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This was published 10 years ago
Streaker in State of Origin but it ain't over 'til the fat man sprints
The streak continues.
Matt Scott crashed over for what should have been the deciding play with two minutes and 10 seconds left on the clock, and it was almost time for the fat lady to sing. Instead, it was a fat streaker who almost decided proceedings.
After hurdling the fence, the advertising hoardings and evading numerous security guards and the players, he ran 95 metres upfield. He fell flat on his face, a result of exhaustion and, presumably alcohol.
It is understood that the trespasser greased his body with vaseline-like substance making it difficult for him to be tackled by authorities.
Wati Holmwood, 33, was taken to Auburn Police Station and questioned by police. It is understood that he did not co-operate with officers during the interview.
He was charged with wilful and obscene exposure, and enter or remain on a playing field without authorisation. He is due to appear in Burwood Local Court on August 6.
Police said he also would be banned from all future events at ANZ Stadium, while it is understood the NRL will impose a life-time ban on him for all rugby league matches.
Holmwood was charged by police in 2011 after he stormed onto Allianz Stadium during the first half of a match between the Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors.
At the time, one commentator said Holmwood's tubby figure was sprinting across the field ''like there was a free buffet beneath the goalposts''.
After reaching one try line, he turned around and began sprinting back upfield, evading the first security guard who attempted to tackle him.
A second security guard wrestled him to the ground, where he was arrested.
Holmwood was charged in 2011 with wilful and obscene exposure in public, as well as assaulting security guard who tried to apprehend him.
When he faced court for the first time the following month, he was wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.
Part of his bail conditions at the time required him to not drink in a public place or come within 500 metres of Allianz Stadium.
Numerous Facebook pages have been set up in the wake of Wednesday night's incident, including one that is appealing for donations to pay for Holmwood's expected fine.
''you can donate 5c, $1 or how ever much you want,'' the page says.
Attitudes to Holmwood's actions vary greatly on social media, where some are describing him as a ''legend'' and others saying he ruined the game and should cop a bigger fine for his actions.
On Wednesday night, Holmwood landed splat in the middle of play and, NSW defenders claimed, prevented them from stopping a rampaging Scott. Seven years of Origin football could have come to this.
The decision was referred upstairs. The video referees decided that, with a fat, naked man on the field and numerous security guards in tow, it was an obstruction call no one could complain about.
Mercifully, it didn't decide the game. Should the Blues have scored in those final, frenetic minutes, some nude fool may have done what countless Blues players couldn't – stop the, ahem, Bananabenders.
NSW coach Laurie Daley labelled the incident as "silly behaviour".
"What more do you say?" Daley said. "I didn't know what the rule was. I knew a try wouldn't be allowed."
"Obviously disappointed we didn't get the six set of six."
While it appeared Holmwood stopped what appeared a certain Maroons try, Blues captain Robbie Farah said the incident hindered his own team.
"It was tough for us because of the ruling at the time. It was the fifth tackle and they got a scrum feed with a full set of six," Farah said.
"There were only two or three minutes left in the game, it wasn't ideal for us...
"I didn't notice him until right at the end there when he was on the ground. I was too occupied to notice him."
Queensland coach Mal Meninga said the "big, fat fella" cost Matt Scott a certain try.
"I thought he did very well," Meninga said of the way Holmwood evaded his pursuers.
"It was disruptive. It cost us a try. We handled it ... Silly, ridiculous it does happen in Origin, in sport, but it does happen."
Maroons fullback Billy Slater could see the funny side afterwards asking "is he a Queenslander?"
Not since Peter Hore, the serial pest who interrupted World Cup qualifiers and Melbourne Cups, has anyone had the audacity to ruin one of Australia's most treasured sporting events.
Sadly, the Blues were again exposed as well.
Mitchell Pearce, the man himself will have you believe, will never pull on the sky blue jersey again.
The Roosters No.7, whose 12 Origin appearances is the most of any NSW halfback, predicted prior to the latest he wouldn't make a 13th unless he walked off ANZ Stadium a winner. He did not. So the question remains. Have we seen the last of Junior Junior? Do we put a line through him forever? Is it time for Adam Reynolds? Or Albert Kelly? Or anyone other than Mitchell Pearce?
The halfback, Ricky Stuart always says, owns the result. And while Pearce has been an easy target during a Queensland streak which now extends to eight years, the jury is out over whether he did enough to earn yet another shot.
The early signs weren't positive. In just the third minute of the match – and in just his second touch – Pearce dropped the ball cold just after his side earned a penalty.
The 24-year-old had a hand in James McManus' try, competed on every play in a kicking game that had good interspersed with bad. Yet again, it wasn't enough.
If there was one play that summed the whole thing up, it came in the 54th minute. The Blues had the momentum, the Maroons' line was stretched and Pearce got the ball. He had any number of options, but took the wrong one. In attempting to put a grubber behind the line, his foot missed the ball altogether. Peter Sterling, the second-most capped Blues halfback, summed it up succinctly from the commentary box.
"It's a poor play from Mitchell Pearce," he said.
It's not as if it wasn't all in his favour. He was playing with his Roosters halves partner, in front of a vocal home crowd, with a penalty count which was, at one point, 7-2 in his side's favour. It doesn't get much better than that.
It's not as if a halfback didn't stand up when the game was on the line. With fatigue setting in and just four points separating the teams midway through the second half, Cooper Cronk took ownership of the game. Again. In last year's decider, he kicked the match-deciding field goal from 41 metres out. This time, the Storm star put Justin Hodges over with a brilliant pass.
When Trent Merrin scored with nine to go, the deficit was just two.
Before the start of the series, NSW coach Laurie Daley declared South Sydney playmaker not ready for the step up to the big time. Time will tell next year.
As for the streaker, he faces a lifetime ban from all rugby league games at ANZ Stadium.
"There's a possibility he could be charged by police with a number of offences including resisting arrest, invading the field of play and [potentially indecent exposure]. That will be determined by police," said Arthur Stanley, ANZ Stadium spokesman.
Stanley conceded the antics of the pitch invader, who entered the field from the south-east corner, could overshadow a classic Origin encounter.
"He came at a very unusual part of the field, I understand, the quarter line, and it took a little while to [respond]," he said.
Chief Superintendent Peter Gillam said 10 people were arrested and 27 people were ejected from ANZ Stadium during the Origin decider for offences including tresspass, assault, intoxication, and anti-social behaviour.
He said the majority of the 83,800 football fans who attended the game were well behaved, but the actions of the streaker had marred the night.
"Sadly one man's actions disrupted the game during a crucial time. His running onto the field and into the middle of the play was not only dangerous but also idiotic and senseless," he said.
"No one wants to see a grown man running around naked at a footy match and this man can expect to not only feel the wrath of the crowd but also a magistrate."
With Megan Levy


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BERLIN- Stephen Decatur's varsity baseball team continued its early season dominance this week, routing county rival Snow Hill, 7-2, at home on Monday to improve to 4-0.
On Monday against Snow Hill, Decatur jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the second, but the Eagles went ahead, 2-1, in the top of the third with a long fly ball that just barely missed clearing the high fence in left field at Decatur.
Decatur scored two more in the bottom of the third to take a 3-2 lead, which was all the Seahawks would need on a day when Lucas Koenig was dominating at times on the mound. The score remained 3-2 through the middle innings until the Seahawks tacked on some insurance runs late in the game to seal the 7-2 win.
Koenig went four innings, scattering four hits and striking out five. Brian Hudson homered and Chris Bunting and Will Lewis each went 2-3 at the plate. Koenig helped his own cause, going 2-4 at the plate.
The win over Snow Hill was relatively close for Decatur, which dominated its first three opponents of the season last week. The Seahawks pounded Crisfield, 17-3, in the season opener last Tuesday behind Josh Tyndall, who allowed one run on just three hits.
Last Thursday, the Seahawks thrashed Washington, 22-2, with another dominating performance on the mound and at the plate. In the Washington game, Decatur's Troy Bennett pitched a four-hitter striking out nine. Marshall Betts was the big hero at the plate, going 2-3 including a grand slam and five RBIs.
On Friday against Cambridge-South Dorchester, the Seahawks prevailed, 8-1, as Will Lewis threw a complete game four-hitter.

subset: commoncrawl


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Over the last couple of days, I've noticed that sometimes when I'm in a tank at full health that a single hit from an opposing tank will end up disabling my tank (or at least heavily impairing it, if that's possible). That single hit usually takes out over 50% of the health, whereas I've usually found that I need 3-4 shells or so to take out an enemy tank.
Does the location that a tank is hit determine the damage (e.g., would hitting it in the tracks or the rear do more damage than, say, the front)?


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"In no way do I think this is an easier fight, and I think it's going to be very interesting and great for the fans." - Demian Maia
If you're a Brazilian fight fan or someone associated with the sport, you were either in HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro on January 14th or you wanted to be there for UFC 142.
But not Demian Maia.
Tucked away in Sao Paulo, Maia was putting the finishing touches on his training camp, getting ready for a fight in Chicago on January 28th, and, with the exception of an autograph session in his home city, not worrying too much about what was going to happen in Rio earlier this month.
"I'm very focused and I don't think about fighting on this or that day – just that I have a fight on the 28th and that's it," said Maia when asked about the event and whether he was going to attend or watch UFC 142. "I don't even know if I'm gonna watch because normally right before my fights I don't usually watch fights. I'm just focused on the 28th."
So there was no worry from him about being seen with the crème de la crème of the Brazilian MMA world or disappointment about not competing on the card; he had business to take care of, and all eyes were on America, not Brazil.
"I'm very happy to fight and because I do what I love, and I know UFC is coming to Brazil more often, so sooner or later I know I'm going to be fighting here, but I'm not in a rush about that," said Maia, whose attitude matches his fighting style. He's not going to be reckless or wild. He will beat you with his mind before he does it with his hands or feet, and in a little over four years, he has gone from a one-dimensional jiu-jitsu player to a well-rounded mixed martial artist whose form may be unorthodox, but effective. And that's come with a mix of work, focus, and a refreshing lack of ego.
"For me, it's not hard because I love what I do and I love to fight," he said. "I love boxing also, and not just jiu-jitsu, so whenever you do something that you love, it's never hard work. Of course the training and everything is tough, but what I do I like very much and when you're like that I think you develop very well."
"I see some guys that are standup fighters and they've been doing jiu-jitsu for many years and they're still not so good, and there are some jiu-jitsu guys that do standup for many years and they're not so good, and the key is that they don't like the other style," Maia continues. "Sometimes they don't like to train other styles and sometimes they don't like to go from being the best at what they do to learning something else and there's an ego involved there. If you think like a white belt, you can keep getting better. And when I decide to do something, I know that I will do it hard and I will get it."
Winner of three of his last four, with the only loss a hard fought three round scrap with Mark Munoz that saw him actually rock "The Filipino Wrecking Machine" while the two traded blows early on, Maia has shown the ability to handle himself standing as well as on the mat. He will never be confused with a 185-pound knockout artist, but if going three rounds with Munoz and five rounds with champion Anderson Silva haven't erased the memory of his knockout loss to Nate Marquardt back in 2009, you're just not paying attention.
So with his ego in check, his game growing by leaps and bounds with every fight, and the outlook looking bright for the 34-year old, it was no surprise that he didn't get rattled when his original opponent for this Saturday's FOX bout, Michael Bisping, was pulled from the fight to replace the injured Munoz against Chael Sonnen. In comes unbeaten New Yorker Chris Weidman, and Maia is as ready for his new foe as he was for the last one.
"Chris Weidman is one of the most promising fighters in the middleweight class, with amazing wrestling credentials, and he's also showing a lot of good and always improving Jiu-Jitsu technique," said Maia. "Being undefeated is not easy at this level of competition and he's shown that he is a good fighter. I respect a lot the fact that he took the fight on short notice, as this is a big card on a great platform in FOX, and it shows how much heart he has. In no way do I think this is an easier fight, and I think it's going to be very interesting and great for the fans."
And a win on such a nationally televised platform will also do wonders for Maia's growing profile.
"It's a good test for me if I want to be champion one day," said Maia, who is already reaping the benefits of the UFC's success in his home country.
"It's a great feeling," he said. "After last year, when the UFC came back to Brazil again, there was a great change in the sport in Brazil. And now, people recognize us in the street, they come to talk to us everywhere, and it's different than before. Before, maybe just other fighters and the people involved with fights knew who I was. Now everyone comes to talk and the sport is very big here."
Not surprisingly though, he hasn't let all the attention get to his head.
"It doesn't change my life. I'm still the same person like everybody else."
That doesn't mean he wouldn't mind making his debut as a UFC fighter in his home country with a world title on the line one day.
"That would be great."
Jamahal Hill Talks UFC 300 Main Event
Hall Of Fame


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April 28, 2013
MAKHACHKALA, Russia — The father of the two Boston bombing suspects said Sunday that he has postponed a trip from Russia to the United States because of poor health.
April 28, 2013
MAKHACHKALA, Russia — The father of the two Boston bombing suspects said Sunday that he has postponed a trip from Russia to the United States because of poor health.
he father of the two Boston bombing suspects, Anzor Tsarnaev speaks at a news conference in Makhachkala, the southern Russian province of Dagestan, Thursday, April 25, 2013.
"I am really sick," Anzor Tsarnaev, 46, told The Associated Press. He said his blood pressure had spiked to dangerous levels.
Tsarnaev said at a news conference Thursday that he planned to leave that day or the next for the U.S. with the hope of seeing his younger son, who is under arrest, and burying his elder son, who was killed. His family, however, indicated later Thursday that the trip could be pushed back because he was not feeling well.
Tsarnaev confirmed on Sunday that he is staying in Chechnya, a province in southern Russia, but did not specify whether he was hospitalized. He is an ethnic Chechen and has relatives in Chechnya, although he and his family spent little time in Chechnya or anywhere else in Russia before moving to the U.S. a decade ago.
He and the suspects' mother, Zubeidat Tsarnaeva, returned to Russia last year and settled in Makhachkala, the capital of neighboring Dagestan, where Tsarnaeva's relatives live.
During the past week, they were both questioned extensively by U.S. investigators who had traveled to Makhachkala from Moscow. They also were besieged by journalists who staked out their home.
Tsarnaev's family said last week that he intended to get to the U.S. by flying from Grozny, the Chechen capital, to Moscow. He and Tsarnaeva left Dagestan on Friday, but their whereabouts were unclear.
Courtesy: AP


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Wind Watch is a registered educational charity, founded in 2005. |
Mass. PUC's Cash discusses state's action on solar, wind development
Credit: OnPoint | Aired: Tuesday, March 11, 2014 | www.eenews.net ~~
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How should public utilities commissions navigate the evolving grid and regulatory landscape as utilities transition to a next-generation business model? During today's OnPoint, David Cash, commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, discusses his state's aggressive clean energy agenda and the challenges associated with expanding renewables while maintaining affordable electricity costs for consumers. Cash, who will be leaving his post at the DPU to head up the Department of Environmental Protection at the end of the month, also talks about the opportunities posed by distributed generation.
Monica Trauzzi: Hello, and welcome to OnPoint. I'm Monica Trauzzi. With me today is David Cash, commissioner at the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities. Commissioner, thank you for coming on the show.
David Cash: My pleasure.
Monica Trauzzi: And, David, you'll soon be transitioning away from the Department of Public Utilities to head up the Department of Environmental Protection. As a state with an aggressive clean energy agenda, what will be your top items to tackle in your new position?
David Cash: Well, in the new position, one of the primary things is our goal to get organic waste out of the waste stream, and we see a win-win-win situation. That is, organic waste has caused problems in landfills because of methane emissions, takes up landfill space – there are all kinds of odor problems. If we can convert that organic waste into clean energy through anaerobic digestion, we get multiple benefits, and part of the clean energy agenda in the state is to get these kind of multiple benefits, because in addition to those environmental and energy benefits, we'll also get job growth in the development of these kinds of facilities. So that's one of the items on the agenda.
There's a whole series of others that could be on the energy agenda, but the Department of Environmental Protection is one of six agencies that are in the Secretariat, in which Gov. Patrick has integrated energy and environment. That was a new thing that he brought to the state when he first became governor and took all of the energy and environmental agencies and put them under one rubric, because how can you make wise environmental decisions without wise energy decisions and vice versa?
Monica Trauzzi: And Massachusetts is part of RGGI, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative. Could RGGI potentially serve as a compliance mechanism under EPA's existing power plant results?
David Cash: Absolutely, and it's demonstrated the effectiveness. We've seen emissions drop in the Northeast from the RGGI states. We've seen that if a state auctions off the allowances and uses the funds from that to invest in energy efficiency, we get multiple benefits from that. So it's been a very successful model, and the conversations have already been going on between the RGGI states and EPA as – using RGGI as a compliance mechanism, and we're hoping it will actually become a platform for other states to join, either directly RGGI or similar kind of cap-and-trade program.
Monica Trauzzi: How big a role should natural gas be playing in the energy mix, and what's your strategy regarding gas-fired power plant approvals moving forward?
David Cash: So gas can – should be playing an important role. It's relatively clean, though not totally clean, so as a replacement for coal and oil, it's been very beneficial in New England in terms of lowering greenhouse gas emissions. At the end of the day, though, at least in Massachusetts, where we have the Global Warming Solutions Act, which requires us to get to 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050, eventually, we'll be moving away from fossil fuels. So at this point, as a bridge fuel, natural gas is going to play an important role and should play an important role. In the long run, we're going to need to move away to renewables and all of the other kinds of technologies, storage, et cetera, that can help us get there. At this point, natural gas has been – because it's so abundant, has reduced energy costs in New England, and so there's been a real opportunity to continue our investments in the clean energy side of the ledger while prices are relatively low.
Monica Trauzzi: When you consider the incoming challenges that may be posed by the new and existing power plant rules coming out of EPA, how should regulators, how should Massachusetts be navigating those roles?
David Cash: Well, first of all, I guess we see them more as opportunities than challenges – opportunities to get a cleaner environment, opportunities to address climate change and opportunities for the development of the clean energy economy that is booming in Massachusetts, so alternatives to fossil-based energy production are ramping up incredibly quickly in Massachusetts and in New England and in any other parts of the country, and so there's huge opportunities that we can jump on to take advantage of the framework that EPA is creating.
Monica Trauzzi: The Boston Globe recently reported that Massachusetts customers could pay up to $1.50 per month as a result of the governor's solar power expansion. How do you weigh the costs versus benefits when it comes to plans like these?
David Cash: So that's a great question, and it's something that all of the agencies – DPU in particular – looks at in approving any of the kind of projects, long-term contracts, renewable long-term contracts, et cetera. The benefits have to outweigh the costs, and clearly at this time, we need to be making these kinds of investments because we see really big benefits in the future, and some of these benefits are not even so far in the future. There are thousands and thousands of businesses, residential customers, low-income, high-income, all across the board, that are availing themselves of these programs and they are seeing declining bills, mitigation of the volatility that we're seeing as natural gas prices – even though low compared to eight years ago – are going up and down, and generally, we're seeing price suppression as demand is decreasing from all of our programs – from our renewable energy programs and from our energy efficiency programs. And that's causing a decrease generally in the price of energy over time. And we don't see the need as much for transmission development and the cost that would be incurred from that as well.
Monica Trauzzi: On when the department recently approved 12 long-term power purchase agreements for onshore facilities in New England, how critical of a step is this to addressing the capacity and pricing issues that have been experienced in New England?
David Cash: Hugely important. I mean, as I mentioned, it's critical that we move away from fossil fuels. We have a renewable portfolio standard program in Massachusetts and other New England states. Those targets need to be met. So this is a way to address what's been a problem in the market; that is, we have a very robust renewable energy credit program, but it's difficult to go to a bank and say we're going to be getting renewable energy credits and the bank will say, "Well, what are those going to be worth in 10 years?" And the developer has to say, "Well, we don't know because we don't know what the market is." By having these long-term contracts, that decreases the uncertainty for the developer in the market, and so that's been a critical tool for us to move forward with establishing renewables in New England.
Monica Trauzzi: We had PSEG CEO Ralph Izzo on the show recently, and he said distributed generation should be a secondary option for consumers. Some utilities have this mindset; others are moving forward aggressively on the DG issue. What's your view on how utilities should be approaching the challenges associated with distributed generation?
David Cash: In my mind, utilities should be looking at distributed generation as a new business opportunity: somehow playing in the market, not necessarily competing with third-party solar, but having their business models be such that distributed generation can play a major role. Because it will have to play a major role. Consumers are demanding it; the renewable energy benefits that come from distributed solar are huge, and so what we're trying to do in Massachusetts is figure out what are the kind of regulatory structures that will allow utilities to see this kind of thing as an opportunity.
Monica Trauzzi: Is there a clear path forward on net metering?
David Cash: I think net metering has created a very powerful signal, and the states that have had progressive net metering programs, they've done exactly what they're supposed to do. At this point, distributed generation is still a relatively small part of the mix, and so the price impacts, at least in Massachusetts, are relatively small, but we're all looking forward to that day when distributed generation is much bigger and we're going to have to think of a model that may include net metering, it may not include net metering, but we're going to have to figure out a way that we can have those who want to avail themselves of distributed generation can do so, get incentives to do so, and the impacts on other rate pairs are not so large. Again, in Massachusetts, they're not large right now, but we need to figure out how to get that future.
Monica Trauzzi: What does the next-generation utility look like?
David Cash: So here's – let me paint a picture, because I think it's important to start with the consumer in terms of what the utilities should look like, right? The utility needs to have a business model, and the PUCs have to create a regulatory structure to allow the services that consumers are demanding.
So think of this future: Think of this future where, in 20 years or 15 years, I don't know, you have your electric vehicle plugged in at your house and there's a chip in it that says, "When the price of electricity is at a certain point, fill up my battery." And because at this point, we now have a lot of far-offshore wind, very cheap at night wherein there's a lot of wind blowing offshore, your battery gets filled up. You drive in your car to work in the morning, you plug it in – that's if you don't have available public transit – you drive in your morning, you plug in, and that same chip says, "When the price of electricity is really high, sell back to the market." And the ISO in that region on that hot July day doesn't have to turn on a natural gas plant or a coal plant; it has to turn on the 30,000, 40,000, 50,000 cars that are parked in the metropolitan area, and essentially, you'll have a generator there. Now, of course you're worried that your battery might not have enough juice to get you home. The software takes care of that. You say, "I need to pick up my kids. I need to go shopping, et cetera. There's enough left," and that's the smart part of the grid of the future. But lot of different regulatory rules have to change and the utility has to have a different model for that. So that's one piece of it.
The other piece is, I know that in this region, there've been a lot of outages in the last three or four years. So imagine the grid of the future in which your house and utility knows it right away, and through communication to your smartphone, to your iPad or some other way, they immediately alert you that, "Here's what the situation is. Here's when your estimated time for restoration is going to be," and some other information, "Your town has a shelter over here, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera." So that's the other piece of the – and the utilities have avoided a lot of those outages.
The third piece is, the prices are just not reflective of what the costs are. In New England, we have about 6,000 megawatts of generation that waits for those 5 percent of the days of the year that it's really, really hot to run air conditioning. Six thousand megawatts, so 60 100-megawatt plants, four big 1,500-megawatt plants, I mean, we're paying for that; we're paying for the transmission for that. In the grid of the future, those price signals will be there such that consumers can make the right decisions and lower their cost because you're lowering everybody's cost. So the utility of the future has to be nimble and innovative enough to provide all of those kinds of services, and the regulator of today and the future has to create the incentives and the regulatory structure so that utilities can play in that game and have the right incentives to provide those kinds of services.
Monica Trauzzi: All right, very interesting insight. Thank you for coming on the show.
David Cash: My pleasure.
Monica Trauzzi: Good luck with the new job.
David Cash: Thank you very much.
Monica Trauzzi: And thanks for watching. We'll see you back here tomorrow.
[End of Audio]
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- City Fajr Shuruq Duhr Asr Magrib Isha
- Dubai 05:27 06:41 12:35 15:52 18:22 19:36
Attackers threw petrol bombs at three churches in central Indonesia on Thursday, in the latest assault on religious minorities in the world's biggest Muslim-populated nation.
Police in the south of Sulawesi island reported three consecutive attacks between one and four in the morning, national police spokesman Agus Riyanto told reporters.
"As we understand, the attackers threw water bottles filled with flammable materials at the churches," he said, adding that the door of the first church caught fire.
Witnesses managed to put out the flames and the churches were only slightly damaged. No one was hurt, Riyanto said.
Attackers hurled petrol bombs at two other churches over the weekend in Sulawesi.
Parts of the island had a decades-long history of sectarian violence between Muslims and Christians, with thousands killed or displaced, before a 2001 peace agreement.
Two weeks ago a minister in the west of the country's main island of Java was jailed for three months for holding services at his Pentecostal church. Authorities claimed the church did not have a permit to conduct religious activities there.
In Bekasi city near Jakarta, authorities Thursday sealed a mosque where followers of the Islamic Ahmadiyah sect worship and announced a mayoral decree banning all Ahmadiyah activities in the city.
"We want to remind the (Ahmadiyah) community they cannot worship here," said Asep Syarif Hidayat, head of the Bekasi National Unity, Politics and Social Protection Agency.
Several regulations have banned them from proselytising in Indonesia, but the Bekasi decree is the first to place a blanket ban on all the sect's activities.
Around 90 per cent of Indonesia's 240 million people identify themslves as Muslims.
Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.


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Caroline: Little House, Revisited
In Caroline, Sarah Miller recreates Little House on the Prairie from Ma's point of view. An oft-overlooked character, in Caroline we find a rich inner life that rarely breaks her smooth surface. She is constantly wrestling with fears and doubts about this journey and everything that it means (she was actually pregnant during it). Although Caroline seems consumed by caregiving, childbearing, and constant tasks for others, we get a glimpse of her true self through her thoughts on her childhood, her relationship with Charles, and her time as a teacher. Miller draws out the quiet richness of Caroline as a character, showing her to be as integral to the story as Pa or Laura.
USA Today Bestseller!
One of Refinery29's Best Reads of September
In this novel authorized by the Little House Heritage Trust, Sarah Miller vividly recreates the beauty, hardship, and joys of the frontier in a dazzling work of historical fiction, a captivating story that illuminates one courageous, resilient, and loving pioneer woman as never before—Caroline Ingalls, "Ma" in Laura Ingalls Wilder's beloved Little House books.
In the frigid days of February, 1870, Caroline Ingalls and her family leave the familiar comforts of the Big Woods of Wisconsin and the warm bosom of her family, for a new life in Kansas Indian Territory. Packing what they can carry in their wagon, Caroline, her husband Charles, and their little girls, Mary and Laura, head west to settle in a beautiful, unpredictable land full of promise and peril.
The pioneer life is a hard one, especially for a pregnant woman with no friends or kin to turn to for comfort or help. The burden of work must be shouldered alone, sickness tended without the aid of doctors, and babies birthed without the accustomed hands of mothers or sisters. But Caroline's new world is also full of tender joys. In adapting to this strange new place and transforming a rough log house built by Charles' hands into a home, Caroline must draw on untapped wells of strength she does not know she possesses.
For more than eighty years, generations of readers have been enchanted by the adventures of the American frontier's most famous child, Laura Ingalls Wilder, in the Little House books. Now, that familiar story is retold in this captivating tale of family, fidelity, hardship, love, and survival that vividly reimagines our past.
Praise for Caroline: Little House, Revisited
"Peeling back the layers of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House on the Prairie series allows Miller to reveal the real Caroline Ingalls, Wilder's mother. Not to be missed by Wilder's grown-up fans or those who enjoy historical fiction about the settling of the American West in the late 1800s." — Library Journal
"Through assured prose, Miller puts us in those conversations, showing us the fear and uncertainty behind Wilder's implacable, unflappable "Ma," but also her strength and devotion to her husband and children... this is a stunning novel. Miller's research is impeccable and her writing exquisite..." — Historical Novels Review, Editors' Choice
"Comforting, inspiring and beautifully written, Caroline is a precious addition to the story of the Ingalls family but stands on its own as a testament to the spirit, grit and courage that built America." — Mary Jane Clark
"A master of historical fiction, Miller forges Caroline Ingalls into a formidable, complex pioneer woman, and adult fans of Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series will delight in this portrayal of "Ma." Beguiling, pulse-pounding historical fiction." — Kirkus Reviews
"I was entertained, transported, and inspired by Sarah Miller's CAROLINE. Each passage was written with so much care and love, I now can't imagine reading Laura Ingalls Wilder's series without a copy of CAROLINE close at hand." — New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Shelley Shepard Gray
"Readers who grew up cherishing the stories of Laura Ingalls Wilder will find much to savor in Caroline...Full of lyrical descriptions of the wild beauty of the Kansas countryside, Caroline is a well-researched and thoughtful look at the inner life of one of America's most famous frontier women." — BookPage
"Now, Miller draws her [Caroline Ingalls] onto center stage, gifting readers with a beautiful portrait of a remarkable, true pioneer. This is a beautiful tribute to a mother and a family who followed their dreams and a tale that is as uplifting and real as the original Little House books." — RT Book Reviews
"A stunning and sentimental novel brimming with historical detail, Caroline grants readers a chance at a new experience with an old familiar story." — Bustle


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Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic
Глава государства
Ambassador Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović took up her position as NATO's Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy on 4 July 2011. Having previously served as Croatia's Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Integration and, more recently, as Ambassador of Croatia to the United States (2008 – 2011), Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović is well-versed in Euro-Atlantic diplomacy and security issues.
Born in Rijeka, Croatia, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović holds a masters degree in international relations from the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb. She was also a Fulbright Scholar at the George Washington University and a Luksic Fellow at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. She began her career in 1992 as an advisor to the International Cooperation Department of Croatia's Ministry of Science and Technology, moving on to become an advisor in the Foreign Ministry.
In 1995, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović became director of the Foreign Ministry's North American Department, and from 1997 to 2000, she worked as a diplomatic counsellor and DCM at the Croatian Embassy in Canada. She then returned to the Foreign Ministry as Minister-Counsellor.
In November 2003, Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović was elected to the Croatian Parliament and in December 2003, she became the Minister of European Integration. She was sworn in as Croatia's Foreign Minister in February 2005, her central task being to guide the country into the European Union and NATO.
Ambassador Grabar-Kitarović speaks Croatian, English, Spanish and Portuguese fluently.
She is the first woman ever to be appointed Assistant Secretary General of NATO.


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A stylish design and excellent durability make UltraSite's Contour Bench with Back a great addition to your outdoor spaces. This sturdy welded steel bench features your choice of die-formed design on the one-piece seat and back. Stainless steel hardware secures the bench to the 2 3/8" frame. A scratch-resistant powder-coat paint finish covers the frame, while the bench is finished with a highly durable thermoplastic coating that adheres to the metal surfaces and ensures a smooth, shiny finish. The PVC-free coating is environmentally friendly and UV resistant. Choose from several great colors. Select a portable, in ground or surface mount bench. UltraSite's Contour Bench with Back is made in the USA and comes backed by a one-year warranty.
Key Features
- Sturdy welded steel frame with thermoplastic coating
- Choose from several colors and patterns
- Backed by a one-year warranty
- Material: Die-formed steel
- Coating: UltraCoat premium thermoplastic coating
- Width: 4'
- Warranty: One-year limited
- Coating Warranty: Five years
- Made in the USA
- Assembly Required: Yes
- Estimated Lead Time: Ships within 2 months
- Shipping Method: Freight
- Weight: 117.00 pounds


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Tom Bagshaw is an illustrator and gallery artist based in Bath, England.
He works digitally in a style that often combines refined rendering with background patterns or textural elements. His compositions often feature women who are looking out of the canvas, engaging the viewer directly, often with what seems to be a challenging stare.
His work is sometimes macabre, and laced with dark humor.
The galleries on his website are divided into a showcase, two portfolios and an archive. You can find additional images, including sequences of work in progress, on his blog.
In addition, he has a presence on the Behance Network that features larger versions of his images, often supplemented with detail crops.
Bagshaw, who has also been known by the handle "Mostlywanted", offers limited edition prints of his most popular images on his Mostlywanted Shop.
Mostlywanted Shop
a href="http://www.behance.net/tombagshaw">Behance Network
Central Illustration Agency
Prisma Artist Collective
Interview on Coates & Scarry


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I Need a Hero
When was the last time something really amazing happened in pro sports. Yeah, I know there has been a lot of cool plays and amazing acts of athleticism….but when is the last time we've seen a Hero?
I'm not just talking about cycling this time. Think about all sports and let me know the last time a real, honest to goodness, Hero existed. (I think that Jens Voigt might be the closest thing we've seen in a long time.) Sports figures have become more like celebrities, and when we're not reading about the latest doping scandal or wild antics, there are some decent quality sports being played. But what I'm looking for is a Hero. Not someone who throws the winning touchdown pass with 3 seconds to go in the game…..something much, much bigger.
What I want is a real Hero to emerge.
If you've got kids, there's no doubt you've seen the movie…Cars. Well, you know how Lightning stops just a few feet before the finish line…giving up the Piston Cup so that he can go back and help his crumpled up fellow competitor, The King? Thats the kind of Hero I'm talking about. A Hero that will do something so incredible in their sport that the whole world sits up and takes notice. An action so great, that it is talked about for decades to come. Yeah, I know it might sound corny, but we need a Hero to do something as great as this.
I think the world of sports needs it. We need a Hero. Why, you ask? Well, our kids need a positive influence and role model that they can build their future on. The rest of us could use a little dose of positive influence as well.
But who's it going to be….and how is it going to take place? I'm willing to see this happen in any sports genre, but it sure would be fantastic if we see it coming from a Pro Cyclist. Who's it going to be? Let me see you script this one together.


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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
Show All Answers
Yes. There is a flood insurance policy for low risk areas. Ask your insurance agent for the Preferred Risk Policy.
The road drainage system or the off road outfall system may need maintenance. The Public Works Department maintains public roads and drainage systems in Haines City. Public Works may be contacted at 863-421-3777.
Please refer to the Haines City Land Development Regulations, Chapter 14 – Flood Protection; the Comprehensive Plan; and the Codes of Federal Regulations (CFR) Chapter 44, enforced by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
A flood event (also known as a base flood) having one percent probability of occurring in any given year. This may also be referred to as the 1% chance flood. In Polk County, the storm may drop about 10.6 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
All insurance companies can write flood insurance policies. Contact the insurance company that writes your homeowners policy.
The Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRM) provide a basis for determining if a property is within a floodplain. On December 20, 2000, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) adopted the latest flood insurance rate maps for Polk County. Copies of the FIRM panels are available from FEMA, at 800-358-9616 or the Map Service Center. The flood maps are also available at area libraries, the East Polk Board of Realtors and the Polk County Builders Association.


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Please note, GPX Data is not refundable! Please examine the sample data on the device of your choice before purchasing GPX data packages. More information about GPX Data files can be found here.
After your GPX purchase, you can get GPX updates for free by re-downloading them from your My Adventure Cycling account.
GPX Data products consist of track and service waypoint files in gpx (GPS Exchange Format) file format to be used on a GPS device, smartphone, or tablet. These products are suggested as a companion product to the printed Adventure Cycling Route maps and feature the same services listed on the physical maps. More information about GPX Data for Devices can be found here.
This section of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route leads from Helena, Montana, to Colter Bay, Wyoming, by way of historic mining regions, the sprawling ranchlands of southwest Montana, and one of the crown jewels of our National Park System. In addition to a sampling of some of its finest backcountry, one of the state's largest cities is also encountered— Butte. Plan a layover day in this mining-history rich city. The route also passes through the Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge and incorporates the short, 75.9-mile section of the route claimed by Idaho. 13.2 of those Idaho miles are on a rail-trail conversion following the route of the old Oregon Short Line, which was responsible for delivering turn-of-the-century tourists to Yellowstone National Park. The route then enters Wyoming, cutting between Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks on the little-traveled Reclamation Road, also known as Ashton-Flagg Road and/or Grassy Lake Road.
GPX Data Resources
* These products are delivered in compressed zip files. Instructions on extracting the data are located here.
**NOTE: Occasionally, the GPX data you purchase will be newer than the paper map currently being sold. They may still be used together. See the Tracks and Service Points FAQs for more information.**
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Winter sports enthusiasts appreciate, more than anyone else, excellent ski jackets with all the necessary details and comfort. Here you can find ski jackets for any type of dynamic activity and ideal for the protection from external agents: indeed, they are made with welded sewing and useful pockets, with zip and net inserts, available in various models to meet your needs. All men's ski jackets are manufactured with best-quality materials to guarantee an impenetrable thermic shield and a high level of style, even in the snow. In order to fully enjoy your below-0 activities you must be accompanied by the best ski jacket for you and your body: find your ideal model by taking a look at our online catalogue and order your product from our website. Lots of offers and suggestions will be available for you, in order to find the best ski jacket that can guarantee safety, comfort and aesthetic satisfaction. Perfectly finished products will await you. All of them made by expert specialists in this field, committing themselves with passion and experience in the manufacturing of ski jackets for men that won't be scared by cold weather.


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When Fender gave Marr a chance to come up with his own version of the design, he responded with a smart, thoughtful, superbly executed take on this much-misunderstood, and ultra-expressive instrument.
Guitar heroes don't come much more atypical, or antiheroic than Johnny Marr. Apart from hardcore fans, there probably aren't many who can whistle a Johnny Marr solo. Heck, in his time with the Smiths—still one of the most influential and adored English bands of the last three decades—Marr rarely played a solo, at least in the rip-snortin', fire-breathing, Jeff Beckian sense. What Marr contributed instead, is a virtual holy text on how to craft a hook and support a song. While there may not be a lot of fleet-fingered fireworks in his oeuvre, licks don't come much more delicious and clever than the intro to "This Charming Man." And the menacing, chugging, tremolo-pulsing, Bo Diddley-on-nitrous riff that anchors "How Soon in Now" is heavy enough to make Tony Iommi green with envy.
For Marr and Smiths fans, Fender's introduction of the Johnny Marr Jaguar might seem odd and enigmatic. As a Smith, Marr was most closely associated with Rickenbackers, Stratocasters, Les Pauls, and Gibson semi-hollows. And in his work as a solo artist and sideman, he was seen with SGs and Telecasters more often than not. But if one thing stays the same about Johnny Marr, it's that he never stops changing. When he surprised many by joining up with indie-rock superstars Modest Mouse, he threw guitar-spotters a curve by embracing the Jaguar too. And when Fender gave Marr a chance to come up with his own version of the design, he responded with a smart, thoughtful, superbly executed take on this much-misunderstood, and ultra-expressive instrument.
A BeautifullyOdd Bird
When you dig down to the foundation, the
Johnny Marr Jaguar is still a Jaguar. And
that means some folks—generally those
who love technical shredding and highgain,
blooz-rawk wailing—aren't gonna
get it. But Marr's refinements of Jaguar
elements that annoy players on the fence
make it a very different and much more
playable guitar.
The body is beautifully balanced, which is one of the unsung strengths of any Jaguar. But in this case, Marr requested some significant comfort-enhancing adjustments— most notably a deeper belly scoop on the back of the guitar and a more contoured chamfer on the front that Marr copied from a mid-'50s Stratocaster.
The guitar has a short-scale neck, which might feel cramped to folks used to standard 25.5" Fender lengths. But Marr had the neck fashioned after a particular 1965 Jaguar in his collection that had a thicker, more substantial profile, and the difference in feel between this Jaguar and most '60s and reissue editions is notable. It feels a lot more stout, sturdy, and even Les Paul-like at times—giving a sense of leverage that invites big bends and makes chording over the course of a long practice or gig a little less fatiguing.
Always a subject of love-it-or-hate-it scorn and adoration, the bridge and vibrato unit (or "synchronized floating tremolo" as any good Jazzmaster or Jaguar devotee will know it) is considerably improved on the Johnny Marr Jaguar. The bridge is actually pinched from a Mustang—a not-uncommon modification among Jazzmaster and Jaguar players that prefer the smooth and more substantial saddle barrels from the 'Stang. The bridge also has improved mounting bushings that prevent slippage. Meanwhile, the Jaguar's lengthy tremolo arm now sits more securely in its mounting post, helped by a bushing that prevents the arm from swinging freely so you can keep it close at hand or out of the way.
The most significant change in the Johnny Marr Jaguar is the pickups and the control circuitry. While a small population of players (this reviewer included) found the original Jaguar's circuitry—with it's combination of filters and bright and dark potentiometers—wildly versatile, most tend to find it a labyrinth-like hassle. If you're of the latter camp, you might still find Marr's improvements fussy, but they are nevertheless more streamlined, effective, and the thing that makes the Johnny Marr Jaguar a completely new evolution of the Jaguar form.
The pickups themselves are Bare Knuckle units modeled after one of Marr's favorite '62 Jaguar sets, except both pickups are wound with the same polarity to achieve a more focused sound. It's the switching potential, however, that really extends the voice of the Johnny Marr Jaguar beyond known Jaguar worlds. The Jaguar's traditional slider switches are replaced by a 4-position, blade-style switch—a welcome change for any Jag player who has had to duct tape the sliders in place to avoid accidental switching. Positions one through three (bridge, bridge and neck, and neck pickup) will be familiar enough to any Jaguar player, or Telecaster picker for that matter. The fourth position, however, runs the neck and bridge pickup together in series—effectively creating a humbucker from the two pickups and boosting output significantly. The chrome panel on the upper horn, which would ordinarily be home to a Jaguar's rhythm circuit controls (a circuit switch and volume and tone with darker potentiometer values), now houses the high-pass filter for all pickups that is traditionally located among a standard Jaguar's trio of slider switches. The upper horn is also home to the treble boost switch for the humbucker setting. Together, they put an assortment of tones at your fingertips that are arguably even more varied and functional that the original circuit.
Jammin' with Johnny
Jaguars can move between many moods.
And the Johnny Marr may be the moodiest
Jaguar of all. Which means if you play
in a band with a wide-ranging repertoire,
work with a vocalist, or favor music with
plenty of light and shade, this guitar can
cover a lot of ground.
Super-wide range of warm tones. Stable tuning.
Great vibrato system.
Cramped neck for bigger hands. Short scale and
lower output pickups mean less sustain.
Bridge pickup tones are a little less spiky and plonky on the Johnny Marr than your average Jaguar. And while you don't get considerably more sustain than a standard Jag (perhaps the most common complaint leveled against the breed) the bridge pickup has a wider spectrum, including a little more emphasis on duskier shades that makes single notes sound a little rounder and more pearlescent—giving chords a beautifully smooth character that sounds great through a blackface Fender Deluxe at just about any volume.
The neck pickup is svelte and muscular— not burly or high output like a humbucker by any means, but simultaneously lean and rich in low-end character and able to enrich a band or recorded mix without hogging frequency bandwidth. It also sounds gorgeous with just a touch of pedal compression and delay—enabling you to move from Jim Hall-in-space mellow to David Gilmour soaring with a little manipulation of the tone and volume knobs.
The two pickups together in parallel is a delicious combination—rich with harmonic content that you can feather and massage with a soft touch on the smooth and spongy tremolo. Though it's the two pickups together in series that's the revelation, and by switching it to this fourth position, the signal gets much hotter and wider. But the real treat is the expansive, beautifully sustaining low end. At lower to medium volumes, tones from the low E and A strings are warm and simultaneously big, detailed, and harmonically focused with a touch of just-right natural compression. Jazzy explorations and mellow space-rock excursions using a droning 6th string sound warm and sonorous—especially when tuned down to D and C#. And with a blackface Deluxe cranked wide open, the Jag rumbles with a dark, husky growl that takes to everything from light overdrive to beehive fuzz without losing any of its deep harmonic personality.
The Verdict
With its smart and practical electronics,
great pickups, super-musical vibrato
system, and even little touches like shorter
switches that prevent accidental pickup
switching, the Johnny Marr Jaguar is a perfect
example of how an artist with decades
of playing experience across a myriad of
styles can see deeper into a design's potential,
and help a manufacturer build a better
mousetrap. Marr's refinements probably
won't make a difference to a player that's
determined that a Telecaster or Stratocaster
is the height of functionality and tone
purity. And some Jaguar purists are bound
to cry foul. But for the player that can
approach each and every guitar as a blank
slate and relishes every guitar's potential as
an expressive tool, the Johnny Marr Jaguar
will be a carnival of sonic possibilities.


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You will receive a Sheriff's Deed for the property. All properties are sold as is. Bidders get the property in fee simple; there are no warranties or guarantees.
Show All Answers
No, Gaston County offers Tax Foreclosures instead of Tax Deed or Tax Lien sales. Unlike other counties in NC, Gaston County does NOT allow you to pay someone's taxes in full in exchange for ownership of the property.
The sales are held in front of the Gaston County Courthouse (325 Dr. Martin Luther King Way, Gastonia, NC 28052).
A 20% deposit of the highest bid is required to secure the bid payable in Cash or Certified funds. Checks are to be made out to The Gaston County Sheriff's Office.
No, you must be present to bid on the property.
All Upset Bids must be placed with The Gaston County Clerk of Court – located on the first floor of the Gaston County Courthouse.
The Upset Bid period is 10 days, day 1 being the date of the sale. Weekends are counted in the 10 days, however, if Day 10 falls on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday, the next working day is counted as Day 10. The 10 days restart with each upset bid.
The required deposit is 5% or $750 of the next bid – whichever is greater.
If you are the winning bidder, you will have 10 days to bring the remaining funds to The Gaston County Tax Office. The remaining funds are to be paid in Cash or Certified Funds with checks payable to The Gaston County Sheriff's Office.
Yes; you are responsible for all excise tax and recording fees. The current excise tax is $2 per $1,000 based off the sale price. You may also be subject to the current year taxes or other liens. It is your responsibility to do your own research on the property you are bidding on.
Taxes and fees must be paid in full before the upset bid period is over to stop the foreclosure process.
Properties that are not sold during the foreclosure are then County Owned and become Surplus Properties. Visit Surplus Properties for additional information.


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Texas Governor Rick Perry announced last week that he will not comply with Obamacare; he refuses to expand Medicaid and will not establish a state-run health insurance market exchange.
Rick Perry is grandstanding because he has failed to protect Texans from the threat of the new IRS enforced "tax" against people who decline Obamacare.
Oklahoma State Representative Mike Ritz plans to introduce legislation that does protect the states' citizens because it authorizes Oklahoma's Attorney General to defend citizens who fail to purchase insurance against the federal government, and it criminalizes enforcement of the individual mandate.
The proposed Oklahoma bill is based on model legislation from the Tenth Amendment Center, the 'Federal Health Care Nullification Act'.
Although Bilderberger Rick Perry pretends to be a conservative and constitutionalist, his opposition to Obamacare is a lightweight effort that fails to protect individuals.
Nonetheless, it is still helpful in the movement to nullify Obamacare. If states refuse to set up insurance market exchanges, the federal government says it will implement the insurance exchange for them. However, Michael Boldin of the Tenth Amendment Center said, "if the federal government had the resources to do this in the first place, states wouldn't even be part of the equation. It is unlikely that that the feds have the funding to do this, and they'll need the complicity of the states to pull it off."
Perry's weak refusal is a step in the right direction, but it doesn't go far enough because the people will still be subject to IRS tax penalties and massive new taxes that will be required to fund the Obamacare monstrosity.
Obamacare Cost to Taxpayers
No one knows how much Obamacare will cost. But whenever government gets involved prices, corruption and insider deals escalate. Senator Jeff Sessions says that Obamacare will cost taxpayers $2.6 trillion over 10 years and an additional $17 trillion in long-term obligations that are unfunded, with no plan on how to pay for the increased spending (here's a clue about how it may be funded: the IRS will be adding over 16,000 new agents).
Obamacare Cost to Individuals
If the states go along with implementing Obamacare, there are 2 programs for uninsured individuals to get coverage:
1. State health insurance exchanges will be an obligation for many uninsured people and those who become uninsured when their employers dump insurance as a benefit.
According to Forbes, a single individual with no dependents who earns $32,000 will be obligated to pay $2430 for the Obamacare plan or will get dinged with the $695 "tax" if they refuse it. Healthy people are likely to opt for the "tax".
For a full explanation and more examples, click on the Forbes article link:
Currently, healthy people can purchase cheap insurance with a high deductible: while researching, I was able to find a plan offered by Health Net (IFP PPO Advantage 6500) that has a premium of $102/month with a $6500 deductible in California, which is half of what an individual would spend on Obamacare.
2. Medicaid will be available to people who fall below and slightly above the poverty line; the poverty line was $22,050 for a family of 4 in 2010.
Obamacare is unaffordable for states that are already in debt and for individuals who will pay higher taxes and mandatory insurance.
The rightful remedy is nullification through the Tenth Amendment to protect individuals against the tyranny of the federal government. Visit the Tenth Amendment Center to learn how to organize Obamacare nullification in your state (click here for the activisttoolkit).
- Rick Perry Grandstands Against Obamacare - July 16, 2012
- Smashing Tyranny, Restoring America - June 7, 2012
- EPA's Scandalous Policies vs. States' Responsibility - March 7, 2012


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Tired of sparkly vampires with rippling abs? Had it up to here with the CW's Vampire Diaries' teen drama malarkey? Do you just want the Strigoi to scare the shit out of you once again? Well, you're in luck, because we're proud to report that Dark Horse's The Strain: The Fall, the second installment in Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain Trilogy, is coming your way this July 17th (and The Strain, Vol. 2 TPB drops on June 12th). Slated for a nine-issue run, The Fall picks up in the crushingly sad wake of The Strain #11, in which CDC first responder Dr. Ephraim Goodweather, rat exterminator Vasiliy Fet, and vampire hunter extraordinaire Abraham Setrakian tried and failed to slay that nefarious vampiric overlord, The Master. Forget about the Muppets; this time the vampires are taking Manhattan.
Need to brush up on the first series? Here's the skinny: "When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and goes dark on the runway, the Centers for Disease Control, fearing a terrorist attack, calls in Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of expert biological-threat first responders. Only an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem suspects a darker purpose behind the eventâan ancient threat intent on covering mankind in darkness."
Now, Eph's ex-wife-turned-vampiric monster Kelly is hunting them down, and won't stop until she's turned their son Zack into a bloodthirsty barbed-tongued corpse-man with a penchant for putrefaction. Rather than wildly speculate on how writer David Lapham and artist Mike Huddleston will bring del Toro and Hogan's next chapter to life, we decided to go right to the bloodsucking horse's mouth and caught up with Guillermo del Toro himself, who told us all about what we can expect from the sequel, the upcoming FX television adaptation, and his secret vampire library. And because we love you guys, we've also got an exclusive first look at the cover of The Strain: The Fall #1 and some interior pages, so get out of the sunlight and read on!
Nerdist: I have to be completely honest. I read all eleven issues of The Strain last night, then woke up this morning at 6 am and began throwing up quite a bit. Given that I'm already pretty unconscionably pale, I was seriously worried that I had turned into a Strigoi myself.
Guillermo del Toro:Â [laughs] You've got all the symptoms.
N: If I wasn't in a hotel room I'd use some ultraviolet light to be sure, but in this case, I think ignorance is bliss. Anyway, let's talk comics. If I didn't know that The Strain was part of a trilogy, it would have one of the most brutal endings I've ever seen. That being said, what can readers expect from The Fall? Is this our Empire Strikes Back with horrifying tongue-barbed vampires?
GDT: In a way, each of the three books wanted to be very different from the one before, and The Fall, as indicated by its very hopeful title, is the fall of mankind. It's full-blown vampire violence and the beginning of the hostile takeover of the world. Then, The Night Eternal is a fully established regime of vampires ruling over Earth. It's a progressively thrilling and bleak series of adventures, and what's great for me in this book is we tried to make the heroes have elements that you don't normally associate with heroes, and we tried to give the bad guys some humanity or lucidity. There's great variety to be had in the next two installments of the trilogy.
N: Exactly. Ephraim's alcoholism, for example, isn't a very heroic quality, unless you're Tony Stark. Plus, it's always more compelling when you're given a moment of pause when the villain does something humanizing.
GDT: We did it in the three books – I think that David Lapham and Mike [Huddleston] are doing an amazing job with the comics, and we're doing it on the [upcoming FX] TV series too now that we are on our way to filming. We just finished writing the pilot, we're going to shoot it in August.  We're trying to do the same thing with the series so you get a little more dimension in every incarnation of the story.
N: In terms of the FX series, will it mirror the comic's adaptation or stay truer to the book?
GDT:Â Well, I think the comics are a really great adaptation. David's adaptation of the book, he's not being slavish; he's rearranging, reinventing and the same is going to happen in the FX series. The tenets of the books are going to be there, the A to B to C, but we're also bringing some surprises to the game. The FX series, like the comics, is a limited run. You're not going to go back to the books in the same way. We've got some new set pieces, expanding relationships – we're having a lot of fun.
N: Awesome. Have you made any casting decisions so far for The Strain pilot? Can Ron Perlman do a good Eastern European accent and play our favorite rat exterminator Vasiliy Fet?
GDT: [laughs] We're right in the middle of casting and we're about to close a couple of principals. We're shooting in a few months, so I think we'll start closing the cast this month.
N: One of the things I really enjoyed about the comic adaptation is that horror and a sense of dread aren't the easiest things to pull off in comics, but The Strain managed it beautifully. What is it about this trilogy that you found uniquely suited for comic books?
GDT: Well, we always thought that it would be a story that would be enhanced by images. It's a very visual story, and the set pieces are very compelling. The characters and the monsters are very compelling visually. And I tell you, quite honestly, David Lapham is one of the strongest writers in comics today. This has been some of his best work and Huddleston's done some of his best draftsmanship. With the comics, each issue gets better and better. Right now, we're in the middle of The Fall, and we have to approve the layouts, drawings and sketches months before it ever comes out, so I'm telling you that what's coming in The Fall is some of the best work both gentlemen have done in the series. It's really amazing.
N:Â It sounds like you have quite a bit of creative control over the comic, acting in a producer-style role. Is there a chance we could see you or Chuck step in to guest-write and issue?
GDT:Â Not really, I mean, it's a medium that I enjoy as a reader and a medium I'm enjoying as a sort of overseer or secret editor – whatever you want to call me – but layout is such a mysterious art for me. I can recognize a great layout in a comic, but I cannot do it. I don't think I could do it. And these two guys have done splendidly.
N: It definitely seems like a whole narrative language unto itself. So, will The Fall be similar in length to The Strain?
GDT:Â Yes, we have the same amount of pages planned as we did with the first series. Also we will be doing a couple of spin-offs and one-shots about characters that we really, really like. As the second and third series unfold, our deal with Dark Horse is that we'll be doing various spin-off/one-off books that will follow a character only through one issue. Because in the second and third book, the cast of characters expands quite a bit. We get many many more players than in the first book.
N: I'm glad you said that. The Strain, in particular, seems like the kind of book that can really benefit from providing additional backstory. Since you're adapting a novel, it's difficult to pack all that in there otherwise.
GDT: Yeah and I think the cast of characters – you get new antagonists, new heroes, unexpected characters like a Mexican masked wrestler in The Fall. I really like the idea of expanding upon this.
N: Okay, now a question that's hopefully a bit easier. What comics are you reading and enjoying right now?
GDT: You know, I'm mostly following stuff that isn't mainstream. I love Jim Woodring, Richard Corben – whatever Richard Corben draws, I follow. It can be a mini-series or a one-shot. I'm a devout follower of an artist called Rick Geary; he draws A Treasury of Victorian Murder, a sort of true crime story which is incredibly gentle and incredibly violent at the same time. Those are my favorites. Beyond that, I follow the sort of Dark Universe crossover series that DC was putting out in the New 52. I really tend more towards re-reading. I follow Hellboy, of course. Hellboy in Hell – I'm following currently. Not too much big mainstream stuff. If you put me under torture right now, I couldn't tell you what Superman is up to.
N: [laughs] To be fair, he's in so many titles that it's a bit difficult to keep up.
GDT:Â It's exploded. I really have decanted myself to the more obscure type of comics. I love certain comics, but they are very, very slow to come to me. There is a European comic, a European artist I follow named Joann Sfar and he has a very prodigious output, but most of the stuff remains unpublished in America.
N: Do you hear that, comics publishers? Get this man more Sfar, stat! Backtracking just a bit, I have one last question about The Fall for you. One of the things I most enjoyed was the creature design. The vampires seemed like an amalgam of different mythologies from around the world. Tell me a bit about the design process for these terrifying creatures.
GDT: The main thing – the stinger lore – that comes from Eastern Europe. The Eastern European vampires, in old books about vampirism, are said to have a stinger, like a bee's stinger under the tongue. I read that when I was a kid and it's stayed in my imagination ever since. The rest of the stuff comes from me. For example, Mexican vampires are hairless. They have no hair on their head or body, and I really liked the old European lore of vampires coming back to convert their loved ones, the people they loved the most. All this stuff is lore that I've collected since I was a kid. I have a full library at home, an entire library dedicated only to vampires. It's a couple hundred books, some of which are original first editions from the 1770s and the 1800s. I collected manuscripts for books, and you're talking about decades of obsession. I started keeping notes about vampires before and after Cronos in the 1990s. All that has gone into Cronos, Blade, The Strain – whenever I have an outlet, I like to put that mythology there.
N: Wow. Well, it definitely sounds like you've done your homework and it shows.
GDT: Vampires are more like a hobby or an obsession of mine. I like vampires that are nasty. I'm not a guy that likes to read romantic vampire fiction. I really don't understand it.
N: Really? I had you pegged as a huge fan of Twilight. I'm really surprised.
GDT:Â [laughs] I respect that side of fandom, but it just doesn't float my boat.
N: Understandable. I'll take the horrifying vampires from The Strain any day of the week.
Need another taste? Feast your cold, lifeless undead eyes on the cover for The Strain: The Fall #1.
Are you looking forward to more vampiric mayhem from the mind of del Toro? Let us know in the comments below, and stay tuned for part II of our exclusive Guillermo del Toro interview where you'll get the skinny on what to expect from Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero tomorrow.


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Researchers find receptor for uric acid crystals
A braking system for immune responses
The surface of immune system cells is home to a number of receptors which are able to detect pathogens. As soon as these receptors are activated, inflammation occurs and the body's defense mechanisms kick in. Immune cells also have receptors that regulate or even suppress immunological responses to prevent damage to individual cells.
There are other immune receptors that recognize endogenous substances that are released when tissue damage or cell death occurs. As such, the organism can defend itself even in cases where the damage caused by the pathogen, but not the pathogen itself, is detected.
With the discovery of the surface molecule Clec12a from the family of C-type lectin receptors, the team led by Prof. Jürgen Ruland of Klinikum rechts der Isar have found the first known immune receptor for uric acid crystals. Uric acid is a break-down product of nucleic acids like DNA in response to cell damage. Whenever a large number of cells die, for example when a tumor is being medically treated or during an infection, the uric acid becomes more concentrated and the molecules crystallize.
Immune responses have to be regulated
Uric acid crystals also form when tissue is damaged and they boost the immune response. However, Clec12a limits the immune response instead of increasing it. "Clec12a suppresses the response to dead cells and uric acid crystals," explains Prof. Ruland. "The immune system has evidently developed a mechanism to prevent an overreaction to the crystals."
Immune cells are capable of producing highly toxic substances which can damage healthy tissue as well as pathogens. "Uric acid crystals and other substances originating from damaged cells signal a potential danger to the immune system," says Dr. Konstantin Neumann, lead author of the study. "As long as no further indications of a genuine infection are found, Clec12a's role is to protect the organism from damage triggered by the immune system."
By discovering the immune receptor for uric acid crystals, the researchers have gained an understanding of the fundamental mechanism by which the immune system recognizes crystals. They intend to find out whether there are other receptors like Clec12a that are also capable of sensing crystalline structures. "In the future, we might discover better ways to regulate inflammation with crystal formation, or even use these mechanisms to manipulate the immune system in a targeted way to treat tumors or infectious diseases," concludes Ruland.
Konstantin Neumann, Mercedes Castiñeiras-Vilariño, Ulrike Höckendorf, Nicole Hannesschläger, Simone Lemeer, Danny Kupka, Svenia Meyermann, Maciej Lech, Hans-Joachim Anders, Bernhard Kuster, Dirk H. Busch, Andreas Gewies, Ronald Naumann, Olaf Groß, Jürgen Ruland; Clec12a Is an Inhibitory Receptor for Uric Acid Crystals that Regulates Inflammation in Response to Cell Death, Immunity (2014), DOI: 10.1016/j.immuni.2013.12.015
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Ruland
Institut für Klinische Chemie und Pathobiochemie
Klinikum rechts der Isar an der Technischen Universität München
Tel.: +49 89 4140-4751


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In a blog post that was picked up by the Huffington post, Bill Gates writes about why we need innovation, not insulation. He sets up the piece as a choice of emphasis between two emissions targets: 30% reduction by 2025, and 80% reduction by 2050. He argues that the latter target is much more important, and hence we should focus on big R&D efforts to innovate our way to zero-carbon energy sources for transportation and power generation. In doing so, he pours scorn on energy conservation efforts, arguing, in effect, that they are a waste of time. Which means Bill Gates didn't do his homework.
What matters is not some arbitrary target for any given year. What matters is the path we choose to get there. This is a prime example of the communications failure over climate change. Non-scientists don't bother to learn the basic principles of climate science, and scientists completely fail to get the most important ideas across in a way that helps people make good judgements about strategy.
The key problem in climate change is not the actual emissions in any given year. It's the cumulative emissions over time. The carbon we emit by burning fossil fuels doesn't magically disappear. About half is absorbed by the oceans (making them more acidic). The rest cycles back and forth between the atmosphere and the biosphere, for centuries. And there is also tremendous lag in the system. The ocean warms up very slowly, so it take decades for the Earth to reach a new equilibrium temperature once concentrations in the atmosphere stabilize. This means even if we could immediately stop adding CO2 to the atmosphere today, the earth would keep warming for decades, and wouldn't cool off again for centuries. It's going to be tough adapting to the warming we're already committed to. For every additional year that we fail to get emissions under control we compound the problem.
What does this mean for targets? It means that it matters much more how soon we get started on reducing emissions rather than eventual destination at any particular future year. Because any reduction in annual emissions achieved in the next few years means that we save that amount of emissions every year going forward. The longer we take to get the emissions under control, the harder we make the problem.
A picture might help:
The graph shows three different scenarios, each with the same cumulative emissions (i.e. the area under each curve is the same). If we get emissions to peak next year (the green line), it's a lot easier to keep cumulative emissions under control. If we delay, and allow emissions to continue to rise until 2020, then we can forget about 80% reductions by 2050. We'll have set ourselves the much tougher task of 100% emissions reductions by 2040!
The thing is, there are plenty of good analyses of how to achieve early emissions reductions by deploying existing technology. Anyone who argues we should put our hopes in some grand future R&D effort to invent new technologies clearly does not understand the climate science. Or perhaps can't do calculus.


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This is the stupidest thing I've seen in months – and I am a connoisseur of stupid. RnBXclusive.com, a music download site, has been taken down by an organisation calling itself the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
This is what it used to look like. This is what appears there now.
The image above though – click to see it full size – is what it looked like yesterday; a page put up by this SOCA plainly intended to scare anyone who visits. I kid you not. And despite their Captain Scarlet-class logo, the Serious Organised Crime Agency are an honest-to-goodness branch of UK law enforcement which, when it's not busy, does real work against real crime. Which means that making music available for download is serious crime now, alongside drugs, extortion, and human trafficking. Thanks to the lobbying of the entertainment industry. Indeed the notice reads like it was drafted by industry spin merchants:
"The individuals behind this website have been arrested for fraud"
Arrested, not convicted. The logic is that some of the tracks made available were not officially released yet and so obtained by illegal means, and that constitutes fraud. Seems tenuous, but we'll let it pass.
"The majority of music files that were available via this site were stolen from the artists."
Copyright infringement is not theft – not even in law. If they are implying that the majority of tracks on the site were obtained from record companies by illegal means then that, let us say, seems unlikely to be true.
"If you have downloaded music using this website you may have committed a criminal offence which carries a maximum penalty of up to 10 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine under UK law."
You can get ten years for downloading a music track? Absolutely untrue. The penalties for copyright infringement are not that draconian – yet. The tortuous logic of this seems to be that by downloading the file you are participating in a conspiracy to defraud. This should be laughed out of court.
"The above information can be used to identify you and your location."
This is designed to frighten children. Of course a website you visit knows your IP address. Unless of course you actually are a criminal, in which case you'd take the trouble to disguise it.
"You may be liable for prosecution and the fact that you have received this message does not preclude you from prosecution."
You may have already won $1,000,000. Again they are trying to scare kids with vague half-truths. Which is not what I thought law enforcement was about.
"As a result of illegal downloads young, emerging artists may have had their careers damaged. If you have illegally downloaded music you will have damaged the future of the music industry"
Still trying to make kids feel bad. Trying but failing; the kids know that illegal downloads are as likely to promote the careers of "young, emerging" artists. They also know that the music industry has no future if it goes on like this.
This page has been taken down now, because "that stage of the operation is over". Well yes. Over because it was widely and rightly criticised. It now links instead to SOCA's own site, which among various other questionable claims states:
"IFPI estimates losses to legitimate businesses and artists caused by the site to be £15m a year."
The IFPI is the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry – a lobbying group. So what the SOCA is saying here is "We report entertainment industry PR bullshit as fact." Again, not what I thought law enforcement was about. In the minds of the industry every illegal download is the loss of a full-price sale, and copyright infringement costs them more money than the record-buying public ever had to spend. Yet it's they who are convincing politicians to sponsor terrible laws like SOPA and ACTA, laws that if passed will curtail real freedoms that we legitimately enjoy. All because these people submit present masturbation fantasies as evidence.
Related articles
- Serious Organised Crime Agency closes down rnbxclusive.com filesharing website (telegraph.co.uk)
- Users Face Jail Threat as Music Site is Closed (blogs.wsj.com)
- Police: download a file, go to jail for 10 years and pay an "unlimited" fine (arstechnica.com)
- UK cops cuff suspect after RnBXclusive takedown (go.theregister.com)


text: I made some insect magnets awhile back, and had been toying with the idea of making sets to add to my Etsy store. Well, as soon as I came across these higher quality bugs with nicer details, I knew it was time to get to work! The magnets are in sets of two, and come in a custom painted tin, ready to gift. They will add fun and humor to your fridge or office. Be sure to head to my store and check them out! I will also beadding some new vintage items this afternoon. Continue reading


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By Barney Zwartz
BALLARAT Catholic bishop Ronald Mulkearns repeatedly and knowingly moved a paedophile priest around his diocese and overseas, where he constantly found new targets, the mother of one victim said yesterday.
Helen Watson's explosive testimony to the state inquiry into clergy child sex abuse came as the parliamentary committee left Melbourne for the first time and heard from victims in Ballarat, the epicentre of the paedophile crisis, where up to 50 victims have taken their own lives. One of them was Peter Watson, abused at 15 by Father Paul David Ryan, and dead by his own hand at 24.
Before her evidence, her husband Tim at her side, Mrs Watson told Fairfax: ''For years I was in shock, and I couldn't be angry at anyone. Now, I have the anger and can be a strong voice for victims. I've got fire in my belly this afternoon.''
She told the inquiry that each time his abuse of children in the Ballarat diocese became known, Ryan would be sent to the US, and when allegations surfaced there, he would be sent back to Australia. He was sent to the US seven times, and in 1993 was considered beyond help by a program in Mexico for clergy sex offenders.
Ballarat was home to the notorious paedophile ring operating at St Alipius Primary School of Christian Brothers Robert Best, Stephen Farrell, Edward Dowlan and Gerald Fitzgerald, plus priest Gerald Ridsdale. All were convicted except Fitzgerald, who died while being investigated.
Quoting police evidence given at Ryan's 2006 trial in Warrnambool, Mrs Watson said Bishop Mulkearns was well aware of Ryan's offences in Australia and the US. Money was sent from Ballarat to the US for financial settlements for two of Ryan's victims there - $25,000 each.
Ryan was ordained in Ballarat in 1976, and there was an allegation of child sex abuse in his first week. He was first sent to the US in 1977 and again in 1979, returning after three child sex abuse allegations emerged. In Victoria, he was sent to Warrnambool, Terang, Penshurst and Ararat, where he abused Peter Watson in 1991.
He was removed from ministry in 1996 but the church paid for him to do a doctorate in the US, Mrs Watson said. He was jailed for a year in 2006 for assaulting two altar boys.
Mrs Watson said her son's identity was only confirmed in 2005. After he disappeared, she became distressed, but then-Ballarat bishop Peter Connors told her there were no records about Ryan and offered her counselling. When she later needed more counselling, she said he told her the church had no money and that she had to take some responsibility for her own healing.
''Meeting with Bishop Connors, I was humiliated. His arrogance towards me was despicable,'' she said.
Peter Blenkiron, spokesman for the 45-strong but expanding Ballarat and District Survivors Group, said the inquiry's presence in Ballarat was ''another Eureka Stockade moment, a massive day'' for the town. ''But instead of being about gold and greed and licences, it's about the greed of the Vatican protecting their gold-lined vaults. Rifles were used at the stockade, but we are using truth to fire the bullets.''
Mr Blenkiron will give evidence when the inquiry returns to Ballarat next year. He said 25 American victims of Ryan were joining the group, and one hoped to come to the inquiry.
All three witnesses who gave their evidence in public - a fourth did so privately - thanked the committee and said how important it was that it came to Ballarat.
Representing a church bereavement group that expanded to support victims, Carmel Moloney said the Catholic hierarchy had a ''mediaeval mindset'' in which the main virtue was obedience. ''Good men have tried to address this and have been sidelined,'' she said.
Philip Nagle, who was abused by a Christian brother when he was nine, told the inquiry of being bullied and intimidated into signing an agreement with the church after the church lawyer threatened him that if he did not sign then any compensation claim would be tied up in the courts for years.
''Every compensation agreement should be reviewed,'' he said.
Comment is being sought from the church.


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Interesting story from CNA:
Catholic bishop carries Olympic torch in China relay
Beijing, Aug 3, 2008 / 01:48 am (CNA).- A Chinese Catholic bishop carried the Olympic torch on its way to Beijing on Thursday as the Chinese government tries to express its appreciation for the Church's active participation in social affairs and to show progress in its religion policies.
Peter Fang Jianping, Coadjutor Bishop of Tangshan, took part in the July 31torch rally in Tangshan, a city about 110 miles from Beijing. Bishop Fang was the eighth of 208 torch bearers during the last leg of the relay in Hebei, the province surrounding Beijing.
The 45-year-old bishop told UCA News on Friday that he was named a torchbearer because of the Chinese government's progress in its religious policies and in expressing concerns over religious issues to religious leaders, but also "because of the Church's contribution to the society."
Bishop Fang said the Diocese of Tangshan, which has about 45,000 Catholics and 40 priests, donated money and materials worth about $22,000 to earthquake relief in Sichuan. An earthquake measuring 8.0 in magnitude struck the province of Sichuan on May 12, causing at least 69,200 confirmed deaths and leaving more than 18,000 still missing.
According to the bishop, many local Catholics who saw the live TV broadcast of the Olympic torch relay told him they were overjoyed and heartened to see their bishop take part in the event.
Torchbearers are allowed to keep their torch as a souvenir after their relay run. Bishop Fang told UCA News he will keep his "precious spiritual legacy."
Bishop Fang, a native of Hebei, was ordained a priest in 1989 and ordained a bishop in Beijing in 2000 without papal approval. The Holy See legitimized his episcopal status in 2002.
The Beijing Olympics will begin on August 8.