As to whether these points have merit, the answer, like Mr Obama himself, is complicated.

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In his quest for discovery, he concluded that most every program contains points of merit, but that for most people no single dietary theory will provide every answer.

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Instead, priority would shift to a merit-based system with points for things like education and language skills.

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The other five award points for technical merit - i.e. how hard the routine is and how well they do it.

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Arteta believes the Blues' performances merit much more than the three points they have collected from their first six games.

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However, if the picture quality can be increased by projecting two overlapping light-points, it might have some merit.

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As Gardner points out, making the issue about jobs might seem to have merit when unemployment is 8.5%.

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Those who seek "merit-based" naturalization -- jumping ahead of the queue -- would get points for "civic involvement" if they had engaged in a significant amount of community service.

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