-- Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has made a surprising concession concerning his country's growth target. During talks with European Union leaders Wednesday in Brussels, Tsipras expressed willingness to accept creditors' proposal of a 1.0-percent primary budget surplus this year.
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung:
-- U.S. President Barack Obama approved Wednesday the deployment of up to 450 military advisers to Iraq to help train local forces fighting the Islamic State (IS).
Der Tagesspiegel:
-- Wolfgang Niersbach, President of the German Football Association (DFB) cheap nike air max 90 , has published a 10-point plan to combat corruption within FIFA.
Hardly has there ever been one piece of attire that has so successfully and so consistently represented a group of people as does the Cowboy Hat. Not very many things in American History speak so loudly of a time and of a culture as does this icon.
Because the cowboy hat has not really been around that long there was a time in the development of the western US before the cowboy hat arrived. In that time the ranchers and the cowboys of the time wore hats that were really leftovers for past lives. Some symbolized lifestyles and some occupations or countries of birth. With the cowboy hats invention that all changed.
After the cowboy hat was popularized it was known everywhere but there were still enough differences in the styles of the hat to make is a sort of marker for where the wearer may be from or at the least where he got his hat.
You may have heard the phrase function before form and in the case of the cowboy hat it really has both. Initially the hat was all about function but over time it has moved more and more into the fashion arena and toward a socially symbolic icon.
If you were to place a cowboy hat invented in 1985 by John Stetson side by side with a hat of today you would be able to tell very little difference. He sold those first hats in Central City Colorado and even though people often refer to cowboy hats a Stetsons what they are vocalizing is the brand of hat and not just what kind of hat it is.
Even today the cowboy hat projects a feeling of connection with that early lifestyle of rugged independence. Couple the hat with a great pair of boots and some good looking jeans and you have a prescription for personal transformation at least until one changes clothes.
Originally cowboy hats were created to protect the wearer from the elements and weather conditions. In modern times the cowboy hat has transformed from a functional piece of equipment to a fashion statement. Some designers whole jobs involve the design of fashion cowboy hats for the pretend cowboy market.