Award-winning songwriter Jan Hellriegel is back in 2019 to celebrate the launch of her forthcoming studio album Sportsman of the Year.
Jan started her career while studying at Otago University in the mid-80s and has continued to write and release material.
In 1995, she won Songwriter of the Year for her album It's My Sin and went on to release Tremble (1995) and All Grown Up (2009) to critical acclaim. In 2013, she released Last Songs.
Jan has toured with and supported many international acts including The Cure, Jeff Buckley, David Byrne, Diesel and Ron Sexsmith.


If you need your website to be multilingual there is a Google Translator that will work seamlessly on your site. We will be happy to configure it for you or you can follow the steps below.
To add the code to a Homes.com Connect site, you will need to log into the Dashboard and open the Website App. From here, you will want to add the code to the website's Global Settings by clicking on the "Advanced Settings" link from the advanced settings menu on the right. This will allow the Translator to be accessible from any page on the website.
CLICK SAVE WHEN YOU ARE READY TO ADD THE TRANSLATOR TO THE WEBSITE.
If you want to make changes to your already existing translator (i.e. scaling down the number of languages or changing the style) Go to https://translate.google.com/manager/website/corrections.
Make your changes and when you are satisfied with the settings click on "Get Code" at the bottom.


If you are dreaming of warmer weather, Conde Nast Traveler has the cure for the winter blues—at least in terms of suggesting where to go.
"As the Northern Hemisphere slips into the depths of winter, we at Traveler are dreaming of warmer climes—specifically, beaches," says Katherine LaGrave.
Kayak's Travel Hacker guide, which was just released is used as an aid for those looking to find the best sun-and-sand destinations.
First up, head to Maui where an increase in flight searches has upped its profile on Kayak.
"Why we love it: Incredible resorts; beauty that has bewitched visitors since the time of Captain Cook," writes LaGrave.
In the Caribbean, you can find warm weather in Martinique.
What does Conde Nast love?
"Colorful coastlines, historic ruins, isolated coves," writes LaGrave.
Another win that's farther afield — Phuket, Thailand.
"Miles of white-sand beaches meet some of Thailand's swankiest hotels," says LaGrave about Phuket.
Auckland, New Zealand, offers a more metropolitan experience.
Why does Conde Nast love it? Well, it was named one of the best coastal cities in the world, for one, LaGrave points out.
Looking for more warm-weather getaways? Read on here.


Fyrirlesturinn setur þessa umræðu í samhengi við áfallafræði og skoðar hvaða áhrif hún hefur á hugmyndina um atbeina og fórnarlamb og býður upp á aðra, femíníska leið án aðgreiningar, til að hugsa um nafnleysi og mennsku.
Dr. Giti Chandra er starfandi fræðimaður hjá Jafnréttisskóla Háskóla SÞ (UNU-GEST) og kennir við Háskóla Íslands. Hún var áður dósent við enskudeild St Stephen's College í Delhi á Indlandi og kennari við Rutgers University, New Jersey í Bandaríkjunum, þar sem hún lauk doktorsverkefni sínu um konur og ofbeldi.
Dr. Chandra er höfundur bókarinnar "Narrating Violence, Constructing Collective Identities: To witness these wrongs unspeakable" (Macmillan UK/US: 2009) og vinnur nú að bókinni "In Visible Texts: Hidden and Spectacularised Violence in Colonial India and Africa" og þá er hún annar ritstjóra greinaheftis um MeToo-hreyfinguna sem RIKK gefur út. Dr Chandra var formaður kærunefndar um kynferðislega áreitni við St. Stephen's College, ráðgjafi jafnréttisnefndar og óháður sérfræðingur kærunefndar um kynferðisáreitni við Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
Fyrirlesturinn er fluttur á ensku og er öllum opinn og aðgangur er ókeypis.
Hádegisfyrirlestraröð RIKK á haustmisseri 2018 er haldin í samvinnu við Þjóðminjasafn Íslands. Fyrirlesturinn er á ensku og er öllum opinn.
Dr. Giti Chandra is the first lecturer in the RIKK – Institute for Gender, Equality and Difference 2018 autumn term lecture series. Her lecture is titled: "The Anonymous Feminist: Agency, Trauma, and Personhood in the #MeToo Movement" and will take place on Thursday, 6 September, from 12.00-13.00, at the National Museum of Iceland lecture hall.
One of the more controversial aspects of the MeToo movement has been the production of lists naming perpetrators. The people contributing to these lists have as often preferred to remain anonymous as not. These unnamed people are seen either as weak and malicious, hiding behind their anonymity in order to wage vendettas against the named perpetrators, or as weak and faceless, defined by and forever trapped in their victimhood. Contextualising this discussion within trauma studies, this presentation will look at the implications of this anonymity for notions of agency and victimhood, and offer alternative, more inclusively feminist, ways of thinking of anonymity and personhood.
Dr. Giti Chandra is currently an Affiliated Scholar, UNU-GEST, teaching in the University of Iceland. She has been Associate Professor at the Dept. of English, St Stephen's College, Delhi. She has taught in and been a fellow at Rutgers University, New Jersey, from where she did her Doctoral work on Women and Violence. She is the author of "Narrating Violence, Constructing Collective Identities: To witness these wrongs unspeakable" (Macmillan UK/US: 2009). Her current works in progress include a book length study titled "In Visible Texts: Hidden and Spectacularised Violence in Colonial India and Africa" and an edited volume on the MeToo movement. Dr Chandra has served as Chairperson of the College Complaints Committee Against Sexual Harassment in St Stephen's College, Adviser to the Gender Sensitization Committee, and as the External Expert on the Sexual Harassment Complaints Committee at the Indian Institute of Mass Communication.
The lecture is in English, open to everyone and admission is free.
The event is on Facebook!
The RIKK lecture series during the autumn term 2018 is dedicated to women's revolution against harassment and violence, and the attending responses, research and activism, in an endeavor to analyze the incentives, nature and consequences of the MeToo movement from different viewpoints.
RIKK lecture series in the autumn semester 2018 is held in collaboration with The National Museum of Iceland.


NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen had earlier said the patriot missiles would remain deployed in Turkey longer than planned.
In November Ankara asked NATO to deploy the missiles to protect the country's territory against possible aerial attack from Syria.
According to Turkish media reports, the missiles are slated to be deployed in the country's southeast in January, some 100 kilometers from the Syrian border.


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Facebook Blocks Pages With Millions of Subscribers After CNN Reports Ties With RT
Ties that are publicly available information
(RT) Tue, Feb 19, 2019 | 800 words 1,256 Comments
Facebook has suspended several accounts operated by Maffick Media without prior warning, right after CNN ran a report about the company's perceived ties to the Kremlin.
In what seems to be a new step in the social media giant's fight against perceived 'Russian propaganda', Facebook took down, without prior notice, several pages offering video content. The social media network said it would ask the administrators of Soapbox, Back Then and Waste-Ed to disclose their "Russian affiliations."
"People connecting with Pages shouldn't be misled about who's behind them. Just as we've stepped up our enforcement of coordinated inauthentic behavior and financially motivated spam over the past year, we'll continue improving so people can get more information about the Pages they follow," a Facebook spokesperson said in a statement.
However, no official requests were filed with Maffick Media, the German-based company operating all three pages. They were not notified before the fact, which prompted an angry response (posted on Maffick's front page at the time of writing) in which they branded Facebook policies "new McCarthyism." All three pages remained offline on Monday.
The accounts were suspended shortly after CNN aired a report with the catchy headline "Kremlin funds viral videos aimed at millennials," in which it listed all three pages as part of the Kremlin's "influence campaign" targeting unsuspecting young American adults. CNN stated that German-based Maffick Media is "mostly owned" by Ruptly video news agency – a subsidiary of RT – and is thus in the Kremlin's back pocket.
CNN also repeatedly accused Maffick of concealing its suspected ties to Russia to mislead its audience. While, indeed, none of the pages bore a glowing stamp that said "paid for by the Kremlin," they were never told that they were required to do so. Besides, no special effort was made to hide the funding sources – as proved by the CNN reporters themselves, who used an online commercial registers database to acquire documents showing that Maffick is 51 percent (which CNN generalized as "mostly") owned by Ruptly.
The remaining near-half belongs to Maffick CEO Anissa Naouai, an American journalist of Tunisian descent. Before launching her independent project, Naouai founded the show In The Now, which was aired by RT International (and whose Facebook page was also suspended), and before that, worked as a reporter and presenter for RT. She says the company only fully employs people in Berlin and hires Americans as freelancers. Notably, In The Now had over 2.5 billion views on Facebook.
Incidentally, CNN's own report was based on a tip from the German Marshall Fund, financed by the US, German, and other governments. Among the Fund's other accomplishments is the questionable Hamilton 68 'Russian propaganda tracker' – a website that labels Twitter accounts as 'Russian influence' operations and tracks their activities based on an undisclosed methodology that is impossible to verify – but is still embraced by multiple US mainstream media outlets as a reliable tool.
Unexplained ban
Facebook's decision to shut down the pages run by Maffick has gone unexplained so far. The company did not break any of the social media network's rules, which as of now do not demand that anyone post funding details on their Facebook pages. On top of that, numerous other media companies supported with government money – including NPR, PBS, BBC, DW, CBC, and AJ+ – never had to deal with similar treatment, Maffick notes.
Maffick was singled out for the sole reason that Russia is the supporting government, the company says.
Regardless of what you think of @RaniaKhalek, Russia or anything else, this trio - CNN, US-funded German Marshall funded, and Facebook - working together to selectively censor is highly disturbing. But this is the inevitable outcome of begging FB to censor https://t.co/OyElNWwoue https://t.co/xKbJ3l0Fsk
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald)
Maffick Media says it is editorially independent – but, as per the CNN report, "much of [its] content seemed to be perfectly aligned with much of the propaganda coming out of the Kremlin" – that is to say, the content does not align with the mainstream view of American policies.If I oppose a US war, does that automatically mean I am going to be accused of being aligned with the Kremlin? With this Russia hysteria we are experiencing now I feel like this is a very, very dangerous McCarthyist tactic to start saying that leftist views, anti-war views are just the Kremlin government's talking points.
This is what Rania Khalek, the American host of Soapbox – one of the video shows Maffick ran on Facebook – told CNN when asked about her alleged connections to Moscow.
Each of the suspended pages had tens of thousands of followers on Facebook, while their videos were viewed "tens of millions of times," according to CNN – a level of popularity which possibly spurred Facebook to take such drastic and swift measures to silence them.
Source: RT

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Social SecuritySEARCH
Annual Statistical Supplement, 2008
You are here: Social Security Administration > Research, Statistics & Policy Analysis > Annual Statistical Supplement, 2008
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Medicaid Program Description and Legislative History
The following are brief summaries of complex subjects. They should be used only as overviews and general guides to the Medicare and Medicaid programs. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the policies or legal positions of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). These summaries do not render any legal, accounting, or other professional advice, nor are they intended to explain fully all of the provisions or exclusions of the relevant laws, regulations, and rulings of the Medicare and Medicaid programs. Original sources of authority should be researched and utilized.1
Title XIX of the Social Security Act is a federal and state entitlement program that pays for medical assistance for certain individuals and families with low incomes and resources. This program, known as Medicaid, became law in 1965 as a cooperative venture jointly funded by the federal and state governments (including the District of Columbia and the Territories) to assist states in furnishing medical assistance to eligible needy persons. Medicaid is the largest source of funding for medical and health-related services for America's poorest people.
Within broad national guidelines established by federal statutes, regulations, and policies, each state establishes its own eligibility standards; determines the type, amount, duration, and scope of services; sets the rate of payment for services; and administers its own program. Medicaid policies for eligibility, services, and payment are complex and vary considerably, even among states of similar size or geographic proximity. Thus, a person who is eligible for Medicaid in one state may not be eligible in another state, and the services provided by one state may differ considerably in amount, duration, or scope from services provided in a similar or neighboring state. In addition, state legislatures may change Medicaid eligibility, services, and/or reimbursement at any time.
Title XXI of the Social Security Act, known as the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), is a program initiated by the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 (Public Law 105-33). In addition to allowing states to craft or expand an existing state insurance program, SCHIP provides more federal funds for states to expand Medicaid eligibility to include a greater number of children who are currently uninsured. With certain exceptions, these are low-income children who would not qualify for Medicaid based on the plan that was in effect on April 15, 1997. Funds from SCHIP also may be used to provide medical assistance to children during a presumptive eligibility period for Medicaid. This is one of several options from which states may select to provide health care coverage for more children, as prescribed within the BBA's Title XXI program.
Medicaid does not provide medical assistance for all poor persons. Under the broadest provisions of the federal statute, Medicaid does not provide health care services even for very poor persons unless they are in one of the groups designated below. Low income is only one test for Medicaid eligibility for those within these groups; their financial resources also are tested against threshold levels (as determined by each state within federal guidelines).
States generally have broad discretion in determining which groups their Medicaid programs will cover and the financial criteria for Medicaid eligibility. To be eligible for federal funds, however, states are required to provide Medicaid coverage for certain individuals who receive federally assisted income-maintenance payments, as well as for related groups not receiving cash payments. In addition to their Medicaid programs, most states have additional "state-only" programs to provide medical assistance for specified poor persons who do not qualify for Medicaid. Federal funds are not provided for state-only programs. The following enumerates the mandatory Medicaid "categorically needy" eligibility groups for which federal matching funds are provided:
Limited-income families with children, as described in section 1931 of the Social Security Act, are generally eligible for Medicaid if they meet the requirements for the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program that were in effect in their state on July 16, 1996.
Children under age 6 whose family income is at or below 133 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). (As of January 2007, 100 percent of the FPL has been set at $20,650 for a family of four in the continental U.S.; Alaska and Hawaii's FPLs are substantially higher.)
Pregnant women whose family income is below 133 percent of the FPL. (Services to these women are limited to those related to pregnancy, complications of pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum care.)
Infants born to Medicaid-eligible women, for the first year of life with certain restrictions.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients in most states (or aged, blind, and disabled individuals in states using more restrictive Medicaid eligibility requirements that pre-date SSI).
Recipients of adoption or foster care assistance under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act.
Special protected groups (typically individuals who lose their cash assistance under Title IV-A or SSI because of earnings from work or from increased Social Security benefits, but who may keep Medicaid for a period of time).
All children under age 19, in families with incomes at or below the FPL.
Certain Medicare beneficiaries (described later).
States also have the option of providing Medicaid coverage for other "categorically related" groups. These optional groups share characteristics of the mandatory groups (that is, they fall within defined categories), but the eligibility criteria are somewhat more liberally defined. The broadest optional groups for which states can receive federal matching funds for coverage under the Medicaid program include the following:
Infants up to age 1 and pregnant women not covered under the mandatory rules whose family income is no more than 185 percent of the FPL. (The percentage amount is set by each state.)
Children under age 21 who meet criteria more liberal than the AFDC income and resources requirements that were in effect in their state on July 16, 1996.
Institutionalized individuals eligible under a "special income level." (The amount is set by each state-up to 300 percent of the SSI federal benefit rate.)
Individuals who would be eligible if institutionalized, but who are receiving care under home and community-based services (HCBS) waivers.
Certain aged, blind, or disabled adults who have incomes above those requiring mandatory coverage, but below the FPL.
Aged, blind, or disabled recipients of state supplementary income payments.
Certain working-and-disabled persons with family income less than 250 percent of the FPL who would qualify for SSI if they did not work.
Tuberculosis-infected persons who would be financially eligible for Medicaid at the SSI income level if they were within a Medicaid-covered category. (Coverage is limited to tuberculosis-related ambulatory services and tuberculosis drugs.)
Certain uninsured or low-income women who are screened for breast or cervical cancer through a program administered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-354) provides these women with medical assistance and follow-up diagnostic services through Medicaid.
"Optional targeted low-income children" included within the SCHIP program established by the BBA.
"Medically needy" persons (described below).
The medically needy (MN) option allows states to extend Medicaid eligibility to additional persons. These persons would be eligible for Medicaid under one of the mandatory or optional groups, except that their income and/or resources are above the eligibility level set by their state. Persons may qualify immediately or may "spend down" by incurring medical expenses greater than the amount by which their income exceeds their state's MN income level.
Medicaid eligibility and benefit provisions for the medically needy do not have to be as extensive as for the categorically needy, and may be quite restrictive. Federal matching funds are available for MN programs. However, if a state elects to have a MN program, there are federal requirements that certain groups and certain services must be included; for example, children under age 19 and pregnant women who are medically needy must be covered, and prenatal and delivery care for pregnant women, as well as ambulatory care for children, must be provided. A state may elect to provide MN eligibility to certain additional groups and may elect to provide certain additional services within its MN program. As of 2005, 34 states plus the District of Columbia have elected to have a MN program and are providing at least some MN services to at least some MN beneficiaries. All remaining states utilize the "special income level" option to extend Medicaid to the "near poor" in medical institutional settings.
The Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-193)—known as the "welfare reform" bill—made restrictive changes regarding eligibility for SSI coverage that affected the Medicaid program. For example, legal resident aliens and other qualified aliens who entered the United States on or after August 22, 1996 are ineligible for Medicaid for 5 years. States have the option of providing Medicaid coverage for most aliens entering before that date and coverage for those eligible after the 5-year ban; emergency services, however, are mandatory for both of these alien coverage groups. For aliens who lose SSI benefits because of the new restrictions regarding SSI coverage, Medicaid coverage can continue only if these persons can be covered under some other eligibility status (again with the exception of emergency services, which are mandatory). Public Law 104-193 also affected a number of disabled children, who lost SSI as a result of the restrictive changes; however, their eligibility for Medicaid was reinstituted by Public Law 105-33, the BBA.
In addition, welfare reform repealed the open-ended federal entitlement program known as Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and replaced it with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which provides states with grants to be spent on time-limited cash assistance. TANF generally limits a family's lifetime cash welfare benefits to a maximum of 5 years and permits states to impose a wide range of other requirements as well-in particular, those related to employment. However, the impact on Medicaid eligibility has not been significant. Under welfare reform, persons who would have been eligible for AFDC under the AFDC requirements in effect on July 16, 1996 are generally still eligible for Medicaid. Although most persons covered by TANF receive Medicaid, it is not required by law.
Medicaid coverage may begin as early as the third month prior to application—if the person would have been eligible for Medicaid had he or she applied during that time. Medicaid coverage generally stops at the end of the month in which a person no longer meets the criteria of any Medicaid eligibility group. The BBA allows states to provide 12 months of continuous Medicaid coverage (without reevaluation) for eligible children under age 19.
The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (Public Law 106-170) provides or continues Medicaid coverage to certain disabled beneficiaries who work despite their disability. Beneficiaries with higher incomes may pay a sliding scale premium based on income.
The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) of 2005 (Public Law 109-171) refined eligibility requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries by tightening standards for citizenship and immigration documentation and by changing the rules concerning long-term care eligibility—specifically, the look-back period for determining community spouse income and assets has been lengthened from 36 months to 60 months, individuals whose homes exceed $500,000 in value are disqualified, and the states are required to impose partial months of ineligibility.
Scope of Medicaid Services
Title XIX of the Social Security Act allows considerable flexibility within the states' Medicaid plans. However, some federal requirements are mandatory if federal matching funds are to be received. A state's Medicaid program must offer medical assistance for certain basic services to most categorically needy populations. These services generally include the following:
Inpatient hospital services;
Outpatient hospital services;
Pregnancy-related services, including prenatal care and 60 days postpartum pregnancy-related services;
Vaccines for children;
Physician services;
Nursing facility services for persons aged 21 or older;
Family planning services and supplies;
Rural health clinic services;
Home health care for persons eligible for skilled nursing services;
Laboratory and x-ray services;
Pediatric and family nurse practitioner services;
Nurse-midwife services;
Federally qualified health center (FQHC) services, and ambulatory services of an FQHC that would be available in other settings; and
Early and periodic screening, diagnostic, and treatment (EPSDT) services for children under age 21.
States may also receive federal matching funds to provide certain optional services. Some of the most common currently approved optional Medicaid services are:
Diagnostic services;
Clinic services;
Intermediate care facilities for the mentally retarded (ICFs/MR);
Prescribed drugs and prosthetic devices;
Optometrist services and eyeglasses;
Nursing facility services for children under age 21;
Transportation services;
Rehabilitation and physical therapy services;
Hospice care;
Home and community-based care to certain persons with chronic impairments; and
Targeted case management services.
The BBA included a state option known as Programs of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE). PACE provides an alternative to institutional care for persons aged 55 and older who require a nursing-facility level of care. The PACE team offers and manages all health, medical, and social services and mobilizes other services as needed to provide preventive, rehabilitative, curative, and supportive care. This care, provided in day health centers, homes, hospitals, and nursing homes, helps the person maintain independence, dignity, and quality of life. PACE functions within the Medicare program as well. Regardless of source of payment, PACE providers receive payment only through the PACE agreement and must make available all items and services covered under both Titles XVIII and XIX, without amount, duration, or scope limitations and without application of any deductibles, copayments, or other cost sharing. The individuals enrolled in PACE receive benefits solely through the PACE program.
Amount and Duration of Medicaid Services
Within broad federal guidelines and certain limitations, states determine the amount and duration of services offered under their Medicaid programs. States may limit, for example, the number of days of hospital care or the number of physician visits covered. Two restrictions apply: (1) limits must result in a sufficient level of services to reasonably achieve the purpose of the benefits, and (2) limits on benefits may not discriminate among beneficiaries based on medical diagnosis or condition.
In general, states are required to provide comparable amounts, duration, and scope of services to all categorically needy and categorically related eligible persons. There are two important exceptions: (1) medically necessary health care services that are identified under the EPSDT program for eligible children, and that are within the scope of mandatory or optional services under federal law, must be covered even if those services are not included as part of the covered services in that state's plan, and (2) states may request "waivers" to pay for otherwise uncovered home and community-based services (HCBS) for Medicaid-eligible persons who might otherwise be institutionalized. As long as the services are cost effective, states have few limitations on the services that may be covered under these waivers (except that states may not provide room and board for the beneficiaries, other than as a part of respite care). With certain exceptions, a state's Medicaid program must allow beneficiaries to have some informed choices among participating providers of health care and to receive quality care that is appropriate and timely.
Payment for Medicaid Services
Medicaid operates as a vendor payment program. States may pay health care providers directly on a fee-for-service basis, or states may pay for Medicaid services through various prepayment arrangements, such as health maintenance organizations (HMOs). Within federally imposed upper limits and specific restrictions, each state for the most part has broad discretion in determining the payment methodology and payment rate for services. Generally, payment rates must be sufficient to enlist enough providers so that covered services are available at least to the extent that comparable care and services are available to the general population within that geographic area. Providers participating in Medicaid must accept Medicaid payment rates as payment in full. States must make additional payments to qualified hospitals that provide inpatient services to a disproportionate number of Medicaid beneficiaries and/or to other low-income or uninsured persons under what is known as the "disproportionate share hospital" (DSH) adjustment. From 1988 to 1991, excessive and inappropriate use of the DSH adjustment resulted in rapidly increasing federal expenditures for Medicaid. Legislation that was passed in 1991 and 1993, and again within the BBA of 1997, capped the federal share of payments to DSH hospitals. However, the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Benefits Improvement and Protection Act (BIPA) of 2000 (Public Law 106-554) increased DSH allotments for 2001 and 2002 and made other changes to DSH provisions that resulted in increased costs to the Medicaid program.
States may impose nominal deductibles, coinsurance, or copayments on some Medicaid beneficiaries for certain services. The following Medicaid beneficiaries, however, must be excluded from cost sharing: pregnant women, children under age 18, and hospital or nursing home patients who are expected to contribute most of their income to institutional care. In addition, all Medicaid beneficiaries must be exempt from copayments for emergency services and family planning services. Under the DRA, new cost sharing and benefit rules provide states the option of imposing new premiums and increased cost sharing on all Medicaid beneficiaries except for those mentioned above and for terminally ill patients in hospice care. The DRA also established special rules for cost sharing for prescription drugs and for nonemergency services furnished in emergency rooms.
The federal government pays a share of the medical assistance expenditures under each state's Medicaid program. That share, known as the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP), is determined annually by a formula that compares the state's average per capita income level with the national income average. States with a higher per capita income level are reimbursed a smaller share of their costs. By law, the FMAP cannot be lower than 50 percent or higher than 83 percent. In fiscal year 2008, the FMAPs varied from 50 percent in 13 states to 76.29 percent in Mississippi and averaged 56.7 percent overall. The BBA permanently raised the FMAP for the District of Columbia from 50 percent to 70 percent. For children covered through the SCHIP program, the federal government pays states a higher share, or "enhanced" FMAP, which averages about 70 percent for all states.
The federal government also reimburses states for 100 percent of the cost of services provided through facilities of the Indian Health Service, for 100 percent of the cost of the Qualifying Individuals (QI) program (described later), and for 90 percent of the cost of family planning services, and shares in each state's expenditures for the administration of the Medicaid program. Most administrative costs are matched at 50 percent, although higher percentages are paid for certain activities and functions, such as development of mechanized claims processing systems.
Except for the SCHIP program, the QI program, and DSH payments, federal payments to states for medical assistance have no set limit (cap). Rather, the federal government matches (at FMAP rates) state expenditures for the mandatory services, as well as for the optional services that the individual state decides to cover for eligible beneficiaries, and matches (at the appropriate administrative rate) all necessary and proper administrative costs.
Summary and Trends
Medicaid was initially formulated as a medical care extension of federally funded programs providing cash income assistance for the poor, with an emphasis on dependent children and their mothers, the disabled, and the elderly. Over the years, however, Medicaid eligibility has been incrementally expanded beyond its original ties with eligibility for cash programs. Legislation in the late 1980s extended Medicaid coverage to a larger number of low-income pregnant women and poor children and to some Medicare beneficiaries who are not eligible for any cash assistance program. Legislative changes also focused on increased access, better quality of care, specific benefits, enhanced outreach programs, and fewer limits on services.
In most years since its inception, Medicaid has had very rapid growth in expenditures. This rapid growth has been due primarily to the following factors:
The increase in size of the Medicaid-covered populations as a result of federal mandates, population growth, and economic recessions;
The expanded coverage and utilization of services;
The DSH payment program, coupled with its inappropriate use to increase federal payments to states;
The increase in the number of very old and disabled persons requiring extensive acute and/or long-term health care and various related services;
The results of technological advances to keep a greater number of very low birth-weight babies and other critically ill or severely injured persons alive and in need of continued extensive and very costly care;
The increase in drug costs and the availability of new expensive drugs; and
The increase in payment rates to providers of health care services, when compared with general inflation.
As with all health insurance programs, most Medicaid beneficiaries incur relatively small average expenditures per person each year, and a relatively small proportion incurs very large costs. Moreover, the average cost varies substantially by type of beneficiary. National data for 2005, for example, indicate that Medicaid payments for services for 28.7 million children, who constituted 51 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries, averaged about $1,667 per child. Similarly, for 13.7 million adults, who comprised 24 percent of beneficiaries, payments averaged about $2,475 per person. However, other groups had much larger per-person expenditures. Medicaid payments for services for 4.9 million aged, who constituted 9 percent of all Medicaid beneficiaries, averaged about $13,675 per person; for 9.1 million disabled, who comprised 16 percent of beneficiaries, payments averaged about $13,846 per person. When expenditures for these high- and lower-cost beneficiaries are combined, the 2005 payments to health care vendors for 56.3 million Medicaid beneficiaries averaged $4,859 per person.
Long-term care is an important provision of Medicaid that will be increasingly utilized as our nation's population ages. The Medicaid program paid for over 41 percent of the total cost of care for persons using nursing facility or home health services in 2005. National data for 2005 show that Medicaid payments for nursing facility services (excluding ICFs/MR) totaled $44.7 billion for more than 1.7 million beneficiaries of these services-an average expenditure of $26,234 per nursing home beneficiary. The national data also show that Medicaid payments for home health services totaled $5.4 billion for 1.2 million beneficiaries-an average expenditure of $4,510 per home health care beneficiary. With the percentage of our population who are elderly or disabled increasing faster than that of the younger groups, the need for long-term care is expected to increase.
Another significant development in Medicaid is the growth in managed care as an alternative service delivery concept different from the traditional fee-for-service system. Under managed care systems, HMOs, prepaid health plans (PHPs), or comparable entities agree to provide a specific set of services to Medicaid enrollees, usually in return for a predetermined periodic payment per enrollee. Managed care programs seek to enhance access to quality care in a cost-effective manner. Waivers may provide the states with greater flexibility in the design and implementation of their Medicaid managed care programs. Waiver authority under sections 1915(b) and 1115 of the Social Security Act is an important part of the Medicaid program. Section 1915(b) waivers allow states to develop innovative health care delivery or reimbursement systems. Section 1115 waivers allow experimental statewide health care reform demonstrations to cover uninsured populations and to test new delivery systems without increasing costs. Finally, the BBA provided states a new option to use managed care without a waiver. The number of Medicaid beneficiaries enrolled in some form of managed care program is growing rapidly, from 48 percent of enrollees in 1997 to 64 percent in 2007.
More than 56 million persons received health care services through the Medicaid program in fiscal year 2005 (the last year for which beneficiary data are available). In fiscal year 2007, total expenditures for the Medicaid program (federal and state) were $335.8 billion, including direct payment to providers of $232.6 billion, payments for various premiums (for HMOs, Medicare, etc.) of $67 billion, payments to disproportionate share hospitals of $16.1 billion, administrative costs of $17.3 billion, and $2.7 billion for the Vaccines for Children Program. Expenditures under the SCHIP program in fiscal year 2007 were $8.8 billion. With no changes to the program, spending under Medicaid is projected to reach $523 billion by fiscal year 2013. (SCHIP is currently authorized and funded only through March 2009.)
The Medicaid-Medicare Relationship
Medicare beneficiaries who have low incomes and limited resources may also receive help from the Medicaid program. For such persons who are eligible for full Medicaid coverage, the Medicare health care coverage is supplemented by services that are available under their state's Medicaid program, according to eligibility category. These additional services may include, for example, nursing facility care beyond the 100-day limit covered by Medicare, prescription drugs, eyeglasses, and hearing aids. For persons enrolled in both programs, any services that are covered by Medicare are paid for by the Medicare program before any payments are made by the Medicaid program, since Medicaid is always the "payer of last resort."
Certain other Medicare beneficiaries may receive help with Medicare premium and cost-sharing payments through their state Medicaid program. Qualified Medicare Beneficiaries (QMBs) and Specified Low-Income Medicare Beneficiaries (SLMBs) are the best-known categories and the largest in numbers. QMBs are those Medicare beneficiaries who have financial resources at or below twice the standard allowed under the SSI program and incomes at or below 100 percent of the FPL. For QMBs, Medicaid pays the Hospital Insurance (HI, or Part A) and Supplementary Medical Insurance (SMI, or Part B) premiums and the Medicare coinsurance and deductibles, subject to limits that states may impose on payment rates. SLMBs are Medicare beneficiaries with resources like the QMBs but with incomes that are higher, though still less than 120 percent of the FPL. For SLMBs, the Medicaid program pays only the Part B premiums. A third category of Medicare beneficiaries who may receive help consists of disabled-and-working individuals. According to the Medicare law, disabled-and-working individuals who previously qualified for Medicare because of disability, but who lost entitlement because of their return to work (despite the disability), are allowed to purchase Medicare Part A and Part B coverage. If these persons have incomes below 200 percent of the FPL but do not meet any other Medicaid assistance category, they may qualify to have Medicaid pay their Part A premiums as Qualified Disabled and Working Individuals (QDWIs).
For Medicare beneficiaries with incomes above 120 percent and less than 135 percent of the FPL, states receive a capped allotment of federal funds for payment of Medicare Part B premiums. These beneficiaries are known as Qualifying Individuals (QIs). Unlike the QMBs and SLMBs, who may be eligible for other Medicaid benefits in addition to their QMB/SLMB benefits, the QIs cannot be otherwise eligible for medical assistance under a state plan. The QI benefit is 100 percent federally funded, up to the state's allotment. The QI program was established by the BBA for fiscal years 1998 through 2002 and has been extended several times. The most recent extension expired at the end of fiscal year 2007.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that, in 2007, Medicaid provided some level of supplemental health coverage for about 8.1 million Medicare beneficiaries.
Starting January 2006, a new Medicare prescription drug benefit provides drug coverage for Medicare beneficiaries, including those who also receive coverage from Medicaid. In addition, individuals eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid receive the low-income subsidy for the Medicare drug plan premium and assistance with cost sharing for prescriptions. Medicaid no longer provides drug benefits for Medicare beneficiaries.
Since the Medicare drug benefit and low-income subsidy replace a portion of state Medicaid expenditures for drugs, states will see a reduction in Medicaid expenditures. To offset this reduction, the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-173) requires each state to make a monthly payment to Medicare representing a percentage of the projected reduction. For 2006, this payment was 90 percent of the projected 2006 reduction in state spending. After 2006 the percentage will decrease by 1 2/3 percent per year to 75 percent for 2015 and later.
Note: Medicaid data are based on the projections of the Mid-Session Review of the President's Fiscal Year 2009 Budget and are consistent with data received from the states on the Forms CMS-2082, MSIS, CMS 37, and CMS-64.
CONTACT: Earl Dirk Hoffman Jr. (410) 786-7913 or supplement@ssa.gov.
1 These summaries were prepared by Earl Dirk Hoffman Jr., Barbara S. Klees, and Catherine A. Curtis, Office of the Actuary, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 7500 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21244. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Mary Onnis Waid, who originated these summaries and diligently prepared them for many years before her retirement.
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Learn the basics of exercise to enhance your ability to perform the Activities of Daily Living. Taught by Certified Personal Trainers in a clean and efficient studio, conveniently located in Cocoa, FL, near the Cocoa Library.
Our staff is highly motivated to guide you through the basics of mild cardio and light resistance exercises using modern techniques and equipment.
A full body analysis will be performed giving each participant their Body Mass Index, muscle percentage, fat percentage, body age, and resting metabolism.
Classes will consist of a light warmup, body-weight and stretching exercises.
Individuals who are looking for a little bit more can expect light to moderate resistance exercises as well as cardiorespiratory exercises.
Class size is limited to six individuals per trainer to provide more personalized instruction. Cost is $10 per person for one hour of instruction. We also offer one-on-one training by appointment only. Ask about our introductory offer.
Located on Forrest Ave just Northwest of the Cocoa Library.


text:
Knapp, Smith combine to win Pennsylvania 4-Ball for first time
by AmateurGolf.com Staff
see also: Pennsylvania Four-Ball Championship, Glenmaura National Golf Club
Nathan Smith and Will Knapp (PGA photo)
In Pennsylvania golf circles, Sean Knapp and Nathan Smith are familiar names. Between them, they've won 23 Pennsylvania Golf Association amateur titles. The former USGA champions teamed up this week to win the Pennsylvania Four-Ball title at Philadelphia Cricket Club in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. It was a title neither had ever won before.
In typical form, Knapp and Smith set a 36-hole scoring record for the championship, which has been played 30 years. They were 18 under after rounds of 62-63, and two shots ahead of the next-closest team.
"He's my best buddy and I'm just honored to win," Knapp said of Smith. "And if you want to know why someone has won so many USGA Mid-Ams, just look at what he did coming down the stretch today."
Knapp and Smith began the final round with just a one-shot advantage on Conrad Von Borsig and Matt Kocent, who play out of Cricket Club. With three holes left to play, Knapp and Smith led by three strokes.
Smith hit it to four feet on No. 16 and converted the birdie to match Kocent on the hole. And then on No. 17, Von Borsig hit a second shot 3-wood to 15 feet to set up an eagle opportunity.
"He hit the best 3-wood I've ever seen anybody hit," Smith said. "You just knew he was going to make the eagle."
And he did.
On the 18th hole, with a two-shot lead, Smith again led the way, safely reaching the green about 30 feet away from the hole. From there, he lagged to just a couple of feet and made the par putt to clinch the title.
"Conrad and Matt were off the charts today," Smith said. "We really worked hard to try to keep that two or three shot buffer all day."
Information from the Pennsylvania Golf Association used in this report
ABOUT THE Pennsylvania Four-Ball
36-hole four-ball stroke play competition open to any male amateur golfer who is member of a club belonging to the Pennsylvania Golf Association.
Golfweek Senior Player of the Year Classic
St. George Amateur Championship


To be filmed inside West Ham United's Boleyn ground (Upton Park).
Michael Knox is said to have been in the US Army but carries all the badges and insignia for the US Navy SEAL's.
Dimitri: That's not a name I've heard in a long time.
A fully disengaged brain is probably the key to enjoying Final Score. Employing even basic logic engenders a recognition of how truly stupid this screenplay is, especially when it comes to the resolution.
Bautista has the low-key charisma, natural appeal and formidable physicality necessary for an action star, and he makes Final Score worth watching (at home while eating pizza and drinking beer, preferably) despite its endlessly derivative elements.


As the sun sets and the light fades, nothing is at is as it once seemed. Dynamics shift and shimmer under star filled horizons and curious creatures come out to play. As the story unfolds unexpected twists begin to emerge, atmospherics mutate and evolve giving life to deeper waveforms which begin to re-define the landscape. Beat creationists from far and distant lands come together to add bold new dimensions that fill the air with the sounds of After Dark.


After greeting us, our server recommended that we try the Caipirinha, a house-made, traditional Brazilian cocktail consisting of muddled lime with cane sugar and cachaça. It was perfectly proportioned, and quite the refreshing start to our evening. We were also provided with a basket of pao de queijo, a sort of cheese bread that is gluten-free, thanks to the use of cassava flour instead of wheat.
Next up, the Gourmet Salad and Hot Bar: Terra Gaucha offers this all-you-can-eat option by itself, but it's best paired with all the meats you can devour for a full rodizio experience. From cheese and charcuterie to side dishes to lobster bisque, this beautifully-adorned island has it all.
I should probably mention by now - if you're like me and haven't been to a Brazilian steakhouse yourself, then prepare to make room in your belly for all of the meat. From lamb to beef to poultry to pork, the options are endless, and so long as you're still hungry, so are the portions. Alongside the meat, our server brought us garlic mashed potatoes, crispy polenta and caramelized bananas to enjoy.
Everything was incredibly flavorful and tasty, and surprisingly, my favorite choice was the leg of lamb - aside from gyro meat, I typically stay away from lamb due to its gamy aftertaste. But, Terra Gaucha prepares it in such a way that you can barely taste it, and instead, focus more on the savory flavor it's seasoned with.
We only made it a few rounds before we surrendered and flipped our table cards to the red, "no, thank you" side. I ended our incredible evening with a cappuccino and the pudim de leite, a Brazilian-style flan. The custard flavor was wonderful, but I will have to admit, I taken aback by how thick the consistency was. When it comes to flan, I'm usually used to a thinner texture - I'll have to try the crème brûlée next time and see how that treats me!
Overall, we had such an amazing time at Terra Gaucha, and we will absolutely be back! From the flavor of the many dishes to the hospitality of the staff, Terra Gaucha offers a dining experience that is one to be remembered.
Terra Gaucha Brazilian Steakhouse is located at 1108 South Dale Mabry Highway in Tampa. The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., as well as dinner Monday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Saturday from 4:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. and Sunday from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. You can view the menus here. To stay updated on the latest happenings at Terra Gaucha in Tampa, follow along on Facebook and Instagram.
*Disclosure: The meal featured in this post was provided by Terra Gaucha for editorial consideration. This post was written on my own accord, and opinions expressed here are my own and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Terra Gaucha.


Your wee little clients need birth announcements, and its the holiday season! Why not combine them? Can't think of a sweeter way to introduce the newest little member of the family than with a warm holiday message!
In line with the Laugh & Grow crisp aesthetic, our little newborn holiday package showcases your images with lovely touches of clean design and layout. Built in easy to use layers, the adornments can be altered in placement, size and color; or all together turned off for use with our other brushes or icons. Your download will include 4 fully layered photoshop files, all fully customizable allowing you to create beautifully clean 5 x 7 double sided portrait or landscape holiday greeting.
Please choose software option below (Add to Cart button will appear once a selection has been made).
SKU: N/A. Categories: NEW Products, Templates.
• Compatible with Photoshop CS2 through CS6/CC.
• Continued support by Laugh & Grow Press.
• Font information: we supply the names of the fonts used, but .ttf files must be downloaded from other providers.
• Photos are not included with purchase.
• Dimension are 5 x 7 with additional print bleeds… standard with most labs, can be adjusted/customized as needed per your preferred lab/printer. Please double check the size requirements for your preferred lab.
• This is an instant download upon checkout.
• Due to the nature of digital files, there are no refunds.
The timeless photography featured is graciously provided by the amazingly talented, kind hearted, and lovely Lisa Holloway. You can learn more about Lisa here, and to see her beautiful work in your newsfeed, stop by, say hi, and like her facebook page here!


Thank you for all your help. The whole team were supportive and responsive throughout my house sale. I appreciated the way you made time for any queries I had and were honest, respectful and friendly throughout.
Very reasonable and definitely value for the service.
Thank you so much for this great feedback Cathy, and for choosing Reeds Rains, we all enjoyed working for you, confident in the knowledge that we'd find the perfect buyer for your lovely home.


text:
Э́тика соверше́нства или э́тика соверше́нствования — направление этики, рассматривающее совершенство как идеал, а также описывающее пути достижения нравственного идеала, пытаясь ответить на вопрос, достижимо ли совершенство

Определение совершенства

По мнению Аристотеля, совершенство является одной из характеристик добродетельности:

И. Кант предполагал, что понятие совершенства связано с понятием долга

:

В этических учениях стоицизма, христианства и буддизма, совершенство — это внутренняя свобода от страстей, временных обстоятельств, отрешение от физического мира, которое достигается путём наложения аскезы, различных видов аскетических практик:

Христианские источники утверждают, что достижение совершенства — это осуществление своего предназначения путем необходимого подчинения воле Бога, мысленного соединения с Ним, что позволит обрести спасение души:

«Будьте столь же совершенны, как отец небесный» (Евангелие от Матфея ).

Буддизм передает учение Будды Шакьямуни (Гаутамы) о восьмеричном пути прекращения страданий: праведная вера, праведное намерение, праведная речь, праведные поступки — ненасилие (ахимса), праведный образ жизни, праведное усилие, праведная мысль, праведное сосредоточение. При этом мораль отождествляется с самосовершенствованием, духовным самоуглублением индивида.

Фома Аквинский считал, что для достижения совершенства требуется «упорядочение и управление» душевными и физическими силами человека. Таким образом, средневековая традиция трансформировала идею совершенства в идею самосовершенствования и в мысль о том, что совершенство — это следствие развития души.

Путь совершенствования
Путь совершенствования человеческой натуры начинается с момента, когда личность старается осмыслить себя и свою систему ценностей и осознаёт собственное несовершенство, то есть несоответствие этим ценностям. В этом есть проблема совершенства, осознание которой происходит в нравственном мире каждого отдельного человека: «Совершенство представляет собой знание человека о собственном несовершенстве» и желание изменить ситуацию к лучшему. Как следствие, осознание причин несовершенства сопровождается покаянием, то есть признанием собственных ошибок в прошлом, сожалением о них и твёрдым желанием не совершать их в будущем.

С момента осознания собственного несовершенства личность начинает практики по изменению (улучшению) своей натуры, характера, мыслей, чувств и поступков, которые предполагают жертвенность, смирение, послушание, преодоление человеческой природы. Благодаря смирению личность освобождается также от своего понимания совершенства и попыток сотворить собственный идеал.

Помимо осознания несовершенства, принципиальным условием совершенствования является желание и постоянство усилий личности на этом пути, которая не должна останавливать своих действий, несмотря на невозможность обретения высшего совершенства. Личность должна совершенствоваться, насколько хватает её способностей, поскольку благодаря этим действиям преодолевается внутренняя разорванность с нравственным идеалом, а также на основе её достижений преобразовывается и окружающий мир, что является этически значимым фактом и раскрывается как заповедь любви к миру.

Примечания

Литература

 Этика

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


It's time to do things differently.
Simple. One click. Integrated. Feedback.
Find out below how we embed seamlessly with 3rd party apps such as Zendesk, Salesforce and Outlook.
Once your Thermometer template is set up, connecting our buttons with your 3rd party app is a breeze. We generate the code you need to paste into your application (and you can customise it too).
Simply paste it into the relevant part of your 3rd party application and trigger emails as you would do normally. There's plenty of help to get you started too.
Find out about our app partners below.
Customer Thermometer builds your Embedded Thermometer surveys for you – you just need to customize a simple template, following our prompts.
If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use Customer Thermometer. We reckon it takes most new users 5 minutes to get the hang of it.
Start simple and we guarantee you'll find more ways to use the tool around your business.
Embed one question within your support and CRM emails or your Outlook signature.
Why not ask your customers about how they are feeling?
It's our favourite type of question – make your surveys human – is there a more important question to be asking your customers?
Are they happy? Are they disappointed?
It's what you don't know which can be so damaging.
Choose an icon set (we add seasonal icons too). OR create and upload your own, to fit with your brand or your playfulness.
You can also select from our 1,2,3,4 number icons to ask a voting question.
Have you thought you could also this as part of your sales cycle too?
Once your Thermometer template is set up, we'll then help you to connect our buttons with the correct variables from your 3rd party app and we will then generate the code you need to paste into your application (and you can customise it too).
Simply paste it into the relevant part of your 3rd party application and send emails as you would do normally.
Your Embedded Thermometer surveys will start delivering results for you straight away.
It's always nice to say thank you.
When your customers click their single button response in their email, they are then taken to a branded thank you page.
Here's where your logo, a clickable advert, a customisable footer, social media links and custom thank you text go (you can set different text for each rating).
You can also add a box for your customers to leave verbatim comments.
We know our customers keep their dashboards open on their desktops, to watch their responses coming in – because they tell us!
The second someone opens an Email Thermometer or clicks a response – your dashboard will reflect that click.
Each set of surveys is separately reported so you can see how you and your team are doing.
Send yourself daily / weekly report snapshots by email.
Export all data to slice and dice as you need.
Whether your business is local or global – it's always good to have a helicopter view.
Watch responses coming in from around the world or around your country, in real time.
See immediate trends on ratings by geography.
We know how important metrics are.
Set rolling 30 day monthly targets across 5 different KPIs and report against them in one click.
Set targets for # of ratings, Happiness Factor (%age happy) Average NetPromoterScore, Average Temperature Rating and the number of disappointed responses every 30 days.
Each calendar month's data is store right underneath, so you can find out how you're doing.
You can also add custom fields to your Thermometer template – a bit like a mail merge in MS Word.
You could ask how [Account manager] has been performing. The relevant Account manager's name is then inserted in each survey.
Or, you could send a red alert notification to [Sales Manager email address] and the relevant Sales manager, associated with that contact is then notified.
There's plenty of help inside if you need it.
If a recipient clicks a red or yellow response, you need to know in real time. The issue can then be dealt with before it becomes even more serious.
When you set up a Thermometer, you can actually choose to be alerted via email for any type of response. Use the power of custom fields to send that alert to the right person or people in your business.
Or, choose to be alerted on your Android or iOS device.
Imagine if you were a customer, had clicked a red light on a Thermometer and got a phone call from you within an hour. That's just what we enable.
Track satisfaction by person, time, survey, territory and many more. Compare results.
Find out how your regular customers have been responding over time. Simply search for an email address or company domain to look at trends. Why not use your insights to start a conversation? How could you improve.
Compare different metrics over different time periods with our new Report Maker.
If that's not enough – export anything you like for further analysis.
Find out how well your staff, agents and teams are serving your customers.
Use our custom fields to associate your teams with your customers.
In just one click – generate League Tables to create competition, train those who need help, and reward staff who are performing well.
You might be surprised at what a little competition can add to your business.
Customer Thermometer's real time results widgets allow you to publish anonymous statistics about your survey responses on your website, internal dashboard or Facebook page.
Regardless of which survey type you're using, when enabled, Customer Thermometer can calculate your NPS for a specific Blast or across your account.
Ask "The Ultimate Question" in one of the simplest and quickest ways around.
View your NPS changing in real time and even publish your real time score via our NPS widget.
Why not take us for a test drive?
Get an account and 10 surveys completely free below.
Once you've tested us out – you can upgrade and receive a Thermometer email allowance every month.
Start sending surveys which get results, in the next 10 minutes. Customize to suit your brand and colours.
Don't forget to take action on all customer feedback – you might be surprised just how much you will get.


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Join us on Victoria Day Long Weekend for a fun viewing of vintage British cars during the All British Car Run. The event starts in Vancouver, with participants driving the Sea to Sky Highway, finishing at the Creekside Plaza.
When participants begin arriving at 10AM, patrons are invited to come out and catch the amazing vintage British car classics in all their glory. See classic vehicles from car makers; Rolls Royce, Jagauar, Aston Martin, Mini, Bentley, Land Rover, Lotus and more.


text:
require 'test_helper'

class RtedexisTest < Test::Unit::TestCase
  def test_that_it_has_a_version_number
    refute_nil ::Rtedexis::VERSION
  end

end

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Mazal Tov! And now...let's get to business: Our performance in your wedding is at the most exciting and emotional part which is the chuppah. We will start to play as soon as the first guest's will take there sits, some nice classics melodies and jewish known songs, such as Shalom Aleichem, or Yerushalaim Shel Zahav; Then, we will accompanied the whole ceremony by the following entrances to the chuppah (families, groom, bride, etc). There's plenty of songs options and we can play any song you would like. During the 7 blessings ceremony leading by the rabbi, we will play some nice tunes so it will be more powerful and meaningful, and right befor glass breaking we will play Eim Eshkachech song. A special offer for ibride client's: choose us for your dream chuppah and get a live music due harp & flute at the reception cocktail - no extra charge. Regarding payment issue, 10% of the total price will be delivered upfront as first payment (can do by wire transfer), and the rest of the amount can be delivered befor or right after chuppah ceremony ends. *price does not include flights cost and a host at your destination.
A band that will consist of 4 players- a vocalist, 2 guitarists and a percussionist who will play for 1 hour and a half (with an option to break it down in parts- reception, first course, dance party) Performance of all time favorite covers from the 80's, 90's, 00's, in more than 4 languages- Hebrew, Spanish, Russian, English etc. in the genres of Pop, Latin, Jewish and more... Payment will be received after the event. the band can provide their own video and photo services with a discount.


The program is designed to provide students the opportunity to develop their skills in evidence-based practice, quality use of medicine, practice-based research and the provision of high level Addiction services. The program is aligned with the Level 9 of the Qualifications Framework for the UAE approved by The Board of the National Qualifications Authority (NQA) known as the QFEmirates. The program will support further development of self-reliance and an independent approach to learning in support of professional development.
Produce Addiction Clinical Practitioners capable of providing specialized health care services in hospital and other clinical environments.
To facilitate graduate to become licensed practitioners in Addiction Psychiatry, Addiction Rehab Specialists and Addiction Specialist Nursing, based on the professional background, program concentration and according their licensing authority regulations.
Produce confident and knowledgeable Addiction Clinical Practitioners as well as law enforcement officers working in the field of addiction.
To enhance the addiction clinical practitioners' role as a member of the healthcare team by improving their communication, managerial, clinical and research skills.
To provide a pathway towards academia as a career in Addiction.
To provide learning opportunities to enable to think critically and to further develop as an autonomous and lifelong learner.
An applicant with an undergraduate qualification from an English-medium institution who can provide evidence of acquiring a minimum TOEFL score of 500 on the Paper-Based test, or its equivalent on another standardized test approved by the Commission, at the time of admission to her undergraduate program.
Note: To be eligible for this exemption you must have completed your studies no more than two years prior to the start of the postgraduate degree program for which you are applying.
Male and female, both will be admitted. It will be a co-educational course.
Must achieve an overall grade point average of Grade C or 3.00 on a 4.0 scale, or its established equivalent, in the first nine credit hours of credit-bearing courses studied for the Master's program.
Must achieve an overall grade point average of 3.00 on a 4.0 scale, or its established equivalent, in the first nine credit hours of credit-bearing courses studied for the Master's program.
The following documents should be submitted along with the application form. The original certificates is to be brought in person by the applicant at the time of interview.
Six passport size color photographs.
Copy of the passport and resident visa (for expatriate students only).
Copy of UAE National ID.
Students must meet the English language proficiency requirements such as minimum TOEFL score of (79 IBT) or 6.0 in IELTS.
DMC requires applicants to submit their transcripts for evaluation of transferable subjects /teaching hours from previous college experiences. The student must provide a letter of application to the Dean of the College specifying reason(s) for requesting transfer and desired date of transfer.
All applicants must provide conduct certificates from the College where they are currently enrolled. No student who has been dismissed from any College will be eligible for transfer to DMC.
The student transferring from another accredited college must be in a good academic standing (CGPA of 3 on a scale of 4.0, or its equivalent) in BSc.
The student must have earned a grade of "B" or better in the course. No more than six credit hours of graduate work may be transferred from another institution. The courses must be graduate level and have been taken for graduate credit at the accredited institution.
The final decision for approval of transfer will be made by the Dean after review of the transfer request.
Student intake will be a maximum of 20 students per year.
There are 6 lecture halls all of which are duly equipped with state of the art audio-visual aids and wireless network access.
DMC provides 9 basic science laboratories for the students. The post graduate program uses the following labs.
Biochemistry Laboratory: This facility is equipped for training on laboratory diagnostics including electrophoresis and PCR.
Histopathology Laboratory: This facility is equipped with par-focal, illuminated, binocular microscopes for each student, binocular teaching microscopes and explanatory slides on various body systems for the study of diseases. Microtome has also been made available for the preparation of slides.
College Museum: This facility is equipped with gross specimens of different organs.
Anatomy laboratory: This facility is equipped with cadavers preserved in formalin and plastinated organs, plastinated sections, plastic models, human bones, skeletons, X-rays, CT scans & MRI's and interactive audiovisual aids.
Physiology Laboratory: This facility is equipped with state of the art teaching facilities for clinical and experimental physiology.
Pharmacology Laboratory: This facility is equipped with education software such as PCCAL and equipment to facilitate testing on experimental animals.
Molecular Biology Laboratory: This facility is well equipped to conduct tests like PCR, ELISA, and Western Blot.
DMC library is housed in a recently renovated library which contains around 4000 printed books, the catalogue of which is available on the college website (www.dmcg.edu) through the link <dpc.follettdestiny.com> which can be accessed on the smartphones also. The databases are a very good resource of electronic books available to students 24/7, even outside the college. College library supports the program by maintaining recent learning resources required by both the specializations.
VLE (Virtual learning environment) is available through desire2Learn platform. The teaching learning and examinations are conducting using this platform.
This center is equipped with 80 computers and projection facilities, where computerized examinations are conducted. This center is also the venue for conducting elective project presentations, interactive learning and clinical skills training.
The whole college is covered by WIFI and internet connectivity.
The college provides the students with the LMS (Learning management system) to facilitate learning. The LMS is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of electronic educational (also called e-learning) courses materials or other training programs.
You can see on the calendar all important events in your college and deadlines of different activities.
Your instructor may build a survey to take your opinion and record it on the system.
You can keep some of your files, notes in a special locker which can be seen by you only to use it later on.
You can also send email to instructor and paste your photo in your profile and much more.
When you need to know how to maximize the use of LMS you can go to the section of "@D2l friend of students" to find material, video, documents and tutorials on how to use our LMS.
A plush resting area located around the round hall allows students to rest and relax during their intervals.
The College provides a study room, mosque, a mini-mart and a cafeteria.
The clinical facilities at ERADA provide a valuable opportunity for the students to train in real-life inpatient and outpatient setting. The powerful Wi-Fi system at the ERADA center will help students and faculty members for seamless communication and transfer of learning materials.
A classroom with capacity for 15 students and a reading room, ward review rooms will be available for students at ERADA center. These locations will be booked for students on the days of their posting by the coordinator.
The post graduate program is delivered full time through two academic years at Dubai Medical College. This is an MSc ACP program which is 2 years is articulated to provide opportunity for students to obtain a PG Diploma ACP by completing the first year.
– Each academic year is evenly divided between two Semesters running from February to June and September to January.
– Each semester is composed of fifteen weeks of study including examinations.
The two semesters of the first academic year are devoted to formal taught modules scheduled to be given over weekend (Fridays & Saturdays). The second academic year consists of a major research project and clinical clerkships. Clinical clerkships are provided at ERADA Center for Treatment and Rehab.
The mandatory credit hours required for MSc is 41 which have to be covered in 9 core modules and 6 specialized modules.
Students who opt for nursing concentration are required to complete specialized modules for nursing.
– Students who wish to enroll for a PG Diploma will have to complete all the 24 credits provided in the first year.
Each academic year is evenly divided between two semesters running from February to June and September to January.
The two semesters of the first academic year are devoted to formal taught modules scheduled to be given over weekend (Fridays & Saturdays).
The mandatory credit hours required for PG Diploma is 24 credits which have to be covered in the two semesters.
1 Credit hour is defined as 15 hours of teaching /learning sessions in classroom. These are usually conducted over a period of 15 weeks. It is also presumed that for every hour of class, a student should spend 2 hours of independent study/assignment time outside class time. Therefore, one academic credit equals to a 45 hour commitment to learning over a semester.
The classrooms at DMC are equipped with updated technologies. The laboratories at DMC are well equipped with latest equipment and instruments for performing Lab work and conducting research.
Didactic method is only used in introductory courses and beginning lectures of any course. The usual traditional lecture where it is teacher center and depend mainly on the narrative mode of delivery with an interrupted questions to assure students comprehension and understanding.
In these methods, the role of instructor is that of facilitating learning rather than transferring knowledge. Students -centered teaching methods have more positive perceptions on teaching and learning, knowledge and skills, outcomes of their course materials and satisfaction compared to the students belonging to didactic method of education. In student-centered education, learning is perceived as a qualitative change of student's conception of phenomena and ideas and, consequently, knowledge is actively processed by the student. It improves the students' usage of learning resources and problem-solving abilities. These methods are scenario based interactive lectures, Problem-based learning, student written assignments, brainstorming sessions, small group discussions, and student seminars.
A case scenario is distributed to all students at the beginning of the lecture or presented in ppt.
The student will be asked to read the case & ask about unclear terms or expression in the case.
The case is analyzed in the classroom through the discussion between the lecturer and students in order to cover the objectives of the topic.
To correlate the scientific knowledge to its clinical application.
To develop the writing abilities.
To cultivate the habits of self-study and collecting information from different sources.
Training of organizing thoughts and information then expressing them in a coherent style.
The students are divided into groups (5-6 students/each). The topic is specified. References as well as the objectives are given. The students study, discuss and defend their choices and standpoints together under supervision of the faculty member. The topic given in SGD will be presented by one student from each group presenting an objective using different teaching facilities: power point, board, chart, and videos.
Office hours are available where a face-to-face exchange of information between student and course coordinator/instructor. Students can clarify their doubts which they feel reluctant to speak up in class.
Third and Fourth semester of the program are devoted to dissertation work. The student's research supervisor holds the primary responsibility for providing the appropriate guidance and counsel essential to the scholarly development of the student.
For MSc with specialization in Addiction Clinical Practice, clinical clerkship is obligatory. During third and fourth semester, students will be assigned primarily to clinical rotations in Erada Center for Treatment and Rehab supervised by clinical preceptors.
Assessment on the MSc degree program is a mixture of formative assessments (in form of coursework) and summative assessments (written & practical examinations).
Assessment of each taught courses is divided into 30% marks from course work (in the form of quizzes, seminars and assignments), and 70% marks from final summative assessment ( in form of MCQs, Short essay questions, practical exam, objectively structured clinical examination and assignment).
Coursework varies from course to course and comprises a mix of Practical write-ups, Patient profiles, written reports and essays, small group projects, oral presentations, quizzes etc. Coursework submission guidelines & grading criteria (usually in form of rubric) will be provided by course coordinator.
Final summative assessments are scheduled at the end of first and second semester. Exams are normally closed book, though a calculator is permitted in some exams. In order to assess all learning outcomes, all the questions are compulsory in exams.
Students who fail to achieve GPA of 60% in taught semesters (first and second) will be put on probation and will be allowed to appear in the supplementary exams held in February and September each year for first and second semester. A student who is unable to attend the final exam of any course because of extenuating circumstances such as serious illness, accident or death of a family member during the final examination period seeks an incomplete grade "I" for the course. No students are promoted to second year (dissertation work and/or clinical clerkships) unless he/she secures minimum of 60% in both first and second semester.
The assessment of the dissertation work is based on dissertation and defense at the end of the fourth semester. Dissertation is assessed based on the dissertation and defense with 80% and 20% marks respectively. The examining committee for master's candidates' dissertation and defense should be composed of three members with one external member related to the field of specialization. Dissertation defense should be held only after all members of the committee have had adequate opportunity to review a draft of the master's dissertation. It is the student's responsibility to distribute copies of the dissertation to the committee members in advance of the defense. The final oral defense may be open to the public or limited in attendance to the candidate and the committee.
The defense should be scheduled at least 4 weeks prior to the dissertation submission deadline. A dissertation defense consists of two parts: 1) the student presents her research in front of committee members and/or public and 2) the student responds to questions posed by members of the committee and the audience. The student and the committee members must be physically present at the defense. The results of the final oral examination for the MSc, duly signed by all the examining graduate committee members present, must be reported to the Graduate Program Director within 24 hours after the examination. Students should submit the dissertation with incorporated recommendations by the examining committee before the deadline set by the college.
If one or all the examiners decided that the dissertation does not meet the requirements for the degree (failed to obtain minimum 60%), a Master's student will not graduate. However, the student has the option to revise and resubmit a failed dissertation. In cases where plagiarism in the dissertation is alleged, the examination process does not proceed any further and the case is investigated through DMC disciplinary processes.
A student whose dissertation has not passed the examination may choose to revise and resubmit the dissertation. To do so, he/she must contact the program director within 4 weeks of the notification of this outcome indicating the intention to revise and resubmit the dissertation, including a supporting letter from the supervisor(s) confirming that he/she will maintain supervisory oversight for the revision. The Graduate Program Director then shall refer this matter to Graduate Faculty Board.
Once the revise and resubmit process has been approved by the Graduate Faculty Board, the revised dissertation must be resubmitted to Program director no later than 6 months from the notification of approval. The revised dissertation will normally be send to the original examiner(s) who will determine if the dissertation has been revised to address the issues raised in the original examiner's report(s) and has now met the requirements for the degree.
If the original examiner is not willing or available to serve, the name of other potential examiner will be suggested. This new examiner will be provided with the original report that did not pass the dissertation, and will be asked to determine whether the revised dissertation has addressed the issues raised by the original examiner's report and has met the requirements for the degree.
If the student does not contact Graduate Program Director requesting to revise and resubmit the dissertation within the designated 4 weeks' time period or, once approved to revise the dissertation, does not re-submit the revised dissertation by the 6 months deadline, the dissertation will be deemed to have failed and the student will be withdrawn from the university. Should the re-examination fail to pass the dissertation, the dissertation will be deemed to have failed the examination process and the student will be withdrawn from the college.
For Master's students, if the revised dissertation is passed, he/he/she will have fulfilled that requirement for the degree.
Clerkship is assessed based on clerkship evaluation (continuous) and final evaluation (Objectively structured clinical examination OSCE and case reports) with 40% and 60% marks respectively. Students who fail to secure at least 60% marks in clerkships, have to repeat the respective clerkship during next six months. If the student again fail to secure at least 60% marks in clerkship, he/she will be withdrawn from the college.
Grading at the graduate level is intended to offer feedback to students on their performance in a given course, including once students reach the dissertation and dissertation stage. Faculties are encouraged to specify course requirements and grading expectations for students.
He/she should pass all the courses both theoretical and practical as per assessment and grading rules of the college.
He/she should complete a major research project and successfully defend it in front of panel of external and internal examiners appointed by college.
Student undertaking MSc program, should successfully complete and pass the required clerkships in hospitals approved by college.
Maximum duration of 5 years is allowed upon recommendation of the Graduate Program Director and permission from the Dean.


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Suriya starrer Soorarai Pottru's next schedule to begin next week at Hyderabad!
Here's an update on Suriya's Soorarai Pottru.
In Com Staff June 12 2019, 4.59 pm
Initially, it opened to mixed reviews, however, it seems that Suriya's NGK is going steady at the Box Office. Like most of director Selvaraghavan's earlier films, NGK is also becoming a late bloomer among the audiences. The movie hit the big screens on May 31st amidst a lot of expectations. Suriya's fans had last seen him in Thaana Serntha Koottam and his first-time collaboration with maverick filmmaker Selvaraghavan created quite the buzz! Suriya has already moved on to his next project and has also completed shooting for two schedules of it! This movie, titled Soorarai Pottru, is being directed by Sudha Kongara, who made her directorial debut with the blockbuster hit Irudhi Suttru!
It was recently announced that the second schedule of this movie was wrapped up in Raigarh, in Chandigarh. We now have an update on the third schedule! A source close to the Soorarai Pottru unit says, "We are planning to begin the third schedule of the movie in Hyderabad. The shooting will commence sometime next week." This movie has Aparna Balamurali as the female lead and will have GV Prakash's music with Niketh Bommi's cinematography and Sathish Surya's editing. Bankrolled jointly by Suriya's 2D Entertainment and award-winning Guneet Monga's Sikhya Entertainment. It was also recently announced that Hollywood stunt choreographer Greg Powell had joined the Soorarai Pottru team and that he would be handling the stunt coordination for this movie too!
Greg Powell has worked in a number of action-packed Hollywood movies like Fast & Furious 6, Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2, James Bond's Skyfall and the Bourne Ultimatum. Though he has also worked in other languages Indian movies like Holiday, Prem Ratan Dhan Payo and the upcoming Sye Raa Narasimha Reddy, this would be his first ever Tamil movie. Soorarai Pottru is said to be a cinematic take on the life of Captain GR Gopinath, who founded Air Deccan to help make air travel affordable to the common man.
2D EntertainmentAparna BalamuraliGreg PowellGuneet MongaGV PrakashNiketh BommiSathish SuryaSelvaraghavanSoorarai PotruSudha KongaraSuriya
nextVijay Sethupathi completes the packed schedules of Laabam & Sangatamizhan


The remains of the Benedictine monastery of the Virgin Ratačke of the XI century. It is located on the coast at the end of the cape Ratac, between Bar and Sutomore.
It was constistuted of three churches, several buildings protected by defensive walls and towers. Since 1443. it was under Venetian rule, and in 1571 the Turks burned and destroyed it.
On an island Starčevo on Skadar Lake. It dates from the time Đurđa Balšića. It was founded by Father Makarije in 1377, who lived as a hermit on the island.
The complex of the monastery consists of the church of Assumption, the dormitory building, support buildings and boundary wall with a gate and a few terraces. The monastery was a copying center. Many manuscripts were copied there, and many books were covered and decorated. This monastery is the tomb of printer Bozidar Vukovic Podgoričanin. With the reconstruction of the dormitory and the creation of conditions for life, Starčevo is now inhabited and active monastery on the lake.
Is situated on the island in Lake Skadar. It was first mentioned in 1417, in the Charter of Balsa III. The monastery complex was composed of the church dedicated to St.. Virgin, a building for accommodation, dining and high tower with four floors, surrounded by a stone wall with a monumental gate.
It is located in the central eastern part of the island in Lake Skadar. The monastery consists of two churches, bigger one dedicated to St. Đorđe (14 c.) and smaller one dedicated to St. Virgin (1440). The monastery was founded by Đurđa II Stanimirovic - Balšić. Beška Monastery and the monastery Starčevo, were known for intense scribal activity. There was created Gorički collection, religious and instructive manuscript, which the compiler is Nikon Jerusalimac.
One of most important monuments in Montenegro. The remains of the monastery with a church dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin, are in the vicinity of Ostros, on the shores of Lake Skadar. The church is first mentioned in the late tenth century, in the Chronicle of the Priest Dukljanin. The monastery was founded by Prince Vladimir, who is related with a legend about the tragic love between him and the beautiful Kosara, daughter of Macedonian king Samuilo. Monastery was the headquarters of the Metropolitan of Zeta for a while, and in the late sixteenth century itwas destroyed. In the vicinity of the site Ostros is a well of living water, which dates from 1001. and which still supplies the population of surrounding villages with drinking water.
It is located in the same village, by whom it is named. It was founded in the early eighteenth century by Bishop Danilo, as his winter residence. Within the monastery is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary and her iconostasis, the work of Peter Čolanović from 1928. Church and monastery buildings are surrounded by high stone wall with the main gate on the south side. On the wall, by the gate, on its eastern side, was erected one piece bell tower. The building of the old dormitory, was formed as a typical house with characteristic of Crmnica volts and a terrace. At the monastery in 1863. was founded the school, which later moved to a nearby monastery Donji Brčeli.
It is located in the same village with a church dedicated to St. Nichola. The monastery was built in the fifteenth century. Below the floor of the temple were built arched rooms which can be entered through an opening formed in the floor of the sanctuary. It is believed that the premises at the time of Šćepan Mali, served as a prison. Later in this church was killed and buried Šćepan Mali. In this monastery was a school that was moved from the monastery Gornji Brčeli.
The raising of the church building refers to the period of Justinian epoch (VI century). The preserved walls of the building reach up to 1 m. While researching the church, there were found fragments of decorative stone sculptures and cemeteries.
It is built of rubble in the thirteenth century. Originally it was Orthodox, and later got Catholic altar. The church today has two altars, and it is visited by members of both faiths and members of both faiths are buried there.
Shrine of St. Roka are near Sutomore. Dating from the fourteenth century. Although there was only one altar, the church served for the Orthodox and Catholics. Today it is in ruins.
It dates from the end of XIV c. Around the church there are several graves with stone slabs.
It was built during the Middle Ages. It is built of rough-cut stone.
Archdiocese of Bar is located in it, which was established in 1089, confirmed by Pope Clement III, by sending Palija (cloak) to Archbishop of Duklja and subjugate him three bishoprics (Bar, Kotor, Ulcinj, Svač, Skadar, Drivostu, Pilot), then the state of Serbia, Bosnia and Travunija. Bar has the title of Archbishop of Serbian Primas.
It is located in Old Bar. It was built in the late seventeenth century. Simply constructed, rectangular, with a minaret added to the southwest wall.
Besides the mosque to the entrance of complex in the seventeenth-century was built Dervish Hasan's tomb. With him was added a small single-storied building, which served as a residential building. Near the entrance was built a public fountain, and later a mosque houses intended for stay of mullah or imam. The whole area is surrounded by a stone wall.


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Lane Community College's water conservation technician program — one of only a few like it in the country — hasn't had enough students to fill a cohort since 2012.
The college is still offering it — though enrollment is zero — because skills in water conservation may soon be in demand as communities reassess how they think about water, in part due to drought.
It's part of LCC's balancing act, accommodating fluctuating enrollment and keeping up with the latest employment trends, all while staying committed to sustainability.
This is part of a larger trend: Each of the past two years, total enrollment has declined 10 percent, according to data from the college.
But Jill Hoyenga, a planner with EWEB, says jobs are there, and more will open up.
"The need has been there for 20 years [for water conservation]," she says, but only now the public is becoming aware of it.
"There's a need for a lot of creative-minded folks to help with solutions we haven't yet begun to investigate," she says, citing the example of smart sprinklers, which can be adjusted with a smart phone to accommodate slight fluctuations in weather.
But students interested in this field would likely have to relocate. Mark Taratoot, water resources specialist for Corvallis Public Works, says Eugene, Corvallis and other cities have focused on water conservation for years, so they already have people working on it. "I think the jobs are there, but they're filled," he says.
Last year, the college cut two programs — electronics and auto body repair — but added seven where new jobs are projected to be.
And it seems like few things are as relevant now as water conservation, with signs of water shortages spreading. The AP reports that giant sequoias in California are showing signs of stress due to drought. Junction City and Oakridge imposed water restrictions this summer.


Tony Mendez is a retired CIA officer, an author and an award-winning painter with an international reputation. He lives and works in his studios and gallery on his forty-acre farm in rural Maryland.
In 1965 CIA's Technical Services Division recruited him. Born in the loneliest town on the loneliest road in America, Eureka, Nevada, Tony led two lives. For 25 years he worked under cover, often overseas, participating in some of the most important operations of the Cold War. To his friends he was a quiet bureaucrat working for the U.S. military. To the CIA he was their disguise master. From Wild West adventures in East Asia to Cold War intrigue in Moscow he was there.
He moved into the CIA's executive rank over the course of his career. Mendez and his subordinates were responsible for changing the identity and appearance of thousands of clandestine operatives, allowing them to move securely around the world.
In January 1980 he was awarded the Intelligence Star for Valor for engineering and conducting the rescue of six U.S. diplomats from Iran during the hostage crisis. This rescue operation involved creating an ostensible Hollywood film production company, complete with personnel, scripts, publicity and real estate in LA.
Mendez continues to paint, to lecture and consult to the U.S. Intelligence Community. He has published articles in their journals and he and his wife are founding board members of the International Spy Museum in Washington DC.
At the 60th Anniversary of CIA's Office of Technical Service, Tony Mendez's parent organization, General David Petraeus, now Director of Central Intelligence called out Tony as one of three OTS officers in sixty years who had made a difference in how the CIA did its work. That, combined with plaudits from four previous Directors of Central Intelligence in reviewing his new book, ARGO, lend credence to his innovative spirit and courage.
To learn more about Tony Mendez, his wife Jonna Mendez, and their other books visit their website The Master Of Disguise.
A tenacious researcher, Baglio strives to inhabit the worlds he documents in his books. In the process of working on The Rite, he interviewed close to twenty exorcists and sat in on more than thirty official Catholic exorcisms, one of only a handful of outsiders ever to do so.
Baglio's interests are varied and over the years he has worked as an editor and contributor for a variety of magazines and news organizations including COLORS and the Associated Press.


Stress ulcers are superficial inflammatory lesions of the gastric mucosa caused by abnormally elevated physiological demands on the body. Studies have reported evidence of mucosal damage within 24 hours of admittance in 75-100% of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. This damage can be associated with a significant bleeding risk and therefore, certain patients require prophylaxis. The most current guidelines for stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP), written by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) in 1999, include recommendations for ICU patients only. Prophylaxis is not recommended for medical or surgical patients who are not in the ICU. However, data has shown that inappropriate use of acid-suppressive therapy (AST) in general medicine units has been as high as 71%. The use of AST has been linked to an increased risk of serious infections such as pneumonia and Clostridium difficile associated disease along with elevated risk of fractures. Inappropriate use also increases drug costs for hospitals and patients. For these reasons, it is important to determine the patient populations in which stress ulcer prophylaxis is appropriate.
 Outpatient treatment with PPI has a 2.9-fold higher incidence of community-acquired C. difficile.