text:
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Open for Tours May 20
By Utah Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau on May. 05, 2017
Timpanogos Cave National Monument will begin its 95th season of cave tours on May 20, 2017. Tours are expected to run through September 5.
The monument's caves are open only to ranger guided tours during the summer months, since heavy winter snows cover the 1.5 mile trail which climbs about 1,100 feet from the floor of American Fork Canyon to the cave entrance.
This summer will see a new series of interpretive exhibits along the trail, featuring a "Walk Through Time" exploring the rock layers that reveal almost 600 million years of change through geologic time. Canyon plants, wildlife, history, and physical fitness tips for hikers will also be part of the new exhibits, generously donated to the park through a grant from Intermountain Healthcare to the Friends of Timpanogos Cave. The new exhibits should be in place by mid to late June.
The park had hoped to open a new visitor contact station early this summer, replacing the current visitor center trailer, but unfortunately the project has been delayed at least another year by contracting and budget challenges.
Cave tours remain extremely popular, and frequently sell out well in advance, especially on weekends and holidays. The park strongly encourages visitors to plan in advance and buy tour tickets well in advance. Details about ticket purchases, tour schedules, and other programs are available on the park website at www.nps.gov/tica.
www.nps.gov/tica
www.facebook.com/timpanogoscavenps
#TimpCaveNPS
Categories: Press Releases
Utah Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau


Discover a wide variety of splendid stories from classic tales to newer picture books during this eight-week session of story time for preschoolers and their parents/caregivers. Early literacy concepts such as letter recognition, counting, coloring, and shapes will be covered. Music and fun are added bonuses!
Sorry, you missed Family Story Time at Little Chute Public Library.
Demand that Little Chute Public Library gets added to the next tour!
Demand that Little Chute gets added to the next tour!
You missed Family Story Time at Little Chute Public Library.
We're generating custom event recommendations for you based on Family Story Time right now!


text:
First-Ever China-India Strategic Economic Dialogue
ASEAN Initiates Own Development Fund
Chinese Officials and Bankers Say 'No' to More Euro Bailouts
Malaysia and Indonesia Stay with Nuclear
From Volume 38, Issue 39 of EIR Online, Published October 7, 2011
Asia News Digest
Sept. 27 (EIRNS)—The first India-China Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED) took place in Beijing on Sep. 26. The strategic dialogue mechanism was established by Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao and his Indian counterpart, Manmohan Singh, during Wen's visit to India last year. India became the second nation with whom China has set up the SED. The United States is the first. India and China have also set up the India-China CEO's forum.
Implicitly, this pre-scheduled, bilateral SED presages the kind of summitry which could be rapidly in store under a strategic shift to a Great Pacific Alliance perspective of China, Russia, and the United States, once the U.S. is unleashed from its current London/Obama subjugation.
"The meeting achieved positive results," China's state-run news agency Xinhua quoted Premier Wen as saying. Wen said he hoped the two countries will continue to make efforts to give the dialogue a greater role in promoting bilateral relations and cooperation. "The goal of the dialogue is to further strengthen our mutual trust under the current situation and to expand our strategic partnership of cooperation," Wen said.
China's delegation to the dialogue was led by the Zhang Ping, chief of its National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), while the Indian team was headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission.
The two keynote addresses at the SED were followed by three working group meetings, on industrial policy and cooperation, which focused on industrial policies, infrastructure (for example, expanding railways networks), market access, and information technology; on energy conservation and environmental protection; on water resources, with the focus on water management, as well as water-saving technologies.
Sept. 27 (EIRNS) —Southeast Asian nations launched a nearly US$500-million fund last Saturday to build infrastructure by pooling their own resources,
Finance ministers of ASEAN said the fund would offer loans to build roads, railways, and other projects without direct foreign assistance. Ministers signed the pact in Washington, D.C., on the sidelines of the annual World Bank and IMF meetings.
The ASEAN Infrastructure Fund will start with US$485.2 million and aims to finance six projects a year. By 2020, ASEAN hopes the fund will offer $4 billion directly in loans and that its total leverage will be worth more than $13 billion.
Malaysia is the biggest contributor, with Indonesia second. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide $150 million and eventually offer 70% of financing for the fund.
ASEAN officials said China, Japan, and South Korea had voiced interest in taking part in the initiative, but added that the region has decided to keep it internal for now. "Our position is that, at the initial stage, it should be in ASEAN," said Malaysian Second Finance Minister Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah.
Sept. 26 (EIRNS)—Speaking at the IMF meeting Sept. 24, People's Bank of China chief Zhao Xiaochuan said it's "too early" to determine how emerging economies, including China, can further help the eurozone out of the sovereign debt crisis.
More directly, Gao Xiqing, vice chairman of China Investment Corp. (the Chinese "sovereign fund") said that the national sovereign wealth fund can't be a "savior" of other countries. "We have our own policies and we have our own problems," he said during the IMF meeting.
Privately, some banking leaders are even more blunt. An Asian economist called several of his Chinese banking associates to brief them on the failure of the IMF meeting and the certainty of near-term defaults and financial chaos. He told EIR that the universal response of the Chinese he is in touch with was rage at the fact that they had been swindled into giving the modest sums already expended to buy sovereign debt in Europe, and that there was no doubt that there would be no more handouts to those who cheated them.
Sept. 29 (EIRNS)—Malaysia stated its firm intention to proceed with its plans for functioning nuclear power facilities within ten years, in addressing the nuclear conference at the UN in New York.
Malaysian Minister for Foreign Affairs Anifah Aman told the UN: "For Malaysia, nuclear energy development is one of the primary projects embarked by the Government under its Economic Transformation Programme. The first nuclear power plant is envisioned to be commissioned in the year 2021, followed by the second in 2022.... Our focus is on the development of a comprehensive nuclear programme, including its legal and regulatory frameworks as well as an assessment of public opinion."
Indonesia is also moving ahead. Bangka Belitung Governor Eko Maulana Ali in June 2011, following the Fukushima crisis, insisted that the construction of nuclear power plants in Bangka continue as part of efforts to meet national electricity needs. He hoped the power plants could be established by 2025. The nuclear power plants will eventually supply 40 percent of electricity needs in Sumatra, Java, and Bali.
On March 17, Adiwardojo, the head of nuclear energy development at Indonesia's National Nuclear Energy Agency, said that concerns about a disaster like that of Japan's were misplaced, because any plants Indonesia would use would have technology far more advanced than that of the four-decade-old reactors at the Fukushima plant in Japan.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Why does my link append an underscore at "random" position Using only HTML and CSS, when I use the a tag it is prefixing it with an _
I was thinking I had used the content tag some where, but to my surprise, it persists in a JSFIDDLE

Activity

Some

> 198 days?

Progressing

    > does not have underscore despite having >

CSS
.activity {
    background: #3ea18f;
    clear: both;
    margin-bottom: 2%;
    border-radius: 4px;
    padding-left: 10%;
}
.activity div {
    width: 33%;
    display: inline-block;
}

RESULT

Removing the a tag resolves the issue but, I need the a tag
Likewise, removing the CSS .activity div also removes the _ but obviously I need the style
Same issue persists if I use
> 198 days?

A:

Activity

Some

> 198 days?

Progressing

    > does not have underscore despite having >

https://jsfiddle.net/y4zpgkfe/

A: I don't know it this behaviour is intended or if it is a rendering bug.
In front of the div with the _ there is a space because you have a new line, and if you add an outline  around all elements (updated fiddle) you see that the _ is between the two elements.
If you add another element (next fiddle) you see that there is another _. So the underscore appears between all inline-block elements in the row.
The problem is not related to >.
To get around this problem without changing the rest of the appearance you might add text-decoration to none to the surrounding a.
You don't have a > does not have underscore despite having > in front because there is no space between the  and the > does not.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Sectarianism, Saudi-Qatar Jostling Prevail in Syrian Opposition
The Syrian opposition is currently divided along sectarian lines as international backers such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia continue to compete for influence, writes Mohammad Ballout.
Demonstrators chant slogans, hold banners and wave flags during a protest against Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, in Aleppo, April 5, 2013. Photo by REUTERS.
syrian opposition, syrian, sectarianism in syria, sectarianism, saudi, qatar, lakhdar brahimi, arab league
The Syrian opposition finds itself at a standstill, following the moment of rapture when the National Coalition appropriated Syria's seat at the Arab League.
The pace of consultations within the coalition points to a lack of urgency in moving forward toward the next step of forming an "interim government," following the appointment of Ghassan Hito as its head. The task of forming the government is hindered by an American and Qatari insistence on nominating people who would help restructure and expand its level of representation and legitimacy, so that posts and ministries are more equitably divided. It also awaits a Qatari-Saudi consensus on the manner in which Hito's government would be run, and the nature of that government: technocratic or political.
The Saudis have put all their media and financial potential at the service of the Syrian opposition, with the aim of reducing Qatar's monopoly over the opposition, to the point of encouraging and enlisting secularists in their fight with Doha. Furthermore, the Americans, in the last few days, have also requested that the formation process be put on hold, as a result of it becoming a great point of contention between the different political and military Syrian opposition factions.
The delay in forming the government is not solely caused by the lack of answers to these issues; the coalition itself, which is considered the reference point for the government, will not be able to survive much longer if the Qataris continue running it in the same confrontational manner they used to force the appointment of Ghassan Hito as prime minister, and them imposing, with the help of their Muslim Brotherhood allies, on the Syrian opposition.
Additionally, the faction that endorses the quick formation of a government and calls for the northern part of Syria to be put under its control is nothing more now than an effective minority alliance comprising the Brotherhood and Doha. The Qataris, along with the Mustafa Al-Sabbagh and Brotherhood blocs, now possess approximately 40 votes, giving them the majority needed to impose their will on the coalition.
The list of oppositionists is composed of various factions, the most important of which being the Unified Military Councils, which rejected Hito's appointment, and still refuse to move forward in the formation of any government until the coalition is properly expanded. The president of the coalition, Ahmed Moaz al-Khatib, and his vice president, Riad Seif, are also among them, along with a group of nine who froze their memberships in the coalition. These include Kamal al-Labwani, Walid al-Bunni, Marwan Hajj Rifai and Mohammed al-Assi al-Jarba. But this group of people lacks a common vision on contentious issues.
While Khatib espouses a forceful, nationalistic discourse and possesses a great deal of independence, allowing him to revolt against the Qataris to the point of demanding that a negotiated settlement be reached [for the Syrian crisis], and criticizing Qatari meddling in the opposition's affairs; he seems reluctant to translate his positions into a real break with the coalition, the Brotherhood and the Qataris. Such a break would free the opposition from their domination, allowing him to form an alliance with internal opposition factions that support a negotiated settlement.
The aforementioned list of dissenters also includes newcomers representing different sectarian and ethnic agendas, which is unheard of in the Syrian political scene. For, in the past few weeks, many factions, both Western and Arab, have strived to include representatives of sectarian communities in conferences held in Cairo and Istanbul, purportedly representing Alawite, Christian or Turkmen interests, so that they may be included in the coalition and increase its legitimacy.
This gathering of sects represents the Western perception of what a solution for Syria might be. That perception assumes that toppling the regime requires that minorities desert it, and those afraid be reassured, by giving them important roles to play inside the coalition, without that affecting the situation on the ground — at least in relation to the level of influence and power that each of them would possess based on the assumptions being made at the British, French and American foreign ministries. Those supervising the Syrian issue at all three ministries have believed, ever since they created the coalition, that giving it legitimacy requires the inclusion of religious sects and minorities in its makeup. This notion was clearly expressed by former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, when she criticized and proclaimed the death of the National Council for its failure to attract minorities.
Opponents of Qatari and Brotherhood domination have no avenue but to try and infiltrate the coalition, overwhelming it from the inside with a new opposition bloc formed of minorities, women and representatives of civil society, while betting on those groups' intrinsic animosity toward the Brotherhood. It is worth noting, however, that the Brotherhood was the first group to exploit political piety and hide behind secular facades such as Burhan Ghalioun, or Christian ones such as Georges Sabra, allowing them to assume the presidency of the National Council. As a result, those trying to contain the Brotherhood espoused the slogan of expanding the coalition and raising its membership from 66 to 100, thus putting on the back burner the issue of the formation of the government in order to prevent the Brotherhood from spreading its political and administrative control over the areas that would be administered by such an interim government. This would result in those areas being transformed into a Brotherhood entity.
The opposition says that the Brotherhood couldn't care less about Syria being partitioned. They cite the deputy head of the group, Mohammed Farouk Tayfour, who said that he backs the establishment of a state in northern Syria with Aleppo as its capital, and the administration of whatever land can be conquered, without waiting for a military takeover of Damascus.
One Syrian opposition figure attributed the current state of affairs to the conflict mutating from a revolution to a struggle for power. He said that the coalition's stance seems to emanate from the probability that Syria will be indefinitely ruled by two different governments, or maybe even partitioned. He stated that the peril lies in the fact that it might be difficult to reunite the different ensuing states. He conveyed Khatib's belief that the real danger was not in separating the country's north from its south, but in the refusal of some regions controlled by the opposition to submit to the authority of any new government.
But the condition of expanding the coalition before forming the "governmen, while it serves as a lifeline for those opposing the Brotherhood from the inside, is a crude and illogical tactic. Expanding the coalition based on sectarian affiliations would change nothing in its function, since the latter is defined by the countries that sponsored the coalition's formation — and are still financing it, and refuse to change their agendas.
According to Syrian opposition sources, next week will witness meetings by experts on Syrian affairs at the foreign ministries of eleven countries that attended the Friends of Syria conference. These include Turkey, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy. They will all study the future of the coalition, the formation of a government, its funding and the ongoing armament efforts.
The international and Arab envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, warned that recognizing the coalition and attempts to surrender Syria's seat to the coalition at the Organization of the Islamic Conference, among others, will only lead to the failure of any political solution. He stated, "Any further steps toward recognizing the Syrian opposition might lead to added intransigence on the part of the Syrian regime, which still is endowed with superior military might in the face of the Syrian revolution; ultimately resulting in the failure of any political solution."
More from Mohammad Ballout
Fears of Syrian government offensive mount in Idlib as Turkey withdraws from military posts
Khaled al-Khateb | Syria Conflict | Jan 20, 2021
Will Syrian opposition benefit from recent Gulf detente?
Syria's journalists live in constant fear of arrest, assassination
Sultan al-Kanj | | Jan 14, 2021
Syrian opposition split on timing of Assad military offensive
Second US lawsuit hits Qatar National Bank over terrorist finances
Al-Monitor Staff | | Dec 16, 2020


The new revolutionary product - Ice Breaker Piston Head by Poseidon, designed to sharpen the performance, efficiency and operation of your Tokyo Marui/WE Gas Blowback pistol. Item Requires professional installation by an Airsoft Gunsmith. Improves cold weather performance allowing less gas consumption and more shoots.


text:
Quick read Feb. 14, 2019
Government outlines new powers for the Pensions Regulator
In June 2018 the Government launched a consultation entitled Protecting Defined Benefit Pension Schemes – A Stronger Pensions Regulator in which it sought responses to its plans for strengthening the regulatory framework of the Pensions Regulator (TPR).
The consultation outlined a number of proposals that focused on strengthening TPR's anti-avoidance powers, broadening their information gathering powers, enhancing the existing notifiable events framework and introducing new civil and criminal offences. The Government has now published its response to this consultation which is summarised below.
Anti-avoidance powers
The Government will continue to work with TPR and the Pension Protection Fund to amend the financial support direction process to a single-stage process. In the single-stage process, the determinations panel will impose a particular form or monetary amount on the target. The name will also change to "financial support notice".
Information gathering powers
It is proposed that TPR will have a stand-alone interview power but would be required to issue a prior notice giving a date, time and a broad explanation of what the scope of the interview is about. This could potentially make it easier for people to comply with information requests or reduce the number of information requests issued by TPR. The Government intends that the interview power would override an adviser's duty of confidentiality to their client. It is further proposed that TPR's current inspection power will also be extended to inspect premises.
Notifiable events framework
The Government has confirmed its intention to introduce two new employer-related notifiable events:
the sale of a material proportion of the business and assets of a scheme employer which has funding responsibility for at least 20% of the scheme's liabilities; and
the granting of security on a debt to give it priority over debt to the scheme.
The existing notifiable event of "wrongful trading of the sponsoring employer" will be removed. The thinking behind this is that no director would admit wrongful trading. There will be a further consultation on draft regulations to amend the existing notifiable events framework. With regards to the timing of notification, the Government has said that it will consult with TPR and the pensions industry to identify whether earlier notification could be beneficial in relation to each of the employer-related notifiable events.
The declaration of intent was first proposed in the Department for Work and Pensions' white paper. You can read our blog about the white paper here. The declaration would be made by the planner of the corporate transaction (i.e. the sponsoring employer) and addressed to the trustees; it would also be shared with TPR. The declaration would be made in respect of the following corporate transactions:
the sale of a controlling interest in a sponsoring employer;
the sale of the business or assets of a sponsoring employer; and
The declaration of intent will not replace the clearance process. The Government is of the view that a declaration would help trustees to understand the implications of a proposed transaction for the scheme. However, there is currently no intention to legislate to specify when the sponsoring employer should provide the declaration of intent.
New penalties
The Government plans to introduce a range of new criminal and civil sanctions. Two new criminal offences will be introduced: wilful or reckless behaviour in relation to a pension scheme (which carries a maximum penalty of 7 years' imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine); and failure to comply with a contribution notice (for which the maximum penalty is an unlimited fine). The following new offences also carry a maximum civil penalty of up to £1m:
failure to comply with a financial support direction;
failure to comply with the notifiable events framework;
failure to comply with requirements for a declaration of intent; and
knowingly or recklessly providing false information to trustees
TPR will also have the power to issue fixed and escalating penalties more widely outside of the auto enrolment and master trust regime in line with the statutory maximum amounts (currently £50,000 for a fixed penalty and the daily rate of £10,000 for an escalating penalty).
The Government is pressing on with a number of the changes outlined in the consultation with a few proposals being dropped. TPR has welcomed the changes saying that the "new powers will act as a powerful deterrent against the poor treatment of pension schemes and help us in protecting members". There is no timescale set out for the implementation of the changes and in many cases further consultation will be needed before the changes are made into law.
Partner & National head of Pensions
Kate Lloyd
Thea Maertens
The departure of the UK from the EU: considerations for pension schemes
In this update, we look at some of the issues that trustees will need to consider now that we have departed from the EU.
Pensions legislation and case law update: the latest developments week ended 8th January 2021
In this update, we consider the impact on pension schemes of the UK's withdrawal from the European Union and look forward to what's on the agenda for the first few …
Pensions legislation and case law update: the latest developments week ended 11 December 2020
In the latest update, we look at the Pensions Regulator's blog reflecting on responses to the first consultation on the new DB funding code along with all other pen…


text:
Q: Floating panel over fullscreen windows in tile WM I want to create kiosk using GNU/Linux. I need to show GUI one application full screen.
I've found that ratpoison suits my needs. But I also want to allow user to see and change keyboard layout and display digital clock on a panel. It's clear that I don't need all 1280 horizontal pixels to display this information. My full screen application has main menu and it would be great to use empty space on the right to overlay it with the panel.

I've achieved that with those lines in tint2 config:
panel_position = top right horizontal
panel_size = 150 24

strut_policy = none
panel_layer = top

It works well with a "normal" WM (like kwin), but I cannot get the same result with a tile WM (I suppose it's easier to strengthen simple tile WM than a "normal" one). I've already tried ratpoison, awesome and i3.
How can I achieve my goal? I can easily change WM or panel to a different one.

A: I've found a solution. I wrote simple awesome config (thank you, Tom Regner [https://askubuntu.com/a/193141/211231]). I've installed xcompmgr to get transparent panel background and finally I get configs:
~/.config/awesome/rc.lua:
require("awful")
require("awful.layout")
require("awful.util")
require("awful.tag")
require("screen")
require("freedesktop.utils")
require("freedesktop.desktop")

layouts = {
    awful.layout.suit.max.fullscreen
}

tags = {
     names = {"kwrite" },
     layout = {layouts[1]}
}
for s = 1, screen.count() do
   tags[s] = awful.tag(tags.names, s, tags.layout)
end

awful.util.spawn_with_shell("xcompmgr &")
awful.util.spawn_with_shell("qxkb &")
awful.util.spawn("tint2")
awful.util.spawn("kwrite")

~/.config/tint2/tint2rc:
 # Background definitions
 # ID 1
 background_color = #000000 0

 # Panel
 panel_monitor = all
 panel_position = top right horizontal
 panel_size = 150 24
 panel_layer = top
 panel_background_id = 1

 # System Tray
 systray_padding = 0 0 0
 systray_sort = ascending
 systray_background_id = 1
 systray_icon_size = 0
 systray_icon_asb = 100 0 0

 # Clock
 time1_format = %H:%M, %d.%m.%y
 time1_font = Sans 12
 clock_font_color = #000000 100


text:
Win A Pokemon Team Plasma Box From Magic Madhouse
June 16, 2013 by Paco G. Jaen
Fans of Pokemon will be pleased to hear another superb competition featured on Magic Madhouse. This latest giveaway offers entrants the chance to win a Pokemon Plasma Box, courtesy of Magic Madhouse, an online store offering a wide range of gaming cards. The set contains a selection of cards, ideal for fans of the game.
"We are pleased to be able to offer yet another giveaway on our store. Here at Magic Madhouse we know our customers appreciate a good competition now and then, which is why we are offering this box of Pokemon cards in our latest prize draw." Michael Duke from Magic Madhouse.
Magic Madhouse is a store that offers a wide range of gaming cards and many who play these various games choose this online store for their latest cards. You will find plenty of Pokemon cards available at Magic Madhouse, along with other great games such as Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and World of Warcraft. The store also offers Magic the Gathering artwork from renowned artist John Avon.
This latest giveaway from Magic Madhouse is just one of the many competitions that the store has held. Right now, those who enter are in with a chance of winning a Pokemon Team Plasma Box. The pack contains:
3 x Black and White Series Booster Packs
2 x Special Full Art Promo Cards, featuring Team Plasma Giratina and Darkrai
1 x Oversized Full Art Promo Card featuring Team Plasma Darkrai
1 x Team Plasma Coin
Any Pokemon fan would surely love to get their hands on this prize. All entrants have to do is fill in their details on the Magic Madhouse competition page before it closes on the 16/6/2013, the prize draw can be found here – http://www.magicmadhouse.co.uk/competitions/
The Pokemon TCG has acquired a new stalking foe, a team that goes by the name of Plasma. They seek world domination and they are determined to reach their goal. You can now unleash their power with the Pokemon TCG Team Plasma box.
The Pokemon card game is just one of the many collections featured on Magic Madhouse. Along with this, you will also come across the latest Magic the Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh and World of Warcraft cards too. To enter this latest competition from Magic Madhouse, head to the competitions page found here – http://www.magicmadhouse.co.uk/competitions/
Filed Under: News Tagged With: buy magic cards online, magic cards, magic cards uk, magic madhouse, magic the gathering cards, magic the gathering uk, magic: The Gathering, magicmadhouse, mtg, mtg cards, mtg cards uk, trading card, trading card game, trading card games, trading cards
MTG Dragons Maze – Still A Popular Set
Avid players of Magic the Gathering, will be pleased to hear that they can purchase the popular Dragon's Maze cards at Magic Madhouse. For the latest Magic the Gathering decks and singles, check out the Dragons Maze cards and order from Magic Madhouse.
"We are pleased to stock the latest Magic the Gathering set. Dragons Maze is available on our online store, with plenty of packs and decks for players to choose from." Michael Duke from Magic Madhouse
The Dragons Maze is the latest set release from the Magic the Gathering franchise, with singles, boxes, decks and booster cases available in the range. The Dragons Maze contains around 150 cards and is the third set of the Return to Ravnica block. The deck also holds the finale of the Ravnica research carried out by the Izzet League, in which the Dragons Maze is located. The maze leads to an active source of energy which contains immense power, which can eventually control all guilds. A champion is chosen to represent their guild and take on the challenge of the maze and the opposing guilds.
The Dragons Maze set is available to purchase and can be found online at Magic Madhouse. Fans of the game will find booster packs, singles, rares, fat packs, boxes, intro packs and more. This is just one of the many collections from the Magic the Gathering card game, which will sit alongside other MTG sets including Gatecrash, Commanders Arsenal, Avacyn Restored and many more.
The Dragons Maze card set has been a popular choice for Magic the Gathering players. Competitors from around the world have been sourcing their MTG Dragons Maze cards and adding the new decks to their collections. The Dragons Maze range includes a vast selection of cards from which fans of the game can use within game play.
Magic the Gathering is a popular card game which is played around the world by millions of fans. Since 1993 MTG has grown in popularity and is now a card game that has around twelve million players across the globe. Each year many professional and non-professional players take part in tournaments and competitions in order to win a cash prize.
About Magic Madhouse
Magic Madhouse is a store which offers a wide range of cards for a number of high profile games. Here players can find the latest collections of Magic the Gathering cards, along with Pokemon, World of Warcraft, Yu -Gi – Oh and more. The store always features the latest MTG cards including the most recent release, Dragons Maze.
To order Dragons Maze cards, head to Magic Madhouse and browse their vast array of decks and packs today.
Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: buy magic cards online, dragons maze, magic cards, magic cards uk, magic madhouse, magic the gathering cards, magic the gathering uk, magic: The Gathering, magicmadhouse, mtg, mtg cards, mtg cards uk, trading card, trading card game, trading card games, trading cards
MTG Latest Duel Deck – Sorin Vs Tibalt
Magic The Gathering is a card game that continues to release numerous new collections of cards for fans and players of the game and the new Sorin vs Tibalt cards are the game's latest duel deck for MTG followers to acquire and enjoy. The cards centre around two non human planeswalkers, Sorin and Tibalt. Sorin uses his wisdom and experience to come to the decision that the humans of Innistrad may struggle to survive the monsters of Innistrad. But Tibalt is a young pain-mage who continues to inflict pain and torment on those in the Multiverse.
The Sorin vs Tibalt deck lists include many different lands, instants, creatures, sorceries, enchantments and of course the planeswalkers themselves. Sorin, whose aim is to hunt and feed includes lands such as the tainted field and enchantments including mark of the vampire and field of souls within his deck list. The Torin, torment and agonize deck list, includes the coal stocker creatures and the terminate instants.
This MTG deck includes singles, foils, sealed products, mythic, rare, uncommon and common cards and is one that many Magic the Gathering fans will be investing in. This latest duel deck is one of many, which sits along side Ajani vs Nicol, Elspeth vs Tezzeret, Knights vs Dragons, Phyrexia vs The Coalition and many more.
Those who purchase the Sorin vs Tibalt duel deck are sure to enjoy an enthralling game of action, a unique experience that can only be found within the mythical world of Magic the Gathering.
Now available at
Filed Under: Card Games Tagged With: buy magic cards online, duel deck: sorin vs tibalt, magic cards, magic cards uk, magic madhouse, magic the gathering cards, magic the gathering uk, magic: The Gathering, magicmadhouse, mtg, mtg cards, mtg cards uk, trading card, trading card game, trading card games, trading cards
Dungeon Command–Sting of Lolth
August 12, 2012 by Paco G. Jaen
Lolth Stings Your Wallet Due To A Lack Of Heart?
By Peter Ruth II
The key to every successful miniatures game ever made has been that it has the innate ability to create tension, to excite the players, and to draw them, as generals into the flames of the battle they are engaging in. It's not only tactics that count, although a sound system will reward good tactical players, it's something more. The game needs to invite players into its world, commanding its denizens to battle to the death for their banner. In short, a good skirmish game makes you feel like the battle matters.
Enter Dungeon Command, a new product line from Wizards of the Coast that arrived unannounced on my doorstep last week. Now, I had heard a lot about it from a friend who was on the design team, and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that this new miniatures game would be sold in sets rather than the blind boosters that have been plaguing gaming for the last however many years. On top of that, these were rumoured to be shipping with cards that allow all the
figures to be integrated into the delightfully fun Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Board Game System family. To top it off, we're talking about a game with an MSRP of forty bones! What could possibly go wrong?
Well, for starters, you can't really play the game with just one set. You have to have two sets to play the game properly, which means that you're investing in an eighty dollar experience, not the forty dollars that I was initially looking at. Now, you get twelve miniatures per pack, two big tiles and two smaller tiles, a sheet of counters, and a bunch of cards for that forty dollar pack. Note that as far as I cold tell, these aren't new minis, either; these are rehashes of old DDM models. In fact, I already own some that have once been re-purposed from DDM and were in the last waves of Heroscape, and some are even in the Dungeons and Dragons Adventure Board Game sets.
Now, as far as production value, this is wicked. The box is a really great design, with a flap that seals shut for travel to your local house of gaming. The art is, as always, spectacular and oozes
the aura of Dungeons and Dragons mythos. The minis are pre-painted, which is always awesome, and the tiles are bright, engaging, and beautiful. Everything in the box screams quality. The problem is that you can buy a single DDM starter pack for 20 bucks and be able to play DDM. With this, the minimum buy in is $40, and you're going to need 2 sets to really play it as designed, so you're really at four times the initial buy price to play the game when comparing it with DDM. That's a lot to ask of a consumer, in my opinion, if they've invested heavily in DDM. If not, though, it's not bad at all, because if you don't have DDM, this is all new stuff to you. I fall into the latter category, sort of, because I have many of these figures under the Heroscape brand, which is a whole different sport.
But, if the game is ridiculously awesome, then it's a small price to pay, right? I mean, Earth Reborn was in that higher-up price range, right? Well, here's the issue: remember when I said that a successful miniatures game drew you into its world, made you part of it, and makes you feel like the battle matters? Yeah, this game doesn't really do that for me. It does a lot of really smart, novel things for a miniatures game, such as borrowing some slick mechanics from Magic The Gathering, adding some new ones to the mix like card-based interrupts that stack, and the game does a lot of new, really smart stuff that I think makes this one of the most unique systems I've ever played. It's like a mash-up of MTG, Necromunda, Dungeon Twister, and Dungeons and Dragons Miniatures, with some new goodies in the box. But the one thing this game really needed that was sorely lacking is the luck factor.
You see, there's not a single die in the box. No D20, no D12, no D10, not even the stalwart D6. Everything is done by talking, or by playing a card. Casting spells or using abilities is done by card play. I mean, there is randomness in how you get the spells, and which creatures come up in which order for deployment, but really, it's not a game of doing things, it's a game about announcements. You announce that you're attacking, you ask if the opponent wishes to play a card, and if not, well, then you announce that your opponent's critter takes some damage. It's almost as if the other guy isn't playing.
Now, I'm not that guy who has to have dice in the game to enjoy it. I love me some Dungeon Twister, with a passion, and I even like Chess quite a bit. Each game provides a tension that is unique to it, which is what makes them great games. But in Dungeon Command, the fact is that the entire time I was playing each game, I felt as though I was an unwanted passenger on the ride, that everything really was based on tactical advantages inherent in the character cards you drew, which trickles down to being able to play spell cards, since they are tied
to abilities and the level of the character you wish to cast it. It's just a really weird game in that it feels as though the only things that truly matter is which figures you get to play, and position.
As far as the system itself goes, the skirmish rules regarding line of sight, blocking and hindering terrain, and the usual fare for this kind of game all work really well and you can literally learn the entire game in maybe 20 minutes. The basics are pretty simple, and like all minis games, you need to really go through the cards and see what everyone does, and what spells you have. That said, even as basic as it is, it takes a bit of time to really understand the nature the game, to understand the fundamental strategies that will really help make the game into the best it can be. I'd put the complexity on par with Battleship Galaxies, for instance, or maybe just a hair deeper. The long and short is that it's very accessible.
It's clear that the design is positional-heavy because there are quite a few cards that allow you to move through enemy zones of control, for lack of a better term, and there are cards that allow you to slide in, strike, and slide out again. But unless a player plays a card to stop a hit, every single attack automatically hits. I think the rubber hits the road at that very point, at least for me. Nothing in life is guaranteed, but in this game, if I close my eyes and swing at you, you're going to not only not try to avoid it, if I swing wide to the left, you're going to step into it.
Now back to dice for a minute, what makes games memorable, to me, is the "hallelujah" moments where you, despite all odds, dodge an almost certain death blow and overcome your attacker, or manage to find the one chink in the enemy's armor and thrust through to his heart, killing him dead as Elvis. This is the "All Skulls, Bitch" moment that we all pine for. And, honestly, the lack of anything really emulating that in this game just kind of turns me off to the whole shebang. I
mean, sure, I might pull that one order card and have exactly the right skills to use it or be in just the right place to pull off something resembling one of the aforementioned feats of bravery and might, but it just doesn't feel like it. I still feel like a sick, fat, middle aged douchebag playing with toys, not a God Emperor of the Underdark, sending forth my glorious legions of doom to crush the Dwarven alliance's incursion in my rough hewn caverns.
Now that you have heard what I don't like, let's talk about what I think you might find awesome, because there is a dosage of awesome sauce in the box. Now, the objective of this skirmish is to kill enough enemy forces to drop the enemy's Morale to zero, or kill every last enemy dude on the map. They go hand in hand, as Morale points are essentially the life points in the game, and you lose them by having an opponent smoke your critter. The higher the critter level killed, the more you lose. But there's also Leadership points, which raise by one point every turn, which is how many levels' worth of critters you can field. Although there is a creature card hand limit based on your leader card, if you want to wait until an opportune time to field a bunch of your baddies, well, go for it, because ambushes are cool when you can pull them off.
A really unique aspect of the game is a mechanic called "cowering" which allows you to block ten points of damage, which is the minimum amount that can be inflicted, and converting that damage into lost Morale points. Now, it's limited in your use, such as when you have a powerful figure that is on the verge of killing an enemy figure that is behind enemy lines. The downside is that when your critter does get killed, you lost Morale damage when you used "cower", and then you lose it again when he's dead. So, it's very risky, but it is a neat tactical choice to be given. I used it once to great effect when I was able to avoid the death of my dragon by cowering, who went on to kill four enemy figures.
Another interesting thing is that there's a deck building mechanic, of a sort. In order to have a legal "warband", you have to have at least 12 miniatures. So, if you had all of the sets, you have a good selection so you can tune the army to your liking, using whichever leader you wish from any of the sets. Further, you can create your own order deck, limited only by having a minimum of 30 cards. Now, this isn't really unique as every miniatures game requires you to draft an army. But the card mechanic is pretty unique because it essentially acts as your grimoire of spells, which isn't really anything I've seen in the frame of a fantasy miniatures game. It's very Battleship Galaxies-esque in that regard, which I thought was a clever way to handle spells. What I will say is that the decks and creatures seem well tuned to one another as provided, but there were some cards I wished I could've had when playing Lolth and some cards I wished I'd have had playing Cormyr, so there is an opportunity to really get a finely tuned warband going.
Now, regarding the order cards, these are the star of the show, so to speak. You draw one every turn, and there's no limit to how many you can have or play in a round. In a way, it feels a bit like old-school D&D when you'd have to wait to charge up your spells. These do all kinds of things, such as spitting webs, allowing you to dodge attacks, or allowing you to break movement rules in one way or another. The slick mechanic here is that for every card someone plays at you, you can stack a blocking card on top of theirs, or even a parry where you do something back to them, potentially. The clever thing here is that it plays out like plotted orders, where each order on top of the last overrides the previous one, and when all the stacking is done, you start resolving them from the top of the stack down. It's damned brilliant, if you ask me, and if there was one thing I had to point to in all of this as the single shining example of how good design ideas should emerge, this is it. It's remarkable.
The final, mechanic I want to talk about is the "Assist" mechanic. For some reason, if two level one humans are adjacent, they can join forces and magically use a power that they normally wouldn't be able to use. So, if you have a level two web spell, two level one guys can join hands and magically create a webbing gland in the active character's ass cheeks. This really made no sense in the D&D universe, at least to me, but it just further reinforces that this is a game of positional jockeying more than actual fighting.
So, if I had to boil the whole game down, noting why I didn't like it, it really comes down to the fact that most of the time, you're not playing cards. Most of the time, you're moving around, using a standard attack, which amounts to telling the other player what's happening and him either doing nothing or maybe trying to spend a card to defend. It's a lot of positional jockeying, which is very good in a minis game, but not a lot of fireworks, which is very bad. While playing Heroscape, there's times when you involuntarily stand up as if doing so will somehow imbue your figures with some magic or will make your dice roll skulls.
That is what makes minis games shine, that inherent ability to get you worked up. Unfortunately, this game is simply too dry for my tastes, and the tastes of my group. We've played Earth Reborn, Tannhauser, Necromunda, Heroscape, Star Wars Miniatures, Heroclix, Mage Knight Dungeons, and a wide, wide array of minis games with different scopes, and this game was the first one (at least that I recall) that received a "meh" response universally.
I think a lot of that boiled down to the fact that when one player is taking their turn, there is often times no interaction. It's not multiplayer solitaire, but we've been programmed for decades that you need to be tossing a die to defend yourself or something, and this might account for our lack of enthusiasm. Some have started hinting comparisons to Epic Duels, but it would be a truly bad comparison. This game doesn't do the same thing that Epic Duels does, and the only real similarities end in the fact that you play cards to do some things, and you move miniatures around a map. Epic Duels created tension by constantly creating a shortage of resources. If you had no cards, you couldn't do anything. Hell, in many cases you couldn't even move. But in Dungeon Command, you can always attack, move, and perform actions. You can literally play the entire game by doing nothing other than declaring attacks and deploying your figures. So, again, I think that the utter lack of tension in the game is what really makes this game less than the sum of its parts.
Now, on the flipside, I'm pleased as could be to have new enemies and outdoor terrain for Ravenloft, and that alone would justify the price in my eyes. I guess the way I look at it, I got a couple of 40 dollar expansions for my D&D Series games, and as a bonus it comes with a mostly forgettable skirmish game included for free. From that perspective, I'm a happy camper. But I would, personally, never have considered the game on its own merits alone.
The minis look good, which is nice, and I really like the fact that they can be used for this game or used in Ravenloft. I mean, the Sting of Lolth set adds 12 baddies to the mix with The Legend of Drizzt Underdark theme, which totally rocks. And the tiles are double sided, and the big ones are like four times the size of a standard cavern tile, so it's really a shoo in for double use. Tie that in with the fact that the obverse is an outdoor terrain tile, and now you can really pump up your campaigns with battles through the forests surrounding the vile Count Strahd's castle before climbing the sheer cliffs, battling Ashardalon, and finally reaching the vile one's crypt. That alone is awesome sauce, distilled. I mean, I cannot emphasize enough how excited I am to be able to create rich, engaging campaigns with town mechanics and whatnot now that this is available.
The Heart of Cormyr pack is essentially straight out of Wrath of Ashardalon, thematically, and so you can integrate that into the Adventure System games as well, and they really do look brilliant. I'd argue that of all of the DDMs I've seen, which I'll admit is limited, these are the best looking of them all. Now there is only one major flaw in all of this regarding the integration into the other game system, which is that these are painted, and the others are not. Now, in these two sets, some of the miniatures are painted copies of the ones in the Adventure System games, which might actually work out in your favor. The only downside is that some will be unpainted and some will be painted, but if you decide to paint your unpainted ones, you run the risk of them being released later in the Dungeon Command series.
It's your call, and I see no reason why you can't simply use only the painted ones, which act as an upgrade kit. In any case, I think Wizards really did a great thing by building in dual-use into these battle packs. Really a brilliant idea. I'm pleased as could be to have new enemies and outdoor terrain for Ravenloft, and that alone would justify the price in my eyes. I guess the way I look at it, I got a couple of 40 dollar expansions for my D&D Series games, and as a bonus it comes with a mostly forgettable skirmish game included for free. From that perspective, I'm a happy camper. But I would, personally, never have considered the game on its own merits alone.
As a standalone skirmisher, it simply didn't capture my imagination, it used rehashed miniatures, and doesn't provide a favorable fun-to-price ratio, all things considered. I like randomness in my war games, and this was far more of a structured, tight design that really rewards critical thinking and good timing of card use. I guess the upshot is that this is really one of the first German-inspired miniatures skirmish games that I've ever seen, and if you like games that have little randomness but want a high-confrontation tactical miniatures game, this might well be what you've been waiting for.
The thing that really scares me, though, in my heart of hearts, is that Wizards seems to be moving more toward the MTG and European-style gaming. This, to me, is a travesty. Back when TSR Hobbies was producing games like Dungeons and Dragons, and spawning countless knockoffs like HeroQuest, Warhammer Quest, and DungeonQuest, nobody could've envisioned a sword-and-sorcery game that didn't involve skill checks via dice. Gary Gygax would never have considered, in my opinion, making combat card-based with no real chance of failure unless someone intervened with an opposing card.
The Magic-ization and Euro-ization of Wizards is most certainly intriguing to watch, but I believe it's a mistake. People associate the Dungeons and Dragons brand with the D20, D12, D4, and most of the hobby dice ever made. To abandon them really stings a bit, at least for me. But that's just me, and apparently someone at Wizards who knows the game business thinks it's a great idea based on the last two games released by them, Lords of Waterdeep and Dungeon Command, and as long as I get my annual dosage of Dungeons and Dragons Adventure system product, I guess I will have to be content with that alone, which is not a bad thing, I suppose, because I really like those games a lot.
Why I Applied For Another Tourist Visa For My Return To Cormyr:
Tremendous quality is seen in the art, the bits, and even the box design
It was a stroke of genius to include D&D Adventure Game integration
There's a lot of "new stuff" about this game, from a miniatures perspective
If you like Euro games and also like skirmish games, surrender your wallet now
Why I Felt The Sting Of The Travel Agent, Lolth, Who Sent Me To Cormyr:
There is nothing in this game that really engages you
An eighty dollar buy in to get the full experience is very steep
These are all re-issues of miniatures from Heroscape/DDM/Adventure System games
The lack of tension and excitement contributes to the "dry as toasted rye" disposition
This game was a lot different than any other miniature game that I've played, and it was a refreshing change from the usual cookie cutter "move a guy, roll a die" formula that has been around forever. Unfortunately, while it was a refreshing change, the game itself fell quite flat for us. It lacked any tension whatsoever, and while the mechanics are spectacular, the game itself ends up far less than the sum of its parts. Somewhere along the way, the design lost its soul, and I'd argue that it happened when the dice were kept out of the box.
From what I've read, people seem to really be digging the game, but not a single one of us here wants to play Dungeon Command again, as delivered. The price of $80 to play this game via buying two faction packs seems egregious for what the game is, but the one truly saving grace which, in my humble opinion, justifies the price, is that the integration into Ravenloft/Ashardalon/Drizzt is simply perfect. In fact, it's so overwhelmingly well devised that I can recommend this to you based solely on that, if you are inclined to expand that series of games, as I am. Seeing as I will not be getting more review copies anymore, I'm fully prepared to state that I will be buying more expansions for Ravenloft…even if it is packaged with a bland skirmish game.
Dungeon Command is available from:
If you have enjoyed this review, please consider donating a small amount of money to help support this website.
Filed Under: Authors, Board Games, Peter Ruth II Tagged With: avalon hill, axis & allies, d20, d20 Modern, dragons, dreamblade, dungeons, hecatomb, kids next door, magic, miniatures, mirrorstone, monitor, neopets, robo rally, roleplaying games, Star Wars, trading card games, xiaolin showdown


text:
AAF FOOTBAL
Watch live: Johnny Manziel is expected to be speak at Memphis' weekly press conference
Johnny Manziel is expected to be made available at the Memphis Express' weekly press conference, which is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
The former Texas A&M Aggie, Cleveland Brown and Montreal Allouette signed with the Alliance of American Football Saturday and was claimed by the Express in short order.
Memphis coach Mike Singletary is also scheduled to speak to reporters Tuesday.
Support Local Journalism:6 benefits of a Commercial Appeal digital subscription


Former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy, who authored The Grand Jihad: How Islam and the Left Sabotage America and who prodigiously writes for the National Review Online and Pajamas Media, spoke yesterday at the National Press Club in D.C. The topic was the Muslim Brotherhood and U.S. policy.
The Muslim Brotherhood is out to subvert liberty, to convert the world to their brand of Islamist totalitarianism, and supports terrorist organizations — including al Qaeda — towards that end.
Top leaders of the America-based Muslim Brotherhood all knew in advance what was coming.
The Country Class or the Country Party has come down against the mosque, and it goes far beyond New Yorkers. It embraces Americans from all over. They oppose the mosque and their opposition is growing. On the other side, the Ruling Class's spokesman is not surprisingly Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York, though he could be from Chicago or Boston or Washington, D.C. Apropos of the mosque, he says: "What is great about America, and particularly New York, is we welcome everybody, and if we are so afraid of something like this, what does it say about us?" First of all, we do not welcome everybody, not drugs lords, not Nazis, not Islamofascists. Secondly, we are not "so afraid of something like this." Rather, we recognize it as an affront to the fallen and to the Nation. Ad arguendo, the affront might not be intended by those wishing to put up the mosque, but it will be recognized by others throughout the world as an affront. Possibly it will be recognized as a sign of the triumph of Islam over non-believers. It ought not to go up.
When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse… I heard someone on Islamic radio who owns a school in America say: "We don't have time to keep up with the demands of those who are asking about Islamic books to learn about Islam." This event made people think (about true Islam) which benefited Islam greatly.
The notion that the 9/11 attacks improved the standing of Islam in the minds of Americans is, of course, preposterous. But bin Laden's misunderstanding of American political culture mirrors a pervasive misunderstanding of Arab political culture. The "strong horse" concept really is an important factor in Arab politics, where political legitimacy is all too often won by demonstrating the ability to kill.
Post-9/11, America both attacked al Qaeda abroad and investigated here (while consulting with the Muslim Brotherhood) a mass-murder that had been launched from within.
Our Country gets that a Cordoba House mosque and Islamic "cultural center" would plant al Qaeda's battle flag at the scene of their greatest victory. Conversely, the clueless Ruling Class sees no harm in promoting, as freedom-of-faith, 51 Park Place to soon become the destination in lower Manhattan, the place to see and be seen at while downtown.
In 2004, the FBI raided a house and found a trove of evidence on the Muslim Brotherhood's plan to Islamacize America including their master plan: 'An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America'. Is the Cordoba House that Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf has planned to overlook Ground Zero a Muslim Brotherhood operation?
Rauf speaks of dialogue here and building bridges to the Muslim World while openly stating he will use that place, Ground Zero, and 9/11 to proselytize. Indeed; the original Malaysian title for his book was 'A Call to Prayer from the World Trade Center Rubble: Islamic Da'wah From the Heart of America Post-9/11' and da'wah is Islamic proselytizing. And in the Islamic law, da'wah precedes jihad.
Here are key excepts from 'An Explanatory Memorandum on the General Strategic Goal for the Brotherhood in North America' [all italicized emphasis added below are mine].
A mission as significant and as huge as the settlement mission needs magnificent and exhausting efforts. With their capabilities, human, financial and scientific resources, the Ikhwan will not be able to carry out this mission alone or away from people and he who believes that is wrong, and God knows best. As for the role of the Ikhwan, it is the initiative, pioneering, leadership, raising the banner and pushing people in that direction. They are then to work to employ, direct and unify Muslims' efforts and powers for this process. In order to do that, we must possess a mastery of the art of "coalitions", the art of "absorption" and the principles of "cooperation".
In brief we say: we would like for the Islamic center to become "The House of Dawa"' and "the general center" in deeds first before name. As much as we own and direct these centers at the continent level, we can say we are marching successfully towards the settlement of Dawa' in this country.
READ IT YOURSELF (Note: this trial exhibit is in Arabic, and includes an English translation).
Note: With a tip of the hat and great appreciate to the Investigative Project on Terrorism.
Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf heads the Cordoba Initiative that seeks to build a 15-story mosque, "cultural center," and Islamic "fun center" overlooking Ground Zero. He advocates for replacing our Constitution with sharia law, to take away religious freedom from all non-believers in Islam. His Cordoba House is an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to plant sharia's flag over where genocide was committed and brave American heroes fell.
Among those individuals and organizations named as un-indicted co-conspirators in the Holy Land Foundation case were: Jamal Badawi ("Founding incorporator of the Muslim American Society"); Islamic Society of North America, aka ISNA; North American Islamic Trust, aka NAIT; Islamic Association for Palestine in North America, aka IAP; and Council on American Islamic Relations, aka CAIR.
After more than 15 years of investigation and two trials, the Holy Land Foundation and five of its former organizers were found guilty of illegally funneling more than $12 million to the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
Hamas was spawned by the Muslim Brotherhood; Imam Rauf repeatedly refused to denounce either of those terrorist organizations.
Documents posted at the Counterrorism Blog confirm that Nihad Awad, a leader of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR), was present during an infamous 1993 meeting held in Philadelphia by senior leaders of Hamas, the Holy Land Foundation, and the Islamic Association of Palestine (IAP). The Holy Land Foundation is currently on trial on charges of providing financial support for Hamas and the IAP is generally considered to have represented the Hamas infrastructure in the U.S. A widely reported FBI memo based on wiretaps of the meeting indicated that its purpose was "to develop a strategy to defeat the Israeli/Palestinian peace accord, and to continue and improve their [HAMAS] fund-raising and political activities in the United States." Mr. Nihad was an employee of the IAP at the time of the meeting and until now, FBI documents only referred to Nihad LNU (last name unknown). As the CT blog notes, Awad had been asked about his attendance at the meeting during a civil lawsuit and said the didn't think that he had but that he didn't remember. The next summer, he was videotaped stating 'I am in support of the HAMAS movement' during a seminar at Miami' Barry University. The impact of these revelations on CAIR is not clear but it the origins of the organization in the U.S. Hamas infrastructure has been known for some time and it is doubtful whether this additional piece of evidence will be enough to unseat the organization in the eyes of many as a prominent organization representing U.S. Muslims that has been engaged by parts of the U.S. government.
We will not be silenced by those who seek to impose religious discrimination — sharia law — here in America: Imam Feisel Abdul Rauf, the Muslim Brotherhood, and an Islamist mouthpiece at CAIR.
* Note — While it has been announced the proposed Cordoba House mosque and Islamic Cultural Center has changed its name to '51 Park Place', they have yet to figure out what to rename the 7-year old Cordoba Initiative.


AVELLUM announced the promotion of Vadim Medvedev to partner effective from 1 January 2019.
Vadim leads the firm's tax practice and has an outstanding track record in the areas of international tax planning, transaction structuring, and succession planning matters. Vadim is also highly praised for successfully representing clients in tax litigation cases.
Vadim is well regarded for handling tax aspects of the most sophisticated and challenging deals, including advice to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on several deals worth over USD 2.5 billion, advice to Metinvest Group on the successful refinancing of its USD 2,271 million debt, as well as advice to MHP SE on its USD 550 million Eurobond issue.
Besides clients' work, he also took an active part in reshaping the Ukrainian tax framework, namely contributed to the draft law on counteracting Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) in Ukraine, changes to the VAT administration system, as well as the development of special tax rules for Eurobond-funded loans. All leading legal directories (including Chambers and Partners, the Legal 500, World Tax, World Transfer Pricing, Indirect Tax Leaders, Tax Controversy Leaders Guide) highly praise Vadim for his legal expertise. Vadim is the leader of the Working Group on International Taxation and EU Harmonisation at the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine.
Vadim has obtained his degree from National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and now acts as a senior lecturer of International Taxation in his Alma Mater.


Intelligence matchmaker for Christian dating.
In contrast to other matchmakers, we combined modern approach of psychology - behaviorism with AI to find christian singles.
For christian singles looking for a new, effective approach to dating, Clickdate is the perfect place to begin. We are a new matchmaking site that matches singles based on a deeper level. We look to create long-lasting love connections by using a modern approach to psychology. We do this by analyzing behavior. By doing it differently, we feel that these connections are stronger and more meaningful. We are not one of those free online dating sites that don't provide assistance. We don't expect you to just swipe right and left in the hopes that someone will respond. We have an innovative approach to matchmaking as compared to other dating sites.
Why is ClickDate is Different than other free Christian online dating sites?
We want christian singles to get on board! Other sites take your credit card information and leave you to navigate hundreds, if not thousands of profiles on your own. That is not the way to find your perfect match. Our system works with users to determine if they have created an accurate profile. Who you see online is who you will meet in real life. With ClickDate, you get all of this, and best of all, there is no cost!
There is a unique approach to the psychology behind our matchmaking system. With other dating sites, you are expected to create an attractive profile to be able to catch someone's attention. We eliminate this process by analyzing your preferences, and those of all potential partners. On other sites, users fill in their profiles with inaccurate information. Many people tend to present themselves in a way that they want others to see them. Sometimes, users' profiles do not reflect who they really are. At ClickDate, you will answer a few simple questions. You specify your main "want/don't want" and "important/not important" traits, and we do the rest. Users don't waste their time communicating with people who they are not compatible with. At ClickDate, you find true matches.
With ClickDate, dating is fun! You are looking for true love, and so are your matches. By combining behaviorism with artificial intelligence principles, we learn what you are looking for in a relationship. By analyzing every step of the communication process, our system knows when you are ready for that first meeting! You and your match can set up a first date via Foursquare. When you meet your match, you'll find that he or she is a great partner for you, laying the foundation for a lasting relationship.
What are you waiting for? With ClickDate, there is no reason why you shouldn't find your perfect match. We are an honest, realistic dating site, and we want you to find true love. Meet other singles, and take the first step in changing your status from "Single" to "Taken" when you register with ClickDate!


"Skjöldr" is the Old Norse word for shield and this piece is an abstract representation of that ancient item. My vision was to deconstruct this symbol of protection and recreate it in an industrial manner, with the intention to symbolize something that is built to last but also with a constructed nature that lends itself to ornamentation.
While Viking shields were typically much larger than this piece, they were just as important a part of a warrior's arsenal as was a battle axe or a sword. The shields of each warrior were very personal and might represent clan, self, or symbolism (religious or otherwise) that was very personal to the individual.


text:
Q: MySql Multiple Update, each column own expression? i use this query to update 3 Tables, but i have to check the updated field for every update table before.  Normally i use a Single Update for every Table.
UPDATE tab1
  left
  join tab2
    on tab2.Col1 = tab1.id
  left
  join tab3
    on tab3.Col1 = tab1.id
  left
  join tab4
    on tab4.id = tab2.extid
    or tab4.id = tab3.persid
   SET tab1.col3 = 1
     , tab1.col4 = CURDATE()
     , tab2.col3 = 1
     , tab3.col4 = CURDATE()
     , tab2.col4 = CURDATE()
     , tab3.col3 = 1
 Where tab1.col2 = 'Deutschland'
    or tab4.land != 'de'

Example:
SET tab1.col3=1, if(tab1.col4=NULL)tab1.col4=CURDATE(),if(tab2.col4=NULL)tab2.col4=CURDATE()

A: Use COALESCE() which will return CURDATE() if the column is NULL, or the existing value of the column if it is NOT NULL:
SET tab1.col3 = 1
 , tab1.col4 = COALESCE(tab1.col4, CURDATE())
 , tab2.col3 = 1
 , tab3.col4 = COALESCE(tab3.col4, CURDATE())
 , tab2.col4 = COALESCE(tab2.col4, CURDATE())
 , tab3.col3 = 1


Chronologically these are the three colours of the French flag and the national motto of the French Republic. But these six words have a different meaning to film lovers. Yes, I am talking about the three colors trilogy by Krzysztof Kieslowski. The films titled as Three Colors: Blue (1993), Three Colors: White (1994) and Three Colors: Red (1994) are supposedly based on the three mottos of the French Republic. Though Kieslowski has declined this possibility, one can loosely connect the mottos with the films.
Should you watch these films? Are they worth the time?
To some people, movie quality is largely tied to its achievements. Well, for them, this trilogy is also heavy in awards and nominations.
Three Colors: Blue was awarded the best film in the Venice Film Festival of 1993. It was nominated in three categories at the 1994 Golden Globes.
Kieslowski won the award for Best Director for Three Colours: White in 1994 Berlin Film Festival.
Three Colors: Red had a total of 18 wins and 24 nominations. It was nominated for Palme d'Or in the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. The winner of that year was Pulp Fiction by Quentin Tarantino.
You can get further details about the awards in the IMDb pages of these movies.
Now let's stop judging art in a materialistic way and start appreciating its beauty.
The first of the three films are written and directed by Kieslowski has shown one's redemption from grief. The film shows us the emotional and mental state of someone grieving deeply. Even so, the filmmaking is melodic, expressive and sympathetic. The colour blue can be related to a lot of things. From cheerfulness to the distance to sadness, it can symbolize a range of emotions. The film takes this into account and it seems like the central character of the film bounces from one emotion to another. The talented actress Juliette Binoche gives an amazing performance. In several brilliant close-up shots, her expressions almost transcend emotional boundaries. The film puts a lot of emphasis on music. There are times when the colour blue merges with symphonies.
There is a lot that can be talked about this film that too in an unspoiled way. One can talk for hours just about the ending scene of this film.
I guess this would inspire you to watch this film. If not, then we have two other movies in our bag.
This film is based upon the most highly valued idea of the modern world, Equality. Unlike the previous film of this trilogy, this film falls more under the black comedy genre. White can be divided into three parts.
First is the shame of inequality. The central character here faces inequality and experiences a pitfall in life. From a dream of having everything to a reality of having nothing. Then comes the second part or Transformation. The character here faces something that changes his view towards life and he starts to transform. The third and final part of the film is the blissful revenge or being equal. Through a set of well-planned acts the central character here recovers the inequality of the first part.
This film is also seen as a critic and satire towards post-communist Poland.
It also questions our morality. To what extent are we willing to go in the name of equality? Where do we draw the line between getting even and vengeance?
With these complex thoughts, the film gifts us a brilliant acting, powerful dialogues, and obviously good cinematography. Just like Blue, this film has a lot of white in its scenes.
Just as the color suggests, this film is the warmest of all three of the films. This intellectual puzzle gifts and confuses us with various depictions.
In both the art direction and photographic design, the dominance of the color red is easily noticeable.
It is set to stand for both danger, anger, love and passion throughout the film. Also, at the end of the film, one can easily understand how it is linked to Fraternity.
Red has its storyline revolved around three characters. One model, one retired judge, and one young lawyer. The model runs over a dog and this leads to a series of twisted and unpredictable events. When two of the three characters meet at first it is easily assumed that something bad is about to come.
The events throughout the film make us question about the exitance of three characters. Some might wonder that one character might be the younger version of another. While others may relate one of the characters with god. God who knows all and who orchestrates the lives of people.
The wonderful presentation of this film gives us the experience of being an eavesdropper.
We see how people with negative traits recover themselves with a touch of friendship and start to do wonderful things. The final moments of this film truly shock us with the connections from the two previous movies. Red goes short in emotional deepness compared to Blue and lacks the black comedy of White. But it makes up everything with its story and stylistic fertility.
Sadly, this movie will never be nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscars because the country of origin Switzerland has decided to reject it.


text:
Proof that earning Eagle isn't the only sign of a successful Scouting experience
December 8, 2021 Bryan Wendell App Feed - For Leaders, Inspirational Stories, Recruiting 12
Matt Jones early in his Scouts BSA career and at infantry training.
Matt Jones approached the U.S. Marine Corps recruiting station as a confident high school senior and Life Scout.
Matt, who was 17 at the time, told the recruiter he wanted to enlist right after graduating from McCracken County High School in Paducah, Ky.
After Matt completed the necessary paperwork, the recruiter told him it would be at least six months before he would get his two-week notice instructing him to report to Parris Island, S.C., for Marine Corps recruit training.
"Matt was pleased because this was more than enough time to complete his Eagle project and submit his application for his Eagle board of review," remembers John Wood, Matt's Scoutmaster from Troop 2066 of the Lincoln Heritage Council.
By the time he enlisted, Matt had already finished planning his Eagle Scout service project. After securing funding and approval from the Paducah City Council, Matt and his team of volunteers planned to build and install three canine exercise stations at the Bob Noble Park dog park facility.
But just two weeks after Matt visited the recruiting station, he got the call: He had two weeks to report to Parris Island.
Matt arrived on time and ready to excel. And excel he did. Matt impressed his superiors in basic training, ranking fifth in his class in the physical test and first in shooting proficiency.
It had been a few weeks since Scoutmaster Wood heard from Matt. And then, at 3:16 p.m. on Oct. 16, 2021, he got a text message from the young man.
"Well, Mr. Wood, as of the 13th I'm officially 18 years old," Matt wrote. "I'm sorry I never got to finish my Eagle, but God called me to another path: 'To do my duty to God and my country.'"
The goal of Scouting
Wood looked at that text and immediately thought back to a BSA recruiting webinar he had watched two weeks earlier.
"Interestingly, at the beginning, it was mentioned that reaching Eagle rank is not the goal of Scouting. Reaching Eagle is the goal of the individual Scout," Wood says. "The goal of Scouting is to guide each Scout to reach First Class rank, which provides the Scout the basic first-aid skills, outdoor skills, and water safety in swimming skills and canoeing. This, plus memorizing the words of the Scout Oath and Scout Law with the gradual understanding that these are not just words to memorize but words to live by for life."
While the words in Matt's text hint that the young man feels he failed in some way, Wood sees it differently.
"Matt's text filled me with such pride, knowing that Matt has indeed personally experienced the true goal of Scouting," Wood says.
Wood hopes to use Matt's story when talking to families who might be interested in joining Troop 2066.
"There is more to Scouting than all the fun activities and merit badges we have a reputation for in Troop 2066," Wood says. "We can help them Be Prepared for life."
As for Matt, he's now in infantry school at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
"The Scouts … helped me a lot," he says. "The core values give you a compass to navigate life."
Life Scout teaches ESL students to build computers for his Eagle Scout project
How Scouting put this meteorologist on his career path


We would love to hear from you. If you have a question about life insurance, health insurance, medicare, prescription plans, or anything else, please give us a call or fill out the form below. One of our representatives will be in touch!


text:
Tuesday, Jan 31, 2023 | Last Update : 12:23 AM IST
Fire at 10-storey residential building in Mumbai's Ghatkopar area
The blaze erupted at ground-plus-10 Shriji Tower on Rajawadi Road around 5.42 pm, a fire official said.
Mumbai: Father arrested for killing pregnant daughter
Akhilesh Singh, DCP said there was a rift between the father and his pregnant daughter due to which he murdered her.
5 dead, including one on ground, as chartered plane crashes in Mumbai
According to Mumbai police, the plane crashed near Jagruti building in Ghatkopar where construction work was going on.


text:
What's the Most Pathetic Love Song of All Time?
Major Styles in Music March 25, 2017 519 Words
The Major is a romantic…it's true. But everybody has a line, a place they won't cross. Everybody has a moment they no longer feel love…when they only feel creepy.
For me, that moment occurs when I hear "Always a Woman" by Billy Joel.
She can kill with a smile, she can wound with her eyes
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies
She sounds like a crazy bitch. I say run…
And she only reveals what she wants you to see
She hides like a child, but she's always a woman to me
Yes, she technically is a woman. That's true. But you just implied that she was a crazy bitch, so why are interested in her?
She can lead you to love, she can take you or leave you
She can ask for the truth, but she'll never believe you
Ok, now it's confirmed. The bitch is crazy.
And she'll take what you give her, as long it's free
Yeah, She steals like a thief, but she's always a woman to me
Uh…ok. Do you have any self-esteem? Any pride? I'm thinking no at this point.
Ohhh…she takes care of herself
She can wait if she wants, she's ahead of her time
No, Beethoven was ahead of his time. Einstein was ahead of his time. Some predatory bitch is not "ahead of her time."
Ohhh…and she never gives out
And she never gives in, she just changes her mind
"She just changes her mind" sounds like a frightening prospect. I'm thinking of regret rape, or something to that effect.
And she'll promise you more than the garden of Eden
Then she'll carelessly cut you and laugh while you're bleeding
Who can pass up that deal?
But she'll bring out the best and the worst you can be
Blame it all on yourself 'cause she's always a woman to me
Blame it on myself? I'm sorry, but I don't have Stockholm syndrome.
Repeating the chorus, just in case you were wondering if Billy Joel is sick. And yes, it appears so.
She's frequently kind and she's suddenly cruel
She can do as she pleases, she's nobody's fool
I'm picturing a woman who will end up alone with an apartment full of cats. And Cymbalta…plenty of Cymbalta.
And she can't be convicted, she's earned her degree
And the most she will do is throw shadows at you
But she's always a woman to me
"She earned her degree"…from what? University of Menstruation?
Man, I feel sorry for Billy Joel. If he wrote this song from the bottom of his heart, then he's clearly a beta-male pussy. And it's little wonder that Christy Brinkley took a left turn on him. If I were a woman, I'd do the same.
There's nothing attractive about a man without honor.
Read more: Billy Joel – Always A Woman Lyrics | MetroLyrics
#Billy Joel
Book Review: Victory Secrets of Attila the Hun
What's the Greatest Love Song of All Time? (1st Edition)
16 thoughts on "What's the Most Pathetic Love Song of All Time?"
Ame says:
i looked up the song b/c i don't know anything about it … found this:
http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=3033
"Billy Joel wrote this song about his first wife, Elizabeth, whom he was married to from 1973-1982. When they first got together, she was still married to Joel's drummer Jon Small. Billy was so tormented by his affair that he made a halfhearted attempt to kill himself by drinking furniture polish. Ironically, the rocker was saved by the very man he was betraying when Jon Small rushed him to hospital.
Joel's then-wife Elizabeth was also his manager and worked in the music industry at a time when very few women did. Billy saw her take a lot of gruff in the working world and get called a lot of names, which led to him writing this song to defend her, in a way. He explained: "If you look at the structure of the song, it says, 'she can do this to you, she can do that to you, but she's always a woman to me.' That was the point of the song: they're bitching about her, and I'm saying, you can bitch all you want, she's great at business and she comes home and she's a woman with me.""
Major Styles says:
"When they first got together, she was still married to Joel's drummer Jon Small."
It sounds like he deserved the future anguish he received for breaking up his friend's marriage. A real man would not do that – he would have the honor to respect the wedding vows of his bandmate.
It shows a lack of integrity on his part.
It sounds like the bio painted the tryst as "he was empowering women." That's a bit duplicitous in my opinion.
It's like "I stole you wife, Joel. But don't worry…it's all in the name of feminism. You'll be cool, bro."
yes. it's sick.
great musician does not equal great Man, or Man of honor, or Man of integrity. one could even go to the place where he's simply a male musician.
As a rock star, he could have had a plethora of women – that goes without saying. How many beautiful women came to see him backstage at his concerts for example? The answer is rhetorical. We know how rock stars roll.
But instead, he breaks up the marriage of his drummer – one of his bandmates on the musical team. The more I think of it, the weaker it becomes.
And the drummer's wife is no better, throwing her wedding vows to the wind so that she can take the bigger, better deal.
And then, it gets sold to the public as an act of "female empowerment." Two-faced, hypocritical…choose the word of your liking.
or a musician who was born a male.
I was a performing musician for over ten years. I never slept with married women during that time, simply because I was a man.
i'm sorry … i didn't word that well. i was thinking more along the lines that simply b/c he is an adult male, it doesn't make him a Man.
the words of that song are sick. it's no wonder he's had so many wives. and his poor kids 😦
Understood. I get the gist of your comment now.
"I was a performing musician …"
i'm assuming you're not performing anymore … do you miss it?
sooo … what is the best love song of all time?!
"what is the best love song of all time?!"
"Lady" by Kenny Rogers; "I Wouldn't Be A Man" by Don Williams (Josh Turner version is great); "Someone Like You" by Van Morrison.
In Spanish, "Duerme" and "Accopanarme a Estar Solo" by Ricardo Arjona.
These songs all elevate love to its rightful place, and the verses are as beautiful as the chorus.
I miss the excitement of being on stage, entertaining the crowd. I don't miss the business end of things, as well as the musicians "life" which makes it difficult to lead a healthy existence.
What is your favorite love song(s)?
I just linked to you blog…you inspired a new post. 🙂
Pingback: Every Married Man Will Experience a Crisis of Trust – Major Styles
Pingback: You Have to Support the Prejudice of Your Spouse If You Want to Stay Happily Married – Major Styles


text:
Stephen Smith and Pinchas Gutter Discuss New Dimensions in Testimony at College of Saint Elizabeth
During its Week of Holocaust Remembrance, Stephen Smith and Pinchas Gutter helped the College of Saint Elizabeth not only honor the past, but also consider the future of Holocaust remembrance and education.
The USC Shoah Foundation executive director and Holocaust survivor (who gave testimony to the Visual History Archive), respectively, are in Morristown, New Jersey, this week to give two presentations during the College of Saint Elizabeth Holocaust Education Resource Center's 23rd annual Week of Holocaust Remembrance.
In their first presentation Monday night, Smith and Gutter discussed New Dimensions in Testimony, a new project being developed by USC Shoah Foundation in conjunction with USC Institute for Creative Technologies and Conscience Display. The project is to capture three-dimensional interviews with a number of survivors so that in the future people will enable to engage with them conversationally.
The design firm Conscience Display is developing installations for students and other visitors to interact with photo-realistic, life-size versions of those interviewed. People will be able ask their own questions and engage in simulated, enlightening conversations with digital doppelgangers of the survivors, as if they were in the same room in real time.
Gutter participated in a New Dimensions prototype in 2012. He was the only member of his family to survive the Majdanek concentration camp during the Holocaust.
The second presentation was for middle- and high school students and their teachers on Tuesday morning. The students screened The Void: In Search of Memory Lost, a documentary directed by Smith about Gutter's memories of life before, during and after the Holocaust. Following the screening, Smith and Gutter answered questions from the students.
The College of Saint Elizabeth's Week of Holocaust Remembrance also includes interfaith dialogues, lectures, a film festival, art exhibits and a Kristallnacht commemoration. USC Shoah Foundation's Visual History Archive contains 52,000 testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides. The testimonies were conducted in 57 countries and in 33 languages.
Viral Video Demonstrates Need for Mandatory Holocaust Education
Back to School with Echoes and Reflections - Part 7
New Dimensions in Testimony on CBS This Morning
Holocaust Education Institute to be Held Friday at USC