text: Business Process Management Systems Pascal Ravesteyn UU/HU - 2007 General overview • • • • • Introduction What is BPMS? Research question BPMS implementation framework Assignment Introduction Business Process Management: the Third Wave (Smith, Fingar, 2003) • • • • Internet Globalization Governance (SOX, Tabaksblatt) Outsourcing Source: CIOinsight (2006) View of processes and organization webservices EAI Value Chain Act. Based costing TQM CASE Workflow UML Rules management engines Java Cont. process improvement ERP ISO9001 Balanced Scorecards Kaizen Six Sigma B2Bi So… BPMS A new IT software category that supports the entire lifecycle of modeling, organization Business organization executing, and monitoring business processes What is Business Process Management (System) History BPMS Number 1 2 3 • • Total Quality Management Process orientation Customer focus (intern and extern) Support and commitment of employees and management Requires cultural change Cross-functional teams to analyze and resolve quality problems Business Process Reengineering Process orientation Customer focus (mainly external) Support and commitment of employees and management Requires cultural change Cross-functional teams to redesign processes 4 Management Concepts: 5 – Total Quality Management Root Characteristic existing work processes Develop entirely new processes – Business Process Re-engineering 67 BPR Improve Focus on external customers One-time project Continuous change Process change descriptions (graphical)Project radical ness 8 BPR Evolutionary TQM Measurement and control of process – Business Proces Management 9 Focus on individual process Focusperformance on core processes TQM Continuous optimization of processes activities automated processes across functional – Etc. 10BPR Use Implementation of statistics to ofmeasure creative use of IT to enable new departments improvement processes Culture change IT Innovations 11TQM / BPR'self-renewal learning' culture As few people as possible should Systematic automation business processes by integrating with all employees involved of core be involved in the performance of all a software applications that support these processes process – Enterprise Resource Planning Table 2 Characteristics of Business Process Management Table 1 based on Jarrar and Aspinwall (1999); Hackman and Wageman (1995) – Workflow Management – Enterprise Application Integration – Business Intelligence /Dashboard and portals – Etc. TQM BPR General Workflow Interface Layer BPM Web Service Presentation Presentation Process Layer An y Process Calculation Business Rules Layer Mana geme nt Co ncept s Inv oices Business Lev el Obj ects General Workflow System and User Interactions BPMS AFE's Business Level Objects Production Business Level Objects Anything Business Level Objects Business Level Objects IT EAI WFM Back end \ Systems Layer Self-Generating Integration ns o i t va Inno API API API Web Service XML SAP using java API MSMQ using com or java API API Excel using com Databases using jdbc ERP Databases '85 Ravesteyn, 2007 '90 '95 '98 '00 '05 time History of SOA Mainframe SQL Databases Batch processing EAI Visicalc R/2 Distribution technology Client/Server CORBA RPC NFS VT3270 VT100 Content: data & Business logic R/3 Data Warehouse TCP/IP sockets BPM WSDL MQ EJB EAI SOAP WWW Programming language Modula2 Smalltalk Pascal PROLOG COBOL Ada Assembler Implementation Platform, interfacing Techniques interaction patterns Java .NET C# SIMULA C++ 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 Remote access & infrastructure 2000 Service Oriented Architecture Business computing WWW IBM PC Classification of Services • Basic services; represent the basic elements of a SOA • Data centric services • Logic centric services • Intermediairy services; are stateless services that function as client of server in a SOA • Process centric services; encapsulate the knowledge of the organization's business processes (maintain the process state) • Public enterprise services; provide interfaces for cross-enterprise integration Application frontends are the active elements of a SOA. They initiate all business processes and ultimately receive their results (e.g. GUI) Classification of Services (2) Process-centric services Public Enterprise services simple data or logic centric services Intermediairy Services technology gateways, adapters and functionality adding services encapsulate process logic service shared with other enterprises or partner organizations low to moderate moderate to high high service specific stateless high stateless low stateful low service specific high low moderate to high high low yes no no no Basic Services Description Implementation complexity State management Reusability Frequency of change Mandatory element of SOA Krafzig et al. 2005 BPMS Architecture Process Designer Web Service Presentation Presentation An y Process Process Layer Web Work Portal/ Forms/ WSDL Interface Layer Example - 1 Component Manager Business Rules Layer Calculation Inv oices Business Lev el Obj ects General Workflow AFE's Business Level Objects System and User Interactions Production Business Level Objects Anything Business Level Objects Business Level Objects Existing Systems Back end \ Systems Layer Self-Generating Integration API API API Web Service XML SAP using java API MSMQ using com or java API API Excel using com Databases using jdbc BPMS Architecture Example - 2 Role Based Presentation + Applications (CAF) Business Activity Monitoring (BAM) Business Process Management (BPM) Enterprise Service Bus (ESB) Enterprise Applications (ERP + others) Market Overview "The Forrester Wave™: Integration-Centric Business Process Management Suites" (Q4, December 20, 2006) When to use BPMS high BPMS Complexity of coordination EAI Application server low high low Frequency of change Krafzig et al. 2005 Maturity of SOA in relation to Business Integration Process enabled Not cost-effective Maturity of SOA agility networked flexibility maintainability fundamental Not feasible Intra Cross Cross Simple departmental departmental Bus. unit B2B Intra enterprise Krafzig et al. 2005 Complex Processes integration Cross-enterprise Scope of Business integration Research Research goal • "Provide an overview of the critical success factors when implementing a BPMS" • To accomplish this…. Research Activities and Articles • • • • Literature Research Framework & Model Validation (qualitative & quantitative) Case Studies Informatica (2005) Ishikawa (1986) Jablonski (1995) Jarrar, Aspinwall (1999) Jeston, Nelis (2006) Jeston, Nelis (2006) Juopperi, et al (1995) Juran (1945) Juran (1951) Karagiannis (1995) Kettinger, et al (1997) Khoshaflan (2006) Kim, Ramkaran (2004) X change management Not applicable X Not applicable Armistead, Machin (1997) DesignateXa process champion X organization coordination X project planning and management IT infrastructure Work on the tradeoffs Teach others about the process Train within the process cultural fit improvement measurement draw early drafts of process maps use a standard process modeling language Aversano, et al (2002) Know the process X XX process definition X Understand the linkages organization structuring use of a well-defined and practical method accurately select to reverse engineer process owners X and listen to process X use multiple data processes key users owners and key users gathering approaches X X X Becker, etXal (2003) X X X Bhatt, Stump (2001) Bhatt, Troutt (2005) X Involvement of X management as targeted users of the system to enable communication among IS systems standardization is needed Not applicable X X X X X ManagementX understandingXand support X for global interX operability, transparency to the X end user is needed X Integration of CRM and SCM data from an operative (EAI) perspective and a The effectiveness of management (data datawarehouses for The availability of warehouses and business process X data within the Supply decision support integration Chain systems) perspective Top management support is critical to establish Network Integrative capability connectivity and of IS networks Network Flexibility XX X X X X Build specialist expertise Improve the process delay the technology evaluation until take into account the X process reverse industrial partners engineering and the target X is finished environment X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X involve many people Manage careers X X X Box, Platts (2005) X Measure the process X X X X X X X X X X X X X X Longitudinaal organisational structure X X Cross-sectional X Vergelijkende studies (bijv. Van software of implementatie methode) management competency and support X Vergelijkende case studies X Longitudinaal Is it possible to use modelingtechniques that are related to the X type of company? X X 14 X when modeling a when altering private supply chain this processes, which requires each modifications are X to the level of detail in business partner allowed without modeling entire understand the nature jeopardizing the processesXin a supply of their partners' local correct operation ofX chain processes the overall workflow X Not applicable Not applicable Al-Mashari,X Zairi (1999) Anzböck, Dustdar (2005) Arkin(2002) X X X Armistead (1996) Other KRITISICHE SUCCESFACTOREN ZOALS GENOEMD IN ARTIKEL (niet alles is KSF, soms betreft het aspecten zoals uit artikel X naar voren komt) X Aguilar-Savén, Ruth (2004) BPMS Empirisch X X Aalst (2002) Aalst, et al(2003) Aalst, Hee (2004) BI/BAM Surveys X EAI Cross-sectional X X X X X X Toegepast (consultancy gericht) ARTIKEL WFM Case studies Conceptueel BPM Modelmatig TQM Wetenschappelijk CONCEPT BPR ARTICLE Aalst (2002) Aalst, et al(2003) Aalst, Hee (2004) Aguilar-Savén, Ruth (2004) Al-Mashari, Zairi (1999) X Nummer Anzböck, Dustdar (2005) Arkin(2002) Armistead (1996) Armistead, Machin (1997) Aversano, et al (2002) X Becker, et al (2003) Bhatt, Stump (2001) 1 Bhatt, Troutt (2005) X 2 Box, Platts (2005) 3 Burlton (2001) Çakular, Wijngaarden (2002) Chang (2006) Cunningham, Finnegan (2004) 4 Datastream (2005) Davenport (2000) 5 Deming (1982) ARTICLE 6 Dennis, et al (2006) Aalst (2002) 7 Aalst, et al(2003) Es, et al (2005) Aalst, Hee (2004) Fremantle, et al (2002) 8 Georgakopoulos (1999)Aguilar-Savén, Ruth (2004) Grefen, De Vries (1998) Al-Mashari, Zairi (1999) 9 Gulledge, Sommer (2002)Anzböck, Dustdar (2005) X Arkin(2002) Hammer, Champy (2001) X Armistead (1996) X Harrington (1995) Armistead, Machin (1997) Hill (1999) X Aversano, et al (2002) Hillegersberg, et al (2004) Becker, et al (2003) 10 Informatica (2005) Bhatt, Stump (2001) Ishikawa (1986) Bhatt, Troutt (2005) Jablonski (1995) Box, Platts (2005) Jarrar, Aspinwall (1999) Burlton (2001) X Jeston, Nelis (2006) Çakular, Wijngaarden (2002) Jeston, Nelis (2006) Chang (2006) Juopperi, et al (1995)Cunningham, Finnegan (2004) 11 Juran (1945) Datastream (2005) Davenport (2000) Juran (1951) Deming (1982) Karagiannis (1995) Dennis, et al (2006) X Kettinger, et al (1997) Es, et al (2005) Khoshaflan (2006) 12 13 Kim, Ramkaran (2004) Fremantle, et al (2002)X Georgakopoulos (1999) Klen, et al (2001) Grefen, De Vries (1998) Kobayashi (2003) Koedijk, Verstelle (1999)Gulledge, Sommer (2002) Hammer, Champy (2001) Kuo (2004) Harrington (1995) Laudon, Laudon (2000) Hill (1999) Lee, Dale (1998) Hillegersberg, et al (2004) Theoretisch 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 SCIENTIFIC METHOD Number translate project X objectives into very X specific deliverables X X X formulate a business case deliver on the business case X a clear make sure path must that be created people from that are corporate X engaged strategy to to the strong project project leadership goals, and X can attach is ultimately create challenging rewards & incentives their own essential to team assign the best roles and new job when deliverables are meaning for and good executive possible people to the perspectives after the met before time, with to the effective individual involvement (sponsor) project full time project higher quality etc. project change objectives X X single point accountab ility; each person should fully understan d her role in achieving the overall objective and be accountab le for his/her tasks Business Process Management Framework Monitoring & Control BI / BAM BPMS WFM Strategy & Policy TQM Bus. Organization Proc. & Processes Model. BPR People & Culture Ravesteyn, 2006 EAI Information Technology Business Process Management System Implementation approach • A literature study of 104 articles and books • Based on a meta-analysis of the literature a list was compiled with over 337 critical success factors from the different background principles • This list was based upon the principles according to the following composition: – – – – – – – – 3.86% of the factors came from TQM 17.51% from BPR 29.97% BPM 11.57% WFM 12.76% EAI (incl. SOA) 2.08% BAM 12.17% from the BPMS domain 10.08% from various other related areas Business Process Management System Implementation approach Management of Implementation & Change Project domain Man. Org. & Proc. Architecture Process Information Development Infrastruc. Ser. Appl. Measurement and Control (Ravesteyn, 2007) Organizational domain Man. Org. & Proc. Management of Organization & Processes Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) Project management Change management and involving people Understanding the BPM concept Management support and involvement Strategic Alignment Governance & accountability Training Culture Management of Organization & Processes Other factors mentioned: • • • • • • • take into account the customers, industrial partners and the target environment create challenging roles and new job perspectives after the project establishing a support organization because ongoing maintenance and management is very difficult Treat value as realizable by all stakeholders, irrespective of geography or organizational boundaries Build a knowledge base around processes implementation guide: follow an "inside-out" strategy, this means first prioritize the integration of internal systems and applications, defining and institutionalizing your business processes then the company is better suited for integration with external systems use of best practices Architecture Design (process model) Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) 3) 4) Understanding the process Use the 'best' modeling standards & techniques Organizing the modeling 'design' phase Maintenance and control - including quality - of the models is important Architecture Design (process model) Formal models Analysis Design Visualisation For different stakeholders Napkin Whiteboard Powerpoint Idea Architecture Use process Management Maintenance Version control The architecture description life cycle (Lankhorst et al. 2005) Link with implementation Architecture Design (coherence) (Lankhorst et al. 2005) Architecture Design (process model) Other factors mentioned: • • • • • • • When altering private processes, which modifications are allowed without jeopardizing the correct operation of the overall workflow Strategic objectives and functional objectives should be identified and linked to process model lack of documentation of embedded processes in application systems Multi process adaptation alternatives should be present, and also a contextual adaptation process Underestimating the difficulty in integrating offshore-supplier employees into the processes and work flows of their companies Modeling interfaces related to software systems pre-determined collaboration choreography of participating organizations (ad hoc changes are not possible) Architecture Design (information model) Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) Interdependencies and Integration of Data sources Discovery of Information Process Orientation Defining (web) services Understanding the BPMS paradigm Business & IT divide Use of Business Rules Architecture Design (information model) Other factors mentioned: • • Sometimes information-processing work is subsumed into the real work that produces the information For global inter-operability, transparency to the end user is needed which has consequences for the information availability Development (infrastructure) Critical Success Factor: 1) IT Infrastructure: – IT infrastructure is not aligned to the developed solution – embedded business logic within communications networks Development (Service Oriented Business Appl.) Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) Integration of processes and data (Use of) Webservices Development (Service Oriented Business Appl.) Other factors mentioned: • • • • • • • Transformation of design models into implementation models Delay the technology evaluation until process reverse engineering is finished SOA (currently) works best when working with applications from large IT vendors Reliability of Internet (standards) The process manager might get direct access to the application server where connections are running Testing prototypes and the final solution The inflexibility of IT application systems Management of Implementation & Change Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) Project management Change management and involving people Measurement & Control Critical Success Factors: 1) 2) 3) Performance Measurement Continuous Optimization An organization and culture of Quality Measurement & Control Other factors mentioned: • • • • • Use multiple data gathering approaches The availability of data within the Supply Chain is critical Both formal and informal monitoring and reporting activities should be taken into account Capture information once and at the source (tasks are performed wherever it provides the most value) Granularity and visibility control (information is not available or private information is made public) Assignment Assignment Investigate the validity of (part of) the provided success factors. Extend and/or drill-down when necessary. Aspects to consider: – Mapping on the Model – Weight – Aspects per CSF Assignment form •Teams of two •Several teams are validating one domain •One paper per domain with at least one chapter per team Structure team chapter: Structure domain paper: Summary Team x Team x Team n Introduction Introduction Introduction Validation Validation Validation Results Results Results Conclusion (validation method & overall results) Resources • BPM Forum • Suppliers (BEA (Fuego), Cordys, IBM, Microsoft, SAP, Seebeyond, Tibco, Webmethods etc.) • Consultancy Organizations (Capgemini, InterAccess, LogicaCMG, Ordina etc.) • Users (Interpay, ING, ABN-AMRO, Nuon etc.) Questions?


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|LSTR (Common Stock)
Investor Relations
Corporate Profile
Landstar System, Inc. is a worldwide, asset-light provider of integrated transportation management solutions delivering safe, specialized transportation services to a broad range of customers utilizing a network of agents, third-party capacity owners and employees. All Landstar transportation services companies are certified to ISO 9001:2008 quality management system standards and RC14001:2013 environmental, health, safety and security management system standards. Landstar System, Inc. is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida. Its common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market® under the symbol LSTR
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Painting Practice
10 years anniversary
Painting Practice is celebrating its 10th anniversary! Since its creation, the studio has grown into a space of unlimited creative possibilities, each project being more ambitious and challenging than the previous one. Our studio is developing faster than ever, with a brand new WEBSITE on its way and more surprises for you in the coming year...
Production Company: GK Films / ImageMovers / Huahua Media / Paramount Pictures
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Job: Concept Design
It was a pleasure working on Allied, the latest Robert Zemeckis starring Brad Pitt and Marion Cotillard. Our Partner and Senior Concept Artist Rafael C. Martin collaborated with production designer Gary Freeman to build a unique tone for the film, and provided some beautiful concepts to define the film's key locations.Full Case Study
"Allied is a very powerful story, centred around two lovers trying to survive war. By being involved long term on the project, the team and I had time to create some very emotional and poetic images. In one image, we played with the subtlety of a woman's shoes as she walks across London - by only showing her shoes, we keep her mysterious and make the audience wonder who she is."
Rafael, Partner
Lexus Hoverboard
Production Company: Smuggler
Director: Henry-Alex Rubin
Job: Art Direction / Concept Design / 3D Set Visualisation
We love challenges. In fact we can't resist them. So when Smuggler asked us to help them create Marty's levitating hoverboard from Back to The Future II, it was impossible to say no. Using Maxon's Cinema 4D, our team designed the hoverboard and the skatepark for Lexus' fourth Amazing in Motion campaign, and helped make the dream of generations come true...Full Case Study
"The Lexus hoverboard originally comes from Back to the Future - I think it is fascinating to see how sci-fi can challenge engineers to actually manufacture technology from films. Now everyone can use Marty's hoverboard - would love to try the one we have in the studio!"
Nandor, 3D Concept Artist
Black Mirror
Production Company: House of Tomorrow
Creators: Charlie Brooker, Annabel Jones
Job: Series Design / Matte Paintings / Motion Graphics / VFX
Since 2011 we've journeyed through 13 Black Mirror stories (and counting!), each episode completely unique in its graphics, VFX and production design. Since its early days, the show has grown in size and budget, giving our team a chance to surpass itself on each new episode. Black Mirror is our biggest gig, and we are extremely proud of it!Full Case Study
"Every day is a new set of challenges on this show. I've loved the variety, problem solving, and collaboration with the core BM Art and Painting Practice teams who help to make the magic happen. Most recently I've enjoyed watching forums and blogs popping up everywhere to discuss the hidden 'easter eggs' we build into the graphics from other episodes. People love it!"
Erica, Series Graphic Art Director
Coca-Cola Tale of Contour
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Director: Jon Saunders and AgainstAllOdds
Job: Concept Design
Our first collaboration with Coca-Cola involved the making of 'Letters to Santa', a wonderful Christmas advert revealing the secrets of Santa's workshop. In the same wintery spirit, Tale of Contour starts in the Arctic and brings the audience on a journey through festive China, sunny Brazil and summery New York City to celebrate 100 years of the iconic contour bottle...Full Case Study
"Tale of Contour was the first project I worked on when I joined Painting Practice. I remember feeling really excited to help the team make this beautiful advert happen. So many projects have followed since then. Can't wait to see what's more to come!"
Edith, Studio Manager
Compare The Market Adverts
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Job: Art Department / Concept Design
Painting Practice has been involved in more than 15 Compare the Market adverts. With Joel Collins as production designer, the studio has followed Aleksandr Orlov through his multiple adventures, designing the locations he travels to. We cannot wait to see where Aleksandr is going to take us next - we would miss one of his adventures. Simples.Full Case Study
"Compare The Market really hit the jackpot with their witty Meerkats campaign. People are familiar with the Meerkats and love seeing them on screen. They have almost invaded our lives - my children have the toy versions and always get super excited when they see Compare The Market adverts on TV. They are very proud that their mum helped make these adverts happen!"
Louise, Head of Finance
BBC Rio Olympics
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Director: Derek Picken & Niklas Rissler
Job: Art Direction / Concept Design / Matte Painting
We were already very excited for the Rio Olympic Games, the main event of last summer - but we got even more excited when Passion Pictures called us to help them design the next BBC Olympics advert. We had depicted Rio before in Nike's 'The Last Game', celebrating the 2014 Football World Cup. This time, we departed from the favelas to explore the Brazilian jungle, where animals train in the shadow of our athletes...Full Case Study
"I worked on BBC Olympics from concept through to the final matte paintings. The project was very creative in terms of style, combining realism and a stylised tone. I really enjoyed the design brought to the table and I feel the final product reflects this."
Sammy, Concept Artist - Matte Painter
Nike - The Last Game
Production Company: Passion Pictures
Director: Jon Saunders
Job: From Design through to Matte Paintings
Nike 'The Last Game' not only targets football aficionados – through its imaginative script and stunning visuals, it attracts lovers of animation, and seekers of good stories. It was a real pleasure helping Passion create this beautiful advert as everything was so ambitious, from the plotline to the overall design. A challenge Painting Practice relished!Full Case Study
"This was my first production design project and I was able to play to my strength in 3D. We were involved in the entire process, from the initial pitch, to the concepts, to the matte paintings, all the way to the final delivery. It was amazing working with Passion Pictures, and probably was one of our most successful collaborations!"
Dan, Co-founder
Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
Production Company: Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment, Everyman Pictures and Hammer and Tongs
Director: Garth Jennings
Job: Production Design / Character Design / Concept / Previs / Post Vis
'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' holds a special place in our hearts as it inspired Joel Collins and Dan May to create Painting Practice back in 2004. At the time, VFX techniques were being developed across the world, and our cofounders were hungry to get involved. In 10 years, the company grew into a successful studio working with the best talents across the globe, each project being more ambitious than the previous one. Here's to the next 10 years to come, and beyond!Full Case Study
"Describing 'Hitchhikers Guide To The Galaxy' in a few words... Just great fun! It was a playground of creativity. The film's design process encompassed the entire spectrum of old and new techniques in film, some of those arts now almost entirely lost. It was the inspiration behind Painting Practice and has an eternally fond place in my heart."
Joel, Co-founder
The Day Of The Triffids
Production Company: Power, BBC
Director: Nick Copus
Job: Production Design / Character Design / Concept / Previs / Post Vis
The Day of the Triffids was the first project that allowed the studio to combine different skills together and offer a full package of VFX techniques to producer Stephen Smallwood. From early conceptualisation to finished matte paintings, Painting Practice overlooked the design process of the triffids themselves, which earned our co-founder Joel Collins a BAFTA for Best Visual Effects!Full Case Study
"The Day of the Triffids was my first job with the studio - back then I was a freelance matte painter. It was a challenge from start to finish covering previz, concept design and VFX post-production. In many ways it was the first time we employed our studio approach across a large scale production, and we won a Bafta for it!"
Justin, Senior Partner
Sky Movies - Disney
Production Company: Sky Movies
Director: Ted Thorpe, Grant Berry
Job: Art Direction / Concept Design / 3D Set Visualisation
Disney is an inspiration for all of our artists, and we have collaborated with them many times - from Maleficent to the upcoming Beauty and the Beast. When Sky Movies asked us to create concept and matte paintings for their new ident, our artists were brimming with ideas. A perfect blend of 2D-looking animation and live-action shoot, this ident spans across 90 years of Disney/Pixar magic, enchanting both children and grown-ups.Full Case Study
"When I was little I used to watch Disney movies all the time, on repeat. Seeing this advert reminds me of my childhood. What I love about it is that more than a dozen references to the Disney movies were included, from the most obvious to the most subtle. It is almost like a Where's Wally page!"


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Eriksson is being lined up to take a coaching job in Iran, just a day after the Government ordered UK banks to cut all ties with the rogue nation.
Fears about
Iran's continued attempts to develop nuclear weapons led to the sanctions,
with the rest of Europe and the US set to follow suit in the next few days.
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apparently considering making a trip to Dubai to meet Persepolis general
manager Mohammad Ruyanian, the paper adds.
British Chancellor George Osborne claimed on Monday that "Iran's banks are
involved in the development of Iran's weaponised military nuclear weapon
programme" - and Iran's pursuit of nuclear technology is considered one
of the greatest threats to world peace.


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1-Year MBA
This program provides an accelerated degree format that allows students to earn an
MBA in twelve months. The 1-Year MBA follows a cohort model with a structured schedule
beginning each fall and provides opportunities to acquire substantial leadership skills,
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This program is ideal for both working professionals and recent graduates who want to upgrade their credentials and become strategic players in the world of business.
Gain Knowledge and Experience
Students will address timely issues relevant in today's business world. Courses integrate applications and theories from various disciplines including accounting, economics, finance, marketing, production operations and strategic management.
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Individual career management support will help to prepare students for potential new job opportunities while in the program and after graduation. Personalized professional development resources and individual job coaching will assist students with self-discovery, goal setting, personal branding and career planning.
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Students can build a valuable network through the relationships they will forge with their cohort members, instructors and other students from around the world. Participants may expand their perspective through international travel and study within Webster University's network of campuses.
Program Structure »
- Counseling
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- 1-Year MBA
- Management & Leadership
- Domaine de la Santé


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Until the middle of the 19th century when cottonseed oil production began, so much cotton seed was left over from cotton production, that it was considered a health problem.
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Gran Turismo Academy winner chosen for Nissan DeltaWing project team [Video]
The Nissan DeltaWing project aims to change the face of racing by completing the legendary Le Mans 24 Hours on June 16th and 17th, using half the fuel and half the tires of normal race cars. The design and principles used could change the face of racing.
Ordonez, who turned 27 on Tuesday, will join Nissan DeltaWing driver Marino "Dario" Franchitti at Magny-Cours in France and Motorland Aragon in Spain. Franchitti is a successful driver and in IndyCar and it must feel great for Ordonez to be able to drive with him.
The Gran Turismo Academy is an innovative competition created by Nissan and Sony that seeks to discover raw driving talent via the Playstation gaming platform. Lucas was the first winner of GT Academy in 2008 and the first student of Nissan's driver development program. He has seen successful with progression through the racing ranks and in just three years he has gone from virtual racing to reality, lining up for his first Le Mans 24 Hours last summer in LMP2.
Earlier this year several GT Academy winners secured a podium finish at the 24 Hours of Dubai and one raced against legendary motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi.
The fourth GT Academy competition began this week. Anyone in the world with a PlayStation3 with an internet connection and Gran Turismo 5 racing game can enter.
Having taken a podium finish last year, Ordonez will race at La Sarthe again this summer, with the class-winning LMP2 prototype squad, Greaves Motorsport, alongside ex-F1 driver, Martin Brundle and his son, Alex.
Ordonez feels honored to be playing an important role in Nissan's pioneering racing project and said he will particularly look forward to making his debut behind the wheel for Nissan in his home country of Spain, "I have always wanted to test or race for Nissan in Spain but, so far, I have not had the opportunity so that will be exciting for me, personally."
"It was very emotional to be asked by Nissan Europe to test such an important project. I am delighted that they believe in me to help with the work on this prototype car." commented Ordonez. "To be involved in the development of an innovative car like this is another big step in the career of a racing driver."
"The GT Academy is a major innovation in motorsport, designed to make the elitist sport of motor racing genuinely accessible to ordinary people, who don't have access to huge budgets." said Darren Cox, General Manager of Nissan in Europe.
Please SHARE with friends and include TorqueNews in Google Alerts for tomorrow's interesting stories.


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|Reviews for Bits and Pieces
| SoulBeeGirl chapter 3 . 4/10/2013
way so sad
| SoulBeeGirl chapter 2 . 4/10/2013
they are all so sad but i love them
| SoulBeeGirl chapter 1 . 4/10/2013
that was really sad but otherwise i like it :)
| Red Tale chapter 3 . 1/4/2007
I liked the first two chapters better, this one was a little too short. I thought the background, comparing people Bumblebee's lost in the war was good too, and it's always interesting to explore relationships through other's eyes, but sometimes confusing to switch in the same story. But I do that too sometimes. Anyway, looked like the sugar helped.
| LadyStarscream chapter 3 . 5/15/2006
aw, so sad... but sweet, too. You should do something like Spike and Carly's wedding, or when they had Daniel. I like the happier fiction. But the last three chapters were good, too. It's interesting to get the stories about the behind-the-scenes stuff we never see on Transformers.
| SidemolienBurn chapter 2 . 5/8/2006
MJ... Why are you being so depressing with all your stories? There good but... You know I get all sad and stuff when stories are sad.
| blood of the ninja chapter 1 . 5/7/2006
I was a little confused about the back story about the piece. I just wasn't sure why everything was in disarray. The sentences structure is good. I'd like to see this with more details though. I hope you decide to elaborate.
| Lil' Monroe chapter 1 . 5/5/2006
Gives a whole new meaning to Spike and Sparkplug now. But for the 'Com'mon' thing, I think it should be, 'C'mon, just what I think. But this was a very meaningful story.


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Day of the Loner
The cafeteria clock generated way too much noise. We all knew what we had to do, what was coming up. Eyes darted nervously across the giant room to be received by a peer's, equally nervous. There was a plan, of course, a wonderful one, something that the principal wouldn't see coming. In about one minute, all hell was going to break loose.
This had all been a joint effort; the three of us held meetings almost every day, headed by Daniel, who we essentially elected the leader of our group of students, consisting of freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors alike. Our numbers were huge; almost the entire school Leeman never was popular among the students he thought adored him for the supposedly good grades he got out of us.
The whole week building up to this one particular had been just as well laid out as what we were about to do. So far, almost every single policy Leeman created had been broken; from talking in class to signs of affection, which got rather disturbing at times, but effective nonetheless. The new principal was clueless as to why this rebellion was happening, and we had made a system so that our names were left out of conversation should a student be interrogated.
It was, in a way, a form of war. Not the one fought with guns and explosives, but one fought with words and strong actions. We were fed up getting pushed around by the king; now was the time for the peasants to revolt and start over once again.
At my table, one of the few rectangular-shaped ones left in the cafeteria, Claudia sat by my side, Daniel across from me. He took a quick glance at the clock and mouthed to me "thirty seconds. I nodded, showing that I had got the message. At this time, almost everyone had stopped talking.
Charles was all the way down at a round table closest to the main entrance to the cafeteria. He had been given the permission to give the first action. We had originally thought about a food fight, but the British exchange student had come up with something even more extraordinary than that, going one level above that. Leeman would be furious, but inevitably the blame would shift onto him, and his empire would be crushed once more.
Daniel's head jerked up to see the clock again. "Ten seconds". Claudia's hand squeezed mine out of excitement and nervousness. It was comforting to know that, through all of the hell the three of us had been through, I had her by my side as I had always hoped she would be. After today, my life might even be so good as to call it perfect; Charles and I were getting on better terms, the Facebook scandal fading into the past. Daniel was my wingman once more, and Claudia was my girlfriend, and I loved her. In a different sense, I loved Daniel and Charles, too. I would have included Eva, but the German exchange student that had basically become Claudia's guide had been deathly quiet ever since we began holding the meetings. I couldn't even see her around the household anymore as though she was avoiding us.
I found my eyes transfixed on the clock just like everyone else. The seconds hand seemed to be moving with the hour hand instead, trying to take as much time as it could. It didn't take long before I began counting down the time.
Five seconds. An air of silence was increasing over the cafeteria. A few scattered conversations were still to be heard, but most of them were awkwardly ending when they realized they only heard their own voices and no one else.
Four seconds. Anybody that ever attended a meeting was silent, not moving save for their slow, quiet breathing. Charles was trying so hard to hide a smile that was playing on his lips.
Three seconds. Another jerk to the clock from Daniel. Claudia's hand was slightly shaking; rule-breaking generally wasn't in her line of duty.
Two seconds. Footsteps… footsteps were heard? Now the heads started turning, looking around to see if anybody had dared to move from their seat, but the source of the sound couldn't be located.
One second. These footsteps were coming closer. It was obvious that they were coming to us. Charles was confused, and paid no more attention to what he was doing. Daniel cursed as though he knew what was going on.
The minute is over. Charles stands up just as the door behind him bursts open, knocking him down onto the floor. In the threshold stand Leeman, flanked by two of his loyal staff members. One of them was dragging a student behind them… and then I realized why Eva had been so silent. She was a leak.
Everyone's eyes were not on Leeman, who obviously had us cornered and was prepared to punish us, but instead on the German that had betrayed us. This perfect plan would have ruined Leeman's career… but one of our own had told him everything.
My mind started going haywire. How the hell did she get around to doing this? Why the hell did she do this? Damn you Leeman! He had us again… but he shouldn't have. This wasn't going to be a light punishment. Daniel's face was bright red with anger, and Claudia looked shocked and disappointed. Looking back and forth from Leeman and Eva, I couldn't decide on who I hated more at this moment.
Finally, after an eternity of silence, Leeman spoke up. "I want to see Charles Dascher, Daniel, Claudia, and Lionel in my office. You know who you are, and you know what you've done. You dare not refuse. You either come now or you can sit down, ride the bus out of here, then I'll never see your face again". He was obviously infuriated. His voice had a strong sound of authority to it. He wasn't lying to us this time; he spoke the truth.
"Now!" he repeated, his voice raising to an incredible height, making a number of people jump at how loud and powerful it was. Daniel was as still as a statue. After a few seconds, he came forward first. Claudia and I tailed behind him. Charles shuffled in line, his eyes concentrating on the floor. As we passed by Eva, Daniel gave her a chilling stare that would have killed an army. Claudia muttered a curse word to her, something she rarely did. I didn't even bother glancing in her direction; whatever she did made her undesirable to me, and everyone else. I preferred her as old news, another minion under Leeman's cruel leadership.
Leeman strode quickly to his office, his face a deep purple. Daniel was hot on his heels, and at first I wondered if he would just tackle him to the ground and strangle him right there. We took a sharp turn into the principal's office, which had been completely redone; the walls were entirely white, devoid of pictures, paintings, or anything else. His desk was black with nothing but a computer and a cup holder taking space on it. Grey file cabinets were scattered about, some of them that seemed to have been thrown open furiously.
Leeman sat down in the only chair in the room, took a deep breath, then turned the chair so he could face us. His eyes searched into all four of ours as though still seeking for something he already didn't learn from Eva. Finally, he opened his mouth to speak.
"Now… this is certainly interesting. I recall telling you three" he said, gesturing at Daniel, Claudia and I, "to stop acting like delinquents. Yet… here we are." He laughed while pulling a wine bottle from under his desk. He produced a small glass and began pouring the alcohol into it.
"For some reason, I imagined we would be in this situation regardless. I shouldn't have trusted you fools to straighten up. Did your parents ever teach you anything? How to be proper? Good manners? Oh, my favorite… be respectful to adults! I am your principal, like it or not. I have no quarrel with you all or the students. I am here to make a change that this school so desperately needs! You're holding us all back, and I'm sick of it. It ends here".
He stood up and came over to face us. "Now, one of the only good students left in this school decided to come forward and give me the facts. I've got all the information I need to bring you four in here". He picked up the glass and took a sip. "I know about the meetings you hold daily. Now, I know many students attend this meeting. Almost the entire school".
He went on. "My knowledge even expands onto certain individuals… certain leaders. My source revealed that there were, essentially, four ringleaders running the show. The rules that were broken, all of the policies I made… to help! They were broken because of the efforts of these four students. Now, these four students stand before me".
We remained steadfast in our quiet anger as he continued his speech. Daniel was shaking from his rage, and I was nearing a boiling point. Charles refused to look up while Claudia clutched my hand tightly, and a quick glance in her direction made me see that she was almost just as furious.
"I bet you're angry with me. I bet you wish I would burst into ashes in front of your eyes. And I am also willing to bet that you are asking yourselves, what did I call you in here for? It's obvious at this point. You have rallied the school against me, and I cannot tolerate that. I will… I will NOT have you defy me, and I will NOT have you mess with my administration once more!" Leeman was practically screaming at this point, yet he remained controlled somehow.
"If I hadn't learned of what you had planned to do in the cafeteria, I would have been finished, do you realize that? This school would be in shambles, because you couldn't live without my assistance, without my efforts at trying to better this school, the district! I should have expected to have a loyal member among you, spying for me".
Still hearing about how Eva had spied on us was hard to stomach. A flash of anger coursed through me, but Claudia squeezed my hand as though she knew I wanted to leap forward. It was a message; "just go with it. I'm angry too".
"I heard that someone got a special position too. Elected, actually. Votes were cast… I'm proud that you have the potential to be a leader, Daniel, if it is in the wrong aspect of what I would have-"
"You shut up!" Daniel shouted, waving an accusing finger in the air, directed at Leeman. "You have no idea what you have brought this school to! Our lives are ruined because of your stupid policies that have no effect on our grades whatsoever! The board only wanted you in here because the only thing you ever do is kiss up to them!"
"Interruptions will most certainly not be tolerated! Not now, or in any time after this!" Leeman had reached his breaking point. Even Daniel shrunk in this sudden outburst of anger. I wasn't going to leave him out on his own, though.
I spoke out against him. "Maybe he would have gotten a clue from the students rebelling against you… almost the whole school! That's not anger, that's complete rage… at you! You're just so ignorant, thinking that you are helping, but really you just want to see how much our bodies can bend until we break!"
"I'm not bending your bodies, Mr. Stephens, you've done that yourself! Now unless you want to suffer an even harsher penalty, I suggest you keep yourself quiet!" Leeman was still keeping his grip on this confrontation… just like last time.
He turned towards Daniel, and now it was his turn to point. "You led this opposition against me, you instigated this! Everything you have done has been to root me out of my position. You have no respect for me, or any of the staff. You don't even care for grades, do you! There is only one order I want to give you, and I expect you to follow it!"
"I'm not ever listening to your-"
"I want to take your traitorous attitude, that big grin, that pretty-boy insolence, out of this office, out of this school, and out from this district! And if you don't believe me, I have the paperwork! This is effective immediately, so I want you to carry on your merry way now. Bye! You're dismissed!"
Daniel shook his head in denial. "You think you can do this to me? Force me to walk away from the district, from my friends, because you can't help but have to keep your stupid policies in order?"
"Yes, because I do what I do! Which is get rid of unwilling students from our district that prides in learning, not revolts and acts of defiance against the staff!" Leeman had delivered his ultimatum, and jammed it down Daniel's throat. That was my friend getting bullied, my wingman… I won't stand for that.
"You are not going to send him out of here!" I took a deep breath, giving the only idea I had left in my arsenal. "Daniel was only a fall guy. Everything was organized by me, but I didn't want anyone knowing for sure. I hate you Leeman" I spat the words in his face, "and I planned to peel you off of the wall once I splattered your remains on it".
Leeman leaned back, surprised, but he soon regained his footing and engaged his kill mode. "You're lying. Bluffing. You can't trick me!" Leeman shouted, almost like a baby that was losing a board game. "All of you… get out!" Leeman shouted, throwing the door open. "I never want to see you again, Daniel. Go!"
Begrudgingly, we slowly processed out of the room. We were still trying to recover from our rage before we lost it and released it out in the open. Daniel stormed ahead of us, and he might have been crying. Claudia tagged by my side, looking back and forth from me and to Daniel. I nodded, allowing her to go and try to bring him back. I lagged behind and waited for Charles, but when I turned around I realized he had run in the opposite direction away from us.
I tried to catch up to Daniel, praying that Claudia would get him to feel better. We couldn't afford an episode after we were beaten, or it would just be nothing but pleasure to Leeman's ears. However, once I saw Eva and the two staff that had been with her coming around the corner just as Daniel neared it, I knew things were going to get ugly.
The group disappeared behind the corner, blocking some of the sound, but I heard most of it.
"You little-!"
"It wasn't my fault!"
"Back off!"
"Hey! Hold it!"
"You did this to me!"
I ran to the scene to see Claudia holding Daniel back while the staff members tended to Eva. I looked over their shoulders to see that Daniel had just thrown a punch at her eye. The skin around it was dark red, and it looked so sickening I had to look away.
I felt furious though… at Eva, at Leeman… at Daniel. We snapped. We showed that we had been broken and let go an unnecessary rage. I came forward into the scene and let loose my own tirade.
"You hit her? You hit her!" I shouted at Daniel, who looked at me briefly, then looked away ashamed. "You lost it, and you let her get to your head! You let everyone get into head!"
Daniel tried to make a breathless reply. "She… she told-"
"I don't care what she did! You let yourself get lost in your rage!" You-" I took a breath, at the same time wondering what gained from yelling at him. "You need to learn… to control yourself! I don't think you get it sometimes-"
"Enough!" Claudia shouted. She looked at Daniel and I, looking angry and disappointed at our display. "We're going. Come on" she said, walking out the front door. Today wasn't the day to question why we were skipping school, and frankly I didn't care. We needed to get away. Things were getting… crazy.
Claudia tried to talk to Daniel, but he walked off on his own, jaywalking across the street, trying to get as far away from us and the school as possible. I called after him, but he pretended like I never did. I decided to chase to overtake him, but Claudia whispered "don't".
It was a long walk back to Claudia's house, which I should probably start calling my house eventually. There was a slightly awkward air around there, but not much to be noticed. I mean, Claudia and I were going out, and yet we were living together. I got some raised eyebrows upon saying that around school, but soon it turned into a mock-praise.
She refused to talk to me, but then again I didn't try to make any conversation. After what had happened, I needed something happy to happen in my life. I aimed for perfection, but all it did was fall down and get soiled in the dirt that Leeman had created. Everything went wrong today… and now I felt myself doubting everything for some reason. My friends, myself… I didn't get why I was questioning things now, but my mind failed to come up with an explanation.
One thing I dreaded; Eva and Claudia shared a room. Even living together would be a problem. Everyone in the household would have a hostile mood towards her. I secretly hoped she would just run away and swim back to Europe and back to her home in Germany. Otherwise, her life would slowly become more and more torturous after the incident in which she ratted us out… our effort was crushed because of her, and not Leeman.
I felt like listening to some metal music. For some reason, it calmed me when I was feeling angry. Since Claudia had sent the general message that she didn't want to talk, and even refused to look over at me, I took my iPod out of the pocket in my backpack. I was looking through my artists list when I quickly stopped; Avenged Sevenfold. That would do the trick.
I put in my headphones and let the music drown out my thoughts. Claudia glanced over at me now, almost like she was annoyed with this action. I think we needed our own private space at this point anyways. Not breaking up if that's what you thought, but just a minute or two to try and shed the anger off that came from the Leeman incident today.
A slight breeze whistled through the neighborhood, sending leaves flying across the street. I looked up in the sky and noticed it was cloudy. Spring was almost here, and the rain was already coming ahead of time. It figures that it would shower on a day like this. The trees swayed in the wind, making the only noise. It was almost like a western town before a showdown; the streets completely empty and silent. That gave me an uncomfortable picture; Daniel's body lying in the street with Leeman holding the gun that had gunned him down.
If I hadn't tried to meet Claudia's eyes, I wouldn't have noticed that we had just arrived at her house. She ran forward and flung the door open, not bothering to hold it open for me; before it slammed and smacked my face, I caught it with my hand and held it out as I entered her residence. The air conditioning cooled not only my temperature, but my anger, which had faded away anyways. Staying so pissed off at Leeman wouldn't help it all and just turn me back into the Loner that I had spent all of my life to discard.
As I ran up the stairs, Claudia taking the handicap ramp, I began wondering; had I just turned back into that confused, heated teenager once more, refusing to let out my good emotions when I had to, or quelling the bad ones when they were bursting through? No… don't do this. Don't try and spiral down to that pit again.
I realized quickly I didn't have my backpack- it was still in school along with all of the anger that Eva and Leeman had brought about. Did I have the audacity to step back into that territory once more? I was allowed, but I didn't know if I should nonetheless. Leeman would have it out for me, and I wouldn't want to see what would become of Eva.
The bed that dominated the center of the room; my bed, I should say, looked so inviting. Just sleep and your troubles will go away. It sounded like a good proposition to me. Not bothering to change my day clothes, I threw the covers off, laid down, then adjusted them back on. I cursed as I forgot to turn off the lights. I got up, slammed the switch to the OFF position, then laid back. My eyes resisted my action to close them so I could just let this terrible day disappear into the darkness. I heard that Claudia had slammed the door to her room, and I wondered if she was attempting the same thing as me.
Before I knew it, I was pulled into the shadows, unnervingly quickly, putting me at unease. As soon as I opened my eyes again I found myself again, I cursed. I wanted to sleep, not get lost into a dream! I started shouting at myself. Wake up, hey, wake up! Don't let this happen! You don't know what this imaginary world will have in store for you!
I tried so hard to wake up. At one point, I may have been slapping my face and thrashing it about. It seemed as though I was locked into whatever my twisted mind had in store for me. Over the years, Leeman and Craig Johnson may have been my greatest enemies. But in this moment, I became nervous as I understood I was wrong; my greatest enemy was in my very own head.
I took a deep breath. There was no going back, and only a forward that I couldn't control. I couldn't predict whatever could happen now. I muttered to myself, "get it over with", as though my mind would be able to listen to me and get the message. As I took in the full reality of the situation I was in, I began to take in my surroundings.
I was in a classroom, a regular one, just like any of the ones in the school. I quickly discovered that I was the only individual in the room, except for a man that was facing the board away from me. When he turned around, I recognized him instantly as Leeman. He walked over to me, a gun protruding from his pocket.
"Now, I'm sorry it came to this, Mr. Stephens" he started off. He was so pathetic! This sounded like nothing but a scene from a James Bond movie. "Not many people care for you… at least, after I lightened that amount" he said, patting his gun. "It would have been easier if you had just listened, you know… such a promising life…"
Everything was so funny, that even when he pulled out the gun I was at ease. However, when I heard the shot go off and a sharp pain enter me, that's when I screamed. It felt so real, felt like to was happening to me… it was Leeman shooting down my life at school, I comprehended. It was a subliminal message. Maybe that was the point of this dream… the pain didn't go away… end it… end this nightmare!
In a split second, I was transported to a different scene. It was still in the school, but now I was in one of the hallways. Nobody was in it… but of course, there was still one person other than me. Daniel faced me, his eyes locked onto me, clearly angry. He was taking short, quick breaths as he tried to contain himself.
"You just had to rebel against Leeman, huh?" he yelled at me. "I would've been fine with it, but you just had to drag me into it! My life is going to be trashed, my chances gone… since you were just such an idiot… you stupid Loner!"
I was flung into darkness with that one word still resonating around me. "Loner! Loner! Loner! Loner! Loner!" I watched as all of the terrible moments in my life passed by; Daniel punching me, my suicide attempt, the kidnapping, Charles and his hacking attack against me… Claudia's rejection in the hospital… I spent forever forgetting these moments, and now one bad day, one bad dream, brought them all back to me.
I was in Charles' house now. He was sitting at his computer, typing like a madman. He cursed, then spun around to look at me. "I told you to cut them loose. Cut them loose, I said! You never listened to me, and look where that's gotten you! How's been rebelling against Leeman with Daniel been going? Sounds to me like you're finished!"
I heard the word finished a few more times as more speeches I heard in my life were repeated. Craig Johnson insulting me at the Winter Dance, that dream in the hospital, yelling at Daniel… more than once… it all was coming back. The floodgates had been opened.
Now I found myself… in Claudia's house? I was resting in my bed… I took a sigh of relief. I must have gotten out of the dream… finally. I was done with those haunting images, those speeches that were given to me… and the fact that they sounded so true didn't help. However, Claudia walked in… walked? She wouldn't be able to… so this wasn't over. I dreaded for what she had to say.
However, I was surprised when… she took her top off. I tried to speak, ask her what the hell she was doing, move and do something, but I was stuck in my spot. She came over… and I heard her whisper in my ear, "You know I love you, right? But I don't think we're in love enough yet…" Before the scene continued, I let go the loudest sound I ever let out in my life. It might have been a shout, or a scream, but it came out.
My head flew forward, my body following it, and I slammed onto the floor beside my bed. I scrambled to my feet, looking around. Claudia wasn't here… had I made it back into the real world? Oh God… I stopped to catch my breath… and I fell back on the bed.
What… what the hell had I just been through? I tried to review it. Leeman killed me… showing that he was 'gunning down' my life at the school. Then Daniel… blaming me for him getting expelled from the district. Charles… with his message once again that I should have stayed away… and then… whatever Claudia's purpose was I didn't know. Was I… could I have been thinking that dirty? Was I afraid of intimacy or something? I shook that part of the dream out of my head, preferring to forget it… it was terrifying in it's own right… I loved Claudia… but that was extreme.
I looked around once more as though I still believed I was going to get thrown back into that dream sequence. How could my mind have generated something like that? As I stared intently at the bed, I thought to myself, "Sleep is overrated". I laid back and stared at the ceiling for who knows how long. Probably until the shouting started…
"You screwed him over. He has to leave the district to go to school, do you realize that?"
"I didn't want to, you don't have the full story friend!"
"Please, cut the crap. I can see what happened".
"Can you just listen to me?"
"Is that what you said to Leeman?"
"You just don't-"
"You know what- get out of my room!"
I cautiously stepped outside, opening my door to see the spectacle. Eva was standing outside of Claudia's door as her clothes were being tossed out of it. She struggled to catch all of them, most of the articles falling to the ground. If only the parents were here… but Claudia's folks were out at a dinner party.
Eva may not have given the full story, but she had definitely done something bad, but didn't have the common sense to just walk away. She repeated herself like a broken record. "You really don't know the full story. Come on!"
Claudia's shout rang out from her room. "Just stay away from me!" The door slammed, leaving and I out in the hallway. She looked over at me, swallowed, then went back to the task of gathering up her clothes. As much as I hated her and wanted to punch her as Daniel did… I had to hold back. Instead, it was a perfect time to go fishing for answers.
"So" I started off, staying in my position in the doorway of my room in case I felt like retreating at an point, "if what I say wasn't the full story, you better give it to me right now or I will forget you ever existed and let the seniors at school deal with you as they see fit". The seniors had a way of humiliating people that went against the general public, and there was no doubt in my mind that Eva had a target on her back.
She took a deep breath and approached me. "Leeman came to me… with a deal. I didn't like him… he seemed mean. But then he… he showed me this". Claudia must have tossed a suitcase out earlier, since Eva produced one from behind her pile of clothes and brought it over to me. We looked at each other, our eyes meeting; then she opened it up.
"Holy-" I exclaimed. What fell out of the bag was not clothes or supplies such as you'd see in a suitcase… but hundreds upon hundreds of dollar bills.
"He gave me this if all I did was tell him what was going on in the meetings". I didn't expect Leeman was that dirty in his dealings! Paying people to do spying was definitely not legal… not legal? As soon as those words popped into my head, I began formulating a plan. If we wanted Leeman out, this was the evidence we needed, and hopefully Eva's word… if she would cooperate.
I clapped my hands and snatched the suitcase away from her. She didn't even protest as I did this movement. I zipped it up and threw in inside my room. Leeman wouldn't see this coming, and it would definitely uppercut his position! Before I left to go into my room, Eva got closer to me.
"You are so nice" she said, her voice obviously trying to seduce me. "Kiss me".
What!? "Hell no!" I rejected her, slamming the door in her face. I don't want my lips on that disgusting German. She was still a double-crosser, forcing Daniel to take a hike, breaking my friendship with him again… and Claudia is much nicer. Today made me realize who Eva really is; a follower. She doesn't do as she pleases, but just does as she is ordered, and thinks she is ordered. I hope the seniors had something really special planned for her.
I slept easy that day, a sleep completely devoid of scary nightmares or any type of dram that could have thrown me off of the train tracks. I was heading on a course towards Leeman, and his inevitable downfall. When the alarm went off, I jumped out of bed, threw my clothes on, retrieved the suitcase and ran out the door. The school wasn't extremely far away, and I felt like I could run a thousand miles in my excitement and my rage.
I didn't see Daniel anywhere during my sprint to the school. I had a feeling he wouldn't show his face around here anymore now that Leeman basically booted him out. However, I had a way that could restore things back to normal. All I needed was the money, and thankfully I had that, so now the beginning of the end started.
Once I got on the school grounds, I shot a text at Daniel. "Hey man, I know you're pissed, but I've got an amazing idea. On my way to start the end. Text me back". Once I entered the school itself, I sent another text since Daniel hadn't responded, and he was usually pretty quick on that. My phone had a function I could turn on so that if I tried to send a message to someone who's phone was off, it would tell me that. It told me his phone was on.
I had beat the bus rush by around five minutes, but most of the students came by car. I saw a lot of people looking at me, surprised, and oddly enough… happy. I heard some hello's directed at me as I navigated the hallways. It was as though I was their knight in shining armor… and in a sense I pretty much was. The conqueror of Leeman's empire.
I turned into the principal's office. Leeman was sitting in his chair, drinking wine… in the morning… and he leaned back in shock as I barged in. I wasted no time in shoving his computer out of the way and slamming the suitcase on his desk. His initial surprise soon wore off and now was replaced by an annoyed, questioning demeanor.
"Excuse me, Mr. Stephens… but what exactly is this?" he asked, point at the suitcase that now dominated his desk and almost blocked his view over it.
I smiled as I unzipped the pocket on the luggage carrier and revealed to Leeman what laid inside; all of those dollars that he himself paid to help win against us now was coming back for the good guys to use to win against HIM. Irony… gotta love it.
His eyes widened as he saw it, and he bit his lip. He was terrible at trying to conceal the fact that it was really all of his. "Now… whose is this?" came his shaky inquiry?
I looked out the door, at his name on it, and pictured it getting scratched off. Smiling, I turned back to deliver the crushing blow. "I think you just answered that for me… Mr. Leeman" I retorted in mock respect. I closed the suitcase, took it off of his desk, and walked out the door. Over my shoulder, I said "I'll let you rethink banning Daniel from the district".
Content with how the day had started, I ran off to retrieve my backpack. As much as I hated getting back into the school groove, I had to play Leeman's game for now while he pondered over what he could do. My classes began as of normally, ended just as they usually did… and soon enough I was back into the cafeteria. I located Charles near the back and went to go sit by him.
"Hey mate" he offered quietly. I sat next to him, Charles barely noticing this action. He wasn't even eating; just poking his food with a fork… and his food was a soup. It was clear he was still out of it from yesterday's events in Leeman's office.
I tried to go ahead and break the ice. "Hey… Charles. Listen… I know yesterday was tough. It wasn't good for any of us, believe me. But… I do have good news". I let a pause come in. "I have leverage against Leeman. We can overthrow him!"
Charles sighed, then looked down at the suitcase. He connected the dots and picked up the suitcase, slamming it on the table so loud everyone in the cafeteria turned towards him. "You know, last time you said we could beat him, we lost. Daniel is out of the district! You keep living in this world where you think Leeman will just be thrown out, but you're there all by yourself, and you don't get it!"
"Charles, I wasn't done-"
But neither was he. He picked the suitcase up once more, slamming it repeatedly. "What? This leverage? What about the other leverage, this leverage, that leverage, every leverage we've had? It can't do bloody crap! No matter what you have will work against him, and you just need to accept that! We're stuck this way, and there's nothing the great and powerful Lionel Stephens can do about it!"
His rage done, Charles sat back down hard and began eating his soup furiously having thrown the fork on the floor. I just sat back down next to him, still believing I would be able to amend this awful situation with Charles, but it was futile.
"Do me a favor" Charles muttered. He nodded at the suitcase. "Take your little bag and go".
I looked at him, and all he did was nod again in response. Reluctantly, I stood up and walked away. Not just from the table, but out of the cafeteria. That's when it hit me; last night had started making much more sense.
The dream showed Charles getting angry… exploding at me. Did that mean Daniel would be angry at me too? Did I dare investigate? I told Leeman off, so it wasn't completely accurate… oh, what the heck. I had to let Daniel in on the plan. Since I seemed to have a leave-school-whenever immunity thing, I walked out the front door once more, backpack and suitcase with me.
With all of this extra weight, it took a long time to reach Daniel's house, but eventually I did. I hoped he would be eager that I had dirt on Leeman, and the dream would be proved to be obsolete, but I still advised myself to be cautious. I knocked on the door having seeing that something had smashed the doorbell. I pictured Daniel launching his fist into it after yesterday's events.
Thankfully, Daniel opened the door. He was obviously angry when he appeared, but open seeing me his features softened a bit. He held up his phone and gave off a little smile. "Ten texts. Somebody's obsessed".
I nodded in response. "I really have something good to show you".
We trekked up to his room, It was in there I brought the suitcase back out in the open and, for the second time today, I opened it up. Daniel definitely didn't see that coming; he actually gasped. His curiosity soon took over his surprise and he looked over at me, mouth open. "How… how the heck did you find all of this? Is this… Leeman's?"
I nodded excitedly. "Every dollar. He used it to pay Eva to spy on us". I slammed my hand on the case. "I'm telling you, this is what we need! I've already let Leeman know that we're on to him, and he almost cracked already".
Daniel gave off a devious smile, then rubbed his hands together. "You know what, Lionel? No offense, but I need you to leave. I've got to get something together… for a dear old friend of ours. I'll tell you in the morning what's going on, okay?"
I was happy to see my friend preparing ahead. "Alright man. Don't be a stranger". I walked out of his house and over to Claudia's… my house… I still haven't gotten used to referring to it as such. I was surprised to see busses coming down the street already. A girl I know, Stephanie, walked off a bus nearby, and I approached her.
"Hey Steph" as was her nickname, "what's going on?"
She looked pretty puzzled. "An early dismissal. Leeman called it after lunch. Nobody knows what it was all about".
"Thanks. That's all I needed to know". I said good-bye to her and ran over to my house… ah, got it right that time! Leeman was running scared, probably calling a board meeting to get a retaliation prepared. Another good thought; Daniel wasn't mad. The nightmare I had meant nothing and didn't predict the future. I walked in the front door and off into the living room.
Claudia was standing there… standing? She was doing well with her therapy, but I didn't know it was actually that successful. She noticed that I entered and looked away as though I didn't exist. I stood beside her and tried to talk to her.
"You know… there was an early dismissal today".
She looked at me strangely. "Why?" Even her question was devoid of any emotion.
"I may or may not have gotten some evidence that could get Leeman out of the school, and Daniel may be putting something together".
Claudia looked more interested now. "So… things might go back to normal?"
I laughed a little bit. "Please… the day things are normal…"
I accidently bumped into her as I tried leaving the room, and we both soon realized we were very close to each other. Before I knew it, she pulled me close to her and bought me into a long, amazing kiss. My hands held onto her waist, keeping her close to me. Things started getting more passionate, and that was when we both broke off.
"We can't be doing that… yet" she said.
"No… keep things slow". The dream seemed real now. Ish. But then again, she didn't seem to care.
"We don't live in a very slow life" I commented. Once again, Claudia pulled me into another kiss.
"Uh oh" I joked, kissing her back. "Uh oh… who's slowing down?"
"This week has been terrible" she replied. "I need something good to happen".
"So we're not going slow I guess?"
"Oh, shut up".
As we stood kissing in the living room, I found myself not caring all too much about how fast we went. Just not too fast… like that nightmare. Oh, forget it… this is a good moment. Relish in it.
And wait for the victory that we will obtain tomorrow.


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Art and sculpture
Paintings of Charles I
One of the highlights of the art collection at Banqueting House, besides of course the magnificent ceiling paintings by Rubens, is the painting of King Charles I (1600-1649) by Daniel Mytens (1590-1647). Part of the Government Art Collection it hangs above the grand staircase leading into the Banqueting Hall. Charles I wears splendid blue stockings. The painting is hung co-incidentally very close to the site of the former window, through which the unfortunate king stepped onto a scaffold and was beheaded.
A second painting of Charles I hangs on the wall half way up the main staircase. It is from the school of Sir Anthony Van Dyck and is on loan from the National Portrait Gallery.
The bronze bust of James I
A bronze bust of James I is positioned above the door into the Banqueting Hall. James looks very regal, and is depicted wearing his crown. The bust was commissioned by Charles I to celebrate his father, and was made by the sculptor Hubert Le Sueur in 1639. When Charles sat on his throne, he could see this bust facing him across the room. Le Sueur also made the statue of Charles I on horseback, which is on Whitehall near Trafalgar Square.


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Recent advancements in showering technology means that you can now enjoy the luxury of controlling the temperature of your shower using a wireless control, meaning you enjoy the perfect temperature when you step into your shower enclosure. This is becoming an incredibly popular choice in a lot of modern bathroom as it makes life in the morning that little bit easier. No longer must you endure an ice cold blast as you turn on the shower or wait for it to warm up, you can simply use your wireless control and have a hassle free, luxurious showering experience from start to finish.
A digital shower usually consists of the digital mixer unit, the wireless control and the shower fitting itself. These showers work by taking water from the digital mixer unit, which is fed by both the hot and cold water supply, allowing you to create the perfect water temperature. The beauty of a digital mixer shower is that you can place the mixer away from the shower fittings, for example in the loft or behind an artificial wall. You can then control your temperature using the user friendly wireless control to create the perfect showering experience.
Browse our wide range of digital showers today to create the perfect bathroom experience.


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Multi Base Weight.Holds 7-oversized air filled foils or 7-air filled latex balloons when filled with water.Requires Maxi Base II stick holders (PMXB) and Adhesive Tapes (82750) sold separately.Plastic3"H x 5"Diameter.Pack of 5.
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The Hilton Grand Vacations Suites at SeaWorld is the ideal holiday retreat for visitors to Orlando, Florida. This 33-acre Orlando resort hotel, combining the ideal blend of retreat and connected hotel, puts you in easy reach of Walt Disney World®, Universal Orlando® and Wet 'n Wild® Orlando. Visiting families can make the most of the close location to SeaWorld® Orlando.
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Two months ago, Time magazine trashed Bernard Goldberg's book on liberal pro-Obama bias (A Slobbering Love Affair) as a book to "toss" instead of read in their mini-book review featured called The Skimmer. In the latest Time, Andrea Sachs praised the newest James Carville book, titled 40 More Years: How the Democrats Will Rule the Next Generation. It drew a "Skim" command instead of a "Read," but the copy was very promotional:
No one does partisanship better than the Ragin' Cajun. In his latest book, the Louisiana-bred campaign strategist, who recently returned to teach political science at Tulane, takes a victory lap celebrating the Democrats' 2008 electoral trifecta. "The myth of Republican competence and fiscal responsibility is shattered," a victim of the strategic and economic missteps of the Bush years, Carville gleefully notes. If Democrats play their cards right, he argues, they can dominate politics for the next four decades. The key? "To rebuild Americans' trust in government as a force of good." His excitability is infectious, if only to those on the same side of the aisle. ("Let's go out and spank the Republicans again and again," he exhorts readers.)
It's clearly exciting on Time's side of the aisle. While Time suggested Goldberg's book was just pandering for the conservatives, Sachs boldly suggests conservatives should sit in "Professor Carville's class" and learn something:
Those who tend to agree more with his wife, conservative pundit Mary Matalin, might want to sneak a look too -- if just for Carville's reasoned, though perhaps scathing, explanation of how "the demographic foundations of the Republican Party are crumbling." Professor Carville's class is now in session.
Carville's copy is "perhaps scathing"?


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This is a joint effort on the part of a community called ontdtwilight on livejournal. We are epic. We are awesome. This was written by pocksun, boundary, simmeringly, prettytwilight, and wunderkinddd, who are also users on livejournal. ENJOY.
This is straight up crack!fic from the chats we have. If you weren't there, you should have been. We are awesome and you envy us immensely.
Bella rubbed her stomach and moaned. "I definitely shouldn't have eaten those seventeen enchiladas!," she said to herself, walking to the bathroom. She tripped on the carpet and fell on her face, a pained sound escaping her ruby red lips.
She slowly got up and pushed open the bathroom door. Flicking on the light, she made her way to the mirror and opened it. She began to look through it and smiled triumphantly when she found the Milk Of Magnesium. "This will definitely work!"
Ignoring the directions, she opened the bottle and drank about half. She needed all the help she could get.
Bella lowered herself to the floor, propping against the bathroom wall. Her stomach rumbled something fierce and she pulled her arms around to stop the overwhelming thunder that escaped her middle.
"Bella! What's wrong?" Edward's eyes were wrinkled together in worry, forcing open the bathroom door.
"I'm fine! Go away!" Bella screamed. She didn't want Edward to see her in this state. It was embarrassing enough not being at home in this condition.
Edward pulled the door from its hinges and was at Bella's side, "Do you want me to get Carlisle? You are so pale! What is it? What can I do?"
"Just… Just…" and a loud gurgle echoed in the oversized bathroom. Edward was feigning confusion, but knew all too well what was ailing Bella. He allowed himself to be pushed back as she shoved against the door and flung herself to the toilet, almost getting her pants soiled as she struggled to hold it in.
She knew Edward has that vampire hearing, though, so he needed to go. "Edward, can you give me a few minutes? Uh…please? Can you do somewhere that you won't be able to hear me?"
Edward knew he could hear this sort of noise from anywhere, but decided to play along. "Okay Bella, just call for me when you're done." He stomped his feet as though to leave, then silently sat on the floor in front of the bathroom door, ear pressed against it, his hands flat against the frame as he imagined tears rolling down his cheeks, saddened for his soul mate and her plight of the bowels.
Bella cried out loud and sniffled. "I'M OKAY EDWARD, I just need a human moment okay?" she screamed.
"Are you sure Bella? Do you need anything….love.." Edward said trying to be supportive.
The minutes ticked by and Bella was still in the bathroom when Edward decided he couldn't take it any longer. He quickly stood up and pressed his body against the door, caressing it softly. His poor Bella was in pain and he could do nothing to stop it. Curse his vampirism! If only he could go to the bathroom for her!
He continued to caress the door, whispering her name over and over again like a prayer. He had gone to medical school twice and not being able to help his beloved was killing him. He could treat a wound, heal an organ, but he could not fix this. What was the point of being a doctor if he couldn't help the one he loved?
A loud noise shook him out of his thoughts. Had Bella fallen off the toilet?
Edward burst through the door, shattering it to pieces and saw Bella sprawled across the tiled floor, pants at her ankles and a ripe smell coming from the toilet that was being christened with this travesty of fecal matter.
"Bella! Bella! Wake up! What… are you… dead from… this?" Edward did his best to roll her over, trying to keep his prying eyes from viewing her vulnerable exposure.
Edward cradled her in his arms, rubbing her forehead and holding his breath to safeguard from the rancid toilet emissions. "Oh, Bella, my love. I love you. Don't leave me. Not over this."
Just then, Bella regained her consciousness and jolted to her feet. She struggled to pull her pants and underwear around her middle and ran from the bathroom. Before she got to the stairs leading into the Cullens' living room, Edward was at her side, begging for her forgiveness.
"Please don't be angry with me about interrupting your 'human moment', my love. I was only worried for your life, I don't remember what it was like to have constipation.." Bella shot him a glare that silenced him. She practically flew down the stairs, Edward apologizing overly for disturbing her. As she reached the front door, Emmett popped up in front of her out of nowhere, a grin on his face.
"Hey, Bella. You the reason why it smells like rank horse's ass upstairs? You didn't even have the courtesy to flush." He shook his head in mock disappointment.
Edward slapped Emmett's head and Bella screamed out "SHUT UP EMMETT, GO FUCK ROSALIE OKAY?"
Emmett was hurt but laughed it off. Rosalie flew down the stairs and asked what was going on in this damned house.
"Um, what died in here?!" Rosalie said with a sour look on her face.
Jasper came out of his and Alice's room with a very pained look on his face. "I feel so much pain.. I feel like my insides are going to explode.." he said.
While everyone was bickering, Bella ran off to the kitchen. She needed something to drink. She sighed, opening the refrigerator. She scanned, looking for something to quench her thirst. A-Ha! She set her eyes upon a gallon of grape juice.
Suddenly, she felt better. She opened the top, taking a large swig of the purple delight. Or was it? Bella swallowed, pulling the bottle from her plump lips. Her eyes widened, she started sweating profusely. In big letters, the bottle she thought was heavenly grape juice was "FAST ACTING PRUNE JUICE."
Bella started to panic, feeling the awful sickness she felt moments earlier.
She grabbed her coat, keys, and ran out the house to her truck. Edward was rushing behind her, trying to apologize and offering to take her home himself. She turned to face him, but a lurch in her abdomen brought her to her knees.
"Bella, this is insane. Let me take you home. I could run faster than that piece of junk could get you there. I'll leave as soon as we get there. I promise."
Bella worked her way up the truck, straining to get her balance. "Fine." She spit out, venom in her breath.
Edward flung her on his back, and Bella could tell he was holding his breath. She couldn't' even imagine how this all smelled to someone with his senses. She was so embarrassed at tonight's events, she only wanted to forget them and possibly move to Europe to escape this shame.
Soon they were running through the forests and roads of Forks, the crisp wind stinging her face. Every second was too long, and every groan of her stomach was like nails to her sensitive flesh.
"We're here. I'll…. See you later?" Edward said softly.
"No. I'll… just. Let me call you." Bella rushed inside, glad that Charlie was asleep already.
When Bella reached her porcelain throne, she let loose all the fury of a thousand shotguns from her behind. A gasp escaped her lips in the pure joy of this revolting release.
"God… hurts so good I got a soregasm."


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Style: 35935139 Color Code:
Fitted long-sleeve layering top with Picot Performance strapping detail, done in a so-soft breathable cotton blend. .
FP Movement
Yoga. Dance. Surf. Run. Find what moves you. FP Movement is an exclusive, in-house label.
Cute top but not for me :0(
I ordered this top because of the sleeves. Alas I had to return it because of the sleeves. They were simply too short and kind of baggy on me. Granted I have very long skinny arms and sleeve length is an issue for me. But with a top as stretchy as this one, I thought perhaps the sleeves might be a little tighter. I'm sure it will look absolutely stunning on someone with arms of normal length.


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- Earth Movement
- Windstorm / Storm Surge
- Winter Storms
- Severe Convection Storms - including thunderstorm, tornado and hail
- Terrorism
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