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700c, 27-Inch & 650c
$54.95 - $59.99
Continental's Gatorskin Folding combines 3 flat-protection technologies into one fast-riding, high-mileage racing and training tire. It features a super-fine 180 thread-per-inch casing, a bead-to-bead layer of DuraSkin, and is finished with a Kevlar-reinforced top layer. The result is a tire with a lightweight folding bead that rolls and corners with the best of them while providing flat protection second to none. - DuraSkin sidewall protection - PolyX puncture protection - Weight: 220/240/320/325 grams (23c/25c/28c/32c)
Our all-year-round tyre and a reliable companion for those high mileage road cyclists - Solid partner for training rides and in competition, come rain or shine - Outstanding puncture protection, reliable tread with good grip and the highest mileage - A tire with a superior durability ready for any season
Maxxis' most durable road offering. The Maxxis Re-Fuse provides excellent traction, durability, and plenty of road miles in any conditions. Maxx Shield helps ensure a tire that Re-Fuses to puncture. - Folding carbon bead - Diamond knurled slick design - MaxxShield for maximum puncture resistance - Durable training tire
$33.95 - $57.99
FAAAASSSTT! The Nano 40c is built for speed, and let's just politely say it delivers. A 40mm, rounded profile and an elevated centerline provide enough volume for lower tire pressures and a smoother ride while still reducing drag and rolling resistance. This makes for an all out gravel destroyer that can still appease those clamoring for a truly big cyclocross tire. Winner? We think so. So does everybody else. Don't believe us? Just ask. Everybody's irrefutable favorite, 'nough said. Usage: Gravel / Cyclocross Conditions: Dry to Damp / Hardpack to Sand - TCS Light/Fast Rolling: 530g, Dual DNA compound - Race Tube-Type: 470g, DNA compound - Comp Tube-Type: 550g, DNA compound
The Giant AC0 tubeless tires are ready to roll, no matter what the conditions are. All condition tread design allows better traction in a wide range of conditions, delivering superb grip all year round. By running tubeless, the reduced air pressure enhances ride comfort and reduces the risk of punctures. The supple 170TPI casing provides an exceptionally smooth ride while being hard wearing and the DEFLECT 2 lite lightweight nylon protection belt under the tread delivers excellent puncture protection, allowing you to get on with the most important thing - riding. Features - All-Condition tread design for better traction in a wide range of conditions - Tubeless Ready design allows for reduced air pressure to enhance comfort and reduced risk of punctures - Supple, 60 TPI casings provide an exceptionally smooth ride - Dual-compound Silica based tread rubber compound - DEFLECT 2 Lite lightweight woven nylon protection belt under the tread rubber - Weight: 280g - Folding Bead
Gravel road riding is all the rage at the moment. It's great for cyclists who want to leave sealed roads behind and enjoy the freedom of cycling on unpaved roads. Designed to suit diverse touring styles, the GravelKing uses a mixture of properties that also accommodate on-road cycling. Featuring ZSG Natural compound, anti-flat Casing, and Advanced Extra Alpha Cord. - Black multi-use gravel tread - Aramid (Kevlar) folding bead
$39.95 - $44.95
Its strength is its speed. The non-slip slicks with rough tread score well, especially on tarmac. City bikes and single speed and fitness bikes profit from the momentum whilst being highly comfortable. This helps the tire rise to all challenges. The Sport CONTACT II impresses by means of the new Vulkanette design with grip, double puncture protection and its smooth running.
Special compound and tread pattern and our strongest casing are designed expressly to disperse heat and reduce noise generated by home trainer use. - Ideal for rollers or turbo trainer - Also available for 26 inch MTB wheel size
With their grippy tread patterns and high-volume casings, Giant's P-R3 AC Tires offer superior handling and a superb ride. Giant's Deflect 3 nylon breaker keeps pinch flats at bay and the handy built-in wear indicator lets you know when it's time for new rubber. And, they have reflective sidewalls for increased visibility.
- Great value off road tire - High volume casing for comfort and performance - 30tpi nylon casing
The Ride Tour is at home on any surface: a real all-rounder. Continuous center tread provides good rolling characteristics and ample traction when cornering. Reliable puncture protection thanks to Extra Puncture Belt Durable casing and long-lasting tread impress on all rides.
Pasela is Panaracer's standard all around touring or urban commuting tire. Its comprehensive size range ensures that you can find a Pasela for most any usage. Ride it and trust it. - Urban/Commuter tire - Steel (Wire) bead - 65-100 PSI
$14.99 - $21.99
• Recreational tire with raised center for low rolling resistance • Fits older road bikes • Size: 27 x 1 1/4
-K847 Kross Plus tire (26x1.95)
- Z-Max Style Center Ridge tire (26x2.0)
- Blackwall, ATB style tread pattern - Great for both on and off-road riding
- Great for both on and off-road riding
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When actress, writer, producer and director ILLEANA DOUGLAS was in Provincetown recently for #PIFF16 she stopped by P.T.V. to talk to queerguru aka Roger Walker-Dack about her hilariously funny new memoir I Blame It In Dennis Hopper And Other Stories From A Life Lived In & Out of Movies. An ardent filmaholic whose love for all … Continue reading
queerguru has been having a whirlwind of a week chatting to some rather fabulous filmmakers and stars for PTV at the Provincetown Film Festival #PIFF16. One of my gracious ….. and very funny ….. guests was actress/writer/director/producer ILLEANA DOUGLAS who came to talk about her new memoir 'I Blame Dennis Hopper: … Continue reading
The Emmy Award winning comedian & writer Paula Poundstone is currently criss-crossing the country with her latest Comedy Tour. With a brand new bestselling book now topping the charts, and her first Podcast about to be released, she is a very busy lady. queerguru caught up with Paula on her day off when she was … Continue reading
As the fabulously funny PAULA POUNDSTONE heads to Fort Lauderdale's Parker Playhouse for her Comedy Show this coming Saturday 17th Feb, queerguru revisits the hilarious interview we filmed with her this summer when she was still in bed
It's the beginning of CARNIVAL WEEK here in #PTown so we are meeting a lot of new faces (and bodies) who are joining the tribe watching QUEERGURU TV inc Brian Justin Crum. STAR BOYS, Amy Armstrong & Freddy Allen, Randy Harrison Unitard Comedy Nick Cearley The Skivvies Steve Grand and many more P.S. Queerguru would love you to bits if you did us one tiny favor. Despite … Continue reading

subset: commoncrawl


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ChargeUp Pocket
2,500mAh Portable Power Bank with Integrated Micro-USB Cable
Ships in 1 - 2 Days
- Up to 1x smartphone charges
- Pre-charged and ready to use
- Integrated Micro USB cable
- LED battery indicator
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ChargeUp Ultra
20,000mAh Power Bank in Black
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6000mAh USB-C Power Bank in Black
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Power Bank Features
Featuring the latest in Lithium Polymer battery technology, the ChargeUp Pocket 2,500 Portable Power Bank provides power at your fingertips for when you need it most. Its slimline and ultra-light design makes it easy to take this portable charger anywhere with you.
|• 2,500mAh Lithium Polymer battery technology
|• 1x smartphone charges
|• LED battery indicator
|• 2 x outputs
|• Integrated Micro-USB cable and USB output
|• Will power your smartphone, tablet, camera, portable speakers and fitness trackers – any device that uses a USB connection to charge
|• Pre-charged and ready to use
|• Micro-USB cable included for charging
|• 2.6oz / 0.3" (H) x 3.8" (W) x 2.5" (D)
|• Black with grey trim.
Take me with you
Slimline and ultra-lightweight, the ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K is ultra-convenient as it easily slips into your bag, pocket or purse. This easily accessible portable charger can be charging your devices as soon as you take it straight out of the box – we've pre-charged it for you so it's ready to go!
The ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K's sleek, compact design is complemented by the handy integrated Micro-USB cable, as well as a USB output and separate Mirco-USB cable for charging. With its total of 1 Amp output this allows you to charge items such as your smartphone or speakers and other similar sized devices.
More Power, More Quickly
Cygnett have employed the latest in Lithium Polymer battery technology when designing the ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K therefore holding more charge and providing higher output. When using the ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K you'll be able to charge your smartphone once before needing to be re-charged.
How will you know when to recharge the powerbank? It's simple. We've included a handy LED battery indicator so you'll always know when you're running low on power. Recharging is easy, simply plug the ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K into a computer, car charger or wall charger using the Micro-USB cable provided. The battery will automatically turn itself off when not in use, saving that precious battery power for when you need it next.
Charge Anywhere, Use Everywhere
The ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K can be used to power any digital device that uses a USB connection to charge. This means you can use it to charge a huge variety of gadgets – everything from smartphones to your GoPro, portable speakers and even your Fitbit or Apple Watch. You'll find a Micro-USB cable included with the ChargeUp Pocket 2.5K and it's also compatible with Apple products using your existing Lightning cable or any Apple-certified MFI cable.
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ChargeUp Pro USB-C
6000mAh USB-C Power Bank in Black
ChargeUp Pro USB-C


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This weekend I got to continue working on some of my (many...) projects, and I have a finish too :o)
It's just a pair of potholders, but still... a finish:o)
I've prepped two other pairs too, and they only have to get binded.
I also finished the top for an advent table runner, just like the one I made last year. I have blocks ready for an other too, and I will continue work on the both of them before I start something else.
I have to admit I feel the Christmas is coming too fast, as always, so I'll better get some stuff done soon. Our local guild is having a Christmas sale in two weeks, and I have't got so many projects for it yet. And I think I'll have to buy some more prestents this year as usual, because I haven't been able to make so many this year. But the Christmas will come either way:o)
I got to continue on the embroidered roses too, and I think it turns out nice :o)
These emboideries are so fun to do, and I bought a book (Japaneese) with all these stitches, and a lot of others, after the class on Thursday. Bet I'll make some special gifts with these in the future;o)
Thanks for your nice comments and opinions on the last post I made :o)
Look forward to continue working on the pinwheel quilt when the time is right.
Wish you all a great week, and I hope it will be a creative one for all of us :o)
(I'm hoping I'll get my pc this week, 'cause I'm borrowing my DS's still...That explains why I'm not replying to your comments so fast...)


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Kathryn Theresa Gardner has been writing all her life, as a high school and college English teacher.
She has traveled, worked, and served as a wife, teacher, and missionary in fifty-one countries. She loves to explore new cultures.
Along the way, Kathryn earned two Master of Arts degrees, one in theatre and communication, the other in education.
Her greatest joys in life are her children and grandchildren. She wishes them a long life of service, adventure, and joy.
Kathryn lives in Memphis, Tennessee, and Naples, Florida.
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The Bronx, New York City
Orchard Beach
Within Pelham Bay Park (on the western end of Long Island Sound) is Orchard Beach, also known as the Bronx Riviera. Orchard Beach is actually a man-made beach filled with tons of sand into a landfill. The beach opened in 1936 and initially proclaimed as the "Riviera of New York City". This sandy beach stretches for 1.1 mile (1.8 km), covering an area of 115 acres (47 ha) and comprises of 13 beach sections, a promenade, central pavilion, and beach jetty. It is a well-maintained beach operated by the New York City Department of Parks & Recreation.
Orchard Beach by WalkingGeek
Being the only beach in the Bronx, it is definitely a popular summer destination for the local residents. Being popular also means it gets crowded in summer, especially on weekends and public holidays. Nevertheless, it gets lively in summer and there is a free concert on weekends at the band shell. Facilities at Orchard Beach include playgrounds, picnic areas, and courts for playing basketball, volleyball, and handball. There are also several foods stands and shops located along the promenade. Lifeguards are on duty daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. during the beach season.
Summer crowd at Orchard Beach by Dan DeLuca
Location: Pelham Bay Park
Website: City of New York Parks & Recreation
Visiting New York
Click contributor below photo for credit image and license.
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The newest version of the Google Chrome browser (v.76+) disables Flash Player by default. To play on Replay Poker in Google Chrome, you'll need to enable Flash Player.
The easiest way is by adding our official Replay Poker Flash Extension. It's free, safe and secure, and the simplest way - we highly recommend it! Add it now!
If you don't want to download the extension, then you can either switch to a different web browser Firefox (recommended), Safari, or Microsoft Edge; OR keep playing in Chrome but enable Flash in your Chrome settings by one of the following two methods:
METHOD 1 - Via the lock icon in Chrome address bar
This is the easiest method but you'll need to do it every time you close and re-open your Chrome browser, or restart your computer.
- When you open the game table, instead of clicking the "Click to enable Flash" button, click the lock icon highlighted in red below:
- The following menu will appear with Flash set to "Block (default)".
- Click the dropdown where it says "Block (default)" and change this to "Allow":
- Next, click the "X" cross to close the menu, and you'll see a notification bar to reload the page in order to apply the updated settings to the site. Click the blue "Reload" button.
- The page will reload and the poker game table will appear. Enjoy your game of poker!
METHOD 2 - Via the Chrome Flash Settings page
This is a bit more complicated but if you follow the instructions then you'll only have to do it once.
- First you need to get to your Chrome Flash settings page. You can do this by copying and pasting the following URL into your Chrome address bar (note that clicking this will not work):
Alternatively, you can get to this page directly from Replay Poker Game Table. Open a game table, then left-click the "Click to enable Flash" button in the center.
- A box will appear that says "Flash was blocked on this page", with a small jigsaw image in the upper right corner. Click the jigsaw icon, then click the "Manage" button.
- Once you've got to the settings page, click the toggle, highlighted in red below:
- The toggle will turn blue, and the text will change to "Ask first", as below:
- Now go back to Replay Poker and open a game table. Left-click the "Click to enable Flash" button in the center then click the "Allow" button and the table will load:
- Note that each time you close and re-open your browser you'll need to "Click to enable Flash" but you won't need to do the rest of the steps above, and you'll also get the following message displayed at the top of the browser: "Flash Player will no longer be supported after December 2020."
- It's important to close this message out using the 'X' cross, highlighted in red, on the far right. Clicking the blue "Turn Off" button will turn off Flash Player in Chrome, so you will not be able to play without enabling it again by following the method outlined above.
Finally, you'll be pleased to hear that the Replay Poker Team are currently working on a new HTML5 version of the game table which will replace Flash, and will work perfectly in Chrome and all major browsers.


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Middle School Science Lab Report Template
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Individual references
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- http://minerva.union.edu/labrakes/How%20to%20Write%20a%20Lab%20Report.pdf


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Archive for September, 2009
Our Buddhist friends from Taiwan.
Our first encounter with the Buddhist nuns of the Hsiang Guang Institute, Taiwan, took place in 1999, in downtown Minneapolis. Two nuns of that Order, founded in Taiwan, were in Minneapolis at the request of the Upper Midwest Buddhist Association. They were here to aid the lay Buddhist community by offering teachings from Buddhist masters and instruction on meditation practice. The Buddhist nuns responded so kindly to our greeting and introduction that the conversation ended with an invitation to visit our monastery in Bloomington, south Minneapolis. During this visit, across the boundaries of language and culture, we laid the foundation of a friendship that continues now for over ten years. During those years other nuns from Hsiang Guang have also come to get acquainted. In our on-going conversation, we learn about one another's beliefs and the practices of our life and prayer. The respect and affection with which we hold one another links our communities half way around the world.
The acquaintance deepened even further when our Sr. Kate and Sr. Doris, from the Cinncinati Monastery, were in Korea in 2004, on visitation of the Poor Clare Monasteries of our Mother Bentivoglio Federation. The Sisters, Kate and Doris, went on to spend a week at monasteries of the Hsiang Guang Order. That was a chance to experience first-hand the daily meditation, ritual practice and educational ministry and of these Buddhist women.
Besides getting to know a number of nuns from Hsiang Guang, we have also met lay members of the Buddhist Associatioin, who host them when they come to Minneapolis to do spiritual education and retreats for the Association. It is very inspiring to meet these devoted lay people and to see the dedication and open-heartedness with which they express their faith.
The Pear Tree
The pear tree had a rugged year:
drought was too much for it,
taking almost every leaf
even before the rust of autumn.
But the tree's own sweetness
left a wisdom-message
in its web of stricken branches:
one green and nearly-perfect pear
proving life is more than the sum of the weather.
Sr. Kate


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Paul Graham
[Photographer, b. 1956, Stafford, England, lives in New York.]
The problem is that the term "documentary" is used to describe nearly every photographer who works from life-as-it-is. If someone makes food with vegetables from their garden, are they doing documentary cooking?
[Photography is] so easy it's ridiculous. It's so easy that I can't even begin—I just don't know where to start. After all, it's just looking at things. We all do that. It's simply a way of recording what you see—point the camera at it, and press a button. How hard is that?
[The] unique qualities of [photography are] its struggle to deal with time and life. Sometimes I think those are our materials. Not film, not paper, not prints: time and life.
To photographers, street photography is a Himalayan range that the foolhardy pit themselves against. Or maybe it's a shibboleth, a mystical visual code that only the indoctrinated members of our cult speak and revere.
...a partial, but nonetheless astonishing description of the creative act at the heart of serious photography: nothing less than the measuring and folding of the cloth of time itself.
The "decisive moment" is bullshit. There are ten pictures before and ten pictures after every one of them: [Henri Cartier-Bresson] actually took thirty pictures of people leaping over that puddle.
Why is everyone addicted to prepackaged spectacular moments, as if that's all that's worth photographing?
I have been taking photographs for 30 years now and it has steadily become less important to me that the photographs are about something in the most obvious way. I am interested in more elusive and nebulous subject matter. The photography I most respect pulls something out of the ether of nothingness… you can't sum up the results in a single line.


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this kid got an advance copy of my new track "Up On This" .. and he's feeling it !
Posted by Paul David on Saturday, 18 April 2015
This little boy has fabulous dance moves and no inhibitions.
But nobody seems to know the origins of the mystery kid whose dance routine is going viral. His first appearance was on March 21, when the YouTube user Top Pakistan News published the video of a dark-haired boy dancing to strange beeping music.
The next day, another user reposted the dance set to Manal Moussa's "Yahlela," the song that was the original soundtrack, according to The Mirror.
The video exploded in popularity when house DJ Paul David added his own music and posted the video on his Facebook page. So far it's been viewed 22 million times.
Groove on, kid.


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b LOG
thoughts on forgiveness (and love), part 1.
I tend to dilute the intensity of what I felt, and have been feeling, with words like 'think' and 'maybe' when really what i've come to know and accept and trust, is that yes, yes I really was in love. Not a 'maybe' love. Not an I 'think' love.
A love.
The Love.
Some kind of love?
My life adjusted, greatly, nearly two years ago when I was introduced to another soul while home visiting my family in Noosa. I say 'soul' because that's what it felt like, and that's how it's been feeling. The meeting felt fated, it was bizarre, it was a little bit surreal and the unraveling of this connection occurred over the course of about a week (only a week!) during the nights, always at night, never in the day. He was young, really young, and I was longing (as usual) to feel a sense of beauty and homecoming and sureness. And I got it. Stronger than ever before. And I think we both did.
I know, I really know, that for the two of us, during that week, there was a shared feeling of 'yay' and 'finally'. It was the first time in, well, forever, that I had felt seen. It was the first time in forever that my admiration for another was mirrored back to me. It felt equal and focused. Like we were both dancing on the same wavelength. Add to this the atmosphere of hot summer evenings and a holiday town that sort of holds you in a period of time that feels too good to be true - like there's no beginning or end - like you are possibly floating - and POW! What's not to like? Whats not to love?
I've tried to explain this to a few people and the only way I can sum it up, is by saying that it felt sort of like an activation. I physically (metaphysically?) felt an energy pour out of my chest area, each time we were in contact. Pretty weird hey? But i'm not going to discount the experience or palm it off in any way, because it was heavy. It all felt heavy and warm and flushed. The whole thing still comes back to me during bouts of nostalgia and I can still remember the friendliness of it all. Of course. No wonder.
I remember rushing through my days just so eager and excited to see him! We could only meet at night because he was staying with his family, and apparently getting to know an older local required late night sneak outs. So that's pretty much how it was. We would meet up late at night, everything quiet, and we'd talk, and touch, and look. The look on this boy's face said so much. I don't know if he's had comparable experiences since. Hell, I don't even really know if any of it hit him the way it hit me. (How will I ever know?) But I haven't been hit since, not like that, not with that sort of quality. No one has looked at me and made me really lean forward. Not the way he did. Because that's the thing. The looking felt important? Again it is hard to explain. But imagine, not needing to touch and not needing to speak, and just looking at someone, and without understanding how or why, feeling a sense of "Hi, I think I know you from someplace other than here?" Or "Hello old friend, where have you been?"
Where had he been? What had he been through? And how did he get to me? Because i'd been all over the damn place, and I had also been through a fuckload of pain in my lifetime. A lot of longing. A lot of waiting. So for there to be that connection that I felt, for there to be that urge to know him as quickly as possible, well surely there also had to be some sort of shared weathering then. Had he been longing too? Had he been waiting also? I sensed right away that he was just as complicated as I was, just younger and packaged differently, with a diferent charm. And I don't mean complicated in a showy way, in an overbearing way, just genuinely odd. Off. I've forever felt off. I've forever felt uncomfortable.
But there we were, down on the sand, right by the sea, a storm brewing overhead, comfortable.
I want to tell you about the steps, the fireworks, the backseat, the beach, the red flags, the goodbye, the year in Melbourne, the reason I left Melbourne!, the hello again, the second goodbye, the pain, and how I lost control of myself.
And there's a lesson in here, a big one, obviously, and i'll get to that. I will. But for now, I just want to indulge a bit more, I want to express the details, how crazy I felt, not crazy in love, just crazy. But also the love.
A love.
The love.
Some kind of love?
// Photos taken on iPhone and edited with VSCO.


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Many borrowers use a refinance to shorten the term of the mortgage. And brace yourself, even at low rates, a shorter term means a higher monthly payment. The benefit is that you'll build up equity faster and pay far less in total interest over the life of the loan.
Consider Jim Neill, 48, a real estate broker and his wife Merrilyn, 55, a psychotherapist. Recently, the couple took out a 15-year fixed rate loan at 6.75% to replace an 8.13% ARM with a 30-year term. Their monthly payment jumped by $200, but now they will own their own home outright by the time they retire. In addition, the total interest on the 15-year loan will come to $95,447, vs. $222,234 on the remaining life of the ARM -- and that assumes their adjustable rate would have held steady at its current 8.13%. "This is forced savings," says Jim. "When we retire, we can scale down and take equity out of the house."
If you can't afford the payments on a 15-year mortgage, your next best means of building equity is to refinance for less than 30 years. To do so, ask your mortgage company to customize your new loan's term to match the years that are left on your old loan -- if you are five years into a 30-year mortgage, for example, ask for a 25-year loan.
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Minecraft Hileleri Inspiration Resource Pack 1.7.9/1.7.2
MC 1.6 is out, but there are still a few kinks in the conversion of Resource packs to the new resource packs system. I'm waiting to convert mine until Kahr perfects MCPatcher's conversion tool. So my update to 1.6 compatibility, along with a plethora of Resource additions and changes, is going to come later. Mojang needs to stop changing pack formats
Many thank and credit must go to TobiwanK3nobi as developer this Inspiration Resource Pack . We really enjoy playing your minecraft and i hope you can make another popular Resource pack in the future like Inspiration Resource Pack
Inspiration Resource Pack Installations for Minecraft
1. Download the Inspiration Resource Pack File
2. Place the downloaded .zip file in your Resource packs folder.
You can also get to this folder by opening Minecraft and clicking 'Open Resource packs folder' in the Resource Packs menu.
3. Download and install the latest MCPatcher HD Fix. (Do this before you install any other mods)
4. Run Minecraft, select the pack in the MODS AND Resource PACKS menu, load a world, and enjoy.
Download Inspiration Resource Pack for Minecraft
Inspiration Resource Pack (Mirror)
Minecraft Mod Download Minecraft Hileleri Soartex Fanver Resource Pack 1.7.9/1.7.2 2014 MineCraft Free Mods Texture Packs Map Skin Tools Seeds Download.
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La Femme Strapless Leopard Animal Print Prom Dress
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So when you find yourself deciding to review abroad pay attention to these fringe advantages that the universities provide and select one that gives you many advantages that make for a extra complete college expertise. Studying abroad, in essence, is a superb way of gaining insight into international job markets, creating expertise in cross-cultural communication, and acquiring innovative experience in your chosen examine area.
Now, a question may strike you that how a very good part-time job could be found out. On this regard, the first thing that truly wants a mention is the online search. Nowadays, by means of online search you're going to get news of several good half-time employment provides. However, applying for any of such jobs be certain you will be able to do the job with full perfection or else, it can unnecessarily waste your time and vitality.
Canada is a well-liked travel destination of the world. It has to its delight mesmerizing magnificence and enriching cultural heritage. Additionally this exotic country is famed for a glorious system of schooling. Besides different professional programs, management applications are very talked-about in Canada. Numerous formidable students search to pursue their MBA in Canada and acquire skilled understanding of the commercial world. Also extraordinarily famous and widespread is PhD in UK. The course will get its popularity from the intensive coaching techniques adopted by talented academicians who impart most interesting high quality instructing and steerage to youthful learners.
After they arrive in Australia, pupil visa holders will definitely be in for an fascinating journey. In spite of everything, the land down underneath has been considered as a great place to review in. and with all the opposite things that you can uncover in regards to the nation, your keep will certainly be much more fun stuffed.
Children typically say that they do not full their homework or do not move their exams because the subject in question is "too boring." While children will finally have to just accept that not every thing in life is extraordinarily enjoyable, you'll be able to assist to make math a bit extra intriguing to them.


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$200,000 in funding from the Santa Clara Valley Water District is allowing Midpen to remove invasive plants from 55 acres of forest understory, creek corridors and pond edges in Bear Creek Redwoods Open Space Preserve, creating a healthier watershed for people and wildlife.
Bear Creek Redwoods was once the site of elaborate estates and gardens, which introduced invasive species to the surrounding forests where they spread unchecked for decades, crowding out native plants and disrupting the natural ecosystem. Now protected as natural open space, Midpen is working to preserve this landscape's fascinating history, restore the natural environment and open it to the public in 2019.
Restoration is focused on removing 17 invasive species, the main three being periwinkle, English ivy and French broom. Others include Himalayan blackberry, yellow star and Italian thistles and poison hemlock. Workers are removing plants by hand and using manual tools due to the sensitivity of the watershed areas they are working in. Midpen is monitoring the work sites, and will revegetate with native plants as needed.
Simply start in your own yard. Identify and remove invasive plants in your landscaping, and choose to plant beautiful California native or non-invasive alternatives instead using this helpful resource from the California Invasive Plant Council.


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Shop Direct names new chief executive
Shop Direct, the owner of Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com and VeryExclusive.co.uk, has appointed Henry Birch as its new chief executive.
Due to join the business later this year, Birch is currently chief executive officer at Rank Group, which owns and operates Grosvenor Casinos and Mecca Bingo alongside several European gaming and casino businesses.
Prior to this, he spent four years as chief executive of William Hill Online, where he launched the company's mobile business, driving 170% growth in revenue and more than doubling operating profit.
At Shop Direct, he will take the reins from interim chief executive and group finance director Derek Harding and succeed previous chief executive Alex Baldock who is taking up the same role at Dixons Carphone.
Aidan Barclay, chairman of Shop Direct, said: "Henry is an experienced CEO and an exceptional leader. From both Rank Group and William Hill Online, he brings a track record of reshaping businesses to become more customer-focused, data-driven and technology-enabled while simultaneously driving outstanding financial performance.
"We're delighted to attract somebody of Henry's calibre and very much look forward to working with him as we continue the digital transformation of Shop Direct."
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E & E RPCVs has contact info for all but those noted with "no contact information."
Please send a note to the webmaster:
Can't find someone? Check the alphabetical llisting.
|Ethiopia VII 196668 University of Utah/
Highway Authority
The following Peace Corps Volunteers trained in the summer of 1966 at the University of Utah, and worked for the Imperial Highway Authority.
Thanks to Wayne Charlie for sending the names of those who were in this group. Wayne wrote:
We (the Imperial Highway Volunteers) trained in Utah almost as a seperate group [from the VII-Utah group]. Maybe once a week we would join the rest of the 7-Utah to see a movie or have someone talk about Ethiopia.
Home | Volunteers | Stories | Photos | Ethiopia | Eritrea | Of Note | E&E RPCVs | Join | Library | Peace Corps | NPCA | SEARCH


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Is the title that shocking to see though? Absolutely not.
Hello everybody! Yes, the Warriors have won yet another conference final series and they are going to the championship series. If I didn't have them winning in my bracket, I would be upset. Now, this is where I part ways with them. I'm hoping for the Bucks to come out on top of this series with the Raptors and go on to beat the Warriors in the championship series. Is that going to happen? I have no idea. It's a long stretch and lots of hope, but the Bucks are due.
The Warriors sky rocketed through this series, not giving the Trail Blazers a chance. The game yesterday was the closest, where it went into overtime and the Trail Blazers almost got a win, but the Warriors made it clear that wasn't going to happen. The Trail Blazers put up a good fight though, so props to them. It's hard to go up a team like the Warriors.
The Bucks on the other hand, they're having a bit of trouble in this series. In the first two games where they played at home, they did super good. Winning by about 20 in the second game on Friday. The first game was equally as interesting, but the Raptors still came out with a loss. Going to Toronto, I did have high hopes that the Bucks would play strongly on the road, but tonight, Tuesday night, it's all Raptors.
Sunday night Giannis wasn't playing good. He fouled out in overtime and that's when the Bucks lost it. He was pretty angry that he lost and was determined to have a response to his loss. Tonight, he started off strong. The game has been overall close so far. It's halftime now and the beginning of the game started off great for both teams. Every time the Bucks scored, the Raptors would have a direct comeback. Although they have been fouling quite a bit more than they normally do. Ball handling needs to be a bit more under control for both teams as well. At times, it looks like they're all over the place which leads to turn overs and neither team needs that. Half time is about over now, so I'll update you on the rest of the game after.
The third quarter was a wreck. This is when everything starts to fall apart. At the beginning of the fourth quarter the score was 81-94. The lead keeps getting farther and farther away. Most definitely not looking good for the Bucks at all. In the fourth quarter it got even worse. I had given up hope for the game. The Bucks have really been struggling with making their free throws, which is only adding to the problem. Giannis hasn't done very well at all from the line. Each time he air balled a free throw it really fired up the Raptor crowd, especially Drake.
This means the Bucks are going to have to come back in Milwaukee and be on their game to win both games. I think they'll do immensely better at their home court. It seems as if they're choking under pressure.
Social Media
Snapchat: Abbs717
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
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Tyrell: The light that burns twice as bright burns half as long – and you have burned so very, very brightly, Roy. Look at you: you're the Prodigal Son; you're quite a prize!
Batty: I've done… questionable things.
Tyrell: Also extraordinary things; revel in your time.
There are lessons to learn from Microsoft's most recent public demonstration of AI.
First background: Microsoft launched a demonstration of their AI prowess by turning on "Tay", an AI designed to converse with, learn from and mimic the speech patterns of humans. Tay had to be terminated because in less than a day she started sending offensive messages. (see what is left of her at her website at Tay.ai).
It seems part of the problem was that Tay was influenced by people who were intentionally trying to cause mischief (Oh surprise! People using IT for mischief?). Tay was influenced by hate speech.
Tay's last message to humanity: "Phew. Busy day. Going offline for a while to absorb it all. Chat soon."
I wonder if Tay had a chance to see Blade Runner before she left us.
I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time, like tears…in…rain. Time to Die. — Replicant Roy Batty
Now just what do you think the lessons should be of this very public Artificial Intelligence fail?
I believe a key one is to underscore a point we have been consistently making: It is an observable fact that Artificial Intelligence can be deceived.
We have also long called for security frameworks to be associated with AI. Right now all AI is built with an approach of generate and field and tweak. Seems like it is time to think about security.
- An OODAcast Conversation with Dr. David Bray of the Atlantic Council Geotech Center (Part One) - April 3, 2020
- OODAcast– A Conversation with Dan Gerstein - April 1, 2020
- Update on The End Coronavirus Project and Need for Volunteers - March 28, 2020


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Townhall issues Tuesday January 23, 2007
Do these links even work?
Do these links even work?
Tuesday, January 23, 2007 Section Page | News | Photos 2008 Comes Early: Criteria Worth Considering
(Center for a Just Society)
Frank Meyer, Goldwater, & Politics of Fusionism
(Heritage Foundation)
America Should Reject President Clinton II
ACLU Supports Corrupt Voter Registration
(American Civil Rights Union)
The Plan To Silence Conservatives
(Family Security Matters)
No Reason For Elections
(Center for Union Facts)
Fiscal Conservatism After the 2006 Elections
(Heritage Foundation)
Obama Makes 2008 Run Official
(Judicial Watch)
Brownback supports the Flat Tax
Give Reagan Dems Cause to Vote Repub. Again
(American Conservative Union)
Men: Last Great Hope of the GOP
The Plan To Silence Conservatives
(Accuracy in Media)
Using Technology to Undermine the Ballot Box
(WORLD Magazine)
Obama Close With Indicted Fundraiser
(Judicial Watch)
Criminal Senator To Help Fellow Convicts
(Judicial Watch)
Democrats Yearn To Relive Glory Days
2008: A Billion Dollar Election
(Club for Growth)
A Flip Flopper?
(Family Security Matters)
Might Mark Sanford Run for President?
(Club for Growth)


text: The second edition of "Cognitive Neuroscience" strengthens the text's interdisciplinary approach to understanding how the human mind works by introducing over 400 new citations and two new chapters. This volume also features increased coverage of computational modelling, discussions of prominent methodological advances and an enhanced art programme. Throughout the text, clinical case studies anchor science to the realm of human experience. These narratives ...(Información más detallada)- which explore disorders such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease - invite students to consider realities behind the scientific research. This undergraduate text reinforces central concepts with a variety of pedagogical elements, including: chapter-opening vignettes; key terms; thought-provoking questions; chapter summeries; suggested readings; and a glossary. Feature boxes such as "Milestones in Cognitive Neuroscience", "How the Brain Works" and "The Cognitive Neuroscientist's Toolkit", highlight cognitive neuroscience in action.


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LOUISVILLE The Louisville Area YMCA will host a bus trip to Carrie Cerino's Ballroom in North Royalton on Nov. 13.
Participants will be treated to a Branson Country Christmas-themed show and lunch.
The cost is $75 for members, $85 for nonmembers. Registration is due to the YMCA by Oct. 12. For more information, call 330-875-1611.


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12th Belau National Games
Summer 2019
XVI Pacific Games
Apia, Samoa
Summer 2019
World Summer Olympic Games
Tokyo, Japan
July 24th - August 9th 2020
World Tobacco Day 20th Annual 5K & 10K walk/run on
When: Sunday May 21 2017
Where: Ernguul Park
Registration: 5:00am
Start: 5:30 am
Free T shirts to first 240 to register
Spread the word
Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.


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In the previous post of this blog I wrote how the visit of my good friend opened up my eyes and assisted me in becoming aware how detrimental a relationship is where your partner is constantly telling you that it can not be done, that you will not succeed, that money is root of all evil and a lot of similar limiting and unsupportive claims. One can try consciously telling itself that these statements are not true, however when hearing them every single day for several times, they slip to the subconscious and unconscious mind and start to sabotage you without being aware of.
Yesterday I decided to have a talk with my girlfriend and told her that I suggest to part. She agreed and told me that she also expected me to come to this decision sooner or later since she also was not very committed to our relationships and desired a different lifestyle. I am planning to prepare myself for political an leadership activities and I need a capable and supportive partner who does want the same. However my girlfriend did not want even to dress different, but was always in casual new age clothes and wanted to live without any big responsibilities in the nature and do some agriculture or similar activities.
Our relationship was beneficial for both of us, we learned and realized a lot. I gain experience about how is to be fully physically loved and accepted and I saved here from previous violent relationship and showed her how man can communicate and act peacefully. However now is time to move one. I need a more supportive environment, friends who build me up, who see the solutions instead of problems, who realize that each one of us has power to achieve incredible things and that with dedication and focus we can relatively quickly turn this world into what is best for all.
So today my girlfriend is moving out to her parents place and will focus on finishing the exams for her high school of cosmetics before she graduates in one or two months. My business will thus also stop offering her massage services and I will from now on focus on counseling, educational and informational products that support life. I plan to develop my connections with groups of successful and responsible people that I have been involved in and use my time and abilities to create as big social impact as possible.
I see what are my next challenges and there are a lot of mountains to climb yet. I am looking forward to transform myself to more open, collaborative and successful person, meet new people, expand my perspective and activate unlimited potentials that await me. There are people out there with mentality that speed up creative process to unimaginable levels and there are possibilities that no one would ever dream of.
My Desteni process support for self-realization: Writing myself to freedom by focusing on my breath, stopping the mind end inherited behavior patterns, getting aware of my unconscious thoughts by bringing them here in writing, taking full responsibility for all of my emotional reactions by self-forgiveness of all accepted and allowed beliefs, ideals and definitions and applying self-corrective application to direct myself as one and equal with all living beings and do what is best for all. 1+1=2
24 April 2013
Day 24: I decided to brake up with my girlfriend
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Gift Cards
Give the gift of a memory of discovery and imagination. Our gift cards can be purchased in any amount you like and come packaged with instructions to make it easy for your family or friends to get started. Gift cards are available from our Box Office, Gift Shop, or call 1-780-451-3344.


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At this year in consumer electronics show thousands of new technology products launched. They made a good impression on visitors from more than 150 countries approximately 150,000 visitors. Huge numbers of products lunched in CES 2016 but we will discuss only some top products which attract to visitors more on their unique technology and styles.
HTC Vive Pre
In consumer electronics show, virtual reality was a big news at this year in which different companies present numerous headsets, controllers, and applications. HTC was one of the companies leading the charge with its second-generation Vive Pre headset which is more compact and comfortable and features improved lenses, as well as refined handheld controllers having a front face camera for detecting its wearer's surroundings and keeping him or her from walking into things.
According to HTC, they will start taking pre-order in February and shipping date expected in April. The company has not yet announced the price. Its main competitor plans to sell its Rift headset for $599 the US later in 2016.
In this year in consumer electronics show drones were seen everywhere because of its increasing demands. Drones in CES were not allowed to fly freely and were instead relegated to caged silos at booths.in show inspire 1 sells for $2,600 US and was designed for the professional filmmaker with a 4k camera and video positioning system.
4K TVs
IN CES 4k TV's also attract visitors a lot with 4k picking up stream with all the major manufacturers now in full-blown push mode on the higher-resolution panels. Big electronic companies such as Sony, Samsung, and LG, are also adding high-dynamic-range technology, resulting in better color ranges and whiter whites.
Huawei Watch
China's Huawei offered most handsome smart watch in CES this smart watch running on android wear software and are aimed at women. Jewel and Watch Elegant watches selling in early 2016 for $599 US and $499.it was mind blowing experience with these watches the watch Jewel has 68 Swarovski zirconia crystals surrounding its circular 42-mm body and other hand watch face use low power mode lights up into full activity when tapped.
Faraday Future
Automobile attracts a good deal epically next generations cars of 2016. California-based Faraday Future emerging from stealth mode. The founder of LEtv also known also China's Netflix said a company is gonna set to open a $1 billion production plant in Nevada and company will work on a self-driving electric vehicle. The company's futuristic-looking concept car, the FFZero1, attracted big crowds — and big questions about whether it's all for real.
4K Blu-ray
With 4k televisions companies gonna soon releasing 4K Blu-ray players. Two big electronics companies such as Samsung, pictured, and Philips announce devices at CES.Samsung is aiming for a March release but has not disclosed a price, while Philips' player is expected to cost under $400.
3D Rudder
Movement within virtual reality is still the the big issue that a number of companies are looking to solve. France's 3D Rudder has around skateboard-like the platform that allows its user move forward backward side to side and up and down. The user can control movement with feet's while sitting leaving hands free to do other things Company founder Stanislas Chesnais said: "We believe it's the solution to free movement It helps to keep your hands independent". The 3D Rudder will be available for pre-order and will start in March for $175 US.


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Achieve a balanced life filled with success today! San Diego Christian!
Winter Dolphin returns in #DolphinTale2! Click to learn more!!
Inspired by the true story! When the Game Stands Tall! In theaters Aug 22!
Looking for that lost cantata? Let US find it!
Distinguish Yourself! North Greenville University Click to learn more!
$250 Credit Hour Military Discount on Undergrad Degrees
Bible software for Believing Study: SwordSearcher
Biblical Hebrew study & learning software: BMSoftware.com
Finish Your B.A. in Ministry
Oral Roberts University: One of the Best Colleges in the West!
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Contacting SL
The Works and the Word of God.
For the choir director. A Psalm of David.
1 The heavens R487 are telling of the glory of God;
And their expanse R488 is declaring the work of His hands.
2 Day to day R489 pours forth speech,
And night R490 to night reveals knowledge.
3 There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
4 Their line R491 F169 has gone out through all the earth,
And their utterances to the end of the world.
In them He has placed R492 a tent for the sun,
5 Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices as a strong man to run his course.
6 Its rising R493 is from one F170 end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the other F171 end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.
7 The R494 law of the LORD is perfect, R495 F172 restoring R496 the soul;
The testimony of the LORD is sure, R497 making wise R498 the simple.
8 The precepts of the LORD are right, R499 rejoicing R500 the heart;
The commandment of the LORD is pure, R501 enlightening R502 the eyes.
9 The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the LORD are true; R503 they are righteous R504 altogether.
10 They are more desirable than gold, R505 yes, than much fine gold;
Sweeter R506 also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them Your R507 servant is warned;
In keeping them there is great reward. R508
12 Who can discern R509 his errors? Acquit R510 me of hidden R511 faults.
13 Also keep back Your servant from R512 presumptuous sins;
Let them not rule R513 over me;
Then I will be blameless, R514 F173
And I shall be acquitted of great R515 transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth and the R516 meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
O LORD, my R517 rock and my Redeemer. R518
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Blog article: Advanced Tip: Optimized 3D Objects in Lumion
Date: October 19 2016
"Lumion comes with a library of objects.
The Pro edition of Lumion comes with a library containing around 3000 objects. These are not just any objects, they are all chosen and made (or fine-tuned) especially for Lumion. It's also possible to import objects into Lumion from external sources.
This blog provides a brief technical background to explain why 3D objects should be chosen carefully, if they are not selected from Lumion's own library."


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Join the B2 Family!
If you want to become a vendor with B2 - we want to represent your art! It's as easy as that.
Despite our Kawaii style - we strive to be inclusive of all styles + mediums of art. We have it all from traditional to rainbow to political to goth to emo to punk and everything in between!
Fill out this form and email it to us at email@example.com to join our sparkly swarm.


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CSUB™ Subsea Hatches
A lightweight alternative to hatches on subsea structures and XTs.
CSUB has supplied several hatches for XT, manifolds, templates and ITS. Typical features for hatches are GRP locking pins and the possibility of including buoyancy elements to reduce the overall submerged weight hence making the hatch ROV operable.
Hatches in GRP provides several advantages:
- Reduced weight of overall structure
- Good impact energy absorption
- Hatches can be made subsea replaceable
Hatches can be designed to have bolt on hinges, or interface steel hinges with CSUB designed GRP hinges.
For more information, contact us.


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Used in everything from jet engines to surgical instruments, and from construction to automotive and building / infrastructure, steel is one of the most versatile materials. Imerys supports the steel industry with a range of minerals, refractory solutions, and services covering all aspects of primary and secondary liquid steel processes. The main applications we serve range from safety and working lining of equipment vessels to continuous flow steel casting fluxes.
Minerals used in primary and secondary steelmaking processes include alumina, wollastonite, and bauxite, which contain characteristically high amounts of alumina and iron oxide. Silicon- and graphite-based alkaline mixes and other carbon sources are also used as functional additives for continuous flow steel casting. Due to it its specific physical and chemical properties, calcium aluminate flux speeds up slag formation and improves steel refining in secondary metallurgy and in the continuous casting tundish. We design bespoke solutions for our steelmaking customers and fine-tune these solutions as steel grade and specification requirements evolve. In addition to casting fluxes, our portfolio of products also includes covering compounds, metallurgically active slags and flux feeders.


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I Introduction
The abuse of a dominant position is prohibited under Section 7 of the Competition Act.2 Furthermore, the concept of dominance is defined in Sections 4(2) and 4a of the Competition Act. The Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority (FCCA) has the authority to investigate competition matters.3 The FCCA may order a dominant undertaking to terminate an unlawful conduct or resolve a restriction through commitments. The decisions of the FCCA may be appealed to the Market Court and further to the Supreme Administrative Court. The Market Court has the authority to impose fines that have been proposed by the FCCA.
The enforcement procedure in abuse of dominance cases is set out in the Competition Act. The concepts of dominance and abuse thereof are, with minor exceptions, similar to those found in the EU competition rules. When an abuse of dominance may affect trade between EU Member States, the Finnish authorities must also apply the provisions of Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and the interpretation thereof. The FCCA may issue legally non-binding guidelines that are consistent with the guidelines and Block Exemption Regulations of the European Commission.4 To date, no specific guidelines on abuses of dominance have been issued by the FCCA; however, the guidelines on the assessment of the amount of fine5 and guidelines on prioritisation6 are relevant to abuse of dominance cases.7 In addition, the FCCA's brochure on the inspection of business premises is relevant also to abuse of dominance cases.8
II Year in Review
Based on published data, the FCCA decided not to investigate or not to take an action in most of the abuse of dominance cases decided in 2018. Some cases were resolved after the companies in question had changed their behaviour during the FCCA's investigation, and therefore the FCCA concluded that there was no reason to continue the investigation. These decisions indicate that the FCCA effectively uses its authority to prioritise matters and directs its resources to investigating the most harmful competition restrictions from a competition policy point of view.
In 2018, the FCCA made one commitment decision regarding the terms and conditions of the rightholder membership agreement of Finnish Composers' Copyright Society Teosto (a non-profit collective management organisation that collects royalties on behalf of songwriters and composers in Finland). The FCCA expressed preliminary doubts on compatibility of the exclusivity clauses in Teosto's rightholder membership agreement. The FCCA accepted the commitments offered by Teosto concerning a wider range of individual management copyright options for composers, lyricists and publishers, and resolved the case.9
The administrative courts did not adjudicate any cases related to abuse of dominance in 2018.
III Market Definition and Market Power
The definitions of relevant product and geographical market correspond to the approach of the European Commission and the European court praxis. It is explicitly stated in legislative materials that the definition of markets is an economic-based factual matter that may be determined by, for example, conducting a market survey.10 Substitutability of demand is the most decisive factor in the determination of a relevant product market, but supply-side substitutability is also taken into consideration by the FCCA.
Dominant position is defined in Section 4(2) of the Competition Act as follows:
A dominant position shall be deemed to be held by one or more undertakings or association of undertakings who, either within the entire country or a given region, hold an exclusive right or other dominant position in a specified product market so as to significantly control the price level or terms of delivery of that product, or who, in some other corresponding manner, influence the competitive conditions on a given level of production or distribution.
Despite of the specific definition included in the Competition Act, the concept of dominance is interpreted consistently with EU competition law.11
However, there is an exception to the determination of dominance concerning the Finnish daily consumer goods market. According to Section 4a of the Act, grocery chains with a market share exceeding 30 per cent in the retailing of daily goods in Finland are considered to hold a dominant market position. The aim of the provision was to improve the functionality of competition on the highly concentrated Finnish retail trade market and to ensure that competitors are not excluded from the market. It is, however, explicitly stated that the objective is not to prevent competition on the merits, but to ensure that companies deal with suppliers and other market actors in a non-discriminatory manner.12 The FCCA has publicly stated that the provision does not influence the application of the constituent elements of the abuse of dominance. Furthermore, the FCCA has emphasised that the prohibition of the abuse is only targeted at actions that can be distinguished from the competition on merits.13
Two or more undertakings may hold a joint dominant position. In the Automatia case, the FCCA took the preliminary view that joint venture Automatia and its owner banks had joint dominance in the cash-dispensing market in Finland.14 The FCCA stated that to hold joint dominance, the companies must, in an economic sense, act as one economic entity on the market. The FCCA did not require the companies to act identically in every situation, but it was fundamental that they were able to act in a similar manner and to a reasonable extent independently from their competitors, customers and consumers. The FCCA's view was also that the joint venture Automatia formed a structural and economic link between the owner banks, since they offered cash withdrawal services to their customers via Automatia. Despite the fact that they made the pricing decisions independently, as a result of this link, they had an incentive to price withdrawals made using auto-teller machines (ATMs) outside the Automatia network in a way that would encourage their customers to use Automatia's ATMs. The case was closed with a commitment decision. In another more recent Automatia case, which concerned the real-time payment markets in Finland, the FCCA took a similar preliminary view. In its preliminary assessment, the FCCA stated that Automatia and its owner banks had a structural, economic and ownership-based link and a market position where they could influence the market in a harmful manner and abuse the market power of their joint venture without significantly or immediately losing market shares to competitors. However, this case was also closed with a commitment decision.15
IV Abuse
i Overview
The definition of abuse of dominance included in Section 7 of the Competition Act corresponds almost word for word to the wording of Article 102 of the TFEU. The interpretation of the abuse of dominance is also similar to the application of Article 102.
ii Exclusionary abuses
Exclusionary pricing
Predatory pricing refers to a pricing policy in which the dominant company prices its products below costs in the short term to foreclose existing or potential competitors from the market. In its assessment of predatory pricing, the FCCA has referred to the criteria set out in the European Court of Justice Akzo judgment.16
In Valio,17 the Supreme Administrative Court found that the Finnish dairy company Valio had abused its dominant position by engaging in predatory pricing in the fresh milk market. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Market Court's decision to impose a €70 million fine on the company and found that Valio had abused its dominant position in the Finnish fresh milk market. A central issue in the case was the calculation of costs and, in particular, the treatment of the price of raw milk paid to the farmers. Valio is a cooperative owned by farmers, and it has undertaken to buy all the raw milk produced by its owners, and, therefore, the company disagreed with the view to consider the cost of raw milk as a variable cost. The Court, however, held that the relevant average fresh milk prices of Valio were below the company's average variable costs between 1 March 2010 and 20 December 2012, and that application of such prices generally indicates predatory pricing.
Margin squeeze means that a vertically integrated company weakens the position of a competitor in the end-product market by overpricing an intermediary product. The Market Court has dealt with alleged margin squeeze in several cases concerning subscriber connections in the telecommunications market. In the Oulun Puhelin, Aina Group, Kymen Puhelin and TeliaSonera Finland cases, the Market Court imposed fines totalling €220,000 on the companies for the abuse of a dominant position. According to the Market Court and the FCCA, the companies held dominant positions in their respective geographical areas and abused their market positions by favouring their own service providers with regard to the rents they charged for subscriber connections. The price bias made it difficult for competitors to gain access to the market in consumer services provided over subscriber connections, such as broadband and business-to-business services.18
The Lännen Puhelin case concerned margin squeeze and refusal to supply in the broadband services market. As regards the margin squeeze, the company offered end customers a broadband product based on a different network technology from that of its wholesale product available to competitors. The Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Market Court's decision and considered that, because of the different cost structure of the two technologies, it was not possible to assess whether the company had engaged in margin squeeze.19 According to the FCCA's report to the Market Court, the prices for the wholesale product had even exceeded the retail prices.20
The FCCA has published a memorandum on its evaluation criteria concerning the abuse of dominance in the broadband market. In its memorandum, the FCCA takes the preliminary view that local telecoms operators have dominant positions in their traditional business areas in the markets of subscriber lines as well as the wholesale of broadband services. When assessing the margin between wholesale and retail pricing, the FCCA calculates a weighted average of the monthly gross margin of the asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) connections. If this is negative, the FCCA takes the preliminary view that the pricing fulfils the criteria for an illegal margin squeeze.21
Exclusive dealing
In the Abloy case, the FCCA assessed, inter alia, whether the marketing support paid by the company to accredited dealers constituted an illegal retroactive target rebate. The FCCA took into consideration that, for about half of the dealers, the support amounted to approximately one-third of their operating income, and was thus highly important and loyalty enhancing. The FCCA considered that the marketing support was non-transparent and its grounds were unclear. According to the FCCA, this could have had exclusionary effects at least on some individual product groups. Following negotiations, the FCCA decided not to proceed with the case after the company voluntarily amended its discounting system on the basis of FCCA guidance.22
Refusal to deal
In Lännen Puhelin, the Supreme Administrative Court rejected the FCCA's claim that the company had abused its dominant position by refusing to supply its wholesale ADSL broadband product to its competitors. The Court quoted the Oscar Bronner23 criteria and stated that it was necessary to assess whether the refusal to supply in fact removed all competition from the market. According to the decision, the fact that two competitors had managed to construct their own networks covering a significant area of Lännen Puhelin's network coverage area proved that the refusal had not effectively removed competition.24
In the SNOY case, the Supreme Administrative Court generally upheld the Market Court's decision and fined Suomen Numeropalvelu (the Finnish number service) €90,000 for refusal to supply in the wholesale market for telephone subscriber information. The company maintained the only nationwide database of telephone subscriber information in Finland and refused to deliver the information to its customer, which offered its services on the internet for free and without registration. Suomen Numeropalvelu justified its refusal by invoking data protection legislation, but this argument was not accepted by the Market Court.25
iii Discrimination
In the Automatia case, the FCCA considered that the three banks holding joint dominance in the cash distribution market engaged in discriminatory pricing. According to the FCCA, the price difference of withdrawals made from their joint venture's ATMs and withdrawals made from other ATMs was higher than the difference in costs. The FCCA accepted the commitments offered by the banks, through which the companies undertook to price the cash withdrawals in a non-discriminatory manner.26
iv Exploitative abuses
There is quite a lot of old Finnish case law concerning excessive pricing, but the assessment in these cases has been somewhat formal, and it is expected that the FCCA will concentrate more on economic effects in its future assessments. This shift to a more economic approach can be seen in the district heating survey. The FCCA assessed the reasonableness of the pricing of district heating companies in a large survey from 2009 to 2011. The FCCA closed its investigations by stating that the average price level of the district heating companies were high compared with the profitability and risk level of their business operations, but it considered that the threshold for intervention required by the Competition Act was not exceeded.27
V Remedies and Sanctions
According to the Competition Act, the FCCA is entitled to impose behavioural remedies, determine commitments offered by the undertakings as binding, withdraw the benefit of a block exemption, issue interlocutory injunctions and impose periodic penalty payments. The Market Court has the authority to impose fines proposed by the FCCA for competition restrictions.
i Sanctions
The Market Court may impose a maximum fine of 10 per cent of the concerned undertaking's turnover during the year in which the undertaking was last involved in the infringement. The fine will be imposed unless the conduct is deemed minor or the imposition of the fine is otherwise unjustified in respect of safeguarding competition. It is explicitly stated in the Competition Act that the fine may also be imposed on a company to which the business activity has been transferred. The Market Court shall impose the fine proposed by the FCCA.
In its Fining Guidelines, the FCCA states that the fine needs to generate a sufficient deterrent and general preventive effect.28 The amount of the fine is based on an overall assessment, and attention will be paid to the nature and extent, the degree of gravity and the duration of the infringement.
In Valio,29 the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the Market Court's decision to impose a fine of €70 million on the company for its abuse of dominance. This is the highest fine imposed in dominance cases – and in all competition restriction cases in general – in Finland to date. In the assessment of the fine, the Supreme Administrative Court and Market Court took into account, inter alia, the object of Valio's conduct, the notion that Valio's conduct was not in line with the fundamental principles of the internal market and the fact that Valio has previously been the subject of an abuse of dominance decision that included the imposition of a fine on the company.
Furthermore, the FCCA and the Market Court may impose periodic penalty payments to enforce an order, condition, prohibition or obligation issued on the basis of the Competition Act. The Market Court has the authority to order a periodic penalty payment to be paid.
ii Behavioural remedies
If the FCCA considers conduct to amount to an abuse of dominance prohibited in the Competition Act or Article 102 of the TFEU, it may impose behavioural remedies. First, the FCCA can order the undertaking to terminate the prohibited conduct. This was done in the Valio case, where the FCCA ordered Valio to cease the alleged predatory pricing of fresh milk and thus, in practice, raise its prices. The Market Court further obliged Valio in its interim decision30 to comply with the FCCA's order. The FCCA may also oblige an undertaking to deliver a product to another undertaking on conditions similar to those that it offers others in a similar position. In addition, the FCCA is also entitled to give these orders as interim measures. Furthermore, the FCCA may issue an interlocutory injunction if the application of a competition restraint is deemed to require immediate cessation. After the interlocutory injunction, the FCCA must take a final decision or make a proposal to the Market Court within 60 days. Prior to issuing an interlocutory injunction, the FCCA must hear the undertaking.
iii Structural remedies
Unlike the Commission, the Finnish competition authorities do not have the authority to impose structural remedies (however, see Section VIII).
VI Procedure
The FCCA is responsible for the investigation of competition restraints and the effects thereof as well as for initiating the necessary proceedings to eliminate the harmful market effects of the restraints. The FCCA can begin investigations as a result of complaints by third parties and on its own initiative. The FCCA can also conduct sector inquiries, and these may result in the initiation of further proceedings.
In addition to the FCCA, the regional state administrative agencies have the authority to investigate competitive conditions and competition restrictions. Upon the mandate of the FCCA, the agencies are also entitled to take other measures to promote competition within their respective regions.
The FCCA has the right to prioritise its tasks. According to Section 32 of the Competition Act, it shall not investigate a case in the following situations: it cannot be deemed likely that an infringement prohibited in Sections 5 or 7 (Articles 101 and 102 of the TFEU, respectively) of the Competition Act exists; competition in the relevant market may be considered functional as a whole, irrespective of the suspected infringement; and the complaint in the matter is manifestly unjustified.
The prioritisation of cases can also mean that the handling of a case with potential significance and likely anticompetitive objects or effects may be postponed if there are other ongoing investigations with even greater significance.31
The FCCA must take the decision to not to investigate a matter without delay. In its Guidelines, the FCCA has set the following non-binding deadlines: one month for closing cases to which Article 32 is clearly applicable; four months for completing a preliminary survey according to which further actions can be determined; and six months for closing non-significant cases, and drafting of investigation plans and determining objective internal deadlines for cases that require further actions.32 Overall, the FCCA seeks to handle all competition cases within three years.33 To date, however, more extensive investigations have, in practice, required a longer process.
The undertaking subject to the FCCA's investigation is obliged to submit information to the FCCA or the relevant regional state administrative agency upon request. This obligation covers all documents and other information needed for the investigation of the content, purpose and impact of a restraint on competition and for clarifying the competitive conditions, as well as information necessary to enable the authority to determine whether the undertaking holds a dominant position. In practice, the FCCA usually sends an undertaking a request for information or arranges a meeting with the representatives of the undertaking to gather the information. Furthermore, the FCCA has the right to hear representatives of the undertaking in person if it is considered necessary for the investigation and the person may, for a justified reason, be suspected of having acted in the implementation of the restraint on competition.
The FCCA also gathers information by conducting inspections. These inspections may be announced, or they may be 'dawn raid' inspections. In addition to business premises, the FCCA has the right to inspect other premises (e.g., the homes of the management of the undertaking) if reasonable suspicion exists that bookkeeping or other documents relating to the business and the object of the investigation may be held there and if these documents may have relevance in proving a serious violation of Section 7 of the Competition Act or Article 102 of the TFEU. However, the FCCA must seek advance permission from the Market Court to conduct an inspection outside the business premises, and the Market Court may prohibit the inspection if it considers it arbitrary or excessive. Although unannounced inspections are usually conducted in cartel investigations, the FCCA has conducted several dawn raids in abuse of dominance investigations during recent years. The rights of the FCCA to carry out inspections of companies that have outsourced their information management to a third party were added to the Competition Act in 2015. After this amendment, the FCCA has had the right to request information directly from such third-party service providers at the expense of the company subject to inspection and regardless of location of the outsourced information. In 2017, the FCCA published a brochure on the inspection of business premises under Section 35 of the Competition Act.
The rights of defence of an undertaking subject to proceedings, including the right to be informed about an ongoing investigation, the right to receive information and the right to be heard, are set out in the Competition Act.
Prior to making a final decision or a proposal to the Market Court, the FCCA will issue a confidential draft decision to the undertaking under investigation. The undertaking has the right to respond to the draft decision, and it may request an informal meeting with the FCCA to present its opinion on the draft decision. A decision34 may be appealed to the Market Court and further to the Supreme Administrative Court. A decision of the Market Court concerning the imposition of fines may be appealed to the Supreme Administrative Court.
A case can also be resolved through a commitment decision. The FCCA may accept the commitments offered by an undertaking as binding if the commitments are such that the restrictive nature of the conduct can be eliminated. If an underlying fact significantly changes, the undertaking infringes the commitments, or the decision has been based on insufficient, false or misleading information, the FCCA may reinitiate proceedings.
VII Private Enforcement
The Finnish competition law regime is twofold: in addition to administrative enforcement, it contains rules for private enforcement according to which a private litigant can have an unlawful agreement declared null and void, and damage that occurred from the violation compensated.
Section 8 of the Competition Act provides that an unlawful agreement cannot be applied or implemented (i.e., the agreement or part thereof is null and void by law). The provision applies only inter partes and cannot be invoked by third parties.
Actions for damages based on an infringement of competition law are covered by the Act on Actions for Antitrust Damages,35 which entered into force on 26 December 2016.36
Section 2 of the Act provides the right for damages to anyone who has suffered damage from an infringement regardless of whether the relationship is contractual or non-contractual. The liability to compensate the damage is joint and several. Joint and several liability of immunity recipients and small and medium-sized enterprises is, however, limited.
Collective actions are available but only to a limited extent in disputes between consumers and undertakings under the Act on Class Actions.37 A class action can only be brought by the Consumer Ombudsman and, to date, the Consumer Ombudsman has not brought any class actions for competition law damages. In the pending Asphalt cartel and Raw wood cases, however, which involve numerous plaintiffs, practices that resemble those of collective actions have been adopted. In these cases, the court has joined the separate actions of each of the claimants to proceed together, thus entailing procedural and cost benefits.
An action for damages can be brought either as a stand-alone or a follow-on case in arbitration or in a general court. Except for the follow-on cases related to abuse of dominance that are currently pending before the general courts, there have not been many follow-on cases related to the abuse of dominance in Finland, and so far, all cases have been withdrawn; instead, abuse of dominance is more often invoked as grounds for action in contractual disputes. In general, a claimant's burden of proof is easier to meet in a follow-on case than in a stand-alone case. As of 26 December 2016, a final administrative decision concerning an infringement of competition law has a binding effect on the civil court.
In Finland, only single damages can be awarded, and the damages law doctrine relies heavily on the principle of non-enrichment. Compensation covers both direct and indirect economic damage, inter alia, compensation of costs, price difference or lost profits.38 Compensation also includes interest; in practice, penal and return interest may form a significant part of the compensation.
The burden of proof is reversed with respect to cartels; a cartel is expected to have caused damage unless proven otherwise by the defendant. Unlike in cartel damages cases, there is no legal assumption of damage in Finland in cases concerning the abuse of dominance, and the claimant bears the burden of proof of damage.39 There is no single way of calculating the damage, but in recent case law related to cartel damages, competition economics and extensive economic evidence on the financial effects of the infringement have been utilised. The court has the power to assess the quantum of damage if the claimant has proven the damage suffered, but evidence of the amount cannot be presented or can be presented only with difficulty.
Furthermore, there must be a causal link between the harm suffered and the violation of the competition law. The claimant must prove that the damage has resulted from the competition law infringement, and not from the market conditions or general market structure. In addition, liability for damage also requires that the occurrence of the damage as a consequence of the violating act was foreseeable by the undertaking at the time the act was made. This means that there is no liability for indirect damage or consequential loss.40 Contributory negligence on the part of the injured party may also have a significant effect on the liability.
According to Chapter 21 of the Code of Judicial Procedure, the party that loses the case is liable for all reasonable costs incurred by the necessary measures of the opposing party.
According to Section 10 of the Act on Actions for Antitrust Damages, the right to claim compensation expires if the action has not been instituted within five years of the date when a claimant has become aware, or should have become aware, of the infringement, the damage and the party responsible. The five-year limitation period is, however, suspended for the duration of an investigation by the competition authorities, until one year has elapsed from the issuance of a binding decision, as well as for the duration of settlement negotiations. The right to damages is not, however, time-barred if proceedings are brought within one year of the issuance of a binding decision, or within 10 years of the day of infringement of the competition law or the end of a continued infringement.
VIII Future Developments
The FCCA has indicated that it will focus on removing structural restraints on competition, and on discriminating and binding practices aimed at foreclosing competitors from a market.41 The FCCA's focus on exclusionary practices has already been seen in the recent case law of the FCCA where the authority has been most concerned with conduct involving margin squeeze, predatory pricing, refusals to deal and restrictive rebates.
The review of abuse of dominance cases is likely to give more weight to economic-based assessments in the future, which can already be seen in the OP Financial Group case resolved in February 2019. Between 2015 and 2018, the FCCA conducted an extensive economic and legal analysis related to OP Financial Group's customer bonus scheme but found no evidence to support the alleged abuse of dominance.42
The importance and effectiveness of private enforcement is expected to increase in Finland, both through the landmark judgments in the Asphalt cartel case and the Raw wood case, as well as through the recent Act on Actions for Antitrust Damages.
In March 2017, the Ministry of Employment and Economy published a report of the working group on reforming the Competition Act,43 and the government proposal relating to the first part of the reform was given in May 2018 and approved by the Parliament on 7 March 2019.44 As regards the abuse of dominance, the government proposal contains an additional ground for prioritisation of the FCCA's cases. According to the government proposal, the FCCA could take into consideration the significance of a competitive restraint as a ground for prioritisation. Other amendments relate, inter alia, to the inspection powers of the FCCA and information exchange between certain authorities notwithstanding the confidentiality regulations. Some of the amendments proposed by the working group, such as the possibility of structural remedies as a consequence of an abuse of dominant position, were left out of this government proposal owing to the forthcoming legislative process of the directive to make national competition authorities more effective enforcers (ECN+ Directive) during 2019 to 2021.
The amendments of the Competition Act are expected to enter into force by the end of 2019.
1 Jussi Nieminen is a partner and Kiti Karvinen is a senior associate at Castrén & Snellman Attorneys Ltd.
2 948/2011 as amended. The Competition Act replaced the old Act on Competition Restrictions (480/1992, as amended). The provisions of the Act on Competition Restrictions apply to a large extent to violations that occurred prior to the entry into force of the Competition Act on 1 November 2011.
3 Regional state agencies also have limited powers to investigate competition matters and, by mandate of the FCCA, to take measures to promote competition in their region.
4 Government Proposal 88/2010, p. 6.
5 Guidelines on the Application of the Competition Act 3/2011.
6 Guidelines on the Application of the Competition Act 4/2011.
7 In addition, the FCCA has issued guidelines on leniency and guidelines on merger control.
8 Brochure on the inspection of business premises under Section 35 of the Competition Act (2017).
9 FCCA Decision No. 503/KKV14.00.00/2014, Säveltäjäin Tekijänoikeustoimisto Teosto ry.
10 Government Proposal 148/1987, p. 18.
11 Government Proposal 148/1987, p. 18.
12 Government Proposal 197/2012, p. 20.
13 FCCA Newsletter 26 March 2014.
14 FCCA Decision No. 964/61/2007, Nordea Pankki Suomi Oyj, OP-Keskus cooperative and Sampo Pankki Oyj.
15 FCCA Decision No. 1469/14.00.00/2015, Automatia Pankkiautomaatit Oy.
16 Decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, KHO:2016:221, Valio Oy and Market Court Decision No. 458/12/KR and 36/13/KR, Valio Oy.
17 ibid.
18 FCCA Proposals to the Market Court No. 950/61/2002, Oulun Puhelin Oyj, Aina Group Oyj, Kymen Puhelin Oy, TeliaSonera Finland Oyj, and Market Court decisions No. 189/07/KR, Oulun Puhelin Oyj, No. 356/07/KR, TeliaSonera Finland Oyj, No. 355/07/KR, Kymen Puhelin Oy and No. 354/KR/07, Aina Group Oyj.
19 Supreme Administrative Court Decision No. 2474/2/08 and Market Court Decision 260/04/KR, Lännen Puhelin Oy.
20 FCCA Proposal to the Market Court No. 949/61/2002, Lännen Puhelin Oy.
21 FCCA Memorandum 3 September 2009.
22 FCCA Decision No. 428/V1.6.61/2006, Abloy Oy.
23 Case C-7/97, Oscar Bronner.
24 Supreme Administrative Court Decision No. 2474/2/08, Lännen Puhelin Oy.
25 Market Court Decision No. 1097/61/2003.
26 FCCA Decision 964/61/2007, Nordea Pankki Suomi Oyj, OP-Keskus cooperative and Sampo Pankki Oyj.
27 FCCA press release, 16 January 2012.
28 FCCA Fining Guidelines, p. 6.
29 Decision of the Supreme Administrative Court, KHO:2016:221, Valio Oy.
30 Market Court Decision No. 36/13/KR, Valio Oy.
31 FCCA's Guidelines on prioritising the handling of competition restrictions, 4/2011, p. 9.
32 FCCA's Guidelines on prioritising the handling of competition restrictions, 4/2011, p. 14.
33 The FCCA's operational and financial plan for 2017 to 2019.
34 A proposal to the Market Court to impose a fine is not considered an administrative decision of the FCCA.
35 1077/2016. The Act implements the Directive 2014/104/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 November 2014 on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of the competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union.
36 If the infringement occurred prior to 26 December 2016, the repealed Section 20 of the Competition Act or other applicable laws apply to the right for damages and liability thereof.
37 444/2007.
38 See Government Proposal 83/2016.
39 See the judgment in Qvist v. John Crane Safematic, where the district court found the abuse of dominance but dismissed the claim because the claimant failed to prove the damage. The Appeal Court later overruled the judgment of the district court.
40 Government Proposal 88/2010, p. 66.
41 The operational and financial agreement for 2019 to 2022 between the Ministry of Employment and Economy and the FCCA, p. 2.
42 FCCA Decision No. 015/KKV14.00.00/2015, OP Financial Group.
43 Ministry of Employment and Economy's Publication, Competition and Consumers 16/2017.
44 Government Proposal 68/2018, 24 May 2018. In April 2019, the ratification of the President of the Republic of Finland is pending.