- published: 19 Jan 2014
- views: 5612021
Business Executives for National Security (BENS) is an American 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. It was founded in 1982 by former mining executive Stanley Weiss.
For almost thirty years, BENS has served as the primary channel through which senior American business leaders contribute special experience and talent to help build a more secure nation.[citation needed] BENS has 6 regional offices across the country and their headquarters in Washington, D.C.
BENS’ early work focused extensively on U.S.-Soviet threat reduction initiatives and on widespread inefficiencies in support functions in the Department of Defense (DoD). After championing base realignment and closure, BENS worked to find and develop opportunities at the affected bases. They have widened our focus over the last decade to encompass a range of new threats that challenge American security. In recent years they also have broadened their government partnerships to include: the Departments of State, Treasury, Homeland Security, including FEMA and the Secret Service, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the CIA. BENS also does work with all of the combatant commands.
Ice cubes are small, roughly cube-shaped pieces of ice, conventionally used to cool beverages. Ice cubes are sometimes preferred over crushed ice because they melt more slowly; they are standard in mixed drinks that call for ice, in which case the drink is said to be "on the rocks."
Ice cubes that are crushed or sheared into irregularly-shaped flakes may add an interesting aesthetic effect to some cocktails. Crushed ice is also used when faster cooling is desired, since the rate of cooling is governed by the number and average radius of the ice particles.
Melting ice cubes sometimes precipitate white flakes, commonly known as "floaties". This is calcium carbonate which is present in many water supplies and is completely harmless.[citation needed]
American physician and humanitarian John Gorrie built a refrigerator in 1844 with the purpose of cooling air. His refrigerator produced ice which he hung from the ceiling in a basin. Gorrie can be considered the creator of ice cubes, but his aim was not to cool drinks: he used the ice to lower the ambient room temperature. During his time, a dominant idea was that bad air quality caused disease. Therefore, in order to help treat sickness, he pushed for the draining of swamps and the cooling of sickrooms.