text: There sure are a lot of souls out there. Some dark, others titan, some that belong to a demon and now those that are… dungeon. I'm not sure why I want them for myself, but they do make me stronger. I need to get stronger to defeat all the minions inside the dungeon so I… Continue reading


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DSP TechnoParks
leading role of Women University Mardan, Dairy Science Park, KP Chamber of Commerce and Industries and SDGs Task Force. Similar TechnoPark will be established at Quetta (TPQ), which has already been agreed by BRSP, BCCI, SMEDA, BU, BUITMS and SBK WU. Mission of the two TechnoParks will be utilization of indigenous human and natural resources for welfare of the people through academia – industry linkage, with focus on entrepreneurship development and hygienic food production for local consumption and export.
It was recommended that an autonomous TechnoPark, to be registered as Society under Societies' Registration Act XXI of 1860, will be established at Mardan (TPM) and Swat (TPS), with leading role of Women University Mardan/University of Swat, Dairy Science Park, KP Chamber of Commerce and Industries/SMEDA and Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Similar TechnoPark will be established at Quetta (TPQ), which has already been agreed by BRSP, BCCI, SMEDA, BU, BUITMS and SBK WU and endorsed by Governor Balochistan. The Governor Balochistan and other organizations agreed on the concept during a visit of DSP Team, before DSP IV-2017 Konya.
An MoU has been signed with Konya Teknokent for establishment of Peshawar Technopark, Mardan TechnoPark and Quetta TechnoPark. Konya Teknokent and Dairy Science Park will collaborate in Smart Energy programs, sharing success stories in food processing, quality control and marketing and sharing ARGE activities in Information Technologies, Agricultural Technologies, Biotechnology, Design Technologies, Environment and Energy Technologies and Defense Industries.

subset: commoncrawl


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OKLAHOMA CITY -- Many Oklahomans are fed up with a telemarketer who seems to be getting around the Do Not Call Registry with a new ploy.
Some say it's a phony political poll meant to get your credit card number.
The Oklahoma Attorney General's office is now getting complaints and they say the scam preys on whoever will stay on the phone with them.
Bobby Kessler wasn't too skeptical of the phone call Monday evening because his number is on the Do Not Call Registry.
"I wonder if it's related to a political survey, since it's that time of year and it was a political survey," he remembers thinking.
The questions were, in fact, political.
"Gas prices, unemployment and Middle East involvement," Kessler said. "They also asked me who my preference for president was."
But then Kessler was told he had won a free cruise.
However, there were charges and other fees involved.
"It's very deceptive because they call for one thing and then shift into another," he said.
He eventually hung up.
"They can't call people and offer this cruise and this type of scam, so they do it under the guise of a political survey and they think that's OK," Kessler said. "They know darn well what they're doing and they know that it's wrong."
The phone campaign is called Political Opinions of America.
Their website states, "...promotions and giveaways may be available on certain survey campaigns to offer additional incentives for survey takers."
But Assistant Attorney General Ethan Shaner said if a number on the Do Not Call Registry is called, it's illegal for one key reason.
"As soon as they begin to ask for credit card numbers or any sort of money for those incentives, it no longer becomes simply a survey call and it becomes telemarketing," Shaner said. "There's a reason these calls continue. It's because they're lucrative and because they're very difficult to shut down."
Shaner said some telemarketers change their business names quickly when they're being investigated.
He advises everyone to be skeptical of any free promotion over the phone.
The group running the campaign did not return our calls.
Report a telemarketer to the Attorney General's office here


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An Environment for Effective Teaching & Learning Volume 1, Issue 2, September 15, 2017
Kidsday Class of the Week
5th Grade students in Ms. Weeks and Ms. Gray's 2016-17 class were the Class of the Week in Newsday in August 2017. Any class that wants to participate contacts Newsday and lets them know about the wonderful things that their class is doing. When accepted, Newsday sends the information to Mr. Pat Mullooly, the "Kidsday Guy." Mr. Mullooly comes in to work with the class several times during the year. He is an incredibly dynamic individual. The students get t-shirts, reporters badges, make a Facebook video, and several go on the celebrity interview in Manhattan. The class brainstorms article ideas and Mr. Mullooly rejects or accepts them. The kids were proud to be honored in this way and had loads of...
In HPS the Teachers are also Students
This summer, as students were enjoying time spent with family and friends, the administration, faculty and staff at Hauppauge Public Schools were hard at work exploring ways to improve on an already dynamic educational program. Nothing is more complex, challenging, or important than assuring high levels of learning for each and every student. And no single factor has a greater impact on student learning than skillful teaching. With this in mind, the Hauppauge Public Schools enlisted the expertise of the Research for Better Teaching (RBT). Thus far in the Skillful Teacher course, through three cohorts, HPS has had 76 teachers and 17...


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We caught our flight from Siem Reap to Ho Chi Minh City just fine. We are eligible for entry up to 14 days without visa, but they did request to see the return ticket on entry. I had mine printed, but my boyfriend had issues with the airport wifi, so it took him a while to display his return ticket on his phone.
When we got into the lobby, we needed to withdraw cash as we didn't have any Vietnamese money with us and also got a SIM card for wifi. Reading the Lonely Planet guidebook, I was prepared for something chaotic, but the arrivals hall was rather quiet. In the book it said that the Ministry of Tourism did a survey a few years back, which showed that only a few per cent of tourists would consider coming back to Vietnam and the discomfort was mostly due to scams. Apparently it raised a lot of concerns as Vietnam is trying to build a thriving tourism industry, so my guess is that since 2016 when the book was written, the airports were "cleaned" and only reputable taxi companies are allowed. In either case the taxi companies most recommended are Vinasun and Mai Linh. Otherwise the situation is the same as in Cambodia, i.e. you cannot drive yourself, so all rental cars come with a driver. The thing that is different is that there are no tuk tuks in Vietnam, but there is Uber (both car and motorbike), so what we actually ended up using the most is Uber. I'm not the biggest fan of the company in light if the recent events, but it was super convenient and there is no risk of scams. The only negative thing was that the traffic is usually quite heavy, so if you are taking a car somewhere, it takes much longer than anticipated. So for some cases, Uber bike would be much more convenient.
But on the first night there we just checked into the Hotel Equatorial, which on the map seemed to be quite close to everything, but in fact almost everything we ended up doing was located in District 1. And while the distance wasn't much, it always took closer to half an hour just because of the traffic. In addition for some reason the hotel played music in hallways from something like 8 a.m. to 11 p.m., which was audible through the door and was super annoying if you wanted to sleep in. Otherwise it was perfectly fine if a bit dated. But the service and especially breakfast were really good.
We got to the hotel around 5 p.m. and the only plan was to get a nice dinner because it was my boyfriend's birthday. I had booked a table at La Villa French restaurant and we had a tasting menu with wines. We decided to eat in the garden outside as it was a beautiful night. The food was excellent and well-presented. The wines were also good, but it is usually a bit of waste of money as the wines in Asia as ridiculously expensive.
As we were eating in the garden, a small frog jumped on our table. 🙂
I think I loved all the dishes except for a beef soup served in a small jar, which was rather average and I've had much better.
The next day we slept in and decided to get bahn mi sandwiches and do some light sightseeing according to a walking route in the Lonely Planet book. We picked up the sandwiches from a place called Banh Mi Huynh Hoa, which was supposed to have some epic banh mi sandwiches. We took two and decided to get some drinks and sit somewhere in the park and enjoy them. Well, we found some drinks, but not the park as the route suggested by Lonely Planet is now just a huge construction site. We ended up eating the sandwiches in the small cafe we bought our drinks from and they were actually super good, but also very spicy.
We also visited a market nearby, which sold all manners of probably counterfeited goods and a lot of junk. We ended up buying some Vietnamese coffee and tea for ourselves and as gifts. Then we continued to the riverfront.
Riverfront unfortunately wasn't anything special. One guy asked us whether we wanted a boat ride on the Saigon river and another wanted to clean our shoes with a toothbrush, but the view was this:
So yeah, not super impressive. It did have some cool-looking boats though.
And the statue of Tran Hung Dao, who was a prince and a successful military leader in the 13th century.
At this time, we were super sweaty and we had booked a street food tour with Back of the Bike Tours, so we needed to go back to the hotel, take a shower, and come back to approximately same area as the tour would start from the Opera House.
We reserved some extra time to get back to District 1 in order to be on time for the tour, so we had about 15 minutes to look around a bit. This seemed to be the center of Ho Chi Minh City and it had some gorgeous old buildings.
Then we met our guides from Back of the Bike Tours and we headed into the evening on the back of small motorbikes, which were operated by young women, who were twice as small as we were. 😀 It was a bit uncomfortable at first, but then you learn to trust your driver and see that other bikes aren't bumping into you, and it gets quite fun actually. It is also a cool way to see a bit more of the city.
There were more guides than tourists on this tour as every tourist had their own driver, but there were also a couple of people, who were driving ahead and arranging things and who also took a lot of pictures. This tour was much more organized than the one we participated in Siem Reap and we didn't have to even to take any pictures, everything was taken care of and when we arrived, the food waited for us at the table. The drivers/guides told us about the dishes and they were also eating a bit with us.
I think that we visited only five different places, but we were stuffed at the end of the evening. The food was very good and it was fun to learn more about the ingredients used and the way things were cooked.
This time I even tried the 15-day egg, which looked very similar to the 18-day egg in Siem Reap. It still didn't look delicious, but it didn't taste anything as bad as it looked. 😀 Also we were told that you eat it to turn your luck around, so if you have bad luck, you need to eat 1 or 3 or 5 eggs, otherwise if you eat an even number, first you turn your luck around and then around again and it's bad luck again. 😉
But the rest of the dishes were much better, luck or no luck. 😉 Also the desserts were pretty good.
Our last location turned out to be very close to our hotel, so our drivers gave us a ride to our hotel rather than to the pick up point we left from. While on the bike, it was interesting to ask them about different things as you don't often get a chance to talk to locals and the language barrier doesn't help either.
Back of the Bike Tours sent us the link to the photos they took the next day and we could just download them, which was very handy. 🙂
On our last day in Ho Chi Minh City, we had booked a tour to see the Củ Chi tunnels, which are a network of tunnels, which were used by Viet Cong soldiers for hiding, food and weapon storages, and as supply routes. They played a major role in Vietnamese resistance to American military.
I wanted to combine a visit to Cao Dai Holy See into the same trip, but unfortunately on this day, the company didn't offer it again reminding me that time spent on planning does usually pay off. We initially wanted to do two different things, but for some reason a lot of tour operators accept two people as minimum, so we had to do a compromise and ended up booking with a company called Les Rives. It is possible to get to Cu Chi by road and I think that even by public transportation. Les Rives operates tours with a motorboat, which means that you save some time getting there. I think the way there took closer to one and a half hours, when it takes the bus almost two hours. The ride is quite loud, so try to sit away from the motor, but it was nice to enjoy the breeze.
We did get there ahead of the crowds as promised, so we managed to see a lot of the area without having to bump into other people. First we watched an outdated and a bit silly (they called Americans "crazy devils") video on the history of the tunnels and then we went out to explore.
There were different traps on display as well showing how the Viet Cong set traps for American soldiers.
We also had an opportunity to visit one tunnel. I'm 170 cm and I could walk bent in half, my boyfriend is taller and he had to duck-walk. It was very short section of the tunnel and you followed a guide with a flashlight, but it was super uncomfortable. Especially when we finally got out, they told us that the tunnel had been made both wider and higher by half a meter in each way to accommodate tourists. I can't even imagine what it would be like without light and basically crawling on your stomach.
At the end of our tour, we also had lunch, which was included in the tour price and it was actually surprisingly good. I don't usually expect much from food in popular tourist places. 🙂
After lunch we headed back to our hotel and because we were picked up from the hotel really early, I think that we were back around 1 p.m. We relaxed at the hotel and went for a swim at the hotel swimming pool and around 4 p.m. we headed to Chill Skybar to enjoy drinks and the sunset with the view over Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City has a large amount of rooftop bars and all of them seem to have a happy hour in the afternoon, so the drinks are usually half price.
We didn't have a reservation, but luckily that wasn't a problem. We had a couple of drinks and something small from the menu as we were going to a restaurant later on. The first set of cocktails were really good, but the second only average. The food we ordered was also very good. But the view was of course the best.
After sunset we headed to Hum Lounge & Restaurant, which is a vegetarian restaurant. The food was quite good and the restaurant interior was very cool.
All in all, Ho Chi Minh City is very modern and probably has much more to see than what we had time for, but I think that three days was enough to get an idea of what the city is like. The upside of our hotel was that it had a pool as it was pretty hot most days, but if I would go to Ho Chi Minh City again, I would spend more and stay in the city center. Unfortunately hotel prices in the city are very expensive, so that would likely mean not having a pool in the hotel.
Another thing is that the city is quite big and while it is somewhat more walkable than any place we've been in Cambodia, it still isn't comfortable due to traffic, small sidewalks, and the amount of people.


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Now that former Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory security director William Cleveland, Jr. has been linked to suspected Chinese double-agent Katrina Leung, a lot of his actions that once looked like ordinary bureaucratic cover-your-ass moves are starting to smell suspicious.For example, Mark Danielson, a former Livermore SWAT team member, found an employee trying to bring a camera, and tape recorder, and a laptop with classified information into the facility in 1998. That's strictly against lab rules. But Danielson was ordered to give the goods back, and let the person -- a Chinese national -- go.When he complained about the incident to the Department of Energy -- the agency ultimately responsible for Livermore -- officials there said they had never heard of it. There was no record of the interaction at all.But Danielson had filled out such a form himself, and held on to a copy (I've just had a .pdf version e-mailed to me).Who could have made such a document disappear? And why would anyone do such a thing? Well, William Cleveland, Jr. was in charge of such investigations at the time.
© Copyright 2020 Military.com. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


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Three cheers for the Sykesville Ag & Youth Fair
It was a picturesque summer evening at the Sykesville Ag and Youth Fair on Thursday, and the fairgrounds were full of entertainment. (First photo) The Junior Varsity AJ Parise Cheerleading Squad performed a routine along with many other teams at the cheerleading exhibition. (Second photo) Pictured here is the truck White Lightning in the main event of the evening, the Truck and Tractor Pull. The truck competed in the modified trucks division. Tonight's schedule at the fair includes the regular features — rides opening at 5 p.m., the Rock N Roll Pet Store Kids Show at 6:30 and 8:30 and Circus Incredible at 7:30 and 9:30 — in addition to a classic rock concert by Quarterstick at 7 p.m. and the grandstand feature of the compact car demolition derby, also beginning at 7 p.m.


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From George Washington to François-Joseph-Paul, comte de Grasse-Tilly, 17 August 1781
Camp at Phillipsbg 17th Augt 1781.
In consequence of the dispatches received from your Excellency by the Frigate La Concorde it has been judged expedient to give up for the present the enterprise against New York and to turn our attention towards the South, with a view, if we should not be able to attempt Charles town itself, to recover and secure the States of Virginia—North Carolina—and the Country of South Carolina and Georgia. We may add a further inducement for giving up the first mentioned enterprise, which is the arrival of a reinforcemt of near 3000 Hessian Recruits. For this purpose we have determined to remove the whole of the French Army and as large a detachment of the American as can be spared to Chesapeak, to meet Your Excellency there.
The following appear to us the principal Cases which will present themselves, and upon which we shall be obliged ultimately to form our plans—We have therefore stated them, with a few short observations upon each—Your Excellency will be pleased to revolve them in your own mind and prepare your own opinion by the time we shall have the pleasure of meeting you in Virginia.
1st—What shall be done if the Enemy should be found with the greater part of their force in Virginia upon the arrival of the French Fleet?
2d Should only a detachment be found there?
3d Should the British force be totally withdrawn from thence?
Upon the first, it appears to us that we ought without loss of time to attack the enemy with our United Force.
Upon the second, it appears proper to destine such part of our force as will be amply sufficient to reduce the enemys detachment, and then determine what use shall be made of the remainder—and here two things present themselves for our consideration—The enemy will either have sent the greater part of their force, from Virginia, to New York or to Charles town. If to New York (which is the least probable under present circumstances) Charles town will have but a moderate Garrison and it may be possible to attack it to advantage. If to Charles town—Then the Enemy will be so superior to General Greene, that they will be able to regain the whole of the State of south Carolina and of consequence—Georgia. We therefore think that in this last case such a force at least should be detached to south Carolina as will enable us to keep the field and confine the enemy in or near to Charles town.
In the third case which we stated, we mean that of supposing the enemy should have totally evacuated Virginia—It appears to us necessary to make a solid establishment at portsmouth, or any other place if more proper, in order to render a Fleet in Chesapeak Bay entirely secure, and to employ the remainder of our land force and such Vessels as may be proper for the service as has been explained in the preceding Article—That is either in the siege of Charles town, if the Garrison shall be found sufficiently weak to warrant the attempt—or to cover and secure the Country should it be found otherwise.
Returning back to the enterprise agt New York will depend upon a number of circumstances—the discussion of which we will leave untill we have the happiness of a conference with your Excellency—We have only to observe that the execution of all or any of the plans which we have proposed, go upon a supposition of a decided Naval superiority—except that of marching a reinforcement into south Carolina.
We would beg leave to take up so much of your Excellency's time, as to point out to you the vast importance of Charles town and what advantages the enemy derive from the possession of it—It is the Centre of their power in the south—By holding it, they preserve a dangerous influence throughout the whole State, as it is the only port and the only place from whence the people can procure those Articles of foreign produce which are essential to their support, and it in great measures serves to cover and keep in subjection the State of Georgia—From thence—the enemy can also establish small posts in North Carolina—And if they maintain a post in Chesapeak—they keep up the appearance of possessing 400 Miles upon the Coast and of consequence have a pretext for setting up claims which may be very detrimental to the interests of America in European Councils.
We are not sufficiently acquainted with the position of Charles town, neither is it necessary at this time, to enter into a detail of the proper mode of attacking it, or of the probability which we should have of succeeding—For these we will refer your Excellency to Brigadier Genl du portail Commander of the Corps of Engineers in the service of the United states, who will have the honor of presenting this—That Gentleman having been in Charles town as principal Engineer during the greater part of the seige, and in the Environs of it as a prisoner of War a considerable time afterwards, had opportunities of making very full observations, which he judiciously improved.
A variety of cases different from those we have stated may occur—It is for this reason that we have thought proper to send General du portail to your Excellency—He is fully acquainted with every circumstance of our Affairs in this quarter—and we recommend him to your Excellency as an Officer upon whose Abilities and in whose integrity you may place the fullest confidence.
We would observe to your Excellency that it will be very essential to the dispatch of the business in contemplation for you to send up to Elk River at the Head of Chesapeak Bay all your Frigates—Transports and Vessels proper for the conveyance of the French and American Troops down the Bay. We shall endeavour to have as many as can be found in Baltimore and other ports secured, but we have reason to believe they will be very few. We have the honor to be with the greatest Respect, Attachment and Esteem Yr Excellency's Most obt and Hble servants.
DLC: Papers of George Washington.


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The Martinez Brothers
Chris and Steve Martinez were both still teenagers when they first seized the attention of the house music scene. And while their age may still be a sticking point for the lazier observers out there (for the record, Chris is now 21, Steve 25), they've long since established themselves beyond their headline grabbing backstory. You see, the Martinez Brothers are now a fully-fledged force, enjoying one of the busiest touring schedules on the international circuit, while developing their striking brand of club-ready house music.
The Martinez Brothers' tale may read like the archetypal dance music biography, but you simply don't attain the levels they've achieved without starting early. Chris and Steve's father was hugely influential in this regard. The pair both played a variety of instruments growing up – keyboards, bass, drums, percussion – and performed in bands in and around the Bronx. Salsa, Latin, jazz, African music and hip-hop were all staples of their diet, although it took their father's guidance to turn them on to the genre within which they are now world renowned. Through his intimate knowledge of disco, accrued as a regular at legendary New York nightspots like Paradise Garage, Stevie Sr. began to introduce the boys to the roots of the genre and, of course, its offspring: house music.
In 2006 a single night in New York City helped sow the seeds for The Martinez Brothers ascent. The pair were invited by Dennis Ferrer to play at one of the city's longest serving and foremost venues, Shelter. Not only did they smash the party, they got to hear a DJing hero in Timmy Regisford, who played a rough version of their breakthrough track "My Rendition." You get the sense that TMB would have found their way to stardom in one way or another. But since that fateful night they've gone on to play some the planet's leading clubs – Watergate, Ministry of Sound, Cielo, Pacha, Sankeys, Spy Bar, Air, Trouw, Cavo Paradiso, Fabrik, Space Ibiza, and more recently, a triumphant debut at Circoloco at DC10 in Ibiza with followup dates with Circo Loco happening in various markets over the coming months. One of the keys to this type of wide-ranging appeal is that TMB are as comfortable playing eclectic, underground sets with the Wolf & Lamb/Soul Clap posse – as recently demonstrated during their 14-hour Kater Holzig session in Berlin – as with bigger room environments – their set with Loco Dice at his Desolat Zurich Street Carnival event being a prime example. Their purview was further broadened during summer 2011, as TMB spent their first full season in Ibiza, soaking up the vibes and playing across the island.
"My Rendition" saw release through Dennis Ferrer's Objektivity imprint in 2007, as the boys set about furthering their education in dance music production. Its follow-up arrived in 2009 – by which time Chris and Steve were seasoned international DJs – in the form of Debbie Downer / Where's Mr. Brown?, a collaboration with another precocious talent, Greek producer Argy. Astute vocal manipulation and incessant chords drove the A-side to a position among that year's biggest releases.
Subsequent TMB 12-inches have shown that the boys' time spent with their heads in the history books of NYC house has paid dividends. Don't No Yet and The Causeway/Issshhh!, released through Objektivity in 2010 and 2011 respectively, both showed an acute comprehension of the drum programming and rhythmic flourishes that pervaded the repertoires of the city's house music greats. "As producers we just plan to make more music for people to enjoy and to dance to" say the boys in summary. "We don't really have a sound, and we pride ourselves in that every one of our records sounds different from the next – and we definitely want to keep it that way and keep it interesting. Whether it's more tech style records, deeper records or housey records, there really are no rules with us, so you can expect anything!"


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Question: There are seven of us at my office who love Gilmore Girls, and we would like your honest opinion on a few questions. 1) Do you think that Luke and Lorelai will end up together? 2) Do you think that the show will be renewed for a seventh season? 3) We've been very disappointed with the new season so far and want to know how the ratings compare to this time last year. Thanks!
Answer: OK, let me take these one at a time. 1) Yes. 2) Yes. 3) The ratings are actually up over this time last year. And sit tight, girls. The Gilmore you know and love is about to make a major comeback. I can feel it. Speaking of which, how fantastic was last night's AS-P-penned outing? Pretty freakin' fantastic. And I'm fairly certain Kelly Bishop is doing the best work of her career this season. God, that woman is gifted.


text: Jonathan Cain is the songwriting force from the band Journey, responsible for some of the biggest hits in rock history, such as "Don't Stop Believing," "Faithfully," and "Open Arms" Throughout his life, Cain has experienced many highs and lows, from unexpected fame to unimaginable tragedies. Along the way, he's learned about the importance of faith and the power of the human spirit. Cain sat down with Growing Bolder's Bill Shafer to discuss his incredible life and his inspiring new memoir Don't Stop Believing: The Man, the Band and the Song that Inspired a Generation.


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Abacus Careers is a proud sponsor of the QUB Law Society. It was a true privilege to be associated with the annual end of year ball, being the biggest and best yet. A fantastic evening was had by all at the award-winning venue Titanic Belfast.
For those who attended the QUB Law Society Ball, please scroll down to preview and download the photographs snapped on the evening. We hope you all thoroughly enjoyed yourselves! #QUBLawBall #QUBLawSociety
To obtain a professional copy of any of the images, please complete the brief form below. Or alternatively contact Roisin Moss, Abacus Legal, Team Lead directly on 028 9031 3157 | [email protected]


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The Trade Deficit Continues To Explode, Factories Continue To Be Closed, And U.S. Jobs Continue To Be Sent Overseas
Michael Snyder
Economic Collapse
March 7, 2019
The long-term trends that are gutting the U.S. economy continue to get even worse.
As you will see below, our goods trade deficit with the rest of the world hit a brand new record high in 2018, and most Americans simply do not understand why this is such a massive problem. Every year, we buy far more from the rest of the world than they buy from us, and that means that the amount of money going out of the country far surpasses the amount that is coming in. This constant outflow of cash is one of the reasons why we are unable to pay our bills, and so we have to keep begging the rest of the world to lend us our money back. Needless to say, this is one of the big factors that has fueled our 22 trillion dollar national debt. In addition, when we run absolutely massive trade deficits we lose factories and workers to other countries. Since China joined the WTO in 2001, the United States has lost more than 60,000 factories. As factories keep closing down, community after community is being gutted all across America, and without a doubt this is truly a major national crisis.
Many had been hoping that we could start to turn things around, but instead last year was an absolute disaster.
According to the Commerce Department, our goods trade deficit with the rest of the world was 891.3 billion dollars in 2018. That was a 12.4 percent increase from the year before, and it represented a brand new all-time record high.
If we stay on this path, it is a recipe for national economic suicide. We will continue to be unable to pay our bills, we will continue to have to beg the rest of the world for increasing amounts of money, and our national debt will continue to explode.


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Millie is our chosen dog of the week. This five year old German shepherd mix is black and brown in color and weighs 52 pounds. Millis is a very friendly canine who is partial to chest rubs. She shows her athletic abilities by spinning in a circle and playing fetch. She is even smart enough to return the fetched object to you! Although Millie is very energetic, she does walk well on a leash. She would probably do well with a family that will engage her in athletic activities and provide her lots of love and attention. Meet Millie in Dog Adoptions (DA) 15, his ID number is 43525499.
View other adoptable dogs
Kid is our chosen cat of the week. This eight and half month old male domestic shorthair is a brown and black tabby. Kid is young cat who actively seeks attention. He displays his "social graces" by head butting, climbing up to your shoulder, purring and kneading. He is really eager to be loved on . On the other hand, he also likes to be engaged in activities like playing with a feather. Inquisitive in nature, Kid is keenly aware of any activity going on around him. Choosing this cat to be your next furry companion would make this Kid a happy cat. "Here's looking at you, Kid!" Meet Kid in Cat Adoptions (CC) 1, his ID number is 43553486.
View other adoptable cats


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STOCKHOLM (Sputnik) — According to the police, the incident occurred in the room that is rented out to various organizations. It is yet to be confirmed who had rented the room, and what meeting was held there.
"Three people were taken to a hospital," the police said.
The message about the shooting came at 05.52 (03.52 GMT). According to media reports, there were about 70 people in the event room.
Local newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported citing eyewitnesses that an uninvited guest came to the party and, after a quarrel, started shooting from a handgun.


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If you have pain in your body, you might be considering a chiropractor for treatment. But, the last thing you want to do is choose a chiropractor that just simply doesn't work for you. Instead, you'll want to choose someone with experience in your pain who has the high chiropractor ratings that show they know what to do with their knowledge and experience.
How to Choose the Best Chiropractor for You
How do you find the best chiropractor for your pain? There are a few steps you can take to begin your search.
- Ask your physician for a referral: Ask your family physician for a referral to a local chiropractor that he or she would recommend for your pain.
- Ask family or friends: Ask those around you for a referral. Perhaps they visit a local chiropractor they would recommend to you.
- Use your resources: Go online and do a quick search for chiropractors near you. Once you gather a list, give the office a call and ask any questions you may have. Some offices may allow you to speak to the chiropractor before you make an appointment.
Always Consider Online Reviews
Have you found a few chiropractors online you want to look into further? Remember to always consider their online chiropractor reviews. These reviews were written by patients who have taken advantage of a chiropractor's services and are, therefore, honest and reliable.
Where Do I Find Chiropractor Ratings?
You can find chiropractor ratings in a few different places. For example, you can use Google to search for a chiropractor and see the reviews right on the search results screen. Or, you can check their Facebook business page for reviews.
Other websites such as Yelp and Angie's List also publish and curate reviews for local businesses in your area. You can also check the chiropractor's website for patient testimonials and reviews.
Choose the Highest Chiropractor Ratings in Charlotte, NC
When choosing someone to help you with your pain, chiropractor ratings matter. At Proactive Chiropractic in Charlotte, NC, we're proud to have a 4.9-star rating on Google, with over 130 reviews. To learn more about choosing a chiropractor or about our services, send us a message.


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The Baseballs have made a dream come true for their 10 year band anniversary and flew to Memphis / Tennessee for their Best Of album at the legendary Sun studios. To where Elvis Presley recorded his hits. On their Sun Sessions Live Tour, they are now commemorating their idol and celebrating with the fans.
A dream comes true
Sven Budja, Sebastian Rätsel and Rüdiger Brans – to most probably better known as Sam, Basti and Digger – have been thrilling with their band through their Rock'n'Roll cover versions of popular rock and pop songs for 10 years. They do not only cover, but also give their own stamp to the hits of Rihanna, Katy Perry, Britney Spears and now even Justin Bieber.
In the meantime, they have also released their own songs on their 2016 released album "Hit me Baby …". In addition to a lot of Rock'n'Roll there is a lot to laugh about. In 2010, for the first time seen on Summer Days live, I had in the meantime been at several great shows.
For their anniversary, The Baseballs flew to Memphis last year to Sun Studios, where they re-recorded their most successful and popular songs in Elvis Presley's original set-up. That means: guitar, drums and double bass, but without piano. The Baseballs have released the partly completely re-arranged songs on the Best Of album "The Sun Sessions" last October and are on tour in Europe.
Unusually quiet start
If you arrive at the concert location shortly before the door opens and hardly anyone is already waiting for entrance, you will notice that everyone has grown older. But yes, that's already 8 years since I saw The Baseballs live for the first time. Nowadays, the least are still sitting for hours in front of the door during the week to get the best spot in the front. But the petticoats and rockabilly hairstyles still fit and the first row is still very much in demand.
A support? No, The Baseballs definitely do not need it. They send the crowd into raptures during two hours themselves. Well, usually anyway. It seems a little different on the Sun Sessions Live Tour.
The band entered the stage of the sold-out Bierhübeli with a delay of about 15 minutes. Without saying anything, they let themselves be celebrated before they started with Ed Sheeran's "Thinking Out Loud". As the original Elvis set-up suggests, the drummer, guitarist and double bassist were on stage with the three of them. To my surprise, Klass on the double bass was the only one of the so far known The Baseballs live band. It was also an unusually quiet start.
Already been often at full Bierhübeli, a short survey of the three Voc'n'Roller, however showed, that many of the audience were at a The Baseballs concert for the first time. So Digger came up with the idea that they could basically bring out all the old gags again. Maybe you would even get through with only 10 songs? But there were definitely more than 10 songs 😉
To the longtime fans Sam assured after the first few songs – "Baby One More Time", "Hello" and "Candy Shop" – that the concert actually started unusually quiet, but they will definitely turn up yet. You could hear and feel that actually: Due to the reduced setup and the new arrangements, the songs are a lot quieter. The band was also generally more restrained. At least musically: The jokes and the endless stories were also there. 😉 However, in the audience you could feel the Tuesday mood. And even longtime "hardcore" fans did not seem 100% convinced by this start and wrinkled their nose.
The sacred cow was slaughtered
Actually, The Baseballs never wanted to cover original songs from the 50s. This sacred cow got slaughtered now, Basti grinned, before turning to some Elvis songs with a Sun Classic session. They often complemented their songs with stories and jokes.
Individually and line by line, each in his own way, they started with "Blues Suede Shoes". It was followed by "Baby Let's Play House," through which Sam became an Elvis fan. Today it is difficult to polarize in this industry, Sam noted. That's why he thinks it's best when live bands play and even stroke a chord himself. The concert visitors agreed with applause and cheers.
Basti took over the lead vocals for "My Happiness", supported by his bandmates' backings. It was the first Elvis song recorded at Sun Studios. Since I had just goose bumps. They just know how to sing. They then completed this part of their concert with the Blues Brothers song "Shake it a tailfeather". therefor they still brought the red piano on the stage, which they had built for their Umbrella video back then.
With that and the start of their games, the whole evening became even wilder, more jolly and electrifying.
Karaoke 2.0 – and other join-in games
The Baseballs and their games. There is always a lot to laugh about. The Baseballs let their audience sing when the blue fire light on the piano lit up. To "Bad", spectator Andreas was allowed on stage. He had to sing in Jackson manner as high as possible and was celebrated by the audience.
At "Blurred Lines" Basti played Karaoke 2.0 with us: where he interrupted the verses, the audience had to finish them. Unfortunate, if you knew neither lyrics nor understood them 😉 For the same song they also took three background singers on stage.
Last but not least, the handsome, optically totally fitting Florin got the chance to perform his own solo on "Chasing Cars" on the red mini-piano. He fit so well with the band that some concert visitors even had their doubts after the concert, if he belonged to the crew and the whole thing was posed …? 😉
It definitely was rolling from there to the encore. Only then it became a little quieter and more cuddly again, especially with their version of Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn". Gaga's "Born This Way" ended the Bierhübeli concert evening.
Have you been to any of the Sun Sessions Live shows?
Here's the whole setlsit:
- Thinking Out Loud
- Baby One More Time
- Hello
- Candy Shop
- Love On The Brain
- Ony My Way
- I believe I can fly
- Hey there Delilah
- Hot'n'Cold
- Bandinstrumental
- Blues Suede Shoes
- Baby Let's Play House
- My Happiness
- Shake It A Tailfeather
- Bad
- Bleeding Love
- Love Yourself
- Chasing Cars
- Don't feel like dancing
- Blurred Lines
- Umbrella
- Outro
- Crazy in love
- Torn
- Born this way
Infos about the band you can find here:
Organzier : www.bierhuebeli.ch
Next the Baseballs shows in Switzerland:
18.08.2018 Rock OZ'Arènes, Avanches
19.08.2018 Gampel Openair


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Vertical Forests Arrive in Toronto
December 17, 2018
In Toronto, Canada, Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects has proposed the idea to build a "Vertical Forest"–a 27-story condo in the downtown core of Toronto. The structure would slope towards its peak, showing off over 500 trees planted on giant terraces. They say the vegetation would not only serve decorative purposes, but also fundamental purposes.
The location of Canada's first "Vertical Forest" is on Designers Walk, an upscale neighborhood with a commercialized area. Supporters say the building would have the potential to change the way millions of citizens live and their mental health.
Brian Brisbin, principal of the Brisbin Brook Beynon Architects, says, "People who live in these buildings feel a connection to nature. Being surrounded by trees in an oxygen-producing environment has a dramatic effect on overall wellness and happiness."
According to U.N., over half of the world's population, or 55%, lives in urban areas, but the number is expected to increase to 68% by 2050. Because of the population, construction progress has been rapid, causing 'green areas' to become 'silver areas' such as buildings of work places or homes. The loss of trees and plants can have a major negative impacts on the living conditions, climate, and quality of air.
Italian architect, Stefano Boeri, first created the "Vertical Forest" in 2009-2014. The innovative idea led to the buildings having geothermal heating systems, and many other energy-efficient qualities. The 360 and 250 feet structures held 4,500 shrubs, 800 trees, and 15,000 other plants; They were all homes to hundreds of birds and countless insects such as bees.
Brian Brisbin's team includes architects, foresters, landscapers and a developer. They all eagerly anticipate the city will give the project final approval next summer. Brisbin says, "…Everything is ready to go."


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A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application that is used to plan, deliver, publish and place self-paced online courses in online catalogs. Employees login to the LMS by using a browser. They can select courses from the online catalog and begin their online study. Alternatively, a manager can ... View full Article
June 2, 2017Lumesse Africa
If you are new to the realm of eLearning or are making the switch to online training, then you've probably heard quite a bit about Learning Management Systems recently. This is primarily due to the fact that it is one of the quintessential tools of eLearning, upon which all online ... View full Article
May 31, 2017Lumesse Africa


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Unlike other woodpecker species they rarely drum on trees, instead preferring to use loud vocalisations to attract mates and defend their territories; start listening out for their distinctive 'yaffle' calls you can hear at this time of the year. Inspired by their laughing call, an old country name for the Green Woodpecker is actually the 'Yaffle'.
Feeding habits
Green Woodpeckers feed on the ground out in the open, favouring areas of unimproved grassland, sheep-grazed pasture, orchards and gardens, hopping around in search of their favourite food; ants. They are well camouflaged in the grass, only becoming noticeable when they call or fly away if you get too close. Out of the three woodpeckers found here in Essex, the Green Woodpecker is the most specialised when it comes to diet. They have specially adapted tongues which are coated in a sticky secretion produced by their salivary glands. They use this to extract ants and their larvae from the ground. Dissimilar to the other two woodpecker species, the Green Woodpecker is a rare bird feeder visitor, but you may see them in your garden feeding on ants or windfallen apples.


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Description and benefits
all fabrics
Product benefits:
- Securing and finishing of all rounded and diagonal edges
- Very versatile: Clothing, e.g. tops, T-Shirts, blouses, waistcoats, dresses, home decor, e.g. table cloths, swags
- Chain stitch prevents stretching of the edge
- Flat, flexible support edging
- The 12 mm Bias Tape is stitched at 4/8 mm. When fusing, position the 8 mm side of the tape to fabric edge. Sew behind the row of top stitching. The top stitched tape prevents stretching of edges.
- Press on firmly, dry heat.
Important notice
We recommend to test the products before starting processing.
- machine wash 40°
- dry cleanable
- White
- Charcoal
Sales unit
Sold by the meter:
1.2 cm
SB-Package :
1.2 cm x 5 m
1.2 cm x 5 m
Iron settings
8 seconds


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I was wondering if Dave or Paty could shed some light on why it was Thunderbird chosen over Wolverine?It is interesting to note that, metatextually, Marvel editors decreed Proudstar should die because he and Wolverine were too similar, personality wise; if things were just a little different, Wolverine may have been chosen to die in his place.
Also does anyone else consider it was a bad move considering the slavish fan boys and idiotic stuff often published by Marvel concering Wolverine aka 'cash cow' Logan?
Any specualtion what things might be like if Thunderbird had survived instead of the looney?


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An explosion outside Overseas Pakistani Foundation (OPF) college in sector H-8 on Tuesday caused panic and terror among residents of Federal Capital, however, no loss of life was reported.
The blast took place inside garbage skip placed at greenbelt outside the college. The blast also recalled memories of twin suicide bombing in International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI), which left 11 students dead and dozen other injured.
The intensity of blast was so low but its voice was heard in area of several kilometers. High-level Police officials and rescue teams arrived at the site. The law enforcement agencies cordoned of the whole area.
The blast occurred at start of new educational year in educational institutes of Federal Capital. At the time of blast, a function was underway in OPF College. It may be recalled here there are many prominent educational institutes including Beacon house and City School.


text: Dramatic Irony QuizDefinition & ExamplesWhen & How to Write Dramatic Irony Quiz 1. An example of dramatic irony would be:a.Someone parked directly in front of a "no parking" signb.When characters in a horror movie say "There's nothing down there!"c.Rain on a wedding dayd.All of the above2. Dramatic irony is used for…a.Suspenseb.Comedyc.A bonus for fansd.Any of the above3. Dramatic irony can be based on either ____ information or _____ informationa.Inside...outsideb.Accurate...inaccuratec.Audience...characterd.Logical...emotional4. Dramatic irony can be used in…a.Novelsb.Playsc.Essaysd.Any of the above


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10 - 14 May
Dignior Ultra
Our production department applies ever more advanced technologies and the progress makes us as leader in the design of special tools and maintaining a standard of high quality.
All our tools are controlled both in the machining process and as a finished product. This control of each single process makes our products highly reliable and of higher quality. The finished product is coded and laser-etched, photographed and digitally stored with all its history.
The Company pays special attention to the order and care of the tool. A satisfied customer is always a source of pride. For our company it is very important to be sharp in production but also in deliveries. Our customers put their trust on our products because they are sure that we maintain deliveries, they buy an excellent product and above all a very good value for money.
Carbide and Diamond Tools
Stored items


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The brand new stunning French Chateau, designed and developed by SY Development with over 40 years local experience, is offering up every lavish amenity one could imagine. This beautiful estate provides 8,181 sqft of living space on the lot of 18,750 sqft. upon entering this exquisite mansion through a cobblestone motor court, you are greeted with the majestic grand hall with splendid alabaster chandelier, soaring ceiling, art nouveau staircase, captivated by the lush Italian marble flooring and meticulou
Laundry Chute, Washer Hookup, Gas & Electric Dryer HU
Gated, Garage - Two Door, Garage Door Opener
Above Ground, Below Ground, Exercise, Private, Heated, Permits, Filtered, Waterfall
Zoned Areas, Fireplace, Forced Air Unit, Energy Star, High Efficiency
Central Forced Air, Zoned Area(s), Electric, Energy Star, High Efficiency, SEER Rated 13-15
FP in Family Room, FP in Master BR, Fire Pit, Gas, Great Room, Bath, See Through
This information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. You should rely on this information only to decide whether or not to further investigate a particular property. BEFORE MAKING ANY OTHER DECISION, YOU SHOULD PERSONALLY INVESTIGATE THE FACTS (e.g. square footage and lot size) with the assistance of an appropriate professional. You may use this information only to identify properties you may be interested in investigating further. All uses except for personal, non-commercial use in accordance with the foregoing purpose are prohibited. Redistribution or copying of this information, any photographs or video tours is strictly prohibited. This information is derived from the Internet Data Exchange (IDX) service provided by San Diego MLS®. Displayed property listings may be held by a brokerage firm other than the broker and/or agent responsible for this display. The information and any photographs and video tours and the compilation from which they are derived is protected by copyright. Compilation © 2020 San Diego MLS®, Inc.
Listing information last updated on July 12th, 2020 at 9:45pm PDT.


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It's been out a Month, I think we've already been able to digest and dig into it.
My thoughts, It's way too short, almost too short to have left an impression on me, it's also pretty easy. The Double Gear system is almost game breaking (in fact post game IT IS gaming breaking) I have no complaints about the Graphics, or Level design or the boss fights, or the music. The Music is like an update of what the 8-bit music would sound like in the next gen.
I'd put Mega Man 11 up there with Mega Man 5, Mega Man 5 had decent challenge but once you learned it it it was a breeze fortress levels included.
The Challenges are ehhhhh, I wish the endless mode which does return from 9 and 10 wasn't just one rooms in t a blocky viod.
My hope is for Mega Man 12 they change things up a bit, there's no reason anymore that we HAVE to have 8 Robot Masters, Up that number to 10-12, Bring back the intro stages that began in X and bled over to 7,8 and err And Bass. I'm also curious about where we are with X and Zero both get mention in Power battles/Fighters we at least know R&D for both is underway. Mega Man 12 really has to change things up. 11 plays it maybe TOO safe.
I don't hate Mega Man 11 but the impression it left on me is more blink of an eye than full on epic return to form for Mega Man.
It is worlds better than Mighty No 9 at least.


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Lacey Moore - Second time gold medalist
May 7, 2019, 4:05 pm
Donna Beutler
Spy Hill-area resident Lacey Moore has taken her love of archery to the national level where she has won gold two years in a row in womens compound archery.
Moore, 33, is a contract and risk lawyer who spends her off-time practising with her compound bow and competing in various archery competitions around Saskatchewan.
Moore grew up in the Spy Hill area where she really enjoyed hunting. She spent several years in the Ottawa area before moving back home about four years ago.
As a hunter, Moore really wanted to extend the season, and by taking up bow hunting, she could do exactly that. Moore generally hunts deer and turkey with her bow.
It keeps me active, Moore said of her chosen sport. Its one that sees her on the road to various competitions for much of the year from January through September.
I started about 10 years ago and did it as hunting and then progressed from hunting to wanting to do something all year around. Competitively Ive been shooting the past three years.
First I started to do it just hunting because the hunting season was longer and it allowed me to sit in a tree stand and I did a lot of schoolwork, reading my text books. It was a way to just to be awayits quiet and peaceful.
And then competitively, the indoor allowed me to do it through the winter. Ive always been really busy with travel with work. Its a solo sport so you dont have to rely on a team, so it was something to get me through the winter. Its a very relaxing sport. Its a nice way to relax.
From January to April, I compete at indoor competitions and from May to the end of September, I compete at outdoor ones, Moore said of the one- and two-day weekend competitions she attends.
Moore competes in the Compound Fixed Pin category. Other compound bow categories include an open division and a hunter division.
Indoor competitions have a very controlled environment, Moore said, and the lighting in buildings like arenas can throw you off. As for the outdoor competitions, the wind can be a challenge.
Last year at provincials in Regina, there were 75-kilometre-an-hour winds, Moore said.
Outdoor competitions are more fun and they often include hills and other challenges.
Moore said indoor competitions have targets set up on pallets in order to make it as challenging as possible.
Moore explained the Compound Fixed Pin category, describing the modern archery bow as a bow that uses a levering system, usually of cables and pulleys, to bend the limbs.
Moore says the fixed pin sights are fixed in place and cannot be moved during competition. This particular class also allows a levelling device placed on the sight and a stabilizer to help counterbalance the bow weight.
Moore was in Brandon, Manitoba April 27-28 where she competed in the 15th Annual Indoor 3D Archery Canadian Championships hosted by the Carberry Archery Club.
According to Moore, there were 200 archers taking aim at a chance of taking home a medal. At the end of the championships, Moore said, Only 30 new national titlists were crowned.
Only four of the 30 archers at the Brandon competition successfully defended their national titles from 2018, Moore being one of them.
Moore says she didnt really think about the fact that she had won the national title two years in a row.
I didnt really think about it that way. Its humbling, but it was more that this time when I won it, it was more of a challenge, she says. Last year it was easier to win, this year I only earned gold by two points, it was a very close race. The challenge was awesome, and the equipment I used to shootI could have shot in a different class, but I chose to stay in the same one as I did last year. I chose to stay in it just to challenge myself, to shoot against some better archers with a little bit more technical equipment than I shoot with. Its more of a challenge and it makes it more exciting.
You shoot three rounds with the same group of people and they were a great group of women to shoot with. It could have gone either way.
Moore says archers who shoot at the national level generally know what they are doing already, but that some coaching can be helpful leading up to a national event. Moore takes advantage of some coaching to help her get ready.
Some people get coaches. I will train with a coach a few times coming up to the competition just to make sure my form is right, she says. Usually people at that level know the forms, know how they have to stand, so they are past the point where they get a lot of direction. But its still really nice to have the support of a coach.
Me, I just try to squeeze it in when I can. If Im home I will go to Moose Jaw, and my person that I use is called Tyler Moore. Hes really great at helping me with making sure my bow is in tune and making sure Im doing the right postures and breathing.
My dad is also my biggest supporter and coach. He comes with me to every competitionGrant Moore is his name. Hes really good. Hell stand there and pick apart how Im standing or breathing, or he calms me down when I need to be calmed down. He comes to every competition that I go in.
Moore says the sport of 3D archery has been a rapidly growing sport across Canada.
3D archery means shooting at life-like three dimensional animal-shaped targets, Moore explained.
The targets are placed in dynamic settings and at varying distances. It is a fun and challenging sport in which competitors must gauge the distance to the target and adjust their aim to hit the centre of the scoring rings on the target with the goal to achieve the highest possible score for the course.
And with the challenge of hitting those targets at random locations of between 10 and 50 yards, Moore will keep practising her skill and will keep on competing at provincial and national levels.
Moore is also a volunteer and a coach at the Langenburg Archery Clubsomething that she and four other people got started about a year and a half ago.
She says there is a ton of interest from kids in the sportand they arent always the same kind of kids who are into team sports like hockey that require a lot of travel time.
The first time we ran a course to teach kids, we had 30-some kids and we had to turn away other ones. It was kids who a lot of them werent in other things, she says. Its calming, its relaxing, it shows them focus, and can be dangerous, so it requires a lot of obedience as well.


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This Hokkaido travelogue is taking forever, I know. Just bear with me, yeah? And if you haven't read up about my day 4 (1st full day in Sapporo), do check it out first HERE.
Day 5 started pretty late in the morning as we didn't have that much attractions planned for the day (for they are located pretty far away from each other).
The Historical Village of Hokkaido!
The Historic Village of Hokkaido (開拓の村, Kaitaku no Mura) is an open air museum in the suburbs of Sapporo. It exhibits about 60 typical buildings from all over Hokkaido, dating from the Meiji and Taisho Periods (1868 to 1926), the era when Hokkaido's development was carried out on a large scale. There are four different sections: a town, fishing village, farm village and a mountain village.
Take the subway to Shin Sapporo Station and locate the bus stop at the roundabout right in front of the station. Do double check the stop's name, as there are more than 1 bus service available at this stop (if i'm not wrong).
Anyway, here's the bus schedule for your information. I doubt they'll change up the schedule frequently, so you can safely take this as a good gauge.
(click in for full view)
Entrance fee into the village is 1200 Yen per pax, and I would say it's either money well spent or washed down the drain depending on what you're looking for. If you're someone who's really interested in not only the history and culture of Japan, but also their architectures, this is your jam. Otherwise, there may be absolutely nothing here that can spike your interest.
This will be basically how the entire "themed park" will be like. Set in the olden days of Japan, very big, spacious and... deserted. Throughout the whole of the 3 hours (plus, minus?) we were there, we only bumped into TWO families along the way, and yeah... I think we're probably the only 3 groups of visitors during that time in this pretty vast park.
I quite liked this place, even though there's actually nothing exceptionally exciting or fun, but there's just this sense of tranquility and peacefulness that we can't seem to find back at home (anymore).
The park also seems to be properly segregated into aisles/areas, whereby you get a whole street of residential buildings, then the next street of "marketplaces", then schools and so on.
Most of those shops and eateries over at the marketplace are actually fake, with the exception of just ONE shop located right at the end (if my memory didn't fail me) that's manned by an elderly couple, selling old school Japanese sweet treats.
I've read of horse-pulled carriages for rides available here at the park, but the sight that greeted me was kind of appalling (HERE). Not sure if this is really available for a ride and at what kind of fees because I really didn't want to get on that carriage.... tram?
Poor horse. :(
And now, just a little more of what to expect over at this park...
And of course, some mandatory #ootd poser shots. >.<
And off we went for our next destination!
Do note that there's no restaurants located in the vicinity of the historial village, so do plan your time properly if you do not wish to end up starving at the end of the day.
And here's the bus schedule over at the historial village towards Shin Sapporo Station, for your information.
The Historial Village of Hokkaido is opened daily from 9am to 5pm.
For more information, visit www.sapporo.travel
And next up on our itinerary is something that's of a since-it's-on-the-way-then-let's-go-and-see nature, the Fushimi Inari Shrine.
To get to this shrine, get over to Soen Station (on the Hakodate Line) and take bus 11 at Soeneki Bus Stop to Keimei Terminal Bus Stop (15 stops away, if you're counting). The shrine will be about 15 minutes walk UP THE HILL.
The main attraction of the shrine has to be these bright red torii gates lined up from the entrance along the main road all the way up to the shrine itself.
Nestled among a quiet residential area, this Fushimi Inari Shrine is not to be confused with Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto, which is much bigger and way more majestic, and definitely way more crowded. But to be fair, we reached right at closing time of 5pm, hence there was absolutely nobody around, except for a local who came in briefly to offer a quick prayer while passing by.
In my own humble opinion, as long as you do not compare this to the one in Kyoto, the line-up of bright red torii gates will still be able to wow you. :)
And of course, it's always a good thing for us to be be able to offer some prayers while overseas on a trip, yes?
Fushimi Inari Shrine (Sapporo) is opened daily from 6am - 5pm.
Our next destination for the day was the last attraction to cover for the day before dinner, and by right, it should be the most highly anticipated one for the day.
But, damn the weather. T.T
First up, let me give you the expectation.
-credit to www.sapporo.travel-
The Mt Moiwa Ropeway first climbs from the base of the mountain to 3/4 up the mountain to a transfer station, whereby we were transferred to a mini cablecar that travels the rest of the way up to the upper station at the summit. A return ticket for both rides will set you back by 1700 Yen per pax.
Anyway, for us it was 1700 Yen washed down the drain because of super super bad weather while we were there. Right at the base of the mountain (ticket booth) we were told that we won't be able to see anything at the summit with the rainy weather and the surveillance camera up there just showed a full screen of white mist, no joke.
But we were thinking, since we've already walked all the way here, might as well just head up for a look. And so we did!
And before you scroll further, go back up and take another look at the expectation picture.
... ...
And then you see this.
If I'm not wrong, it's somewhat like a romantic gesture for couples to get under that pyramid-thingy and ring the bell together. But seriously, with such rainy & foggy weather with nearly 0 degree Celsius temperature strong wind blowing unforgivingly at you in every angle possible up on the mountain, you probably won't even want to step out (into the open) and go ring that bell even if someone were to tell you you will marry Song Joongki or Kim Tae Hee just by ringing it.
And apparently Sapporo is now newly listed as Japan's top 3 night view, along with Kobe (been there, but in the day!) and Nagasaki. So effectively, I've visited 2 of the 3 places on the list, but seen none of the stunning night view. T.T
There's also a restaurant with nice views out over the city, and a small food kiosk selling items like sandwiches and ice cream.
'Bread Sand Ham'.
Despite the horribly cold weather, we grabbed a strawberry ice cream. :)
There's also a planetarium and a theater, showing a show about planets and such. Everything will be in Japanese with no subtitles, and you need to pay an additional fee to watch it. So my advice to you will be, skip it.
Mount Moiwa (Ropeway) is opened from 1030 am to 10pm (or 11pm on Dec - Mar) daily.
So after bidding the cold and foggy Mt. Moiwa goodbye, we retraced our steps down the road and headed back for Susukino Area (our hotel area).
After coming downhill, turn towards your right and walk further down to the road junction and you should be able to see two tram (they call it streetcar) stations on either side of the junction. Both stations has different service routes, so make sure to check out the map carefully before jumping onto one. Lucky enough for us, the route here brings us directly back to Susukino area.
And guess what's for dinner? By right, on the itinerary, we are supposed to be searching for Garaku's Soup Curry (and expect a long queue too) but due to poor food-planning (I didn't know there's gonna be no food for us at the historial village), the bf and I were simply starving and I suggested trying out Tokyo Sundubu, which was conveniently located at the underpass-walkway near Sapporo Station.
Yes, it's the Tokyo Sundubu that you can find here in Singapore, at Suntec City and Raffles City too.
But the SG ones doesn't do cute hand-drawn doodles on your bibs.
Day 6 in Otaru is already up right HERE, do check it out!
Till then,
Mia Foo


text: The coastal city of Qingdao, Shandong province, has been hit by the largest algal bloom this year, on Thursday. The city has removed 7, 335 tons of algae, off its beaches, since the seaweed started proliferating on June 5. Several other coastal cities in Shandong province have also been affected by the spread of algae, including Lianyungang, Rizhao, Yantai and Weihai. The local governments of the aforementioned cities have taken measures to minimize the impacts that algal blooms have on the coastal and marine ecosystems. [Photo/China.org.cn]


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There are so many toy options on the market, and when I became a mom to my girls, I was overwhelmed with all the options. It was so helpful to get recommendations from other moms on what toys are must haves.
Today I have connected to a group of some of my favorite mom blogger friends and have put together a list of some of our favorite baby and children's toys. I know first hand that many of these toys have kept my girls occupied for hours, so it is so great to share with you some of our favorites!
- Jen at Paisley & Sparrow
- Erin at Francois et Moi
- Taylor at Greens-N-Chocolate
- Morgan at Construction to Style
- Jena from A Spoon Full of Faith
1.Baby Stella
The Baby Stella by Manhattan Toy has been one of my girls favorite toys because she is so soft and cuddly and they love the magnetic pacifier that comes with the doll. The doll has inspiried creative role play in both of my girls. They are obsessed with all the soft accessories that go with the doll including different outfits, a bath set, and feeding set. Vivienne loves to bring the doll with us to many places we go and loves to take care of her.
2. Chelsea All in One Play Kitchen by Pottery Barn
We purchased this play kitchen for the girls a year ago and it quickly became one of their favorite toys. My four year old, loves to create pretend food and feeds it to her animals. The kitchen is so well made and very strudy. It comes with a all in one stove, oven and refridgerator.– knobs turn, doors open and the sink is watertight for real cleanup.
3. Jumbo Plush Giraffe
Ava received this jumbo plush Giraffee by Melissa and Doug as a gift for a first birthday. It has become a staple in her room. Not only is the giraffe a great décor item, it has made her room a fun animal kingdom. I love how lifelike the spotted coat and long eyelashes make the giraffe so lovable.
4.Unicorn Chalk
My girls and I love to use chalk in the summer. We spend hours on our driveaway making large scale drawings and creating hopscotches. I just discovered this fun unicorn chalk and was blown away at how vibrant the colors are on the sidewalk. Plus the shape is very easy for my two year old to grip and color with.
5. Magnetic Dress up Dolls.
This magnetic play set by Petit Collage has quickly become my daughters favorite travel toy. The set comes with two cardboard dolls that stand on a wooden piece and there are over 40 different dress up magnetic pieces. Our last trip to Florida Ava was playing with this set for over an hour. I love how easy to pack up it is and that it is made with non toxic paint.
6.Banwood Push Bike
I have to admit I first purchased this toy for Viv because it is so cute, but it quickly has become one of her favorites.A safe and durable toddler push bike, designed with a child friendly frame, height adjustable soft saddle and handlebar for maximum comfort and vintage bike look, for the mini me cyclist. Balance bikes are the ideal first bicycle and the best way for children to make a speedy transition to a pedal bicycle, bypassing training wheels! I also love the basket in the front because it is easy for Viv to carry toys down to the park.
7. Feminist Board Book Set
I just ran across this Feminist Board Book set by Mudpuppy and I had to get it. I want my girls to always know that they have the power to do anything they want to do and this set depicts some of the most important women in our history. The pages are beautifully illustrated and are so colorful. Some of the women depicted in the mini books are Harriet Tubman, Hillary Clinton, Indria Gandhi, Sally Ride, and more.
7. Lovevery Play Gym
There are a lot of play gyms on the market. I did a lot of research to find the best one and discovered the Lovevery Play Gym. This gym includes everything you need – from batting to teething to learning to focus – for your baby's first year of play. The play gym features five development zones that reveal or conceal, to prevent over-stimulation, and promote everything from making sounds, learning to focus, hiding and finding. Both of my girls were occupied for hours in this gym because there was so much to do. This is a must have toy for the girst year of life.
8. Skwish Color Burst
This is a must have toy for any baby. Both of my girls were obsessed with the classic Skwish by Manhattan Toy. The toy is so easy for babies to grab onto and they are instantly attracted to the bright colors. Beads on the toy slide and rattle. It also is a great teather toy and is extremely durable. Every child needs a Skwish!
9. Baby Stella My Big Girl Potty Book
This book was a life saver for me. I had such a hard time potty training Ava. Since she was already obsessed with her Baby Stella Doll (see my first toy pick) , I was so happy to see they created this book. It was such a great potty training tool and helped Ava use the "big potty" since Baby Stella in the book does.
10. Birdie Tutu
This iloveplum tutu is the hands down the best tutu for pretend play. Since starting dance last year, Ava often wants to dress up like a ballerina and pretends she is a swan princess. with s. We have gone through numerous dress up clothes and was so happy to discover the Iloveplum tutus. Their pieces are so easy and comfy and easy to wash. They also come in so many different colors and fabrics and have a snap bottom which makes it easy to change in and out of.
11. Wooden Toy Vegetable Play Set
Ava received this gift for a birthday gift when she turned 3 and she has spent countless hours slicing the vegetables and fruit. She plays with this in her play kitchen (see above) and often pretends to cook for her dolls. I love how the pieces are easy to slice apart and the Velcro actually makes a slicing sound. Also they are made of not toxic ink and are very durable. These are a must have toy for any play kitchen!
12.Pretend Ice Cream Play Set
This magnetic stackable ice cream playset by Melissa and Doug has been a family favorite. My girls have found hours of enjoyment with. They love making pretend ice cream cones and the magnetic pieces are so easy to stack. I also love how adorable the set is and the bright colors make each ice cream creation so fun. This is a great gift set for any child who is into cooking and pretend play.
13. Pretend and Play Cash Register
This Pretend and Play Cash Register by Learning Resources has recently been such a great learning toy for Ava who is 4 years old. Lately she has been learning more about counting and money. The toy comes with easy to grab , large sized play money and a built in solar powered calculator that has introduced Ava to the idea of using one. The buttons are oversized so it makes it easy for her to use. This is a great learning toy for any child who is starting to learn numbers and currency.
14. Snacks and Sweets Food Cart
This has been another favorite toy of the girls and is a great compliment to the kitchen set. The set is very easy to put together and comes with over 40 play food pieces. You can actually flip the awning so it can be a Hot Dog Shop or Ice Cream Stand. I also love how durable this cart is and how it actually has pull out drawers. It is a fun set for the kids to play with when they have friends over.
15. Eco Doh Play Set
Another mom friend introduced me to Eco-Doh, natural playing doh and I have been hooked ever since. My two year old still likes to put toys and her hands in her mouth so I love that this doh is nontoxic and 100% safe for little fingers. The jars are easy to open and the doh stays super moist. Its also made from vegetables and wholesome ingredients.
16. Water Wow Coloring Books
These Water Wow coloring books by Melissa and Doug have been a life saver on our 3.5 hour flights to Florida. You just add water to the marker and the pages change color with just water. They are mess free and are easy to fly with. Each set comes with a place to hold the marker. The best part is they can be used and used again (just simply let the pages dry).
17. Eco- Finger Paint
This Eco Paint finger paint set has also been another favorite from Eco Kids. Since my little one often loves to put her fingers in her mouth, I am always nervous using finger paint products that may contain toxins. Finger paint has been a fun way for my girls to explore colors and to express themselves The set includes 5 re-sealable pouches contatining a natural powder mix to make vibrant colors.
18. Unicorn Sprinkler
After finally moving into a house and having a backyard, we were so excited to get the girls a sprinkler this summer. I ran across this adorable unicorn one at Target and I could not resist. The kids love the bright colors and water spout that comes out of the horn. This has been great for the days that have been so hot and we don't have time to venture to the pool. It also has been great for entertaining. Last week Ava had a few friends over and they spent hours jumping through the water.
19. Mega Blocks Schoolhouse Play Set
Mega Blocks were a great first building set for both girls. These blocks are a bit larger then the duplo sets and they are easier for small hands to put together. Both Ava and Viv started playing with these when they were 1.5 and still often use the sets to create towers and houses. They are also lightweight and there are a variety of sets on the market so you can continue to add on to your set.
20. Blabla Unicorn Knit Doll.
The Blabla knit dolls are another toy staple in our household. I first discovered these adorable dolls at one of my favorite local stores, Oh Baby. They come in a variety of sizes and different animals. Each doll is handmade in Peru and they are super soft. Each doll is 100% cotton and is made from fair trade material. Both of my girls have started a Blabla doll collection and it has been friend to gift them a new one each year.
21. Hippo Rocker
One of my friend's Morgan from Construction to Style loves this sweet rocker found at Crate and Barrel She says "has a ton of different animals made into rockers, and I love them all! This hippo is one of my favorites; it is so plush and soft and big enough for both boys to hop on and ride along on. I also love the details in the wood accents. Yet again, another adorable and stylish toy that you can leave it and not hide in a closet."
22. Animal Teether Rattles
Love these rattles that my friend Morgan from Construction to Style found. She says" I mean how adorable are these critter teeth rattles from Pottery Barn that come in both a pig or hippo and only for $19. Our little dudes always want something in their hands and to play with since they were just three months old, and these stylish things were one of their favorites. And easy to clean!"
23. Summer Play Tent
I love this toy that my blogger friend Erin picked as one of her favorites. She has such a good eye and this play tent is super adorable. Erin says, "Let the backyard memories begin! Here's another fabulous fort option for little campers. Great design, and once assembled, set-up and take down is a breeze. You really can't go wrong with Hearth & Hand's designs!"
24. Water Table
I love this water table that my friend Jen has for her kids. She says "it is my favorite outdoor toy because the options are endless! When they get bored with just regular water, fill it with dishsoap and let the kids "clean" other toys (or anything else they want), give them cups and let them water plants with the water from the table, etc!"
25. Toy Dinosaurs
Ava has been obsessed with dinosaurs since learning about them in school My blogger friend, Taylor with Greens & Chocolate son is obsessed with this play set. She says " Lars received toy dinosaurs last year for his birthday and another box of toy dinosaurs for his birthday this year and I'm amazed at how well they keep him occupied! His imagination goes wild, creating stories about the dinosaurs and how they stomp around together. Even Soren likes to get in on the fun, making big "ROARS!"….well, whenever Lars is agreeable to sharing them. "
Now hop on over to our friends to check out their blogs on their top favorite kids' toys. They have so many great picks!
- Jen at Paisley & Sparrow
- Erin at Francois et Moi
- Jena at A Spoon Full of Faith
- Morgan at construction2style


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In this blog post from Gambling.org it discusses vr slot machine games and where to find the best VR slots casinos. Virtual reality slots are changing the online gambling industry by offering a fully immersive casino experience unlike anything we've even seen before from typical online casinos. Players looking for VR slots to play will find a list of top recommended VR casinos from gambling.org.
Virtual reality gambling games are going to be some of the first games developed for


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circle t-shirt
- short sleeves | slightly frayed edges
- 100% cotton
- unisex t-shirt for babies (12-24m), kids (2-7y) & pre-teens (8-14y)
- machine wash cold
product description
it's never too early to get kids started identifying the sophisticated effect of tone-on-tone minimalism. Like this very cool powder pink nununu shirt with it's super interesting hem that dips in front & back with a subtle circle floating coolly on its front, kind of like a portal to nothingness you can gaze into to calm yourself down when they start pushing your buttons. Just saying…
returns & exchanges
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Blue Light Special
In our continued effort to ripple the messages of "Heroes" to help raise awareness and support for MPS, ML, and related rare diseases, Michelle and I shot a video in her bedroom for the forthcoming acoustic duet version of the song. Before the video is shared, I want to share a story about its production…
As our evening progressed, there was a blue light that kept shining on my face in the video takes. Michelle's brother, Christopher, did his best to adjust it out of the recording. When Christopher made me aware of this persistent blue light, I smiled and said, "That's okay. I believe that's Barry making himself known."
I told Michelle and Christopher about how my dear friend Barry was called "Blue Barry" when he performed with me at Kathryn the Grape shows; he had insisted on having a catchy Kathryn the Grape-style name. Barry even wore a special blue fedora when performing with me. I then shared how Barry insisted on Samantha having a special name when she performed with us, too. To continue the order of our rainbow of colors, I asked children in the audience at one of our trio performances to help us come up with a green name for Samantha. Immediately, a preschooler yelled out, "How about Celery Samantha?" Perfect! And so it was.
Michelle, Christopher and I had a nice laugh about that and I felt the energy of support from Barry and his Angel wings.
When we finished our session, Michelle's mom took a photo of us with my camera phone — this photo — showing a blue light of love touching Michelle and me. Appropriate.
Before his passing, Barry helped me write the music for a few of my songs, including "Ripple Love" and "We're All in This Together" (the Kathryn the Grape version of the song), which his amazing children John and Katie receive his songwriting credits for. I believe wholeheartedly Barry shined through last night with his beautifully characteristic persistence to ripple love through his light and remind me as he always did during the time we were so close that I am indeed doing what I am here to do.
Angels among us.


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SkyWatchTV Channel is on Roku!
Watch SkyWatchTV on your schedule and never miss an episode of our weekly program, our daily news updates, and SkyWatch Women, which will launch later in 2015.
The Roku is a "set-top box" that streams programs to your TV through your Internet connection. Our programs are available through the SkyWatchTV Channel, which you can add to your Roku account by following the directions below.
Adding SkyWatchTV to your Roku is a simple three-step process:
- On your computer or tablet, log in to your Roku account (click here).
- Click here to go to the SkyWatchTV Channel.
- Click the red button marked "+Add channel".
That's all there is to it! The next time you open your Roku player on your TV, the SkyWatchTV channel will be there at the bottom of your list of channels.
Of course, SkyWatchTV still airs on the Christian Television Network (DirecTV channel 376, Dish Network channel 267, and Glory Star satellite channel 117) Tuesday nights at 9:30 PM Eastern Time/6:30 PM Pacific Time.
And all our programs are archived here at SkyWatchTV.com and the official SkyWatchTV YouTube channel.
The bottom line: We want to get the Word out as conveniently for you as we can. And we thank you for your support!


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Bri LawAnalyst
Bri serves as a cybersecurity services analyst at Venable, LLP. Among her duties, Bri works as the Deputy Coordinator for the Coalition for Cybersecurity Policy & Law, a nonprofit that brings together leading cybersecurity companies to develop comprehensive policy. Bri works with the CTA to support joint initiatives between the two organizations. Prior to this, Bri worked at the White House National Security Council as a Special Assistant to President Obama's Cybersecurity Coordinator and at the United States Department of Justice as a legal administrative specialist.


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In the past, a darkroom was needed to develop the photos. Now with digital images all that's wanted is a pc printer. It's simply doable to share the images with buddies just by emailing or by importing to social media sites, similar to Fb. Family and friends can then have a digital model of the pictures themselves and in the event that they desire to then in addition they have the choice of printing out a hard copy of the photographs to share with others.
#6 – Learn the camera settings.
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Understanding what you want to do with your pictures will decide whether you're taking this route. This leads to a serious qualification and requires a significant investment of time, money and effort. But, the rewards are vital and the data gained will end in great career opportunities. The underside line is that that you must know at first that you simply need to be a photographer. This isn't the kind of course you wish to take in order to discover your choices, unless you might have a lot of time and money.
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You'll be able to crop, enlarge, filter, contrast and much more. After the editing stage it is a matter of how one can save your photos in the acceptable information. There are lots of different codecs that you should use to save digital picture files such as TIFF or JPEG.


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Every time a movement is detected by the sensor, a message is sent to a smartphone anywhere in the world!
How to make a functional application with Blynk and the Linkit Smart 7688 Duo board, with utility for home automation.
Through this tutorial I made fire alarm notification System Using Iot technology. wherever you are in the world you can get the notification


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NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A year ago, almost to the day, writing for a 5-4 majority, Chief Justice John Roberts upheld the constitutional right of a property owner divested by a local government ordinance to sue for just compensation. The owner in Knick v. Township of Scott had failed to seek compensation in state court before filing her federal lawsuit. That meant her federal case should have been barred under the Court's 1985 ruling in Williamson County Regional Planning Commission v. Hamilton Bank. But no, reasoned the chief justice. If the justices upheld that precedent to foreclose Ms. Knick's suit, they would be elevating their own wrongly decided precedent over the Constitution's prohibition on government takings without just compensation.
Yet Monday, in June Medical Services v. Russo, Roberts clung to stare decisis, the principle of upholding precedent, in order to protect the putative "right" to abortion, a wholesale invention of willful progressive justices that is bereft of constitutional grounding.
There are, of course, four uber legislators on the Court — Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan — who reliably vote as a bloc whenever doing so is necessary to advance the Left's agenda or hold ground previously won. Roberts used stare decisis as his rationale for joining them, yet again, on Monday. Together, they denied the state of Louisiana its sovereign power to regulate medical practice in furtherance of its indisputable interest in preserving life.
All five justices relied on Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt (2016), in which the Court barred the state of Texas from implementing a similar law mandating that abortionists have admitting privileges in a nearby hospital (in the event something goes wrong during the abortion). Roberts had dissented in Whole Woman's Health because, so poorly reasoned was the decision, he concluded it was flat wrong. Now, however, he insists that stare decisis requires honoring this abortion precedent he knows is wrong.
Stare decisis (Latin for "to stand by things decided," as Roberts notes) is the judicial doctrine of adherence to precedent — though, as today's ruling bitterly illustrates, it is better understood as the judicial license to adhere or not adhere depending on what policy result is desired.
Roberts concedes that "stare decisis is not an inexorable command." His ode to its merits would be hilarious if not for what the new ruling portends. The principle, he says, is "grounded in a basic humility that recognizes today's legal issues are often not so different from the questions of yesterday and that we are not the first ones to try to answer them." So, in their "humility," the justices elevate over the Constitution's framework the "right" they have manufactured from whole cloth — courtesy of some dizzying blather about deriving "penumbras" from "emanations."
Roberts also elides mention of the inconvenience that none of those who first answered "the questions of yesterday" would have thought it possible that the Constitution guaranteed a right to terminate the unborn. And while, last year, he was telling us the takings precedent had to go, even though people had been inured to it for 34 years, today he said the four-year-old abortion precedent had to be preserved — even though there hasn't been time for societal arrangements to become ingrained, and the question arose precisely because the Court's abortion jurisprudence is so slipshod.
Note that Roberts had an out here. He could easily have decided that the plaintiffs did not have standing. As Justice Clarence Thomas explains in a withering dissent, the parties objecting to Louisiana's law were not women whose purported right to abortion was being burdened; they were abortion providers who sought to raise the claim on the women's behalf. A court does not have jurisdiction unless the parties before it have standing — i.e., unless they are asserting a denial of their own rights. Roberts, moreover, is typically a stickler on this point — the New York Times has described him as "the Supreme Court's leading proponent of the standing doctrine."
So he didn't just protect abortion. He went out of his way to protect it.
The Court's June Medical Services ruling is not about the law. It is about politics, as these late-June decisions often are. Roberts was fine with dissenting in an abortion case four years ago when there was no chance that his side would prevail. But the Left and the media-Democrat complex would go into meltdown if the Court were to approve significant restrictions on abortion democratically enacted by elected officials. Regardless of what the correct constitutional analysis may be, Roberts is not going to allow himself or the institution under his leadership to be subjected to such condemnation. Conservative condemnation he'll take in stride, but not the rebuke of the highbrow.
I will repeat what I said a little over a week ago, when Roberts joined the left-wing bloc to prevent President Trump from summarily reversing a lawless immigration policy that President Obama had summarily decreed:
The Supreme Court has demonstrated, yet again, that stacking the tribunal with ostensibly conservative lawyers does not assure conservative results.
Once again, Chief Justice Roberts joined the four-justice liberal bloc to preserve a signal Obama policy achievement. Last time it was Obamacare, this time it's DACA. Though sold to the Right as a rock-ribbed conservative, Roberts essentially held that a new president may not reverse the last president's illegal acts in the same peremptory manner in which those acts were imposed. Or, if you prefer, even if Obama himself conceded that he had no authority to issue a decree, Roberts will treat the decree as legitimate law. I wouldn't bet the ranch that the chief justice would be as solicitous if Trump were to start issuing similar "policy memos" that usurp legislative power, but just imagine what a Biden administration could make of the new dispensation.
… The rights to armed self-defense, life, and religious exercise [cited in recent presidential tweets] are not at stake because of a failure to nominate and confirm reliable conservative jurists. They are at stake because Republicans cling to the fantasy that the Supreme Court is our highest legal institution. In reality, it is a super-legislature: It is the last word on vital policy matters that should be decided democratically; and its members are life-tenured — politically unaccountable even as they do politics rather than law.
Democrats fully grasp that the Court is a political institution. Their supporters demand that they see it as a vehicle for imposing the Left's policy agenda, their senators conduct confirmation hearings that way, and their judges decide cases that way — whether that requires, in any given case, being a "living Constitution" enthusiast, an originalist, a strict constructionist, a post-sovereign one-worlder, a states'-rights federalist, or a devotee of stare decisis. They do not see the Court as an institution for deciding legal cases under the law; they see it as a tool for achieving results that they can then portray as immutable constitutional mandates.
Republicans, by contrast, strive to confirm putatively conservative lawyers who've mastered all the right abstractions about how judges "apply rather than make law." But the only time they get grilled on precedent is when Democrats badger them on the Left's favorite rulings, Roe v. Wade in particular, drawing concessions that these decisions are settled law.
That's the reason why a John Roberts is forever evolving, while a Ruth Bader Ginsburg is unapologetically evolving the rest of us.


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Meier: 'Scoreline doesn't reflect our performance'
Eintracht Frankfurt striker Alexander Meier lamented the Eagles' luck in Thursday's relegation play-off first-leg draw against 1. FC Nürnberg at the Commerzbank Arena.
Niko Kovac's side dominated against their Bundesliga 2 opponents and although Serbian midfielder Mijat Gacinovic cancelled out Marco Russ's first-half own goal, the hosts were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw which leaves the tie wide open.
Click on the video below to hear the post-match thoughts of the players and coaches.