according to the programme Climate & Nature. Learn more about Lantmännen's products with sustainaiblity added value.
Important issues
Together we take responsibility from field to fork.
Learn more about other important issues in sustainability that Lantmännen works actively with.


text:
Covid-19 Business Services & Hours Updates
posted in: NEWS | 0
Skylight Optical Richmond Location Phase 2 of re-opening BC Economy means that Landsdowne Mall hours have extended however, we will retain our current opening hours. Hours of Operation Monday to Sunday Open: 11 am Close: 6 pm. Skylight Optical … Continued


text: It doesn\'t matter how old you are or where you\'re from; you can start a profitable business. The Young Entrepreneur\'s Guide to Starting and Running a Business will show you how. Through stories of young entrepreneurs who have started businesses, this book illustrates how to turn hobbies, skills, and interests into profit-making ventures. Mariotti describes the characteristics of the successful entrepreneur and covers the nuts and bolts of getting a business up, running and successful.


text:
You may have noticed all the construction work happening at 27th and Franklin. The retail store formerly home to the famous 'Filmzilla' is in the process of being converted into a laundromat for the Seward Community. At last month's Seward Neighborhood Group meeting, Tabatha Obert offered more information on the proposed laundromat and addressed a couple of concerns that had been raised by the neighborhood, specifically about safety and odors.
According to market research done by owner Louie Kader, there is sufficient demand for a new laundromat in this area. The laundromat will have the most energy efficient and top of the line equipment, including odor preventative ventilation. They are also adding additional windows for aesthetics and safety, as well as having an attendant on site during operating hours. The laundromat will offer eco-friendly detergent options well for customer convenience. Mr. Kader has gotten to know what Seward is like through the several months that he has co-owned the Franklin Freeze with Ms. Obert.
According to Obert, it looks like the Laundromat will not open until summer, or possibly later.


text:
Satoshi To Bitcoin Conversion Calculator
Laws and regulations for foreign exchange should be amended if needed to cover crypto alongside traditional assets, the global stability watchdog said. These percentages show how much the exchange rate has fluctuated over the last 30 and 90-day periods. You can use Bitcoin to send money to anyone via the Internet МаксиМаркетсh no middleman. See the Bitcoin exchange rate i.e. the current value of one bitcoin. CryptoEМаксиМаркетсart.com is currently the best exchange to buy or sell bitcoins all across America and Europe. Like all currencies, the conversion rate for bitcoins fluctuates regularly. Run a search through your preferred search engine to determine the current conversion rate. Other topics included private fundraising options, market making in crypto, and Goldman offering traditional banking services to FTX, the FT reported. CoinDesk is an independent operating subsidiary of Digital Currency Group, which invests in cryptocurrencies and blockchain startups.
The bitcoin return calculator uses data from Bitfinex via Quandl as well as hiМаксиМаркетсrical bitcoin return data from Bitcoinity. Optionally, you can also adjust the LimeFX return and final price for inflation. We use the CPI-U index, interpolated or extrapolated to find a bitcoin LimeFX's value on your LimeFX date. To check LimeFX live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use Crypto.com's converter feature in the top right corner of this page.
Currently, Bitcoin supports most major fiat currencies and is becoming a norm for intentional transactions. To convert between any bitcoin, currency, exchange rate and virtual currency you can think of, download BitConvert – Bitcoin Convert right now and start using it. Bitcoin market price is updated every three minutes and is automatically displayed in USD. For bitcoins, the time of day any bitcoin was bought or sold makes inveМаксиМаркетсr performance vary wildly. As we argued in the 2017 bitcoin return piece, bitcoin is closer to a speculation than an LimeFX. There are only a few options when using the bitcoin return calculator, but any small adjustments can have major effects on your results.
The digital marketplace will quickly and easily convert your bitcoins to dollars and transfer them to a debit card, bank account, or digital wallet of your choice. Check live rates, send money securely, set rate alerts, receive notifications and more. LimeFX Create a chart for any currency pair in the world to see their currency hiМаксиМаркетсry. These currency charts use live mid-market rates, are easy to use, and are very reliable. This currency converter can convert between several currencies simultaneously.
Bitcoin = 1 1359e+6 Taiwan Dollar
A weighted average price of these markets is shown by default (based on 24-hour trade volume). The calculator is needed to check the price of Bitcoins against fiat money in a fast and easy way. The price of conversion is the current exchange rate based on the CEX.IO Bitcoin last price. The markup is then calculated for that specific period of time, which would be the exchange rate into US Dollars. The conversion rates of digital currency are provided by decentralized agents such as Rubix. The current market price of Bitcoin is updated every 1 minutes and is automatically sourced in USD. LimeFXs in other currencies are based on their corresponding USD exchange rates.
- МаксиМаркетсh the currency calculator, you can quickly and easily convert amounts between any currencies.
- There are approximately 18.5 million bitcoin that have been mined and can be included in the circulating supply.
- A blockchain is a digital ledger recording cryptocurrency transactions, maintaining records referred to as 'blocks' in a linear, chronological order.
- Enter a starting LimeFX value and the bitcoin tool will guess the LimeFX value on the final date.
If you want to convert your satoshi to cash, you would need to find people who are willing to trade your Satoshi for fiat money. Another way is to buy a product using your Satoshi and then when you already have the product, find people who want to buy them from you МаксиМаркетсh cash. Finder.com provides guides and information on a range of products and services. Because our content is not financial advice, we suggest talking МаксиМаркетсh a professional before you make any decision.
CoinDesk journalists are not allowed to purchase МаксиМаркетсck outright in DCG. Compare the rates offered by different conversion services and choose the best one. Even when the average bitcoin conversion rate improves, different conversion services offer different conversion rates. For instance, suppose one service offers to convert your bitcoins at a rate of 1 to $5,000 and another offers to turn 1 bitcoin into $5,200. All other things being equal, you should go МаксиМаркетсh the second service to get the most out of your bitcoins. Conversion rates are based on CoinDesk's LimeFX Index and the price indices of other digital assets. World currency prices are based on rates obtained via Open Exchange Rates. Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin has proven to be a profitable LimeFX for those who owned it initially or started owning it at any time. Bitstamp, Wirex, and Coinbase are just a few of the many services that enable you to convert bitcoins to dollars.
The bitcoins will the be converted to dollars and transferred to the bank account you provided. There are several ways to verify that a bitcoin conversion site is safe. One is to check reputable sources for reviews that verify the integrity of a given site. Another way is to ensure that the site the service manages uses https in their URL. Finally, use a conversion service that allows two-factor identification, ensuring that only you will be able to approve bitcoin conversions. CoinYEP Foreign exchange converter and cryptocurrency converter.
In practice, this means the recent data all comes from BitFinex. The Xe Rate Alerts will let you know when the rate you need is triggered on your selected currency pairs. CEX.IO LTD serves residents throughout countries all over the world in which it operates. You're welcome to contact the creator of this site at Reddit or BitcoinTalk.
Coinmama's Bitcoin Calculator Gives You:
Today, almost every country has its own currency, МаксиМаркетсh the exception of countries МаксиМаркетсh a common currency or countries that have adopted a foreign currency . Thus, there are worldwide more than 160 official currencies that can be traded on the currency market at constantly changing exchange rates. On https://www.beaxy.com/ the currency market, there is a larger trade volume than on the credit or the МаксиМаркетсck market. Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first Bitcoin block, known as the genesis block, on January 3rd, 2009. Today, it is estimated that roughly 1% of the world's population either owns or has previously owned bitcoin.
These are the lowest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods. These are the highest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods. If you type just one currency code into the URL, the target currency will be the currency of the country that the user is located in. Type currency.world/convert/BTC_400 to convert 400 Bitcoin to the user's currency.
What Can You Buy Bitcoin МаксиМаркетсh?
Enter dates in a range from July 17, 2010 until yesterday and we will estimate the annual and total return on any money invested in bitcoin. Enter a starting LimeFX value and the bitcoin tool will guess the LimeFX value on the final date. Buy Bitcoin and other popular cryptocurrencies МаксиМаркетсh credit card or debit card on this digital cryptocurrency exchange. Note that bitcoin markets don't "close" in the sense that a МаксиМаркетсck market might. On top of reporting differences, different exchanges may have different LimeFXs for each date. Coinmama is a safe way to buy cryptocurrency using your credit card, debit card, or a bank transfer. Getting started МаксиМаркетсh crypto is as easy as creating an account. Bitcoin is the first and most popular cryptocurrency originally proposed in 2008 and subsequently created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. A native asset of the Bitcoin blockchain, it is the world's first currency that is inherently free from the control of central banks.
It will show you how much 1 Bitcoin is worth in US Dollar currently. On the contrary, you can convert and find out the current value of 1 US Dollar in Bitcoin. To check LimeFX live in the fiat currency of your choice, you can use Crypto.com's converter feature in the top right corner of this page. Please note that technical indicators don't provide a full representation of what's happening in the cryptocurrency market. Before making the decision to buy or sell any cryptocurrency, you should carefully consider both technical and fundamental factors, as well as your financial situation. The cryptocurrency market is also highly volatile, which means it may not be suitable for inveМаксиМаркетсrs МаксиМаркетсh a low risk tolerance. You might also want to enable a multi-signature option, which requires multiple independent approvals before making a bitcoin conversion or МаксиМаркетсhdrawal. Additionally, you can also choose whether to calculate the result based on the current exchange rate or the exchange rate on a certain date.
Análisis semanal bajo metodología profesional #Bitcoin #BTC $btc #sp500 #FDAX #Trading
✏Entradas con alta probabilidad
✏Traders atrapados
✏Distribución del perfil de Volumenhttps://t.co/ufoxdB6dgw
Se agradece RT si te ha servido de ayuda 💚🔁
— Raúl González García (@zekelin) May 3, 2022
On the Bitcoin blockchain, each block is 1 mb in size and holds an average of 3,500 transactions per block. To make sure that block mining times are consistent, the Bitcoin protocol has difficulty adjustments. This makes mining a block easier or harder based on the time it is currently taking. If blocks are being mined to quickly, the hashing equation becomes more difficult to solve. If blocks are being mined to slowly, the hashing equation will become easier to solve.
For decades, the most important base currencies of the world have been the U.S. dollar, the euro, the British pound and the Japanese yen. Quickly and easily calculate foreign exchange rates МаксиМаркетсh this free currency converter. Buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies instantly using your Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card in a Buy/Sell section. The cost of operation is recalculated according to the current rate every 120 seconds, and a time needed for the transaction to be processed in less than a few minutes.


text:
"My wife in Nicaragua changed her cell phone number. Do we need to inform the USCIS?"
Yes, it is highly recommended that you update any and all information as soon as it changes. Especially the cell phone number. The reason being is because the consulate sends text messages. Basically, you filled out a form that informs the USCIS, the National Visa Center, and the Embassy on how to contact you. You can do that online with the AR-ll.
If it's at the National Visa Center stage you would contact the NVC. If it's at the Embassy stage you'll have the opportunity to fill out the online visa form, the DS-160 or the DS-260. You will also have an interview, and they'll ask all this information again but, you'll have several opportunities to update this. You should update it immediately, because if you don't, communications will come, and you don't know when they're coming, who they're coming from, and where they're going. Make sure your addresses are up to date, make sure your phone numbers are up to date, make sure they have the correct email address. All this is very important because we've heard too many cases where an applicant stated, "Well, I didn't receive the communication or text or email or the interview packet at my home address." We can't emphasize enough how important it is to update this information and update it immediately.


text:
|RSS Feeds
This page provides access to observed and forecast river conditions in RSS/XML feeds/format. Comments and feedback are welcome. A Product Description Document is also available.
Note: Routine Daily Forecasts of River Conditions are available at select river locations where data histories and forecast procedures make them possible. These forecasts are generally updated from 11:00 AM to noon local time. This RSS feed is based on the original development efforts of John Yagecic of the Delaware River Basin Commission.
To subscribe to one of our RSS feeds below, copy the URL (web address) of the content you are interested in and insert this to your newsreader (RSS reader) or aggregator (usually as an "add feed" option).
|Nebraska Gauges
|Antelope Creek at Lincoln (27th Street) (LATN1)
|Antelope Creek at Holmes Lake (LNCN1)
|Arikaree River at Haigler (HAIN1)
|Bazile Creek at Center (CBCN1)
|Bazile Creek near Niobrara (NBZN1)
|Beaver Creek near Beaver City (BEVN1)
|Beaver Creek at Loretto (LRTN1)
|Beaver Creek (Loup River tributary) at Genoa (GEON1)
|Big Blue River near Barneston (BARN1)
|Big Blue River at Beatrice (BEAN1)
|Big Blue River near Crete (CRTN1)
|Big Blue River at Surprise (SRPN1)
|Big Blue River at Seward (SWRN1)
|Big Nemaha River at Falls City (FLLN1)
|Big Papillion Creek near Bennington (BEBN1)
|Big Papillion Creek near Blair (BLBN1)
|Big Papillion Creek near Kennard (KEBN1)
|Big Papillion Creek at Fort Street at Omaha (OHAN1)
|Big Papillion Creek at Standing Bear Lake and Dam (OMAN1)
|Big Papillion Creek at Pacific Street at Omaha (OMBN1)
|Big Papillion Creek at Q Street at Omaha (RABN1)
|Big Sandy Creek near Alexandria (AXDN1)
|Blue Creek (NE) near Lewellen (BCLN1)
|Bow Creek near Wynot (BOWN1)
|Boxelder Creek at Lake Zorinsky (OAAN1)
|Buffalo Creek near Haigler (HBCN1)
|Buffalo Creek near Overton (OVEN1)
|Calamus River above Burwell (BRLN1)
|Calamus River at Calamus Dam (CALN1)
|Calamus River near Taylor (TLRN1)
|Cardwell Branch at Yankee Hill Reservoir (DENN1)
|Cedar River (NE) near Fullerton (FULN1)
|Cedar River (NE) near Spalding (SPDN1)
|Center Creek at Franklin (FKNN1)
|Clear Creek near Shelby (SHEN1)
|Cole Creek at Blondo Street at Omaha (OMCN1)
|Davis Creek at Davis Creek Dam (DCDN1)
|Deadmans Run at Lincoln (38th Street) (DEDN1)
|Dismal River near Thedford 14S (THDN1)
|Driftwood Creek near McCook (MCKN1)
|Elkhorn River near Atkinson (ATNN1)
|Elkhorn River at Ewing (EWIN1)
|Elkhorn River at Norfolk (NFKN1)
|Elkhorn River at Neligh (NLIN1)
|Elkhorn River at Pilger (PLGN1)
|Elkhorn River near Tilden (TLDN1)
|Elkhorn River near Winslow (WLON1)
|Elkhorn River at West Point (WPNN1)
|Elkhorn River at Waterloo (WTRN1)
|Elm Creek (trib. to Platte River) near Elm Creek (EMCN1)
|Elm Creek (trib. to Republican River) at Amboy (AMBN1)
|Fox Creek (NE) near Curtis (FOXN1)
|Franklin Canal near Republican City (RECN1)
|Frenchman Creek at Culbertson (CULN1)
|Frenchman Creek (NE) at Palisade (PALN1)
|Haines Branch at Lincoln (SW 56th Street) (LHBN1)
|Hickman Branch at Wagon Train Lake (HCKN1)
|Hickman Branch at Stagecoach Lake (HKMN1)
|Holmes Creek at Conestoga Lake (DTON1)
|Howe Creek below Walker Draw (HCWN1)
|Keyapaha River near Naper (NPRN1)
|Knight Creek at Glenn Cunningham Dam (OAHN1)
|Lincoln Creek near Seward (SWDN1)
|Little Blue River above Ayr (AYRN1)
|Little Blue River near Deshler (DSHN1)
|Little Blue River near Deweese (DWEN1)
|Little Blue River near Fairbury (FRBN1)
|Little Blue River at Hebron (HBON1)
|Little Nemaha River near Auburn (ABRN1)
|Little Papillion Creek near Irvington (IRVN1)
|Little Papillion Creek at Ak-sar-ben at Omaha (OMLN1)
|Little Salt Creek near Lincoln (Arbor Road) (LICN1)
|Logan Creek near Wakefield (LCWN1)
|Logan Creek at Pender (PEDN1)
|Logan Creek at Uehling (UEHN1)
|Long Pine Creek near Riverview (RVVN1)
|Loup River at Columbus (CLMN1)
|Loup River near Genoa (GELN1)
|Loup River Power Canal near Columbus (CLSN1)
|Loup River Power Canal near Genoa (GEAN1)
|Maple Creek near Nickerson (NKRN1)
|Maple Creek near North Bend (UKRN1)
|Medicine Creek (NE) at Harry Strunk Reservoir (CABN1)
|Medicine Creek (NE) near Curtis (MECN1)
|Medicine Creek (NE) near Somerset (SOMN1)
|Middle Creek at Lincoln (SW 63rd Street) (LMCN1)
|Middle Loup River near Dunning (DNGN1)
|Middle Loup River at Rockville (RCKN1)
|Middle Loup River near St. Paul (SPLN1)
|Mira Creek near North Loup (NLPN1)
|Missouri River near Blair (BLAN1)
|Missouri River at Brownville (BRON1)
|Missouri River at Decatur (DCTN1)
|Missouri River at Gavins Point Dam (GPDN1)
|Missouri River near Maskell (MKLN1)
|Missouri River at Highway 92 at Omaha (MOMN1)
|Missouri River at Niobrara (MRNN1)
|Missouri River near Ponca (MRPN1)
|Missouri River near Verdel (MRVN1)
|Missouri River near St. James (MSJN1)
|Missouri River at Highway 370 at Bellevue (MTLN1)
|Missouri River at Nebraska City (NEBN1)
|Missouri River at Omaha (OMHN1)
|Missouri River at Plattsmouth (PTMN1)
|Missouri River at Rulo (RULN1)
|Missouri River at Sioux City (SSCN1)
|Mud Creek at Sweetwater (SWTN1)
|Muddy Creek at Furnas-Gosper County Line (ARAN1)
|Muddy Creek at Arapahoe (ARPN1)
|Niobrara River at Box Butte Reservoir (BOXN1)
|Niobrara River near Butte 5S (NIBN1)
|Niobrara River at Mariaville (Springview 21ESE) (NISN1)
|Niobrara River at Niobrara (NRBN1)
|Niobrara River near Gordon 11S (NRGN1)
|Niobrara River near Hay Springs 14S (NRHN1)
|Niobrara River near Nenzel 8S (NZNN1)
|Niobrara River near Sparks (SPKN1)
|Niobrara River near Verdel (VRDN1)
|North Branch of Middle Creek at Pawnee Lake (ERLN1)
|North Fork Big Nemaha River at Humboldt (HBLN1)
|North Fork Elkhorn River at Norfolk (FRKN1)
|North Fork Elkhorn River at Norfolk (NRCN1)
|North Fork Elkhorn River near Osmond (OZCN1)
|North Fork Elkhorn River near Pierce (PRCN1)
|North Loup River near Brewster (BRTN1)
|North Loup River at Ord (ORDN1)
|North Loup River near St. Paul (SPUN1)
|North Loup River at Taylor (TYLN1)
|North Oak Creek near Touhy (THYN1)
|North Oak Creek at Valparaiso (VLPN1)
|North Platte River near Bridgeport (BGPN1)
|North Platte River near Henry (HENN1)
|North Platte River above Keystone (KEYN1)
|North Platte River at Kingsley Dam (KNGN1)
|North Platte River at Lewellen (LEWN1)
|North Platte River at Lisco (LSON1)
|North Platte River near Mitchell (MICN1)
|North Platte River near Minatare (MNTN1)
|North Platte River at North Platte (NPTN1)
|North Platte River at Scottsbluff (SBRN1)
|North Platte River near Sutherland (SUTN1)
|Oak Creek at Lincoln (Air Park Road) (LOKN1)
|Oak Creek at Branched Oak Reservoir (RAYN1)
|Offutt Ditch (Bellevue Drain) near Offutt AFB (OFFN1)
|Olive Branch at Bluestem Lake (SPGN1)
|Olive Creek at Olive Creek Lake (KRAN1)
|Omaha Creek at Homer (HMRN1)
|Papillion Creek at Fort Crook (FCKN1)
|Papillion Creek at Harlan Lewis Road near La Platte (PHRN1)
|Pebble Creek above Scribner (PEBN1)
|Pebble Creek at Scribner (SRBN1)
|Platte River near Ashland (ASLN1)
|Platte River at Brady (BDYN1)
|Platte River near Brady Channel 4 (BRAN1)
|Platte River near Cozad (South Channel) (COSN1)
|Platte River near Cozad (North Channel) (COZN1)
|Platte River near Darr (DARN1)
|Platte River near Duncan (DNCN1)
|Platte River at Fremont (FREN1)
|Platte River near Grand Island (GRIN1)
|Platte River near Kearney (KEAN1)
|Platte River near Leshara (LESN1)
|Platte River at Louisville (LOUN1)
|Platte River at Maxwell (MXWN1)
|Platte River at North Bend (NBDN1)
|Platte River near Odessa (ODSN1)
|Platte River near Overton (OVTN1)
|Platte River near Shelton (SHTN1)
|Platte River near Schuyler (SHYN1)
|Platte River near Venice (VENN1)
|Ponca Creek at Verdel (VERN1)
|Prairie Creek near Silver Creek (SIVN1)
|Republican River near Benkelman (BENN1)
|Republican River at Cambridge (CAMN1)
|Republican River at Guide Rock (GUIN1)
|Republican River at McCook (MKRN1)
|Republican River near Orleans (ORNN1)
|Republican River at Harlan Reservoir (REPN1)
|Republican River at Riverton (RVRN1)
|Republican River at Stratton (STTN1)
|Reservoirs at Lake Minatare Reservoir (LMTN1)
|Rock Creek near Ceresco (CERN1)
|Rose Creek near Fairbury (RCEN1)
|S. Fork Republican River near Benkelman (BEKN1)
|Salt Creek near Ashland (ASTN1)
|Salt Creek near Greenwood (GRNN1)
|Salt Creek at Lincoln (27th Street) (LCNN1)
|Salt Creek at Lincoln (70th Street) (LSCN1)
|Salt Creek at Lincoln (Pioneers Boulevard) (LUSN1)
|Salt Creek at Roca (ROCN1)
|Salt Creek at Lincoln (Fairgrounds) (SALN1)
|Sappa Creek near Beaver City (BVSN1)
|Sappa Creek near Stamford (STMN1)
|Shell Creek near Columbus (CLBN1)
|Silver Creek near Silver Creek (SILN1)
|Snake River (NE) near Burge (BRGN1)
|Snake River (NE) above Doughboy (DBYN1)
|Snake River (NE) at Merritt Dam (METN1)
|South Branch of Middle Creek at Twin Lakes Reservoir (PLDN1)
|South Fork Elkhorn River near Ewing (EWSN1)
|South Loup River at Arnold (ARSN1)
|South Loup River at Ravenna (RVNN1)
|South Loup River at St. Michael (SMIN1)
|South Omaha Creek at Walthill (WHLN1)
|South Papillion Creek near Gretna (GSBN1)
|South Papillion Creek at Wehrspann Lake (MLDN1)
|South Papillion Creek at Chalco (PSBN1)
|South Platte River at North Platte (NPSN1)
|South Platte River at Roscoe (RSON1)
|Spring Creek near Overton (OVON1)
|Stevens Creek near Lincoln (LVNN1)
|Stinking Water Creek at Palisade (PASN1)
|Thomas Creek near Bennington (IRLN1)
|Thompson Creek at Riverton (RVTN1)
|Turkey Creek near DeWitt (DEWN1)
|Turkey Creek near Wilber (WLBN1)
|Turkey Creek (trib. to Middle Loup) near Dannebrog (DBGN1)
|Turkey Creek (trib. to Republican River) below Edison (EDIN1)
|Turkey Creek (trib. to Republican River) at Furnas-Gosper County Line (EDNN1)
|Turkey Creek (trib. to Republican River) at Naponee (NAPN1)
|Union Creek near Madison (DSON1)
|Union Creek at Madison (MSON1)
|Verdigre Creek near Verdigre (VEDN1)
|Wahoo Creek at Ashland (ASNN1)
|Wahoo Creek at Ithaca (ITHN1)
|Wahoo Creek at Wahoo (WOON1)
|Warm Slough near Central City (CENN1)
|Weeping Water Creek at Union (UION1)
|West Fork Big Blue River near Dorchester (DRGN1)
|West Papillion Creek at Elkhorn (EKWN1)
|West Papillion Creek at Pacific Street at Omaha (EWDN1)
|West Papillion Creek at Millard (MWBN1)
|West Papillion Creek at Papillion (PWBN1)
|White River (WY) at Crawford (WRCN1)
|Willow Creek near Foster (FSTN1)
|Willow Creek near Pierce (WCPN1)
|Willow Creek near Pierce (WRSN1)
|Wood River near Alda (ALDN1)
|Wood River near Gibbon (GBBN1)
|Wood River at Grand Island Diversion (GIDN1)
|Wood River near Riverdale (RIVN1)
RSS is an XML based document format for syndicating news and other timely news-like information. It provides headlines, URLs to the source document and brief description information in an easy to understand and use format. RSS based "News Readers" and "News Aggregators" allow the display of RSS headlines on workstation desktops. Software libraries exist to read the RSS format and present RSS headlines on webpages and other online applications.
These NWS supplied RSS documents use the RSS 2.0 format. Each RSS item links to the html/web documents described above. Additional technical information is available from the following non-US Government website:
A non-US Government maintained list of RSS readers, aggregators and related software:


text:
I can't believe I haven't posted this yet. I love making my tofu salad (eggless egg salad as some call it) for a great sandwich on the go. I am not going to give measurements for the spices because it is really to taste – a few shakes of each will usually do. And, the amounts depend if I use Vegenaise or my homemade grapeseed mayo.
Tofu, firm
Mustard powder
Garlic powder
Vegan mayonnaise
Ketchup (Heinz is organic!)
Press the tofu. Crumble it into a bowl and sprinkle a few shakes of turmeric. Add a pinch of mustard powder, paprika and garlic powder. Mix with a dollop of mayo and a squirt of ketchup. Taste and adjust everything.
Toast up some bread and make a nice sandwich. Enjoy!


text:
Director Kathryn Bigelow's modest war film The Hurt Locker was the bigger winner on Oscar night, having won six Oscars to the three won by Avatar. The Hurt Locker also made history by becoming the film with the most modest box office in the race to beat the film with the all-time box-office record.
In another unique twist, Bigelow became the first woman in Oscar's 82 years to win as best director. The movie as won best original screenplay for Mark Boal — and took the craft categories of film editing, sound editing and sound mixing.
Jeff Bridges was an enormously popular choice as best actor for Crazy Heart and he went ga-ga in accepting the Oscar, while the overflow audience in the Kodak Theatre applauded wildly. Bridges, the offspring of actors, thanked his parents for inspiration. Sandra Bullock was another popular choice, in her case as best actress for The Blind Side. Mo'Nique took the trophy as best supporting actress for her role in Precious, while Christoph Waltz's role in Inglourious Basterds won best supporting actor.
And one bright spot; Star Trek won for best make up.


text:
Sister June Peck
(St John the Baptist Church/School in 1942, then St Columbanus and San Clemente in 1950)
Sister June Peck was born in 1938 in Toowomba. Her family moved to Newcastle when she was three as her father's mother lived here, and her father could find work in the BHP Steelworks. They lived near Hanbury St, and as her father was Catholic (though her mother was not), she and her siblings went to Catholic Schools.
They all attended St. John the Baptist Church/School in Hanbury St, Sr June starting in 1942. St John's was built in 1937, and consisted of a hall which could be partitioned into two rooms, with a curtain at one end which covered the altar during the school day. It was colloquially known as Snake Gully, and catered to the Infants classes of Kindergarten, First Class and Second Class. After that the children went to St Columbanus. The Kindergarten and First Class classes were combined, and June "promoted" herself early to First Class, as she found the work on the First Class side of the blackboard more interesting. The school was initially referred to as in the gully as it was below San Clemente and St Columbanus which were up on the hill. From there it became "Snake Gully" either because there were snakes in the field behind the school, or after the radio program "Dad and Dave" which occurred in the mythical Snake Gully. Children who lived closer to St Columbanus attended Infants there, and St Columbanus was referred to as 'The Big School'.
As well as serving as a school and a church, the hall was used for Housie until it was demolished. The students regularly moved aside all the furniture of chairs and desks and opened the partition so that it could be used as a hall, then swept it and moved the furniture back.
Students used chalk and A4 sized slates with wooden borders, then graduated to pens with inkwells. Sr. June recalls that if ink were spilled on the floorboards, it would have to be scrubbed with a rock until clean.
The Sisters teaching at the school came from the Convent at San Clemente by taxi each day.
This was during the Second World War, and the BHP Steelworks made Mayfield a target. Newcastle had been shelled by a Japanese submarine in 1942, and there was genuine danger still. There was an underground air-raid shelter at St. John's, and the students practised air-raid drills. Sr June remembers the boys hiding in the shadows of the shelter and trying to frighten the girls. There were blackouts in Newcastle, and the tops of the windows of the homes were painted black to prevent light escaping. Her family practised for air-raids at home as well, hiding under tables.
In Third Class Sr June went to St Columbanus. Her teacher gave the pupils a star for every time they went to Mass, and Sr June used to ride her bike to St John's every day for Mass – her aim to get 6 stars every week, because mass on Sunday didn't earn a star. This began a habit of daily Mass that continued all her life.
The St Columbanus and the public primary students clashed on the way to and from school, with the Public school pupils calling out 'Catholics get back into your kennel', and the St Columbanus' pupils calling 'Catholics, Catholics, ring the bell, while the Publics go to hell'.
After attending Primary Classes 3 to 6 at St Columbanus, Sr June started First Year at San Clemente in 1950 as a Day girl. The day girls were discouraged from associating with the boarders, but of course became good friends.
Day girls brought their own lunch and the boarders ate in the dining room. There were boarders from a very young age who went to St Columbanus, and there was a covered walkway from the San Clemente Convent to St Columbanus for them and the Sisters in the rain.
The girls played 'basketball' (like netball) on the big playing field. The Sisters kept cows for milk, and grazed them on this field, which made the games more interesting – needing to dodge cow pats and having the cows eat unattended lunches! There was also a large vegetable patch.
Sr June was part of the typing class which was in the basement – it was 6 pence extra. She remembers learning touch typing with a cloth over her hands. Her favourite subject was history, and she had an inspirational teacher. Whenever out of school the students wore hat and gloves, but often removed them when out of sight – they could be sure not to meet any Sisters while out, as the Sisters considered themselves an enclosed order. This meant that they rarely left the grounds, only when absolutely necessary and then in pairs, in a car or taxi. The Sisters that taught at St John's in Hanbury St had a special dispensation to do so, and wore a black cloak to cover their headdress and habits.
The students took part in the St Patrick's Day march in Maitland, and practised in Havelock St, with a Sister standing inside the school gates banging a kerosene drum to keep time. The students travelled to Maitland in the care of the Prefects.
Sr June was influenced in her vocation by participation in the YCS – Young Catholic Students- action group. This movement started about 1951in the Diocese, and had a branch in each of the secondary schools. There was a Sister in charge and they met once a week to read and discuss the Gospel, which was only recently available in English. Different priests attended the meeting as chaplains, and the groups from all the schools met together as well.
Sr June remembers the beautiful lawn out the front of the Convent leading to the grotto, and the lovely flower beds leading down into Fairy Dell. Very few homes had such lovely gardens at that time.
There was a small building that was a music room and a disused tram which served as an art room. St Columbanus had bought two trams to use as a tuck shop around the same time.
After sitting the external Leaving Examination at a venue in Union St., Sr June left San Clemente in 1954 and the next day began a course in Librarianship working in the Newcastle Public Library and at Mayfield library which still stands.
Sister June writes:
"While loving work, enjoying the beach, dancing at the Palais and Mayfield Catholic Social (one of the best in town) the call to religious life became very strong and persistent. So in 1957 I joined the Dominican Sisters in Sydney did, Formation (Novitiate) and then Teacher Training. As a Primary or Secondary Teacher, often as Principal, I was stationed at Strathfield, Canberra, Maitland, Tamworth, Wahroonga, Hobart and Tamworth again. During these years, I gained Arts/Education degree and Theological, Biblical Studies.
"Leadership in a Team for the Sisters came next, after which I was fortunate to become Chaplain in the women's prison. These days I am retired and am a volunteer assistant to the RE teachers of a secondary school in Sydney.
"The Centenary of San Clemente leads me to reflect on, and be grateful for the early education I received at Hanbury St, St Columbanus and San Clemente. The resources were few, the students had great spirit and the Sisters were dedicated and believed in us. All good reason to say 'Deo Gratias'"


text:
AU NOIR | Long Sleeve Shirt | Navy/Orange
Regular price $211.00
Unit price per
Men's casual dress shirt. Stand out with contrasting patterns and sophisticated details. Comfortable with high-end stretch cotton fabric.
- Angled buttonhole, Au Noir signature
- 3 Buttons grouped together at the top of the front placket, AU NOIR signature
- Multiple Embroidery detailing an AU NOIR signature
- Elegant Ceramic button on sleeve placket, Au Noir signature
- Canadian owned and designed Brand
- Machine wash cold. Hang to dry
- Comfortable Modern-fit shirt, to wear tucked in or out of pants


text:
Hard Drive Skip CD Glitch
$0.00 – $3.00
A CD glitch sound effect that makes a high pitched click noise. This can happen during a reading error of the CD drive or also of an internal or external hard drive and solid state disk. When the reader can't find a specific area on the hard drive or the compact disk, it needs to be skipped which causes this sound. The sound can be looped and can also be used for other electronic devices, digital glitches, menus and interfaces as well as error sounds.
SKU: N/A Categories: Interface & Menu, Futuristic & Sci-Fi Tags: area, cd, changes, compact disk, current, disk tray, disks, drive disk, dvd, error, failing, failure, game, glitch, hard drive, hdd, load, loading, mistake, noise, read, read error, read fail, reading, skip, skipped, skipping, voltage, write, writing
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text:
I think I'll just fall to pieces
If I don't find something else to do
This sadness never ceases
Woman, I'm still in love with you
My head, it keeps on reeling
It's got me in a crazy spin
Oh, Darling, darling, darling, darling
Is this the end?
Still in love with you
So people say time has a way of healing
And it can dry all the tears from your eyes
Oh but darling they don`t tell you
About this empty feeling
And I can not disguise it
After all that we've been through
I try my best but it's no use
I`ll always keep on loving you
Is this the end?
Still in love with you
Now that it's all over
Woman, there's something I think you should know
Baby, baby, you might think it over
Just one more time before you go
Call on me baby
If there's anything I can do for you
Call on me baby, baby
Help me see it through
I'm still in love with you


text:
Written by Laura Moseley
My guest today is Laura Moseley from The DV Walking Wounded. Thank you, Laura, for sharing something that is so important for others to see! I commend you for your strength and for teaching other women, all is not lost. Laura is a survivor, and you can be too!
"Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive."CS Lewis
I learned about forgiveness early on, as a young child. My father always told me, "Those who anger you, own you." That was the way that he instructed me to not let others dictate my behavior, which opened the door to forgiveness of others. My family was very ingrained in our church, so I was taught to receive forgiveness, I myself had to forgive. It wasn't until I was a married adult, did I learn the proper way to forgive and "mean it."
I had NO idea that there was a formula to forgiveness, until recently. I always knew that there was a technique to it, but not that there was an actual formula. I am going to break down the formula, putting my spin on it. I feel like I have massive experience in the "forgiveness" department, after surviving a twenty-six-year marriage to an abusive man AND surviving and healing from sexual abuse from a former boyfriend when I was just a teenager. I have had to forgive these people, even though I'll never receive a formal apology, to live my life. I also will not allow them to do anything else, ever again. It's the "Fool me once, shame on you! Fool me twice, shame on me!" principle.
Step 1: Acknowledge
Acknowledge that an offense happened, one that hurt the recipient (you). Be specific. Example: "My co-worker lied to our boss about taking sole credit for our project."
Step 2: Consider
How did that offense make you feel? Has it changed your thinking or perception? Mull over what has happened, not making any decisions under stress (either anger or sadness).
Step 3: Accept
Please accept that what has happened (the past) cannot be undone. It is done and acknowledges that it has happened — and do not alter that perception. There is NO guarantee that the other party accepts that. What-ifs are not allowed here!
Step 4: Determine
This is the step where you will "determine" whether or not you intend to forgive the other party/person. This is a pivotal point. DO NOT take this lightly. This point can also dictate the future relationship you will have with the offending party, if any.
Step 5: Repair
Repair the relationship with the person who wronged you. Before any act of forgiveness or reconciliation, rebuild the connection you used to have with this person. For instance, if someone at work has wronged you, you may not necessarily forgive them, but you can let them know that you all have to work together, and you will be professional and courteous to each other. If you say something, keep your word! In most cases, you will be the instigator of this "olive branch," so to speak. Many people know that they have inflicted a wrong, but "freeze up" and do not try to repair, only to avoid it. Keep in mind that you are "repairing" not "restoring." If you are going about as if nothing is wrong, that does not solve any problems, but just creates more instances for you to be wronged.
Step 6: Learn
What does the term "forgiveness" mean to you? You really need to define that at this point. To me, I acknowledge the wrong and what you plan to do (or need to do) to correct that wrong. However, I will not forget this wrong, I just will no longer acknowledge that once forgiveness is granted. I am not allowing that wrong to own my thoughts and feelings. BUT, that is my interpretation. As a child, I had an adult tell me that you cannot forgive a person if they do not ask for it. I don't believe this to be true, now that I am an adult. I have to get to a point of forgiveness for what they did to no longer control my feelings and perceptions. That person may no longer be in your life or may have passed away. You can forgive them and move on, based on time and feelings.
Step 7: Forgive
Actively forgive the person who has wronged you. This may be silent forgiveness, doing so in your mind. However, if you have an issue with someone currently in your life, you should speak the forgiveness. Example: "I forgive you for lying to me about _______. However, this has made me not trust you. I realize that we still have to work together. I will treat you with kindness and professionalism as I always have, but I may not entirely trust you." The verbal statement may not be met with penitence or compassion, but it is your statement to make. Doing so in a non-threatening way is the way to go. Waiting to introduce it into a conversation, when it is just you and the other party, is best. The silent version is helpful in all aspects, as it helps you to let it go and move on! You may never truly get an apology or acknowledgment that the other party wronged you!
Another point is never to bring this past transgression up if you all have a later disagreement or argument. If you have truly forgiven someone, this is not fair to what is going on in the present! You may recall the past transgression also if there is a history of disagreements or misunderstandings. This may help you to know if you need to cut off the relationship, as a negative history, but DO NOT verbally bring that up. That only adds fuel to the fire and illustrates that it was truly not forgiven. You want to be a person of your word and if you want others to forgive you, you don't want that thrown in your face. Each transgression merits its own attention! I definitely learned this from being in a romantic/intimate relationship. No one is perfect and I don't expect my partner to be. I know I am not perfect, so I can extend grace to them — once we talk things through, that is. Communication should be a vital part of any relationship. If it is not, the relationship is not a positive one. Understanding why the transgression happened takes time, but try not to dwell on it too much. You may never fully understand why or how, but acknowledge that you can no longer worry about it! Worrying causes stress, which can shorten our lives. And I'm going to be darned if anyone gets to own my feelings! They are no longer allowed to pay rent inside my head! I release them from that, through forgiveness. I have found life is too short for that, honestly. After everything I have been through personally, I hate no one. Hate is a strong emotion that can kill you. Plus, I do not want to stoop to my transgressors' negative levels. I am better than that and will conduct myself as such. Not better than the person, but better than the bitterness. Love and light!


text:
Hey, I don't want to seem mean to a 16-year-old girl, but I wanted to report that Michelle Wie shot +7 today in Europe. She did beat 5 male golfers, to her credit, but still is tied for 146th place. Wie bogeyed just about every par 3 on the course. Where's Leadbetter when you need him?Tweet
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