Waching daily Feb 16 2017

I was the youngest of 10 kids.

One of the memories was our biological father

holding a gun to our heads and saying,

"Which kid do you want to shoot first?"

And they would laugh. So the abuse was bad.

It was bad.

Not only physical, but sexual abuse, and

then my parents died when I was 10.

To me, it was the greatest gift I thought

I could ever have.

Little did I know that going into care,

it was probably just as bad when it came

to the mental abuse. Having all your

belongings in a trash can, going to a home

that you knew that you weren't loved or

really probably wanted. And then when I became

18, I was a senior in high school, and I

became homeless. The statistics were I

should have been a drug addict and

should've dropped out of high school but

I just knew my life was going to be

something different so I joined the

military.

I didn't join the military because I

loved my country. I was going in it

because I was hungry, I was cold, and

scared, and I had nowhere to go.

I made something of myself. I got out,

started working in an office, but I

really never told many people about my

story. And then I met Reece. We had a

beautiful home and an amazing relationship,

but I wanted to be a dad.

If you were gay, was two things that you

knew weren't going to happen. You weren't

going to be a parent and you're weren't going to

get married. We were seeing on the

horizon that marriage was happening and we

decided that we were going to adopt overseas.

Reece looked at me and said, "Now

explain to me again why we're not

adopting locally in foster care when we

do this?" He said, "You don't realize how

many kids you're doing a disservice to

by not telling your story."

So we decided that we would take any

child under the age of 5 and so we

put our application in and we waited. We

got a phone call saying that we have a

brother and sister. They were troubled

and they said, "The boy — he's a biter.

You sure — you got to make sure you want

this one."

[Music]

All four of them arrived at our home with trash bags.

I was absolutely shocked that after all

of these years that I had been in the

system carrying a trash bag,

these kids are carrying a trash bag. What

are we not doing to change this?

Then we started working on

being a family of six and we filed

adoption for all four kids and we went

in for the fight and it was a fight. We

went to trial. We were told we were unfit

because we were gay.

We were told we were going to turn the

boys gay. We were told that our house and

our home was not fit because we were gay.

The one thing that we did know is

that they needed to be loved. They needed to

feel safe. They needed to feel wanted.

I know I needed to feel wanted.

To talk about it now, I didn't

realize I needed to feel wanted.

We talk about what it's like

having two white dads and they don't

really care what the color of our skin

is. I can't tell them what it's like to

be black.

I can't tell them what it's like to be

gay. Even I'm gay, and I don't know how

to explain that. Alls can tell them is

how to be a good person,

how to love, how to respect each other.

To me, that's what's important.

"I came outside and I saw two baby goats."

We had found out that

Makai has severe alcohol fetal syndrome.

It was daily that Reese was having to go

to school because of Makai

and finally one day he was reading a

book and it said that if you raise a

child with alcohol fetal around water and

animals that it can help their frontal

lobe and the next thing you know we bought a farm.

"Kaley, Oreo, Peanut Butter, and Lizzie."

Three years ago, we came into this home and

Makai was just getting by. Now Makai

is so different. Makai is a chicken

whisperer and he always normally has a

chicken under his arm and my husband

only walks to the bus stop for him to

get on the bus and he stays all day at

school and my husband doesn't have to go

to school any longer and sit with him.

"Do you have a vocabulary test tomorrow?"

"No. No vocabulary test."

I'm really hoping that one day someone is going to

look at me and say, "You know what, Rob?

We're going to ban trash bags from ever being

given to a child in foster care."

So we decided that we were going to put

some cases together and we were to give

some local foster children a case.

"Then they'll take their blanket, they'll put the blanket in the case."

I felt like everyone had given up on me.

My country had given up on me, my community

had given up on me, but I want kids in foster

care to know that that's not true. That

we do care about them. We do love them.

[Music]

For more infomation >> Foster kids deserve better than trash bags for their belongings. - Duration: 5:33.

-------------------------------------------

NO GRACE PERIOD for European patents | European software patent tip - Duration: 1:25.

Let's talk about an extremely important

difference between the US and the

European patent system.

There is no grace period in Europe. Repeat after me:

No grace period in Europe. At the

European Patent Office any public

disclosure of the invention including

the inventor's own publication destroys

the novelty of the later patent application.

And this is fundamentally different from

the US system. In the US, the inventor can

publish his invention, for example at

a trade show, on a conference, or on the

internet, and you can still file a US patent

application within one year of the

public disclosure and you will get a US

patent

no problem at all. But we don't have that

in Europe. At the European Patent Office

the public disclosure of the invention

by the inventor destroys the later

patent application. So remember: no

grace period in Europe.

Oh, and by the way, my name is Bastian Best,

I'm a European patent attorney with a

passion for software patents in Europe and

beyond. If you want to know more about

software patents in Europe

check out my other videos. Also, please

share this video with all of your

colleagues if it was of any help for you

and after you've done that, put away your smart

phone, get back to work and keep

innovating! Bye bye.

For more infomation >> NO GRACE PERIOD for European patents | European software patent tip - Duration: 1:25.

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Bodybuilding Motivation - EPIC SHOULDER DAY(2017) - Duration: 3:42.

If you don't know

Now you know

it's true

It's out of your comfort zone

It's out of your norm!

Shoulders

Shoulders...

Very important body part

the konus stone

of any physique

they give you that along with the lats, with the back

they give you that V-TAPER

Shoulders

they give you the powerful looking body

One of the best features of physique is a V-TAPER

Wide shoulders - small waist

It's not even for a bodybuilder, it's for anybody

you know, you see the guy in the suit

you know

He does not to workout

but if he has wide shoulders and small waist

it's just looks right!

In bodybuilding

whatever you doing is working for you

just keep doing

You have to learn to think or to ask yourself

why you are not successful

Oh Monday morning

somebody go get up lifting more than you

Oh Monday morning

somebody go get up running faster than you

There is no difference between them and you

They not faster, they not smarter, they not stronger, they not better

THEY JUST DON'T QUIT!

For more infomation >> Bodybuilding Motivation - EPIC SHOULDER DAY(2017) - Duration: 3:42.

-------------------------------------------

Prairie Dreamers - Duration: 29:55.

(instrumental music)

Yeah, so the origin story of the office...

Maxine Adams, who is the Executive Director of the Lake Region Arts Council,

called me and said, "I'm coming down to the cities. I want to talk to you about something,"

She came to visit and she said,

"There's a space open in our building."

"Don't you want to start a Springboard satellite office?" (laughing) "in Fergus Falls?"

INTERVIEWER: She kind of said it as a joke?

Well, no. She was very serious about it.

But I just said, "Sure!" (laughing)

"That sounds fun!"

From that time when Maxine came to ask me that question,

less than a year later, we had the office open and up and running.

Honestly, in the moment,

none of the questions that you should ask in that moment

about budget and scope and sustainability...

Any of those things that, of course, people ask me a lot about now...

But, at the time, I just said, "Sure! Why not?"

(instrumental music)

(instrumental music)

We've got a guest today from Springboard for the Arts

and I'm gonna let you guys introduce yourselves. I know first names, but that's all.

Yeah, my name is Michele Anderson

and I'm the Rural Program Director at Springboard for the Arts.

My name is Naomi Schliesman

and I am the Artist Development Coordinator for Springboard for the Arts.

Now this is really a cool, cool organization

and I don't think people know a lot about it.

We're based in both in Saint Paul and Fergus Falls

and we're an economic and community development organization for artists

and our mission is to cultivate vibrant communities by connecting artists

with the resources and skills they need to make a living and a life.

We opened our Fergus Falls office in 2011 and we do a lot of programs,

but our core programming has to do with helping artists

navigate all of things that you need to run a business as an artist...

to make money, to price your work, and to market yourselves.

I'm curious to know how the two of you came to Springboard.

Those are both really good stories (laughing)

Okay, we've got about five minutes. (laughing)

We'll tell the short version. If you want the long version, come visit us.

I was living in Portland, Oregon for about 11 years, but I'm originally from Southeast Minnesota

and I just missed Minnesota and I was tired of the city.

And, then, the Springboard job to start this office popped up one day

and my heart started pounding, and I applied,

and I moved here a few months later, on my own.

And I'm originally from Fergus Falls, raised here,

and I moved away for 11 years, went on to college

and decided to come back to my community

because I have been an artist in this community

of Fergus Falls and had great support.

Mr. Blondeau was one of my big supporters from high school.

A great person and a wonderful artist himself.

I decided that I wanted to move back home

and be with my family and also work on my art,

as I'm an artist myself,

So, I came back here and went into Lake Region Arts Council

and told them I was back, talked to Maxine Adams,

and then I found Michele who was next door, in the Springboard office,

and we started talking and started collaborating on work

and that's how the story began with me at Springboard.

It sounds like you go away for 11 years. (laughing)

Yeah, that's the secret. Go away for 11 years. (laughing)

No, I remember meeting Naomi and just knowing that

it was only a matter of time before we found a way to hire her

because I really wanted a collaborator that

had the same optimism about rural communities as I did, and she was that.

(music) ♫ I got prairie, prairie dreams apart ♫

♫ In Central Minnesotayay ♫

♫ You say jump in a lake. I'll do it anyway. ♫

♫ These catterwaulin' buggaboos ♫

♫ can't take the step from these here shoes ♫

♫ In Central Minnesotayay ♫

♫ In Fergus, Fergus Falls of mine ♫

♫ I got thirteen thousand neighbors on a party line ♫

♫ Get em' all together, they'll shoot the shaw ♫

♫ and you won't go guessing anymore ♫

♫ In Fergus, Fergus Falls of mine ♫

(instrumental music)

Get comfortable with the uncomfortable!

Inner peace brings outer beauty!

I'm a collater, I'm a collater, I'm a collater!

♫ Prairie, Prairie dreams apart ♫

♫ I got long grass prairie dreams growing on my heart ♫

♫ You might prefer where the sun don't shine ♫

♫ but we've got prairie dreams inside ♫

♫ We've got prairie, prairie dreams apart ♫

♫ We've got prairie, prairie dreams apart ♫

I think the really cool thing about Springboard

is that they have two locations: one in Fergus Falls and one in Saint Paul

and they both feel like totally different companies and totally different places

because each one builds off the community around it,

which is kind of the big picture about Springboard.

They focus on making communities

and making communities aware of the arts and all communities have art.

In fact, everyone in a community does some kind of art.

If you run a drug store, you're an artist. If you make paintings, you're an artist.

Everything, from crafts to managers, are artists

because somehow that connects to art.

Somehow, art is not just a little cartoon man in a beret.

I'm the manager of PartnerSHIP 4 Health and our program is all about

trying to make the healthy choice the easy choice

through policies, systems and environmental changes with the communities.

You know, combining arts with preventative health

wasn't really the first thing that was on my mind when I'm doing my work.

But we had the great blessing

of having this relationship blossom with Springboard for the Arts.

And, now that we've had this relationship going and doing wonderful projects together,

I can't see us doing it without it.

Everytime we do some type of strategy that we work on...

we work in many different areas: worksites, schools, communities, healthcare...

I'm always thinking now, "How might the arts be incorporated into this work?"

You know, I work a lot with Lake Region Takes Root Community Garden

and so we are starting to incorporate the arts out there

and there's some real functional things that the arts actually serve.

Like, for instance, we had a group that worked with kids

at the farmers markets developing wind chimes.

So, these kids put together all these cute little items and tied them all together-- all their wind chimes--

and put the art out at the community garden and they're something that you can enjoy, obviously...

aesthetically pleasing when you come, and you can hear the wind make these wonderful sounds,

But they also chase away our deer and keep our deer away.

(sound of wind chimes)

(music)

(music)

INTERVIEWER: How has having Springboard in Fergus changed things for you?

Knowing more about grantwriting, #1.

It's approachable, the people are approachable, helpful.

It's not complicated, you know... I need things not to be complicated (laughing).

I kind of just need somebody to walk me through stuff...

not so much, obviously, the creative process, but all the other stuff.

all the...yeah...

whether it's, you know...

I think that people don't realize, when they're young and they want to be an artist,

that there's things like legal things and copyrights, and all of that...

you know, taxes, and all of that stuff that's important.

You know, along with the grantwriting, you have all these other things

that you don't just go out there and paint.

Your art makes me feel happy!

(instrumental music)

I give a lot of kudos to Springboard for the Arts

for setting up an office in Fergus Falls.

I believe it's their first outstate, or greater Minnesota, office outside of the Twin Cities.

And a lot of their work is to legitimize, or help in the business aspect, for artists.

I mean, they help so artists can actually make a living doing art.

And so they help in a lot of practical applications:

through insurance, and I think through filling out grants,

and these practical aspects of the business world that you have to get involved in.

I mean, if you want to survive, you have to learn how to write a grant

and get insurance, and fill out forms, and taxes, and so forth and so on...

I mean, that's just the way it is.

And I think Michele Anderson is, in her own quiet way,

she already, in just a few years, has established herself in the community.

I think a large part of that is that they're able

to secure pretty significant chunks of funding like through

the Kirkbride Arts and History Weekend.

So, once you start kind of talking about money and securing grants...

then people will listen a little bit more.

Because, again, Fergus Falls is a practical community and money does talk.

(instrumental music)

This will be an interesting meeting because I don't really know what they want.

INTERVIEWER: So, do you do this thing sort of thing often? Where you go to a place to just be Michele?

(Michele laughing)

Yeah, I tend to go to a lot of these little meetings

where people just are starting an organizing process.

In this case, I think it's a newly formed arts advisory council to the city.

All that I know is that they've been talking

about doing some more public art in town here.

Maxine from the Arts Council recommended that I come and talk at their meeting.

COUNCIL MEMBER: We're at the bottom of the barrel here

and we're trying to move up that ladder

and learn and try to create something

that the city can accept (laughing).

MICHELE: Right, so I think the question is always...

where the arts can help the city meet its potential?

So, for some communities, it's about the physical landscape...

and that's definitely a draw if you're looking to kind of generate tourism and stuff,

then maybe the big thing to focus on is public art.

But, in other communities-- and I know this has been really true in Fergus Falls--

it's been more about the social fabric and how

the arts can help people get to know each other better

and help different generations interact.

I know that has been the most important part of our work there.

COUNCIL MEMBER: We would like to have a backdrop...

other than just our stores, but to support our stores...

where people come to town and they say, "Wow, great shops. Beautiful town."

We don't really have that right now.

MICHELE: So, is there a place that you all can think of that is ripe for a piece of public art...

that, you would be like, "Oh my gosh, if we did a call for art,

and just got proposals from artists in the region..."

Is there a place that comes to mind right away?

COUNCIL MEMBER: Well, there is, right across from the gas station, some kind of sculpture or something.

ANOTHER COUNCIL MEMBER: Or even like an amphitheatre...

The key is to kind of think about what the focus is...

because you can have just endless ideas

and you can even take the same arts approach to all of those ideas...

So, the question is really more about what do you hope comes out of a large arts project?

Is it a more vibrant downtown?

Is it a better understanding of the community's history, both by locals and others?

And, even though you would probably end up with all those goals in the end,

starting with that one goal is really, really key in getting on the same page...

both as this group, but also getting out and talking to people.

MICHELE: It was a really good conversation.

Naomi and I both go into those meetings

just having huge expectations for ourselves

when really all people need is to vent about something.

A lot of the people that come to us come to us because they're so frustrated...

frustrated about all kinds of things...

Like this guy was frustrated with paperwork (laughing)

Or they're frustrated with the money from the Arts Board always going to urban artists.

I think something that I love about working at Springboard is that we try to bring optimism

to every situation, in a world that's always saying "no"

or always wants to know how much money something is going to cost...

It's just starting with, "Yes, let's try something."

I need these drives.

I just can't really imagine doing this work in a place

where I don't get to have a nice, long drive afterwards.

MICHELE: When you're a sounding board for new ideas,

and you want to cheer people along

and you want to help them get started,

it's a really fun part of the job.

But, if you're an introvert, it can take a lot out of you

because you're giving a lot in that process, just by the act of listening

and the act of helping people take their first steps.

(instrumental music)

(baby cooing)

(instrumental music)

NAOMI: Kirk, did you see this today?

No... (gasps happily) Number 3? I was hoping!

INTERVIEWER: Isn't this a great example of what we're talking about?

This is what they have done.

This building belongs to Fergus.

Fergus belongs to this building,

and that's what they brought up.

"Hey you guys, you can't tear this down... you can't ignore it."

This is what...okay, I said this again, I like to repeat myself...

This is what Springboard for the Arts does... DID to this community.

We still don't know the fate of that building.

We don't know yet if it's going to get saved.

But I think that Michele and Naomi and Springboard for the Arts

have given people a lot more reasons to care about that building.

They have focused a lot more community attention on that building.

They've been very creative in triggering new ways for people to think about the building.

You know, I'm friends with Michele on Facebook and sometimes Michele has commented, on Facebook,

"I wonder if the public identity, or public image, of Springboard for the Arts,

within the community of Fergus Falls, is sometimes too closely connected to the Kirkbride?"

...that maybe the Kirkbride somehow dominates our image

or what people think of when they think of Springboard for the Arts?

My answer to that is, "If that is the case, so be it!"

Through this, we have been able to offer great resources for artists...

to continue to work with us when they're done with their residency program.

Kristina Estell was here for our second session last year

and actually did a huge installation on the outside of the Kirkbride building,

where she hung up curtains on one of the rotundras.

She got to document that and, this year, she's actually one of the McKnight Fellowship winners.

Not only that, but from one of her public outreach programs, we got to go inside the Kirkbride building.

She took castings from the architecture inside the historical building,

did a workshop, which was open to the public,

where they could come in and do a casting workshop with her

and take a piece of history home with them.

WORKSHOP PARTICIPANT: I also was very interested in the gal that made molds of the various places in the Kirkbride

and I attended those classes and made a mold, which I haven't completed yet.

(Maxine laughing)

I still have to paint it.

MAXINE: And it's title is... Gene! (laughing)

(music)

One of the great things about working with Springboard,

as artists coming into the community-- we're not from the community, right? --

So, we come in and have a community organization that can really help us

connect deeply and quickly with the right people,

and it was obvious that Springboard had spent the time laying the groundwork.

They have built a lot of trust already.

And I think having Springboard in Fergus Falls as a primer for artists...

It's like there's already this surface level by which we can come in and paint over.

It's already primed, or ready for the art

to come and lay on top of it so there isn't

so many surprises when you walk up to someone on the street

and say, "Hi! I'm an artist working on this project."

It's not "why here...why me...why now?"

It's more like, "Oh! Springboard?" (laughing)

Yeah (laughing) Right, exactly.

So, there's an instant connection to the community as artists coming in because

so many of us that do regional work,

one of the fears--- or, one of the hurdles-- is overcoming

the outsider-coming-in-syndrome, which is like "I'm going to come do this to you."

I think Springboard has helped folks who maybe don't

necessarily identify as artists or arts supporters

to understand what the creative process is about

and so they can plug in where they feel comfortable

and know that this is something that we're doing together.

It's not, again, just an artist coming in and doing something to them.

It's doing something with them.

(instrumental music)

There's a really deep, cultural story to be told in rural America.

And the way that story is told- - the way that we think about the stakes of that story--

is constantly being revised by the people that are in those places,

who are thinking through those questions themselves on the ground.

And I think Springboard is just one of the preeminent spaces for that work in rural America.

There's an underground river that Springboard and their collaborators and their communities are really sensitive to--

It's found at this intersection of:

"This is our lived, everyday experience in a place and we value that."

"That is the foundation for why we're here and why we would want to make work. "We can bring artists into that conversation."

The artists kind of have a little bit of the divining rod

to show us the angle to our everyday life that maybe we're not considering.

You know, there's a lot of emphasis, in creative placemaking, on the product.

"How do we measure this product?"

"How do we understand the effectiveness, the success, of X, Y or Z Project?"

I feel, with Springboard's work in Fergus Falls,

that we can arrive at those illuminations--

things that can be measured, ways to analyze and look at the success of a project---

but it's all about the process.

(instrumental music)

Careful, it's sharp!

(crowd laughing)

We have to kind of pull this tight. Are we ready?

Now, crowd, I know you're all very good at math.

We're gonna count all the way to three. (laughing)

Ready? One, two, three!

(crowd applauds)

(instrumental music)

Yeah, alright!

(laughing)

(singing)

(laughing)

(singing and laughing)

SPRINGBOARD!!!

Ahhhhhhhhhh

FOR.....THE....ARTS!!!

Ahhhhhhhh

(splash)

Whoa, helping artists make a living and life.

For more infomation >> Prairie Dreamers - Duration: 29:55.

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Sicuicho, Michoacan, Mexico, tradicional Purhepecha dance for the God on Candlemas - Duration: 30:29.

Mexico is full of diversity.

When the Spanish arrived in America, they mixed the catholicism with the local cultures.

The indegenes had to accept this new religion but they also keep some of there old ceremonies.

I am in Sicuicho, a Purhepechean village in Michoacan, Mexico.

Every year, for the Candlemas they organize a big party where the villagers dance a traditional

dance to thank the catholic Virgin and the child of God.

As a game, the high part and the low part of the village compete to be the best dancers

! I thank all the people I met in this village for letting me participate and film their

traditional cuture. Thank you

For more infomation >> Sicuicho, Michoacan, Mexico, tradicional Purhepecha dance for the God on Candlemas - Duration: 30:29.

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Is the great barrier reef dying - Duration: 6:13.

while editing this video I realized there are

two stories need to be told

most corals are brown

they come in all different colors Browns

yellows greens blues purple yellows

because they have the algae in their

tissues just like land plants come in

all different colors corals come in all different colors

that's the misperception that people

have is that most corals are very

colorful

now if you would have gone in the reef

eventually depth of the water if you

want to the reef flat very shallow water

receded mostly dead coral that was

mostly alive early this year

overall we lost thirty five percent of

the coral cover north of caines in four months

with this big bleaching event that we had

can you elaborate on that last beaching event that you had

talk a little bit more about that?

It was the biggest bleaching event ever recorded on the

planet affected 93% the reefs on the

great barrier reef. Can you explain bleaching

events a little bit deeper?

ok coral bleaching is a natural

phenomenon it happened when the water

gets warmer over 29-30 degrees Celsius corals

lose their symbiotic algae they turn white

and the term bleaching and they starve to death

that's a natural phenomenon. But that we have

human induced climate change these

bleaching events are happening more

frequently more severely as time goes on

we all are we all argue about the carbon

dioxide in the atmosphere but nobody's

paying attention what's happened in the

ocean all this carbon dioxide is now

defusing in the ocean for the last 60

years and forming carbonic acid they

reckoned by the end of the century the

ocean be so acid the coral reefs really

really hard time the coral reefs can actually

dissolve away along with all our seafood

what's something that you think everyone

should know about

the reef they don't seem to pay attention to

they don't bring enough attention to?

corals are like trees they absorb carbon if

you pick up a piece of coral your feel the weight of it

probably more than half that

is absorb carbon dioxide trees

absorb carbon but if you look at

the fact that we're losing our coral

reefs and our forests you can see that

we're losing the ability to absorb from

other excess carbon we are putting in the air

which is now getting in the ocean

we need to realize we have one planet earth only

accordingly past the reef and the planet on, we don't doesn't

really make any difference doesn't

matter what we do we make good or bad

decisions

coral reefs will come back with out without the human race

because people need corals, but corals don't need people.

For more infomation >> Is the great barrier reef dying - Duration: 6:13.

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For the Record: Rural Schools - Duration: 22:54.

For more infomation >> For the Record: Rural Schools - Duration: 22:54.

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Trump's Empty 'Ultimatum' to NATO - Duration: 7:22.

Trump�s Empty �Ultimatum� to NATO.

BY KEVIN BARON.

Defense Secretary Mattis just called for Europe to increase defense spending or else...what

exactly?

President Donald Trump�s �ultimatum� to NATO is, at best, as clear as mud and,

at worst, an empty threat that will harm U.S. security interests. It�s a vague call for

European member nations to increase their individual defense spending, which is the

same thing four previous defense secretaries under President Barack Obama said every time

they traveled to Europe for this thrice-a-year meeting of national security heads.

In Trump�s message, delivered by Jim Mattis during his first trip to Brussels as defense

secretary, is a threat: pay up, or else. But what else, exactly? All Mattis said is that

if European members states don�t do more, America will �moderate its commitment to

the alliance.�

So, let me get this straight: Washington thinks Europe isn�t taking the threat to NATO seriously

enough. It says pay up and do more. If not, Washington threatens to defend the rest of

NATO less? How does that make America safer, again?

�NATO arose out of strategic necessity. NATO must now evolve out of strategic necessity,�

Mattis said, according to prepared remarks. �We all understand that the alliance must

transform to remain relevant.� Then he said that he �registers� Europe�s nervousness

about Trump�s commitment to alliance and pledged the new president�s �strong support�

for it.

Look, we�ve heard some version of this for years, if not decades. In his final trip to

NATO in 2011, then-Defense Secretary Robert Gates really let �em have it amid fears

that NATO would stop spending on or sending troops to Afghanistan. Before the Chicago

summit in 2012, I wrote about the worry over NATO�s �paper-mache� commitments to

Afghanistan. Leon Panetta, Chuck Hagel, and Ash Carter have since gone to Brussels and

told the rest of NATO they need to increase defense spending. Here�s Obama, Hagel, and

Secretary of State John Kerry pushing NATO in 2014 to open their arsenals and pocketbooks

after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But here�s the problem. Europe has decided what level of defense spending and posture

it needs for its defense. Just like in Washington, every year, each country has a budget process

or elections, and no matter how hard or forceful American defense secretaries shake their fists

the needle has not moved that much. Here�s two handy charts on NATO spending.

NATO members so often are pressured to �reform� that they set up a permanent unit in Norfolk,

Va., called Allied Transformation Command and led by a 4-star general or admiral. You

know who held that job? Mattis. He knows plenty about NATO reform and relevance. On Wednesday,

he cited Gates� frustrations of 10 years ago and the reality of today. But he gave

no clarity as to what Trump would do if NATO members do not do what Trump wants.

�America will meet its responsibilities, but if your nations do not want to see America

moderate its commitment to the alliance, each of your capitals needs to show its support

for our common defense,� he said.

For several years, the favored path to a more efficient NATO had been �smart defense�:

allowing members to determine what capabilities they can each afford to support and lend to

NATO, so that everyone doesn�t have to possess and know how to do everything.

In 2014, former British Ambassador to the U.S. Peter Westmacott outlined the UK�s

vision for NATO at a Defense One event. He said even smart defense requires commitments.

�Clearly, this requires all allies to pull their weight. That includes those member states

whose defense spending has fallen below the agreed threshold of 2 percent of GDP,� Westmacott

said. �Just a few months ago, people were asking why we even needed a Summit. �The

Cold War is over,� they said. �Europe�s security is assured. No need for a transatlantic

Alliance.� Nobody is saying that any more. On the contrary, there�s pretty much universal

acceptance of the importance of the alliance today as in the past.�

Little has changed. Either Washington accepts what Europe wants for itself or Washington

is going to have to fill that gap alone, through bilateral agreements to put additional American

troops and equipment in place on its own, at a much costlier rate than if done as part

of the NATO collective. That doesn�t square with Trump wanting Europe to pick up more

of the defense tab.

The real concern here is that NATO�s effectiveness is being measured too much by its budget balance

sheets. Since 9/11, NATO has shifted from being a standing defensive alliance into also

an expeditionary one that deploys troops to Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, and across

the Middle East and Africa to help fight terrorist groups. And in the past year, NATO has sent

more American and NATO troops to Eastern Europe and created its first intelligence-sharing

shop. Here�s �everything you need to know about NATO,� today.

The bottom line is Trump�s campaign fist-shaking somehow has to square with reality. Rhetorically,

Trump is all over the place. He called NATO �obsolete� last March, then backtracked

to say NATO was important, then said �obsolete� again in January. Now Mattis is, too, calling

NATO a �bedrock� and then threatening to weaken it, all on the same trip.

U.S. generals don�t want to go against their civilian commander publicly, but you can�t

find one who agrees that NATO is �obsolete.� Just the opposite: they give NATO robust support.

If all that this is about is defense spending, then Trump and Mattis have a tough fight ahead.

They aren�t fighting internal Pentagon bean-counters and planners, or a single NATO budget office

or NATO leader. They�re fighting 27 parliaments and the entirety of European electorate.

But they�re also being watched by the entire senior U.S. military command who works day

in and day out to keep NATO together, show a unified front to Russia (the reason NATO

exists), and to the fight against Islamic extremist terrorism at it�s Southern doorstep

and growing from within.

Trump�s NATO �ultimatum� is as precarious a red line as Obama�s was on Syria. If NATO

countries call Trump�s bluff, then what? The U.S. still will honor Article 5, Trump

already has said. Anything short of that would mean the U.S. would pull out of NATO with

less troops, funding, intelligence sharing, or some other capability. Those options only

seem to weaken European security. And that weakens American security.

For more infomation >> Trump's Empty 'Ultimatum' to NATO - Duration: 7:22.

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OAKLAND: City program sets up college funds for Oakland newborns and kindergartners - Duration: 1:53.

THAT'S STILL A LOT OF MONEY.

MONEY THAT A LOT OF KIDS IN

OAKLAND DON'T HAVE.

TONIGHT CHRISTIN AYERS TELLS US

ABOUT A NEW PROGRAM.. THAT AIMS

TO GIVE STUDENTS A LEG UP..

STARTING WHEN THEY'RE JUST 5

YEARS OLD.

ALONE...

For more infomation >> OAKLAND: City program sets up college funds for Oakland newborns and kindergartners - Duration: 1:53.

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Senior citizen fined for not clearing snow - Duration: 1:53.

WITH REACTION

FROM ONE SUCH RESIDENT,

76-YEAR-OLD WOMAN.

SERA: DON'T LET HER AGE FOR YOU

HERE IT WITH HER SOUTHIE SPIRIT

SHE CAN SHOVEL LIKE THE BEST OF

THEM.

THE CITY DID NOT TAKE SHE DID A

GOOD ENOUGH JOB AND FIND HER

$200.

SHE MAY BE 76 YEARS

OLD THAT

LORRAINE WALSH SHOVELS

AND SAW

THE SIDEWALK OUTSIDE HER HOME ON

HER OWN.

>> I ENJOYED IT.

SERA: LATE SUNDAY NIGHT STORM

PROVED MORE CHALLENGING WITH

WIND AND GOING SNOW.

>> I PUT SALT ON IT AND

I WAS

ABLE TO CHUNK AWAY SOME OF IT

BUT IT STILL WAS STUBBORN.

SERA: HER EFFORTS NOT GOOD

ENOUGH FOR THE CITY.

WALSH GOT A TICKET IN HER

MAILBOX TIMESTAMP TO 3:00 IN THE

MORNING WITH A PICTURE OF HER

SIDEWALK.

THE FINE, $200.

>> AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY.

SERA: THAT FINE FOR COMMERCIAL

PROPERTY BECAUSE OF HER

BROTHER'S SMALL BUSINESS IN

THEIR LONGTIME FAMILY HOME.

TICKETS FOR RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY

TYPICALLY $50.

ALL SYNONYMOUS BE CLEARED THREE

HOURS AFTER THE SNOW STOPPED

FALLING.

>> A LITTLE BIT FRIGHTENING

BECAUSE -- I LIKE THE MAYOR.

I THINK HE IS HONEST

.

STRAIGHTFORWARD.

LOTS OF GOOD COMMON SENSE.

I THINK THIS IS EXTREME.

SERA: WALSH IS HOPING THE CITY

WILL GIVE RESIDENTS MORE TIME OR

AT LEAST A WARNING BEFORE

ISSUING A TICKET.

>> I THINK EVERYONE IS FOR THAT.

JUST GIVE US A LITTLE MORE TIME.

A LITTLE EXTRA WARNING.

SERA: MRS. WALSH IS PLANNING TO

APPEAL THE TICKET.

AS FOR THE CITY IN RESPONSE TO

THE STORY THEY SAY KEEPING THE

SIDEWALKS AND STREETS CLEAR OF

For more infomation >> Senior citizen fined for not clearing snow - Duration: 1:53.

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Business closures planned in Triangle, rally in Raleigh for 'Day Without Immigrants' - Duration: 2:06.

AND THEN WE DROP TO 40 BY 9:00

P.M.

AND THE WEEKEND WARM UP IS

COMING UP.

MAGGIE.

WELL, PEOPLE ARE SHOWING

SUPPORT FOR IMMIGRANTS IN OUR

COMMUNITY.

IT IS ALL PART OF A NATIONWIDE

EFFORT.

AND NOW OUR LAUREN HAVILAND IS

JOINING US LIVE FROM RALEIGH.

GOOD AFTERNOON, LAUREN.

Reporter: GOOD AFTERNOON TO

YOU, MAGGIE.

I AM TOLD THERE ARE MORE THAN

50 BUSINESSES HERE IN RALEIGH

CLOSED TODAY.

THOUSANDS DID NOT GO TO WORK OR

SCHOOL.

NOW THIS WAS JUST TAKEN MOMENTS

AGO AND THE SCENE NEAR RALEIGH

STILL LOOKS VERY SIMILAR,

HUNDREDS ARE HERE HOLDING SIGNS

AND CHANTING TOGETHER.

A SIMILAR RALEIGH HAPPENED IN

DURHAM THIS MORNING, AS OTHER

CITIES ACROSS THE NATION, THE

BOYCOTT IS CALLED A DAY WITHOUT

IMMIGRANTS.

IT CALLS FOR PEOPLE TO NOT GO

TO SCHOOL, WORK, OR SHOP A

MESSAGE THEY HOPE GETS TO THE

TRUMP ADMINISTRATION.

FOLKS I SPOKE TO SAY THEY ARE A

POWERFUL COMMUNITY AND THEY

WANT TO MAKE SURE IT IS KNOWN

SO THEY CAN STOP LIVING IN

FEAR.

AND THEY MAKE A DIFFERENCE

HERE IN OUR CAN YOU WANT,

BECAUSE THEY MAKE US MORE OPEN

MINDED TO DIFFERENT CULTURES

AND PEOPLE SAY WELL, IF THEY

ARE COMING FROM A DIFFERENT

COUNTRY, THEY HAVE TO CONFORM

TO US AND THAT IS NOT ALWAYS

THE CASE.

BUT THIS IS A NATION THAT

SHOULD WELCOME ALL PEOPLE, ALL

OF THE TIME.

AND TO DO WHAT WE ARE DOING

RIGHT NOW WITH THE ROUNDING UP

OF IMMIGRANTS IS INHUMAN, I

THINK.

Reporter: AND YOU CAN SEE

THAT THIS RALLY IS STILL GOING

ON.

WE ARE TOLD THEY COULD BE HERE

IN MORSE SQUARE FOR ANOTHER

COUPLE OF HOURS.

FOLKS HERE HOPE THAT THE MESS

AN GETS TO THE--MESSAGE GETS TO

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION AND

THEY ARE HOPING TO GET TO

GOVERNOR ROY COOPER, THEY ARE

For more infomation >> Business closures planned in Triangle, rally in Raleigh for 'Day Without Immigrants' - Duration: 2:06.

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Get FREE In-App Purchases iOS 10 - 10.2 iPhone, iPad, iPod || IAPCrazy With Jailbreak [2017] - Duration: 4:08.

Get free in app purchases for iOS!

Working in 2017

For more infomation >> Get FREE In-App Purchases iOS 10 - 10.2 iPhone, iPad, iPod || IAPCrazy With Jailbreak [2017] - Duration: 4:08.

-------------------------------------------

Best Free And Popular Games For Smartphones - Top 25 Most Popular Low Size Games | Part 2 | - Duration: 7:15.

Best Free And Popular Games For Smartphones

For more infomation >> Best Free And Popular Games For Smartphones - Top 25 Most Popular Low Size Games | Part 2 | - Duration: 7:15.

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#18 DIY Easter egg eggs decoration ideas design tutorial decoupage for bedinners - Duration: 5:02.

Wooden blank and pencil

Sponge

Acrylic primer for wood

Water and brush with paper napkin

Hairspray to make the napkin stronger

Decoupage glue

Fingers are the best multi-tools

Paint white places by light green acrylic paint

Paint places between light green circles by pink acrylic paint

Varnish

Crystals

For more infomation >> #18 DIY Easter egg eggs decoration ideas design tutorial decoupage for bedinners - Duration: 5:02.

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How Do I Know if I Need Braces | Center for Cosmetic & General Dentistry - Duration: 1:23.

The reason that anybody needs braces is

because they have a malocclusion, in

other words a bad bite. There are three

very broad categories of malocclusions

and they are class one, where the

anterior-posterior dimension of your

teeth it's exactly spot-on but there's

something else going on.

It can either be crowding where you have

overlapping of your top or bottom teeth

or spacing, or we can even have a deep

bite which is where your top teeth

overlap your bottom teeth too much. Class

two is where your top teeth are too much

in front of your bottom teeth. So, in that

situation you can have a deep bite also

where you can barely see your bottom

teeth when you smile, you can have

crowding or spacing. And the third type

of malocclusion is a class three. And

that is where your bottom teeth are in

front of your top teeth and that can be

an open bite situation where when you

smile your front teeth don't fit

together all the way or a deep bite

situation and we can also have crowding

our spacing in a class 3. The only way to

truly evaluate if you're a good

candidate for orthodontic treatment is

to come in for an evaluation. I'm Dr.

Cassie and I would love to see you for

an evaluation. If you have questions

about this or any other orthodontic

treatments please contact us at (585) 22

-SMILE or centerforcosmeticdentist.com.

For more infomation >> How Do I Know if I Need Braces | Center for Cosmetic & General Dentistry - Duration: 1:23.

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Best Free And Popular Games For Smartphones - Top 25 Most Popular Low Size Games | Part 1 | - Duration: 9:06.

Top 25 Most Popular Low Size Games | Part 1 |