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Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Preamble.

This terms of use and privacy policy is supplemented by guidelines enumerated on the Carnival guidelines page. If you submit content to a carnival and/or sign up to host, you agree to follow the guidelines enumerated on the Carnival guidelines page.

Section 1. Acceptance of Terms.

Use of the web-site located at www.carnivalofpolitics.com (the “Web-site”) and the services available from the Web-site is subject to the following Terms and Conditions (”T&Cs”). Please read these T&Cs carefully before using or registering with the Web-site. Your use of the Web-site is expressly conditioned on your acceptance of these T&Cs. If you do not agree with any part of these T&Cs you must not use this site.

Section 2. The Web-Site.

The Web-site is owned and operated by Blooks LLC, a Delaware limited liability corporation. Some of the content found on the Web-site is owned by contributors, some of the content found on the Web-site is owned by members, some of the content found on the Web-site is owned by other third party providers, and some of the content found on the Web-site is owned by Blooks LLC. In addition, the trademarks, logos and service marks (“Trademarks”) displayed on the Web-site are common law Trademarks of Blooks LLC and may be registered at any time.

Section 3. Access and Registration.

In order to use the Web-site, you need the equipment necessary to connect to the World Wide Web (the “WWW”), and the connection necessary to access the WWW. You are responsible for any fees associated with such a connection or access (such as those charged by an Internet Service Provider (an “ISP”) or other online service). In order to submit content and obtain other benefits and services from the Web-site, you must first register. You agree you will: (a) provide accurate and complete information when prompted to do so by any registration form, and (b) maintain and update such information so it remains accurate and complete.

Section 4. Privacy.

We have created this Privacy Policy to demonstrate our firm commitment to your privacy and the protection of your information.

If you provide contact information such as email address, this information is only used for communications between you and us. We never use or share any information provided to us online in any way with third parties. We will never sell or rent any personally identifiable information about you (or your business) to any company.

This site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each and every web site that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this Web site.

This Privacy Policy is incorporated into and subject to the terms of use for this website. By using our Web site and services, you consent to the collection and use of the information described in this Privacy Policy. If we decide to alter or amend this policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it. If you have any questions about this privacy statement or the practices of this site, please contact us via the contact form from this site.

Section 5. Member Account, Password and Security.

Upon registration, you will choose a member name and a password will be mailed to you. You are responsible for keeping your member name and password confidential. We recommend you memorize this information and not write it down. You are responsible for all activity occurring through use of your account and/or password. You agree to immediately notify us of any actual or suspected unauthorized use of your account and password. We will not be responsible for any loss to you arising from your failure to comply with the above. You represent that you are of sufficient legal age to use the Web-site and to create binding legal obligations for any liability you may incur as a result of the use of the Web-site. You understand that you are financially responsible for all uses of the Web-site by use and those using your login information.

Section 6. Submission and Creation of Carnival Content.

If you submit content to this site you are granting us a non-exclusive worldwide irrevocable royalty free right to use that content in any manner. You agree not to submit content which you are unable to grant us such rights. If you submit content that is not within your rights, you agree to pay for any and all damages including attorney’s fees incurred by Blooks LLC as a result of your submission.

If you participate in a carnival by submitting a link or other reference to an article or post you have written, the article or post you link to will be considered to be content submitted in its entirety.

If you participate in a carnival by hosting, the entire post comprising the carnival edition will be considered to be content submitted in its entirety.

Section 7. Member Conduct.

You agree that you will not use the Web-site to:

  • submit, post, upload or otherwise transmit any content that is unlawful, defamatory, libelous, abusive, tortuous, harassing, threatening, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, or otherwise indecent or that could constitute or encourage conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability or otherwise violate any law;
  • submit, post, upload, or otherwise transmit any content that infringes or otherwise violates the rights of any third party, including without limitation privacy rights and proprietary rights;
  • submit, post, upload or otherwise transmit any content that contains viruses, corrupted files or any other similar software or programs that may damage the operation of another’s computer;
  • submit, post, upload or otherwise transmit any content that is of consistently poor quality or that is deemed inappropriate as determined by the sole discretion of the editors;
  • advertise or offer to sell any goods or services for any commercial purpose, with without prior written consent of Blooks LLC;
  • conduct, display, or forward surveys, contests, pyramid schemes, “spam” or chain letters;
  • impersonate, or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with, any other person or entity;
  • falsify or delete any attributions, legends or other proprietary designations of the origin or source of software or other Web-site Content appearing on the Web-site or contained in a file that is uploaded;
  • harm minors;
  • stalk or harass another individual;
  • collect or store personal data about other members; or
  • violate any applicable local, state, federal, or international law or regulation.

You further agree that you will not use any robot, spider, or other automated device, or a program, algorithm or methodology having similar processes or functionality, or any manual process to monitor or copy any of the Web pages, data or content from the Web-site.

BLOOKS LLC RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REMOVE ANY MEMBER ACCOUNT INCLUDING ALL CONTENT AND ANY OTHER MEMBER RELATED INFORMATION FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE OFFENSES OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON IN BLOOKS LLC’S SOLE DISCRETION.

Section 8. Restricted and Permitted Uses.

All Web-site Content may be protected under United States and/or foreign intellectual property laws, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents or other intellectual property and proprietary rights and laws. Unauthorized use of the Web-site Content may violate copyright, trademark and other laws. You must abide by all copyright notices, information or restrictions contained in or attached to any Web-site Content or portion of the Web-site.

Blooks LLC grants you a limited, non-transferable license to use the Web-site in accordance with these T&Cs. You may only use the Web-site for legitimate purposes for which the Web-site is available, and shall not use this site for any other purposes. The Web-site and the Web-site Content, including the text, graphics, button icons, audio and video clips, digital downloads, data compilations and software, may not be copied, reproduced, republished, uploaded, posted, transmitted or distributed without the express written permission of Blooks LLC, except you may make a single copy of the Web-site Content on your hard drive or in print for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided, that you do not alter the Web-site Content. You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Web-site Content on any copy you make of the Web-site Content.

Except as explained in the preceding paragraph, you may not modify, copy, reproduce, display, publish, publicly perform, create derivative works of, sell, transfer, transmit, compile, collect in a database, distribute or otherwise use the Web-site Content in any way for any public or commercial purpose without the express, prior permission of Blooks LLC and/or the copyright holder identified in the applicable copyright notice. Requests for permission may be sent via the contact page. You may not use any “robot” “spider” or other automatic device, or a program, algorithm or methodology having similar processes or functionality, or any manual process, to monitor or copy any of the web pages, data or content found on the Web-site.

If you violate any of these restrictions, your permission to use Web-site Content on the Web-site automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of the Web-site Content.

Section 9. Trademarks.

At this time all trademarks and service marks are protected common law. We reserve the right to register any or all trademarks in the future.

Section 10. Changes to Web-Site or T&Cs.

Blooks LLC may alter, suspend or discontinue any part or service of the Web-site at any time, with or without notice. The Web-site is currently available to you free of charge. Blooks LLC, however, reserves the right to charge you in the future for using one or more parts or services of the Web-site. Blooks LLC will notify you of any fees associated with any part or service of the Web-site it may charge, and will require your subscription to that part or service of the Web-site prior to charging any such fees. In addition, Blooks LLC reserves the right to modify these T&Cs at any time, without notice to you. Changes to these T&Cs will become effective when Blooks LLC posts them here, or directly e-mails to you a notification of the changes. You agree to review these T&Cs periodically to become aware of any changes and your continued use of the Web-site will signify your assent to any modifications to these T&Cs. You further agree that these standards for notifying you of changes to these T&Cs are reasonable.

Section 11. Termination; Failure to Comply with T&Cs.

Blooks LLC may terminate these T&Cs and/or the provision of any of the services at any time for any reason. Additionally, Blooks LLC may suspend or terminate your membership and/or deny your access to, or use of Web-site Content or submission of content to the Web-site, without prior notice and in its sole discretion, if we reasonably believes that:

  • your conduct violated any provision of these T&Cs;
  • your conduct violated Blooks LLC’s or any third-parties’ rights; or
  • it is inappropriate for you to enjoy continued access to or use of the Web-site.

Such termination shall not affect any right to relief to which Blooks LLC, its affiliates or its third party providers and distributors may be entitled at law or in equity.

Moreover, Blooks LLC reserves the right to terminate the membership of inactive members. You agree that upon termination, Blooks LLC may delete all information related to you or your membership and may deny you access to such information and the Web-site.

Upon termination of this Agreement and these T&Cs, all rights granted to you will terminate and revert to Blooks LLC, its affiliates and its third party providers or distributors, as applicable.

Section 12. Termination by You.

You may discontinue your participation in and access to the Web-site at any time. These T&Cs will continue to apply to all past use of the Web-site by you, even if you are no longer using it.

Section 13. Advertisements and Links.

The Web-site, as well as third party ad servers, may provide advertisements and links to other web sites operated by third parties. These advertisements and links are provided solely as a convenience to you and not as an endorsement by Blooks LLC of their content, and the inclusion of such advertisements and links on the Web-site does not imply Blooks LLC ’s endorsement of the material in such advertisements or on such other web sites. Blooks LLC has no control over such advertisements or web sites. Blooks LLC is neither responsible for the content of those external sites nor your dealings in connection with them. You agree that Blooks LLC does not endorse those advertisements or web sites, is not responsible for their availability or their accuracy, or for their content, advertising, products, services or other resources. You further agree that Blooks LLC will not be liable or responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss suffered or alleged to be suffered in connection with the use of or reliance upon such content, advertising, products, services or other resources made available by such advertisements or web sites.

Section 14. Disclaimers.

THE WEB-SITE CONTAINS CONTENT AND INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THIRD PARTIES.BLOOKS LLC DOES NOT REPRESENT, ENDORSE OR GUARANTEE THE TRUTHFULNESS, ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OF SUCH WEB-SITE CONTENT POSTED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES, OR ENDORSE ANY OPINIONS OR RECOMMENDATIONS EXPRESSED BY SUCH THIRD PARTIES. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOU DOWNLOAD OR OTHERWISE OBTAIN MATERIAL OR DATA THROUGH THE USE OF THE WEB-SITE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND ANY RELIANCE ON WEB-SITE CONTENT POSTED BY THIRD PARTIES WILL BE AT YOUR OWN RISK. YOU AGREE THAT YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL OR DATA. CHANGES ARE PERIODICALLY MADE TO THE WEB-SITE AND MAY BE MADE AT ANY TIME.

THE WEB-SITE IS PROVIDED TO YOU “AS IS” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BLOOKS LLC AND THE SUPPLIERS PROVIDING SOFTWARE OR SERVICES SUPPORT DISCLAIM ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE WEB-SITE AND ITS WEB-SITE CONTENT, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTCULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND IMPLIED WARRANTIES ARISING FROM A COURSE OF DEALING OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE WITH REGARD TO THE WEB-SITE CONTENT, PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INFORMATION CONTAINED ON OR MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEB-SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE AVAILABILITY OF THE WEB-SITE, LACK OF VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES OR OTHER CODES THAT MANIFEST CONTAMINATING OR DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES, OR ANY FAILURE TO PROVIDE THE WEB-SITE.

ALTHOUGH BLOOKS LLC INTENDS TO TAKE REASONABLE MEASURES TO PREVENT THE INTRODUCTION OF DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS TO THE WEB-SITE, BLOOKS LLC DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEB-SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR FREE FROM ERROR OR DESTRUCTIVE MATERIALS. BLOOKS LLC WILL NOT BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY LOSS SUFFERED OR ALLEGEDLY SUFFERED IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE OR INTERRUPTION OF THE WEB-SITE OR RESULTING FROM THE ACT OR OMISSION OF ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN MAKING THE WEB-SITE AVAILABLE TO YOU, WHETHER OR NOT THE CIRCUMSTANCES GIVING RISE TO SUCH CAUSE MAY HAVE BEEN WITHIN THE CONTROL OF BLOOKS LLC OR OF ANY SUPPLIER PROVIDING SOFTWARE OR SERVICES SUPPORT.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE DISCLAIMER OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES, SO SOME OF THE AFOREMENTIONED DISCLAIMERS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Without limiting the foregoing, under no circumstances shall Blooks LLC or its affiliates, licensors, content providers or suppliers be held liable for any delay or failure in performance resulting directly or indirectly from acts of nature, forces, or causes beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, internet failures, computer equipment failures, telecommunication equipment failures, other equipment failures, electrical power failures, strikes, labor disputes, riots, insurrections, civil disturbances, shortages of labor or materials, fires, floods, storms, explosions, acts of God, war, governmental actions, orders of domestic or foreign courts or tribunals, non-performance of third parties, or loss of or fluctuations in heat, light, or air conditioning.

Section 15. Waiver, Release and Limitation of Liability.

YOU AGREE THAT NEITHER BLOOKS LLC NOR ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS, SHAREHOLDERS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU UNDER ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY OR INDEMNITY, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, WHETHER IN ACTION UNDER CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR ANY OTHER THEORY, IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE WEB-SITE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO (A) YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE WEB-SITE, (B) YOUR RELIANCE ON WEB-SITE CONTENT, AND (C) ANY GOODS, SERVICES OR OTHER WEB SITES ADVERTISED ON THE WEB-SITE, EVEN IF BLOOKS LLC OR SUCH RELATED PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND FOREVER WAIVE ANY AND ALL CLAIMS YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST BLOOKS LLC, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, CONSULTANTS, AGENTS, SHAREHOLDERS, AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, CONTENT PROVIDERS OR SUPPLIERS (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, CLAIMS BASED UPON THE NEGLIGENCE OF SUCH PARTIES) FOR LOSSES OR DAMAGES YOU SUSTAIN IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE WEB-SITE.

SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO SOME OF THE AFOREMENTIONED LIMITATIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

Section 16. Indemnification.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Blooks LLC its officers, directors, shareholders, affiliates, employees, consultants, agents, licensors, content providers and suppliers from any and all claims, liability, damages, losses, expenses and/or costs (including but not limited to reasonable attorney’s fees) arising from your failure to comply with these T&Cs, your negligent or wrongful conduct, your infringement or violation of any intellectual property or other right of a third party, Member Content provided by you or from your violation of any applicable law.

Section 17. Applicable Law; Attorney’s Fees and Injunctive Relief.

These T&Cs shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, United States of America, without giving effect to any conflict of laws provisions. You consent and submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in King County, the state of Washington, United States of America in all questions and controversies arising out of your use of the Web-site and these T&Cs. To the extent allowed by applicable law, any claim or cause of action arising from or relating to your access or use of the Web-site must be brought within two (2) years from the date on which such claim or action arose or accrued. If Blooks LLC or its affiliates take any action to enforce these T&Cs, such parties will be entitled to recover from you and you agree to pay, all reasonable and necessary attorney’s fees and any cost of litigation, in addition to any other relief, at law or in equity, to which such parties may be entitled. You acknowledge that a violation or attempted violation of any of these T&Cs will cause such damage to Blooks LLC as will be irreparable, the exact amount of which would be difficult to ascertain and for which there will be no adequate remedy at law. Accordingly, you agree that Blooks LLC shall be entitled as a matter of right to an injunction issued by any court of competent jurisdiction, restraining such violation or attempted violation of these T&Cs by you, or you affiliates, partners or agents, as well as recover from you any and all costs and expenses sustained or incurred by Blooks LLC in obtaining such an injunction, including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees. You agree that no bond or other security shall be required in connection with such injunction.

Section 18. Entire Agreement; Amendments and Waivers.

These T&Cs contain the entire understanding and agreement between you and Blooks LLC with respect to the subject matter contained herein and supersede all prior oral or written understandings and agreements relating thereto, except as otherwise expressly provided. These T&Cs cannot be amended, supplemented or changed except as provided in Section 10, and no provision hereof can be waived, in whole or in part, except by written instrument making specific reference to such waiver and these T&Cs signed by Blooks LLC. No failure or delay by Blooks LLC in exercising any rights, power, or remedy under these T&Cs shall operate as a waiver of any such right, power, or remedy.

Section 19. Severability.

If any portion of these T&Cs shall be held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable under present or future laws, such provision shall be fully severable, these T&Cs shall be construed and enforced as if such illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision had never comprised a part of these T&Cs, and the remaining provisions of these T&Cs shall remain in full force and effect and shall not be affected by the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision or by its severance herefrom.

Section 20. Assignment.

Blooks LLC may assign its rights under these T&Cs to any party without your consent. These T&Cs shall inure to the benefit of Blooks LLC, its successors and assigns. You may not assign, convey, subcontract or delegate your rights, duties or obligations hereunder.