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STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)
December 31, 2015 Alfred Eaker	6 Comments
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) is everything George Lucas' Star Wars prequels promised to be, but fell short of. Director J. J. Abrams finds the pulse that somehow evaded creator Lucas himself: the appeal of Star Wars is not found in Luke Skywalker. Rather, it's heart is the space age swashbuckler, Han Solo. There is probably nothing duller than the zeal of a religious convert. The prequels convinced us of that by honing in on the Luke-ian brand of mysticism. At its best, Star Wars is more soap opera than opera, but someone forgot to tell Lucas that, and he approached his second trilogy with the seriousness of "Parsifal" (Wagner's very long take on the King Arthur legend). Without a Han Solo-type to offset all that pseudo-religious mumbo jumbo, crash landings were inevitable. There were enough stand out moments in Episodes I-III to retain the loyalty of an audience who hoped in vain that Lucas would improve; although, for some, Revenge of the Sith (2005) was a payoff.
Without Harrison Ford and the always delightful Alec Guinness, the original Star Wars (1977) might have been a one-shot because, despite the epic FX, it takes vibrant, identifiable personalities to ground it. We certainly did not get that from the "Taming of the Shrew" robot couple, C3PO and R2D2 (thankfully, the duo only make an obligatory cameo in The Force Awakens). Nor did we get it from Leia, the princess with a headset styled 'do (she's more likable thirty-eight years later). It was left to relative newcomer Ford and veteran Guinness to pilot us to movie magic, which they did (although Guinness forever grumbled about the fame of Star Wars, lamenting that he would be remembered for this role instead of his superior work in the Ealing comedies of the 40s and 50s). Under the assured direction of Irvin Kirshner, The Empire Strikes Back (1980) smartly retained the linear flow and finale of its cliffhanger sources, making it the best of the trilogy (despite the bumper sticker wisdom pontification of Yoda). In Empire, Luke briefly escapes his Arthurian trappings, becoming both vulnerable and more likable. Unfortunately, Richard Marquand directed Return of the Jedi (1983) and he had no feel for the material. Even the actors were affected, delivering stale performances. The result was a choppily paced jalopy, with an unbearably serious Luke and plump Ewoks providing kiddie relief.
With only a few television credits, J. J. Abrams was given his big screen break when actor/producer Tom Cruise took a chance by handing the director reins over for Mission Impossible III (2006). That was successful enough to pave the path for Star Trek (2009). Abrams' reboot was praised in some quarters, but also frequently noted as being more like Star Wars than Star Trek. Super 8 (2011) followed as a valentine homage to the Lucas and Spielberg school of filmmaking. After Disney purchased the Star Wars universe from Lucas, Abrams landed the coveted director position for The Force Awakens. It was a smart move on the part of Disney; Abrams delivers the best entry since 1980.
Some critics have pointed out that Force Awakens is essentially a reboot of the 1977 original. There is some truth in that, but arguably, the copy may have improved on its source, since both Daisy Ridley and John Boyega have more charisma than Hamill's Luke Skywalker ((Hamill was far more in element when he played an animated villain on the original "Flash" TV series, and voiced the Joker on the animated Batman.)). Star Wars fanboys made a small controversy over the casting of an African American in the role of a Stormtrooper. Complaints about PC casting were also raised when the lead role was given to a female. Of course, it has become politically correct to complain about political correctness. Audiences can keep that in mind, as Ridley's Rey and Boyega's Finn send the fanboys running for the kitchen sink to wipe all that egg off their faces.
Luke Skywalker is missing (but hardly missed). The grail knights are no longer searching for the holy chalice, but King Arthur himself. Walking onto the scene with no less authority than John Wayne as Ethan Edwards in The Searchers, Rey's goal is more pragmatic. Rather than searching for a myth, she just wants to get through the day. With her steel-eyed determination, we know she will. The storm troopers, fresh from Triumph of the Will (1935) are razing the planet, looking for a droid who has the key to the missing Luke Skywalker's whereabouts. Rey acquires two companions: that very same droid everyone is looking for and the repentant Nazi, Finn.
Of course, we always knew that Han and Leia were not going to live happily ever after, and who the hell would want them to? Ford knows it too and, just like thirty-eight years ago, he steals every scene. The only thing missing from this intergalactic Rick Blaine is a cigarette dangling from his lips as he reminds us "I'm the only cause I'm interested in." Damn right, and none of this saving the universe crap.
Leia, far more appealing here, has all the beauty of a divorced woman. She of the cause, he of making a living, made for some pretty good times, and some not so good. Like Rick and Ilsa, no shame, no blame. It just is. Proving that bad things happen to good people indeed, Han and Leia have produced their very own version of The Bad Seed (1956) in Kylo Ren (Adam Driver, looking like an elongated villain straight out of an El Greco canvas).
Ford has long carried the weight of Lucas' franchises. He doesn't have to here. With humor intact, he assures us we're home on the plain again, and like Ken Maynard passing the torch onto Gene Autry, Ford has Ridley, Boyega, and Driver to pass it onto.
There's less CGI here, and the movie is lensed to perfection. In addition to composing a beautiful film, The Force Awakens is probably the subtlest entry in the Star Wars saga. In different hands, the big spoiler could have been treated with overwrought pomp and circumstance. Abrams knows better and washes it in a cool hue, like Bing Crosby delivering of the song "Danny Boy." Holding back actually renders the big scene even more emotional.
2015Adam DriverCarrie FisherDaisy RidleyHarrison FordJ. J. AbramsJohn BoyegaMark HamillScience Fiction
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6 thoughts on "STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (2015)"
Lee Taylor says:
Funny seeing this posted under "Fringe Cinema."
Gargus says:
If you don't mind my asking, do you think Rey's character in this movie is more in the spirit of Ethan from the Searchers, or is there a more direct parallel being drawn here? I ask because the notion intrigues me, and I'm interested in going back to the Searchers to see if there's anything extra to learn about her by doing so.
Alfred Eaker says:
@Gargus, I missed your comment/question. I think Rey carries herself with the determined authority of an Ethan Edwards. There is a comparable spirit in her taking command of a panoramic landscape, which could overwhelm a lesser actor. The parallel is more aesthetic than direct, but I imagine that her "continuing adventure" will be similarly iconic (hopefully, without succuming to all that franchise mythology). In addition to Ford, the film is grounded in her.
Steve Mobia says:
Why is this a review on the weird movies site? Don't you think Disney has enough help?
joebiden says:
love how you swoon over this rehashed, unimaginative gunk of a film…
i come to weird movies to see movies that are IMAGINATIVE. the farce awakens is anything but… i can see the people they get to write these articles on here severely lack inspired taste in cinema if they are at all suggesting the farce awakens was any good
@joebiden. Actually, this was an extension of the Summer Blockbuster movies, albeit winter (I stated that I would most likely tackle Star Wars last summer). This is an off-the-beaten path series we do every year, simply to make sure we do not box ourselves entirely in (even within a weird box). A little variety distances us from being too conservative (and no genre, no theme is exempt from succumbing to a conservative mindset of being religious about 'staying on topic.')
As for the film itself and Star Wars, I don't count any of the Star Wars films as "great cinema," and I think the closest it gets is The Empire Strikes Back. As blasphemous as it may sound, I feel the same way about the Indiana Jones' franchise. The only one that's worthwhile is the darkhorse Temple Of Doom. Still, even for its lack of originality, The Force Awakens is better than the original for reasons I cited. Mainly, it is the performances, which surpass the originals, and the emotional "plot spoiler."
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The List Thus Far (Certfied Weird Movies)
3-Iron (2004)
3 Women (1977)
8 1/2 (1963)
200 Motels (1971)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (1953)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the Eighth Dimension (1984)
After Hours (1985)
After Last Season (2009)
Akira Kurosawa's Dreams (1990)
Alice [Neco Z Alenky] (1988)
Amarcord (1973)
The American Astronaut (2001)
The Apple (1980)
Archangel (1990)
Arise! The SubGenius Movie (1992)
Arizona Dream (1993)
Audition [Ôdishon] (1999)
Barton Fink (1991)
The Beast [La Bête] (1975)
Beasts of the Southern Wild (2012)
Beauty and the Beast [La Belle et la Bete] (1946)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
Belladonna of Sadness (1973)
Belle de Jour (1967)
Birdboy: The Forgotten Children (2015)
The Black Cat (1934)
Blancanieves (2012)
Blood Diner (1987)
Blood Freak (1972)
The Blood of a Poet [Le sang d'un poète] (1930)
Blood Tea and Red String (2006)
The Boxer's Omen [Mo] (1983)
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Brand Upon the Brain! (2006)
Bubba Ho-Tep (2002)
The Butcher Boy (1997)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Careful (1992)
Cat Soup (2001)
Cemetery Man [Dellamorte Dellamore] (1994)
Un Chien Andalou (1929)
Christmas on Mars (2008)
The City of Lost Children [La cité des enfants perdus] (1995)
City of Women (1980)
Clean, Shaven (1993)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Color of Pomegranates [Sayat Nova] (1969)
Come and See (1985)
Conspirators of Pleasure (1996)
The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
Cowards Bend the Knee, or, the Blue Hands (2003)
The Cremator [Spalovac Mrtvol] (1969)
Crime Wave (1985)
Cube (1997)
Daisies [Sedmikrásky] (1966)
The Dance of Reality (2013)
The Dark Backward (1991)
Dead Alive (1992)
Dead Leaves (2004)
Dead Man (1995)
Death Bed: The Bed That Eats (1977)
Death by Hanging (1968)
Death Laid an Egg [La morte ha fatto l'uovo] (1968)
Delicatessen (1991)
Dementia [Daughter of Horror] (1955)
Der Samurai (2014)
Desperate Living (1977)
Destino (2003)
The Devils (1971)
Dillinger is Dead (1969)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
Django Kill… If You Live, Shoot! (1967)
Doggiewogiez! Poochiewoochiez! (2012)
Dog Star Man (1964)
Dogtooth [Kynodontas] (2009)
Donnie Darko (2001)
The Double (2013)
Dr. Caligari (1989)
Eden and After (1970)
Eisenstein in Guanajuato (2015)
Elevator Movie (2004)
Enemy (2013)
Eraserhead (1977)
Escape from Tomorrow (2013)
Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)
The Exterminating Angel [El àngel exterminador] (1962)
Eyes Without a Face [Les Yeux sans Visage] (1965)
The Face of Another (1966)
The Falls (1980)
Fantasia (1940)
Fantastic Planet [La Planète Sauvage] (1973)
Fantasy Mission Force (1983)
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)
Fellini Satyricon (1969)
Female Trouble (1974)
A Field in England (2013)
Final Flesh (2009)
The Forbidden Room (2015)
Forbidden Zone (1982)
Funeral Parade of Roses [Bara no sôretsu] (1969)
Funky Forest: The First Contact (2005)
Glen or Glenda (1953)
Godmonster of Indian Flats (1973)
Goke, Body Snatcher from Hell (1968)
Goodbye Uncle Tom (1971)
Gothic (1986)
Gozu (2003)
La Grande Bouffe (1973)
Greaser's Palace (1972)
The Greasy Strangler (2016)
Gummo (1997)
Häxan [Witchcraft Through the Ages] (1922)
Head (1968)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Hellzapoppin' (1941)
Help! Help! The Globolinks [Hilfe! Hilfe! Die Globolinks] (1969)
Holy Motors (2012)
The Holy Mountain (1973)
The Horrors of Spider Island [Ein Toter hing im Netz] (1960)
The Hourglass Sanatorium (1973)
Hour of the Wolf [Vargtimmen] (1968)
House [Hausu] (1977)
Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
How to Get Ahead in Advertising (1989)
Hugo the Hippo (1975)
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting (1978)
I Can See You (2008)
Idiots and Angels (2008)
If…. (1968)
I'm A Cyborg, But That's OK [Saibogujiman Kwenchana] (2006)
The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle (2009)
Indecent Desires (1968)
Inherent Vice (2014)
Ink (2009)
INLAND EMPIRE (2006)
Innocence (2004)
Institute Benjamenta, or This Dream People Call Human Life (1995)
It's Such a Beautiful Day (2011)
I Will Walk Like a Crazy Horse [J'irai Comme un Cheval Fou] (1973)
Jacob's Ladder (1990)
Japanese Summer: Double Suicide (1967)
John Dies at the End (2012)
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Keyhole (2011)
Kin-Dza-Dza (1986)
Kontroll (2003)
L'Age d'Or (1930)
The Lair of the White Worm (1988)
Last Year at Marienbad [L'Année Dernière à Marienbad] (1961)
The Legend of Suram Fortress [Ambavi Suramis Tsikhitsa] (1984)
Lemonade Joe [Limonádový Joe aneb Konská Opera] (1964)
Léolo (1992)
L'Immortelle (1963)
L'Inhumaine (1924)
Lisztomania (1975)
Little Otik [Otesánek] (2000)
The Lobster (2015)
Lost Highway (1997)
Love Exposure (2008)
Lunacy [Sileni] (2005)
The Lure [Córki Dancingu] (2015)
Maelstrom (2000)
Malpertuis (1972)
Manos: The Hands of Fate (1966)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Marquis (1989)
Meet the Feebles (1989)
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
Metropolis (1927)
The Milky Way [La Voie Lactee] (1969)
Millennium Actress (2001)
Mind Game (2004)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)
Mood Indigo (2013)
Mr. Nobody (2009)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
My Winnipeg (2007)
Naked Lunch (1991)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Night of the Hunter (1955)
Night Train to Terror (1985)
The Ninth Configuration (1980)
Nosferatu (1922)
No Smoking (2007)
Nostalghia (1983)
Nothing but Trouble (1991)
Nuit Noire [Black Night] (2005)
O Lucky Man! (1973)
Orpheus (1950)
A Page of Madness [Kurutta ippêji] (1926)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Paprika (2006)
Perfect Blue (1997)
Performance (1968/1970)
Persona (1966)
Phantasm (1979)
The Phantom of Liberty (1974)
Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
Pi (1998)
Pierrot le Fou (1965)
The Pillow Book (1996)
Pink Floyd the Wall (1982)
Playtime (1967)
The Pornographers (1966)
Possession (1981)
Prospero's Books (1991)
The Red Squirrel [La Ardilla Roja] (1993)
The Reflecting Skin (1990)
Reflections of Evil (2002)
A Report on the Party and Guests (1966)
Roma (1972) [AKA Fellini's Roma]
Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead (1990)
Rubin & Ed (1991)
The Ruling Class (1972)
Run Lola Run (1998)
The Saddest Music in the World (2003)
Santa and the Ice Cream Bunny (1972)
The Saragossa Manuscript (1965)
Save the Green Planet! (2003)
A Scanner Darkly (2006)
Schizopolis (1996)
The Science of Sleep (2006)
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb (1993)
A Serious Man (2009)
Seven Servants (1996)
Shanks (1974)
Shock Corridor (1963)
Sin City (2005)
The Singing Ringing Tree (1957)
Sita Sings the Blues (2008)
Skidoo (1968)
Skins [Pieles] (2017)
Society (1989)
Solaris [Solyaris] (1972)
Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
Sorry to Bother You (2018)
Spider Baby (1967)
Steppenwolf (1974)
Strange Frame: Love & Sax (2012)
Street of Crocodiles (1986)
Survive Style 5+ (2004)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
The Swimmer (1968)
Swiss Army Man (2016)
Synecdoche, New York (2008)
Tales from the Quadead Zone (1987)
The Taste of Tea (2004)
Tekkonkinkreet (2006)
The Telephone Book (1971)
The Tenant (1976)
Teorema (1968)
The Testament of Orpheus (1960)
Tetsuo: The Iron Man (1989)
That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Thundercrack! (1975)
Tideland (2005)
Time Bandits (1981)
The Tingler (1959)
Titus (1999)
Tokyo Gore Police (2008)
Toto the Hero [Toto le Heros] (1991)
The Trial (1962)
The Triplets of Belleville (2003)
Tromeo & Juliet (1996)
True Stories (1986)
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)
Underground (1995)
Under the Skin (2013)
Upstream Color (2013)
Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer (1984)
Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970)
Vampire's Kiss (1988)
Vampyr (1932)
Visitor Q (2001)
Viva la Muerte [Long Live Death] (1971)
Waking Life (2001)
Waltz with Bashir (2008)
Wax, or the Discovery of Television Among the Bees (1991)
Weekend (1967)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
Why Don't You Play in Hell? (2013)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
The Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Wool 100% (2006)
WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)
Yellow Submarine (1968)
You, the Living [Du Levande] (2007)
Zardoz (1974)
Zazie dans le Metro (1960)
Zéro de conduite (1933)
Celine and Julie Go Boating [Céline et Julie vont en bateau] (1974)
Electric Dragon 80000V (2001)
The Happiness of the Katakuris (2001)
Under the Silver Lake (2018)
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An attorney for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was among those who voiced opposition at the conclusion of weeks of hearings about a proposed water pipeline that would serve Las Vegas residents.
The Nevada State Engineer in Carson City, Nev., has held multiple hearings since September about the proposal by the Southern Nevada Water Authority to build a 285-mile long pipeline. The water would come from aquifers in eastern Nevada that feeds springs throughout the area as well as parts of western Utah.
The state engineer is reviewing the applications, and concluded the hearings Friday. A decision is not expected for about six months.


If your class did not get a chance to see this video, please take a few minutes to watch it. Remember that irrational numbers (like Pi) really do go on forever. They don't end after a million digits or even a billion digits.
… but couldn't get a job.
This may delve a little too far into physics, but it may interest you to see the names we've discussed in class today appear in modern news and commentary.
In class today, we talked about estimating family budgets. I apologize for the late update, but here is the link to the site we used to estimate costs in class. You may have found a better site, and any site you use will be fine.
Are you lucky? Good luck? Bad luck?
Before we move too far away from our discussions of probability and statistics, consider this. Is there such a thing as luck, or is luck just something you think happens because of how you perceive the world around you? Does your brain control your luck by preventing you from seeing things around you or making some things more apparent?
Popular science investigates the science of luck in this article.
So what do you think? Is luck real, or can everything be explained away by science?
Since we've recently talked about box and whisker plots as well as biases, take a look at the data presented in the article. How is it similar to a box and whisker plot? How is it different?
Do you think there may be biases in the way the data was collected? Does the article indicate any of these biases? Can you depend on article authors to identify biases in the data they reference? Can you trust that the data presented is factual?
After reading the article and examining the data, is the student's assertion accurate?


[221 U.S. 346, 347] Messrs. Monte M. Lemann, Alex. C. King, J. Blanc Monroe, and Harry H. Hall for plaintiff in error.
[221 U.S. 346, 349] Messrs. Harry P. Sneed, George H. Terriberry, and H. Garland Dupre for defendants in error.
In construing this statute, the supreme court of Loui- [221 U.S. 346, 351] siana in Metropolitan L. Ins. Co. v. Board of Assessors, 115 La. p. 708, 9 L.R.A.(N.S.) 1240, 116 Am. St. Rep. 179, 39 So. 846, said: 'There can be no doubt that the 7th section of the act of 1898 . . . announced the policy of the state touching the taxation of credits and bills of exchange representing an amount of the property of nonresidents equivalent or corresponding to said bills or credits which was utilized by them in the prosecution of their business in the state of Louisiana. The evident object of the statute was to do away with the discrimination theretofore existing in favor of nonresidents as against residents, and place them on an equal footing.' Again, in General Electric Co. v. Board of Assessors, 121 La. 116, 46 So. 122, where open accounts arising on the sale of merchandise were the subject of the assessment, the court said: 'There can be no serious question but that the legislature has provided that credits due upon open accounts arising out of business done in this state by nonresidents shall be taxed. . . . The state imposes this tax because of her need of the revenue to be derived from it; she extends to the business the protection of her laws, and seeks to make the business bear its just proportion of the burden of taxation. The situation would be, we repeat, unfortunate, not to say deplorable, if the state were left no choice between having to forego his needed revenue, or else handicapping with this tax the business of her own citizens and home corporations in their competition with foreigners for the business to be done here.' And his decision was followed in the present case.
This court has had repeated occasion to consider the validity of taxes imposed under the Louisiana act. The case of New Orleans v. Stempel, 175 U.S. 309 , 44 L. ed. 174, 20 Sup. Ct. Rep. 110, arose under chapter 106 of the Statutes of 1890, but the pertinent features of the act were the same. There it appeared that the assessed credits were evidenced by notes secured by mortgages on real estate in New Orleans; that these [221 U.S. 346, 352] notes and mortgages were in that city, in the possession of an agent, who collected the proceeds and the interest as it became due, and deposited the same in a bank in New Orleans to the cridit of the plaintiff, the guardian of infant owners, who, like herself, were domiciled in the state of New York. The tax was sustained. In State Assessors v. Comptoir Nat. D'Escompte, 191 U.S. 388 , 48 L. ed. 232, 24 Sup. Ct. Rep. 109, the question arose under the statute of 1898. In that case, a foreign banking company did business in New Orleans and there made loans through a local agent. The loans were made upon collateral security, the customer drawing his check, which was treated as an overdraft and held as a memorandum of the indebtedness. The court decided that the credits so evidenced, created in the Louisiana business, were taxable in that state. In Metropolitan L. Ins. Co. v. New Orleans, 205 U.S. 395 , 51 L. ed. 853, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 499,-also arising under the act of 1898,-the validity of a similar tax was upheld. That case was one of loans made through the local agent of the insurance company, a New York corporation doing business in Louisiana, to its policy holders upon the security of their policies. The course of business was that, on the approval of a loan at the home office of the company, the company forwarded to the agent a check for the amount, with a note to be signed by the borrower. The agent procured the note to be signed, and forwarded both note and policy to the home office. The agent collected and transmitted the interest, and when the notes were paid, it was to the agent to whom they were sent to be delivered back to the makers. At all other times the notes and the policies securing them were kept at the home office in New York. In Board of Assessors v. New York L. Ins. Co. 216 U.S. 517 , 54 L. ed. 597, 30 Sup. Ct. Rep. 385, the so-called credit consisted, in fact, of a payment to the policy holder of a portion of the amount for which the company was bound by its policy. It was found that, despite that fact that notes were given, there was no per- [221 U.S. 346, 353] sonal liability but simply a deduction in account. As there was no loan, there was no credit to be taxed; and a decree in the circuit court restraining the collection of the tax was affirmed.
The asserted distinction cannot be maintained. When it is said that intangible property, such as credits on open account, have their situs at the creditor's domicil, the metaphor does not aid. Being incorporeal, they can have no actual situs. But they constitute property; as such they must be regarded as taxable, and the question is one of jurisdiction.
The legal fiction expressed in the maxim mobilia sequuntur personam yields to the fact of actual control elsewhere. And in the case of credits, though intangible, arising as did those in the present instance, the control adequate to confer jurisdiction may be found in the sovereignty of the debtor's domicil. The debt, of course, is not property in the hands of the debtor; but it is an obligation of the debtor, and is of value to the creditor, because he may be compelled to pay; and power over the debtor at his domicil is control of the ordinary means of enforcement. Blackstone v. Miller, 188 U. S. pp. 205, 206, 47 L. ed. 444, 445, 23 Sup. Ct. Rep. 277. Tested by the criteria afforded by the authorities we have cited, Louisiana must be deemed to have had jurisdiction to impose the tax. The credits would have had no exist- [221 U.S. 346, 355] ence save for the permission of Louisiana; they issued from the business transacted under her sanction within her borders; the sums were payable by persons domiciled within the state, and there the rights of the creditor were to be enforced. If locality, in the sense of subjection to sovereign power, could be attributed to these credits, they could be localized there. If, as property, they could be deemed to be taxable at all, they could be taxed there.
In Kirtland v. Hotchkiss, 100 U.S. 491 , 25 L. ed. 558, it was held that the Federal Constitution does not prohibit a state from taxing her own citizens upon bonds belonging to them, although they were made by debtors resident in other states and secured by mortgage on real estate there situated. The sole inquiry was with respect to the validity of the statute of Connecticut, where the creditor was domiciled. As the court said in New Orleans v. Stempel, supra (p. 321), in referring to the Kirtland Case: 'It was assumed that the situs of such intangible property as a debt evidenced by bond was at the domicil of the owner. There was no legislation attempting to set aside that ordinary rule in respect to the matter of situs. On the contrary, the legislature of the state of Connecticut, [221 U.S. 346, 356] from which the case came, plainly reaffirmed the rule, and the court in its opinion summed up the case in these words (p. 499): 'Whether the state of Connecticut shall measure the contribution which persons resident within its jurisdiction shall make by way of taxes, in return for the protection it affords them, by the value of the credits, choses in action, bonds, or stocks which they may own (other than such as are exempted or protected from taxation under the Constitution and laws of the United States), is a matter which concerns only the people of that state, with which the Federal government cannot rightfully interfere." See also Kidd v. Alabama, 188 U.S. 730 , 47 L. ed. 669, 23 Sup. Ct. Rep. 401.
But, as we have seen, the jurisdiction of the state of his domicil, over the creditor's person, does not exclude the power of another state in which he transacts his business, to lay a tax upon the credits there accruing to him against resident debtors, and thus to enforce contribution for the support of the government under whose protection his affairs are conducted. And that the jurisdiction of the latter state rests upon considerations which are more fundamental than that notes have been given, or that the credits are evidenced in any particular manner, was clearly brought out in the concluding statement of the opinion in the case of the Metropolitan L. Ins. Co. v. New Orleans, 205 U.S. 402 , 51 L. ed. 856, 27 Sup. Ct. Rep. 499. There the court said: 'Moreover, neither the fiction that personal property follows the domicil of its owner, nor the doctrine that credits evidenced by bonds or notes may have the situs of the latter, can be allowed to obscure the truth. Blackstone v. Miller, 188 U.S. 189 , 47 L. ed. 439, 23 Sup. Ct. Rep. 277. We are not dealing here merely with a single credit or a series of separate credits, but with a business. The insurance company chose to enter into the business of lending money within the state of Louisiana, and employed a local agent to conduct that business. It was conducted under the laws of the state. The state undertook to tax the capital employed in the business [221 U.S. 346, 357] precisely as it taxed the capital of its own citizens in like situation. For the purpose of arriving at the amount of capital actually employed, its caused the credits arising out of the business to be assessed. We think the state had the power to do this, and that the foreigner doing business cannot escape taxation upon his capital by removing temporarily from the state evidences of credits in the form of notes. Under such circumstances, they have a taxable situs in the state of their origin.' Equally, then, had the state the power to tax the premium accounts here involved. They were not withdrawn from its constitutional authority, either by reason of the fact that they were payable in consideration of insurance, instead of loans or goods sold, or by the circumstance that the credits were not evidenced by written instruments. They were none the less enforceable credits arising in the local business.
It is also urged that the assessment was excessive. This question was not suitably presented in the state court, for the suit was brought for the cancelation of the entire assessment upon the ground that, as a whole, it was without warrant of law, or, it within the statute, was beyond the power of the legislature to authorize. It is said that, so far as the assessment was in excess of the actual credits, it was a nullity, as one of property not in existence. The subject of the assessment, however, was a class of credits which was within the taxing power, and the question is one of amount. Proper opportunity was afforded for its correction if it was too great; and if the plaintiff in error had seasonably sought a reduction, availing itself of the remedy that was open to it under the state law, it could have obtained appropriate relief. Orient Ins. Co. v. Board of Assessors, 124 La. 872, 50 So. 778. In no aspect of the case can it be said that there was want of due process of law.


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Guest Chef Trailer July 2019
Anthony Genovese
Film July
Salzburg Culinary
Guest Chef July 2019: Anthony Genovese
A circus of flavours from the man behind the mask
Gifted but modest Chef Anthony Genovese was born to Calabrian parents in Haute Savoie, France. As a child he spent a lot of time in the kitchen with his maternal grandmother, discovering a respect for simple ingredients, such as pasta, meatballs, ricotta and oil. He was also influenced by his grandfather, who had been a respected pastry chef in Messina, Sicily. After moving to the milder Cote d'Azur, at the age of 16 Genovese attended the École Hotelière de Nice, learning traditional French cuisine – quite a shock for someone used to the simplicity of Italian cooking.
Genovese then worked in a number of Michelin-starred restaurants across France, including the Vista Palace Hotel in Monaco and Hotel Negresco in Nice but the bond with his homeland eventually lured him back to Italy. There he spent 3 years at the 3-Michelin-starred Enoteca Pinchiorri in Florence, becoming head chef when it opened its first Tokyo restaurant in 1992 where he gained great respect for Japanese cuisine and travelled extensively in Malaysia and Thailand.
In Asia I learned a great deal about flavours. In Thailand and Malaysia I learned about spices; in Japan I learned about presentation and respect for the product.
Martin Klein meets Anthony Genovese at Ristorante Il Pagliaccio in Rome, Italy
On his return to Europe, he worked at the Hotel Regent in London and Italian restaurant Toto's, then 2-Michelinstarred Rossellinis restaurant at Hotel Palazzo Sasso on the Amalfi coast where he gained his first Michelin star. In 2003 he took the plunge and, with his friend and colleague Marion Lichtle, opened Il Pagliaccio (The Clown), named after the Leoncavallo opera, in Rome. The restaurant is sleek and intimate, seating only 28; on its wall hangs a painting of a clown, painted by his mother in honour of his late father. For Genovese it's also a symbol of the role that every chef should play for his patrons and the spectacle that creative cuisine can offer them. "Clowns, just like cooks are always in the spotlight and have to be the best, no matter what's behind the mask. It's like performing a show. Out front you must always show good humour; in the kitchen it's another story!" Only three years after opening, Genovese was rewarded with his first Michelin star, followed by a second in 2009. One of his three degustation menus is aptly entitled a "circus of flavours" and the wine list includes 1300 Italian and international wines, selected to accompany diners on an interesting journey of the senses.
The Il Pagliaccio philosophy refers to the mastery of different emotions the circus character can provoke. It's about inciting joy, curiosity and nostalgia through the dishes, as well as pleasing guests with delicious food. The menu is Genovese's unique creation, using the best seasonal ingredients to update the menu and surprise his loyal clientele. There is enough creativity on the menu to last a lifetime. Diners at Il Pagliaccio are richly rewarded. Whether he's serving succulent lobster with lavender and puffed rice or a tender piece of lamb with black garlic, friggitello pepper and pumpkin seeds, each dish has hints of hidden flavours and subtle spices that connect the flavours of the Mediterranean with the East, taking the diner on a journey between the two cultures.
Let guest chef Anthony Genovese put a smile on your face with his exciting culinary fusion. As an Italian, born in France, with a deep love of the Orient, his menu reflects this meeting of cultures, creating a synthesis between respect and tradition, innovation and modernity with his own identity coming over loud and clear. Meet the man behind the mask at Restaurant Ikarus in Hangar-7 in July 2019.
Guest Chef Menu Anthony Genovese
Apricot Shot
Mackerel – tartelette – tofu
Sepia chips – marrow – ricotta
Long Xiao Bao – sturgeon – fig
Menu Anthony Genovese
Amberjack – foie gras – kiwi
Carabinero – rose – shallot – blueberries
Two types of Fettuccine – mushrooms
Risone pasta – King crab – crabs negroni
Tristan lobster – coffee – capers
Guinea fowl – black garlic – snails – vine leafe
"An idea of cheese"
Robiola – chickpeas – cacao
"Black Formento"
Chocolate – buckwheat – pecan nut ice cream
* Wine Pairings € 165,-
Please be advised that the menu can only be ordered per table
Ristorante Il Pagliaccio

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Olympics dissident: Ethiopia could 'become another Libya'	November 15, 2016
Tags: #OromoProtests, #OromoRevolution, #Rio2016 Olympic Marathon: Oromo athlete Fayyisaa Lalisaa has demonstrated his Solidarity to #OromoProtests as he wins silver medal, Africa, Ethiopia, EUractiv, Genocide, Genocide Against Oromo People, Oromia, Oromo
By Matthew Tempest, EurActiv.com, Nov 10, 2016
Olympic runner, dissident and activist Feyisa Lilesa, pictures in Brussels November 2016.
[Matt Tempest]
EXCLUSIVE/ Ethiopia – one of the EU's largest recipients of development aid and a key partner in the new Emergency Trust Fund for Africa for halting the flow of migrants – garnered unwelcome headlines last summer, when Olympic athlete Feyisa Lilesa raised his arms in protest at the treatment of the Oromia and Amhara peoples.
He talked to EurActiv.com's development correspondent, Matthew Tempest.
Since then, the government has declared a state of emergency, as – according to Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International – at least 500 people have died at the hands of the security services.
Interview by EurActiv last month, the Ethiopian Ambassador to the EU refused to put an official figure on the death toll. But speaking to EurActiv today, Feyisa said that the real death toll was over 1,000 and his home country – from which he is now about to seek political asylum – could end up in a Libya-style civil war.
[This interview was conducted via a translator]
When I spoke to the Ethiopian ambassador to the EU last month, he made a public assurance that you and your family would be safe. Do you trust that?
This is what they always say. I might be killed or imprisoned if I return home.
ETHIOPIAN AMBASSADOR: 'ANTI-PEACE ELEMENTS' TOOK ADVANTAGE OF OROMIA, AMHARA PROTESTS
Ethiopia is a secure, stable country in the Horn of Africa, says Ethiopia's Ambassador to the EU, Teshome Toga. However, he admits "gaps" in governance have fuelled year-long protests that have left hundreds dead.
EurActiv.com
The symbol that the TV cameras at the Olympics caught you doing with your arms in Rio, is that supposed to symbolise the 'X' of a voting ballot paper? Because Ethiopia is, at least technically, a democracy.
No. It is a sign my people make above their heads to show the police they are unarmed. If we had our hands in our pockets, we might be shot. It is to show our protests are unarmed and peaceful, and to represent the fact that we are all in a prison [Ethiopia].
And why are you here today in Brussels?
To meet with MEPs from the European Parliament to discuss our situation in Ethiopia, and with the head of cabinet for the Parliament President. It was very successful.
And what is your personal situation at the moment?
I have not sought political asylum yet. I have been in the USA long-term since two weeks after the Rio Olympics.
Have your family and relatives back in Ethiopia had any threats from the authorities there?
I am very, very concernced about my family. We live around 60 miles from Addis Ababa, west of the capital, in the Oromia region.
They might attack us in different ways, indirectly. Only 1% of my family actually have jobs. Yet the wife of my brother, who is a journalist, was fired from her job two weeks ago. With no reason given.
They are advancing on us with other measures.
The crux of the issue in Ethiopia seems to be that whilst it is a democracy in theory, the Tigray people have disproportionate power as opposed to the Omoria and Amhara peoples?
Yes – as you say, it is a "democracy". But the key government and military and defence and police and economic positions are dominated by them [the Tigray].
'STATE OF EMERGENCY' DECLARED IN ETHIOPIA AS PROTEST DEATH TOLL RISES
The Ethiopian government on Sunday (10 October) declared a state of emergency, following a year-long spate of unrest which spiked in a week of deaths and attacks on buildings and foreign companies.
Based on what you hear from people on the ground, what do you think the death toll from protests over the last year to 18 months would be?
Oromia is a very large region – probably as big as two or three European countries. It has no big road network and very little infrastructure, so it is difficult to get numbers.
But I would say 500 is a very, very small estimate. I would say it is at least 1,000.
And as a voice and a face of the Oromia people now, what would your ideal solution be to the question of representation?
The demand from the public is really not all that complicated at all. It is a demand for equality, for basic human rights, and for an equal share of resources.
And are you optimistic that can happen without further bloodshed?
I am concerned. It is very difficult to be optimistic. At the beginning of the protests [in late 2015], for the first week or two, I was optimistic. But the government crackdown soon came, and this situation has continued.
Ethiopia could become like Libya.
Is that your worst nightmare?
I am very much concerned at this kind of conflict could emerge because they [the authorities] are trying to create tensions between the Amhara and Tigray and others, and because of that, things could get worse in the region.
All though my school life, we had this. In Grade 9, three of my friends were killed by the regime. It continued in 2014. The epicentre was to the west of Addis Ababa. There were other major incidents, killing, repression, and exile.
Repression in the past year was very intensive, even as I was training [for the Olympics]. I have no other job, I was just training. Three months before Rio, they asked me to participate [in the Olympic team], and it was at that point I decided to make my gesture.
And what is your life like currently?
I am now in Arizona. I have permission to stay in the US. Running is my job, and it is my survival. I had much help from the Ethiopian diaspora of exiles, with people helping to facilitate my visa, and fundraising there for me.
The Ethiopian embassy to the EU offered an official response to this interview, which EurActiv.com is happy to publish (15/11/2016):
Though Feyisa Lilesa has the right to share his opinion about the situation in Ethiopia, it is important to give a nuanced view of the reality in the country.
The exact number of demonstrators who died during the protests is still investigated by the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC). A previous report by EHRC in June 2016 on the unrests that started in November 2015 established that the measures taken by the defense forces and the federal police in collaboration with the public to control the situation were proportionate, though in some specific cases security forces used excessive force to control the violence. According to this report, 173 people died including 14 members of the security forces and another 14 public administrators. Following this report, the Ethiopian Prime Minister H.E. Hailemariam Desalegn has shared the regrets of the government for the avoidable deaths which occurred despite the professional conduct of security forces.
Furthermore, the claim that the Ethiopian authorities are «trying to create tensions between the Amhara and Tigray» is not grounded in reality. Each region is self-administrated, and the national Parliament, the government cabinets and other institutions are representing the different peoples according to their size. With more than 80 ethnic groups in the country, the authorities have no better option than insuring peaceful coexistence between the different communities and exercising democracy, which has yet a very young history in the country − merely 25 years.
Finally, Feyisa Lilesa is implying that Ethiopia could become «another Libya», probably thereby meaning that the country could fall into chaos and instability. This might in fact precisely be the agenda of extreme anti-peace forces trying to divide the country and take advantage of a situation of chaos which would suit their hidden agendas. Widespread attacks encouraged by some extreme diaspora elements targeting public and private properties, including several foreign investments providing thousands of jobs to local communities testify of this agenda of destruction and chaos. However, the government is fully committed to restore order in the country for the benefit of the citizens and development of the country. The Prime Minister has, in accordance with the Constitution and with the approval of the House of People's Representatives, announced a State of Emergency beginning of October. Since then, peace and order have been restored throughout the country, and some of the measures have been eased in the meantime, including lifting of travel restrictions for diplomats.
It is to be hoped that the commitment of the authorities and the public will further improve the situation in the country. However, unbalanced and biased comments in the media such as this interview are not helping to advance in this direction.


Tonga's Minister of Health, Dr. Viliami Tangi this morning performed the first surgical operation in one of the three new operating theaters at the new wing of the country's main hospital.
Dr Tangi told Radio Tonga that today is a historical day for the staff at Vaiola Hospital as they use the new facilities.
He says the equipment is state of the art and brand-new, and would definitely provide better service for the people.
The new wing has three operating theaters and according to the minister, two operating theaters can be used at one time and if there will be any emergency, they can use the third.
Dr. Viliami Tangi added that they are currently talking with the Japanese government for the renovation of a part of the old building for the acute and emergency unit.


What do a can of corn, a take-out pizza, a reusable water bottle, a bright green yogurt, and an inflatable pool toy have in common? They all contain food additives or chemicals that can be dangerous for children.
Over the last few decades, the number of chemicals added to foods and other products has skyrocketed. We have created all sorts of plastics that are used in innumerable ways. We add preservatives to foods to keep them fresh. We add chemicals to foods to make them look more appealing. We have made food packaging to keep food fresh. We add chemicals to lotions and beauty products to make them feel, look, and smell nice… the list goes on and on of the ways we have invented and used chemicals.
We did all of it for what seemed like good reasons at the time, but we are learning that many of those chemicals can cause real harm.
In a policy statement entitled Food Additives and Child Health, the American Academy of Pediatrics warns about these harms — and points out that they often are worse for children. Children are smaller, so their "dose" of any given chemical ends up being higher. They put their hands in their mouths more than adults do, so they are likely to ingest more. Their bodies are still developing, so they can be more at risk of harm — and they are young, so the chemicals have more time to do more damage.
Bisphenols, such as BPA. They can act like the hormone estrogen and interfere with puberty and fertility. Bisphenols can also increase body fat, and cause problems with the immune system and nervous system. They are found in the lining of food and soda cans, plastics with the number 3 or 7, and cash register receipts, among other places. They used to be found in plastic baby bottles and sippy cups; while this has been banned, older bottles and cups may still contain them.
Phthalates. These can also act like hormones, interfering with male genital development, and can increase the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease. They are ubiquitous, found not just in plastic packaging, garden hoses, and inflatable toys, but also in things like nail polish, hairsprays, lotions, and fragrances.
Perfluoroalkyl chemicals (PFCs). They can lead to low-birthweight babies, as well as problems with the immune system, the thyroid, and fertility. They are commonly found in grease-proof paper, cardboard packaging, and commercial household products such as water-repellent fabric and nonstick pans, among other places.
Perchlorate. This chemical also interferes with thyroid function, and can disrupt early brain development. It's found in some dry food packaging — it's used to decrease static electricity — and sometimes in drinking water.
Artificial food colors. These have been found to increase symptoms in children who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. They are found in all sorts of food products, but especially those marketed for children.
Nitrates and nitrites. These can interfere with the thyroid, as well as with the blood's ability to deliver oxygen to the body. They can also increase the risk of certain cancers. They are used to preserve food and enhance its color. They are commonly found in processed foods, especially meats.
So what is a parent to do about food additives and chemicals?
Buy and serve more fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables, and fewer processed meats, especially during pregnancy.
Since heat can cause plastics to leak BPA and phthalates into food, avoid microwaving food or beverages in plastic containers. Also: wash plastics by hand rather than putting them in the dishwasher.
Use more glass and stainless steel instead of plastic.
Avoid plastics with the numbers 3, 6, and 7 on them.
Wash hands thoroughly before and after touching food, and clean all fruits and vegetables well.
Cut back on canned foods and beverages in general.
Cut back on fast food and processed foods.
Read labels. Get to know what is in the products you use.
Look for lotions, soaps, and other products that are made naturally — and are fragrance-free.
Consider making your own home cleaning products. You'd be amazed what a little baking soda or vinegar can do.
The idea isn't to get paranoid (although that's an understandable feeling) ;the idea is to get informed — and to make some simple changes that can go a long way toward keeping children and their families healthier.
I am so glad to recieve the information about plastics and the dangers of , using it most people microwave everything i recently started using glass and stainless steel, i am now on a meat fast gradually going vegan, i feel better i have been slowly taking meat out of my diet, my family is also more vegetables fruits whole grains in the diet.
I have recently emailed a director of a kindergarten my daughter attends suggesting they switch from using plastic plates, straws, forks, spoons, knives etc to biodegradable alternatives. It would be wonderful if it was mandatory across all kindergartens in USA. Better for our children and better for our planet.


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Now We Know What Took Marvel So Long for a Leading Lady Film
September 8, 2018 September 7, 2018 3 min read WriteOnGeek
The DC Extended Universe — now known as the Worlds of DC — has been behind the 8-ball on many things compared to Marvel. And, as we have all witnessed with the perfect culmination of storytelling found in Avengers: Infinity War, that distance increased by a few thousand miles.
However, the one thing that DC Comics and Warner Bros. Pictures can tout better than possibly any production house is how fast it took them to diversify its offerings.
It took almost no time at all to create a superheroine film, led by a fantastic female director. When Patty Jenkins created Wonder Woman, it was easy to tell that a woman could command a comic book movie by herself. And that a woman could direct one too.
Now, we have the great Ava Duvernay bringing us New Gods. Indie circuit standout Cathy Yan is at the helm of Harley Quinn and Birds of Prey (also a diverse cast in gender and culture). Christina Hodson, screenwriter of Bumblebee, has her claws in Batgirl. And can't forget the wunderkind of the macabre James Wan getting ready to unveil Aquaman.
Not to forget there's the seemingly enigmatic Walter Hamada at the helm of it all.
It's no surprise that Ray Fisher (Cyborg in Justice League) said in Empire, "DC's going to be changing the name to Diversity Comics pretty soon."
Meanwhile, Marvel Studios is backing up a Brinks truck to its humble headquarters almost every six months. Almost every movie they touch turns to gold. The problem is that their gold coins mainly go deep in the pockets of white men.
Sure, there is Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olson), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Gamora (Zoe Saldana), and the beautiful women of Wakanda. But there aren't any leading people of color, gender, or culture outside of a homogenized gaggle of super men in tights.
(S/O to Digital Spy for a great read on how much screen time Marvel has dedicated to women.)
Now we finally have a leading lady in Marvel. So, Kevin Feige, what took so long? Good thing Entertainment Weekly cornered him to ask what we all were wondering.
"I think there are a lot of reasons," Feige said, "not the least of which was fighting for many years the erroneous notion that audiences did not want to see a female-led hero [film] because of a slew of films 15 years ago that didn't work. And my belief was always that they didn't work not because they were female-led stories — they didn't work because they were not particularly good movies."
This has been an 11-year, 20-movie wait for Marvel to bring what took DC only a couple of years to start the right way. This is about creating a universe after all. It's not Marvel hate because it makes objective sense to ask.
Why hasn't a superheroine happened before Wonder Woman shattered the glass ceiling with her lasso of truth that this really can be done? Maybe Elektra? Maybe seen with the stunning lack of female action stars in Hollywood? Despite the cries for equality in Hollywood, this is about making money.
But, again, now that Patty Jenkins proved this formula of girl (super) power can earn a profit, Marvel is getting ready.
"With [Ant-Man and The Wasp] and now with Captain Marvel and many movies to be announced in the near future, I'm anxious for the time where it's not a novelty that there is a female-led superhero movie, but it is a norm," Feige told EW. "And it is less a story of, 'Oh, look, a female hero,' and it's more a story of, 'Oh, what's this about? Who's this character? I'm excited to see that.' And I think we can get there."
MEMO to Feige: We are already "there." We're just pleased Marvel is catching up.
Captain Marvel, Comic Book Movies, diversity, Marvel, Wonder Woman, Worlds of DC
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Have you or a loved one suffered an injury or illness during the course of employment at a refinery? Did you know that workers in refineries are regularly exposed to a wide variety of occupational hazards? Most refinery workers, including refinery workers employed by third party contractors, are needlessly injured due to safety issues including exposure to hazardous chemicals and toxic byproducts of oil and petroleum production, and a large host of pollutants that have been linked to serious diseases.
Refinery workers that are at the highest risk of injury and toxic exposure include welders, painters, platform workers, sandblasters, pipe fitters, corrosion removal laborers, cleanup crew, refinery maintenance operators, and turnaround and shutdown workers. Workers in industries related to oil and petroleum refining, such as workers in the chemical industry, plastics industry, rubber workers, plywood and furniture workers, and industries that utilize petroleum-based by-products in their manufacturing process, are also at risk of occupational illness or injury.
Barnes Law Firm is experienced in the claims of injured refinery workers throughout Houston who have developed an occupational illness or disease related to refinery work.
Barnes Law Firm is experienced in the claims of injured refinery workers who have developed an occupational illness or disease related to refinery work in the Houston area, Missouri City, Baytown, The Woodlands, Pasadena, Channelview, Katy, Texas City, Laporte, and Deer Park.


THIS IS A LEGAL AND BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL, ("MBG")] STATING THE TERMS THAT GOVERN YOUR USE OF THE MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL DIGITAL STORE AND WEBSITE. TOGETHER WITH ANY UPDATES, ADDITIONAL TERMS, SOFTWARE LICENSES AND MBG'S RELATED RULES AND POLICIES SHALL COLLECTIVELY CONSTITUTE THE AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT") BETWEEN YOU AND MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL TO AGREE TO THESE TERMS, CLICK "AGREE". IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, DO NOT CLICK "AGREE," AND DO NOT USE THE MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL DIGITAL STORE. IF YOU USE ANY PART OF THE MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL DIGITAL STORE, BY THAT USE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT. YOU MUST ACCEPT AND ABIDE BY THESE TERMS AS PRESENTED TO YOU: CHANGES, ADDITIONS, OR DELETIONS ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE, AND, IN ADDITION TO OTHER REMEDIES, MBG MAY REFUSE YOU ACCESS TO THE MBG DIGITAL STORE FOR NONCOMPLIANCE WITH ANY PART OF THIS AGREEMENT.
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MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL is a U.S.A based company, and is the provider of the MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Digital Store that manages the MUSICBLASTGLOBAL.com site and permits you to purchase downloads of digital content ("Products") encoded using a high-definition or "lossless" codec, under certain terms and conditions as set forth in this Agreement. Our Products are files of recordings that are downloaded to and stored on the hard drive of your computer, PDA, or other digital device, or copied onto a CD, and transferred to other digital devices. MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Products may be purchased individually as tracks, collectively as albums, or, in some cases, only in the form of a full-length album. However, as addressed below, each purchase of a Product shall be deemed a final, nonrefundable sale. Further, there is no assurance that Products will be compatible with any particular digital device or compact disc burner, or that any compact discs that are burned will function properly.
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9. Purchase of Content from MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL.
a. Products Requirements - You acknowledge that use of Products may require the use of other hardware and software products (e.g., the ability to make copies of Products on physical media and render performance of Products on authorized digital player devices), and that such hardware and software is your responsibility. Once a Product is purchased and you receive the Product, it is your responsibility not to lose, destroy, or damage the Product, and MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL shall be without liability to you in the event to any loss, destruction, or damage.
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( or other limitation or implication) of any rights of the copyrights owners in any content, sound recording, underlying musical composition, or artwork embodied in any Product. The delivery of Products does not transfer to you any commercial or promotional use rights in the Products.
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g. ALL SALES ARE FINAL. We will NOT issue refunds for digital downloads. If you receive damaged physical product a refund may be issued within 15 days upon return of the damaged product. User will be responsible for return shipping charges. You must contact us prior to returning any damaged product.
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MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL is available worldwide.
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On occasion, technical problems may delay or prevent delivery of your Product. Your exclusive and sole remedy with respect to a Product that is not delivered within a reasonable period will be either replacement of such Product, or refund of the purchase price paid for such Product, as determined by MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL.
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and descriptions of those resources),s and software, are owned by MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL and/or its licensors. THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR ANY PART OF THE DIGITAL STORE, EXCEPT FOR USE OF THE DIGITAL STORE AS PERMITTED IN THESE TERMS, IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED AND INFRINGES ON THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS OF OTHERS AND MAY SUBJECT YOU TO CIVIL AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES, INCLUDING POSSIBLE MONETARY DAMAGES, FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT.
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(ii) terminate the license to the software; and/or (iii) preclude access to the Digital Store (or any part thereof).
b. Termination of the Digital Store - MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Digital Store (or any part or content thereof) at any time with or without notice to you, and MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL will not be liable to you or to any third party should it exercise such rights.
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The Digital Store is controlled and operated by MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL, a U.S. company. You agree to comply with all local, and national laws, statutes, ordinances, and regulations that apply to your use of the Digital Store.
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MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL reserves the right to take steps MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL believes are reasonably necessary and appropriate to enforce and/ or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including but not limited to MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL's right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Digital Store and/or Products, and/or third party claim that your use of the Digital Store and/or Products is unlawful and/or infringes such third party's rights.) You agree that MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL has the right, without liability to you, to disclose any Registration Data and/ or Account information to law enforcement authorities, government officials, and/or any third party as MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL believes is reasonably necessary orappropriate to enforce and/or verify compliance with any part of this Agreement (including but not limited to MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL's right to cooperate with any legal process relating to your use of the Digital Store and/or Products, and/or a third party claim that your use of the Digital Store and/or Products is unlawful and/or infringes such third party's rights).
18. No Responsibility for the third-Party Material or Web sites.
Certain content, Products, and Digital Stores available via Digital Store may include materials from third parties. In addition, MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL may provide links to certain third party websites. You acknowledge and agree that MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL is not responsible for examining or evaluating the content or accuracy of any such third party material or Websites. MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL does not warrant or endorse and does not assume and will not have any liability or responsibility for any third-party materials or websites, or for any other materials, products, or Digital Stores of third parties. Links to other websites are provided solely as a convenience to you.
19. Disclaimer of Warranties; Liability Limitations.
a. MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL DOES NOT GUARANTEE, REPRESENT, OR WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE DIGITAL STORE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND YOU AGREE THAT FROM TIME TO TIME HD MAY REMOVE THE DIGITAL STORE FOR INDEFINITE PERIODS OF TIME, OR CANCEL THE DIGITAL STORE AT ANY TIME,WITHOUT NOTICE TO YOU AND WITHOUT LIABILITY TO YOU.
b. YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE DIGITAL STORE IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. THE DIGITAL STORE AND ALL PRODUCTS AND DIGITAL STORES DELIVERED TO YOU THROUGH THE DIGITAL STORE ARE (EXCEPT AS EXPRESSLY STATED BY HD) PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" FOR YOUR USE WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON INFRINGEMENT. BECAUSE SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, THE ABOVE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
c. IN NO CASE SHALL MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE, SPECIAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING FORM YOUR USE OF ANY OF THE DIGITAL STORES OR FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED IN ANY WAY TO YOUR USE OF THE DIGITAL STORES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS IN ANY CONTENT, OR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND INCURRED AS RESULT OF THE USE OF ANY CONTENT (OR PRODUCT) POSTED, TRANSMITTED, OR OTHERWISE MADE AVAILABLE VIA THE DIGITAL STORE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THEIR POSSIBILITY. BECAUSE SOME STATES OR JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY THIS CLAUSE SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
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BY USING THE DIGITAL STORE, YOU AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS HARMLESS WITH RESPCT TO ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OUR BREACH OF THIS AGREEMENT, YOUR USE OF THE DIGITAL STORE, OR ANY ACTION TAKEN BY MBG AS PART OF ITS INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT OR AS A RESULT OF ITS FINDING OR DECISION THAT A VIOLATION FO THIS AGREEMENT HAS OCCURRED. THIS MEANS THAT YOU CANNOT SUE OR RECOVER ANY DAMAGES FROM MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL, ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS AS A RESULT OF ITS DECISION TO REMOVE OR REFUSE TO PROCESS ANY INFORMATION OR CONTENT, TO WARN YOU, TO SUSPEND OR TERMINATE YOUR ACCESS TO THE DIGITAL STORE, OR TO TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION DURING THE INVESTIGATION OF A SUSPECTED VIOLATION OR AS A RESULT OF MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL's CONCLUSION THAT A VIOLATION OF THIS AGREEMENT HAS OCCURRED. THIS WAIVER AND INDEMNITY PROVISION APPLIES TO ALL VIOLATIONS DESCRIBED IN OR CONTEMPLATED BY THIS AGREEMENT.
MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL reserves the right, at any time and from time to time, to update, revise, supplement, and otherwise modify this Agreement and to impose new or additional rules, policies, terms, or conditions on your use of the Digital Store. Such updates, revisions, supplements, modifications, and additional, rules, policies, terms, and conditions (collectively referred to in this Agreement as "Additional Terms") will be effective immediately and incorporated into this Agreement. Your continued use of the MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Digital Store after Additional Terms are hereby incorporated into this Agreement by this reference.
MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL may send you a notice with respect to the Digital Store by sending an email message to the email address listed in your MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Account contact information, by sending a message to you via any MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL's message center that may become available, by sending a letter via postal mail to the contact address listed in your MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Account contact information, or by general posting in the MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL Digital Store. Notices shall become effective immediately.
The laws of the Michigan, in the United State of America, excluding its conflicts of law and rules, govern these Terms and your use of the Digital Store. Your use of the Digital Store may also be subject to other local, state, national, or international laws. You expressly agree that exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or dispute with MUSIC BLAST GLOBAL or relating in any way to your use of the Digital Store resides in the courts of the State of Michigan.


A classic chess-related problem (although it doesn't require much if any knowledge of the rules of chess) is the eight Queens problem. The puzzle can be stated simply: Place 8 Queens on a chessboard such that no two are attacking each other. Since chess Queens move any number of spaces along any row, column, or diagonal, the puzzle could also be stated as: place eight Queens (or any other items) on an 8×8 board such that no two are in the same row, column or diagonal.
The diagram on the right shows an incorrect solution to the problem. Note that the two Queens circled in red are attacking each other, making the solution incorrect. Can you find a correct solution to the problem?
Put one Queen in each row and column, and then adjusting pairs of Queens until none are in the same diagonal.
Put all of the Queens in, say, the bottom row, move the leftmost Queen to any square, and then, starting in the second column from the left, advance each Queen until it is on a square that is not in the same row, column, or diagonal as any other. If you can't find a solution, start over, and move the leftmost Queen somewhere else.
Try placing as many Queens as possible a Knight's move away from one another (Knights have an "L"-shaped move, two squares in one direction and one in the other direction; two Queens a Knight's move away from each other cannot be in the same row, column, or diagonal).
One solution can be found on the answers page.
This puzzle is also known as the eight checkers puzzle, with the object being to place eight checkers on a checkerboard such that no two lie in the same row, column, or diagonal. The problem, and the solution, are the exact same.


The Federal Reserve FOMC met today. They will meet again tomorrow and then they will issue a statement. Investors are not expecting any major decisions this week, but they will be looking for hints on the Fed's timing for possible future movements. While consensus for a rate rise is leaning towards September, the wild card is now China. A growing number of market watchers are suggesting that, before the year is out, two interest rate hikes rather than just one could be on the cards. In the Treasury market, futures contracts suggested that investors were making the same mistake they made at the outset of the last three major tightening cycles, by underestimating the amount the federal funds rate will be raised. The implied rate on September 2016 contracts is 0.8 percent, while many forecasts are looking at 1.5 percent to 2 percent.
Chinese shares whip-sawed between gains and losses today, as Beijing renewed its pledge to prop up an equities market. The 144 Chinese companies with primary stock listings in the US have erased nearly $40 billion in paper wealth since the Shanghai Composite peaked in mid-June; a 30% drop. After a plunge of more than 8% on Monday, Chinese regulators said they were prepared to lend further support, while the central bank injected cash into money markets and hinted at further easing. And the Shanghai was only down 1.7% at 3663.
One report said traders saw stability in the Chinese markets and that helped rally stocks in other countries, including the US. Unfortunately, it may be little more than stability; market crashes don't typically end with good news; they end with bad news that washes out all the remaining weak hands. Right now it looks like we're seeing a dead cat bounce off the 200 day moving average, we'll have to see if it holds. From there, the next levels of support are around 3370 and then around 3050.
A delegation from the so-called troika and Eurozone bailout fund are in Athens this morning to begin negotiations over an €86B bailout. The talks will start almost a week later than planned, raising pressure on Greek PM Alexis Tsipras, who is already struggling to keep his party from falling apart. A new bailout would have to be completed by mid-August if Athens is to secure billions of euros to repay ECB-held bonds that mature on August 20.
Puerto Rico owes $72 billion, a sum its governor has declared it can't pay, but consultants in a hedge-fund-backed report issued Sunday insisted the island actually can come up with the cash. Hedge funds want their money and so they're telling the debt-buried island to cut teachers, slash spending and collect more taxes to deal with its fiscal crisis. Instead of letting Puerto Rico restructure its debt, the hedge fund report says the government should cut spending by $2 billion a year; cutting the number of teachers at public schools, slashing subsidies to the University of Puerto Rico and reducing Medicaid and welfare benefits. The creditors also want Puerto Rico to sell off public properties and increase its collection of sales and property taxes to bring in $3 billion more a year. Seems we've heard this story somewhere else.
Consumer confidence fell sharply in July to a 10-month low. The consumer confidence index dropped to 90.9 from 99.8 in June.
Home prices rose steadily in May. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased 4.9 percent in May from 12 months earlier, down slightly from a 5 percent pace in April. In Phoenix, home prices increased 0.8% from April to March, and prices are up 3.8% over the past 12 months.
The Census Bureau reports the home ownership rate was 63.4 percent in the second quarter, the lowest reading since 1967. The number of owner households decreased by 400,000, while the number of renter households increased by 2 million. While that is a good sign for the rental market, overall a lack of home buyers is likely a bad sign that incomes aren't keeping pace with rising home prices, keeping young buyers out of the housing market.
Honeywell is buying Elster Group for $5.1 billion. Elster Group is a German-based energy and water business owned by the UK's Melrose Industries.
Hikma Pharmaceuticals agreed to pay about $2.6 billion in cash and shares for generic drugmaker Roxane.
General Electric has offered to sell gas-turbine assets to an Italian rival in another attempt to win EU approval for its plan to buy most of Alstom's energy business. On Monday, Alstom agreed to a €300 million-euro reduction in the price it would get for selling its power turbines unit to GE , to help the latter gain antitrust clearance.
Global M&A volumes this year are on track to pass $3 trillion for the first time since 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Almost 20,000 deals worth a total of $2.1 trillion have been agreed this year. Goldman Sachs holds the top spot on M&A advisory league tables for 2015, advising on 156 deals worth a total of $578.5 billion since January 1 — about $100 billion more in value than the same period last year. Health care, including pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, has been the most active industry with 1,441 deals in the first two quarters of 2015.
Earnings season is in high gear. BP announced a second-quarter net loss of $5.8 billion. For BP, it's the biggest loss since the Deepwater Horizon disaster in the second quarter of 2010. The most recent results included a $10.8 billion charge for liabilities related to the spill, bringing the total set aside to more than $54 billion. The company also warned that low oil prices are here to stay.
DuPont reported a 12 percent drop in quarterly profit, hurt by a fall in agriculture earnings and a stronger dollar.
Pfizer beat Wall Street expectations for the second quarter and raised its 2015 forecast.
Merck's second-quarter profit plunged by two-thirds, but they still managed to beat estimates; Merck raised its full year forecast.
Package delivery company UPS reported a better-than-expected second-quarter profit on improved margins. UPS also said US economic growth appears to be slowing. They lowered their forecast for second half economic growth to 2.3% from 3.1%. They say retail has been weak and it got weaker in June. UPS is the biggest member of the Dow transports, measured by total sales and market valuation, so it serves as a link between the companies that make products and their consumers. When the Dow transports and UPS stock underperform the broader market, it could portend weakness in the broader market.
Ford posted net quarterly profit of $1.89 billion, or 47 cents per share; ten cents better than estimates. The company maintained its 2015 operating profit forecast of between $8.5 billion and $9.5 billion.
The U.S. Marine Corps has finished tests and filled out the paperwork needed to turn the Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jet into an operational aircraft, a key milestone for the $391B program that has suffered years of delays and cost overruns. Once Marine Corps Commandant General Joe Dunford signs off on the filing, the F-35B fleet will have achieved initial operational capability, becoming the first model of the joint strike fighter that's ready for combat.
New York City's LaGuardia Airport, consistently ranked among the worst in the U.S. in cleanliness, design and delays, is now slated to be torn down and rebuilt. The $4 billion remodel of the 50-year-old Central Terminal, will break ground in early 2016 and take 39 months to complete.
PC sales are down over the last year or so. Many people believe this is because of the popularity of mobile devices but part of the blame must go to Windows 8. Microsoft is launching Windows 10, starting tomorrow. Microsoft is skipping from Windows 8 to Windows 10, and many people wonder what happened to number 9. I think I know; they replaced Windows 9 with Step 9, which requires them to make amends.
Millions of computer owners will be able to download Windows 10 for free after tomorrow, marking the first time Microsoft has given away its latest Windows version without a fee, and if you wisely never updated Windows 7 or you are desperately longing to update Windows 8 – do it; wait till the weekend, just in case there's a problem, but do it. While many believe the push is to keep users on board, it may also highlight a shift in the overall strategy of Microsoft, which is looking to reverse a four-year slide in PC sales. The software giant seems to now be moving away from making money just once – when it sells a fresh version of Windows – to generating long-term revenue by selling apps, Web-search ads and other add-ons. The new Windows 10 should make amends by including things a start button; splitting the screen between apps tiles and the old desktop; a new voice assistant called Cortana; and a new browser called Edge, which you might actually want to use.
There is a new Number One in global auto sales. Volkswagen surpassed Toyota to become the biggest automaker by global vehicle sales for January-June, the first time the German automaker has come out on top in the intensely competitive tallies. Toyota said it sold 5.02 million vehicles in the first half, Volkswagen sold 5.04 million. General Motors, the top-selling automaker for more than seven decades until being surpassed by Toyota in 2008, is expected to report its figure on Thursday.
The Arizona Cardinals announced they have hired Jen Welter as an assistant coaching intern for training camp and the preseason to work with inside linebackers. Welter will be the first female coach in the NFL.


I don't dream about my perfect wedding. Rather, I dream about stuffing my face with cucumber sandwiches and washing that down with French wine on a blanket atop a grassy hill in the middle of nowhere in particular. I want to watch the sun set while lying in the grass, tummy full of cucumber sandwich goodness, and talk directly into my partner's face with my cucumber cheese wine breath.
Very cute outfit :) Love the floral skirt.
I rarely do picnics, but love them! I tend to overthink things so end up with waaay too much food!
Ooooh reading this does makes me wanna go on a picnic. It is on my bucket list of to do-damn those pesky bugs. The skirt is gorgeous and the floral is perfect for summer picnics when the weather and bugs bugger off.
Ahh! Like everyone else here I've been wanting to go on a picnic. Sometimes it's hard to find the ideal time to do picnic activities-- especially on beautiful, but very windy days.
Anyways, on your outfit: I like the clash of prints...stripes and floral!
come and see me next weekend. i got time on my hands, cucumbers and french wine. I adore your floral skirt⊇rshoes.
If only I could! That would be so awesome! I bet you would make me laugh so much that I wouldn't be able to eat a thing. Haha. :P I need more fun people like you in my life.
You make me want to go on a picnic.
I'm totally charmed with your eclectic style. The way you mix patterns is just amazing!
Anna your style is unique and good. Lovely!


text:
Ajia Marina Ksiliatu (gr. Αγία Μαρίνα Ξυλιάτου) – wieś w Republice Cypryjskiej, w dystrykcie Nikozja. W 2011 roku liczyła 568 mieszkańców.

Przypisy

Miejscowości dystryktu Nikozja

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Club & Community
Dates for Heineken Cup Games Announced
The dates and kick off times for the Heineken Cup rounds five and six matches have been confirmed.
In round five, Connacht will welcome familiar opponents Zebre to the Sportsground on Saturday 11th January for a 15:40 kick off.
In round six, Connacht travel to Allianz Park to play Saracens on Saturday 18th January, kick off is 13h35.
With places in the knockout stage of Europe's premier club rugby tournament on the line, as well as qualification for the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals, the drama is set to intensify in the New Year following the announcement today of the dates and kick-off times for the Round 5 and 6 fixtures.
With 23 of the 24 matches televised live, games in the same pools in Round 6 will have identical kick-off times.
Qualification for the Heineken Cup quarter-finals
The pool winner will be the club with the highest number of match points in each pool. The best-placed runners-up will be the two clubs with the highest number of match points out of the six clubs that finish second in their respective pools. For the quarter-finals, the pool winners will be ranked 1 to 6 and the best-placed runners-up 7 and 8 by reference to the number of match points earned.
If two or more clubs in the same pool are equal on match points, their ranking will be determined by the matches played between the relevant clubs as follows:
the club with the greater number of match points from those matches; or
if equal, the club that scored the most tries in those matches; or
if equal, the club with the best aggregate points difference from those matches.
If ranking remains unresolved and/or if clubs have not played each other previously in the pool stage, ranking will be determined as follows:
the number of tries scored in the pool stage; or
if equal, the best aggregate points difference from the pool stage; or
if equal, the club with the fewest number of players suspended for incidents in the pool stage; or
if equal, by drawing lots.
The third, fourth and fifth ranked pool runners-up will qualify for the quarter-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup.
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