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Michael Posted December 10, 2018 Report Share Posted December 10, 2018 The Beast Revelation This letter is dedicated to all Christians. The following letter is a summary of Revelation 13. Its purpose is to show the method used in finding the conclusions which have been stated. Nothing new has been added from my previous letters. It is more of a compilation of them all. This writing is the same material in different words. The Bible uses this same method of explanation. There are four Gospels. In each you see a different view of the same material. This can be beneficial because the meaning becomes more exact. Although, if this is a first time reader, then this will all be news to you. With that in mind, here we go. The first thing that should be addressed when doing any study of Bible prophecy is what questions do I intend to answer. Some of these questions can seem a little simplistic, but their answers are much more complicated. In my studies there were only a few questions that I saw as needing an answer. My questions were very simple. First, who is this individual who is identified by the number 666? Second, who is the false prophet and how does he make the whole world worship the beast whose number is 666. Another question has to do with these same individuals. Could these two individuals be the same person, or for that matter Satan himself? Where is Satan during all this? That last question is very important. It actually goes straight to the answer of all the questions. Finally, when would someone expect to see these individuals on the Earth? Literally, what time frame should I see them? Those are the questions. The answers are much more involved. This narrative will attempt to show how the answers are figured out. These answers can be seen from events that happen in the nightly news. This leads me to a key, which most of us know, but most of us forget. The Bible is a history book. Some events have happened, while some are waiting to happen. It is the ones that have not happened that we are most concerned with. Here is another key. By the way, these keys I speak of are keys to understanding. The Lord spoke in parables. The reason he gave was that it was for some to know the mysteries of God, while it was for some to know not. In hearing, they do not hear. In seeing, they do not see. I compare it to telling the truth, while hiding it at the same time. Many of the parables that the Lord spoke he immediately gave an answer to. He showed how he used certain symbols and words to describe subjects and then gave their meanings. Now for the punch line. The Lord also spoke in parables that he did not identify. These parables go straight to the hidden meaning of these end times. Another key is word substitution. An example of this is a pretty well-known item from Revelation. This word substitution deals with Revelation 13:1. The beast has seven heads and ten horns. In Revelation 17 those heads and horns are defined. The heads are identified as mountains, while the horns are identified as kings. This changes the whole picture of what the beast is symbolically to what it is literally. Now Rev.13:1 can be read as follows with just the items discussed thus far. And I saw a beast rise up out of the sea having seven mountains and ten kings. That is a simple and easy word substitution. Know that this will happen many times throughout the Bible. Now, getting back to the questions. The question is, where is Satan? If this question can be answered, you can eliminate some others. Some prophecy teachers believe that Satan is the beast, or that Satan is the false prophet. This interpretation is misleading, and it also creates a stumbling block in the path to a proper interpretation. I almost always get this question. How can you know who the beast is when he cannot be revealed? 2nd Thess. Chapter 2 states that he cannot be revealed, until something is removed first. Most scholars have this part right. That is a picture of the Rapture. What they have wrong is that Satan and the beast are not the same individual. Satan cannot be revealed until after the rapture, but he is not the beast. Therefore, I can identify the beast and his false prophet. People say prove it. So I did. I told them how to understand using the keys that I have mentioned. Revelation 13 is a parable, but God is not giving the definition, or the explanation. This one is for us to figure out. Ok, so where is Satan? In the book of Job, we get a view of Satan's abilities. In one scene, he is discussing with God about Job. Question, where is God? He is in heaven. Also, in his conversation with God Satan is talking as if he knows and has seen Job. God declares that he can do whatever he wants to Job, but he was not allowed to kill him. Now we know something else about Satan. He also has access to the Earth, and can affect peoples lives. So, it appears that Satan can be everywhere he wants to be, on Earth or in heaven. We know Satan and his angels will be cast out of heaven as per Revelation 12. This would further the idea that he is now in heaven. We also see Satan one other time, when he tempted Christ during his time on Earth. It says that he was taken to the wilderness to be tempted of Satan? Most people, and rightly so, have thought the wilderness to be a place on Earth, but this is a parable I believe. The Lord was in the wilderness and was tempted by Satan, but the wilderness is in heaven. This parable is read in Isaiah 35. It is the wilderness and the solitary place where the redeemed of the Lord walk. So, this last item being the most hard to prove, suffice it to say, that when Rev.12 says Satan will be cast out, he must be there in heaven to be cast out. Alright, now we can answer a couple questions. One, Satan is himself, and he is in heaven. Therefore, he is not the beast or the false prophet. These three work together, but each has his own identity. Now to dissect Revelation 13. As I have already stated, Revelation 13 is a word substitution parable. The seven heads are seven mountains and the ten horns are ten kings. Ok, we know from this description that the beast as described is a group of possibly ten countries. This brings me to another point. There are three definitions for the beast in Revelation 13. The first is a group of countries rising up out of the sea. The second is in Rev.13:11 and is a beast with two horns (kings). Remember horns are kings as per Rev. 17. Finally, there is a beast who is identified by the number 666. It is this last beast that causes all to receive a mark and that no man can buy and sell save he who has the mark, his number, or his name. There are three items here. Nowhere does it say that the mark is the number 666. This might have been a good guess 20 yrs. ago , but it is pretty hard to believe. Imagine people running around with a mark of 666 on their right hands. It sounds like a cartoon, but this is what the prophecy teachers want you to believe. Ok, another problem that sounds like a cartoon is the interpretation of the word "all." They want you to believe that no man could buy or sell if they did not worship the beast and take his mark. Interpreting the word "all" to mean everyone in the world. This is not the case. For one, we know that the beast is made up of only possibly ten countries. Everyone in this world lives in roughly 190 countries. I don't think we could possibly mean everyone. How about, all of those people concerned with the mark. Also, how do you cause all people concerned to receive a mark, and why? The most obvious way to mark everyone is at the voting booth. All people, rich and poor, small and great, or free and bond are potential voters. So, Mahmoud Abbas was elected president of the Palestinian Authority, and in the process all voters received an indelible ink mark on their right hands. This mark was to prevent double voting and corruption in the election. Ok, we have a mark. It is not 666. At this point he fits the part, but not completely. Still, there is no ready identification of 666 concerning him. This election was in January 2005. Back to Rev.13. We have seven mountains and ten kings. Prophecy teachers want us to believe that a city with seven mountains is the seat of the antichrist and he rules with ten nations. Their logical conclusion was the Europe Union and the Vatican. This started the revived Roman empire theory. This theory has been around since the reformation. It is hard to believe this charade has gone on so long. Teachers are still preaching the Revived Roman Empire. This theory had some validity before the twentieth century and now has to be eliminated. None of these teachers could have predicted the fall of the Ottoman Empire and its division into so many separate sovereign nations. Back to our word substitution. There is an interesting item here concerning the word mountains in scripture. The word mountains can have two meanings. It can be either a mountain range, or a nation. This is the hardest part of this whole exercise, trying to figure out what mountains are describing. Teachers will have you believe it is a city with seven mountains. In actual fact, mountains here are referring to nations. This also pertains to the head wound. The wound was not a literal head wound at all, but was a nation that was wounded. The beast's head or nation was wounded and was healed. This is the Palestinian Authority after the beginning of the Oslo Accords. The land that Israel possessed was now being given back to the Palestinians and the beast's nation is being healed. Ok, so now I have seven nations and ten kings, Rev.13:1. Why do I have three more kings than nations? It seems I have a king for each nation, but three left over. In Daniel in says the beast subdued three kings. These three kings don't necessarily have to be from different countries. It seems so, but is not expressly mentioned. It is another parable. The three kings who were subdued by the beast were Israeli Prime Ministers. These three Prime Ministers all served during the seven years of the Oslo Accords and were voted out of office because of terror perpetrated during Yasser Arafat's rule. Now, I am down to seven nations. These seven nations will wage war. I can easily see seven nations that will wage war here very soon; Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Iran and the Palestinian Authority or Iraq, and there opponent Israel. This is exactly the same beast that is presented in Rev.17:10, just in a slightly different appearance. There are seven kings, five are fallen. This means five kings were defeated in war. Israel is referred to the "one that is," and the one that came later is the Palestinian Authority. This is a description of Israel's war for Independence. Literally, this was the beast being born. The war in 1967 is the beast rising up out of the sea in Rev.13:1. It was the unresolved issues of this conflict that resulted in the Oslo Accords of 1993. This seven year peace treaty was confirmed by Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat. Now, there is another beast in Rev.13:11. This beast has two horns or kings. This is a picture of the Palestinian Authority after the elections of January 2006. This is when Hamas ran in the elections and won a majority in parliament. Now the P.A. was a country with two kings. Abbas was the President and Ismail Haniyeh was the Prime Minister. Here is where the problem with money came about. Western Nations did not want to donate money to a known terrorist organization so looked for a way they could still fund Abbas's P.A., but not let any money get to Hamas. This is when the number 666 identified an individual. The temporary international mechanism was adopted on June 16, 2006. This program allowed Western Nations to donate funds directly to Abbas, while bypassing Hamas. If you were a member of Fatah, or on Abbas's payroll you got paid. This is how the people were allowed to buy and sell. They received salaries, whereas before the mechanism, they had no way of getting paid from the Government. Hamas did not receive salaries. Also, Hamas did not receive the mark of the beast. They boycotted the elections for President in Jan. 2005. It is more obvious who is being talked about the closer you get to the end. In conclusion, to my three beast definitions. Mahmoud Abbas fits all three definitions. He was a member of the P.A. when it was formed. He took over from Yasser Arafat after his death. He was one of the two kings of the second beast in Rev.13:11. Lastly, he is the one identified by the number 666, which could have been Arafat had he lived. Now, concerning the the false prophet. The following four verses below all refer to the false prophet, Ismail Haniyeh. Rev.13:11- and I beheld another beast coming up out of the Earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon. Rev.13:12- And he exercises all the power of the first beast before him, and causes the earth and them which dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed. Rev.13:13- "And he does great wonders, so that he makes fire come down from heaven on the Earth in the sight of men". Rev.13:15- And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast, should be killed. Hamas exercised all the power of the first beast (Abbas's P.A.) because they were now an equal partner in the Government. Also, the leader of Hamas caused them to worship or honor the first beast because Hamas would not honor the first beast. The first beast was the PA without Hamas as a member. The image of the beast is what the Government of Mahmoud Abbas represented. Verse 12 does not mention the image yet, we are just informed that the false prophet caused them to worship the first beast. Verse 14 and 15 gives the details of how that worshipping or honor was to commence. An image was created of the first beast that he (the false prophet) caused to be honored. This image of the beast is three items; the recognition of Israel, the honoring of all prior Palestinian agreements, and a renunciation of terror. The last question I think that needs addressed is how do you know the timing is right? Meaning, there have been so many translations, how do you know that this one is correct? This is a question I always get asked. The answer, in my mind, is sort of a mix between two different prophecies. The first is the seven day prophecy as recorded in Genesis. It is a similitude between this and the amount of recorded time that has already happened on Earth. In the book of Peter, God says one day to him is as a thousand years. If that idea is applied to the Genesis creation, everyday that God created something one thousand years passed. Finally, on the last day he rested from his work, and his rest was one thousand years or one of God's days. This was one full week or 7000 years. After God's rest he started his work again, and he created Adam. Starting with Adam, it was approximately 4000 years to the time of Christ. Also, we know that Christ was here roughly 2000 years ago. If God was to be consistent with his one week schedule, then we could expect his day of rest to fall somewhere after the year two thousand. 4000 plus 2000 is six days and on the seventh he rested for one thousand years. This is not an exact estimate, but it can put you in the right ballpark when searching for the correct timing of Revelation. This is the estimate. The next item is more exact. Daniel 9:27 says that he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week. Many in Hebrew is Rab. This was a covenant confirmed with Yitzhak Rabin. It was the beginning of land for peace, or the Oslo Accords. When you see this agreement happen you should be aware that this prophecy will last seven years. There is only one problem with this item. Prior to it happening, everyone thought that the end of the seventh year of the agreement God would return and begin his rest. Well, that did not happen. The reason was a logical misinterpretation. It just mentions that this agreement must occur along with the prophecies mentioned, not that they would all happen and end on the last day of the seventh year. This has thrown everyone watching off-course for a time. Although, this was not such a terrible mistake if the watcher could see the right answer and get his, or her perspective back. When you have these two items coinciding at the expected time, then you know Revelation can be interpreted with accuracy. The events should start happening, as they have, as I have recorded in this letter. May God bless all who read this letter. Michael Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Michael Posted April 5, 2020 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2020 Does anyone agree with this prophecy? Quote Link to post Share on other sites


text: PARIS: The next time your throat is as dry as a bone and the Sun is beating down, take a glass of clean, cool water. Savour it. Sip by sip. Vital and appreciated as that water is, it will be even more precious to those who will follow you. By the end of this century, billions are likely to gripped by water stress and the stuff of life could be an unseen driver of conflict. So say hydrologists who forecast that on present trends, freshwater faces a double crunch — from a population explosion, which will drive up demand for food and energy, and the impact of climate change. "Approximately 80 per cent of the world's population already suffers serious threats to its water security, as measured by indicators including water availability, water demand and pollution," the Nobel-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warned in a landmark report in March. "Climate change can alter the availability of water and therefore threaten water security." Already today, around 768 million people do not have access to a safe, reliable source of water and 2.5 billion do not have decent sanitation. Around a fifth of the world's aquifers are depleted. Jump forward in your imagination to mid-century, when the world's population of about 7.2 billion is expected to swell to around 9.6 billion. By then, global demand for water is likely to increase by a whopping 55 per cent, according to the United Nations' newly published World Water Development Report. More than 40 per cent of the planet's population will be living in areas of "severe" water stress, many of them in the broad swathe of land that runs along north Africa, the Middle East and western South Asia. Yet these scenarios do not take into account changes in rainfall or snowfall or glacier shrinkage caused by global warming. As a very general rule, wet countries will get wetter and dry countries will get drier, accentuating risk of flood or drought, climate scientists warn. But whether people will heed their alarm call is a good question. "When seismologists talk about an area at risk from an earthquake, people generally accept what they say and refrain from building their home there," says French climatologist Herve Le Treut. "But when it comes to drought or flood, people tend to pay less attention when the warning comes from meteorologists." Water squabbles in the hot, arid sub-tropics have a long history. In recent years, the Tigris, Euphrates and Nile have all been the grounds for verbal sparring over who has the right to build dams, withhold or extract "blue gold" to the possible detriment of people downstream. "There will clearly be less water available in sub-tropical countries, both as surface water and aquifer water, and this will sharpen competition for water resources," says Blanca Jimenez-Cisneros, who headed the chapter on water for the big IPCC report. Citing a 2012 assessment by US intelligence agencies, the US State Department says: "Water is not just a human health issue, not just an economic development or environmental issue, but a peace and security issue." Rows over water between nations tend to be resolved without bloodshed, often using international fora, says Richard Connor, who headed the UN water report. However, "you can talk about conflict in which water is the root cause, albeit usually hidden," he told AFP. "It can lead to fluctuations in energy and food prices, which can in turn lead to civil unrest. In such cases, the 'conflict' may be over energy or food prices, but these are themselves related to water availability and allocation." Failing a slowdown in population growth or a swift solution to global warming, the main answers for addressing the water crunch lie in efficiency. In some countries of the Middle East, between 15 and 60 per cent of water disappears through leaks or evaporation even before the consumer turns the tap. Building desalination plants on coasts in dry regions may sound tempting, "but their water can cost up to 30 times more than ordinary water," notes Jimenez-Cisneros. Efficiency options include smarter irrigation, crops that are less thirsty or drought-resilient, power stations that do not extract vast amounts of water for cooling, and consumer participation, such as flushing toilets with "grey" water, meaning used bath or shower water.

subset: commoncrawl


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ACCJC External Evaluation Report
The Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges, Western Association of Schools and Colleges, at its meeting on June 4-6, 2014, took action to issue Warning with the requirement that Cerritos College complete a Follow-Up Report by March 15, 2015 addressing the three recommendations outlined in its letter dated July 3, 2014.
Warning is the least severe of the four sanctions that ACCJC can issue when an institution has not met or partially met standards. Cerritos College remains fully accredited. The recommendations will not impact students earning credits toward degrees, certificates, transfers, and Financial Aid is also available for eligible students.


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Drafting a Winning Contact Center Team
As the summer comes to an end, we can look forward to cooler days, the vibrant colors of fall foliage, pumpkin spice lattes, and, of course, fantasy football. Assuming the NFL can safely play a full season in 2020, millions of armchair quarterbacks will be doing their very best to bring home a championship. As a three-time champion myself (humble brag), I've learned that putting together a winning fantasy team requires being able to identify all the right pieces that must come together to help you succeed. No single individual—no matter how talented—will win you a championship; it's truly a team effort. The same can be said for building any winning team, be it on the field or in the workplace.
5 Realistic Tips Companies Can Borrow from Fantasy Football
Unlike fantasy football, where failures are comically mocked and players shamed, businesses have no room for failure. The reality is that companies must win or they'll disappear; there are no second chances. One of the most crucial elements to business success is being able to satisfy customers. That's where the contact center comes in. A cloud contact center allows representatives to field customer inquiries via voice calls, chat, text messaging, or social media. It also empowers businesses to raise the bar on the customer experience by providing consistently high-quality service at every touchpoint. You may think a customer service agent is the heart of this operation and success rests solely on them, but much like building a winning fantasy team, a number of variables go into winning.
Let's look at what you need to field the perfect contact center team and make winning a reality this year.
1. The Manager
Just as you manage your fantasy team, a great contact center manager understands how to identify the right talent and recognize where they have the biggest holes. If challenges arise and a contact center team member leaves or gets sick, a great manager can quickly assess the situation and have the right person ready to fill-in, never missing a beat. There's a lot of turnover in the contact center, so it's important to have a great bench. Just like in fantasy, you may not be working with the same team you started with in week one. That's why a hands-on manager is so crucial.
2. The Waiver Wire
In fantasy, learning to use the waiver wire and grab the right players is the difference between winning and losing. Similarly, in the contact center it's important to put serious effort into onboarding new starters, making them feel welcomed and valued. These contact center team members may not be contributing right away, but it's important to give them the tools to be their best so when their time comes, they're prepared. A strong contact center nurtures and invests in new starters because reducing "'ramp-time" makes sense for everyone.
"Be it fantasy or reality, winning takes work. That means staying on top of your team and constantly monitoring the trends and market to be sure you're putting the best talent together on any given day."
3. The Right Tools
Unless you're a fantasy football savant, you need the right tools to help guide your decisions. From websites to podcasts, there are countless resources available to help inform your strategy. Likewise, the contact center relies on supplemental support from other teams to help do their job. A strong support team is essential to allow the "players" to do their best. The contact center needs seamless IT support, easy configuration, built-in security, great reporting, helpful dashboards, extensive coaching tools, superb analytics, excellent training, encouraging supervisors, and so on. Every successful team needs the right guidance in order to compete at a top level.
4. The Sleeper
Every fantasy team has that one player that nobody else had on their radar. It's the often overlooked player that you snatch up and turn into your team's season-long MVP. For contact center teams, this valuable piece of the puzzle is artificial intelligence (AI). There's no question AI is one of the biggest buzzwords in business right now. But while most companies acknowledge they need it, few know how to actually use it to their advantage. A winning contact center understands how to bring AI into the day-to-day workflows to help agents enrich the customer experience, resolve inquiries faster, and enable better outcomes for brands.
AI offers a huge range of value that may not be so obvious. Analytics provide the key to developing more intuitive solutions using the data captured from calls, interactions, and texts. That data helps an agent assess not only the voice of the customer but also the age of their voice. The discovery of trends, themes, key words, and processes can inform how to make positive changes to deliver on key targets. AI will truly be the silent MVP for any contact center that can use it to its full advantage.
5. Playing the Matchups
No matter how good your fantasy team looks on paper, it's important to understand the matchups and use the players that can succeed against the competition. It's about knowing the competition. In the same vein, contact centers must understand their audience. Gathering insights about your audience and gaining an in-depth understanding of different types of customers will help you decide what agent tackles certain issues. Some agents might be more knowledgeable in a certain vertical, so it's important to create subject matter experts that can address specific customer inquiries.
Be it fantasy or reality, winning takes work. That means staying on top of your team and constantly monitoring the trends and market to be sure you're putting the best talent together on any given day.


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Julie was recently awarded the prestigious Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal at a special ceremony on April 27, 2014. Created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II's accession to the Throne as Queen of Canada, the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal was a tangible way for Canada to honour Her Majesty for her service to this country. At the same time, this commemorative medal served to honour significant contributions and achievements by Canadians. During the year of celebrations, 60 000 deserving Canadians were recognized.
To ensure that a variety of fields of activity were recognized, partner organizations were invited by the Government of Canada to nominate candidates from their community or organization for this national honour.
The obverse depicts a crowned image of the Sovereign, in whose name the medal is bestowed. The reverse marks the sixtieth, or diamond, anniversary of the accession to the Throne of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. The anniversary is expressed by the central diamond shape, by the background composed of a pattern of diamonds, and by the two dates. The Royal Cypher consists of the Royal Crown above the letters EIIR (i.e., Elizabeth II Regina, the latter word meaning Queen in Latin). The maple leaves refer to Canada, while the motto VIVAT REGINA means "Long live The Queen!"
The ribbon uses a new arrangement of the blue, red and white colours found in the 1953 Coronation Medal, the 1977 Silver Jubilee Medal, and the 2002 Golden Jubilee Medal.
The design of the medal was developed by the Canadian Heraldic Authority. The medal was manufactured by the Royal Canadian Mint at their Ottawa facility.


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After I rearranged the shelves in our breakfast nook, I thought I'd join Metamorphosis Monday. Then, I posted the pictures and realized that nobody would be able to tell any difference between the "before" and "after" pictures!
BEFORE: This is kind of like a "Where's Waldo" contest! Did Laurie REALLY change anything on these shelves? Yes, I really did, but I admit most of the same things went back on the shelves that were on the shelves in the "before" picture. But since I spent an hour taking everything out and then putting all of it back in, I decided I'd post it anyway. (When I finished, I THOUGHT I had changed the shelves. I also THOUGHT I had edited some things out of the shelves! Darn it! I just have a hard time getting rid of anything!)
I know, I know, it looks like I posted the same photo twice, but I REALLY DID change a few things, and I know it's different, even if nobody else knows. If I'm totally honest about this, I'll tell you that, although I started out with the goal of deleting some things from these crowded shelves, I ended up adding some things to the shelves!!! Inspired by Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict (who recently found THE best ever deal on a huge set of Quimper), I grouped a lot of my Quimper on the top shelf. In the "BEFORE" picture, I didn't have as much Quimper as I now have. (Ooops! I see that I left two German plates at the back of this shelf – they do have the same colors as Quimper, and they depict a dancing couple. I hope the French and German plates can get along. I may need to add a Swiss plate for neutrality! Yep! I'm talking about adding again!)
When I first fell in love with Quimper pottery, I was only familiar with the Quimper that had paintings of Bretons (the people of Brittany in France). (The two plates below hang on the wall next to these shelves in my breakfast room). I didn't know the pottery was made with any other designs or colors. I also didn't know there was Quimper in forms other than dinnerware. (I hope nobody from the Quimper Club International Blog is reading this post!)
I had never even seen any that had more than one person on each plate!
The pieces with Bretons on them remain my favorites, but since I began visiting the Quimper Club International blog, and receiving email flyers from Brittany Byways, I have learned that I knew absolutely nothing about Quimper when I began my small collection of plates with Bretons on them! As a matter of fact, I was shocked when I realized that I had a piece of Quimper that I didn't realize was Quimper. I received a sale email from Brittany Byways, and something about the little knife rests looked familiar to me. I ran to the china cabinet to find a little dog figure that I had paid $5.00 for at an auction years ago. I was shocked and thrilled to find that it is indeed a Quimper knife rest (which was confirmed by my friend, Sarah, at Hyacinths for the Soul, who is a Quimper collector and member of Quimper Club International). So, my Quimper knife rest had to join the rest of my little Quimper collection on this shelf.
I had never checked the bottom of this piece, because it had never occurred to me that I could have a piece of Quimper and not know it – and certainly not that I could have purchased a piece of Quimper for $5!!! (Now that was luck – not as lucky as Debbie at Confessions of a Plate Addict though – can you tell I am green with envy?)
Even though I'm the only one who knows there was a metamorphosis, I am joining Met Monday at Between Naps on the Porch, and I'm joining Tabletop Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life. I think my "knife rest story" qualifies for Nifty Thrifty Tuesdays at Coastal Charm, and since everything on these shelves (heck, almost everything in my house) is on, at least, the 2nd time around, I am joining 2nd Time Around Tuesday at A Picture is Worth 1000 Words. Thanks to all of these hostesses.
Thank you for coming to see my invisible metamorphosis. I hope you'll come back to visit again soon. laurie


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Who Must Complete an Application for Review of Human Subjects Research?
Anyone formally affiliated with CMC (faculty, staff, students) who engages in scholarly research involving human subjects, either on- or off-campus, must apply for IRB approval. Researchers who are not affiliated with the CMC but want to conduct research using CMC students as participants must have their research approved by the CMC IRB. Additionally, students, faculty, and staff from the other Claremont Colleges who want to use CMC students as research subjects must submit an application to the CMC IRB, even if approval has already been received from the home institution. Anyone using unpublished data from human subjects that was collected at the College must submit their research protocol to the IRB for approval.
The CMC IRB will not approve any proposal by a non-CMC researcher which is not of minimal risk. Campus resources may not be used to recruit participants for such projects, nor may such projects be conducted on the CMC campus. Research projects utilizing surveys with minimal or no risk may be an exception to this policy and may be given permission to be conducted on the CMC campus.
"Human subject research" involves systematic collection of personal or private data from living human beings. Please see the definitions below for additional markers of research that falls under the purview of this committee.
All faculty and students are urged to evaluate their research agendas in light of this policy in order to determine whether or not their research qualifies as "human subjects research," even if human subjects or concerns regarding human subjects are traditionally not common in their disciplines.
CMC's IRB does not review research involving animal subjects. If your project does involve animal subjects, please contact Marion Preest, Chair of the KSD Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) by phone at (909) 607-8014 or by email at email@example.com. Information about Keck Science's policies regarding animal use in research can be found on their Guidelines for Use of Animals webpage .
What kind of research qualifies as exempt?
Please use the HHS Decision Chart #2 and the HHS criteria listed below to help determine if your research qualifies as "exempt" from IRB. If you believe that your research qualifies as exempt under the HHS Code of Federal Regulations, the CMC IRB requests that you turn in an Exemption Form. The CMC IRB will review Exemption Forms to ensure that all submitted exempt research qualifies as exempt under federal regulations. If the IRB believes the research to be non-exempt, an IRB Application for Review will be required, and the research must discontinue until IRB approval is received.
Projects granted exempt status must meet one or more of the following criteria listed in 45 CFR 46.101(b):
Category 1 - Research conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings, involving normal educational practices, such as: (a) research on regular and special education instructional strategies; or (b) research on the effectiveness of, or the comparison among, instructional techniques, curricula, or classroom management methods.
Category 2 - Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior, unless: (a) information obtained is recorded in such a manner that the human subjects can be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to the subjects; and (b) any disclosure of the human subjects' responses outside the research could reasonably place them at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to their financial standing, employability, or reputation. (Note: Exemption for survey and interview procedures does not apply to research involving children. Exemption for observation of public behavior does not apply to research involving children except when the investigator does not participate in the activities being observed.)
Category 3 - Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey procedures, interview procedures, or observation of public behavior that is not exempt under Category 2 above if: (a) the subjects are elected or appointed public officials or candidates for public office; or (b) federal statues(s) require(s) without exception that the confidentiality of the personally identifiable information will be maintained throughout the research and thereafter.
Category 4 - Research involving the collection or study of existing data, documents, records, pathological specimens, or diagnostic specimens, if these sources are publicly available or if the information is recorded by the investigator in such a manner that subjects cannot be identified, directly or through identifiers linked to them.
Category 5 - Research and demonstration projects which are conducted by or subject to the approval of department or agency heads, and which are designed to study, evaluate, or otherwise examine: (a) public benefit or service programs; (b) procedures for obtaining benefits or services under those programs; (c) possible changes in or alternatives to these programs or procedures; or (d) possible changes in methods or levels of payment for benefits or services under those programs.
Category 6 - Taste and food quality evaluation and consumer acceptance studies: (a) if wholesome foods without additives are consumed; or (b) if a food is consumed that contains a food ingredient at or below the level and for a use found to be safe, or agricultural chemical or environmental contaminant at or below the level found to be safe by the Food and Drug Administration or approved by the Environmental Protection Agency or the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Why do I have to file an Exemption Registration Form?
Although the current HHS regulations do not require administrative review before a study is determined to be exempt, most institutions follow current federal recommendations and carry out such an administrative review. CMC is following proposed regulatory changes related to Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) for revisions to the Common Rule by requesting that an Exemption Form be filed for exempt research. This allows for oversight and recordkeeping of exempt research from the IRB and the Office of Institutional Research.
If research is done for a class project, does not include vulnerable populations, involves no more than minimal risk, and will not be presented or published (e.g., as a thesis, scholarly paper, or community forum), then this research does not require formal review. For the research to be classified as exempt under HHS federal regulations and the CMC IRB, an Exemption Form must be submitted. Additionally, the IRB requests that the investigator complete the CITI training.
If an investigator begins a non-research project and later finds that the private identifiable data about living individuals gathered could develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, the investigator must submit a proposal to the IRB for review and approval or certification of exemption from IRB review for the analysis of the data for research purposes prior to publication or presentation of the data (e.g., journal article, poster session, public speech or presentation, or project report). Investigators who determine during the conduct of a non-research project that non-research project data derived from private identifiable information about living individuals could develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge must seek IRB approval at that time, prior to the collection or analysis of additional data which s/he intends to analyze for research purposes.
Some projects assigned to students in research methodology classes are designed to teach students skills and provide the opportunity to practice methods such as observation, interview, or survey techniques, data analysis, etc. and may have a research component. Such classroom projects that are exclusively intended for instructional purposes and are not intended to develop or contribute to general knowledge or literature in the field need not undergo review by the IRB. However, instructors and students are expected to follow federal guidelines and CMC policy when designing and conducting class projects with human volunteers. For the research to be classified as exempt under HHS federal regulations and the CMC IRB, an Exemption Form must be submitted. In addition, the IRB strongly recommends that the instructor and his/her class complete the CITI training.
When course-related projects are intended to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge, they are subject to federal guidelines and are required to undergo IRB review and approval, prior to the initiation of the research activities, including contact or recruitment of subjects.
CMC IRB encourages faculty members who anticipate that course-related projects may develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge to consult with the IRB early in the semester in which data will be collected.
IRB: Institutional Review Board. Claremont McKenna College's IRB is responsible for the ethical oversight of all research involving human subjects conducted by CMC faculty, students, or staff, as well as such research that uses CMC faculty, students, or staff by outside investigators.
Original Research: systematic investigation, including pilot projects and feasibility studies, designed to expand generalizable knowledge or understanding, including collecting and analyzing data from questionnaires, observing subjects, manipulating experimental conditions, sampling, experimenting, etc. Research using human subjects, even if it is done simply to verify existing hypotheses, theses, theories, or ideas, is considered original research.
For the purposes of this policy, the following are not considered "original research" and thus do not fall under the purview of the IRB (see exemptions for more information):
Human Subject: any specific living person about whom a researcher obtains (1) data through interaction with the individual, or (2) private information. Interaction includes contact (including observational studies) or communication with the individual, manipulation of the subject, or manipulation of the subject's environment. Private information includes information that can be identified with an individual and that is obtained in a context in which an individual can reasonably expect that no observation or recording is taking place, or information that has been recorded for specific purposes and which the individual can reasonably expect will not be made public (e.g., medical records). Experts sharing facts or professional opinions in the area of their expertise are not considered human subjects for the purposes of this policy.
Principal Investigator (PI): the primary person conducting the research. The principal investigator can be a professional or a student.
Risk: potential for physical, psychological, social, or financial harm. A research protocol deemed to put its subjects at no risk may be eligible for exempt or expedited approval (Anonymous surveys often constitute no-risk research.)
By contrast, minimal risk means that some potential for harm exists, but that the probability and magnitude of harm are not greater in and of themselves than those ordinarily encountered in daily life or during the performance of routine physical or psychological examinations or tests. Research that involves minimal risk often is eligible for expedited or full approval.
Unreasonable Harm: any physical, psychological, social, or financial damage or injury that can be avoided without sacrificing the goals of the research. Unreasonable harm also includes any damage or injury so extensive that it cannot be justified by any contribution the research might make to human understanding.
Anonymous Data: data that by virtue of the method of collection can never reasonably be connected with the person providing them. Anonymous data can be obtained by using questionnaires that are returned by mail (in envelopes with no return address or other identifying markers), questionnaires that are collected by one of a group of subjects and returned to the researcher, or internet surveys (with software that renders it virtually impossible to connect answers with respondents). Questionnaires that collect data anonymously do not require separate written consent; consent to use the data is implied when the respondent completes the questionnaire (a statement that explains this principle should be printed at the beginning of any such survey).
Non-Anonymous Data: data that, by virtue of how it is collected or the nature of the information, can be connected at some point, no matter how brief, to the person providing them. This category includes questionnaires that the researcher collects personally from a group of subjects (unless a ballot box or envelopes are used). It also may include cases in which the researcher can recognize the handwriting of one or more of his or her subjects and could therefore potentially match the data with a specific respondent.
Confidential Data: non-anonymous data that a human subject gives an investigator with the understanding or assumption that the human subject's privacy will be honored. Divulging the source of non-anonymous data to an outside party, or failing to ensure that no outside parties will be able to connect data with their source, normally constitutes a violation of confidentiality. This IRB presumes that all data collected from human subjects is properly considered confidential, unless subjects have explicitly waived their presumption of confidentiality in writing.
Deception: intentionally misleading or providing untruthful information; any concealment or withholding of information from a participant; use of trickery or deceit.
All researchers conducting original research are responsible for protecting their subjects from the risk of unreasonable harm. The principal investigator has initial responsibility for determining whether such a risk exists. A faculty member is responsible for supervising research undertaken by students in the context of his/her courses or departmental/program curriculum. If there is any doubt about risks, the principal investigator should contact the IRB.
The principal investigator should follow the guidelines of the relevant professional organizations and, where appropriate, those of governmental funding and regulatory agencies. Faculty members supervising student research are responsible for introducing the students to CMC's guidelines.
At a minimum, research activities at CMC should conform to the following standards:
In general, subjects should signal their agreement to participate by signing a written consent form, though a researcher may make the case for using oral consent instead. The requirement for written consent may be waived under one of the following conditions:
See: U.S. Health and Human Services Informed Consent Checklist for more information
Anonymous surveys do not require written consent, though the explanations of the research protocol that are standard on a written consent form should be included at the beginning of the survey. Consent to participate is implied when a subject completes and returns the survey.
Research involving deception compromises a subject's ability to give truly informed consent. The Institutional Review Board will consider requests to waive some of the requirements for informed consent for research that intentionally involves deception, but only if all of the following criteria are met:
If the data gathered by a student researcher is not anonymous, the IRB recommends that the data be turned over to the faculty sponsor, who then becomes responsible for either ensuring that it is destroyed or archiving it with his or her data. In cases in which a student is planning to go on to graduate school and may want to continue the research or use the data in future projects, he or she may request permission from the IRB to retain the data. Permission is contingent on the student's agreement to protect the confidentiality of the data.
For more information on the differences between Anonymity and Confidentiality, see: Anonymous vs. Confidential [PDF].
Research using human subjects falls into one of three categories:
Exempt: Research that qualifies under HHS Federal Regulations as exempt from IRB approval. Protocol for research submitted as exempt follows the guidelines set above.
Expedited: Research that involves only minimal risk (see definition above), and therefore can be expedited by the IRB Chair. This normally means that the Chair or a designated alternative from the IRB committee reviews the application.
Full: Research that falls into at least one of these categories may require review by the full-board of the IRB:
The Institutional Review Board Chair determines which level of review is necessary for a given project. This means that all research proposals involving human subjects must be submitted for IRB review and approval.
Timeline: Applications are acknowledged by email to the Principal Investigator (PI) immediately upon submission. Exemption proposals typically are reviewed within a week; Regular (expedited) proposals typically are reviewed within three weeks. Proposals requiring full-board review by the IRB committee may take up to six weeks, as the full board only meets about twice a semester, or on an as-needed basis.
The CMC IRB Chair will send an initial approval email to the PI (and PI's advisor, if the PI is a student) once the research has been approved. The IRB Coordinator will then send an electronic approval letter to the principal investigator. The letter will ask the PI to promptly report to the Institutional Review Board any unanticipated problems or adverse effects that the PI encounters in the process of completing the research. IRB approval is typically valid for 12 months from the date of approval unless otherwise indicated.
Researchers whose applications are not approved by the IRB will be provided a list of the concerns cited by the committee. Normally such researchers will be invited to respond, revise, and resubmit their application for a new review.
Appeals: If an application is denied because the Institutional Review Board feels the risks outweigh the benefits of the research, and the investigator disagrees with the committee's disapproval decision, the researcher may appeal the decision by re-submitting the same application form and 1) a letter of appeal presenting the researcher's arguments for approval, 2) any other pertinent information in support of the appeal. The letter should be directed to the Chair of the Board and mailed with enclosures to IRB - Office of Institutional Research - Bauer North 1st Floor, 500 East Ninth Street, Claremont, CA 91711. Applications submitted for appeal are considered by the full board at the next scheduled meeting date. The final decision of the IRB is delivered in writing to the investigator. If the proposal is not approved, the research cannot be conducted.
Nature of CMC IRB Records: CMC Office of Institutional Research is home to IRB recordkeeping and administrative activity on campus. The Office of Institutional Research keeps records of all applications for approval of human subjects research, including any research documents (informed consent forms, questionnaires, interview scripts, stress protocols, behavioral manipulation protocols, drug protocols, non-FDA device protocols, debriefing forms, etc.) and documentation of the researcher's CITI training. The records also include any email correspondence between the researcher and the IRB. The aforementioned documentation constitutes the full CMC records of any project approved by the Committee. Records are kept for three years after the conclusion of the research.
The researcher is responsible for keeping all data and documentation gathered during the research, including all signed informed consent forms and any publications resulting from the research. In the case of student research, the student's advisor will arrange for this documentation to be stored. These records are also kept for three years after the conclusion of the research.
The CMC Office of Institutional Research not only keeps a record of all IRB approved research, but also keeps track of survey activity on campus, both IRB approved and exempt. Some information on surveys used by CMC offices on a regular basis is available to the public in the form of a CMC Survey Inventory on the Institutional Research website.
The Claremont McKenna College Office of Institutional Research, as informed by the guidelines and federal regulations of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is the author of these policies, which were approved by the CMC IRB Committee. CMC Office of Institutional Research would like to acknowledge the IRB's of Pitzer College, Middlebury College, and Bryn Mawr College, for their assistance in the formation of CMC's IRB policies and practices.


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The summer of 2012 was the most severe wildfire season Russia had faced in a decade. 2013 might be headed in the same direction after an unusual heat wave brought a surge of fire activity in northern Siberia in July.
A persistent high-pressure weather pattern in the Russian Arctic—a blocking high—contributed to the heat wave, which saw temperatures reach 32° Celsius (90° Fahrenheit) in the northern city of Norilsk. For comparison, daily July highs in Norilsk average 16° Celsius (61° Fahrenheit). Blocking highs are so named because they block the jet stream from moving rain-bearing weather systems along their normal west-to-east path; this leads to "stuck" weather patterns with long periods of stable air and exceptional heat.
The map above shows land surface temperature anomalies for July 20–27, 2013. Rather than depicting absolute temperatures, the map shows how much the temperatures for that week differed from the long-term average for the area. The measurements were collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite. Shades of red indicate temperatures that were warmer than average; blues are below average. Oceans, lakes, and areas with insufficient data (usually because of persistent clouds) appear in gray.
The small inset box toward the upper left marks the area shown in the lower image. Acquired by MODIS on July 25, 2013, the natural-color image shows smoke billowing from fires in the Khanty-Mansiyskiy and Yamal-Nenetskiy districts. Red outlines indicate hot spots where MODIS detected abnormally warm surface temperatures associated with fire.
The fires are burning in an unusual area. Most summer wildfires in Siberia occur south of the 57° North latitude line, along the southern edge of the taiga. The July 2013 fires are significantly north of that, raging in woodlands near the 65° North line.
High temperatures play an important role in promoting wildfires. Warm fuels burn more readily than cooler fuels because less energy is required to raise their temperature to the point of ignition. With temperatures soaring in northern Russia, it was easier for previously active fires to continue burning and for lightning to spark new ones.
This summer's heat wave, like all extreme weather events, had its direct cause in a complex set of atmospheric conditions that produce short-term weather. However, weather occurs within the broader context of the climate, and there's a high level of agreement among scientists that global warming has made it more likely that heat waves and wildfires of this magnitude will occur.
While temperatures are increasing globally, the warming in Russia since the mid-1970s has been more rapid than most areas—about .51°C per decade compared to about .17°C globally—according to a study by Anatoly Shvidenko of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. Researchers expect a doubling in the number of forest fires in Russia's taiga forests by the end of the century, as well as increases in the intensity of those fires.
NASA image courtesy Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS MODIS Rapid Response Team at NASA GSFC. Caption by Adam Voiland.


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The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA), with which The New School complies, was enacted to protect the privacy of education records, to establish the right of students to inspect and review their education records, and to provide guidelines for correction of inaccurate or misleading statements.The New School has established the following student information as public or directory information, which may be disclosed by the institution at its discretion: student name; major field of study; dates of attendance; full- or part-time enrollment status; year level; degrees and awards received, including dean's list; the most recent previous educational agency or institution attended; and addresses, phone numbers, photographs, email addresses, and date and place of birth.Students may request that The New School withhold release of their directory information by notifying the Registrar's Office in writing. This notification must be renewed annually at the start of each fall semester.For more detailed information, read our FERPA guides:Guide for StudentsGuide for FacultyGuide for StaffGuide for Parents Your Rights Under FERPA The right to inspect and review the student's education records within 45 days of the day the university receives a request for access. A student should submit to the registrar, dean, head of the academic department, or other appropriate official, a written request that identifies the record(s) the student wishes to inspect. The university official will make arrangements for access and notify the student of the time and place where the records may be inspected. If the records are not maintained by the university official to whom the request was submitted, that official shall advise the student of the correct official to whom the request should be addressed.The right to request the amendment of the student's education records that the student believes are inaccurate, misleading, or otherwise in violation of the student's privacy rights under FERPA. A student who wishes to ask the university to amend a record should write the university official responsible for the record, clearly identify the part of the record the student wants changed, and specify why it should be changed. If the university decides not to amend the record as requested, the university will notify the student in writing of the decision and the student's right to a hearing regarding the request for amendment. Additional information regarding the hearing procedures will be provided to the student when notified of the right to a hearing.The right to provide written consent before the university discloses personally identifiable information from the student's education records, except to the extent that FERPA authorizes disclosure without consent. The university discloses education records without a student's prior written consent under the FERPA exception for disclosure to school officials with legitimate educational interests. A school official is a person employed by the University in an administrative, supervisory, academic or research, or support staff position (including law enforcement unit personnel and health staff); a person or company with whom the University has contracted as its agent to provide a service instead of using university employees or officials (such as an attorney, auditor, or collection agent); a person serving on the Board of Trustees; or a student serving on an official committee, such as a disciplinary or grievance committee, or assisting another school official in performing his or her tasks. A school official has a legitimate educational interest if the official needs to review an education record in order to fulfill his or her professional responsibilities for the University.The right to file a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education concerning alleged failures by the university to comply with the requirements of FERPA. Complaints should be sent to the following address:Family Policy Compliance Office U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue SW Washington, DC 20202-4605 Amendment As of January 3, 2012, U.S. Department of Education FERPA regulations expand the circumstances under which education records and personally identifiable information (PII) contained in such records - including Social Security Number, grades, and other private information—may be shared without a student's consent.First, the U.S. Comptroller General, the U.S. Attorney General, the U.S. Secretary of Education, or state or local education authorities ("Federal and State Authorities") may allow access to a student's records and PII without the student's consent to any third party designated by a Federal or State Authority to evaluate a federal- or state - supported education program. The evaluation may relate to any program that is "principally engaged in the provision of education," such as early childhood education and job training as well as any program that is administered by an education agency or institution.Second, Federal and State Authorities may allow access to education records and PII without the student's consent to researchers performing certain types of studies, in certain cases even when the educational institution did not request or objects to such research. Federal and State Authorities must obtain certain use-restriction and data security promises from the entities that they authorize to receive a student's PII, but the Authorities need not maintain direct control over such entities.In addition, in connection with Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, State Authorities may collect, compile, permanently retain, and share without a student's consent PII from the student's education records and may track a student's participation in education and other programs by linking such PII to other personal information about the student that they obtain from other federal or state data sources, including workforce development, unemployment insurance, child welfare, juvenile justice, military service, and migrant student records systems.
Undergraduates To apply to any of our undergraduate programs (except the Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs) complete and submit the Common App online.
Undergraduate Adult Learners To apply to any of our Bachelor's Program for Adults and Transfer Students and Parsons Associate of Applied Science programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.
Graduates To apply to any of our Master's, Doctoral, Professional Studies Diploma, and Graduate Certificate programs, complete and submit the New School Online Application.


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Care Homes in Edinburgh
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Last year we helped over 5,000 families find the right care with free advice on anything from funding care to finding the right home and moving in.
We can help with advice on paying for care and how funding works. We can check availability in all of our homes and send you the latest brochure. If you'd like to meet our Home Manager, we'll book an appointment at a time to suit you.


text: Revitalise 'Brand Britain', says CBI Revitalising 'Brand Britain' in its first 100 days in office should be a priority for the party that wins the General Election, says the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). In its Business Manifesto, the business group has mapped out the steps it says the next government can take to redefine the UK's growth trajectory. The CBI says the next government will need to improve the pitch for private investment with a plan for sustainable growth. Its key recommendations include a cutting-edge trade and investment strategy and unlocking the power of the UK regions. Rain Newton-Smith, CBI CEO, said: 'A new government of whatever colour provides an opportunity to shift gear and prioritise the long-term decisions that can deliver a decade of sustainable growth. 'Top of the in-tray should be sharpening the investor pitch for 'Brand Britain' – ensuring we are at the very top of the league table when it comes to investment. At the same time, a focus on building momentum behind the 'big three' enablers across tax, planning and the labour market within the first 100 days can give firms a clear flightpath for growth. 'We want to see a new government deliver a bold pitch to investors across the globe, restore the UK's competitiveness, and double down on our climate commitments and opportunities.' Internet link: CBI website


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E-RM Erfindungsbüro
E-RM Erfindungsbüro is a company from Berlin, Germany. We do everything to deliver you steady sync! Together with our partners we put a lot of effort into our products to solve problems we observe in the field.
E-RM master clocks are used all around the world by a lot of great musicians in studios and on stage. Whether you want to synchronize external gear to your Audio Workstation or use a completely hardware setup, our clocks are always on the spot!


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Discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation is prohibited by Article 13 of the EC Treaty and the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights. However, the current social situation for LGBT persons in the European Union remains difficult. According to the evidence provided in this FRA report, LGBT persons experience discrimination, bullying and harassment throughout the EU. This often takes the form of demeaning statements, name calling and insults or the use of abusive language, but also verbal and physical attacks, including even deadly assaults.
The report also examines the areas of healthcare and religion, where reactions to LGBT persons vary considerably. It shows that homophobia is prevalent in sport and that LGBT persons face particular difficulties in the process of seeking asylum. Discrimination against transgender persons was also reported in all areas investigated for this report.
The report outlines a number of good practices being implemented within the EU Member States and notes that although LGBT persons lack media visibility throughout the EU, there is evidence that things are slowly changing. FRA welcomes this process and stresses that a broad range of measures should be implemented by Member States to tackle discrimination in this field.
Homophobia report Part 1 - the Legal Situation (June 2008)
In June 2007 the European Parliament asked the EU Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) to develop a comparative report on homophobia and sexual orientation discrimination in the EU Member States to assist the European Parliament's LIBE committee in its deliberations concerning the need for a Directive covering all grounds of discrimination. In response, the FRA launched this project composed of two parts. The first part, published in June 2008, contains a comparative legal analysis of the situation in the EU Member States. The current publication represents the second part of the project and is a comparative social analysis, based on data available throughout the EU.


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American College of Physicians 20- page letter provides specific, detailed, and thorough recommendations for Medicare physician reimbursement and fee-for-service systems
May 31, 2013
(Washington) - The American College of Physicians (ACP) today provided 19 specific recommendations, supporting evidence and implementation details on how to improve the Medicare physician fee schedule and the fee-for-service (FFS) system overall in response to a request by the Senate Finance Committee (SFC) on May 10. ACP cited ways to provide stability for physician reimbursement and lay the necessary foundation for a performance-based payment system following the repeal of the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR).
ACP gave seven recommendations for each of the first two questions from the SFC and another five ideas in response to the Senate committee's third query. ACP's responses, all based on evidence-based policies, include specific thoughts about topics including utilization, relative values and helping physicians transition to new payment and delivery models.
On utilization, ACP's recommendations included: create an add-on to evaluation and management codes when physicians document that they have incorporated high value care clinical guidelines (such as guidelines from ACP's High Value Care Initiative) into their practices and engaged patients in shared decision-making based on such guidelines; develop alternatives to pre-authorization that would encourage the use of appropriateness criteria by "outlier" practices; especially encourage use of such appropriateness criteria, and provide timely educational feedback, to physicians in practices that own ancillary services if they have higher utilization compared to peers that do not have such an ownership interest; expand bundled payments to more services and conditions; and explore ways to provide physicians with accurate data on the quality and total cost of care provided by other clinicians and hospitals within their geographic communities to enable them to make informed referral decisions.
On relative values, ACP's recommendations included: continue the work of the RVU Update Committee (RUC) to identify potentially over-valued services; direct CMS to gather independent data to improve RVU accuracy; authorize CMS to pay physicians for the work that falls outside of a visit involved in care coordination; and redirect payments from overvalued procedures to undervalued evaluation and management services.
On the transitioning to new payment models, ACP proposed a detailed plan that would repeal the SGR, stabilize payments for five years, provide positive baseline payments to all physicians, and create a new value-based incentive update program that would provide higher updates, on graduated scale to physicians, to physicians who participate in programs to improve the quality and effectiveness of care, including Patient-Centered Medical Homes.
In the 20-page letter, Molly Cooke, MD, FACP, president of ACP, told Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, and Ranking Member Orrin Hatch, "We applaud you for your leadership in addressing the flawed SGR and for your initiative in working to advance a solution with input from physicians, physician organizations, and other stakeholders. The College appreciates this opportunity to share its recommendations on how to improve the Medicare physician fee schedule and the FFS system overall to provide stability for physician reimbursement and lay the necessary foundation for a performance-based payment system following the repeal of the SGR."
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization and the second-largest physician group in the United States. ACP members include 133,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter and Facebook.
David Kinsman, (202) 261-4554
Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572


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This song was inspired by the Falklands War, which was going on when Dire Straits lead singer Mark Knopfler wrote the song. The Falklands War was a conflict between Argentina and the UK over islands off the coast of Argentina that each country claimed rights to. The islands are British territories, but in 1982 Argentina tried to reclaim one of the islands. Britain reclaimed their territories, but lost 258 soldiers in the conflict.
In this song, Mark Knopfler sings about a soldier who is dying on the battlefield, surrounded by his comrades, who remain by his side as he slips away. It's a look at the folly of war and the plight of those who fight them. "We've got just one world but we live in different ones," he told the BBC. "It's just stupid, it really is. We're just foolish to take part in anybody's war."
The title is something Knopfler's dad said. In discussing the Falklands War, he described the Russians and Argentinians as "Brothers In Arms," meaning they had similar ideologies. That phrase ended up being used as the title for the album.
These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Someday you'll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you'll no longer burn to be
Brothers in arms
Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I've witnessed your suffering
As the battle raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms
There's so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones
Now the sun's gone to hell and
The moon's riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it's written in the starlight
And every line in your palm
We are fools to make war
On our brothers in arms
Songwriters: Mark Knopfler
Brothers in Arms lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group


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Notice: Political Boards have been moved to: https://firehydrantoffreedom.com
WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Cain new champion VIVA MEXICO ahaha jeje sorry mexican pride
Pau, Chad:I confess to being irritated by the Brown Power tatoo he recently got and the tone of some things said.
a) Freddie Roach on GSP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpkjn8Wufz8&feature=player_embeddedb) Machida vs. Jackson: Hard to see how the judges came to that decision!c) Last night on the TUF finale event, Joe Rogan had a riff on how bad decsions are getting to start to thing that MMA is starting to get corrupt; he went on to say that it is because the Nevada Athletic Commission, which basically is boxing people, is putting clueless morons judging UFC fights. I was surprised at how candid his comments were.d) Exciting finale to the TUF event. I really like that kid who won (name slips my mind at the moment) but he sure took too many strong hits in the first round. IMHO shots like those have a cumulative effect. He really needs to clean up his standing striking game.
It was cool seeing a Dogbrother(tm) cornering in the UFC. Are there any more other than Lucky Dog that are active in the organization?
I think Werdum beat Roidereem once before, Josh Barnett has been talking a lot of trash, I don't give Rogers much of a chance, but I hope he gets in a lucky punch and knocks Barnett out!
Forgive me if this is not the proper place for this, but wasn't this the guy who trained Kimo and then danced in the octagon with him when Royce Gracie decided not to continue after his fight with Kimo in UFC III?I also seem to remember this guy being involved in a UFC fight before groin shots were illegal during which someone was repeatedly punched in the groin. I can't remember if this guy was on the receiving end or the giving end, so to speak.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44867359?GT1=43001#.TpUcIxx8SzY
new fight leaugehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iYzTkOrHrp8


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Trigger Riot - Sequencer (Black)
The Trigger Riot is a multipurpose trigger module that makes ultra complex patterns of gates triggers and clock pulses. The Riot covers a lot of ground in any Eurorack system from the master clocking for your entire system to algorithmic generation of pulses for envelopes, step sequencers, drums and accents that can venture into highly complex territory driven by simple yet powerful logic and algebra with a dash of pseudo randomness for some unpredictable results.
The user interface allows a great deal of control over pulses with each knob acting as a clock divider, clock multiplier, step injector, time shifter, clock shifter, pulse-width modulator, and an arithmetic probability processor. Now take that control and multiply it by 16 and feed it into 8 outputs for maximum Trigger Riot madness!
Furthermore the interface features a master clock knob, push switches to mute unmute and select rows, and multiple switches to configure, adjust, create loops and save your work for later recall from memory banks.
Trigger Riot integrates nicely in the studio with non-volatile memory, generous synchronization options with external gear including sample accurate sync with DAWs, smart synchronization to other Tiptop modules using SyncBus, and DIN Sync for vintage gear. A precise internal tempo clock generator with tap tempo and BeatSync to manage precise changes round out the features.


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OTPP names Ron Mock President and CEO effective January 1, 2014, succeeding Jim Leech, who retires at year-end.
TORONTO – Effective January 1, 2014, Ron Mock, currently Senior Vice-President, Fixed Income and Alternative Investments, will succeed Jim Leech as President and Chief Executive Officer of Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan (Teachers').
Mr. Leech is retiring December 31, 2013 after more than 12 years at Teachers', the last six as Chief Executive Officer. Teachers' Chair, Eileen Mercier, made the announcement today, noting that Mr. Mock's appointment continues the organization's tradition of cultivating talent internally and promoting from within.
"Ron brings the ideal combination of experience, knowledge and leadership acumen to the CEO role at this high performance organization," said Ms. Mercier. "We have every confidence that he will lead the organization to new levels of success as CEO, as Jim has and Claude Lamoureux did before him."
A selection committee of the board has been engaged in preparations for the CEO succession since 2011, in anticipation of Mr. Leech's retirement. "We undertook the same approach we would expect of our portfolio companies: a comprehensive succession process with consideration to both external and internal candidates to ensure the best possible successor to Jim, for the best possible impact on the organization," said Ms. Mercier. "Jim and his executive team have a number of important goals they are focused on achieving before he retires later this year, and he remains firmly in charge until then," she added.
Ron Mock joined Teachers' in 2001 as Director of Alternative Investments. He was promoted to Vice-President later that year, a position he held until 2008, when he was promoted to Senior Vice-President, assuming responsibility for all fixed income assets and strategy as well as alternative investments and hedge funds. He also is a board member of wholly-owned Cadillac Fairview, which manages Teachers' $21 billion commercial and retail real estate portfolio.
Mr. Mock holds a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto and an MBA from York University.
"I have the luxury of inheriting the leadership of a thriving and successful organization," said Mr. Mock. "I will be working from a solid foundation and I can only thank the board for their confidence and Jim for his generosity in sharing his knowledge, and most of all for his vision and leadership during his term as Teachers' CEO. I will be working closely with him until his retirement to ensure a smooth transition.
While this appointment may be somewhat daunting, the prospect of leading this exceptional organization is the most invigorating challenge I have ever faced and I look forward to doing my best for everyone from members to employees, plan sponsors to investment partners."
"I could not be more pleased with the board's decision to appoint Ron," said Mr. Leech. "He has been an outstanding leader at Teachers' and members of the board, our executive team and I admire his knowledge and good judgment. Ron and I share the privilege of joining Teachers' at the same time. His track record here is excellent, with the Fixed Income portfolio totalling $60.0 billion at the end of 2012. Importantly," stressed Mr. Leech, "Ron has a reputation for collaboration and team building, balancing current needs with a view to future possibilities. Plan members, sponsors, our employees and our investment partners all will benefit from his leadership of Teachers'.
"Over the past six years, I have had the honour and privilege of leading this one-of-a-kind organization," Mr. Leech noted. "We have always been focused on doing the right things for our members, and that is reflected in our culture, which I know will continue under Ron's leadership."
Mr. Mock's successor as Senior Vice-President has not yet been named.
Mr. Leech joined Teachers' in 2001 with a mandate to expand Teachers' private investment activities globally. Under his leadership, Teachers' Private Capital became one of the world's largest and most successful private investors. He took on the CEO role just as the investment world was about to start reeling from the financial crisis. He is credited with keeping a steady hand on the wheel as Teachers' coped with the tumult, and with leading the team that has recouped all losses and raised net assets to $130 billion. He has earned international recognition for his leadership in advocating for an evolved defined benefit plan model that reflects the demographic and economic reality of the day. His full professional bio is available here.
About Teachers'
With $129.5 billion in net assets as of December 31, 2012, the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan is the largest single-profession pension plan in Canada. An independent organization, it invests the pension fund's assets and administers the pensions of 303,000 active and retired teachers in Ontario. For more information, including our 2012 and previous annual reports, visit www.otpp.com. Follow us on Twitter @OtppInfo.


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Native Plants
Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.
Tradescantia gigantea
Tradescantia gigantea Rose
Giant Spiderwort
Commelinaceae (Spiderwort Family)
USDA Symbol: TRGI
USDA Native Status: L48 (N)
Named after John Tradescant (1608-1662) who served as gardener to Charles I of England.
Tradescantia species will hybridize in just about any combination.
Plant Characteristics
Duration: PerennialHabit: Herb
Leaf Retention: Deciduous
Leaf Arrangement: Alternate
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Leaf Shape: Lanceolate
Leaf Venation: Parallel
Leaf Margin: Entire
Fruit Type: Capsule
Size Notes: Up to about 3 feet tall.
Bloom Information
Bloom Color: White , Pink , Blue , Purple , VioletBloom Time: Mar , Apr , May
USA: LA , TXNative Habitat: Prairie/Plains/Meadows/Pastures/Savannas, Woodlands' edge/Opening
Growing Conditions
Water Use: MediumLight Requirement: Sun , Part Shade
Soil Moisture: Moist
Soil Description: Clay, Clay Loam Medium Loam, Sandy Loam, Sandy, All soils.
Conditions Comments: Tradescantia gigantea has a dainty, three-petal flower with slender, hairy stamens. The flower color can be an indicator of the PH of the soil. Acidic soils produce bluer flowers, while more alkaline soils create varying shades of pink and purple.
Conspicuous Flowers: yesFragrant Flowers: yes
Interesting Foliage: yes
Nectar Source: yes
Deer Resistant: No
Value to Beneficial Insects
Special Value to Native BeesThis information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Mr. Smarty Plants says
Native plants for container gardens in Central Texas
March 11, 2008
Dear Mr. Smarty Plants: I moved to TX last year, for now living in an apartment with a good-size but shady deck; my garden in VA was full of VA native plants. What TX natives, if any, can I grow in ...
view the full question and answer
From the National Organizations Directory
According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is on display at the following locations:Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - Austin, TX
Brackenridge Field Laboratory - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Native Plant Society of Texas - Fredericksburg, TX
Stengl Biological Research Station - Smithville, TX
NPSOT - Austin Chapter - Austin, TX
NPSOT - Williamson County Chapter - Georgetown, TX
Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.Bibref 281 - Shinners & Mahler's Illustrated Flora of North Central Texas (1999) Diggs, G. M.; B. L. Lipscomb; B. O'Kennon; W. F...
Bibref 248 - Texas Wildflowers: A Field Guide (1984) Loughmiller, C. & L. Loughmiller
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.
Bibref 286 - Wildflowers of the Texas Hill Country (1989) Enquist, M.
Search More Titles in Bibliography
Web Reference
Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter
Additional resources
USDA: Find Tradescantia gigantea in USDA PlantsFNA: Find Tradescantia gigantea in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Tradescantia gigantea
Record Modified: 2023-03-01Research By: GAP


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Logging In
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If you login you will unlock many key features of Woohu:
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Green-building and sustainability consultant Jerry Yudelson, PE, MBA, LEED Fellow, recently released a three-part video series titled "Water Wars" on YouTube.
Based on Yudelson's 2010 book, "Dry Run: Preventing the Next Urban Water Crisis," which outlines how cities can prepare for a coming era of water scarcity throughout the United States and much of the world brought about by global climate change, increasing urban populations, and a growing "water footprint" from human activity, the nearly four-minute-long videos provide an introduction to water-supply problems facing us over the coming decade; a discussion of the importance of changing the way homes, buildings, and cities are built; and actions people, institutions, and political leaders can take to prevent water crises in their community.
"I've designed these videos," Yudelson, chief executive officer of Tucson, Ariz.-based Yudelson Associates, said, "to provide an understandable introduction to preventing future water crises, at a level that can promote community dialogue about viable water futures. I find that much of the professional discussion about water issues is simply too complex for the average person to grasp. These videos fill a much needed gap in public education and are designed to spur people to action.
"With this larger audience in mind," Yudelson continued, "I decided to take a creative approach with the videos. I wanted to avoid your typical talking-head piece."
The videos were produced by Jodi Netzer, a Tucson-based graphic designer, community arts organizer, and performing artist, who has been the chief organizer of Tucson's annual The Water Festival: Synergy of Art, Science, and Community, at which Yudelson spoke this year.
"I thought her creative perspective would perk up more ears and demonstrate how art, engineering, and public policy can work together," Yudelson said of Netzer.
To view these and other videos by Yudelson, click here.


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Service is only available for articles (products) which are shown in stock on our website
Customers have to pay the bill amount in advance through Credit Card/Bkash/Bank Deposit for any orders from outside of Dhaka City.
Only one article can be booked in one order
Orders that are paid for cannot be cancelled.
For Order related queries, please contact Customer Service
Contact Number of Customer Service Team: +86 0574 89073641 (09.00 AM -05:00 PM and Sunday to Thursday except for government holidays)
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We are committed to delivering your order accurately, in good condition, and on time
Please note our shipping policy as follows:
We make our best efforts to ship each item in your order within maximum 7 working days of the order
We ship on regular week days (Sunday to Thursday), excluding public holidays
Currently, each order may be shipped only to a single destination address. If you wish to ship products to different addresses, you will need to place multiple orders
To ensure that your order reaches you in the fastest time and in good condition, we only ship through reputed courier agencies
While we will endeavor to ship all items in your order together, this may not always be possible due to product characteristics, or availability
Exchange Policy
We are committed to ensure your satisfaction with any merchandise you have ordered from
In case you are not satisfied with your purchase, you can exchange any merchandise bought from GMT E-Commerce site within 7 days from the original date of physical invoice receipt, provided that the product(s) being returned for exchange is unused, clean, and in their original state and packaging. In this case please contact our customer service regarding which store can be the most convenient one for you get a replacement from.
Contact Number of Customer Service Team: +86 0574 89073641 (09.00 AM -05:00 AM Sunday to Thursday except for government holidays)
An exchange cannot be done with a product which has price lower than that of the original product purchased.
Please keep your invoice safe and intact as it is essential to give the same to the store while getting your product exchanged
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Currently refund is not being accepted.
Shop Return Policy
The customer who purchased GMT products from any E-commerce channel can go to any GMT Retail store for the product claim. The store manager will settle the claim according to the regular claim policy. If the store does not have that particular product, the store manager may send the product to the central warehouse for the claim and central warehouse will send a new product to that store for settlement after checking the product according to the claim procedure.
Please contact our customer service team by making a call at +86 0574 89073641 for any help.
100% replacement is provided for merchandise bought from GMT Stores in case of any major manufacturing defects, if the concerned product is brought to our store within 30 days from the date of the receipt of physical money receipt. In case of minor defect, customers will get a repair service.
No claims will be entertained for price reduced or marked down products.
GMT reserves the right not accepts to any fraudulent claim and make final decision on any claim settlement.
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Store, E-Commerce platforms, Agencies and Dealers stores which develops any defect during the course of normal wear by the customer.