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[[Image:Caspar_Weinberger_official_photo.jpg|right|Caspar Weinberger]]
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'''Flexibility''' is the popular term for the ability to easily [[bend]] an [[Object (physics)|object]] or the ability to adapt to different circumstances. However, in various professional fields, more precise terms are used.
There is a lot of speculation about flexibility . Where does it come from ? How does it reproduce ? What is it`s habitat and more. Flexibility is a small, almost microscopic animal that you can barely see, so don`t listen to of any of this bullshit. Whoever wrote this is no better than a graffiti-ist. Go and do a painting instead.
'''Caspar Willard Weinberger''' (born [[August 18]], [[1917]]) is best known as [[United States Secretary of Defense]] under President [[Ronald Reagan]] from [[1982]] through [[1987]], and for his related roles in the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]] program (popularly known as ''Star Wars''), and in the [[Iran-Contra Affair]].
==Early lifePhysiology==
In the [[physiology]] of vertebrates, including humans, the measurement of the achievable distance between the flexed position and the extended position of a particular [[joint]] or muscle group is called its "flexibility", but this is more properly called its [[range of motion]] or range of movement. In this sense, the flexibility of a joint depends on many factors, particularly the length and looseness of the [[muscle]]s and [[ligament]]s due to normal human variation, and the shape of the [[bone]]s and [[cartilage]] that make up the joint.
Weinberger was born in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] as the son of a [[lawyer]]. He received an A.B. degree in [[1938]] and a law degree in [[1941]], both from [[Harvard University]]. He entered the [[U.S. Army]] as a private in [[1941]], was commissioned, and served in the Pacific theater. At the end of the war he was a captain on General [[Douglas MacArthur]]'s intelligence staff. Early in life, he developed an interest in politics and history, and, during the war years, a special admiration for [[Winston Churchill]], whom he would later cite as an important influence.
Flexibility, or suppleness, is also a more generalized term used to compare the relative range of motion of all joints of an individual with a standard. The ability to achieve a full range of movements – to turn, stretch, twist and bend – without any stiffness, aching or suffering a spine or joint injury is defined as [http://www.healthy-body-healthy-mind.com/how-to-build-suppleness/ suppleness].
==Legal career==
Between 1945 and 1947, Weinberger worked as a law clerk for a federal judge, and then joined a San Francisco law firm. He won election to the [[California State Assembly]] in 1952, and reelection in 1954 and 1956. Although unsuccessful in his 1958 campaign for California [[attorney general]], Weinberger continued to be active in politics, becoming chairman of the California [[United States Republican Party|Republican Party]] in 1962.
Medical conditions such as [[arthritis]] can decrease flexibility, while [[Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome]] can increase flexibility. Exercise increases the amount of flexibility in a joint, while decreasing the amount of resistance.
==Political career==
Those who practice [[gymnastics]] (especially [[rhythmic gymnastics]]), [[dance]], [[figure skating]], [[martial arts]], [[body toning]], [[yoga]], [[cheerleading]] and [[contortion]] rely on functional flexibility (increased range of motion with strength and control) to perform their actions.
Governor Ronald Reagan named him chairman of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy in 1967, and appointed him State director of finance early in 1968. Weinberger moved to Washington in January 1970 to become chairman of the [[Federal Trade Commission]], subsequently serving as deputy director (1970-72) and director (1972-73) of the [[Office of Management and Budget]], and as [[Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare]] (1973-75). For the next five years, Weinberger was vice president and general counsel of the [[Bechtel Corporation]] in California.
===Benefits===
Although not widely experienced in defense matters, Weinberger had a reputation in Washington as an able administrator; his powers as a cost cutter earned him the sobriquet "Cap the Knife." He shared the president's conviction that the [[Soviet Union]] posed a serious threat to the United States, and that the defense establishment needed to be modernized and strengthened. Belying his nickname, at [[the Pentagon]] Weinberger became a vigorous advocate of Reagan's plan to increase the DoD budget. Readiness, sustainability, and modernization became the watchwords of the defense program.
Suppleness or flexibility is an important part of a healthful life. Being supple means that you can reach up to take an item down from a bookshelf, for example, or bend down to tie your shoe laces, without feeling that your movements are restricted in any way. When you are young, you tend to take suppleness for granted. But as and when you start growing older, you need to spend a bit of time enhancing and maintaining your suppleness.
Anyone can start a daily routine of simple stretches at any age to restore or increase that flexibility to your muscles as well as joints. Some studies show that you are never too old to reverse the reduced level of suppleness that comes with the age. It really doesn’t matter as to how long it has been building up.
As Secretary of Defense, he oversaw the massive rebuilding of US military strength that contributed to the collapse of the former [[USSR]]. Weinberger pushed for dramatic increases in the United States' [[nuclear weapons]] arsenal, and was a strong advocate of the controversial [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], popularly known as ''Star Wars'', which proposed a space-based missile defense shield.
===How To Achieve Flexibility===
Though he claims to have been opposed to the sale on principle, Weinberger participated in the transfer of United States TOW missiles to [[Iran]] during the [[Iran-Contra Affair]]. Weinberger was later indicted on several [[felony]] charges of lying to the Iran-Contra independent counsel during its investigation. Weinberger received a Presidential [[pardon]] from President [[George H.W. Bush]] on [[January 20th]], [[1993]], just days before his trial was scheduled to begin.
Flexibility can be temporarily increased by regular [[stretching]] of the muscles either by performing specific exercises or by actively participating in activities that take the joints through their full range of movement and lengthens the muscles. Muscles are wrapped in connective tissues, which, rather like chewing gum, are resistant to being stretched when cold. For this specific reason, it is very important to attempt stretching exercises only when your muscles are warm. When stretching, a slight degree of tension should be felt in the muscle. Attempting to stretch too far may cause physical discomfort or even pain and can further result in an injury. So in order to maintain your suppleness, stretches need to be held for at least 10-40 seconds which gives connective tissues enough time to lengthen.
Stretching regularly can result in flexibility that is retained for as long as 48 hours, depending on the duration and depth (effective relaxation) of the stretch. This component is important to avoid injuries during leisure activities{{Fact|date=February 2007}}.
By 1987, the disclosure of the [[Iran-Contra Affair]] and increasing difficulties with Defense budgets weighed on Weinberger. When he resigned on [[November 23]], [[1987]], Weinberger cited his wife's declining health as the reason, but the press speculated that he was unhappy with the prospect of a successful conclusion of a U.S.-Soviet INF arms control agreement. He specifically denied that he was opposed to the INF treaty, scheduled to be signed in Washington in December 1987. In fact, he took credit for proposing the substance of the treaty early in his term at the Pentagon.
===Relative flexibility===
==Later career==
Since muscles which go through grow in size but not in length, when one muscle grows through hypertrophy its opposite side muscle (the antagonist) will have to lengthen, and absolute flexibility is the term to describe a muscle's length, in and of itself, where relative flexibility is the flexibility of a joint, as compared to its antagonistic movement<ref>[http://www.chekinstitute.com/articles.cfm?select=73 "Back to the Basics for the New Year"], by Paul Chek</ref>.
Weinberger had been secretary of defense for six years and ten months, longer than any of his predecessors but [[Robert McNamara]]. After he left the Pentagon, he became publisher and chairman of [[Forbes|Forbes magazine]], where over the next decade he wrote frequently on defense and national security issues. In 1990, he wrote ''Fighting for Peace'', an account of his Pentagon years; in 1996, Weinberger co-authored a book entitled ''The Next War'', which raised questions about the adequacy of U.S. military capabilities following the end of the [[Cold War]].
For example, the [[calf muscle]] extends the foot towards the [[ground]] ([[plantarflexion]]) and the [[anterior tibialis|shin muscle]] flexes the foot in the opposite direction ([[dorsiflexion]]).
==Career highlights==
If a person's calf is [[tonic (physiology)|overly strong]] it will not be as flexible as the opposite shin muscle, and plantarflexion will be exhibit relatively inflexible as compared to dorsiflexion using the person's [[phasic (physiology)|weaker]], but more flexible shin muscle.
*Election to the [[California State Assembly]] in [[1952]], [[1954]] and [[1956]].
*Chairman of the [[California Republican Party]] in [[1962]].
*[[Governor]] [[Ronald Reagan]] named him chairman of the Commission on California State Government Organization and Economy in [[1967]].
*Appointed as [[California State Director of Finance]] early in [[1968]].
*In January [[1970]] he became chairman of the [[Federal Trade Commission]]
*Subsequently serving as deputy director (1970-72) and director (1972-73) of the [[Office of Management and Budget]] under President [[Richard Nixon]].
*[[Secretary]] of the [[United States Department of Health, Education and Welfare]] (HEW) [[1973]] - [[1975]] under President [[Richard Nixon]].
*Early [[1980s]] - strong proponent of the [[Strategic Defense Initiative]], ''Star Wars''
*[[1986]] - [[Iran-Contra Affair]]
*He was the [[United States Secretary of Defense]] from [[1982]] through [[1987]] under President [[Ronald Reagan]].
==Systems theory==
== External links ==
In [[systems theory]], which has applications in diverse fields including biology, ecology, psychology, economics, and management, the flexibility of a [[adaptive system|system]] is related to its [[adaptation]] to a new environment or its [[resilience]] in recovering from a shock or disturbance.
* [http://www.webcom.com/pinknoiz/covert/weinberger.html Text of Weinberger's indictment]
* [http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/secdef_histories/bios/weinberger.htm a long biography of Weinberger], in the public ___domain. Some of the text of this article is derived from this source.
One example is the attribute of [[Flexibility (engineering)|flexibility]] in engineering.'''''Italic text''
{| border="1" align="center"
| width="30%" align="center"| '''Preceded by''':<br>[[Harold Brown (Secretary of Defense)|Harold Brown]]
==References==
| width="40%" align="center"| [[United States Secretary of Defense]]
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| width="30%" align="center"| '''Succeeded by''':<br>[[Frank C. Carlucci]]
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