One of the first posts of last year was reviewing some fragrances, so I thought that would be a very nice idea to show you the new one that I got for this year. This is the Dream Big from the collection United dreams from Benetton. Maybe you remember that I already had two more from the same collection, so this was time to try a new one!
Again, I’m in love with the smell of it, so classy and elegant (such a strange way to describe a smell), but it definitely is. All the scents from this collection last so long (pretty the entire day) and are so affordable. I really recommend you to try them because they’re so great and the bottle design and colors are just gorgeous.
Have you ever smelled it? Do you have any from the collection? Tell me so in the comments and I’ll be glad to read!
I’m sure that this brand is available in Italy, so I guess they’ll have these. Remember that you can ask me questions that I’ll be answering soon in a Q&A!
Years of budget cuts have made austerity the new reality in the UK and we can all see the pain it’s causing.
To close the funding-gap, money for good causes has to go further and work harder. There’s no time for slow evolution – only a revolutionary approach will drive the much-needed strategic change and proactive transformation of charitable funding. Digital technology that brings multiple grants, donations and fundraising activities together and instantly matches the grant makers and donors that have money to give, with the charities and community groups that need money is where it starts….
The Good Exchange is a Not-for-Profit organisation, wholly owned by a Registered Charity. We don’t aim to make profits and we don’t have to give dividends to shareholders – we’re only interested in helping good causes, grant giving organisations and individuals to come together for the good of the industry (hence our name – The Good Exchange).
Unlike a typical crowdfunding system that focuses solely on supporting organisations and individuals to raise funds, The Good Exchange has been designed from the bottom-up to address the needs of both funders and fundraisers and drive much-needed equality across the sector.
The Good Exchange is the only charity platform that unites funders, fundraising organisations and the public. Think of a “reverse-crowdfund” where funders initiate grants and where donors and fundraisers collaborate to drive and build a community around a social cause or local need, closing the funding gap with a mixture of grants, donations and fundraising activities – what a difference it would make.
As well as allowing funders, donor and fundraisers to support their preferred causes, The Good Exchange drives resolution of the deep-rooted challenges faced by the charitable sector by using technology to simplify and streamline the way that charitable giving is managed. Only by doing this can the intractable social problems that need long term funding rather than point-in-time solutions be resolved.
The Good Exchange’s matching technology equalises the funding and fundraising marketplace in the same way that technology has re-aligned the insurance industry. Anyone can go on-line today, complete a single application and be presented with a short-list of insurers that match their personal needs and are willing to take on the risk. On the supply-side, insurance providers are instantly provided with lists of those consumers who are looking for cover and who fit their criteria – a perfect solution for everyone.
Match-Funding is another area where The Good Exchange can really benefit Applicant Organisations. Match funding unites funders and the fundraising public in a collaborative drive around a social cause or local need.
When a funder offers to double the amount of money raised on an Applicant Organisation’s project through match funding, donors and fundraisers are incentivised to drive up the amounts raised and donated and to do this more quickly to enable their chosen charities and good causes to benefit from the doubling of their grants and donations before the fund runs out.
Funders like the ability to offer match funding grants because the approach encourages charitable projects to utilise multiple sources of funding rather than relying on grants alone.
The first same-sex “traditional first kiss” in the Navy’s history (12/21/2011) | We got more bounce in Columbus.
Overnight Defense: Trump ramps up pressure on Iran, international courts | Arrest made after suspicious letters sent to Trump, Mattis | US to offer NATO cyber capabilities | TheHill
Overnight Defense: Trump ramps up pressure on Iran, international courts | Arrest made after suspicious letters sent to Trump, Mattis | US to offer NATO cyber capabilities
THE TOPLINE: The Trump administration went on a full-court press Wednesday after an international court ruling against the United States.
First, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Michael (Mike) Richard PompeoPompeo reaffirms to Saudi crown prince US will hold Khashoggi’s killers ‘accountable’ Trump, Erdogan discussed Khashoggi Trump honors French and American soldiers of World War I in Armistice Day remarks MORE announced in a press briefing that the United States is terminating a 1955 treaty with Iran that was the basis for the court ruling.
Later, national security advisor John Bolton spoke at the beginning of the White House press briefing to reiterate Pompeo's announcement and add that the United States is also withdrawing from the optional dispute resolution process to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
The decisions played into several themes of the Trump administration. First, coupled with the harsh rhetoric Pompeo used in his announcement, it ratchets up the U.S. pressure campaign against Iran.
Second, it follows the administration's disdain for international organizations that don't fit the "America first" mantra.
"This really has less to do with Iran and the Palestinians than with the continued, consistent policy of the United States to reject the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, which we think is politicized and ineffective," Bolton said. "It relates obviously in part to our views on the International Criminal Court and to the nature of so-called purported international courts to be able to bind the United States."
The cases: On Wednesday morning, the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the United Nations's highest court, ordered the United States to lift some sanctions against Iran.
Iran had brought the complaint to the court, sometimes called the World Court, based on the 1955 Treaty of Amity, a pre-Iranian Revolution accord that regulates and promotes economic and consular ties between the two countries.
Tehran charged that President Trump Donald John TrumpMichael Cohen: I pray Michelle Obama's words will unite country again Michelle Obama: ‘I stopped even trying to smile’ during Trump’s inauguration Trump wants to end federal relief money for Puerto Rico: report MORE's decision to withdraw from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and reimpose sanctions violated the decades-old treaty.
In a preliminary ruling, the court said the United States must "remove, by means of its choosing, any impediments arising from" sanctions that affect humanitarian goods and services and services that affect civilian aviation safety. U.S. assurances that sanctions won't hurt humanitarian aid "were not adequate," the court said.
By limiting the order to humanitarian aid and civil aviation, the ruling did not go as far as Iran requested. Still, it is being seen as a victory for Tehran.
Bolton also cited a separate ICJ case brought against the United States by "so-called State of Palestine" over President Trump's decision to relocate the U.S. embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
Iran pressure: In addition to announcing the termination of the treaty, Pompeo upped the pressure on Iran over its alleged activity in Iraq.
Last week, Pompeo ordered the closure of the U.S. consulate in Basrah, Iraq, alleging that militias under the direction of Iran are targeting the consulate.
On Wednesday, Pompeo said U.S. intelligence "is solid" that Iran is the origin of attacks on the mission in Basrah and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, without elaborating on the intelligence.
"We can see the hand of Ayatollah and his henchmen supporting these attacks on the United States," he said. "These latest destabilizing acts in Iraq are attempts by the Iranian regime to push back on our efforts to constrain its malign behavior."
Jeers: Those who supported the Iran nuclear deal were, expectedly, critical of the Trump administration's moves Wednesday.
"The ICJ ruling could prompt the U.S. to think seriously about how make sure that Iran and other sanctioned countries have realistic access to humanitarian goods, not just paper exceptions," Jarrett Blanc, the Obama administration State Department's lead coordinator for the deal's implementation, said in a statement. "Of course this administration is instead just withdrawing from a 60 year old treaty that has provided the grounds for previous complaints about problematic Iranian policies.
"And the next time the administration claims they would have abided by the JCPOA if it had been a treaty, ask how they consulted the Senate before announcing this withdrawal."
Robert Malley, Obama administration White House coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, said in a statement Bolton "again showed why the Trump administration is increasingly isolated on the world stage."
"This bellicosity undermines U.S. interests and, by escalating tensions and forfeiting diplomacy, risks putting us on a path towards conflict in the Middle East," he said.
ARREST IN SUSPICIOUS LETTERS CASE: The FBI arrested a Navy veteran Wednesday in connection with sending letters containing a suspicious substance to the Pentagon and White House.
The suspect has been identified as William Clyde Allen III, of Logan, Utah, said Melodie Rydalch, a spokeswoman at the Utah U.S. Attorney's Office.
Not quite ricin: The suspicious substance found in the letters sent to the Pentagon was the seed to make ricin, but not ricin itself, a spokeswoman said Wednesday.
"According to our preliminary analysis, the substance was castor seeds, from which ricin is derived. The FBI is still investigating," chief Pentagon spokeswoman Dana White said in a statement to The Hill.
Castor seeds are only dangerous if swallowed, but they can be used to make a poisonous pure form of ricin.
What happened yesterday: The Pentagon revealed yesterday that two letter, one addressed to Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisPompeo reaffirms to Saudi crown prince US will hold Khashoggi’s killers ‘accountable’ With no alternatives, military’s tribalism must go US to stop refueling Saudi planes in Yemen MORE and one to Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, were found during mail screenings Monday at the department's remote screening facility.
The Secret Service also said it intercepted suspicious envelopes Monday addressed to President Trump. And in Texas, two people were taken to the hospital after they were exposed to a piece of mail sent to Sen. Ted Cruz Rafael (Ted) Edward CruzSchumer’s headaches to multiply in next Congress Cruz raises constitutional concerns over legislation to protect Mueller Dem wins leave behind a more conservative GOP conference MORE's (R-Texas) Houston-based campaign headquarters containing a white powdery substance.
ANSWERS ON SYRIA?: As the administration sends mixed message on the future of U.S. involvement in Syria, Congress is poised to take a look at what U.S. policy is and should be.
Congress is mandating an examination of the U.S. policy in Syria via a provision tucked into the Federal Aviation Administration reauthorization bill that easily passed the Senate on Wednesday.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen Cynthia (Jeanne) Jeanne ShaheenCongress should broaden legislation to curb medical price gouging Pro-Israel organizations should finally seek payback against Iran deal Dems Democrat Chris Pappas wins New Hampshire House seat MORE (D-N.H.) has been pushing for a while for the creation of the Syria Study Group, modeled after the Iraq Study Group that Congress established in 2006.
"I'm particularly glad to see the bipartisan, bicameral support for my provision to establish a Syria Study Group that will bring outside experts together to finally develop a U.S. strategy in Syria, and pave a path forward to end the conflict," Shaheen said in a statement Wednesday.
What it will do: The group's task is to "examine and make recommendations on the military and diplomatic strategy of the United States with respect to the conflict in Syria," according to the bill.
The chairmen and ranking members of the House and Senate Armed Services Committees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and the Speaker and minority leader of the House will each appoint one member to the 12-member panel.
Timing: The creation of the group comes as the Trump administration has been sending conflicting signals on the future of U.S. military operations in Syria.
National security advisor John Bolton said last week U.S. military presence in Syria is dependent on Iran.
"We're not going to leave as long as Iranian troops are outside Iranian borders, and that includes Iranian proxies and militias," he said.
There, he is expected to offer allies the use of U.S. offensive and defense cyber capabilities if they want.
"We will formally announce that the United States is prepared to offer NATO its cyber capabilities if asked," Katie Wheelbarger, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs, told reporters traveling with Mattis, according to Reuters.
The offer comes amid increasing concern about Russia's cyber activities, including its election meddling.
Readouts: The Pentagon put out statements Wednesday on meetings Mattis had with the defense ministers of Germany and Georgia.
On Georgia, Mattis and Defense Minister Levan Izori "agreed to continue deterring Russian aggression through U.S. security assistance, and support defense initiatives to develop long-term readiness and NATO interoperability."
On Germany, Mattis and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen "agreed to enhancing NATO readiness, military mobility and command structure reform." Mattis also "acknowledged her ongoing efforts to increase defense spending to meet Wales pledge commitments and improve the readiness of Germany's armed forces."
As part of it, the "Our Story" page includes a cartoon explaining the five branches of the military. The Internet was having a good chuckle at the video Wednesday.
The Heritage Foundation will release its "2019 Index of U.S. Military Strength," featuring remarks by Sen. Joni Ernst Joni Kay ErnstDemocrats won’t let Kavanaugh debate die Overnight Defense: Trump ramps up pressure on Iran, international courts | Arrest made after suspicious letters sent to Trump, Mattis | US to offer NATO cyber capabilities Admiral defends record after coming under investigation in 'Fat Leonard' scandal MORE (R-Iowa), at 9 a.m. https://herit.ag/2DWEgCk
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for the nominees to be ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Cyprus at 10 a.m. at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 419. https://bit.ly/2O0QJJW
Let me preface this by saying you absolutely should not hate the Carolina Hurricanes. I’ve followed this franchise for near as long as I can remember and have nothing but the utmost respect for what the organization has accomplished during it’s relatively short time in Raleigh. There are tons of fantastic and devoted people who work for the club and have helped make it a paragon of class and integrity in the sporting world. So I implore you to please not hate the Carolina Hurricanes.
Imagine you’re sitting in your seat at a Hurricanes game blissfully enjoying the high-speed action as Eric Staal pushes the puck up along the boards to Alexander Semin, who in turn slides the puck across the opponents crease to Jeff Skinner who taps the puck in for an easy, yet beautiful, goal. You and several thousand other fans leap to your feet in celebration, cheering and roaring your approval.
At first, it seems alright, because it’s typical hockey fare with the loud horn over a generic rock beat (Blur’s “Song 2” in this case). Then Ric Flair gives a “Woo!” and the whole thing delves into the world of the bizarre. You have Fred Flintstone, Chewbacca, and Tarzan all making completely uncalled for appearances for seemingly no reason at all. It’s confusing, irritating, and, frankly, a little bit scary.
Back in 1997 the Hurricanes were moved to North Carolina without a building to play in. What was then named the RBC Centre was yet to be completed, and there wasn’t a building anywhere in the Triangle that was capable of hosting the team. The organization attempted to overcome this by playing their home games in the Greensboro Coliseum, about a one hour drive from Raleigh.
Thais decision turned out to be a nearly unmitigated disaster. The Greensboro Coliseum was the largest building in the league at the time, and looked absolutely cavernous with the very low attendance one would expect from such a situation.
But as ugly as the attendance at the games appeared, it pales in comparison to what happened to the Canes mascot.
“The announcer, thinking Stormy didn’t hear his cue, repeated the introduction. Nothing happened. The Zamboni drove back off the ice. The fans wondered what in the hell was going on. It turned out that the guy in the Stormy suit was an epileptic with claustrophobia. There wasn’t enough oxygen in the ice chamber of the Zam and this caused him to have a seizure. Honest.”
That’s from http://www.patrickwgarrett.com/Hockey/stormy.shtml and is not the only version of this story.
Unfortunately it’s hard to verify this story, as it occurred seventeen years ago and you can bet nobody in the organization is bringing it up any time soon, but it’s a tale that has been out there for quite some time. If anyone reading this was actually at that game, I’d love to hear about it.
Since the beginning, the Hurricanes logos have been a source of revilement across the league. Described as a “flushing toilet,” Canes fans have had to endure fans and media members alike bashing their primary crest. Personally, I don’t think it’s a terrible logo, but it certainly qualifies as being at least a little bit silly.
Do you see that red flag on former Hurricane Jussi Jokinen’s chest? That’s not the symbol for a hurricane warning. A single flag denotes a storm warning or a gale force wind warning. A hurricane is denoted by two flags and, boy, do Canes fans hear about it.
There’s perfect justification for the logo being the way it is, of course. The Hurricanes are owned and operated by an entity known as Gale Force Sports and Entertainment so the single flag on the logo makes sense. Unfortunately for the Hurricanes, the beautiful thing about hatred is that it doesn’t need to be rational.
It’s official, Antti Niemi is a Dallas Star. He signed a three-year deal that will come with a $4.5M cap hit per season and is ready to challenge Kari Lehtonen for the starting job.
The Stars will now have $10.4M in cap space tied up in goaltending for the next three seasons. Was it the right move for Stars General Manager Jim Nill to make? I think so, and here is why.
The Dallas Stars will likely enter the 2015-16 season with the most money committed to goaltenders in the league and that is a scary thing to a lot of people. At the same time, the Stars are able to afford it as they have many cap-friendly deals littered throughout their depth chart.
As @FriedgeHNIC first reported, Niemi is $4.5 million per season for 3 years. That gives the Stars $10.4 million tied up in goal per year.
Their top two defensemen, Alex Goligoski and John Klingberg, will only take up $8.85M in cap space next season. Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin combined will use $11M in cap space. Other than the names already mentioned, Trevor Daley, Jason Spezza and Ales Hemsky are the only other three players that will take up more than $3M in cap space next season. During the three seasons that the Stars will have both Niemi and Lehtonen under contract, Benn is the only current player who will be getting a “big money” contract. If there was a time for the Stars to potentially overspend on a need, it is now.
The Stars simply cannot afford to waste another season with the offensive powerhouse that they currently possess. The signing of Niemi potentially solves a major problem that the Stars had last season. Let’s go into the numbers a bit.
Last season, Niemi appeared in 61 games for the San Jose Sharks while Lehtonen appeared in 65 for the Stars. Niemi finished the season posting a .914 save-percentage while Lehtonen finished with an abysmal .904%. Lehtonen gave up 26 more total goals than Niemi did and 26 goals can easily be the difference between making the playoffs and ending your season early. At even strength the numbers tell the same story. While at even terms on the ice, Niemi put up a .922 SV% and Lehtonen finished the year with a .914 SV%.
Both San Jose and Dallas had similar defensive numbers while Niemi and Lehtonen were in goal. At even strength, both Niemi and Lehtonen faced similar amounts of low-danger, medium-danger, and high-danger shots against with Lehtonen giving up significantly more goals.
Even if Lehtonen returns to form and commands the full-time starter position, Niemi will still be a significant upgrade over the backups the Stars have put on the ice the past two seasons. Here are the list of goaltenders other than Lehtonen who have made appearances for the Stars in the last two seasons with their save-percentage in Dallas in parenthesis. Dan Ellis (.900 SV%), Tim Thomas (.902 SV%), Christopher Nilstorp (.890 SV%), Jack Campbell (.872 SV%), Jussi Rynnas (.841 SV%), Anders Lindback (.875 SV%) and Jhonas Enroth (.906 SV%). Those numbers really can’t look much worse than that. This past season, the backup position likely cost them a spot in the playoffs and the Stars can’t keep trying to plug that hole with a cheap and unproven netminder.
When all is said and done, this a move that the Stars needed to make. They have tried and tried again giving “show-me” contracts to backups with potential and it has burned them every single time. Does it look bad to the 29 other teams that the Stars are spending over $10 million in goaltending? Maybe, but that is where the Stars needs are at right now. Nobody blinks an eye at the teams who drop $10 million on the first day of free agency for unproven players and Niemi is a proven quality goaltender in this league. The Stars and Nill have managed their cap very well and it allows them to spend extra on a position of weakness. Signing Niemi may very well be the difference-maker for the Stars in 2016.
and many more! We are so honored to have some of his font in our library to share on our stationery creations.