i am on a mission to draw every single slugpup i get until i beat all of rain world don't tell the rest but snail is my favorite <3

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The ranking has not changed since May fourth. Google.com: 3 and Google.co.uk: 3. Now ranked in position no. 3 on Google search. The page now has a total of 5 Weebly and 20 Tumblr ended web 2 blog sites pointing at it. Provide this a couple of more weeks and no. 1 ranking will be achieved.

Ranking no. 1 usually takes around 3 months to do, so I am on track here. This page is now ranked at Google.com: 2 and Google.co.uk 2. Simply another location to go and we have hit the top spot. I have actually not included any more backlinks because my last ranking report.

1 spot in Google search. So the length of time has it required to rank this page no. 1 with simply web 2.0 backlinks?Took precisely 83 days to rank no. 1 in Google search UK and U.S.A.. Simply under 3 months. How numerous ended web 2 sites did I use? 5 Weebly and 20 Tumblr blog sites.

Now it is your turn to proceed and Rank no. 1. Below is the exact schedule I used to rank this page no. Search Engine Optimization. 1 in Google search. As you can see, you begin gradually building the web 2.0 backlinks at a stable rate. After the end of your very first week, you must be ranked near to or at the bottom of page 1. Ranking no.

Sluggish and stable always wins the race with SEO.Not every method will be the same, but you can utilize this as a loose guide to how it is done. Obviously, high competitors keywords will need more backlinks in this time to rank on top area. Month 1: 5 Weebly and 5 Tumblr Posts.

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Web 2.0 Backlinks

Include 2350 social signals. Rank check at end of month one; need to be at bottom of Google page one or top of page two. Month 2: New web 2.0 link wheel (not expired web twos). See my complimentary backlinks page for information on how to do this. Rank check at end of month two; must be ranked number 3 or 4. Month 3: 15 Tumblr posts.

Rank check at end of month 3; ought to be ranked number 1. To use the exact same technique I have actually used here just click the links listed below. The outcomes are here for you to see, if you use this system you will rank number one on Google search. 4000 Social Signals: First of all, you are going to require some high-quality social signals.

We provide 4000 social signals from the most effective social media platforms on the planet. You will get backlinks from Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus and LinkedIn. This is the best way to get your ranking campaign began. Nothing looks more natural than a mass of social signals prior to the backlinks start to flow - web 2.0 sites.

You can have the high PA 5 Weebly and 5 Tumblr backlinks provided for you, or you can do them yourself. If you select to do them yourself you are going to require those 10 effective blogs registered for you, this can be done here. Or you can get the backlinks provided for you the proper way, with the content totally optimized for you to rank up for your picked keyword.

You can check out how powerful the web 2.0 link wheel is right here. I ranked page 1 in 1 day using this precise strategy. Month 2 utilizes 10 web 2.0 websites, 5 sites on tier 1 and 5 sites on tier 2. Remember to index the links sluggish and steady through the second 30-day cycle and you make sure to strike page 1.15 High PA Tumblr Backlinks: For the final push to the top area, you will need 15 high page authority Tumblr backlinks.

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I have utilized this service over and over myself, it works. Ensure you blend your anchor text as I have actually done so and you will hit leading rank. If you are not in the top area you require to keep the backlinks streaming at a stable rate. You can continue to use web 2 platforms for backlinks using the following service.

I ranked on the top of my page of Google search using this specific strategy alone in around one month. If you fail to hit the top area then the following strategy is very effective at pressing ranks. The service hits your site with 5 brand name new web 2 sites all with your exact keyword in the subdomain URL. web 2.0.Each of the 5 tier 1 new web 2.0 websites are connected together into a link wheel formation.

Each of the 5 tier 1 web 2 (web 2.0).0 sites get 10 tier 2 high PA Tumblr backlinks fired at them. All that charming ranking juice flows down to your cash site. This is a sure-fire way to get your site to the top. You are going to love me for this; You are never going to have to spend for expired Tumblr blogs once again.

I have discovered.I have actually utilized this software and it truly does work. You can thank me in the remarks The software application is called Expired Tumblr Hunter (no longer totally free link eliminated). Follow the link to get your free copy. See my blog post on how to discover an ended web 2.0 manual free of charge (consists of all web 2.0 platforms, not simply Tumblr). This is how to utilize the software to discover great quality ended Tumblr blogs that will help you rank.

You can discover niche associated ended Tumblr blogs by selecting the "Niche related" tab. Then you will need to enter your keywords. This software is so good because you do not need any proxies or VPN.Input your specific niche keywords and then struck the "start" button. You do not have to search for niche related expired Tumblr blogs if you do not desire to.

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Simply open the software application and struck the start button. After a couple of minutes, I get a list of ended Tumblr blog sites ready to sign up. The software application even lets you know if Tumblr is readily available to register or not. When you have an excellent list of expired Tumblr blog sites we need to inspect the backlinks indicating them.

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A Tumblr with no backlinks is useless to us, it will not pass on a lot of ranking juice. Search Engine Optimization. Select a Tumblr that is offered to register and right-click on the URL and copy it. We are going to paste the URL into a few free backlink checker tools to evaluate the backlinks.

I use this one since it discovers one of the most amount of backlinks. Take an appearance at the backlinks pointing to your ended Tumblr. This one has great deals of Pinterest and other Web 2 backlinks (web 2.0). It's not the strongest Tumblr ever, so I would not register this one. We are trying to find an ended Tumblr with lots of backlinks from good authority domains.

Use MozBar to check the quality of the backlinks pointing to Tumblr. As you can see, this one is poor. We are searching for backlinks to the Tumblr from pages with high PA with backlinks indicating them too. This will hand down some major ranking juice. Now let's inspect if the backlinks that point to the Tumblr still exist.

It is free to use, nevertheless you do need to register for an account. This tool lets us understand if the backlinks pointing to Tumblr still exist. If the backlinks have actually been removed then there will be no ranking juice passed onto our money website. That's it. Go and get the tool and find yourself some ended Tumblr blog sites with loads of backlinks for complimentary.

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1 now. Simply take your time finding a Tumblr with some good backlinks. It will pay off big time if you do. I simply found an expired Tumblr utilizing the Expired Tumblr Hunter software application that has a backlink from a PA 65 with 9000 backlinks pointing to it. This particular Tumblr has 6 more strong backlinks pointing to it.

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This is a fast tutorial on how to register ended Tumblr blogs. In some cases when you buy expired Web 2.0 websites you require to register them yourself. This is how you do it: To start with register for a totally free email address. I use mail.com or Yahoo. You can register all expired Tumbly blog sites under 1 e-mail address if you like.

This way, if one gets closed down, you do not lose them all. You can mask your IP address when you register them, you can use a free IP masking service. I do not do this, if you are worried about footprints then you might want to do this. Click on the "Get Begun" button.

Add your password. Now, for the username usage the name of the expired Tumblr blog site that you were given. So in my case here it was happyprincekoala.tumblr.com. Then strike the signup button. Now enter your age and accept the regards to service. Click the "Next" button. Then select 5 things that you enjoy and hit the next button.

You have actually now verified your e-mail. Now go to your Tumblr control panel. You can visit your Tumblr website URL to inspect you are up and running. Now you can add some material to your brand-new expired Tumblr blog and get those Web 2.0 backlinks to your cash website. If you desire to do the following: From your dashboard click the little individual icon in the top right of the screen.

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Then click "Develop Blog site" and you are done. It's fast and easy to add an ended Tumblr blog site to an existing account. Every from time to time somebody will beat you to signing up the expired Tumblr blog. This is what you will see if this takes place. I know it's irritating, but it does occur.

The person that offers them for $1, as featured above, will change them if you get back to him before 3 days after the order was delivered. Now you have the Tumblr registered it's time to get your effective Web 2.0 backlinks and begin ranking. You can discover how to get rid of the redirect in Tumblr backlinks here.

Simply follow the method and rank your site top using web 2 websites. I am so happy I found this strategy, ranked many sites using it." - Graham Wednesday, October 24, 2018" Just guide you will need. Follow it step by step and you will rank your website top for your keyword." - Oliver P Wednesday, March 20, 2019" This is the very best guide ever for web 2 backlinks.

I followed this technique and my website is top, this is performed in 2019 so they do work. Get those web 2 backlinks, like em x" - alexdp How to Make Web 2.0 Backlinks free of charge 5.0 score based upon 12,345 ratings General rating: out of based upon 8 evaluations.

In this article, I am blogging about web 2.0 submissions for SEO benefits and putting together authority dofollow web 2.0 sites list for creating quality backlinks and to improve your site or blog site traffic. The 2nd generation of the web or advancement in the history of web services describes web 2.0.

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There will not be many webmasters contributing to the web. Now in web 2.0, the pages soon ended up being vibrant. Any web user with web 2.0 can develop their own pages, participate in commenting, and put photos, short articles to communicate or connect with any other user. Such Web 2.0 websites list include blogs, social networking sites, video-sharing platforms, etc.

Developing content, tweaking and putting links on those web 2.0 blogs or websites pointing to your business or targeted page refers to web 2.0 backlinks in SEO. The majority of the web 2.0 sites will be high authoritative. Even, you are getting dofollow links from high DA web 2.0 sites, it's excellent.

helo it is me nai!!! sry fr the mix up i actually dropped bradley bt she was my main acct so i had to move lana over as my main n therefore it jst seemed easier to repost my intro so i’d have it here. ANYWAY! more abt this atrocious thot down below

p.s. her pinterest is here if u like that stuff

( nai. 22. gmt. she/her. ) it might be HER SOPHOMORE year but I still think LANA JAMESON looks exactly like KRISTINE FROSETH and sometimes I think the CIS-FEMALE is actually them. Of course I’m wrong, as they’re 22 and studying DANCE while living in AUDAX here at Lockwood. The GEMINI can be rather EXUBERANT and ALLURING, but also kind of CHILDISH and UNRELIABLE. Their most played song on Spotify was DANCING ON MY OWN by ROBYN, so I think that says a lot.

she’s local to the NY area i jst havent decided where exactly she grew up tbh. probably somewhere upstate

okAY so her mum is an old money socialite / three time campaign model way back when n her dad is a big record label mogul. he owns a label called jameson records n they repped a few rly big rock bands back in the eighties, altho they’re mostly known for ‘poppy injects’ whose lead singer had a big heroin scandal tht brought down his career. lana p much grew up around musicians snorting lines instead of spooning down cereal fr breakfast n her parents were v much absent her whole life

they’re pretty well off obviously n bc of her relation to such a big music industry figure she’s hung out w a fair few relatively high rep ppl thru her teens. she amassed kind of an instagram following mainly fr her style (v penny lane-esque, lots of fur cuff trimmed jackets, pastel faux fur coats, seventies style platforms, flame red cowboy boots, fishnet tights n glitter galore) n bc she’s undeniably Very Pretty

her parents always kind of jst… didn’t like her. it was v clear that she was an accident after her older brother caleb n that even when they just had him alone they weren’t cut out for parenthood. they always kind of jst… ignored her n hoped she’d go away. she had to mke herself microwave meals when she ws only like 12 bc they’d forget to get her anything. once she went like 6 days without her mum even looking her in the eyes once

despite this tho!!! she’s always been insanely close w her brother caleb. he’s her whole world. thts why when he decided to sign up to the army she ws understandably scared bt supported him regardless. bt THEN he wound up getting discharged under grounds of severe ptsd when he witnessed his best friend die in an explosion tht took place in a shock raid. caleb returned home n he was never the same n lana kind of felt like he’d died out there too. he’s in n out of hospital a lot n it’s rly hard on her bt she doesn’t tlk abt it to anyone rly

growing up lana was always a huge social butterfly. jst literally…. knew Everyone n everyone definitely knew her. she ws one of those girls tht ws kind of impossible to ignore or forget. very animated, always made u feel like u were the centre of the universe whenever she spoke to u, always made it feel like u were best friends even if ud only spoken to her once. she has this magnetic way abt her tht is kind of hard to find in real life. it’s something ud only rly expect out of a movie character

she’s always been insatiably spontaneous n adventurous. always doing something weird n wild every weekend. she has ten thousand stories tht always earn a laugh or a gasp over how ridiculously absurd they r

ANYWAY so after caleb got back he was rly withdrawn n depressed. he shut lana out n was kind of harsh to her a lot of the time, always telling her to leave him alone or pushing her away. it didnt help either tht lana had a rly traumatic experience w some of her dad’s colleagues at the label when she ws 16 n he was away n she cldnt even tell him abt it once he was bk bc of his own traumas. she kind of jst shut it all in n kept it to herself

this obviously?? made her spiral a lot. she was already a girl tht loved sex (she’d only rly done foreplay before tho) but since her trauma it got…. completely out of hand. it got to a point where she couldnt rly go 2 days without it, probably not even 1. her lowest point has probably been scrolling thru craiglist for anonymous encounters n meeting up w strangers on there fr a quick fuck jst for the thrill even tho it’s insanely dangerous n she cld wind up getting herself killed. it’s v clear at this point tht she has a sex addiction whether she’s ever admitted it or not. in fact she’s so… shameless in her endeavours tht she’s actually currently having an affair w her ballet instructor tanya who’s engaged to b married

she also currently? is working as a cam girl. she found this website bc she trawls… porn stuff a lot n she wound up applying to work as one bc she thought it’d b fun n wld earn her some disposal income (even tho she frankly doesn’t need it bc she’s already well off). the guy tht manages all of the girls on the site is kind of suspect n it’s a whole plot i’m gna unravel where it’s actually like the front for a cult or something wild so. stay posted ig. KGJDKGJH

PERSONALITY/SOME FUN FACTS: uncontrollably flirty. boundlessly confident. cld make a joke out a paper bag n her comedy is sometimes surreal / absurd. she tends to laugh when she feels like crying n has a smile brighter than a ray of texas sunshine. always dapples her fingers thru the breeze when she’s driving in a car w the window down. her fav book as a child used to b alice in wonderland n she’d fantasise abt having her own little wonderland too where everyone knew her name n asked her things n took her on adventures. at the time it didn’t rly strike her how evident it was tht that was bc she was so lonely. she almost ALWAYS has some sort of sweet on her, whether it’s strawberry laces or gummy bears or cherry lollipops. she adores david bowie n prince n madonna n anyone tht’s a vintage style icon w little care fr what ppl think. wildflowers r her favourites bc they’re the brightest and u can’t buy them. she’s had like 8472493874 ‘relationships’ n none of them hav lasted beyond a month / hav been terrible / hav seen her being treated badly / she’s cheated on them. i dnt think she’s actually been w anyone she hasn’t cheated on in some form or another

PLOT IDEAS: exes tht lana’s fucked over hideously. she’d probably cheat a lot and it’d be a whole…mess. mayb someone tht flipped the switch and cheated on her? a cousin plot cld b fun too. a friend tht lana fel out w bc she slept w their significant other. someone tht’s getting lana into drugs?? she’s kind of impressionable/down for anything so tht’s a likely scenario she’d get into tbh. an unrequited crush!! (either way is cool). someone tht is just hanging out w her/using her bc she has a lot of instagram followers or they want to b signed to her dad’s label. someone in a band!! she’d probably make like penny lane n b their groupie/sleep w them all fgjkshgkh. umm a good influence too mayb? OH and a past summer romance/fling tht cld either have meant a lot or not have meant anything at all. bonus points if both of them hav a diff viewpoint on it. HONESTLY?? anything is fine i cld ramble for days. Let’s Get Wildt!

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MARVEL'S AVENGERS REVIEW

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MARVEL’S AVENGERS REVIEW

Marvel’s finest have never looked or sounded this good, but their best efforts feel in vain.

By Robert Zak September 07, 2020

As the Marvel’s Avengers campaign ends, to be replaced by samey missions, it reminds me of the dual identity of so many superheroes. Avengers straps on its tightest, glossiest spandex for the campaign and dazzles with its moves, but once that adventure ends and it returns to the daily grind of a multiplayer-oriented endgame, it blurs into the crowd. Inoffensive, yet indistinguishable but for its famous superhero superstars.

The frustrating thing about Marvel’s Avengers is that for the first few hours, you see hints of what it could have been—a visually spectacular and satisfying adventure—but then a functional, unoriginal loop of missions takes over, and you realise that that’s the actual game you’ll be spending most of your time with.

The campaign offers a simple story, following future Ms. Marvel Kamala Khan as she seeks to reassemble the Avengers following a disaster that creates a wave of new superheroes labelled as ‘Inhumans’. You’re pitted against floating-head-with-tiny-limbs, MODOK, who’s intent on wiping out all Inhumans with the help of AIM’s Scientist Supreme Monica Rappaccini and her army of robots.

A pretty regular Marvel setup then, and beautifully written, animated, and voice-acted throughout. I found myself actively looking forward to the cutscenes and snippets of in-game banter.

R relationship between Bruce Banner and Kamala Khan unfolds beautifully. Banner’s unsure body language and mix of irritation and avuncular care he shows towards Khan—whose chirpy teenage optimism is just what 2020 needs—is a masterclass of voicework and mocap. It also elegantly addresses the fact that, to a 30-plus curmudgeon like me, the fresh-faced Khan can be kind of annoying, but her convincing character arc soon gets me completely onboard.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

Given the amount of big names the campaign has to introduce, it’s understandable that not all the relationships get the same level of attention, but each character still entertains as you bring the Avengers’ floating command centre back to life. The villain MODOK, with his pustulent, hypertrophic head that seems to swell up with every scene, is brilliantly brought to life. The performance turns one of Marvel’s goofiest-looking heroes into a memorable, eerily soft-spoken villain.

However, once you’re aboard the Avengers’ Chimera ship, it becomes a little too obvious that you’re being roped into the publisher’s long game. You walk around on deck as your Avenger of choice, picking up time-limited challenges from vendors, buying gear using real or in-game currency, and using a map to freely drop into missions set across several biomes around the world. Some you do solo, others you do alongside up to three other Avengers, who can be controlled by AI or online players. I’d play with others where possible, and it speaks to the simplicity of the missions and combat that there’s not too much need for communication or a balanced squad.

I did get to play online alongside Hulk wearing a Hawaiian shirt and fedora though.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

PERFORMANCE

I’ve been reading a a little bit about performance problems on PC, but can say that my experience has been mostly stable. There were a couple of odd bugs during the campaign that forced me to restart the game, and multiplayer matchmaking has been very slow from my experience, forcing me to give up after minutes of waiting multiple times.

The combat is a curious mix of classic brawler moves like juggling, suspended aerial attacks and light-heavy combos with the counter-and-dodge-based style of the Arkham games (there’s even a move where you jump over a shielded enemy’s head to break their shield). Little icons on the edges of the screen tell you how close a missile or laser is to blasting you away, while enemy melee attacks are telegraphed by coloured circles, which let you know whether to dodge or parry them. Get enough attacks together, and your rage meter fills, letting you unlock spectacular special moves like Iron Man summoning his Hulkbuster mech, or Ms. Marvel turning into a long-limbed giantess resembling a wacky waving inflatable tube girl.

The icons give you a lot to think about while filling your screen with a confetti of mechanised enemies and special moves executed by your fellow Avengers, and it doesn’t always feel like you—or even the game itself—can keep up. A couple of dozen hours in, I’ll still often dodge instead of parrying when the enemy attack circle is white (dodge for red, dammit!), and that all-important telegraphing of enemy moves isn’t entirely consistent, and the camera’s a little too close for comfort – great for ogling Hulk’s slabs of back muscle, not so great for managing space in a scuffle.

Playing as the speedsters of the group, Ms. Marvel and Black Widow, feels much better than Hulk, whose lumbering style doesn’t sync well with the already slowish animations and floaty jumping physics. High-flyers Iron Man and Thor, meanwhile, definitely offer a buzz as you can freely swoop into battle from way overhead of your buddies. Unfortunately finer aerial maneuvering and attacks are fiddly and much weaker than melee. It may be fun to fly, but the action’s really on the ground.

But in a game so much about fan service, there’s something to be said for making each superhero feel unique, even if that is at the expense of balance. The characters move and attack just like you remember from the movies or imagine from the comics, right down to the disinterested way Hulk toe-pokes chests open. During these little moments, and amidst the on-screen muddle when you string together a bunch of counters and executions before letting rip with a hero’s special move, the superhero fantasy successfully shines.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

The bigger problems come later. Missions may be set all over the world, but levels themselves are sparse expanses of snow/forests/city where you hunt for crates hidden in metal bunkers guarded by faceless robots, before proceeding to complete a main objective—destroying a few structures, or holding onto some control points, Battlefield-style.

The game tries to spruce things up with awkward platforming segments and hunts for SHIELD stashes (essentially a slightly better stash among endless stashes), but they’re visually ugly and unvaried, in stark contrast to the elegantly animated and designed superheroes that run around them.

Also, for some reason the ‘Power’ level required for various missions is all over the place, greatly restricting the amount of missions you can tackle. I was quite up for a boss-fight mission that SHIELD offered for their daily challenge (which improves your faction rank with SHIELD, which lets you buy locked-off gear yada-yada), only to find that I was dozens of levels below being able to do it. These are the kinds of things that can be smoothed out over the coming months, but as things stand a good chunk of the endgame remains level-gated.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

Back aboard the Chimera, the metagame of daily challenges, endless gear upgrades (with daily ‘specialty’ items) and missions becomes particularly noticeable post-campaign. Without the more bespoke campaign-specific missions and story to break them up, the monotony begins to set in, and while there is an obsessive feedback loop to repeating missions, upgrading your gear, and improving your character in perpetuity, you don’t even get to see these gear upgrades. The only aesthetic changes are different costumes, which are a hard to find, and otherwise locked behind higher levels and real-world currency.

There’s nothing too egregious about the microtransactions, which are purely cosmetic and also include emotes, nameplates and execution animations, but there’s nothing particularly satisfying to work towards in the endgame either.

Perhaps a fleshed-out single-player campaign will never be enough to satisfy Avenger’s marketing aims. The story is worthy of Marvel’s movie canon, but it’s too short and ends up being a shiny wrapper for what’s currently a rudimentary game-as-service.

(Image credit: Marvel’s Avengers)

This comes with the caveat that it’s just getting started, and there have been plenty of online-oriented games that started slowly. There’s enough button-mashy mileage in the combat system, especially as new heroes get introduced as DLC, but it’s the mission design and loot loop that let it down. It’s just not strong or varied enough to justify the long-term investment the game wants from you.

Not that justification beyond a 14-hour campaign and ‘it’s your favourite superheroes and they look amazing’ is needed for a day one purchase, based on the game’s early sales. But if Marvel’s Avengers wants to keep loyalists sweet and expand its player-base, it needs a lot more flesh on its vibranium skeletal armature. If only the game could carry some of its narrative prowess from the campaign over into the endgame.

The musters

The musters are yearly fan meetings where the boys interpret some of their songs but mainly play games or skits for ARMY’s enjoyment.

1st Muster

Held on: 140329 (Seoul)

Albums of the event: #1, #2, Weibo #1

Can be found in: Memories of 2014

The announcement and extracts of the shows were published on Youtube. There were also some tweets around the event:

first announcement

ticketing

announcement

D-1

D-Day

thanks

link to the Naver article

The NOW 1 was released as merchandise of this muster while the NOW 2 was shot while they toured the event in Europe and America during the summer.

2nd Muster

Zip code 17520

Held on: supposedly 150613

17520 stands for 17 520 hours (so 730 days, so 2 years) since debut and thus spent together with ARMY. Some photos of the concept were posted in the boys’ birthday albums.

An invitation for ARMY was published on Youtube.

The event was canceled due to MERS and postponed to 24 January 2016.

Zip code 22920

Held on: 160124

Album of the concept

Can be found in: Memories of 2016

22920 stands for 22 920 hours since debut and thus spent together with ARMY. A manual about how to use the BTS standees was published to show ARMY the different poses they could take next to it

@GetOnSwag found some of their outfits:

j-hope: top

Jimin: top

V: top

Jung Kook: top

The pictures for the merchandising were taken at 502스튜디오 (502 Studio), where episodes 104 to 106 of Run BTS! were later filmed.

3rd muster: ARMY.Zip +

Held on: 161112-161113

Albums: Spoiler story (Chim puppy) (Eng ver), the event

Can be found in: ARMY Zip+ DVD

Symbols (square, round, triangle) that already appeared in the comeback trailer for O!RUL8,2? and Skool Luv Affair make their comeback.

The infamous skit House of Army was filmed for that muster (related tweets: #1, #2, #3). The boys all had a different role:

Jin: himself watching over Army under a disguise (delivery man, banana, clock)

SUGA: uncle

j-hope: mother

RM: Kim Army the daughter

Jimin: puppy

V: big brother

Jung Kook: father

The boys filmed their Chuseok live from the 13 September 2016 after the shooting of this skit.

4th muster: Happy Ever After

Held on: 180113-180114

Teasers: poster #1 (on Twitter), poster #2

Album: stage sketch

Can be found in: Happy Ever After DVD

Outfits and accessories identified by @GetOnSwag: list

Along with the first poster, another teaser was published on Instagram. It shows the eight recurring items that can be linked to the boys. The connections were found by _macchamilktea and jhopeah on Twitter. As for the eighth one, the bottle, it contains their memories in the form of colorful clouds and has labels such as “Worldwide”, “The Wings Tour The Final”, or “BTS 3rd Muster”.

Concerning the main poster, it shows a factory to create bottles of memories. It’s handled by the boys and full of little references.

Following the production line we have:

The scroll and the color purple are associated with RM. He’s the Recipe Messenger thus the “clouds recipe” machine.

His outfit looks like the one he wore on the 24 September 2017, for the Super Concert. The bag is probably a reference to the one he had for a while (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x) and that his mother disliked (found thanks to Reddit). During 2 Cool 4 Skool and ORUL8,2? he had glasses in both the concept and the MV. As he’s also famous for his clumsiness, the glasses are broken and repaired with tape, something he actually did during a fansign on the 6 July 2013. He also broke a pair during American Hustle Life and in BTS Comeback Show, where we also discovered the tomato lamp. It’s a gift from Hoseok for Namjoon’s birthday.

The lollipop and the color green are associated with j-hope. He’s the compounder, he reduces the sweet moments symbolized by lollipops to dust.

As the main dancer, obviously he’s dancing, the “ho! ho!” and his pose indicate he’s doing his favorite move from “Save Me”. His outfit is the one from the performance at Music Bank, on the 22 September 2017. A BOMB from that day was released. Next to him is a Bearbrick in reference to Hobi’s hobby of collecting the figurines. He posted photographs of his collection on Twitter (here’s a partial list of the figurines) and showed his Snoopy during the Episode for the group’s first birthday. A Bearbrick was even featured in his poster for BTS Begins.

The fact there are seven lollipops is probably to remind the seven members.

The cotton candy and the color red are associated with V. He’s the chef, the machine next to him turns the lollipop dust into a memory cloud.

He’s seen harvesting because he considered becoming a farmer before becoming an artist.

The field forms the logo for the fandom, namely ARMY.

The cutlery and the color orange are associated with Jin. He’s the taster, he checks the memory clouds before the bottling.

Jin is the only one who’s not in his corner but at another place. He has two sugar gliders, Odeng and Eomuk. He posted several times on Twitter with them: x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x. We also saw them in Mnet’s BTS Comeback Show. He’s learning how to play the guitar. You can see him play in one of his Eat Jin episode with Jimin and Jungkook (around 3:50). He also played during the 2016 Fanmeetings in Japan (it’s probably where his outfit is from) and in his Puma Bog Sock cf. Jin is known to like the color pink (cue the pink lamp) and food. He has a personal show called “Eat Jin”, available on Youtube and Vlive for the recent ones.

The ribbon and the color yellow are associated with Jung Kook. He’s the decorator, thus the ribbons and probably the tape that he puts on the bottles of memories.

The fact he’s lifting the conveyor belt and the pink dumbbell are there to remind us he’s the most muscular in the group. The bag and the hat are references to Bon Voyage S2 in Hawai. The trophy in the bag is a reference to his lines in “Mic Drop”:

Did you see my bag It’s full of trophies

Lastly, his outfit is a reference to the one he wore for the 2017 K-POP World Festival in Changwon.

The quill and the color pink are associated with SUGA. He’s the labeler, thus his desk with all the labels ready to be written on to indicate which memory the bottle contains.

The mic is a reference to his iconic move at the end of “Mic Drop”. The fact he’s sleeping and the lounger remind his reputation of being lazy/always sleeping.

The ladder and the color blue are associated with Jimin. He’s the curator, thus his position near the shelves where he put the bottles of memories.

The yellow blanket, his outfit, his hair, the calico cat, and the telescope are all reference to his solo intro for LOVE YOURSELF Her, “Serendipity”. The plaid shirt is something Jimin wears often (x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x, x), especially yellow ones (x, x, x, x, x).

More items were dispersed here and there:

The flowers from the cover of Love Yourself承 Her

The top part of the Army Bomb, the group official lightstick

V’s tiger necklaces and Vmin’s swing.

V showed the green pendant in one of his solo VLive (starting 4:59) and said he associates himself with a (baby) tiger and that he bought it with Jimin in New York.

Concerning the swing, Jimin and Taehyung played around one during their stay in the U.S. to record Dark & Wild and film American Hustle Life.

The flower from the Puma Courtstar campaign

Jimin’s manggaetok.

Jimin is associated with those glutinous rice cakes because of his soft-looking cheeks that reminded fans of the treat.

Jin’s Mario collection. He even danced with a Mario plushie during “Just One Day” practice)

Jin’s birthday gift to Jimin (found thanks to Reddit)

Sope uniforms.

Sope is the name of the subunit formed by SUGA and j-hope. They have their own show, Hwagae Market (pre-opening, teaser ep1, ep1, ep2, ep3, special section in the 4M followers celebration, ep4, ep5), they made their debut during the 2016 fanmeetings in Japan but they had already sung during the 2016 Festa party (starting 58:13) as SOPE-ME. The BOMB of their training can be found here.

The house from the 2017 Festa.

During the 2017 Festa three songs were released: “4 o’clock”, “We don’t talk anymore Pt.2″ and “So far away” featuring Jin and Jung Kook. All the illustrations for those songs can be connected to form a house under a full moon.

The mailbox (우편 is written on it and simply means “mail”). It’s just an assumption but since the previous musters were named after zip codes, I guess it’s to reference them.

On the right, we can see the logos for BTS and ARMY together.

The seven colors associated to the boys are all aligned below: red/V, orange/J, yellow/JK, green/JH, blue/JM, pink/SG, purple/RM. You can also see them on the balloons surrounding the giant bottle in the middle.

The remaining elements are the trophies won by the boys. We can see the prizes from the following events:

Korean Popular Culture & Arts Awards

Mnet Asian Music Awards

and 8. Seoul Music Awards

Inkigayo

Golden Disk Awards

Show Champion

Billboard Music Awards

In the preview of the DVD little details were added to the poster. It’s actually drawings made by the boys to describe themselves:

RM drew Koya, his BT21 character

j-hope drew Mang, his BT21 character

V drew Yeontan, his dog

Jung Kook drew a camera

SUGA drew Holly, his dog

Jimin drew accessories

Jin drew RJ, his BT21 character

During the show

Jimin was wearing a Thom Browne outfit (cr.).

We see the recipe:

                                    Memories of BTS and ARMY

                                   ~ memory cloud instructions ~

You only need a few ingredients for your handmade memory cloud

•  4 cups of Happiness •  1 cups of Awesomeness •  2 cups of Laughter •  1/4 teaspoon of Hope •  3 tablespoon of Joyfulness (can use other things, such as Delight, ****) •  1/2 tablespoon of Wonder •  2 drops of pink Love •  3 cups of pleasure

Gather up these ingredients: it’s time to make the happy memory you’ve been craving. If you’d like your memory cloud to be a different color, substitute the two drops of pink love coloring for something else - *** excitement, green hope, or purple joy would all make ******* memory cloud hues.

The ingredients have colors fitting with the boys’ (credits and all my thanks to @honeyhoneysugarsugar for seeing Jin’s and V’s, you can see their reblog in the notes of this post):

Wonder: orange = Jin

Joyful: pink = SUGA

Laugh: green = j-hope

Touching: purple = RM

Awesomeness: blue = Jimin

Happy: red = V

Hope: yellow = Jung Kook

You can also see a little Apollo Belvedere torso behind Jin in his room. There was also an Apollo Belvedere during the Mnet stage of “Blood, Sweat & Tears.”

During Jin’s delirium we can see an alpaca - an animal often associated with Jin, RJ is an alpaca for example - but also a text that’s actually Windows’ Blue screen of death.

                                                   ____________

Apart from the adventures of the ARMY BOMB fairies, we also got a sequel to House of Army with Guardians of the ARMY BOMB. Dad Jungkook, big brother Taehyung, as well as uncle Yoongi, thus make their comeback after their first apparition in the 3rd muster. We see them being protected by the guardians of the ARMY BOMB.

Jin published a picture of RM as a guardian for the leader’s birthday in 2019.

Combine Your Text and Visual Content for Social Engagement

How Can You Improve Your Social Media Engagement?

  Do you keep text and image updates separate in your content?  Have you considered how text and visual content complement each other and actually work well to get your message across? Pairing visual content with clever, descriptive text can create a true marketing force that leads to a better user experience and more customer engagement.  In this article I’ll demonstrate seven ways companies are using visual content to get better overall user engagement.     Make Your Brand Personable   You don't want to be hidden behind your logo and your business image when you are trying to engage visitors using social media.  No matter what industry you are involved in, you can always add a human perspective to your business. H & R Block is in a niche, tax preparation, that tends to be pretty serious.  In most cases a serious niche can lead to very boring content.  But H&R Block decided not to be ‘most cases.’   H & R Block decided to inject a little humor and it creates big engagement opportunities for them.  The tax preparation company uses their Facebook page to share a sense of humor with fun illustrations and jokes. With almost 380,000 fans on Facebook, H & R Block sees an average of over 500 engagements per post and nearly 30% of fans engaged.  That's pretty good for a niche most people aren’t usually excited to talk about.   Show What You’re Selling   Let’s be honest. At the end of the day, we marketers are using social media to sell something. Don’t underestimate the simple tactic of showing pictures and describing what you’re selling. A new outlet at the Riverwalk in New Orleans was the first of its kind, offering upscale local fashion and cuisine. The outlet decided to use Instagram to do a little show and tell.   Combine pictures and descriptions and increase interaction The Riverwalk New Orleans‘ Instagram account teemed with images and descriptions of distinctive items and food, and drew quick response—they doubled their number of followers and quickly increased their online presence.   Make Your Brand's Tagline Visual   Most brands have text-based taglines, but how many are getting the most out of them?  Every social media update you write is an opportunity to show, as well as tell, the meaning of your tagline. Red Bull’s tagline—Gives You Wings—is descriptive and gives you a pretty good idea of what they’re going for. But when the company uses photos to reinforce the written tagline, it becomes real and exciting. That excitement helps them maintain their market share lead.     We're all familiar with Red Bull’s brand tagline.  It wouldn’t be the same without visual content.  Simply Measured analyzed Red Bull’s social media updates and found that photos accounted for only 5% of their posts, but delivered 90% of their engagement on Twitter and Facebook.   Text Overlays Over Images are Creative   It’s no secret that consumer connections drive business and sales success.  Just think what excites your customers about your product.  Then think about short phrases that convey that feeling. It's easy to pair those phrases with an image that reinforces both your product and your customers’ sentiment for a winning engagement combination. Green Mountain Coffee connects with their audience through clever catch-phrases.  Their consumers relate to sayings such as “Coffee helps me become the morning person I am not.”  Additional meaning and connection are added to the phrase when it’s placed over a blank page and pen on a desk.  This strongly suggesting that not much work gets done before having coffee.   Text overlaid on fun photos can get a big reaction.  Green Mountain Coffee fans relate to needing a little help to get their day started.  After commenting on and liking the update, they are eager to share the sentiment with others. The response on most of Green Mountain Coffee’s insights and photos is hundreds and even a thousand likes and shares, and an impressive number of comments.   Solicit Stories From Your Fans   What’s not to love about user-generated content? It’s an easy way to encourage audience participation while pointing the spotlight at those fans.  It highlights your products being used by happy customers. REI launched their 1440 campaign to document their fans’ love of the outdoors.  The campaign's goal was  to post a picture of fans enjoying the outdoors for every minute of one day (1,440 minutes). They invited fans to share their own photos with descriptions that included the time of day they snapped the photo.  For example, “06:37am—Joanna H. was in Mount Creighton.  A photo from the #REI1440Project, celebrating every minute spent outside.”   Consumers’ photos of their outdoor adventures became branded content for REI.  The consumer response to the project was enormous.  Their user-generated content created a strong sense of community.  While doing this it showcased brand evangelists and people kept returning to see the progress of the campaign.   Keep Your Infographics Current   Infographics deliver up to 120-180% more engagement than text-only posts.  The problem is that so many marketers are posting the same kinds of infographics that yours can easily be overlooked.  Especially if it’s a variation on the same theme. Intel launched an educational campaign using infographics to bring attention to and reduce online oversharing.   Intel uses relatable images to educate the public and words to keep them safe.  You can see how the Intel infographic uses photos from the consumer’s perspective?  There are no graphs to be seen.   Their text overlays name information most people have considered sharing online. Rather than creating an infographic with cartoon icons, statistics or graphs, Intel used well-done pictures and concise text to communicate what consumers should and shouldn’t share online. Putting oversharing in the context of the reader’s point of view helps make the infographic personal and relatable.   Tell the Bigger Story   With so many virtual experiences available these days, some businesses face the challenge of even getting people in the door. Brooklyn Museum experienced that problem and rose to the occasion by amassing an impressive social media presence on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube and Instagram. The museum features photos and videos that bring its collections to life and each account is written to include captions that provide context.  The result is thousands of likes and shares.   Pair photos and videos with text to get people excited. The combination of beautiful images, facts, background and additional information creates an enormous social response.  The museum also uses geotagging to subtly encourage fans and followers to visit the museum in person.   Visit Our Web Accessibility Blog Visit Our Business Sustainability Blog Wrapping Up Text and image updates don’t have to be mutually exclusive.  Used together they’re a force to be reckoned with and may be the difference between a passing look and true engagement.What do you think?  How do you integrate text with your visual content?  Have you had more success with imagery alone or a text and image combination?  Leave your comments below.  Read the full article

On Senate Floor, Portman Honors Memory of Senator John McCain

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) delivered remarks on the Senate floor in memory of Senator John McCain who passed away Saturday at the age of 81. 

“Now, as a gesture of our nation’s gratitude for the patriotic path he blazed, Senator McCain will lie in state in the Capitol, draped in the flag that he spent his life serving. John McCain was a hero in the flesh, right here in this century, and I feel blessed for having known him.” 

Transcript of his remarks can be found below and a video can be found here.

  “Today I want to join my colleague from Minnesota and other senators in talking about our colleague, an American icon, who played an outsized role in our nation’s great story. Navy Captain, Congressman, and U.S. Senator, John McCain was first and foremost a patriot. Throughout his whole life—and very prolific life—he lived the motto of his 2008 presidential campaign, which was simply, ‘Country first.’

  “I had the privilege of helping Senator McCain during that 2008 campaign. I was in the private sector then, and I took time off to spend about six weeks with him traveling around the country. I was on the campaign trail with a group of his loyal friends, including the first friend, Lindsey Graham. I had known John for many years, but you really get to know somebody in a different way during the intensity and pressure of a national campaign. I played the role of his opponent, then-Senator Barack Obama, to prepare him for his debates. I took that role very seriously, maybe too seriously on occasion. It was my job to get under his skin and prepare him well for the debates, and I did it. Many of my colleagues will tell you he was a fighter and a tough competitor and did not mince words. I was on the other end of that after some spirited debates we had. I was very glad that in the real world I was actually on his side. Needless to say he was not happy with me during those debate sessions. I think Cindy McCain still hasn’t forgiven me for some of the things I said during the debate preparation when I was playing the role of then-Senator Obama. Even two years later, after I was first elected and joined him here in the United States Senate, he would introduce me to the reporters in the hall and say, ‘that’s the jerk that played Obama.’

  “The John McCain that I got to know during the intensity of the campaign was principled. He was patriotic and he was passionate and his heart was in the right place. He also had a sense of humor that was intact. I remember when a bad poll would come out, he would gather us around and say, ‘don’t worry, it’s always darkest before it’s pitch black.’

  “One of the memories I will never forget was during a debate preparation in a theater at the Morgan Library in New York City. At start of the debate practice I was backstage behind a curtain because I wanted it to be realistic where I would be coming out from behind the curtain and up to the podium, just as you would do in a presidential debate. It was in late September, 2008. I think it was September 24, 2008, just as the financial crisis was hitting hard. It’s difficult to go back to that moment today, but the mindset at the time was that we were in a true crisis. The stock market had crashed. The country was mired in financial turmoil. And so I stood there behind the curtain getting ready to come out. John McCain and two of his top campaign advisors were on stage getting into their own debate, and their debate was about whether or not to suspend the campaign, postpone the first debate that was scheduled to occur just a few days later, and fly back to Washington, D.C., to work out a legislative solution to bolster the shaky financial system. I remember one of the advisors raised the concern that suspending the campaign would hurt them politically. They just couldn’t do it. By the way, that was a point of view that was shared by pretty much every political pundit, and probably would be today. I remember John McCain pushing back. He said, ‘It’s the right thing to do. If we don’t fix this, there won’t be a country left to govern.’ He suspended his campaign and returned to Washington to jump into the arena, like his hero, Teddy Roosevelt, and to try to fix things. John McCain was less worried about the political fallout than he was about what was at stake for our great country. Country first.

  “He didn’t win that campaign, but I think he taught all of us a lesson about how to lose. He gave a generous concession speech that put country first. He was someone a lot of us looked to for counsel and worked with on many issues, often national security issues. In my case, he was an expert. I worked with him on issues like Ukraine, but also on other matters. Just in the last year he played a key role in helping us enact reforms here in the United States Senate that are making a real difference right now in combating online sex trafficking. This was through legislation that I introduced called the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. And this SESTA legislation was something he was very involved with. Cindy McCain has a long history in this area. She’s a real expert on it and she was instrumental in the legislation, in these reforms, as was the McCain Institute. John had a passion for it. He was the first Republican cosponsor of the bill and a passionate advocate. He believed in his heart that the sale of women and children online was just wrong and it should never happen, certainly not in this country, in this century. About six months ago, this legislation, the SESTA bill was about to be voted on, and after getting permission from my Democratic co-author, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who agreed with me, I approached John McCain, and I asked him if we could name this anti-sex trafficking legislation ‘The McCain Bill,’ after him and after Cindy and all the work he had done and his passion for it. His response was immediate and classic McCain. ‘No,’ he said. ‘That wouldn’t be right. I strongly support the legislation, but you all did the work. It isn’t about me. It’s about getting this done for those women and those children.’ Country first.

  “For me, this chamber is never going to be the same place without him. It’s as simple as that. Lindsey Graham said that well earlier. And, for me, this place, the Senate, and our country for that matter, is better off because of him. He dedicated his life to those liberties we enjoy as Americans, and he took it upon himself to defend and represent them and try to spread them around the globe. He joined the U.S. Navy to protect our country, spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, stubbornly patriotic to his own detriment, and served in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing not just his Arizona constituents, which he did well, but, as he viewed it, the entire country. Country first.

  “Now, as a gesture of our nation’s gratitude for the patriotic path he blazed, Senator McCain will lie in state in the Capitol, draped in the flag that he spent his life serving. John McCain was a hero in the flesh, right here in this century, and I feel blessed for having known him. The last conversation I remember having with John was right out here in the anteroom off the Senate floor. It was during his very last days here. He was in a wheelchair. He had a brace on his leg necessary because of the chemotherapy, and his voice was faltering. We sat and we talked first about the SESTA legislation and Cindy’s role. John always had a funny line, in this case he joked saying, ‘passing that legislation will save my marriage.’ Then he started talking about his kids. He went into detail about what they were doing, especially his sons in the military and what they were accomplishing and his daughter Meghan and her work in the media world and how proud he was of them. His voice strengthened and his eyes shown with pride as he talked about each of them. I muttered something about that being another part of his legacy, and he gave me that crooked smile. Family and country first.

  “My wife, Jane, and I send our condolences to John’s amazing wife, Cindy, to his seven proud sons and daughter, and to the entire McCain family. 

  “Godspeed, John McCain.”

###

  from Rob Portman http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=09941276-F11B-4F4B-B321-2CAD9AE97474

Reactions to the death of Senator John McCain

New Post has been published on http://newsintoday.info/2018/08/26/reactions-to-the-death-of-senator-john-mccain/

Reactions to the death of Senator John McCain

(Reuters) – John McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam who served as a U.S. senator from Arizona for more than three decades, died on Saturday at the age of 81.

FILE PHOTO: John McCain speaks at a 2008 campaign rally in Defiance, Ohio. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Below are some of the reactions to his death:

PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP

“My deepest sympathies and respect go out to the family of Senator John McCain. Our hearts and prayers are with you!”

SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL

“In an era filled with cynicism about national unity and public service, John McCain’s life shone as a bright example. He showed us that boundless patriotism and self-sacrifice are not outdated concepts or cliches, but the building blocks of an extraordinary life.”

FORMER PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA AND MICHELLE OBAMA

“Few of us have been tested the way John once was, or required to show the kind of courage that he did. But all of us can aspire to the courage to put the greater good above our own. At John’s best, he showed us what that means. And for that, we are all in his debt. Michelle and I send our most heartfelt condolences to Cindy and their family.”

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH

“Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended. Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled. John McCain was a man of deep conviction and a patriot of the highest order. He was a public servant in the finest traditions of our country. And to me, he was a friend whom I’ll deeply miss.”

FORMER VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN

“As a POW, John endured the worst of what human beings can do to one another. In politics, he fell short of his greatest ambition. At the end of his life he faced a cruel and relentless disease. And yet through it all he never lost sight of what he believed most: Country First. And the spirit that drove him was never extinguished: we are here to commit ourselves to something bigger than ourselves.”

FORMER PRESIDENT JIMMY CARTER

“John McCain was a man of honor, a true patriot in the best sense of the word. Americans will be forever grateful for his heroic military service and for his steadfast integrity as a member of the United States Senate.”

U.S. VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE

“Karen and I send our deepest condolences to Cindy and the entire McCain family on the passing of Senator John McCain. We honor his lifetime of service to this nation in our military and in public life. His family and friends will be in our prayers. God bless John McCain.”

FORMER PRESIDENT GEORGE H. W. BUSH

“John McCain was a patriot of the highest order, a public servant of rarest courage. Few sacrificed more for, or contributed more to, the welfare of his fellow citizens – and indeed freedom-loving peoples around the world. Another American maverick and warrior, General George Patton, once observed: “We should thank God that men such as these have lived.”

ARIZONA GOVERNOR DOUG DUCEY

“John McCain is one American who will never be forgotten. He was a giant. An icon. An American hero. But here at home, we were most proud to call him a fellow Arizonan. Like so many of us, he was not born here, but his spirit, service and fierce independence shaped the state with which he became synonymous.”

FILE PHOTO: U.S. Senator John McCain (R-AZ) speaks after being awarded the 2017 Liberty Medal by former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden (unseen) at the Independence Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., October 16, 2017. REUTERS/Charles Mostoller/File Photo

GERMAN CHANCELLOR ANGELA MERKEL

“John McCain was guided by the firm conviction that the value of all political work could be found in serving freedom, democracy and the rule of law. His death is a loss for all who share that conviction.”

BRITISH PRIME MINISTER THERESA MAY

“John McCain was a great statesman, who embodied the idea of service over self. It was an honour to call him a friend of the UK. My deepest sympathies go to his family, and the American people.”

FRENCH PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON

“John McCain was a true American hero. He devoted his entire life to his country. His voice will be missed. Our respectful thoughts go to his beloved ones.”

NATO SECRETARY GENERAL JENS STOLTENBERG

“John McCain – soldier and senator, American and Atlanticist. He will be remembered both in Europe and North America for his courage and character, and as a strong supporter of NATO. My thoughts are with his family and loved ones.”

CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER JUSTIN TRUDEAU

“Senator John McCain was an American patriot and hero whose sacrifices for his country, and lifetime of public service, were an inspiration to millions. Canadians join Americans tonight in celebrating his life and mourning his passing.”

DEFENSE SECRETARY JAMES MATTIS

“Passionately committed to our country, Senator McCain always put service to the Nation before self. He recognized that for our experiment in democracy to long endure, people of action and passion must serve. In this he represented what he believed, that ‘a shared purpose does not claim our identity — on the contrary, it enlarges your sense of self.’”

HOUSE MINORITY LEADER NANCY PELOSI

“The nation is in tears. Today, with the passing of John McCain, Congress and America have lost a leader and public servant of deep patriotism, outstanding bravery and undaunted spirit.”

FORMER GOVERNOR OF ALASKA SARAH PALIN

“Today we lost an American original. Sen. John McCain was a maverick and a fighter, never afraid to stand for his beliefs. John never took the easy path in life – and through sacrifice and suffering he inspired others to serve something greater than self.”

AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER SCOTT MORRISON

“Senator John McCain was a true friend of Australia who was committed to strengthening the alliance between our two nations. He was a man of great courage and conviction. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his wife, Cindy, and all the McCain family during this time.”

IRISH PRIME MINISTER LEO VARADKAR

“On behalf of the people of Ireland, I extend my deepest sympathies on the death of Senator John McCain, a wise and remarkable statesman, US ally of Ireland and a proud Scots Irishman who was a champion for immigration reform in the US Senate.”

COMMANDER MICAH MURPHY OF THE USS JOHN S. MCCAIN

“On behalf of the crew of USS John S. McCain, I offer our support and prayers to the McCain family, our gratitude to the senator for his years of service to our nation, and a heartfelt traditional Navy sendoff: ‘Fair winds and following seas.’ It is an honor to have our mighty warship carry on your name and continue your legacy.”

Compiled by Reuters staff; Editing by Paul Tait, Paul Simao and Lisa Shumaker

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Tech: Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday — here's the best photo from every year of his royal career

Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday, more than a year after retiring from public life. These are the best photos from every year of his royal career.

Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday — and it's been over a year since he announced his official retirement from public service.

According to The Telegraph, the Duke of Edinburgh has carried out 22,219 solo engagements and 637 solo visits overseas since he left active military service in 1952.

In retirement, the Duke is reportedly enjoying more leisure time at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk — he is an avid carriage driver and enjoys oil painting.

His Royal Highness' career will be remembered equally for his sharp wit as he will be for his gaffes, which have often left the nation laughing or reeling.

The Prince's prolonged service has won him support from both sides of Parliament — Jeremy Corbyn applauded his "clear sense of public duty" and Theresa May praised his "steadfast support" to the Queen.

Philip's lengthy career, marked by hundreds of visits to far-flung corners of the British Empire, has unsurprisingly produced some remarkable royal photography.

As he turns 97, here are the best images from each of his years as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh:

1947: Prince Philip began his journey as a British Royal when he married into the country's royal family after a five-month engagement to his distant cousin, Elizabeth. He was 26.

1948: The couple had their first child, Prince Charles, in 1948. In this picture, he sleeps in the arms of his mother, then Princess Elizabeth, after his Christening at Buckingham Palace.

1949: Philip spent many of his younger years in the Royal Navy meaning family time was precious. He spent much of 1949 stationed in Malta as the first lieutenant of the destroyer HMS Checkers, the lead ship of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet.

1950: Two years after the birth of Prince Charles, Elizabeth and Philip gave birth to their second child, Princess Anne.

1951: The family's first home was Clarence House, located just a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace in central London. The family can be seen playing in its gardens in this photo.

1952: Despite his active naval career ending in 1951, he was promoted to commander of the Royal Navy in 1952.

Source: The British Monarchy

1953: During the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Philip bowed to his while while more than 27 million people in Britain watched on television.

Source: Royal.uk

1954: This photo shows the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh during an official visit to HAMS Australia, flagship of the Australian Navy. The Royal couple went aboard during their visit to Cairns, Queensland.

1955: Throughout his career, he has been involved with more than 780 organisations and been a loyal supporter of his wife, attending events around the world with her for more than 60 years.

1956: In 1956, the royal founded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. The scheme is still running 61 years later and aims to instill within young people a "sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities," by encouraging them to take part in charity work and outdoor activities.

1957: It wasn't until 1957 that Philip was formerly made a British prince. That same year, he completed a round the world tour aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. Here he is feeding penguins during a visit to the Antarctic.

1958: Here, Prince Philip is handing a pen back to Levi Milley after signing an autograph. Milley was one of 12 men who survived nearly a week trapped in a mine in SpringHill, Nova Scotia in 1958.

1959: Philip and Elizabeth's children grew up meeting some of the world's most powerful leaders. President Eisenhower visited Balmoral Castle in 1959, where he was photographed patting Princess Anne on the shoulder as her father looked on proudly.

1960: Prince Andrew, the couple's third child, was born in 1960. In this photo, he laughs as he holds hands with his father, Prince Philip, and his sister, Princess Anne, during their summer holiday at Balmoral Castle.

1961: The royal couple made their first visit to the Taj Mahal in India in January 1961. He also became UK President of the World Wildlife Fund the same year.

1962: The Royals have been a regular fixture at Ascot, one of the biggest events in Britain's horse racing calendar.

1963: In 1963, the couple went on a three-month tour of Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.

1964: People often don't realize that the royal is also a qualified pilot, having racked up nearly 6,000 flying hours over the past five decades. He's also the patron of the Guild of Air Pilots.

1965: Philip attended the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, along with fellow British royals and dignitaries from overseas.

1966: The Queen and her husband visited St. Lucia in 1966. This was also the year he famously proclaimed "British women can't cook."

Source: The Telegraph

1967: The following year, he made an equally dubious gaffe. When asked whether he would like to visit the Soviet Union, he replied: "I would like to go to Russia very much, although the bastards murdered half my family." This is a reference to his German heritage.

1968: Britain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the formation of the RA Fin style. Here, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip ride past a number of Bloodhound missiles on display during their visit to the Royal Air Force Base at Abington, England.

1969: Prince Philip joined a patient's group therapy session when he visited the National Addiction and Research Institute in Chelsea, London. The prince spent 20 minutes with the patients discussing their problems.

1970: Queen Elizabeth II read her speech in the House of Lords alongside her husband for the State Opening of Parliament in 1970.

1971: The late Sir Roger Moore met the Duke of Edinburgh at an auction dinner in aid of the Variety Club of Great Britain, at the Savoy Hotel in 1971.

1972: In 1972, Philip and Elizabeth travelled to France and took part in remembrance services.

1973: Prince Philip talked to his wife before the new Sydney Opera House complex. Left is Frank Barnes., General Manager of the Opera House and right is Sir Roden Cutler, Governor of New South Wales.

1974: He received a traditional Maori welcome when he arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, to open the 10th Commonwealth Games. In this ancient Maori challenge, the feather is thrown at the feet of the Duke, with the chant, "do you come as friend or foe," by picking up the feather the Duke was accepted and welcomed.

1975: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are greeted by Emperor Hirohito of Japan at the entrance of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 7, 1975.

1976: The royal couple laughed as the young girl stood next to them was reluctant to hand over a bouquet of flowers during their royal visit to Luxembourg.

1977: This photo captures Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth waving at a low-flying Concorde as it passed the Royal Yacht Britannia near Barbados. The iconic passenger jet could fly faster than the speed of sound but made its last flight in 2003 due to soaring costs.

1978: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were followed by their sons Prince Andrew, left, and Prince Edward, as they entered the stadium before the start of the 11th Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

1979: This family photo was taken in the ground of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Elizabeth and Philip were joined by their sons (l-r) Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, and Prince Edward.

1980: The Royals made a historic visit to meet Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in October 1980. It was the first state visit to the Vatican by a British monarch.

1981: Philip's first son, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. An estimated 750 million people watched the ceremony worldwide. Below is the official wedding portrait. Philip can be seen standing next to Diana.

1982: The Queen looked surprised after her husband, Prince Philip, pointed that they should be going another way as they drove through the crowd of athletes and officials during the Closing Ceremony of the 12th Commonwealth Games. The crowd forced them to make another lap around the stadium.

1983: The couple has met every sitting US president — bar Lyndon B. Johnson — since Elizabeth ascended to the throne. Here they're pictured with former President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in San Francisco.

1984: The Royal family, along with Lord Spencer, attended Prince Harry's Christening in December 1984.

1985: The Queen, Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, Princes William and Harry, and the Earl of Wessex at the Trooping the Colour.

1986: The couple paid a state visit to China, making the Queen the first British monarch to ever do so.

1987: Philip held a news conference in Washington D.C. in May 1987, to announce a World Wildlife Fund Campaign to end illegal wildlife trade. The global organisation has also named an award after him — The Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award — which recognizes "highly meritorious contributions to the conservation of wildlife and natural resources."

1988: Prince Philip was greeted by children of the British School in Holland. He was visiting the Netherlands for the celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the Glorious Revolution, when Prince William III of Holland ousted King James II from the English family.

1989: Philip was greeted by a worshipper at St. Mary's Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur after he stepped in for the queen who was unable to attend the service because of a chill. In the background is a plaque in honour of the royal couple.

1990: The prince had the honour of delivering the Rafael M. Salas Lecture at the United Nations' headquarters in New York. Named in honour of Mrs. Salas' — pictured below— late husband, Rafael was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund.

1991: President George H. Bush escorted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the field at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, before the Orioles played the Oakland A's. This was the first baseball game the monarch had ever watched.

1992: Here, Prince Philip emerges from the channel tunnel near Calais, France, after becoming the first member of the royal family to use the rail line connecting England and France — one year before it welcomed its first fare-paying passenger.

1993: The Duke of Edinburgh chats with Diana, Princess of Wales, at a banquet he is hosting in honour of the Queen, at the Dorchester Hotel, London.

1994: This was the first ever visit to Israel by a member of the royal family. Philip flew to the country to participate in a ceremony honouring his mother for saving Greek Jews during WWII. In this photo, Prince Philip jokes with British veterans.

1995: Queen Elizabeth II looks up toward the sky as Prince Philip, left, and Prince Charles look on during memorial services to mark the 50th anniversary of VJ Day in London on August 19.

1996: Prince Philip caused outrage across the country on December 18, particularly in Dublin, the scene of that year's primary school massacre, when he suggested that cricket bats were potentially just as dangerous as guns.

1997: Philip and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, walk through a sea of flowers left by the public outside Buckingham Palace in memory of Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in August that year.

1998: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip greet Tony Blair and his wife Cherie at Buckingham Palace in London on the second day of the Asia-Europe meeting. The three days of meetings were dominated by discussions on how the Asian economic crisis was being handled.

1999: The Queen and her husband were welcomed to Ghana by the sound of drums and reggae music, where they met the 13 regional chiefs and eight Queen Mothers of Ghana.

2000: Prince Philip bids farewell to Former President Nelson Mandela. Prince Philip and Prince Edward went to see young offenders enrolled in rehabilitation programs in South Africa.

2001: Jordan's Queen Rania smiled with Prince Philip during arrival ceremonies in Windsor. The King and Queen of Jordan were on an official State Visit to England at the time.

2002: A year of glorious highs and sad lows — The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee, it was also the year the Queen Mother passed away.

2003: Then-US President George W. Bush visited Britain with his wife Barbara in 2003. The couple can be seen walking with the royals along the west terrace of Buckingham Palace.

2004: A memorial fountain dedicated to the late Princess Diana was unveiled in Hyde Park, London. The House of Windsor buried the hatchet with the aristocratic family of Diana earlier that week, almost seven years after her brother savaged the royals in his funeral eulogy.

2005: A National Service of Remembrance was held for the Victims of the London Bombings at St. Paul's Cathedral in central London. The service, where candles were lit to represent the four sites in London bombed on July 7, was also attended by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.

2006: Prince Philip visited the Queen's Royal Hussars in Basra. He told the troops that most people in Britain had "a great deal of sympathy for those of you at the sharp end who are trying to do your best to make life civilized and tolerable for the locals."

2007: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth celebrated their diamond (60th) wedding anniversary. They marked the occasion with a special thanksgiving service held at Westminster Abbey.

2008: Prince Philip and France's then-first lady Carla Bruni laughed as they stood with Queen Elizabeth and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a review of the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor.

2009: Prince Philip speaks to well-wishers during his visit with Queen Elizabeth to Newcastle, northern England.

2010: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended the ninth inauguration of the General Synod at Westminster Abbey, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

2011: Prince Philip has spent his life supporting veterans and the armed forces. Here, he talks with soldiers and their relatives of the 2 Close Support Battalion RE ME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) after the Operation Herrick Medal Parade at the Saint Barbara's Barracks in undefined, Lower Saxony. Some 150 soldiers were awarded for their deployment in Afghanistan.

2012: This brilliant photo captures Philip, Elizabeth, and Charles laughing as they watch the Braemer Gathering in Scotland as competitors participated in a sack race.

2013: Prince Philip was presented with New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, by his wife, Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace in London. He also celebrated his 92nd birthday that year.

2014: The couple laughed after bidding farewell to the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at Windsor Castle. The Irish President and his wife Sabina left Windsor at the end of a four day State Visit to Britain, during which they stayed at the castle as guests of her majesty.

2015: Philip played a vital role in saving Britain's engineering sector in the 1970s by creating a national engineering academy. He told the BBC in 2015 that after WWII, Britain was "completely skint — it seemed to me that the only way we were going to recover was through engineering."

Source: BBC

2016: The Duke of Edinburgh Award celebrated its 60 anniversary in 2016 — arguably the most successful venture of any current royal. The Queen also celebrated her 90th birthday in style with the Patron's Lunch street party, pictured below.

Source: The Telegraph

2017: After 65 years of public service, the prince retired from public life. Public appearances had become increasingly rare — but here he attends the annual garden party at the Palace of Hilarity's in Edinburgh.

2018: Though officially retired, Prince Philip has made appearances at a number of events in the past year. His grandson Prince Harry's wedding, for instance, was not something he was likely to miss.

Charles Clark contributed to an earlier version of this story.

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/06/tech-prince-philip-turns-97-on-sunday_8.html

Pat from Starter Story again, here with another interview.This one is a bit different, as it's more of a side project, but a pretty cool one at that.TLDR:Allen finds old radios at places like garage sales, restores them and even adds bluetooth to them.Primarily works on the weekends and grosses $50k/yr.Featured on CNN! (see video below)He puts his radios on dozens of online marketplaces, to "cast a wide net".Hope you enjoy:My backgroundMy name is Allen Chiang, and I founded Retro Radio Farm, where I repair and restore old radios. I offer Bluetooth MP3 upgrade if the customer wants to play digital music.I have a busy career as an IT professional. Retro Radio Farm is side business that grew out of a recent hobby of mine.Right now, I make about $50K a year for the work I put in primarily on weekends. While it’s highly profitable, it has not yet lucrative enough yet for me to quit my day job. Although, the business has been growing 20% every year.What our radios look likeHow I came up with the idea.One day back in 2012, I happened to go to a local flea market. I wasn’t looking for anything in particular, and I'm not a flea market or garage sale regular.I noticed these two old radios for $15 each. I had not been interested in old radios before, and I was not a collector or a retro guy. These particular radios were from 1950s, bright and colorful, oozing with retro pride, but in sad, neglected shape.As far as my professional background, I have an electrical engineering degree but never worked on radios. My understanding of these things was only basic at best. I knew analog audio sounded better than digital from my guitar days.I read a few articles online, postings on forums, and figured out how to repair these things. It was a slow process at first, with a lot of trial and error.I was looking to launch an online business of some kind to generate additional income. I had been selling random stuff on eBay for years.How I find radios and how I repair them.Radios manufactured between the 1920s through 1960s were built on vacuum tube technology, which became obsolete with the introduction of solid-state technology.Vacuum tubes are actually glass tubes about the size of a small light bulb. All digital technology today is based on some kind of semiconductor transistor, but much smaller. There are still manufacturers of vacuum tubes, but they mainly cater to guitar players and high-end audiophiles.Vacuum tubes are fundamentally analog. They are expensive to make and service. They are power hungry, big and bulky, relatively unreliable, burn-out over time, and run at higher temperatures compared to digital. Yet, many musicians and audiophiles insist on them because of their sound quality. Many people feel vacuum tube based audio is a lot more organic sounding.I've been working on old radios from all periods between the 30s through the 70s, but I prefer the 50s mid-century designs because of their bold and colorful designs. During the 50s, America as a country was going through rapid growth, experimenting and taking chances, leaving old conventions and attitudes behind. This is reflected in how these radios look. Brown and white Bakelite radios of the 30s and 40s gave way to pink, turquoise, and seafoam greens with oblique angles, chrome, and space-age design motifs.Featured on CNN!These radios are becoming very collectible. The upcycling potential of these old designs with modern technology is driving prices higher and higher.So I started finding these old radios from the 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s online and buying collections from collectors. Often for me, the satisfaction is the thrill of the hunt. I remember one collector who had so many of these old radios in his garage. The radios were propping up the falling structure and were lying around in piles in his yard! Another collector had so many radios in his attic that there wasn’t enough room for anyone to walk around. He ended up dropping them out of the attic windows while I caught them in his driveway!Most of the collections I acquire come through word of mouth and via my website as well as through various social platforms under the Retro Radio Farm name.Each radio repair and restoration project is different - each one is a mystery and a hidden story to tell. When I fix a radio, and it plays again, I feel like I've solved a puzzle. It’s true not many people listen to AM radio anymore. AM band nowadays seems to have 1 of 3 basic programming formats; talk, latin, and oldies. It’s fitting, like from a Stephen King story, when a 50’s song is the first thing that plays after decades of silence.There’s one common thing I find inside all these old radios: DIRT. These old radios were mechanical as much as electrical, not like the solid-state designs of today. Dirt and anything mechanical is a dangerous combination. Plus, these old radios were warm, dark, enclosed, and most cases stored in attics, basements, and garages for years, sometimes decades. That's a haven for mice, spiders, ants, etc - you name it!A great idea without hard work won’t succeed. An OK idea with a lot of work might succeed.Some radios were still working before being put into storage - making the repairs simple. Maybe a tube was blown, or an old beeswax and paper filter capacitor dried out. eBay and specialty electronics supply stores still carry plenty of replacement vacuum tubes at a low price. Replacement parts like capacitors, resistors, and most other components are widely available.Other radios have had a more unfortunate fate. Remember, these radios were not glorified muscle cars or the cherished cultural icons such as the custom colored pre-CBS Strat. I find them with missing knobs, cracked or chipped, coated with grease and lint, painted with latex, etc.It is time-consuming to repair cracked and chipped cases, repaint or re-veneer them, or re-manufacture and fabricate missing pieces or trim. Electronically, troubleshooting can take many hours. Armed with a schematic and a hefty dose of electrical intuition, I discover root issues are defective capacitors, a broken circuit trace, an open transformer, or tolerance drift. My workshop articles documenting some of these restorations help tell these stories. The workshop stories seem to outperform my other content, especially in email marketing blasts.I strive to maintain originality. Unless the customer requests new totally new technology, then all circuits and exterior features remain intact and factory original.With the resurging interest in the phonograph, I figured analog radio or Bluetooth to play MP3/MP4 makes sense. I figured out a way to add Bluetooth to make these radios play modern music formats MP3, MP4, Bluetooth or Wifi. For many people, these old radios are just shelf art unless they can listen to their music on iTunes, iPhone, or iPad.These radios sound great with the Bluetooth addition. I add a rocker switch on the back to select between Bluetooth and regular radio. The Bluetooth feature allows customers to play their own music wirelessly from any Bluetooth capable device.The Bluetooth MP3 modifications are intended to be reversible. All circuit modifications can be undone by someone who is qualified. I find my customers are equally men and women across a wide age group. Typically, they appreciate the nostalgia aspect of these old radios. Most want them working, but some collect as display pieces. About half my customers upgrade to Bluetooth MP3.My radios have even been used in several movies as props. One Manhattan decorator used my radios in a wall display. I have sold my radios nationwide across all states and to many countries globally.Launching the online store/business.I started off by selling completed products on eBay, but I eventually outgrew it. I put up RetroRadioFarm.com because I wanted to build my own brand.My professional experience gave me an advantage in setting up my own e-commerce site.My startup costs were nominal:About $30 to register my domain.Maybe $100 for both state and federal tax IDs.Soldering iron and maybe $100 of spare parts and I was off and running.I quickly launched my Shopify store. I came up with RetroRadioFarm.com as the domain as my first choices, such as retroradios.com or vintageradios.com, were already taken.The Shopify platform is pretty turnkey. I also looked at Magento and GoDaddy. I even considered oDesk to build my own site from scratch. I came up with the logo and store concept in one afternoon. I chose not to use Shopify store templates because I wanted something unique.I've learned it is crucial to learn about SEO marketing. It is an evolving playing field, and new opportunities are introduced every day.As Google, Facebook, Twitter, Amazon, etc evolve their platform, I try to stay on top of it all to get my message out. Initially, however, I just jumped in and started buying AdWords and developing campaigns.Attracting new customers.The list of my online channels keeps growing, some involve costs, and some do not.I am on Facebook, Amazon, Twitter, Etsy, Pinterest, Youtube, Instagram, among others.I just added my product inventory to Houzz, Kik, Wish, and Wanelo. There’s more.I strive to cast a wide net. Every hit counts. I rely on a diversified strategy. I leverage every opportunity to reach new customers. I use Omnisend for email marketing. I target folks who have signed up through my website, Facebook look-alikes, and existing customers for my email campaigns.I try to describe everything about my product to eliminate purchase objections. I try not to assume people know anything about my product features unless I state it explicitly.I do not have plans to set up at antique shows or maker faires because of cost constraints. I do not offer a retail storefront either for the same reason.The best campaigns for me have been Google Remarketing campaigns and organic search and display advertising. Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and Twitter are growing. Email marketing is excellent, but I can’t do it every day.I’m thinking about starting a podcast to share my workshop experience live, but I’m not entirely sure how I would go about it.Every once in a while we get a windfall event, like our CNN Great Big Story feature, or our feature on MessyNessyChic, and we see a pop in traffic. It is exhilarating to see 1000% or more percent bump day over day, and the resulting revenues! I’m not sure how to get more of these.Plans for the future.Someday, it would be great to be able to quit my day job and do radios full time.In order to achieve this, I am considering various possibilities; a reproduction line, a storefront, a book, or all the above.I am looking for investors. I am in the process of getting patents.Have you learned anything particularly helpful or advantageous?Beautiful images:. I am constantly comparing photos I find online with my own. Do my pictures look better than theirs? I try to ask someone else’s unbiased opinion.Product descriptions: I try to describe everything about my product to eliminate purchase objections. I try not to assume people know anything about my product features unless I state it explicitly. I value questions which customers have asked me and incorporate all those criticisms in my future offerings. No matter how obvious it may seem to me, I may lose a customer if they are unsure. However, I won’t lose a customer if I tell them something they already know. I try to leverage audio and video to sell.Customer communication: Building good customer relationships is key. I check my email, Facebook messaging, YouTube comments every day. I analyze any and all feedback seriously and take all the necessary steps to improve my product and brand.Platform/tools.My online store is on Shopify.Shippo for fulfillment and postage generation.I maintain an Etsy store which has been successful.USPS for shipping.U-Pic for shipping insurance.I use YouTube for product video demonstration.The best advertising vehicles have been online ads at special interest group websites. We offer international sales, but I have found it to be a small percentage. I'm not sure why.Resources I recommend for others in the business of radios.I haven’t found too many people doing what I do. Radiomuseum has been a good source for schematics. Radioatticarchives has been a good source for model and manufacturer identification and photo library. Once in a while, I query antiqueradios.com forum for troubleshooting tips.Advice for other entrepreneurs who want to get started or are just starting out.A great idea without hard work won’t succeed.An OK idea with a lot of work might succeed.If you don’t work, you don’t get paid.Substitute 'work' for 'new learning' as applicable.Allen will be in the comments if you want to drop any questions in there.

POLITICO Playbook: The timing on taxes

BIG AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE — @KensingtonRoyal at 5 a.m.: “The Prince of Wales has announced the engagement of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle.” Pic of the couple http://bit.ly/2AettOu … WEDDING will be spring of 2018.

Good Monday morning. WHAT THE SMART PEOPLE SAY ABOUT TAX REFORM … — If the Senate can get its tax bill through this week, there’s a good chance Congress could get a bill to President Donald Trump’s desk by the end of the year. Everything would need to fall into place, but it’s possible. If the Senate takes more than just this week to get it done, it will likely slip into next year.

Story Continued Below

11 DAYS until the government runs out of funding … 12 LEGISLATIVE DAYS until the end of the year … 34 DAYS until the end of 2017.

WHERE THINGS STAND — “Tax reform hangs in balance in critical week for GOP,” by Seung Min Kim and Bernie Becker: “It’s do-or-die time for Senate Republicans on tax reform. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) doesn’t appear to have locked down 50 votes for his party’s tax overhaul, with at least half a dozen GOP senators showing varying levels of concern about the legislation released earlier this month.

“Yet the GOP leadership has a narrow window to push through its tax bill in the Senate before lawmakers become consumed with spending fights that could trigger a shutdown, not to mention a special election in Alabama that could flip a reliable Republican vote to a not-so-reliable one — or even a Democrat. … The leadership is juggling objections from multiple pockets of the Senate Republican Conference and is running short of time to convince the hold-outs as Republicans try to close out a frustrating year for their policy agenda with a major legislative accomplishment.” http://politi.co/2iTMQVw

WHAT THE WHITE HOUSE AND GOP LEADERSHIP STAFFERS ARE SENDING AROUND — “How Tax Reform Will Lift the Economy,” op-ed in the WSJ: “The present debate over tax reforms proposed by President Trump’s administration and embodied in bills that have passed the House of Representatives and the Senate Finance Committee has raised the basic question of whether the bills are ‘pro-growth’: Would the proposals raise current and future economic activity and generate federal tax revenue that would reduce the ‘static cost’ of the reforms? This letter explains why we believe that the answer to these questions is ‘yes.’” http://on.wsj.com/2zrpVr3 Signed by Robert Barro, Michael Boskin, John Cogan, Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Glenn Hubbard, Lawrence Lindsey, Harvey Rosen, George Shultz, John Taylor

— WHY IT MATTERS: The White House and GOP leadership is hoping senators skeptical of how the tax overhaul will impact the deficit will be won over by the party’s thinkers on economics backing the proposal. WHO TO WATCH: Sens. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.), Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.).

BUT, BUT, BUT — “Senate GOP tax bill hurts the poor more than originally thought, CBO finds,” by WaPo’s Heather Long: “The Senate Republican tax plan gives substantial tax cuts and benefits to Americans earning more than $100,000 a year, while the nation’s poorest would be worse off, according to a report released Sunday by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Republicans are aiming to have the full Senate vote on the tax plan as early as this week, but the new CBO analysis showing large, harmful effects on the poor may complicate those plans. The CBO also said the bill would add $1.4 trillion to the deficit over the next decade, a potential problem for Republican lawmakers worried about America’s growing debt.” http://wapo.st/2k4V1lv

NEXT UP? — “No one’s sure what’s next for Trump after tax reform,” by Eliana Johnson, Andrew Restuccia, and Ben White: “The White House and Capitol Hill are singularly focused on passing a tax reform bill – but almost no one in Washington seems to know what the Trump administration will bear down on next. White House policy initiatives are typically planned months in advance, with congruent strategies for communications and a view toward working them through Congress. But there is little agreement between White House officials and Republican leaders on the Hill about what should follow tax reform.

“Over the course of conversations with nearly a dozen senior aides in the White House and on Capitol Hill, a range of possibilities surfaced, from welfare reform to the infrastructure program Trump touted on the campaign trail to revisiting Obamacare repeal – an effort that has twice frustrated the Trump administration. The looming vacuum in the Republican agenda underscores how the relative chaos and disorganization of the Trump White House can affect policymaking across Washington.” http://politi.co/2BfpDUp

INSIDE THE HOUSE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS — “Conyers allegations put Pelosi in tight spot,” by Kyle Cheney and Heather Caygle: “Rep. John Conyers said Sunday he was stepping down from his post as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee amid accusations of sexual harassment that have put his party’s leaders in a bind. The decision by the Michigan lawmaker — who has held his seat since 1965 and who denies the harassment allegations — followed several days of internal deliberation and pressure from Democratic colleagues, including Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who wanted Conyers to leave the high-profile post but didn’t want to be seen as forcing him out.

“Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Cedric Richmond (D-La.) and assistant Democratic leader Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) reached out to some CBC members over the Thanksgiving recess to take the temperature of the caucus, according to multiple sources. The group is arguably the most powerful bloc within the House Democratic Caucus and is fiercely protective of its members, particularly Conyers, who was a founding member.” http://politi.co/2zGsLMO

AL FRANKEN SPEAKS — “Franken ashamed but says he’ll return to work on Monday,” by the Star Tribune’s Jennifer Brooks: “Sen. Al Franken is embarrassed, ashamed … and ready to get back to work. For days, Franken has been out of sight — reflecting, he said, on his behavior and the accounts of women who say he groped and demeaned them. ‘I’ve let a lot of people down and I’m hoping I can make it up to them and gradually regain their trust,’ said Franken, who broke an eight-day silence Sunday to talk by phone about what he’s done and what he’ll be doing next. For starters, he said, ‘I’m looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow.’

“But while the Senate debates Republican tax cuts and vets the Trump administration’s pick for Minnesota’s 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, Franken will face lingering questions about whether he can still do his job when many people now associate him with a grinning face in an 11-year-old photo, hands hovering suggestively over a sleeping woman’s chest. Franken said he hopes his own experiences, and the ethics investigation he has called into his own behavior, will eventually make ‘a positive contribution to the conversation, so I can be a better public servant and a better man.’” http://strib.mn/2Bed3VK

****** A message from PhRMA: How much are hospitals marking up medicine prices? According to new Moran Company analysis, hospitals mark up medicine prices nearly 500 percent. The analysis of 20 medicines also found a hospital is paid 2.5 times what the biopharmaceutical company, who brought the medicine to market, receives. Read more: http://onphr.ma/2hSaqox ******

ABOUT 2020 … — “Bernie makes moves pointing to 2020 run,” by Gabe Debenedetti: “Bernie Sanders is taking steps to address longstanding political shortcomings that were exposed in 2016, ahead of another possible presidential bid in 2020. From forging closer ties to the labor movement to shoring up his once-flimsy foreign policy credentials, the moves have provided the senator inroads into party power structures that largely shunned him in favor of Hillary Clinton last year. They’ve also empowered the progressive icon to harness his newfound political power and help Democrats fight President Donald Trump’s administration. …

“The Vermont independent hasn’t decided whether to run for president again in 2020. To his closest allies, his efforts represent a natural next step in his role as ‘outreach chairman’ for Senate Democrats, a new position created for him late last year by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York. Yet the maneuvers could form an important part of a Sanders 2020 effort, a dozen of those allies acknowledged to POLITICO — one that looks markedly different from his surprise 2016 bid, which often suffered from a lack of mainstream political support.” http://politi.co/2k1QZKz

CFPB FIGHT HEADS TO THE COURTS — “Consumer bureau’s top lawyer sides with Trump in leadership clash,” by Lorraine Woellert: “The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s top lawyer sided with the Justice Department over President Donald Trump’s appointment of Mick Mulvaney to lead the CFPB as a leadership battle over the controversial watchdog agency escalated. In a memorandum obtained by POLITICO, CFPB general counsel Mary McLeod said Trump had the legal authority to name an acting director to the bureau under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. ‘It is my legal opinion that the president possesses the authority to designate an acting director for the bureau,’ McLeod wrote in the Nov. 25 memo to the CFPB leadership team. …

“[E]ven as McLeod’s memo was circulating, Leandra English, former CFPB Director Richard Cordray’s choice to serve as acting director of the watchdog agency, sued the Trump administration in U.S District Court in Washington. In her lawsuit filed late Sunday, English named Trump and Mulvaney as defendants and asked the court to establish her authority as acting director.” http://politi.co/2zFlfBT … McLeod’s memo http://politi.co/2zrEquO … The lawsuit http://bit.ly/2BfLPOq

TRUMP’S MONDAY — The president will have lunch with VP Mike Pence and Senate Finance Committee members. He is hosting an event honoring Native American “code talkers” and will also meet in the afternoon with Defense Secretary James Mattis.

SUSAN GLASSER interviews AMBASSADOR KURT VOLKER in the latest “Global Politico” podcast: “The United States should send arms to Ukraine to help in its ‘self-defense’ against Russian aggression. It should hold Russia accountable for its illegal ‘occupation’ of territory there, and push for international peacekeepers. Russian President Vladimir Putin bears the blame for this conflict in Europe, and he will be the ‘decision maker’ on whether to end it too. At least, that’s according to Ambassador Kurt Volker, the Trump administration’s special envoy charged with ending the war in Ukraine.

“If this sounds like a perfectly reasonable American policy toward Russia, that’s because it is, and more or less one that either party would pursue. But of course, there’s just one big problem with this: It almost certainly does not fully reflect what the president of the United States actually thinks. In a new interview for The Global Politico, his first extensive one with a U.S. publication since taking on the post this summer, Volker talked at length about just how troubled relations are with Russia these days despite Trump’s hoped-for reconciliation, how the several rounds of talks he’s held with a top Putin adviser have not yet made any progress, and what it’s like to be a special envoy for a secretary of state who’s vowed to get rid of them.” http://politi.co/2BmvTut … The full transcript http://politi.co/2zIeL5r … Listen to the podcast http://apple.co/2kAoZfH

TURTLE BAY READ — “Israel races to head off UN settlement ‘blacklist,’” by AP’s Josef Federman, Josh Lederman and Jamey Keaten: “Weeks ahead of the expected completion of a U.N. database of companies that operate in Israel’s West Bank settlements, Israel and the Trump Administration are working feverishly to prevent its publication. While Israel is usually quick to brush off U.N. criticism, officials say they are taking the so-called ‘blacklist’ seriously, fearing its publication could have devastating consequences by driving companies away, deterring others from coming and prompting investors to dump shares of Israeli firms. Dozens of major Israeli companies, as well as multinationals that do business in Israel, are expected to appear on the list. ‘We will do everything we can to ensure that this list does not see the light of day,’ Israel’s U.N. ambassador, Danny Danon, told The Associated Press.” http://bit.ly/2ztn7JV

MOOCH! — BOSTON GLOBE: “Tufts postpones Scaramucci event after he threatens to sue student, paper,” by John Hilliard: “An attorney representing Scaramucci demanded in a letter that graduate student Camilo A. Caballero and The Tufts Daily newspaper retract ‘false and defamatory allegations of fact’ about his client and issue an apology.

“In an e-mail to Caballero, Scaramucci said the student had ‘suggested publicly’ that Scaramucci had engaged in unethical behavior. ‘So either back it up or you will hear from my lawyer,’ Scaramucci wrote on Nov. 16. ‘You may have a difference of opinion from me politically which I respect but you can’t make spurious claims about my reputation and integrity.’ In an interview Sunday night, Scaramucci said he is not trying to limit students’ free speech but will defend himself against an “attack” that he called factually inaccurate.

“Scaramucci called on Caballero and The Tufts Daily to retract comments referring to Scaramucci as ‘unethical’ and a ‘man who makes his Twitter accessible to friends interested in giving comfort to Holocaust deniers’ (referring to a story about The Scaramucci Post polling its Twitter followers about how many Jews were killed during the Holocaust) and for stating that Scaramucci ‘sold his soul in contradiction to his own purported beliefs’ for a White House position, according to a letter sent by his attorney.” http://bit.ly/2BocQjw

THE JUICE …

— SPOTTED AT MAR-A-LAGO: Trump and first lady Melania Trump were seated at the main dining table Saturday night with Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter and his wife Laurie, according to a tipster. Trump and former CIA Director James Woolsey had a “lengthy conversation” at his table.

NEARBY DINERS INCLUDED: Eric and Lara Trump, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and his wife Hilary Ross with Howard and Michele Kessler, Chris Ruddy hosting Woolsey and his wife Nancye Miller Woolsey and Kimberly Reed, Lee and Erika Lipton with Jack and Barbara Nicklaus and Bret and Amy Baier, and Robin and Richard Bernstein.

— TRUMP WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE: JAMES SCHULTZ has left the White House counsel’s office to return to the Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor, Josh Gerstein reports. Among the issues Schultz worked on include ethics and financial disclosures. http://politi.co/2Aetn9A

YOU’RE INVITED! — We’ll sit down with SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R-FLA.) Wednesday at 8 a.m. at the Liaison Hotel on Capitol Hill (415 New Jersey Ave., NW). Sign up! Cameras welcome. http://bit.ly/playbookrubio

PHOTO DU JOUR: President Donald Trump waves as he walks with first lady Melania Trump and their son Barron Trump on the South Lawn of the White House on Nov. 26, after returning from Florida. | Susan Walsh/AP Photo

PLAYBOOK INBOX – From Roger Stone’s email list: “Seniors Can Collect $480 per Week From This Unusual ‘Side Job’”.

SARAH ELLISON in Vanity Fair’s Holiday issue, “‘She Didn’t Want This Come Hell or High Water’: Inside Melania Trump’s Secretive East Wing: Understanding the most enigmatic First Lady — and unusual marriage — in modern political history”: “Melania’s parents relocated to the United States to live in Trump Tower. They are close to Barron, their grandson, who speaks Slovenian as well as English. (‘He has an accent?,’ Larry King asked the Trumps in 2010, when Barron was just four years old.) Melania’s parents spend time in the area where Barron attends private school, according to a former West Wing aide.

“The idea is presumably to provide Barron with the kind of stability the Obamas sought for their daughters by inviting Michelle Obama’s mother, Marian Robinson, to live with them in the White House. The aide also told me that since Melania moved to D.C. her ‘focus’ has been on Barron’s school. ‘I think it would be better for [Trump] if she were around more,’ the former aide said.” http://bit.ly/2jpFEA3

BUSINESS BURST — “Inside the Wal-Mart vs. Amazon Battle Over Black Friday,” by WSJ’s Sarah Nassauer and Laura Stevens http://on.wsj.com/2Bfu4i8

THE BALLOT BOX — “The time to hack-proof the 2018 election is expiring — and Congress is way behind,” by Martin Matishak: “Lawmakers are scrambling to push something — anything — through Congress that would help secure the nation’s voting systems ahead of the 2018 elections. But it might already be too late for some critical targets. By this point during the 2016 election cycle, Russian hackers had already been in the [DNC’s] networks for at least three months. Members of both parties insist they can get something done before Election Day 2018, but concede that the window is rapidly closing. Voters in Texas and Illinois will take to the polls in the country’s first primaries in just over three months — a narrow timeline for implementing software patches, let alone finding the funds to overhaul creaky IT systems, swap out aging voting machines or implement state-of-the-art digital audits. …

“Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have proposed a raft of legislative solutions aimed at inoculating future U.S. elections from foreign meddling. But the efforts have been stalled amid partisan fighting, ideological disagreements over who should fund election security and — perhaps most prominently — a packed congressional calendar that has prioritized repealing Obamacare and pushing through a tax overhaul.” http://politi.co/2AAubZh

WOMEN RULE WEEK — POLITICO is partnering with women-led businesses in the D.C.-metro area to offer a full week of exclusive perks in conjunction with the 5th annual Women Rule Summit! Join the fun at participating businesses during Women Rule Week (Nov. 27 – Dec. 1) for exclusive deals and tweet 5 times using #WomenRule for a chance to win two free tickets to the Summit on December 5th! http://politi.co/2zbbyXM

****** A message from PhRMA: According to new analysis from the Moran Company, hospitals mark up medicine prices, on average, nearly 500 percent. The analysis of 20 medicines also found a hospital is paid 2.5 times what the biopharmaceutical company, who brought the medicine to market, receives. While hospital markups lead to higher costs for patients, employers and payers, these markups are often overlooked in conversations about medicine costs. As the provider market continues to become more concentrated and the number of medicines being administered in hospital-owned facilities is growing, the amount hospitals mark up medicine prices needs greater scrutiny. http://onphr.ma/2Ba0TOa ******

MEDIAWATCH — “Meredith Agrees to Buy Time Inc. for $1.85 Billion,” by WSJ’s Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg: “Meredith, based in Des Moines, Iowa, has agreed to pay $18.50 a share for Time, the fabled New York publisher of Fortune, People and Sports Illustrated … That is a 46% premium to Time’s closing price on Nov. 15, before reports of Meredith’s renewed interest in a deal with financial backing from the billionaire Koch brothers. … [Meredith COO Tom] Harty described the Koch investment as ‘passive’ and said the firm ‘won’t have any influence on Meredith’s operations, including editorial.’ Koch Industries, he added, has expressed no interest in acquiring any individual Time Inc. titles.” http://on.wsj.com/2BqjMgb

— “Readers Accuse Us of Normalizing a Nazi Sympathizer; We Respond,” by NYT’s Marc Lacey in Times Insider: “A profile in The Times of Tony Hovater, a white nationalist and Nazi sympathizer in Ohio, elicited a huge amount of feedback this weekend, most of it sharply critical. … We understand that some readers wanted more pushback, and we hear that loud and clear. … We regret the degree to which the piece offended so many readers. We recognize that people can disagree on how best to tell a disagreeable story. What we think is indisputable, though, is the need to shed more light, not less, on the most extreme corners of American life and the people who inhabit them. That’s what the story, however imperfectly, tried to do.” http://nyti.ms/2iTBu3Q … The original piece http://nyti.ms/2iV1lbO

— “CBS boss told me to sleep with coworkers to get ahead: suit,” by N.Y. Post’s Julia Marsh: “Erin Gee, 44, who worked for CBS for 17 years … recently filed a Manhattan federal suit alleging rampant sex discrimination at the network. Gee said one of the most offensive incidents occurred in 2011, when she was talking with her boss at ‘CBS Evening News,’ Robert Klug, about a workplace dispute. Klug, now 58, said ‘she should ‘have sex’ with [the] video editor who had been difficult to work with to ‘break the ice,’’ according to court papers.” http://nyp.st/2AAS6HY

— JEFF GLOR takes over the anchor desk of “CBS Evening News” on Dec. 4, the network announced on Sunday.

SPOTTED: Mark Penn on an American Airlines MIA-DCA flight Sunday afternoon. “Scored the upgrade, too from his perch atop the list,” per our tipster.

FROM MARC CAPUTO – SPOTTED: “West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin chatting with fellow wildcard Democrat John Morgan of Florida on Sunday morning at Mike’s Galley in South Daytona Beach, which Morgan says has ‘the best breakfast in all of Florida.’ Morgan says his son, Matt, spied Manchin first, but the two figured the hulking Senator was an area football coach. Manchin stopped by, said Morgan looked familiar and introduced himself as ‘Joe Manchin of West Virginia.’ Said Morgan: ‘I’m John Morgan of Florida.’ They talked briefly about the politics of taxes, minimum wage increases and, of course, college football.”

BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, president and CEO of Financial Services Roundtable, is 57. How he got his start in politics: “I was appointed to my local municipal planning commission which was a terrific experience. The commission helped guide the development of a really fast-growing suburb, and I am particularly proud of the efforts to develop a wonderful park and trail system.” Read his Playbook Plus Q&A: http://politi.co/2BfwHQV

BIRTHDAYS: Steve Bannon … former Amb. to Japan Caroline Kennedy is 6-0 … Gail Sheehy … Stephen Siciliano … Sam Love … Politico’s Adam Cancryn and Daniel Ducassi … Joe Solmonese … Brian McCormack, chief of staff at DOE … Andrea Koppel-Pollack … Nick Massella, director of audience engagement and comms at PBS “NewsHour” … Mary Vought, who celebrated with a few days in Middleburg (hat tips: Russ Vought and Rachel Semmel) … Politico Europe alum Simon Taylor … Mike Cross … Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) is 59 … former Rep. Jon Runyan (R-N.J.) is 44 … Alex Wagner of CBS News and the Atlantic … Rich Verma, vice chair of the Asia Group, former U.S. Ambassador to India and “fan of all Pittsburgh sports” (h/ts Ben Chang, filing from Asheville en route to Atlanta) … Sean Bartlett … Marie Logsden, director of strategic comms for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (h/t Gordon Bronson) … Barry Stuart Sternlicht, founder, chairman, and CEO of Starwood Capital Group, is 57 (h/t Jewish Insider) …

… Libby Leist, senior producer of NBC’s “Today” … Sam Wainwright, former health policy analyst at New America Foundation, now a resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, is 3-0 (h/t Daniel Strauss) … Lisa Vedernikova, special projects manager at the NYT and a Clinton campaign alum (h/t TSG) … Katie Honan … Molly Logan Cox, AtlanticLIVE director of business development (h/t Patrick Garrigan) … John Aravosis … Ashley Robinson, senior PR manager at Amazon Operations North America … Susan Falconer … Kathryn Ciano, senior regulatory counsel at Uber … Dina Cappiello, editorial director and SVP at Edelman and an AP alum … Katie Campo … Kaiya Waddell, business lead for global marketing solutions at Facebook … Christine Taylor … Jess Byrne Knox … Joe Davila … Maryanne Pintar … Chelsie Jeppson … Paul Nasella … Sid Burgess is 36 … Jason Gold, VP for strategic relations and partnerships at S&P Global … Victoria Lai … Jake Boatright … Paul Maslin … Megan Manley (h/ts Teresa Vilmain)

****** A message from PhRMA: According to new analysis from the Moran Company, hospitals mark up medicine prices, on average, nearly 500 percent. The analysis of 20 medicines also found a hospital is paid 2.5 times what the biopharmaceutical company, who brought the medicine to market, receives. While hospital markups lead to higher costs for patients, employers and payers, these markups are often overlooked in conversations about medicine costs. As the provider market continues to become more concentrated and the number of medicines being administered in hospital-owned facilities is growing, the amount hospitals mark up medicine prices needs greater scrutiny. http://onphr.ma/2Ba0TOa ******

SUBSCRIBE to the Playbook family: POLITICO Playbook http://politi.co/2lQswbh … Playbook Power Briefing http://politi.co/2xuOiqh … New York Playbook http://politi.co/1ON8bqW … Florida Playbook http://politi.co/1OypFe9 … New Jersey Playbook http://politi.co/1HLKltF … Massachusetts Playbook http://politi.co/1Nhtq5v … Illinois Playbook http://politi.co/1N7u5sb … California Playbook http://politi.co/2bLvcPl … London Playbook http://politi.co/2xfDPuK … Brussels Playbook http://politi.co/1FZeLcw … All our political and policy tipsheets http://politi.co/1M75UbX

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On Senate Floor, Portman Honors Memory of Senator John McCain

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) delivered remarks on the Senate floor in memory of Senator John McCain who passed away Saturday at the age of 81. 

“Now, as a gesture of our nation’s gratitude for the patriotic path he blazed, Senator McCain will lie in state in the Capitol, draped in the flag that he spent his life serving. John McCain was a hero in the flesh, right here in this century, and I feel blessed for having known him.” 

Transcript of his remarks can be found below and a video can be found here.

  “Today I want to join my colleague from Minnesota and other senators in talking about our colleague, an American icon, who played an outsized role in our nation’s great story. Navy Captain, Congressman, and U.S. Senator, John McCain was first and foremost a patriot. Throughout his whole life—and very prolific life—he lived the motto of his 2008 presidential campaign, which was simply, ‘Country first.’

  “I had the privilege of helping Senator McCain during that 2008 campaign. I was in the private sector then, and I took time off to spend about six weeks with him traveling around the country. I was on the campaign trail with a group of his loyal friends, including the first friend, Lindsey Graham. I had known John for many years, but you really get to know somebody in a different way during the intensity and pressure of a national campaign. I played the role of his opponent, then-Senator Barack Obama, to prepare him for his debates. I took that role very seriously, maybe too seriously on occasion. It was my job to get under his skin and prepare him well for the debates, and I did it. Many of my colleagues will tell you he was a fighter and a tough competitor and did not mince words. I was on the other end of that after some spirited debates we had. I was very glad that in the real world I was actually on his side. Needless to say he was not happy with me during those debate sessions. I think Cindy McCain still hasn’t forgiven me for some of the things I said during the debate preparation when I was playing the role of then-Senator Obama. Even two years later, after I was first elected and joined him here in the United States Senate, he would introduce me to the reporters in the hall and say, ‘that’s the jerk that played Obama.’

  “The John McCain that I got to know during the intensity of the campaign was principled. He was patriotic and he was passionate and his heart was in the right place. He also had a sense of humor that was intact. I remember when a bad poll would come out, he would gather us around and say, ‘don’t worry, it’s always darkest before it’s pitch black.’

  “One of the memories I will never forget was during a debate preparation in a theater at the Morgan Library in New York City. At start of the debate practice I was backstage behind a curtain because I wanted it to be realistic where I would be coming out from behind the curtain and up to the podium, just as you would do in a presidential debate. It was in late September, 2008. I think it was September 24, 2008, just as the financial crisis was hitting hard. It’s difficult to go back to that moment today, but the mindset at the time was that we were in a true crisis. The stock market had crashed. The country was mired in financial turmoil. And so I stood there behind the curtain getting ready to come out. John McCain and two of his top campaign advisors were on stage getting into their own debate, and their debate was about whether or not to suspend the campaign, postpone the first debate that was scheduled to occur just a few days later, and fly back to Washington, D.C., to work out a legislative solution to bolster the shaky financial system. I remember one of the advisors raised the concern that suspending the campaign would hurt them politically. They just couldn’t do it. By the way, that was a point of view that was shared by pretty much every political pundit, and probably would be today. I remember John McCain pushing back. He said, ‘It’s the right thing to do. If we don’t fix this, there won’t be a country left to govern.’ He suspended his campaign and returned to Washington to jump into the arena, like his hero, Teddy Roosevelt, and to try to fix things. John McCain was less worried about the political fallout than he was about what was at stake for our great country. Country first.

  “He didn’t win that campaign, but I think he taught all of us a lesson about how to lose. He gave a generous concession speech that put country first. He was someone a lot of us looked to for counsel and worked with on many issues, often national security issues. In my case, he was an expert. I worked with him on issues like Ukraine, but also on other matters. Just in the last year he played a key role in helping us enact reforms here in the United States Senate that are making a real difference right now in combating online sex trafficking. This was through legislation that I introduced called the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act, or SESTA. And this SESTA legislation was something he was very involved with. Cindy McCain has a long history in this area. She’s a real expert on it and she was instrumental in the legislation, in these reforms, as was the McCain Institute. John had a passion for it. He was the first Republican cosponsor of the bill and a passionate advocate. He believed in his heart that the sale of women and children online was just wrong and it should never happen, certainly not in this country, in this century. About six months ago, this legislation, the SESTA bill was about to be voted on, and after getting permission from my Democratic co-author, Senator Richard Blumenthal, who agreed with me, I approached John McCain, and I asked him if we could name this anti-sex trafficking legislation ‘The McCain Bill,’ after him and after Cindy and all the work he had done and his passion for it. His response was immediate and classic McCain. ‘No,’ he said. ‘That wouldn’t be right. I strongly support the legislation, but you all did the work. It isn’t about me. It’s about getting this done for those women and those children.’ Country first.

  “For me, this chamber is never going to be the same place without him. It’s as simple as that. Lindsey Graham said that well earlier. And, for me, this place, the Senate, and our country for that matter, is better off because of him. He dedicated his life to those liberties we enjoy as Americans, and he took it upon himself to defend and represent them and try to spread them around the globe. He joined the U.S. Navy to protect our country, spent more than five years as a prisoner of war, stubbornly patriotic to his own detriment, and served in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate representing not just his Arizona constituents, which he did well, but, as he viewed it, the entire country. Country first.

  “Now, as a gesture of our nation’s gratitude for the patriotic path he blazed, Senator McCain will lie in state in the Capitol, draped in the flag that he spent his life serving. John McCain was a hero in the flesh, right here in this century, and I feel blessed for having known him. The last conversation I remember having with John was right out here in the anteroom off the Senate floor. It was during his very last days here. He was in a wheelchair. He had a brace on his leg necessary because of the chemotherapy, and his voice was faltering. We sat and we talked first about the SESTA legislation and Cindy’s role. John always had a funny line, in this case he joked saying, ‘passing that legislation will save my marriage.’ Then he started talking about his kids. He went into detail about what they were doing, especially his sons in the military and what they were accomplishing and his daughter Meghan and her work in the media world and how proud he was of them. His voice strengthened and his eyes shown with pride as he talked about each of them. I muttered something about that being another part of his legacy, and he gave me that crooked smile. Family and country first.

  “My wife, Jane, and I send our condolences to John’s amazing wife, Cindy, to his seven proud sons and daughter, and to the entire McCain family. 

  “Godspeed, John McCain.”

###

  from Rob Portman http://www.portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ContentRecord_id=09941276-F11B-4F4B-B321-2CAD9AE97474

Tech: Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday — here's the best photo from every year of his royal career

Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday, more than a year after retiring from public life. These are the best photos from every year of his royal career.

Prince Philip turns 97 on Sunday — and it's been over a year since he announced his official retirement from public service.

According to The Telegraph, the Duke of Edinburgh has carried out 22,219 solo engagements and 637 solo visits overseas since he left active military service in 1952.

In retirement, the Duke is reportedly enjoying more leisure time at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk — he is an avid carriage driver and enjoys oil painting.

His Royal Highness' career will be remembered equally for his sharp wit as he will be for his gaffes, which have often left the nation laughing or reeling.

The Prince's prolonged service has won him support from both sides of Parliament — Jeremy Corbyn applauded his "clear sense of public duty" and Theresa May praised his "steadfast support" to the Queen.

Philip's lengthy career, marked by hundreds of visits to far-flung corners of the British Empire, has unsurprisingly produced some remarkable royal photography.

As he turns 97, here are the best images from each of his years as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh:

1947: Prince Philip began his journey as a British Royal when he married into the country's royal family after a five-month engagement to his distant cousin, Elizabeth. He was 26.

1948: The couple had their first child, Prince Charles, in 1948. In this picture, he sleeps in the arms of his mother, then Princess Elizabeth, after his Christening at Buckingham Palace.

1949: Philip spent many of his younger years in the Royal Navy meaning family time was precious. He spent much of 1949 stationed in Malta as the first lieutenant of the destroyer HMS Checkers, the lead ship of the 1st Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean Fleet.

1950: Two years after the birth of Prince Charles, Elizabeth and Philip gave birth to their second child, Princess Anne.

1951: The family's first home was Clarence House, located just a stone's throw away from Buckingham Palace in central London. The family can be seen playing in its gardens in this photo.

1952: Despite his active naval career ending in 1951, he was promoted to commander of the Royal Navy in 1952.

Source: The British Monarchy

1953: During the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Philip bowed to his while while more than 27 million people in Britain watched on television.

Source: Royal.uk

1954: This photo shows the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh during an official visit to HAMS Australia, flagship of the Australian Navy. The Royal couple went aboard during their visit to Cairns, Queensland.

1955: Throughout his career, he has been involved with more than 780 organisations and been a loyal supporter of his wife, attending events around the world with her for more than 60 years.

1956: In 1956, the royal founded the Duke of Edinburgh's Award scheme. The scheme is still running 61 years later and aims to instill within young people a "sense of responsibility to themselves and their communities," by encouraging them to take part in charity work and outdoor activities.

1957: It wasn't until 1957 that Philip was formerly made a British prince. That same year, he completed a round the world tour aboard the Royal Yacht Britannia. Here he is feeding penguins during a visit to the Antarctic.

1958: Here, Prince Philip is handing a pen back to Levi Milley after signing an autograph. Milley was one of 12 men who survived nearly a week trapped in a mine in SpringHill, Nova Scotia in 1958.

1959: Philip and Elizabeth's children grew up meeting some of the world's most powerful leaders. President Eisenhower visited Balmoral Castle in 1959, where he was photographed patting Princess Anne on the shoulder as her father looked on proudly.

1960: Prince Andrew, the couple's third child, was born in 1960. In this photo, he laughs as he holds hands with his father, Prince Philip, and his sister, Princess Anne, during their summer holiday at Balmoral Castle.

1961: The royal couple made their first visit to the Taj Mahal in India in January 1961. He also became UK President of the World Wildlife Fund the same year.

1962: The Royals have been a regular fixture at Ascot, one of the biggest events in Britain's horse racing calendar.

1963: In 1963, the couple went on a three-month tour of Fiji, Australia, and New Zealand.

1964: People often don't realize that the royal is also a qualified pilot, having racked up nearly 6,000 flying hours over the past five decades. He's also the patron of the Guild of Air Pilots.

1965: Philip attended the funeral of Sir Winston Churchill, along with fellow British royals and dignitaries from overseas.

1966: The Queen and her husband visited St. Lucia in 1966. This was also the year he famously proclaimed "British women can't cook."

Source: The Telegraph

1967: The following year, he made an equally dubious gaffe. When asked whether he would like to visit the Soviet Union, he replied: "I would like to go to Russia very much, although the bastards murdered half my family." This is a reference to his German heritage.

1968: Britain celebrated the 50th anniversary of the formation of the RA Fin style. Here, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip ride past a number of Bloodhound missiles on display during their visit to the Royal Air Force Base at Abington, England.

1969: Prince Philip joined a patient's group therapy session when he visited the National Addiction and Research Institute in Chelsea, London. The prince spent 20 minutes with the patients discussing their problems.

1970: Queen Elizabeth II read her speech in the House of Lords alongside her husband for the State Opening of Parliament in 1970.

1971: The late Sir Roger Moore met the Duke of Edinburgh at an auction dinner in aid of the Variety Club of Great Britain, at the Savoy Hotel in 1971.

1972: In 1972, Philip and Elizabeth travelled to France and took part in remembrance services.

1973: Prince Philip talked to his wife before the new Sydney Opera House complex. Left is Frank Barnes., General Manager of the Opera House and right is Sir Roden Cutler, Governor of New South Wales.

1974: He received a traditional Maori welcome when he arrived in Christchurch, New Zealand, to open the 10th Commonwealth Games. In this ancient Maori challenge, the feather is thrown at the feet of the Duke, with the chant, "do you come as friend or foe," by picking up the feather the Duke was accepted and welcomed.

1975: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip are greeted by Emperor Hirohito of Japan at the entrance of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on May 7, 1975.

1976: The royal couple laughed as the young girl stood next to them was reluctant to hand over a bouquet of flowers during their royal visit to Luxembourg.

1977: This photo captures Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth waving at a low-flying Concorde as it passed the Royal Yacht Britannia near Barbados. The iconic passenger jet could fly faster than the speed of sound but made its last flight in 2003 due to soaring costs.

1978: Britain's Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were followed by their sons Prince Andrew, left, and Prince Edward, as they entered the stadium before the start of the 11th Commonwealth Games in Edmonton, Canada.

1979: This family photo was taken in the ground of Balmoral Castle in Scotland. Elizabeth and Philip were joined by their sons (l-r) Prince Andrew, Prince Charles, and Prince Edward.

1980: The Royals made a historic visit to meet Pope John Paul II in the Vatican in October 1980. It was the first state visit to the Vatican by a British monarch.

1981: Philip's first son, Prince Charles, married Lady Diana Spencer in 1981. An estimated 750 million people watched the ceremony worldwide. Below is the official wedding portrait. Philip can be seen standing next to Diana.

1982: The Queen looked surprised after her husband, Prince Philip, pointed that they should be going another way as they drove through the crowd of athletes and officials during the Closing Ceremony of the 12th Commonwealth Games. The crowd forced them to make another lap around the stadium.

1983: The couple has met every sitting US president — bar Lyndon B. Johnson — since Elizabeth ascended to the throne. Here they're pictured with former President Ronald Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan in San Francisco.

1984: The Royal family, along with Lord Spencer, attended Prince Harry's Christening in December 1984.

1985: The Queen, Prince Philip, the Prince of Wales, the Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, Princes William and Harry, and the Earl of Wessex at the Trooping the Colour.

1986: The couple paid a state visit to China, making the Queen the first British monarch to ever do so.

1987: Philip held a news conference in Washington D.C. in May 1987, to announce a World Wildlife Fund Campaign to end illegal wildlife trade. The global organisation has also named an award after him — The Duke of Edinburgh Conservation Award — which recognizes "highly meritorious contributions to the conservation of wildlife and natural resources."

1988: Prince Philip was greeted by children of the British School in Holland. He was visiting the Netherlands for the celebration of the 300th Anniversary of the Glorious Revolution, when Prince William III of Holland ousted King James II from the English family.

1989: Philip was greeted by a worshipper at St. Mary's Cathedral in Kuala Lumpur after he stepped in for the queen who was unable to attend the service because of a chill. In the background is a plaque in honour of the royal couple.

1990: The prince had the honour of delivering the Rafael M. Salas Lecture at the United Nations' headquarters in New York. Named in honour of Mrs. Salas' — pictured below— late husband, Rafael was the first head of the United Nations Population Fund.

1991: President George H. Bush escorted Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on the field at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, before the Orioles played the Oakland A's. This was the first baseball game the monarch had ever watched.

1992: Here, Prince Philip emerges from the channel tunnel near Calais, France, after becoming the first member of the royal family to use the rail line connecting England and France — one year before it welcomed its first fare-paying passenger.

1993: The Duke of Edinburgh chats with Diana, Princess of Wales, at a banquet he is hosting in honour of the Queen, at the Dorchester Hotel, London.

1994: This was the first ever visit to Israel by a member of the royal family. Philip flew to the country to participate in a ceremony honouring his mother for saving Greek Jews during WWII. In this photo, Prince Philip jokes with British veterans.

1995: Queen Elizabeth II looks up toward the sky as Prince Philip, left, and Prince Charles look on during memorial services to mark the 50th anniversary of VJ Day in London on August 19.

1996: Prince Philip caused outrage across the country on December 18, particularly in Dublin, the scene of that year's primary school massacre, when he suggested that cricket bats were potentially just as dangerous as guns.

1997: Philip and his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, walk through a sea of flowers left by the public outside Buckingham Palace in memory of Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris in August that year.

1998: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip greet Tony Blair and his wife Cherie at Buckingham Palace in London on the second day of the Asia-Europe meeting. The three days of meetings were dominated by discussions on how the Asian economic crisis was being handled.

1999: The Queen and her husband were welcomed to Ghana by the sound of drums and reggae music, where they met the 13 regional chiefs and eight Queen Mothers of Ghana.

2000: Prince Philip bids farewell to Former President Nelson Mandela. Prince Philip and Prince Edward went to see young offenders enrolled in rehabilitation programs in South Africa.

2001: Jordan's Queen Rania smiled with Prince Philip during arrival ceremonies in Windsor. The King and Queen of Jordan were on an official State Visit to England at the time.

2002: A year of glorious highs and sad lows — The Queen celebrated her Golden Jubilee, it was also the year the Queen Mother passed away.

2003: Then-US President George W. Bush visited Britain with his wife Barbara in 2003. The couple can be seen walking with the royals along the west terrace of Buckingham Palace.

2004: A memorial fountain dedicated to the late Princess Diana was unveiled in Hyde Park, London. The House of Windsor buried the hatchet with the aristocratic family of Diana earlier that week, almost seven years after her brother savaged the royals in his funeral eulogy.

2005: A National Service of Remembrance was held for the Victims of the London Bombings at St. Paul's Cathedral in central London. The service, where candles were lit to represent the four sites in London bombed on July 7, was also attended by Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair.

2006: Prince Philip visited the Queen's Royal Hussars in Basra. He told the troops that most people in Britain had "a great deal of sympathy for those of you at the sharp end who are trying to do your best to make life civilized and tolerable for the locals."

2007: Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth celebrated their diamond (60th) wedding anniversary. They marked the occasion with a special thanksgiving service held at Westminster Abbey.

2008: Prince Philip and France's then-first lady Carla Bruni laughed as they stood with Queen Elizabeth and French President Nicolas Sarkozy during a review of the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor.

2009: Prince Philip speaks to well-wishers during his visit with Queen Elizabeth to Newcastle, northern England.

2010: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip attended the ninth inauguration of the General Synod at Westminster Abbey, with the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams.

2011: Prince Philip has spent his life supporting veterans and the armed forces. Here, he talks with soldiers and their relatives of the 2 Close Support Battalion RE ME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) after the Operation Herrick Medal Parade at the Saint Barbara's Barracks in undefined, Lower Saxony. Some 150 soldiers were awarded for their deployment in Afghanistan.

2012: This brilliant photo captures Philip, Elizabeth, and Charles laughing as they watch the Braemer Gathering in Scotland as competitors participated in a sack race.

2013: Prince Philip was presented with New Zealand's highest honour, the Order of New Zealand, by his wife, Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace in London. He also celebrated his 92nd birthday that year.

2014: The couple laughed after bidding farewell to the President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina at Windsor Castle. The Irish President and his wife Sabina left Windsor at the end of a four day State Visit to Britain, during which they stayed at the castle as guests of her majesty.

2015: Philip played a vital role in saving Britain's engineering sector in the 1970s by creating a national engineering academy. He told the BBC in 2015 that after WWII, Britain was "completely skint — it seemed to me that the only way we were going to recover was through engineering."

Source: BBC

2016: The Duke of Edinburgh Award celebrated its 60 anniversary in 2016 — arguably the most successful venture of any current royal. The Queen also celebrated her 90th birthday in style with the Patron's Lunch street party, pictured below.

Source: The Telegraph

2017: After 65 years of public service, the prince retired from public life. Public appearances had become increasingly rare — but here he attends the annual garden party at the Palace of Hilarity's in Edinburgh.

2018: Though officially retired, Prince Philip has made appearances at a number of events in the past year. His grandson Prince Harry's wedding, for instance, was not something he was likely to miss.

Charles Clark contributed to an earlier version of this story.

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/06/tech-prince-philip-turns-97-on-sunday.html