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I'm just trying to get a feel for our community here and the breadth we have within.

Maybe you could all add that to your About page on your profile?

A video about a missile system that is feared by US Military and NATO. The Iskander-M has no shortage of admirers. They include the Islamic State and other Islamist entities in Syria, Poland, Turkey, NATO as a whole, and of course the United States. Seemingly no other Russian weapon system is as likely to steal a headline as soon as it makes an appearance somewhere on the global chess board. To what does it owe its worldwide fan base?

In part the answer lies in its actual combat abilities. It is a medium-range missile system which uses a combination of maneuvering, and therefore difficult to intercept, ballistic missiles capable of carrying a variety of conventional and nuclear warheads. It is extremely accurate, with a circular error probable of under 10 meters, which makes it useful against heavily protected, small targets that would require a direct hit in order to be destroyed. Its officially acknowledged range of 500km makes it a weapon of far more than tactical importance, as it can destroy sites far behind enemy front lines and hold in check enemy value targets such as key infrastructure, high-level command posts, and logistical nodes. The entire system is based on highly mobile wheeled platforms which are suitable for aerial transport by heavy airlifters. Iskander-M deployment to Syria demonstrated Russia’s ability to send these powerful warfighting and conventional deterrent weapons to almost any friendly part of the globe on a moment’s notice. As of April 2016, the Russian military had six complete Iskander-M brigades in service, with each brigade possessing 12 launch vehicles. Since each vehicle carries two ready-to-launch missiles, with reloads carried by the brigade’s resupply vehicles, each brigade is capable of a simultaneous 24-missile volley that would be sufficient to saturate any tactical anti-ballistic missile system currently in service or development. In effect, a single Iskander-M brigade is equivalent to 3 Buyan-M missile corvettes, in terms of firepower, though the land-based launchers can be rapidly reloaded whereas the corvettes would have to return to base for replenishment.

The other reason for Iskander-M’s popularity is its political dimension. By the late 1980s, the Soviet military was using two sub-strategic ballistic missile systems, the 120km-range Tochka, and the 450km-range Oka. Even though Oka’s range was below the 500km threshold of the Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces treaty, the Gorbachev government in effect made the US a present by pledging to eliminate the Okas along with longer-range missiles. Even though it left the Soviet military without a modern operational-range missile system, evidently Gorbachev and others hoped that such weapons would be unnecessary in the era of the “New World Order.” They turned out to be wrong.

The Iskander-M was developed and deployed in order to fill that gap once it became clear that NATO’s intentions toward the post-Cold War Russia were far from benign. NATO, and especially the US, has undertaken several initiatives to render the INF Treaty obsolete. They include the deployment of intermediate-range air-launched cruise missiles such as the JASSM carried by tactical aircraft, whose existence clearly violates the spirit of the INF Treaty. The US Army has since deployed large numbers of ATACMS ballistic missiles whose officially acknowledged range is 300km, though the missile’s actual potential is unknown, and the LPRF program is supposed to yield an even-longer ranged missile for the US military. Cruise missile carrying US naval ships, including the rather well-known USS Donald Cook, regularly approach Russian coasts. But the most direct US violation of the INF Treaty is the placement of land-based anti-ballistic systems in Eastern Europe. These systems use the naval Mk41 launchers which are perfectly capable of using the entire range of Tomahawk cruise missiles. Therefore the deployment of these ABM systems also means a US breakout from the INF Treaty.

The Iskander-M therefore should be viewed as a Russian response to the US INF violations. In addition to the 9М723 ballistic missile with a range of 500km, each launch vehicle can also fire the 9M728 cruise missiles whose actual capabilities have never been revealed, though the missile has been tested out to at least 200km. Considering that the size of these missiles is comparable to the Kalibr sea-launched weapons whose range exceeds 2,000km, there is a definite possibility that the Iskander-M could be equipped with weapons of similar range unless the US begins to display more of an interest in re-establishing a mutually acceptable security framework for Europe.

Video Description Credits: South Front Team J.Hawk, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson

Video Credits: South Front Team J.Hawk, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson

Thumbnail Credit: Bin im Garten Modified by ArmedForcesUpdate

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO /ˈneɪtoʊ/; French: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique Nord; OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. NATO's headquarters are located in Haren, Brussels, Belgium, where the Supreme Allied Commander also resides. Belgium is one of the 28 member states across North America and Europe, the newest of which, Albania and Croatia, joined in April 2009. An additional 22 countries participate in NATO's Partnership for Peace program, with 15 other countries involved in institutionalized dialogue programmes. The combined military spending of all NATO members constitutes over 70 percent of the global total.[4] Members' defense spending is supposed to amount to 2 percent of GDP.

NATO was little more than a political association until the Korean War galvanized the organization's member states, and an integrated military structure was built up under the direction of two US supreme commanders. The course of the Cold War led to a rivalry with nations of the Warsaw Pact, which formed in 1955. Doubts over the strength of the relationship between the European states and the United States ebbed and flowed, along with doubts over the credibility of the NATO defence against a prospective Soviet invasion—doubts that led to the development of the independent French nuclear deterrent and the withdrawal of France from NATO's military structure in 1966 for 30 years. After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, the organization was drawn into the breakup of Yugoslavia, and conducted its first military interventions in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 and later Yugoslavia in 1999. Politically, the organization sought better relations with former Warsaw Pact countries, several of which joined the alliance in 1999 and 2004.

Article 5 of the North Atlantic treaty, requiring member states to come to the aid of any member state subject to an armed attack, was invoked for the first and only time after the 11 September 2001 attacks,[6] after which troops were deployed to Afghanistan under the NATO-led ISAF. The organization has operated a range of additional roles since then, including sending trainers to Iraq, assisting in counter-piracy operations[7] and in 2011 enforcing a no-fly zone over Libya in accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1973. The less potent Article 4, which merely invokes consultation among NATO members, has been invoked five times: by Turkey in 2003 over the Iraq War; twice in 2012 by Turkey over the Syrian Civil War, after the downing of an unarmed Turkish F-4 reconnaissance jet, and after a mortar was fired at Turkey from Syria;[8] in 2014 by Poland, following the Russian intervention in Crimea;[9] and again by Turkey in 2015 after threats by the Islamic State to its territorial integrity.
 

Meanwhile a session in the Turkish parliament turned physical as lawmakers went from talk to action. Scuffles erupted in a heated debate over constitutional reform, which could see MPs stripped of their immunity from prosecution.
 

A cyclist narrowly escapes a collision with a large cargo truck at an intersection in Nantong City, China. According to surveillance footage, the cyclist named Su was waiting for the light to change at the intersection. While he was waiting, a small truck was driving towards the junction. The truck braked suddenly causing a large cargo truck behind it to lose control, crash into a minivan and slid towards Su, narrowly missing him. 
 

When Warren Buffett offers investing advice, everyone listens. The world’s greatest investor has never been shy about the strategies that have helped him amass a $72 billion net worth and grow his company, Berkshire Hathaway, into a juggernaut valued at over $212 billion. 

But one thing he doesn’t do is encourage the average individual investor to try to mimic his success. The best advice he can give those investors, Buffett has said, is to do exactly the opposite. We’ve parsed through some of Buffett’s more popular insights on investing to come up with a few that apply to the average worker looking simply to invest for long-term, steady growth.

1. The worst investment you can make over time: cash. 

We always keep enough cash around so I feel very comfortable and don't worry about sleeping at night. But it's not because I like cash as an investment. Cash is a bad investment over time. But you always want to have enough so that nobody else can determine your future essentially. 

2. Invest in a broad-based index fund that tracks the S&P 500. 

If you are a professional and have confidence, then I would advocate lots of concentration. For everyone else, if it’s not your game, participate in total diversification. The economy will do fine over time. Make sure you don’t buy at the wrong price or the wrong time. That’s what most people should do, buy a cheap index fund, and slowly dollar cost average into it. If you try to be just a little bit smart, spending an hour a week investing, you’re liable to be really dumb.

Recommended reading: “Common Sense on Mutual Funds: New Imperatives for the Intelligent Investor” by Vanguard founder Jack Bogle. Any investor in funds should read [Bogle’s books]. They have all you need to know.

3. Invest in yourself. 

“The best investment you can make is in your own abilities. Anything you can do to develop your own abilities or business is likely to be more productive.” 

4. If you’re determined to pick stocks, don’t buy into a business you don’t understand. 

[Individual investors] ought to think about what he or she understands. Let's just say they were going to put their whole family's net worth in a single business. Would that be a business they would consider? Or would they say, "Gee, I don't know enough about that business to go into it?" If so, they should go on to something else.... There are all kinds of businesses that [longtime partner and vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Charlie Munger] and I don't understand, but that doesn't cause us to stay up at night. It just means we go on to the next one, and that's what the individual investor should do.

5. Focus on the competition as well. 

[Buying stock in a company is] buying a piece of a business. If they were going to buy into a local service station or convenience store, what would they think about? They would think about the competition, the competitive position both of the industry and the specific location, the person they have running it and all that. 

6. Invest for the long haul. 

“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes”

7. The hardest part about investing: trusting yourself. 

You need to divorce your mind from the crowd. The herd mentality causes all these IQ's to become paralyzed. I don't think investors are now acting more intelligently, despite the intelligence. Smart doesn't always equal rational. To be a successful investor you must divorce yourself from the fears and greed of the people around you, although it is almost impossible.

The above was a masterful spanish interpretation of this English song which originally was composed in Italiano.

"You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" (originally a 1965 Italian song by Pino Donaggio and lyricist Vito Pallavicini: '"Io che non vivo (senza te)") is a 1966 hit recorded by English singer Dusty Springfield that proved to be her most successful hit single, reaching No.1 UK[2] and No.4 US: the song subsequently charted in the UK via remakes by Elvis Presley (No.9/1971), Guys 'n' Dolls (No.5/1976) and Denise Welch (No.23/1995), with Presley's version also reaching No.11 US in 1970.[3][4] "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" was also a Top Ten hit in Ireland for Red Hurley (No.5/1978), in Italy for Wall Street Crash (No.6/1983), and - as "En koskaan" - in Finland for Kristina Hautala (No.6/1966).

When I said I needed you
You said you would always stay
It wasn't me who changed but you
And now you've gone away

Don't you see
That now you've gone
And I'm left here on my own
That I have to follow you
And beg you to come home?

You don't have to say you love me
Just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand
Believe me, believe me
I can't help but love you
But believe me
I'll never tie you down

Left alone with just a memory
Life seems dead and so unreal
All that's left is loneliness
There's nothing left to feel

You don't have to say you love me
Just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand
Believe me, believe me

You don't have to say you love me
Just be close at hand
You don't have to stay forever
I will understand
Believe me, believe me, believe me

Songwriters: VICKI WICKHAM, SIMON NAPIER-BELL, VITO PALLAVACINI, GIUSEPPE (PINO) DONAGGIO

You Don't Have To Say You Love Me lyrics © SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP

This song has a great melody with a catchy phrase.

Nos quedamos solos
como cada noche
hoy te siento tristre
y sé muy bien porque.
Tu querrás decirme
"He cambiado mucho,
el amor se acaba
y quiero terminar".

Yo que ni un momento puedo estar lejos de ti,
¿cómo soportar la vida entera ya sin ti?
te quiero, te quiero
te juro que yo no puedo vivir sin tu amor.

Ven aqui abrazame
yo te amo tanto
y te pido porfavor
que creas más en mi.

Yo que ni un momento puedo estar lejos de ti
¿cómo soportar la vida entera ya sin ti?
te quiero, te quiero

Yo que ni un momento puedo estar lejos de ti
¿cómo soportar la vida entera ya sin ti?
te quiero, te quiero, te quiero, te quiero.

I love the comparison of the metaphors juxtaposed with the varied melody which goes from slow crescendo to a full out passionate climax back into a slow almost nostalgic melancholy.

Well done composer and singer!!

One of my favorite songs of all time.

"Amante Del Amor"
 

Songwriters
JUAN CARLOS CALDERON LOPEZ DE ARROYABE

Songwriters
CESPEDES RODRIGUEZ, FRANCISCO FABIAN

Published by
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

Anchor and Vignette ads are designed for mobile websites and do not count toward page ad limits of 3 (or 4 on some sites)

The first version of AdSense Anchor ads — also called overlays ads — launched in 2013, though they have evolved quite a bit from that first version. The ads are anchored to the edge of the user’s screen, but they can be dismissed.

Vignette ads, like intersitials, are full-screen ads. Unlike traditional interstitial ads, though, Vignettes display when a user leaves rather than arrives on a page. These ads will only show a limited number of times per user.

Ads in both formats will not count toward the three-ads-per-page limit and will only serve on mobile-optimized web pages displaying on smartphones. Google says Anchor and Vignette ads are just the first of many Page-level ad formats to come.

Why don't you use an Index strategy?

Check out this US Large Cap, High Dividend, Volatility Weighted Index ETF:

Victory_CEMP_US_Large_Cap_High_Div_Volatility_Wtd_Index_ETF_Fact_Sheet(1).pdf

I really like the explanation given in this article.

It pays a dividend once a month

Lo que me gusta: El estilo del local y su traje. Negro.

He is a good singer however he seems too limited compared to his father and others. Still better than i could do though. ;-)

Source

Freerunner, gymnast and Hollywood stuntman Damien Walters is no stranger to danger. With movie credits including Captain America, Skyfall and Assassin's Creed, Damien's performed in some of the most mind-blowing action sequences you've seen on screen.

Damien proposed his dream stunt to us - could he stand facing away from a Formula E car as it approaches from behind, and then perform a blind backflip over the car as it passes below? We present to you this perfect synchronisation of highly-tuned man and machine: The Leap Of Faith.
 

Crisis Intervention Techniques - Crisis Development Behaviour Levels.pdf

PTSD - When You Experience a Traumatic Event.pdf

Possible Reactions to a Stressful Event.pdf

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Tips for Managers Following a Workplace Incident.pdf

Understanding Traumatic Stress Responses.pdf

Management-led DEFUSING Process aka De-escalation.pdf

That is SO cool! 

Thanks for letting me know. 

I love the zero commissions but I wonder how Robinhood makes any $. 

Check them out here:

Join Robinhood with my link and trade crypto commission-free + join the crypto wallets waitlist 🤝 

The jw.org Help section provides instructions for installation and use.

Source

Try not to include the URL in the title when possible. ;-)   Another thing that adds value to a story is when follow up or additional info is later added to a story.... such as a video clip or outcome from a previous story.

@Jerry A Miller

A small quote from the article with a link below is nice. It informs us. I think what people really like to hear is how YOU feel about a news item and it's source.    I'm not sure what you mean about the symbol. It could be that your browser is not in English?

This is what is wrong with this world. Thanks for sharing.