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(CNN) – Sen. Marco Rubio's flight to Washington, D.C. Friday night was not all friendly skies.
But that was before he even took off.
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The Senator from Florida shared his travel woes via a series of nine posts to Twitter.
"Every American flight I have been on this week has been at least two hours late or cancelled. This one already one hour delayed," he posted Friday evening.
Shortly after, he posted, "American Air says maintenance problem.Yet suddenly group of new passengers boarding.Holding plane to get connectors on from delayed flight?"
In another post, he added, "Delaying flight for 'maintenance' to squeeze connectors from other flight, oldest trick in book. Feel bad for crew.#cmonman#AmericanAirlines."
The pilots and flight attendants, he said in a separate post, are "top notch."
But his skepticism towards the airline continued to be evident as he relayed: "Oh guess what? They fixed the plane! Just as the last of the connecting passengers finished boarding. #magic."
His frustration earned him a sympathetic response from the airline.
"Thanks for your patience, Marco. We hope you have a great flight," read a post to the official Twitter feed of American Airlines.
The pilots, Rubio said on the social media site, are "two military veterans, lovers of liberty and believers in Constitution."
His stream of posts ended with what was likely a familiar directive from the cockpit.
"I must now turn [off] my electronic device," he posted. "I hope tonight's tirade didn't cost me my Executive Platinum status."
Rubio is no stranger to flight issues. In July, he eventually called into a campaign rally after his plane made what he described as an "emergency landing" when passengers aboard the plane believed they saw smoke.
And that, he said, was his second plane malfunction of the day.
Earlier Friday, a charter plane carrying Ann Romney, GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney's wife, was forced to make an emergency landing when what the pilot described as an electrical issue led to smoke in the cabin.
After everyone emerged from that flight safely, one of Romney's sons himself took to Twitter to point out a light hearted moment between his mother and a Secret Service agent.
Matt Romney tweeted: "Who says USSS doesn't have sense of humor? Upon landing tonight, agent leaned over to my mom and said: 'so this was the non-smoking flight.' "
- CNN's Gregory Wallace and Steve Brusk contributed to this report
Also see:
- Rubio tweets his airline woes
- Ryan 'very comfortable' as Romney's V.P. candidate
- Litigating Capitol Hill recess in weekly addresses
- Gingrich to Romney: Do to Obama what you did to me
- Biden: Romney tape, demeanor shows he 'does not understand' middle class
Rubio maybe they are part of the 47% and knew you were on board. ha-ha
So he shows his pettiness again.
I spent 5 hours on the tarmac the last time I flew on American (2002) and treated very rudely when we asked about hotel accomendations since we had missed our connecting flight by 4 hours. At 12 o'clock midnight we were invited to sleep on the terminal floor. I made a solemn vow to never set foot on an AMerican Airlines plane again and I haven't. I hope they go out of business.
Typical of an "executive platinum" ... me me me! The airline held the flight to accommodate connecting passengers who would otherwise miss that flight to wherever. Yes, the pilots are playing "by the book" tactics and sometimes that means that a meaningless delay ensues. but if you were one of those delayed passengers rushing off of a flight that is choked by numerous inconsiderate carry-on hoarders and you had a connecting flight to make, wouldn't you appreciate the fact that the next aircraft was held? Mr. Rubio, that is private enterprise at work ... wouldn't you appreciate it? For the sake of some customers who might have no option but trying to stand by for a next-day flight, wouldn't it be prudent for the airline to try to accommodate them? What we don't know is what time this flight was. If it twas the LAST flight with connecting passengers, then we need to commend American Airlines, pilot shenanigans aside. It was the right thing to do. At the very least, the airline could have been honest about delaying the flight to squeeze in connections. However, if the airline refuses to play "by the books" about maintenance, then there is some pause to be considered. How much are they letting go by to abide by "minimum FAA standards" as they have recently declared to follow? That does not instill confidence. Now, if the flight was delayed by maintenance or a faux maintenance, by-the-book issue, then because of the delay they were able to accommodate connecting passengers, why the issue with the passengers Mr. Rubio? Maybe you should have taken a Romney gas guzzling MD80 plane instead.
Well at least it wasn't the "fish flight" I was on on the 6th with Alaska Airlines. Seems I missed baggage check in by nine min. (flight didn't take off for another 45 min. !) so had to re-book the next one out, which I learned via flight crew staff is the nightly run of fresh fish from Anchorage to Seattle. There we all were, crammed in rows 16 – 24 like little sardines and I had the added misfortune of getting a middle seat. Some tried to upgrade to first class...that's when we were told only fish flying first class that evening 😉
Welcome to the world of the 47% your favorite mormon candidate sneers and detest. You Duck.
gee marco, welcome to our world. it's called the free market system, where one does anything legal to maximize profits. what are you, a commie? not sure you are a true citizen, because it sounds like you are actually an anchor baby: your parents were not yet us citizens when you were born here. why not self-deport like your party suggests?
Interesting that his final tweet was to express his concerns about losing his Special Privileged account. Now that's a line the 1% would be proud of. "Isn't there a VIP entrance or something?" Yup, just another GOP Special Person. Of course, this is a guy who supports the idea of less governmental regulation, and it was the GOP who deregulated the airlines. Funny how things come around, isn't it?
Deal with it! Oh, and we're all REALLY impressed with your "Executive Platinum" status! I REALLY hope you didnt lose it too! 🙁
@Ashland Kirk
You people are all going to get cancer being so negative. Why do you even live on Earth? Find Jack.
On the contrary , we are in remision . What almost killed us of cancer was 8 years of GW Bush.
You can't save your ass and your face at the same time . To surrender is to join the winning side !
Yawn.........you don't matter, marco.
Good for the AA Pilots!
Suck it up Rubio, you are no different than any other person
Sounds like the perfect opportunity to summon airline executives for a Senate investigation into overly maintained planes.
I am sure this must have been Obama's fault, just to uPset poor Mr. Rubio. Wait til Rush hears about this pinko outrage.
If AA management can't handle the contracts then they should get out and let another management team do the job. Constantly blaming unions is getting tiresome. Sometimes it's just plain incompetent management that's to blame. Funny how other airline management teams are doing all right. If penguins could fly they wouldn't get on airplanes.
If little Marco was traveling in first class on the taxpayer's dime, we have a problem. The government travel allowance doesn't cover the cost of a first class ticket, so unless little marco is reimbursing Uncle Sam for an upgrade he's abusing his government credit card privileges. Wouldn't be the first time either.
I guess they didn't know what a REALLLLLLLLLLLLLY important man he is. Poor baby, grow up.
The minute I saw the first message, I went, "WHY ARE YOU FLYING AMERICAN?" Don't you watch the news? They're terrible and they're bankrupt. I can understand someone like Rubio wanting to upgrade from Southwest, but for crying out loud, at least spring for United.


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The previous blog I wrote about Self-Devaluation and The Body contained one aspect that I'd like to focus on in this blog, because I merely mentioned them summarily as self-aggression and how I called it self-flagellation. This is about in fact the concept of self-punishment and what one can 'gain' from it – yes, as 'weird' as it may sound initially.
Part of the Unlocking yourself process that I described in my previous blog is to open up to consider other people's views, perspectives and ways of approaching a situation, which can be very enlightening and it's been the case when taking on this subject to our group chats at Destonians.com. Last Wednesday, we discussed "What do we stand to gain from self punishment?" and it was eye opening to get to know the many ways that people can understand and see this point of self-punishment and how it is lived, why it is lived and the constructs or beliefs behind it that lead us to do such a thing to ourselves.
I bring through something that Leila shared which was "it's like we rule through punishment/sin instead of compassion/forgiveness" and that's part of the points for me to take on and integrate as a realization, because upon judging myself, the idea is that I have to feel bad, feel tense, feel anxious, feel 'within an upheaval' about it, IS already a form of punishment as well. We've allowed ourselves to be wired in a way where we fixated more on the problems rather than focusing on the solutions. Self Forgiveness is the way to Understand the situation that we participated in, take responsibility in it and lay out the foundation to change, to live the correction and solutions.
But! Even if I thought I was doing this, the reality of my situation has proven me that one aspect of morality kept me blind from realizing that I wasn't in fact self-forgiving and letting go for real, and that prevented me from Living forgiveness, which is living the ways in which I see is best for me in my current experience and life decisions – not hooking on fears of the past of what I did or didn't do. Therefore compassion I can redefine as being understanding of the situation, not being hard on myself, being able to also stand in the shoes of whoever is involved and not feel 'bad' about it because feeling 'bad' doesn't sort anything out either, while also realizing that I can only focus on changing me and being the best that I can for me and those currently around me.
She also expressed there: "and punishment can be taken quite 'broad' — any type of tension or discomfort you create, why do we punish ourselves with anxiety, what do you stand to gain from it? what do you fear more than anxiety that you wouldn't give up your anxiety? do we fear freedom?" And that is in fact THE point that I had to realize which is eye opening and a point of self-honesty: it isn't nice or beautiful because it does create an awareness of 'WTF why have I done this to myself? And the reality is that ultimately, in my case the whole reason why I reacted in this form of self-punishment is because of a belief that feeling bad and sorry would make ME seem like a 'better person,' someone that 'cares' because of how I have defined 'care' as 'worry' – when it should definitely Not be that of course – and as if I could 'clear my sins' through punishment; I could see the traces of religious constructs there as I explained in the chat too.
But beyond that, the ultimate point is exactly about our freedom, our actual ability to be self-directive, to take one's authority to create, to have a blank slate of creation, instead of focusing on 'the past' and 'what is there to Fix-Ate on' or 'feel bad about.'
This is ultimately one the big habits I've seen within me and that I have observed in others related to me genetically. It is as if 'something had to be happening all the time', something that is wrong, or something to 'feel bad about' and if one realizes that one is creating that, then it's as if everything can suddenly be stopped. The canvas of self-creation is unveiled and emerges for us to walk on. And because we actually don't decide to act to live words, to focus on self-creation, we– by habit, by patterns and by ingrained acceptance and allowance – bit by bit, step by step, allowance by allowance, just 'roll back' to the commonly 'accepted forms' of existing, which are mostly related to being in perpetual forms of emotional or feeling experiences, fear for the most part being 'the mother of all other reactions' like anxiety, sadness, depression, anger, guilt, shame, remorse… you name it. It is an energetic experience that as BAD as it can get within our bodies and the effects it creates within it, we keep blindly participating in it, creating any other form of story to give ourselves an excuse to almost 'keep ourselves busy with' trying to kind of remake a puzzle that is already framed and hanging on the wall, it is that useless to keep living in fear related to past issues – but not limited to the past for sure.
The story that I told myself to justify living in such self-punishment is 'having to pay for something I did' and so, having to suffer in a way to 'demonstrate' that I cared or that I wasn't too 'cold blooded' about things. Lol when in fact I could have lived it in a more sensible manner by genuinely introspecting and forgiving myself for it and embracing my 'mistakes' and move on with my life. I created what I am experiencing at a physical level, and embracing that realization is a rather 'uncomfortable truth' that I had to process for a couple of days until I realized that reacting in sadness about it or anger towards myself is yet another way to keep 'burying me alive' so to speak, because any other distress or fear or judgment causes further oppression, tension and damage to my body, to OUR bodies.
The best way is to simply acknowledge it, almost like nodding to it and taking it in humbly to really realize that: I truly now have to let go, stop punishing myself, stop causing all of this dis-ease within me, this discomfort and ultimately this habit/addiction of worry and preoccupation to focus on my self-creation. So far been applying this since I got 'hands on' for it these past couple of weeks and it's been going good.
That question Leila posed 'do we fear freedom?' is a very, very relevant one because I've seen time and time again within me and others how it's seemingly 'easier' to keep focusing on feeling bad, feeling emotional about things and believing one can't 'sort it out' unless we are 'given the green light' by something or someone out there and because that won't ever happen, it's as if we just keep waiting for ourselves to truly let the 'punishment' go and lift up our own veils – which we have placed upon ourselves – and walk out in freedom.
There are some lyrics that I've been appreciating lately in Mexican music, and one song says "we are like prisoners and we think like prisoners' and it talks about how we are 'pulled by forces' that seem to take us 'wherever they go' and have no self-direction. It is in fact the prisoner mentality that I was in, and it is through understanding how I came to create this, how I decided to 'label' my actions and how I decided to react to them – based on these constructs of morality and what seemed like reasonable to do 'at the eyes of others' – defined my experience in relation to this situation.
What happens once that one is done sorting through the repetitive 'inner conflict' about any point or experience – no matter how big or how subtle it may be – is that what is left is an open path to genuinely Live and be in all authority for self-creation. The reality that I see is prevalent within us human beings is that, it's 'seems' easier for us all to talk about the problems that are happening in the world, in how this or that politician is a corrupt or not or how things seem to be just 'going nowhere' but have no proposal to be participating in changing the tides that we've been 'imprisoning' ourselves into for far too long. It is a form of self-punishment as well because it recreates the problems, it just spreads the sense of despair as if nothing could be done about it. What I do then is to focus back on what needs to be looked at which is self-education, the values, the principles, the common sense as what's best for all that is needed to be understood and lived and so, the need for parents to have these principles to educate their children too.
I would certainly want more people to become aware of this. I've been going to certain therapy and I can hear people around me constantly worrying about this or that pain. I have a genuinely good example in my life of what it is to be healthy in a very round sense of the word by NOT participating in any form of energy-trips related to any form of reaction, basically not participating in fear. My partner is that person and through my interactions with him my 'habitual' antsy patterns fueled by all kinds of seemingly 'usual' fears – no matter how 'subtle' or big they are – have been exposed to the nth degree. I can even say that my whole 'self-punishment' deal is a way for me to have that as a 'constant point to be dealing with' as an excuse to not deal with the very real and very present opportunities I have to break through those – yes – very ingrained habits (read addiction) that I had defined as 'normal'. It has been through his constant feedback that I realized how much I can be in fact TENSE and fearing and worrying.
This is another aspect that pertains to my personality. I can be a very 'intense' person. This has its pros and cons. I can be a very intense person in a 'good' way so to speak wherein I can be very passionate and diligent and walk firm decisions in what I do and how I live it. But I can also be very Intense as in literally being IN-Tension about just anything that I may accept and allow myself to be worrying about or preoccupying myself with. This is precisely where the kind of person I am is basically also formed through the 'learned ways' I adopted from people around me. This has to do with being commonly worried, being rather dramatic about things, and it's funny because I often would get annoyed and irritated by what I perceived as 'dramatic people' but, I've been seeing how I am precisely that. And this whole pattern of self punishment is a consequence of taking things TOO intensely. My partner helps me out to become aware of this by joking about it lol I then laugh and realize what I'm doing. But as I've said so before, I can't go through life depending on him letting me know what I'm fixating on as a worry point.
I was talking with my cousin yesterday and we talked about driving cars. I have no intent to drive because I was involved in a car crash and even if I was not the driver, I took that as an excuse to create fear. I still again feel the fear as I write this and the same goes with bicycles and relating it back to an accident I had 10 years ago. These fears 'gnaw' me because I am over vigilant when being in a car or even when seeing people driving bikes on car lanes. I must admit that thoughts of the car crashes come up when I'm riding with someone in a car and even more so go into a rather intense reaction whenever we may come to any 'close' point to crashing. I get agitated and I Know I can change it and it IS a matter of perception and deciding to no longer exist in fear about something that happened some time ago already.
Something that I've been telling myself in those moments when being in a car – not driving – is one of the principles that my partner lives by. I tested it out the other day to see if it assisted me to deal with these fears while being in a car and that is 'always expecting the best of everything and everyone.' What comes to mind is…. Well that's disingenuous, we KNOW people are not all good, we know there's evil, we know shit can happen!! Etc. but even in that response, there I already 'revamped' all the sources of fear that can mainly exist in any given moment in one's daily life, regardless of even defining certain activities as 'dangerous' or potentially harmful. The other day while driving in the back of a car and noticing the driver was speeding a bit, I noticed the fears coming up again and this time I breathed and reminded myself: expect the best of the situation. And that was supportive but I do honestly need to work more on grounding myself to reality in those moments and learning to not participate in the 'what if' fears.
I realize that I can't also be externalizing these fears every single time I am driving with someone in a car, because that's not really the point as I then implant the fear and idea in the other person that's driving. This is about me practically letting go of 'worst case scenarios' which have become a way to 'spike' my mind into a reaction in any given situation. And yes this is not only when it comes to cars, but also when crossing streets and dealing with any form of traffic. Can I continue living that way? No.
Even in walking I am extra cautious, extra vigilant and perhaps there's tension accumulating because the background to that hyper-vigilance is fear of cars as well.
So as I was saying, my cousin said with a big smile 'well you just have to stop fearing driving a car and that's it!' like taking it very lightly. The back of my mind could have reacted like 'oh it's so easy to say it!' because that would be a way to revamp all the reasons and justifications of 'why I should remain in fear of cars and driving' and that would mean being free to actually perhaps take the steps to be 'free from fear.' The simplicity with which she took the whole thing amazed me, the solution seemed simple and it really is! The 'hook' that keeps me 'hooked on fear' is made out of reasons, excuses and justifications of why I should remain in fear, and that's in fact a point of self-limitation that I'm holding on to, no matter how 'bad' or 'credible' my inner-stories are: IF they are causing any form of tension, discomfort, fear or even anxiety as it's been happening around that topic, Then I have to let go of it. It is as simple as that, and yes it may be challenging due to how I have also been 'justifying' these fears in terms of how there are some reckless people driving on the streets, or how 'badly' some people may drive, on how everyone speeds, on how many people die in car crashes and yes, I could spiral myself out of control and really bury myself with all kinds of fears around driving or being in a car… but that's not the way to exist.
I even realized that one of my last videos on YouTube was about walking through that fear of driving and even if I was getting to enjoy the driving in the lessons, then the crash came and I crawled back into my shell of fearing driving or cars in general and I feel somewhat stuck in a rut about it, because I haven't been able to transcend that fear. Huge limitation, yes. Do I have the willingness to sort it out? There are other factors around that. Perhaps if the car was available, I would, but it's not, so for now I leave it at the point of focusing on precisely letting go of punishing myself with the 'bad memories' around cars and walk through it. I get somewhat jealous of people that have been involved in crashes were they have been injured, perhaps even badly, yet, they keep at it. What do 'they' have that I don't have? The decision to live without fear.
Now, someone else commented in that group chat about living without any fear… and that's something that sounds to me like a constant 'battle' against fear as if 'fear itself' was the problem. To me it's not so. Fears can also be a real indication of aspects that we have to take into consideration, to have basic common sense in how we act or do certain actions, that's basically precaution. For example the Mexicans that got killed on Friday by a gas pipeline explosion were possibly 'fearless' in stealing fuel because of how 'habitual' it had become to them to the point where possibly one of them decided to 'lit up a ciggy' in the meantime and forgetting about the hazardous task they were involved in. Point is: not about living 'without fear' but definitely learning HOW to live in the way that one can handle things the best possible way, handling the results or consequences if things go awry, learn from the mistakes and genuinely live the saying 'life goes on!' and move on.
These fears that I've mentioned here and in the past blogs have been crippling me to say the least, not only mentally but physically. The point is that they didn't seem 'that bad' but have been quite present in a constant basis and that's how the cup got filled drop by drop so to speak. Something that I want to change is precisely being the paranoid person that I see I have become. And yes I can see how this may come as learned habits even from both of my parents, and I'm witnessing how it has affected their physical body as well to live like that…. And I also have a living example as my partner of what it is to live without this paranoid-type of fear, and to see that it is possible, and to see how a body can exist in a rather good stability when a person decides to live without fears and taking risks and finding that whatever outcome it may bring, it is part of what life is about.
Going through life with fear is yes, the most basic form of self-punishment I can identify, because we do it to ourselves. I early on in this blog wrote about all of us practicing cannibalism, all of us humans, because we consume our physical body every single time that we think in a reactive or emotional – or feeling – way. This is the most essential form of self-punishment, self-flagellation, self-inflicted harm or 'eating yourself up' in a rather literal way. I became aware of this through the education I've gotten through Eqafe.com and it's about time that I tackle this very 'primal' way of existing which is that of fear and paranoia in the seemingly most 'subtle' yet ever present manners.
Letting go of this fear-habit is perhaps an addiction that I had yet to pin point and decide to work on, because of all the reasons, ideas and excuses I had allowed within me to 'hold on' to such fears, as if the fear, the emotional reactions or the paranoia could fix or prevent anything in reality, or 'handle' the situation better. They do NOT, Ever.
This leads me to look at another topic I wanted to write about which is precisely how I got to identify my 'personality' as Intense and how some people seem to be more naturally 'chilled' or stable- but not in a suppressed chilled manner where the discomfort at times simply 'resonates' or 'oozes out' from someone that 'seems to be' o 'appears' to be quite cool, calm and collected – but may be in fact be a way to suppress or hide insecurities, fears or any other reaction. I'm talking about the chillness that I've seen in a few people I've met throughout my life that portray a seemingly 'impossible' way of being for me. As they come through my mind and I see them and their attitudes, they live words like patience, calm, equanimity, taking it easy, being quite grounded and present, being relaxed and having a general presence of chillness about whatever they have to face or confront. One of them is my uncle who had a very serious car crash a few years ago… they both could have died and their car was full loss, but they were simply happy to be alive and of course he keeps driving and is one of the people that I believe goes through life 'letting it go by' so to speak… not carelessly but simply going with the flow if 'shit happens' so to speak, always focusing on 'well we are alive and that's what matters' when seemingly bad things happen to him and his family. Whereas I projected myself being in that and kind of car crash and how I would react and use that as a way to justify some form of chronic anxiety or petrification around cars… well that would be the end of me certainly. And this is also not something I could think of doing consciously, but I have lived this very thing in a more subtle way based on what I shared above.
So, I have the living examples of people that have been through 'worse situations' than mine and have no fear to go back to driving or riding cars. I have the example of my father saying 'I don't' regret anything' as he goes through some of the stories of what he's lived through in his life and at times, the 'big mistakes' he made that took him real money and time to recover from. He learned, he got stronger from them, he doesn't hold the situation or other people involved in it 'at fault' or 'in blame.'
These are all decision to live that I take a living lesson from. There's also my partner whom I am quite grateful for because he's put up with this 'opening' of this admittance of fears and self-created emotional reactions in me that are here for me to face and it's for the best, because the moment is 'ripe' to see this through, even if facing some physical consequences, this can be a learning point for me to also then remind myself of how much I burden myself, my physical body, with all the literally useless indulgence in my mind as fears and reactions and what ifs and projections and worries and….. All that trash needs to be taken out.
I mostly decide to approach this as a quitting of a habit, an addiction. I've seen how 'addicted to conflict' as human beings we are, well perhaps many of us, and I even shared other examples of how we are addicted to sharing and giving likes to people presenting conflicts, we almost 'rejoice' in some kind of bad news or conflict going on between people, or pointing out the faults in others… but how much attention does a post or process of self-creation, self-support gets? Not many, but the tides are changing and I root for that change in how we support each other's process of self-change as well.
It's about letting go of the habit, the addiction to fear, to drama, to anxiety, to have something to constantly be 'worrying' about or 'fearing' or future-projecting about. I truly want to commit myself to be a different person with the person that I am relating the most currently which is my partner, so that I can stop repeating myself about all of these 'subtle fears' and worries that I bring up in our conversations. So I take it on to remind myself of expecting the best, which is not in a way thinking positively or being disingenuous about the reality of things, but as a way to focus on what normally unfolds in a rather predictable and stable way, and how even if things come up that are unexpected or not the way we planned or simply go wrong, I can also learn to go with the flow of it and take the best route to walk it, perhaps sorting it out, perhaps facing with continued consequences, it will all depend on the context.
Another nice 'principle' that my partner holds as part of his 'pillars' to exits is 'everything will be fine at the end, and if it is not, then one knows it's not the very end yet.' I take this in a very existential way though, in a way realizing that things may continue 'flying up' around us, things falling apart, cans of worms being opened up everywhere, going through distress, drastic changes in our lives within and without. I see it as part of our process in order for the new to emerge, for which the old must go and we are witnessing that at a global scale in many ways, some seem quite drastic and alarming, some others not as much but equally significant and equally part of the same process of existential change. This is again WHY I emphasize on the importance of getting to understand the ins and outs of self-creation and existential creation, so that one can have a grasp of 'how things really' work and learn to trust ourselves as life by Living as Life as what's best for all no matter 'what.' This is the only genuine way to go through whatever things we may experience in our lives and so, instead of reacting in all kinds of self-punishy ways like fear, anxiety, worry, anger, blame etc.… to best practice understanding and cooperating with being and becoming that which we CAN in fact direct and be the authority of, which is ourselves, to be and do what is best in the situation for us and for everyone involved.
For all of this, there's Eqafe.com to explain it all and I must now honor that source of education and information and live what I've learned from there to no longer allow myself to fall prey to my own 'reasons and justifications' to exist in any form of self-inflicted harm, abuse, punishment or tension. I now redefine living intensity as the force that I know is within me as the life that I am – and that has been 'on the waiting' – to grow out, to be liberated from the self-created yoke of the fears and justifications, to live that passion to apply myself in these very 'basic' aspects such as not allowing myself to participate in these kinds of paranoid fears and worst-case scenario situations that come up in my day to day and trusting in myself as life to recover and get well from the consequences I've created now that I have realized and seen firsthand the effects of participating in, essentially – and excuse me for my words – my own self-created mind fuck. Let's call things for what they are!
I thank everyone that participated in that chat and Leila for providing her insights that reminded me of all of these things that I was 'aware' of at a knowledge level – through the self-support and educational material at Eqafe.com – but 'conveniently' forgot about. Now it IS time to step into self-creation and that's where the white canvas is and where my focus and attention will be on deciding to live in an equanimous way – yes that is quite the challenge for me as I write it, but challenge taken! – to live my intensity in a balanced way, to yes be intense in expression for self-creation, for all things that are beneficial for me – but no longer take things 'too heavy on the heart' as they say. To not take things SO damn seriously all the time – yes things and life are a serious matter BUT I tend to definitely be 'too intense' in the seriousness where it becomes a source of affliction and that has to be changed because CARING is not the same as WORRYING about things.
Genuine care is then to support myself first to breathe and slow down whenever I am experiencing any form of 'spike' in my heart beat and feel the pulse elevating because of one single thought that crossed my mind. I then live the commitment to be diligent about not leaving these thoughts 'go by' but take them on, self-forgive them because I realize they are the result and consequence of having entertained too many 'righteous' constructs of why I should be fearful about this or that – and remind myself that fear can't ever be supportive when it comes to creating anxiety or any other emotion within me. Then, I rather live precaution instead of fear, for that is a reasonable way to consider reality and its potential outcomes, while also being aware that I am not able to 'prevent' life unfolding and all the various factors in it, but I am able to face any outcome the best way that I can, trusting myself in being able to act the best way that I can, and that means not portraying a face of strength and composure as if nothing happened all the time, but simply being able to trust myself in facing the momentary expressions of fear or any form of tension and trust myself in being able to take me back to my 'zero point' where I'm stable and nothing is moving within me.
I can also commit myself to practice being generally more chilled, realizing that I can't even think of being the 'savior' of anyone nor prevent anyone from being harmed. Even if I cause that harm, I can always admit it to myself, see how I can do things differently from here on and move on with life. But I can't keep holding myself captive for the 'what ifs' and 'what was' anymore.
Here I can also remind myself of the principle of shared responsibility so that I know that there are a bunch of factors that lead to the creation of a certain thing or situation not working out or going off or being destroyed. There is more than meets the eye and this is not in an 'esoteric' sense of the saying, but simply as a way to not get 'hooked' on certain moment and events that I keep 'seeing through' the eyes of my mind.
This implies also to change how I see or perceive situations, how I take in actions and information, how I have to also let go of assumption as in knowing exactly 'how things are' because I most likely cannot know. I can know about my experience, and yes I am even that 'out of myself' that I cannot exactly yet know what goes on with my body, so this is also part of the things that I want to now not be negligent about but be considered and attentive of, which is my physical body, to learn to be more aware of its pains and discomforts and not let them 'go by' ignoring them, but taking them as a cross reference of who I am in my mind and so, what I need to work on.
The decision then is to not remain a prisoner of my own repetitive thoughts and experiences, of what I did or didn't do in the past. That's only another comfort zone to not dare to change, live and express and I am definitely ready and willing to live and express, I just 'thought' that I had to still feel bad and drag my past corpses around as unwanted souvenirs lol.
Even daring to 'be well' and feel OK, and appear generally in a good stance within oneself seems at times 'too good to be true' or 'how dare I!?' but it is then also a point about allowing oneself to be OK and to genuinely Be Life and stop living in constant self-torture. I noticed this yesterday at a social gathering, some people that had not seen me in a long time said I looked really well like 'radiant'… I said 'oh well it's supplements I started taking I guess!' but the moment wasn't intimate enough to say 'you know what yes I've been practicing stopping existing in all of this self-blame and self-flagellation for the world and things in my life not going 'the best way' or how I thought they could.' But, for those that did engage with me in conversations, I was able to share some of what I do and how I approach things and that is great too, because then they may get ideas of how to work through some of their own problems, confusions or worries.
The best way that I can advertise this process is with my own process, with my own way of living. And honoring the information and message that I've been privy to for the past 11 years J
So, cheers to this and to facing the current reality of the world and situations around us in a way that we can be sure, we are not going into panic, fear or anxiety, but cover our bases and act according to what seems most reasonable and best for all to do.
Thanks for reading and thanks to everyone that knowingly – or unknowingly – has supported me to walk through these aspects of myself.
Recommended self-support:
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subset: commoncrawl


text: Home & Garden Home 5 Reasons Not to Drink Bottled Water By Chris Baskind Chris Baskind Writer Chris Baskind was an ardent cyclist and car-free advocate who was dedicated to environmental issues and educating others about how to live more simply. Learn about our editorial process Updated June 5, 2017 Share Twitter Pinterest Email Bottled water isn't any healthier than tap water, and the used plastic bottles end up in landfills or oceans. (Photo: Bogac Erguvenc/Shutterstock). Home Sustainable Eating Pest Control Natural Cleaning DIY Family Green Living Thrift & Minimalism Bottled water is healthy water — or so marketers would have us believe. Just look at the labels or the bottled water ads: deep, pristine pools of spring water; majestic alpine peaks; healthy, active people gulping down icy bottled water between biking in the park and a trip to the yoga studio. In reality, bottled water is just water. That fact isn't stopping people from buying a lot of it. Estimates variously place worldwide bottled water sales at between $50 and $100 billion each year, with the market expanding at the startling annual rate of 7 percent. Bottled water is big business. But in terms of sustainability, bottled water is a dry well. It's costly, wasteful and distracts from the brass ring of public health: the construction and maintenance of safe municipal water systems. Want some solid reasons to kick the bottled water habit? We've rounded up five to get you started. 1) Bottled water isn't a good value Take for instance, the 20-ounce bottled water generally sold in vending machines alongside soft drinks — and at the same price. Assuming you can find a $1 machine, that works out to 5 cents an ounce. These two brands are essentially filtered tap water, bottled close to their distribution point. Most municipal water costs less than 1 cent per gallon. Now consider another widely sold liquid: gasoline. It has to be pumped out of the ground in the form of crude oil, shipped to a refinery (often halfway across the world), and shipped again to your local filling station. In the U.S., the average price per gallon is hovering around $3.60. There are 128 ounces in a gallon, which puts the current price of gasoline at just less than 3 cents an ounce. And that's why there's no shortage of companies that want to get into the business. In terms of price versus production cost, bottled water puts Big Oil to shame. 2) No healthier than tap water In theory, bottled water in the United States falls under the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration. In practice, about 70 percent of bottled water never crosses state lines for sale, making it exempt from FDA oversight. On the other hand, water systems in the developed world are well-regulated. In the U.S., for instance, municipal water falls under the purview of the Environmental Protection Agency, and is regularly inspected for bacteria and toxic chemicals. Want to know how your community scores? Check out the Environmental Working Group's National Drinking Water Database. While public safety groups correctly point out that many municipal water systems are aging and there remain hundreds of chemical contaminants for which no standards have been established, there's very little empirical evidence that suggests bottled water is any cleaner or better for you than its tap equivalent. 3) Bottled water means garbage Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. According to Food and Water Watch, that plastic requires up to 47 million gallons of oil per year to produce. And while the plastic used to bottle beverages is of high quality and in demand by recyclers, over 80 percent of plastic bottles are simply thrown away. That assumes empty bottles actually make it to a garbage can. Plastic waste is now at such a volume that vast eddies of current-bound plastic trash now spin endlessly in the world's major oceans. This represents a great risk to marine life, killing birds and fish which mistake our garbage for food. Thanks to its slow decay rate, the vast majority of all plastics ever produced still exist — somewhere. Bottled water produces up to 1.5 million tons of plastic waste per year. MrTinDC/Flickr 4) Bottled water means less attention to public systems Many people drink bottled water because they don't like the taste of their local tap water, or because they question its safety. This is like running around with a slow leak in your tire, topping it off every few days rather than taking it to be patched. Only the very affluent can afford to switch their water consumption to bottled sources. Once distanced from public systems, these consumers have little incentive to support bond issues and other methods of upgrading municipal water treatment. 5) The corporatization of water In the documentary film "Thirst," authors Alan Snitow and Deborah Kaufman demonstrated the rapid worldwide privatization of municipal water supplies, and the effect these purchases are having on local economies. Water is being called the "Blue Gold" of the 21st century. Thanks to increasing urbanization and population, shifting climates and industrial pollution, fresh water is becoming humanity's most precious resource. Multinational corporations are stepping in to purchase groundwater and distribution rights wherever they can, and the bottled water industry is an important component in their drive to commoditize what many feel is a basic human right: the access to safe and affordable water. What can you do? There's a simple alternative to bottled water: buy a stainless steel thermos, and use it. Don't like the way your local tap water tastes? Inexpensive carbon filters will turn most tap water sparkling fresh at a fraction of bottled water's cost. Conserve water wherever possible, and stay on top of local water issues. Bottoms up!


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Abbey's tenure at 'Redneck U'
Radical ecologist and writer Edward Abbey (1927-1989) was born in Home, Penn., the son of a hardscrabble farmer and a schoolteacher. Hitchhiking as an adolescent through the western United States initiated a lifelong identity with that region. After being discharged from the U.S. Army in 1947, Abbey worked at various marginal jobs while studying philosophy at the University of New Mexico, from which he earned B.A. and M.A. degrees. The title of his master's thesis was "Anarchism and the Morality of Violence."
Abbey worked in the western states, intermittently, as a U.S. Forest Service fire-lookout and for the National Park Service as a ranger. He also, without success, tried his hand at being a social caseworker and technical writer in New York City. He wrote eight novels, seven collections of non-fiction prose, a gathering of aphorisms, the texts for five collections of photographs, and — for just for good measure — he self-edited The Best of Edward Abbey. Later in life, he taught writing at the University of Arizona. He was married three times.
According to Kingsley Widmer's biographical sketch in American National Biography Online, "Abbey held that his main vocation was as iconoclastic literateur defending natural wilderness and freedom. [His] best-known novel, and intended handbook of troublemaking, The Monkey-Wrench Gang (1975), along with its posthumously published continuation Hayduke Lives! (1990), is dedicated to the "Luddite anarchism of sabotaging American technocracy in the remaining open West."
Abbey's best writing occurs in his non-fictional prose narratives and essays. The most famous of these is Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness (1968). Widmer notes that it "centers with tough candor on his times as a fire-lookout and park ranger. Here, and increasingly in later essays ... he revived anarchist Propaganda of the Deed (destroying surveyors' markers, burning billboards, disabling diesels, protectively tree-spiking in old-growth forests, satiric sloganeering, and other measures) .... But in fact Abbey was more of a sardonic commentator than a political activist. [His] self-conscious role was to combine, in both person and writings, the ecologically sensitive wilderness westerner with the Enlightenment rebel-skeptic in a post-World War II he-man manner (he had trouble with "new feminism" and other "chicken-xxxx liberalism").
"In spite of his considerable macho western mode — including boots and vest over flannel shirt, six-pack of beer and cigar, pickup and .357 magnum, full beard and fully scornful tongue — he was also attempting a libertarian revision of western mythology."
Be that as it may, when he got around to doing so, Abbey could write with beautiful insight about the landscapes and entities in the natural world that he encountered. Some of his finest nature writing appears in an essay titled "Natural and Human History," which served as the text for Appalachian Wilderness: The Great Smoky Mountains — a coffee-table size book published in 1970 that featured the photographs of Eliot Porter.
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Abbey was chosen to prepare this text because he had proven his ability as a writer of descriptive prose with Desert Solitaire. And he could also point out that he had resided within 30 miles of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park for a short while in 1968. As he was departing from the Great Smokies after completing his writing-assignment visit in 1969, he noted, in passing, that, "We come next to Sylva, where I had lived the year before while teaching at nearby University of Western North Carolina." That's the short version of an interesting interlude in Abbey's career.
A fuller version is provided in James M. Cahalan's Edward Abbey: A Life (2001). Abbey felt the need for a full-time job after his wife, Judy, had given birth to their daughter, Susannah. So, he accepted a position in the English Department at Western Carolina University, where a friend, Al Sarvis, was teaching in the Art Department.
According to Callahan, "Ed, Judy, and baby Susie lived in the nearby town of Sylva, in the basement of the rambling home of Marcellus Buchanan, a colorful local politician ... Abbey hated this area and his job. He noted on Oct. 8, 1968, that 'like a bloody idiot,' he had accepted a teaching job 'here at Redneck U. All for monetary greed ... $7,800, or almost $1,000 per working month, good wages for me.' He dreaded the 'horror the tedium the drudgery of academic life. 'How I loathe it. All those pink faces in the classroom three xxxxxxx hours, five xxxxxxx days per week .... always there's tomorrow's xxxx to prepare, to read, to grade' ... [His] first term as a full-time instructor of record was not an auspicious one ... His English Department colleague D. Newton Smith explained that Abbey was 'very shy about that process. He didn't know what to do, pretty much.' Smith added that Abbey's training in philosophy, 'a very contemplative kind of thing,' was certainly 'not the same thing as teaching English.'
"On wild drunken, reckless drives through the countryside, Abbey threw his homebrew bottles out the window and raged against the ugly billboards defacing the landscape ... When Abbey got the word that he could return to Organ Pipe [Cactus National Monument] for a second full season, he was so eager to flee the classroom and the coming Appalachian winter for the Arizona desert that he quit his teaching job before the end of the quarter ... Newt Smith clarified that 'he simply gave everybody in his class a B and left. It was not well received!'"
Edward Abbey couldn't (or wouldn't) teach English, but he could write it. A year later he described this moment during a wintertime journey to Clingmans Dome:
"Higher and higher we rise toward the clouds, the cloud forest. We reach a certain elevation, about 4,500 feet, where all of the trees are covered with a delicate, brilliant, impeccable snowy lace. Not snow, not ice, but frozen fog, that's what it is ... Brittle and fragile crystals of frost. Apparently the needles act as condensation nuclei, around which the cloud vapors gather and freeze. The effect is stranger than that of snow or ice; each tree, seen against the sun, seems to glow, to radiate an aura of intense white light."


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Are you surprised by the picture? Did you expect to see crazy curly shapes like popcorn makes when it gets popped? Quinoa is definitely more
You can pop quinoa very easily following these steps:
Here's some things to do with popped quinoa:
- Popped quinoa makes a great snack all in itself. It is crunchy, toasty flavored, and healthy. The only drawback? It's so small! Unlike popcorn you can't really go putting a handful in your mouth to munch on. Rather you have to lick your finger and stick it in the bowl to get some to stick on there. But kids love to do that anyway, so if you're feeling brave (and ready to clean up a possible mess) go for it - stick a bowl out for their snack and let them go to town!
- Popped quinoa is great to add to granola, granola bars, cookies, rice crispy treats, homemade crackers, and other snacks.
- You can sprinkle popped quinoa over your hot cereal (like oatmeal) to add extra texture and crunch.
- Sprinkle popped quinoa over yogurt for a delicious breakfast.
- Sprinkled popped quinoa over a salad to add yummy flavor and texture.
Linked to: Real Food Wednesday, Gluten Free Wednesdays, Whole Food Wednesdays, Healthy 2day Wednesdays, Real Food 101, Allergy Free Wednesdays, Hearth and Soul Hop


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These collections are available from the Sound Ideas site. Clicking on "Learn More..." will bring you to the product page at Sound Ideas, where there are additional details, as well as the ability to purchase the product.
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Recorded in 24bit 96kHz stereo, Game FX provides a wealth of one-of-a-kind elements suitable for film, television, radio, game and web projects of all kinds. Learn more
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This expansive set features over 1600 sound effects created by some of Hollywood's leading Foley Artists. It includes everything from footsteps and debris to impacts, weapons and explosions. Learn more
Master Edition Volume 1 Metallic Elements
For many years we have desired to bring a new level of quality and creativity to the sound effects market. Master Edition allows us to do just that. Learn more
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A metal smashing, gear grinding, futuristic collection for science fiction and fantasy productions featuring robots, aliens, spaceships, futuristic landscapes, hi-tech interfaces, and much more! Learn more
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Features 1077 musical accents, elements, logos and sound effects for download - all in 24bit Stereo 48kHz. With a variety of moods – dramatic, action, exotic, scary, horror, tension, funny, comedy. Learn more
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Click here to download instructions for Tessellating Pinwheels (PDF file)
This quilt was designed to be pieced with dies from my Accuquilt GO. I use the 4.5 inch half square and the 4.5 inch quarter square triangle dies. Here's a link to the Rotary Cutting directions for those without the GO.
If you have problems opening the above link, right click on it and save it to your computer and then open it. Email me with any questions or problems at email@example.com
My EQ drawing
Or you can go completely scrappy and use many different fabrics in each block like I plan to do. Here's a scrappy version of my EQ quilt.
My finished top


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Exposing skin to sunlight may help lower blood pressure and cut the risk of heart attack and stroke, a new study has found.
Research carried out at the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh found that sunlight alters levels of the small messenger molecule, nitric oxide (NO) in the skin and blood, reducing blood pressure.
�NO along with its breakdown products, known to be abundant in skin, is involved in the regulation of blood pressure,� said Martin Feelisch, Professor of Experimental Medicine and Integrative Biology at the University of Southampton.
�When exposed to sunlight, small amounts of NO are transferred from the skin to the circulation, lowering blood vessel tone; as blood pressure drops, so does the risk of heart attack and stroke,� Feelisch said.
While limiting sunlight exposure is important to prevent skin cancer, the authors of the study, including Dr Richard Weller of the University of Edinburgh, suggest that minimising exposure may be disadvantageous by increasing the risk of prevalent conditions related to cardiovascular disease.
Cardiovascular disease, often associated with high blood pressure, accounts for 30% of deaths globally each year.
Blood pressure and cardiovascular disease are known to vary according to season and latitude, with higher levels observed in winter and in countries further from the equator, where ultraviolet radiation from the Sun is lower.
During the study, the skin of 24 healthy individuals was exposed to ultraviolet (UVA) light from tanning lamps for two sessions of 20 minutes each.
In one session, the volunteers were exposed to both the UVA rays and the heat of the lamps. In another, the UV rays were blocked so that only the heat of the lamps affected the skin.
The results suggested that UVA exposure dilates blood vessels, significantly lowers blood pressure, and alters NO metabolite levels in the circulation, without changing vitamin D levels.
Further experiments indicated that pre-formed stores of NO in the upper skin layers are involved in mediating these effects.
The data are consistent with the seasonal variation of blood pressure and cardiovascular risk at temperate latitudes, researchers said.
The study was published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
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Taganrog təgənrôk´ [key], city (1989 pop. 292,000), S European Russia, on the Gulf of Taganrog, an arm of the Sea of Azov. It is a port, exporting mainly grains and coal. Metallurgy, combine and automobile assembly, ship repairing, leather working, commercial fishing, agricultural processing, and the manufacture of heavy machinery and furniture are the city's major industries. A Pisan colony on the site was destroyed by the Mongols in the 13th cent.; Turks later settled there. In 1698, Peter the Great founded Taganrog as a fortress and naval base. The Turks recaptured it twice (1712 and 1739), but it was taken by the Russians in 1769 and definitively ceded by Turkey in the Treaty of Kuchuk Kainarji (1774). Superseded by Odessa in the late 19th cent. as a major grain exporter, Taganrog retained importance as a military and naval base and a manufacturing city. Landmarks include the imperial palace (now an historical museum) in which Czar Alexander I reportedly died and a memorial museum at the home of the writer Anton Chekhov, who was born in Taganrog.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2023, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: CIS and Baltic Political Geography


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Cheers after a song at a small concert in Loophole club, Berlin, Germany. Recorded with a Zoom H2.
You are required to give attribution in the form of
Audio recording 2012 Iwan Gabovitch [http://qubodup.net]
Contact me if you have interest in specific sounds for open source or commercial purpose.
Can also be used under terms of GPL v2 or later or CC-BY-SA v3 or later.
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documented by Larry Fink
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Women's Fall/Winter 2019 show
documented by Larry Fink
The American photographer documents some fleeting moments while backstage at the Women's Fall/Winter 2019 show in Milan, Italy.
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Don't look to the Electoral College to upend Donald Trump victory
WASHINGTON (AP) — There's more hustle than hope behind an effort to derail Donald Trump's presidency in the Electoral College.
Republican electors are being swamped with pleas to buck tradition and cast ballots for someone else at meetings across the country Monday that are on course to ratify Trump as the winner. AP interviews with more than 330 electors from both parties found little appetite for a revolt.
Whether they like Trump or not, and some plainly don't, scores of the Republicans chosen to cast votes in the state-capital meetings told AP they feel bound by history, duty, party loyalty or the law to rubber-stamp their state's results and make him president. Appeals numbering in the tens of thousands — drowning inboxes, ringing cellphones, stuffing home and office mailboxes with actual handwritten letters — have not swayed them.
The interviews found widespread Democratic aggravation with the electoral process but little expectation that the rush of anti-Trump maneuvering can stop him. For that to happen, Republican-appointed electors would have to stage an unprecedented defection.
Still, people going to the typically ho-hum electoral gatherings have been drawn into the rough and tumble of campaign-season politics. Republicans are being beseeched to revolt in a torrent of lobbying, centered on the arguments that Clinton won the popular vote and that Trump is unsuited to the presidency. Most of it is falling on deaf ears, but it has also led to some acquaintances being made across the great political divide.
"Let me give you the total as of right now: 48,324 emails about my role as an elector," said Brian Westrate, a small-business owner and GOP district chairman in Fall Creek, Wisconsin. "I have a Twitter debate with a former porn star from California asking me to change my vote. It's been fascinating."
Dump Trump? That won't happen when Florida electors vote
Similarly deluged, Republican elector Hector Maldonado, a Missouri National Guardsman, has taken the time to console one correspondent, a single mother and Air Force veteran who is beside herself with worry about what a Trump presidency will mean.
"Everything's going to be OK," he said he told her. "I know you're scared, but don't worry. Everything's going to be OK. And I know that it will be."
Maldonado, a Mexican immigrant and medical-equipment seller in Sullivan, Missouri, backed Ted Cruz in the primaries but will cast his vote for Trump with conviction. "I took an oath once to become a U.S. citizen," he said, "and on Aug. 14, 1995, that was the first oath that I've taken to support the U.S. Constitution. A year later I took the oath again, to support the duties of being an officer in the U.S. Army. This was the third oath that I've taken to execute what I promised to do."
Even a leader of the anti-Trump effort, Bret Chiafalo of Everett, Washington, calls it a "losing bet" — but one he says the republic's founders would want him to make. "I believe that Donald Trump is a unique danger to our country and the Founding Fathers put the Electoral College in place to, among other things, stop that from happening," said Chiafalo, 38, an Xbox network engineer who backed Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primaries.
It takes 270 electoral votes to make a president. Despite losing the national popular vote, Trump won enough states to total 306 electoral votes. He would need to see three dozen fall away for him to lose his majority. Only one Republican elector told AP he won't vote for Trump.
Over the sweep of history, so-called faithless electors — those who vote for someone other than their state's popular-vote winner — have been exceptionally rare.
Nashville attorney Tom Lawless, who chose Marco Rubio in the primaries, described his vow to cast his electoral vote for Trump in blunt terms. "Hell will freeze and we will be skating on the lava before I change," he said. "He won the state and I've pledged and gave my word that that's what I would do. And I won't break it."
Nor will Jim Skaggs, 78, a developer from Bowling Green, Kentucky, despite deep concern about Trump. "His personality worries me," Skaggs said. "He is not open-minded." Skaggs knew Trump's father through the construction business, met the son in his 20s, and "I wasn't impressed."
"I hope he is far better than I think he is," Skaggs said. Even so, "I fully intend to vote for Donald Trump," he said. "I think it's a duty."
State law and practices vary for electors, but even in states where electors don't take an oath to vote a certain way or don't face legal ramifications for stepping out of line, the heavy expectation is for them to ratify the results. As much as they don't want Trump in office, some Democrats are as reluctant as Republicans to go rogue.
"We lost the election," said John Padilla of Albuquerque, New Mexico, a Democratic ward chairman. "That's how elections are and you shake hands with your opponent and you get on with what you have to do and support your candidate."
Yet Democratic electors, stung by losing an election to a Republican who trails Clinton by more than 2.6 million votes nationwide, spoke strongly in the interviews in favor of overhauling or throwing out the electoral system. Republican electors generally supported it, reasoning that it provides a counterweight to political dominance by coastal states with huge, and largely Democratic, populations, like California and New York.
Chiafalo is a co-founder of the Hamilton Electors, a group formed to steer other electors from both parties to a third candidate. "We've stated from Day 1 this is a long shot, this is a Hail Mary," he said.
But if the effort fails, it won't be from lack of trying. Most of the pleas to reject Trump are coordinated, automated, professionally generated and, for those reasons, none too persuasive.
"We got a stack of letters from idiots," said Republican elector Edward Robson, 86, a Phoenix, Arizona, homebuilder.
Fellow elector Carole Joyce, 72, a state committeewoman in Phoenix and retired public health nurse, was more charitable.
"They've caused me great distress on my computer, that's for sure," she said. "I average anywhere from a thousand to 3,000 emails a day. And I'm getting inundated in my regular mailbox out front — anywhere from 17 to 35 letters a day coming from Washington state, Oregon, all around the country. Hand-written, some of them five or six pages long, quoting me the Federalist Papers, the Constitution, asking me again out of desperation not to vote for Donald Trump.
"And that's their right," she said. "I've had nothing threatening, I'm happy to say. The election is over. They need to move on."
La Corte reported from Olympia, Washington. Associated Press writers who contributed: Scott Bauer in Madison, Wisconsin; Summer Ballentine in Jefferson City, Missouri; Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tennessee; Morgan Lee in Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bob Christie in Phoenix, Arizona; and Michael Biesecker, Emily Swanson and Monika Mathur in Washington.


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The following is a translation of an interview on Chinese State TV. It does not necessarily represent the views of China Daily Mail, but is provided so readers can form their own views.
Recently, well-known military expert Major General Zhang Zhaozhong talked in a TV interview in Beijing about the current situation of dispute between China and the Philippines in the South China Sea, and analysed China's strategy in the South China Sea region. The following is what was said in the interview:
TV host: "Well, we have watched the footage and now let's look at the big screen that shows the Chinese islands and reefs illegally occupied by the Philippines. All of us should remember that counting from the north, there are the Beizi Island, Feixin Island, Zhongye Island, Xiyue Island, Shuanghuangzhou Shoal, Mahuan Island, Nanyue Island and Siling Reef.
"What one has stolen has to be returned. No matter how long the Philippines have illegally occupied those Chinese islands and reefs, I believe that it cannot change the fact that those islands and reefs are inherent Chinese territories. However, what shall we do to counter those rude and barbarian acts of the Philippines?"
Zhang Zhaozhong: What should we do about those islands and reefs? I think that in the main we have done some things relatively successfully in dealing with the Philippines. Since the 1990s, the Philippines has done quite a few illegal and irrational things in its attempt to turn the Huangyan Island into its territory by means of presidential order, domestic legislation, and so on.
"Each time our Ministry of Foreign Affairs protested, but it refused to listen. In the meantime, it was busy doing this and that, such as sunk a boat there and conducting lots of patrols there. By April, 2012, an incident finally took place that it took initiative to detain Chinese fishermen by force; it sent troops to detain at gun point the Chinese fishermen who entered the lagoon to carry out normal fishing.
"Since then, we have begun to take measures to seal and control the areas around the Huangyan Island, seal and control continuously up till now. In the over one year period since then, there have been fishermen in the inside. Our fishermen are often there because there is lot of fish there. Fishermen go there in large ships and then sail small boats in the lagoon to fish. They can have shelter in the lagoon when there is a typhoon.
"The fishermen conduct normal production there. In the area around the island, fishing administration ships and marine surveillance ships are conducting normal patrols while in the outer ring there are navy warships. The island is thus wrapped layer by layer like a cabbage. As a result, a cabbage strategy has taken shape.
"If the Philippines wants to go in, in the outermost area, it has first to ask whether our navy will allow it. Then it has to ask whether our fishery administration ships and marine surveillance ships will allow it. Therefore, our fishermen can carry out their production safely while our country's marine rights and interests as well as sovereignty are safeguarded. Is that not satisfactory?
"We can adopt this method elsewhere. We have not resorted to war and we have not forced the others to do anything, have we? You have invaded and then left. You have violated Chinese law and China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, haven't you? Why did you point your guns at our fishermen? As you have first violated the law and pointed your guns at our fishermen, you would never be allowed to enter the area.
"We should do more such things in the future. For those small islands, only a few troopers are able to station on each of them, but there is no food or even drinking water there. If we carry out the "cabbage" strategy, you will not be able to send food and drinking water onto the islands. Without the supply for one or two weeks, the troopers stationed there will leave the islands on their own. Once they have left, they will never be able to come back.
"For many things, we have to grab the right timing to do them. Over the past few years, we have made a series of achievements at the Nansha Islands (the Spratly Islands), the greatest of which I think have been on the Huangyan Island, Meiji Reef (Mischief Reef) and Ren'ai Shoal (Second Thomas Shoal).
We have gained quite satisfactory experience about the ways to recover the islands and reefs and defend them. For the Nansha and Xisha (Paracel) Islands, we have established Sansha City to administrate them. That was a good step we have taken.
"The next step will be the strengthening of power and authority in implementing our law in conduct our administration. The further next step shall be the vigorous development there, including the development of economy, tourism, marine fishery and marine protection.
"We have to do much more work there, and coordinate various efforts. We should not rely only on military effort. In the military perspective, fighting is the last resort while before it there must be production on a large scale and with high enthusiasm and large-scale production on the sea. That is why I say that we have to create such an environment and atmosphere."
Editor's Note: This story was exclusive to China Daily Mail, and was later used as the foundation for a major feature story in the New York Times (A Game of Shark and Minnow).Source: mil.huanqiu.com "Zhang Zhaozhong: To recover the islands occupied by the Philippines, the 'cabbage' strategy is enough" (translated from Chinese by Chan Kai Yee)
Related Articles
- China says Philippines' UN request on seas complicates issue (chinadailymail.com)
- Fishermen pay price in Asia's volatile sea rifts (sfgate.com)
- Chinese foiled from occupying island (manilastandardtoday.com)
- China sent warship to break Philippine control of reef: Global Times (wantchinatimes.com)
- JC's Navy Updates – From Manila – PH sea patrol checks out Chinese ships (h16613.com)
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Categories: Defence & Aerospace


text:
Powerful and compact, the PreSonus® StudioLive® 16R serves as a 16-channel AVB stage box for StudioLive Series III consoles and as a Series III rack-mount digital mixer with modern and vintage effects, multitrack recording via USB 2.0 and AVB.
* Factory Refurbished - This item has been 100% tested for proper operation and carries the full manufacturer's Limited Warranty.
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text:
Wendy Davis outraises Greg Abbott in Texas gov race
Democrat Wendy Davis outraised Republican Greg Abbott in the last six months of 2013 for what will probably be a barn-burner race for Texas governor.
Davis said she raised more than $12.2 million from July through December, while Abbott brought in $11.5 million over the same period. But Abbott, the state attorney general, now has $27 million in the bank for the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Rick Perry in the GOP stronghold.
Davis, a state senator from Fort Worth, did not state her cash on hand. She has an uphill battle in Texas, which hasn't elected a Democrat as governor since Ann Richards in 1990. Political experts estimate it will take $40 million for a candidate to mount a successful campaign in a state where expensive TV ads are necessary.
This is the first campaign report from Davis since she formally declared her candidacy in October. She burst onto the national scene last year with her marathon filibuster of a bill restricting access to abortion.
"Davis' fundraising numbers exceeded expectations," her campaign said in a news release.
The senator's campaign finance totals include funds raised by the Texas Victory Committee, a joint effort that splits money between the Davis campaign and Battleground Texas, a group trying to turn Texas blue. She touted that she received contributions from more than 71,000 individuals, while 85% of her donations came in checks of $50 or less. Additionally, Davis said she received contributions from all 254 Texas counties. She has been raising money in cities such as San Francisco, New York and Washington — which is typical for a Democrat with a national profile.
Abbott started his campaign with more than $20 million in the bank. His campaign said 97% of his donors came from Texas.
"This is a campaign by Texans, for Texans, and Greg Abbott is humbled by the widespread support from across the state," his campaign manager, Wayne Hamilton, said in a statement.
Follow @ccamia on Twitter.


text:
On this page you will find the direct link to Download Sony Ericsson Live WT19i Stock Rom (firmware, flash file) from Google Drive. The Firmware Package contains FlashTool, Driver, Instruction Manual.
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text:
Prime minister of Australia
Canberra, Australia
Reversing a campaign pledge, the Labor Party leader bets her job on a plan to tax greenhouse-gas emissions.
When Julia Gillard took over as Australia's prime minister last year, her predecessor served as a pretty good cautionary example. After all, the political opening Gillard seized upon to win her job was presented after Kevin Rudd botched efforts to pass a law taxing greenhouse-gas emitters.
Gillard seemed to heed the lesson. "There will be no carbon tax under the government I lead," she said while campaigning.
And yet, today Gillard is championing a massive new climate bill complete with a carbon tax—and risking her political life in the process.
Nudged out onto this limb by the politics of coalition-building, Gillard chose to make her about-face in order to align her Labor Party with the newly influential Green Party, concluding that a bold carbon tax is, after all, what Australia needs to fight climate change. Whether you see the move as politically expedient or as a principled course correction, there's no denying the risk that it entails in a country where climate change is a wildly contentious issue.
Currently, about 80 percent of the country's electricity comes from coal, helping to make Australia the worst per capita carbon polluter among wealthy nations. Australia is also the world's leading coal exporter, and vocal factions of the powerful mining industry say the tax scheme will destroy jobs and sink the economy. Such fears help explain the prime minister's horrendous job-approval numbers.
Still, Gillard is resolute. She says that by targeting industrial polluters, Australia can, by 2020, accomplish the equivalent of removing 45 million cars from the road. And by 2050, Australia hopes to have cut emissions by 80 percent from its 2000 levels. When Parliament decides the issue this fall, the vote will be close, but Gillard expects to prevail. "This is going through," she has said. "This is done. Full stop." Of course, she's been wrong before.
Illustration: Anje Jager
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LAS VEGAS – Saturday night's historic and much-anticipated UFC 100 event in Las Vegas served as a chance for the mixed martial arts world to reflect on the progress the modern sport and the organization have made in their near-16-year histories.
And while homage was paid to many pioneers of the sport throughout the weekend's activities, "The Godfather of Ground and Pound" Mark Coleman (16-9 MMA, 7-4 UFC) took it upon himself to claim a little bit of glory.
Coleman earned a gutsy decision over fan favorite Stephan Bonnar (11-6 MMA, 5-5 UFC) in the featured contest of the evening's unaired preliminary card at the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The main card, headlined by a heavyweight title unification match between dual champs Brock Lesnar and Frank Mir, aired live on pay-per-view.
Despite a predictable attack of takedowns and ground-and-pound, a strategy patented by Coleman beginning in 1996 when he debuted at UFC 10, Bonnar was unable to halt the onslaught. While the questionable gas tank of Coleman caused concern as the bout entered the second and third frames, the 44-year-old pushed through a disappointing first-round to exhibit a vintage attack in the final 10 minutes.
Bonnar tried to stay active from the bottom throughout the fight, but he was unable to stay on his feet and unable to get off of his back. Dueling chants of "Coleman!" and "Bonnar!" echoed throughout the crowd, but it was Coleman who was able to reward his fans. Coleman used to his extensive wrestling background to keep Bonnar pinned to the floor, and he delivered enough offense to earn the final two frames.
A final flurry of punches and elbows from the top as time wound down in the third round was followed by a smart decision to simply ride out the position, and the UFC Hall-of-Famer earned a surprising unanimous-decision win.
Despite entering the bout as the decided underdog, the win snapped a two-fight losing streak for Coleman, and it marked his first win in the octagon since a submission win over fellow Hall-of-Famer Dan Severn at UFC 12 in 1997. After remaining inactive in 2008, Bonnar has now dropped two-straight contests in 2009.
Miller outlast Danzig in bloody scrap, Jones keeps winning streak intact
Scrappy lightweights Dan Miller (12-2 MMA, 4-1 UFC) and Mac Danzig (19-6-1 MMA, 2-3 UFC) were expected to put on an intense fight worthy of a UFC 100 slot. With both submission aces looking to rebound from recent defeats, Miller and Danzig were each hoping to secure their spots in the world's biggest organizations with a win.
Miller opened the fight as the aggressor, and Danzig received a gaping wound when a series of elbows and forearms on the ground blasted his forehead. With the blood flowing freely well into the second round, Danzig struggled to keep the plasma from his eyes. Miller maintained top position throughout the opening two rounds, though with time winding down in the second, Danzig nearly ended the fight.
A guillotine choke applied by Danzig during a takedown was wrenched in tight, and Miller appeared to be in trouble as the clocked tick down. Miller maintained his composure, and Danzig was forced to release the hold when the bell signaled to end the frame.
Danzig opened the third round with a commendable attack, but Miller was able to again work the fight to the floor and earn top position. Danzig again finished strong, sweeping into a top position of his own. The former "The Ultimate Fighter 6" winner threw a flurry of punches, but it was again too little, too late. Miller earned the unanimous-decision win, 30-27 on all three judges' cards.
With the win, Miller moves to an impressive 4-1 in the UFC. While Danzig own the job security that comes along with winning "The Ultimate Fighter," the 29-year-old has dropped three-straight bouts in the UFC.
Undefeated light-heavyweight Jon Jones (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) has quickly gained the respect of many UFC enthusiasts, though some thought former heavyweight Jake O'Brien (11-3 MMA, 4-3 UFC) might present a stern challenge. For a round-and-a-half O'Brien hung tight with the fast-rising prospect, but Jones once again used a few flashy techniques coupled with solid fundamentals to earn the win.
O'Brien looked to utilize his wrestling strengths and work Jones to the canvas throughout the fight, but "Bones" simply shucked his opponent's advances aside, landing enough strikes in the meantime to earn points on the judges' cards. Jones scored with a few kicks and his trademark spinning elbow while remaining patient on the attack. When halfway through the second frame O'Brien returned to the shot, Jones calmly locked in a guillotine choke, forcing the tap at 2:43 of the frame.
Jones remains undefeated through nine career contests, including three in the UFC. O'Brien has now dropped three of his past four contests, though he is 1-1 at 205 pounds since dropping from the heavyweight division.
Kim remains undefeated; Lawlor and Gugerty score quick submission wins
While Canadian welterweight T.J. Grant (14-3 MMA, 1-1 UFC) surprised many UFC fans with his UFC 97 win over veteran Ryo Chonan, Korean Dong Hyun Kim (12-0-1 UFC, 3-0-1 MMA) presented a different set of challenges. In the end, those challenges proved too tough to pass.
Grant put Kim on his back early in the fight, but it was one of the last times he found himself in a dominant position. Kim quickly reversed that situation and remained in top position for most of the fight, stopping briefly when an illegal upkick in the second frame cost Grant a point. While Grant was never close to being finished, Kim was never in danger of losing the decision. All three judges scored the bout for the Korean, 30-26.
Following his overturned loss to Karo Parisyan in January – which was ruled a no contest when "The Heat" failed a post-fight drug test – Kim remains undefeated in his five-plus-year career. The loss snapped a five-fight win streak for Grant, who is now 1-1 in the UFC.
When you elect to enter the arena accompanied by the Baha Men's 2000 hit song "Who Let the Dogs Out," you're obviously a confident fighter. When you add in a collared Seth Petruzelli entering on a chain, crawling on all fours with a bone in his mouth, you're either supremely confident or somewhat crazy. Middleweight Tom Lawlor (6-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) of Friday's "Just Bleed" fame probably falls somewhere in the middle, but against former "The Ultimate Fighter 7" finalist C.B. Dollaway (8-2 MMA, 2-2 UFC), "The Ultimate Fighter 8" cast member earned the right to enjoy his antics.
While Dollaway opened with a smooth one-two to start the action, then shot in with a takedown when Lawlor looked to answer, "The Doberman" left his neck available for the taking. Lawlor obliged, and "The Filthy Mauler" locked in a deep guillotine choke as he was driven to the canvas.
Dollaway was unable to break free of the hold and was unconscious in a matter of seconds. After earning the win at just 55 seconds of the opening frame, Lawlor called out the winners of the evening's two title contests, as well as the entire WEC.
After the challenge, Lawlor admitted he was pleased with the win.
"I'm ecstatic," Lawlor said. "I trained really hard because people were looking at C.B. as one of the top guys at 185 (pounds).
"His head was out there. I just kind of fell into it. My cornerman said, 'Don't go for the guillotine unless you know you have it.' I guess I knew I had it."
UFC 100 officially kicked off with a pair of lightweights looking to rebound from recent losses as Shannon Gugerty (12-3 MMA, 2-1 UFC) met Matt Grice (9-3 MMA, 1-3 UFC). An earlier start time than was printed on event tickets left the arena just about 30 percent full when the bout kicked off, but that didn't stop Gugerty from putting on an impressive performance.
After a few initial kicks were missed by both fighters, Gugerty pushed the fight to the floor. When Grice powered his way off of the mat, Gugerty responded by locking in a guillotine choke. With Grice trying to wiggle free, Gugerty dropped to the floor and rolled to top position, wrenching the choke as he transitioned.
Grice held on to the bitter end, and the bout was halted only when his body went limp. Gugerty moves to 2-1 in the UFC in his first bout of 2009, while Grice drops to 1-3 in the organization – including 0-2 since his return from a 14-month layoff – a run that could see the Oklahoman dropped from the organization.
Following the win Gugerty said he envisioned the win prior to the first contest of the historic card.
"Nerves were not a factor," Gugerty said. "This is the calmest I've ever been for a fight. I actually had a dream that I was going to catch him with a guillotine."
- Mark Coleman def. Stephan Bonnar via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Jim Miller def. Mac Danzig via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Jon Jones def. Jake O'Brien via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 2, 2:43
- Dong Hyun Kim def. T.J. Grant via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-26, 30-26)
- Tom Lawlor defeats C.B. Dollway via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 0:55
- Shannon Gugerty def. Matt Grice via submission (guillotine choke) – Round 1, 2:36
(Pictured: Mark Coleman)
For our complete, industry leading coverage of UFC 100, check out the UFC Events section of MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com).


text: Back Unlocking the Mystery of Recurrent Miscarriage A pregnancy that ends before 20 weeks is called a miscarriage. Most miscarriages happen before the end of the first trimester (before 12 weeks). Many occur before a woman even knows she is pregnant. In the past, a woman who miscarried several times might never know why it happened. Today, more and more women are finding out the causes of their recurrent miscarriages. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists currently defines recurrent miscarriage as two to three, or more, consecutive pregnancy losses in the first trimester or early second trimester. Miscarriages are not uncommon. It is estimated that every woman has a 15 to 20 percent chance of having a pregnancy end in miscarriage. For women who have had one miscarriage, their chances of carrying the next pregnancy to full term remain about the same as if they had never had one. The chance of miscarrying again after two miscarriages increases with each loss. The risk for recurrent miscarriage increases with age. Women 40 years or older with previous recurring miscarriages have a much higher risk compared to younger women. Causes There are many different reasons for miscarriage, including fetal chromosomal defects, hormonal problems or abnormalities of the uterus. But the cause is unknown in up to 75 percent of recurrent miscarriages, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM). Some doctors are hesitant to begin testing and treatment until after three successive miscarriages, or after a second miscarriage if the woman is older than 35, because much of the testing and treatment is controversial, and the reasons that treatments work are not well understood. It is also likely that a woman who suffers recurrent miscarriages will go on to have a healthy baby. According to the ASRM, 60 to 70 percent of couples with unexplained recurrent pregnancy losses will go on to have a healthy pregnancy. The group recommends a healthy lifestyle and folic acid supplementation, as well as smoking cessation, weight control, and reducing alcohol and caffeine. Informative and sympathetic counseling appears to play an important role in these patients' success. Ask your doctor about the following possible causes of miscarriage. Genetic factors Problems with the genes or chromosomes of the fetus are the most common causes of miscarriage with first pregnancy losses. These are usually not problems inherited from parents, but occur spontaneously, by chance, in the embryo. They are less commonly the cause for women with recurrent miscarriage. Anatomical factors Uterine abnormalities are associated with both first and second trimester pregnancy losses. Congenital abnormalities include double uterus and uterine septum. Other abnormalities include uterine polyps, fibroids and scar tissue inside the uterine cavity. Cervical incompetence Incompetent cervix complicates about 1 percent of pregnancies. Women with an incompetent cervix often have rapid miscarriages between 16 and 18 weeks. This condition can be successfully treated with a stitch to help hold the cervix closed. Infective factors There are no infections that are known to cause recurrent miscarriages. Industrial solvents Exposure to certain solvents, either by the pregnant woman or her partner, sometimes may cause miscarriage. Couples should discuss any chemicals in the workplace with their doctor. Endocrine factors By doing a biopsy of the lining of the uterus, doctors can test for a luteal phase defect, which means that the body secretes too little progesterone during the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. This is thought to be a factor in some cases of recurrent miscarriage. The relationship between luteal phase defect and recurrent pregnancy loss remains a subject of controversy, however, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. There is no conclusive data that treating a woman with progesterone or fertility medication is effective against recurrent pregnancy loss. Maternal endocrine disorders such as uncontrolled diabetes or severe thyroid abnormalities have also been linked to miscarriage. Environmental factors Smoking is a cause of recurrent miscarriage. Women should not smoke and also should avoid alcohol during pregnancy. According to the ASRM, there is some evidence that certain abnormalities in the DNA from a man's sperm may increase miscarriage risk. It is not known, however, how often sperm defects contribute to recurrent miscarriage. Immunology Immunology is the study of how the body recognizes something foreign or different and makes antibodies to protect itself. An immune problem called antiphospholipid syndrome is the cause for recurrent miscarriage in 3 to 15 percent of women. The College recommends that women with recurrent miscarriage be tested for lupus anticoagulant and anticardiolipin antibodies (cardiolipins are a type of phospholipids). A woman with antiphospholipid antibodies and lupus-like anticoagulant can be treated with low-dose aspirin and heparin. This therapy can increase blood flow to the placenta by inhibiting the tendency for clotting.