text:
COVER- JADE junkie: the unlikeliest First Amendment warrior
Love or hate? Similarly ambiguous are Elisha Strom's tattoos: Celtic knots with the word "revolting."
I HeArTE JADE website
White nationalism was an earlier interest of Elisha Strom, and this photo was taken in 2001 at a National Alliance demonstration in front of the Israeli embassy in Washington.
An officer Strom dubbed Skoal is surreptitiously photographed.
I HeArTE JADE website
Detective Brian O'Donnell met Strom when he was the investigator on the case against her husband. On I HeArTE JADE, Strom nicknames him "Longhead."
I HeArTE JADE website
Was this map of JADE vehicles during a bust what earned Elisha Strom an obstruction of justice charge?
I HeArTE JADE website
Elisha Strom tails "Spot" and snaps photographs while driving.
I HeArTE JADE website
Lt. Don Campbell talks to the media after a drug bust, which chafes Elisha Strom because she was ordered not to publish identifying photos on her blog.I HeArTE JADE website
Judging by sheer number of television shows dedicated to the genre, Americans are obsessed with cops. Judging by the 221 entries on her blog, Elisha Strom is obsessed with cops.
Now this 34-year-old mother finds herself the unlikely star of her own legal thriller– one that's put her in jail and yet earned support from the American Civil Liberties Union and a Washington Post editorial. Oh, and she's a former white separatist.
Elisha Strom admits she's interested in cops– but not just any cops. The officers who stirred her interest to the extent that she staked them out over eight months, photographing and following them and posting the results on a blog all work in a multi-jurisdictional group called the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement Task Force.
Now she's facing a felony charge as a result of those efforts for publishing the address of an officer on the blog she created called I HeArTE JADE.
Strom argues that her interest in JADE is a hobby, much like others pursue basketball or basket-weaving, and that she's merely an "information junkie" investigating what these cops do to satisfy her own curiosity.
The 11 men in JADE might disagree.
"It's kind of a scary situation, having someone follow you to your house," says Sergeant Paul Best, who's running for Charlottesville sheriff. "All or a majority of us feel the best result would be [for Strom] to get some sort of psychiatric help."
That didn't happen. Instead, Strom was arrested July 16 and spent a month behind the bars of the Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail before a family member posted the $7,500 bond to secure her release. Strom worried that more charges would follow. Her fears proved well founded.
On September 2, she was charged with obstruction of justice in Charlottesville General District Court.
Whether Strom is a citizen watchdog or a delusional stalker will be heard in court. She says she never realized her blog would become a free speech issue or raise a discussion on how the drug war plays out in Charlottesville.
"I did not consider that at all because it was a silly blog– light-hearted and rambling," she says. "I think JADE is blowing it out of proportion. Now it's a free speech issue."
Indeed, the American Civil Liberties Union believes the class six felony under which she's been charged– a Virginia law against publishing officer addresses or photographs with the "intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass"– is unconstitutional.
She points out that she hasn't been charged with stalking, a class 1 misdemeanor, which Virginia defines as someone one whose conduct appears to puts "a person" in reasonable fear of death, sexual assault, or bodily injury.
"You can't stalk an occupation," says Strom.
Love or hate?
Strom's interest in JADE stems, she says, from the arrest and conviction of her estranged husband, white separatist Kevin Strom, for one count of child porn possession. He was found not guilty of intimidating a witness— Elisha— and enticement of a minor in October 2007, but pleaded guilty to the kiddie porn charge in January 2008 and served 23 months in jail.
One of the investigators on the Kevin Strom case, Brian O'Donnell, also works on the JADE task force.
"Special thanks to Detective Brian N. O'Donnell of the Charlottesville Police Department," writes Elisha Strom October 25 in the first I HeArTE JADE post. "Had it not been for his advice, this site likely wouldn't exist."
Elisha acknowledges the ambiguity of the name of "I HeArTE JADE" and declines to elaborate further about her interest that compelled her to repeatedly to make the nearly 100-mile, almost two-hour drive from the tiny town of Thaxton in Bedford County where she now lives, to sit outside the JADE headquarters in the Frank Ix building for hours on end.
"I'm an information junkie," she says. "I think their work is exciting. It's interesting. It's fun."
And, she assures, "I would do this with any kind of subject I'm interested in."
On March 3, she writes, "If you haven't guessed yet, I'm heavily Law Enforcement focused. I'm sure there's a deep pseudo-psychological reason someone can devise for me being this way, but let's not go there."
With the enthusiasm of Nancy Drew, Strom describes putting duct tape on her headlights to disguise them while following JADE officers around at night. She follows them to their houses, and publishes a chart noting the distance they live from the JADE HQ and gives them quirky nicknames like "Porn Star," "Dasani," and "Boomslang."
She posts pictures of their dogs, as well as of their cars. She describes following them on a bust, and creeping close in to observe the action.
On November 13, 2008, three weeks after the blog goes up, Strom writes that she has been observed taking photographs outside the Ix building by JADE head Lieutenant Don Campbell, and that she gets a phone call from the FBI.
A month later, she's followed and stopped by the JADE officer she calls "Spot," (and whom Strom thinks is "hot," according to I HeArTE JADE.)
By December 27, Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo meets her at C'Ville Coffee for a chat and a request to knock it off, according to the blog.
"In a nutshell, he said that I was a nuisance to the Task Force and I should back of," writes Strom. "I felt unaffected by his monologue. He pulled out an envelope and told me he'd put what he'd spoken in writing. See? I knew there'd be paperwork! Not as nasty as I'd expected it to be, but not nice either."
Early in 2009, she's told she's not allowed on JADE property, and on January 23 she reports being photographed by task force members, and then stopped when she makes a hasty getaway down a one-way street.
On Groundhog Day, Strom gets another letter from Chief Longo ordering her to "cease and desist" her surveillance of the task force and warning of criminal prosecution. A trespassing notice follows in May, and all the while Strom continues to document and dog the task force members.
Her case is turned over to Special Agent Jason Trent with the Virginia State Police, who warns her she faces charges under state code in §18.2-186.4 after she publishes the home address and photos of one of the JADE detectives.
Her last entry is July 16: "Uh-oh. They're here."
The aftermath of a September 2008 high-speed chase that ends in the arrest of Michael Tomey for illegal gun possession.
Sheriff Chip Harding worked for JADE before it was officially a task force.
JADE's annual report showing arrests and seizures was posted on I HeArTE JADE blog.
PHOTO I HEARTE JADE WEBSITEWhat would become the Jefferson Area Drug Enforcement task force got its start in 1987 during the height of the Reagan administration's war on drugs, when Charlottesville had open-air crack cocaine markets, drive-by shootings, and as many as five drug-related murders a year.
"Crack hit hard in the late '80s," says Lieutenant Don Campbell, who launched the group with fellow Charlottesville Police officers Bryant Bibb and Chip Harding.
In 1995, the task force was officially mandated, and now 11 members: five from the Charlottesville Police Department, four from Albemarle, one from UVA's police force, and one Virginia State Police member, says Campbell, with the DEA, ATF, and FBI pitching in on investigations. After 2001, the group added anti-terrorism to its mission.
Each jurisdiction pays the salaries of its officers and adds another $6,000 per man— there are no women in JADE— for a total budget of $78,000.
"Everything else is paid for from seized assets," says Campbell, who now heads the unit.
In 2007, the most current report on JADE statistics, the task force made 197 arrests and seized 571 grams of methamphetamine, 19 pounds of marijuana, and 1.79 kilos of cocaine. A September 3 arrest netted seven grams of coke, according to a JADE press release.
"We're not trying to set records," says Campbell. "We're trying to get people off the street."
Campbell also notes that while the group doesn't target marijuana, they'll bring charges when they find it.
Now the sheriff of Albemarle, Harding stopped working on drugs in 1992, but says even after the open air drug markets died out, people from New York and Washington moved in– people who are, says Harding, "less respectful of life."
Critics question the use of precious local resources to fund a national war on drugs that doesn't appear close to victory. Independent City Council candidate Paul Long, for instance, has made repeal of the Harrison Act– which made heroin and cocaine illegal– key to his platform, even though the issue does not fall under City Council jurisdiction.
"I have a problem with police officers specifically fighting drugs rather than crime in general," says Long, a former addiction counselor. "If I was on Council, I'd vote against funding those five officers on JADE."
Long contends the violence associated with drug trafficking is the result of illegality, much like alcohol during Prohibition. "Outlawing alcohol led to the rise of organized crime," he says. "We're seeing that with drug use."
James Curtis, treasurer of the Jefferson Area Libertarians, agrees that drug laws actually breed violence by creating a strong a black market. "If you're trying to reduce drug addiction," says Curtis, "there are more responsible, less expensive ways."
Former Greene deputy sheriff Steve Shifflett says JADE robs departments of vital manpower. "If I had my choice as a taxpayer, I'd put them on patrol," says Shifflett, who calls a JADE assignment "a gravy train type job."
Charlottesville Police Chief Tim Longo suggests that critics may not have enough information.
"JADE personnel and our federal partners have been instrumental," writes Longo in an email, "in the identification and successful prosecution of many violent offenders in our city that made their living selling drugs, destroying lives, and negatively impacting the quality of life in neighborhoods throughout our region."
Albemarle's Lieutenant Todd Hopwood recalls his own experience as a patrol officer when he assisted JADE in Operation Roasted Chestnut, a 1995 bust of five houses, after months of investigation, in Esmont and Chestnut Grove.
"This was a community that was completely overrun with drugs," says Hopwood. "A patrol officer doesn't have time to build informants and build cases."
JADE's biggest cases bring federal conspiracy charges to shut down violent gangs, such as the RICO charges against PJC, aka Project Crud, a gang of 30 members terrorizing 10th and Page streets whose leader, Antonio Bryant, was sentenced to two life sentences in 2006.
Earlier this year, the free market-oriented Cato Institute looked back approvingly on the experience of Portugal after nearly a decade of decriminalized personal drug use, and even drug warriors like Harding concede the failures of current U.S. drug policy.
"Do I think the war on drugs is effective? No, I don't," says Harding. "Do I think we should we revisit our marijuana laws and look at how legalization has worked in other countries? Yes, I do."
"We know we can't stop drug use and dealing," acknowledges JADE's Campbell. "As long as people want drugs, they'll use them, and as long as they're illegal we'll keep enforcing the law."
But for those who would question the effectiveness of JADE, Campbell offers a reference. "Call the people who live in those neighborhoods when they had shootings and they were begging for help."
But is it illegal?
"This is a classic free speech issue," says Kent Willis, ACLU of Virginia executive director. "Ms. Strom has taken information that's publicly available and put it on a website. A federal court has already struck down as unconstitutional a nearly identical law in Washington."
The ACLU's interest in the case was piqued because in Sheehan v. Gregoire, a Washington state law similar to Virginia's statute was overturned in federal court.
"Based on the Sheehan case," says Willis, the Virginia law "is probably unconstitutional as written. You can publish information about public officials to goad them to action. It can't contain an actual threat to do physical harm."
Strom insists her purpose in publishing the address, available from public records, is not to harass.
After she's contacted by the FBI, she hints in a November 13 post at having more info on JADE, information she may unleash if pushed.
"I do have enough intelligence to, within the confines of the law, effectually take on what I believe is nothing more than a group of arrogant thugs."
In the same post, she writes, "Will the Federal Bureau of Investigation make good on its threat? Time will tell. The bottom line: Maybe I'll have to do the same."
Back in August, Albemarle Commonwealth's Attorney Denise Lunsford expressed a willingness to prosecute. Now, she will no longer talk about the case.
Another Virginia law having to do with publication of publicly available information recently went to the the U.S. Supreme Court. Privacy advocate B.J. Ostergren was aggrieved that Virginia public records often include Social Security Numbers. To call attention to the identity-theft threat, she published the SSNs of public officials that she found online.
The General Assembly responded by making it illegal to publish such info, even if it came from government records. In Ostergren v. McDonnell, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the law unconstitutional in June.
Strom picked up the obstruction of justice charge for her post about a low-speed chase July 9 in Belmont after which JADE, as part of an undercover sting, arrested two people for cocaine distribution and one gun charge.
The Daily Progress wrote about the chase, and Strom put up that article July 11, along with a map of JADE vehicles around Belmont Park and photos, presumably of the law enforcement cars, on her blog.
"If I was obstructing justice, why wasn't the Daily Progress charged, too?" asks Strom, who contends she put up her pictures and map after the media had covered the bust. "I'm getting charged after the ACLU says they're representing me."
Charlottesville Commonwealth's Attorney Dave Chapman refuses to comment on the pending case.
"I think they're throwing everything at me they can," declares Strom. "If I was dangerous, they would charge me with stalking. They're just trying to intimidate me. Maybe it's payback. I just don't want to go back to jail. It's not worth it."
Curious kitten
I HeArTE JADE is not Strom's first brush with notoriety. That came with her connection to white supremacist circles through her estranged husband, Kevin Strom, protégé of William Pierce, who wrote The Turner Diaries, the book that inspired domestic terrorist Timothy McVeigh.
The Southern Poverty Law Center calls her "about as close to a feminist as you can get on the American radical right."
Today Strom winces at that part of her past and tries to distance herself from the white nationalist movement.
"I disagreed with Dr. Pierce on some things," she says, citing Pierce's enchantment with Adolf Hitler. "I didn't think [Hitler] was so wonderful. Dr. Pierce changed his thinking."
It was through Pierce that she met and fell in love with Kevin, she says.
"It's not like I was looking for a neo-Nazi or white separatist," she says. "I wanted someone who wanted a better world."
Elisha Strom says she grew up all over the place. Her father was a "pastor's pastor" who traveled to troubled churches.
She left home when she was 15.
"I had a boyfriend who worked," she says. "I always wanted to be a wife and mom."
Strom insists she was never a member of the National Alliance, never lived on its compound in West Virginia, and never contributed money to the organization.
"That was my husband's life," says Strom. "I was supporting my husband."
Kevin was ousted from the National Alliance in a 2005 power struggle. The Stroms moved to Greene County, and he formed a new whites-only organization called the National Vanguard.
After Elisha reported finding him naked and looking at photos of naked females with the heads of girls transposed on them, the two faced off in U.S. District Court.
He charged her with assault when she bashed him on the head with a phone after finding him again looking at little girl pictures, and Elisha maintained the assault allegation was an attempt to intimidate her as a witness. The testimony in court played like a bitter divorce.
Despite Kevin's keen interest in a 10-year-old friend of Elisha's daughter, the enticement of a minor and intimidation charges were thrown out of court in October 2007, and Kevin pleaded guilty to one count of child pornography possession in January 2008, while denying that he was a pedophile.
In court, he also objected to being called a neo-Nazi and white supremacist. Though quite separate, the couple is still legally married, and Kevin lives in Charlottesville.
Readers of Elisha Strom's blog find an intelligent, articulate writer, though at times there's a bit of teen breathiness: "iHeArTEjade has to reiterate Spot is Hot. As. Hell. Especially in these pants."
She did not attend college, and says she just got her GED this past year. And according to the blog, she speed reads 1,010 words per minute with a 93 percent comprehension level.
Strom denies that she compromised JADE activities or informants. "If I followed them to an informant, I'd stay far away." (She also notes that none of the officers go undercover, which Lieutenant Campbell confirms.)
And she scoffs at the notion that JADE officers had fears for their safety from a 100-pound woman with ruby-red hair.
"The one thing I didn't think about and wish I had," reflects Strom, "was their wives and girlfriends and how they'd feel."
Some have suggested that I HeArTE JADE Is the effort of a woman scorned.
"I've heard that," says Strom. "I believe at one point Chief Longo said I hallucinated a relationship. I'll let it go at that."
Although she does come back to the woman-scorned label to label it "tiresome."
Did she have a relationship with a JADE officer? Responds Strom, "I wouldn't answer that."
And she maintains that her research on JADE fills a watchdog role. "People should be able to ask what they're doing," she says, "and if they do, they're called stalkers."
The terms of her bond prohibit the computer-savvy Strom from use of a computer and contact with law enforcement officers.
Elisha Strom is scheduled for her own day in court October 1 for both charges– misdemeanor obstruction of justice in Charlottesville General District Court, and felony harassment of cops in Albemarle General District. If convicted on the latter, she faces a mandatory six month jail sentence.
"I thought I wanted to live in a white society," she sighs. "Now I want to live in a nice society."
41 comments
quote: says Sergeant Paul Best, who's running for Charlottesville sheriff. "All or a majority of us feel the best result would be [for Strom] to get some sort of psychiatric help."
The same dayum thing could be said about a small handful of cops in both Charlottesville and Albemarle County. And I would love to see Chief Longo or Chief Miller deny this. In all fairness though, at least both of the chiefs got rid of at least one loose cannon that was certainly on my list. And my response to this would be "Two down, about a dozen more to go, guys!".
Damn, GSOE, there you go un-redeeming yourself again! Talk about the pot calling the kettle a spade, or however that saying goes...
Could you please just stick to posting links to nekid gurl sites?
Relax, CC. There's a pretty good chance your husband or boyfriend (or whatever) isn't on my short list of corrupt lying cops. Thank God the area in which we live only has about a dozen or so.
uhhmm... I like nekid gurlz. Not 100% proof I'll grant you, but it does suggest that I'm not likely to have a boyfriend or husband.
Debian, just because Strom *infers* on her blog that she had a relationship with one or more officers doesn't make it true. Her credibility is not exactly golden. From a psychological perspective, people with stalker mentalities are notorious for turning wishful thinking into fact.
GSOE, who are the loose cannons to whom you refer?
Having worked with and around cops for over 3 decades, I would never doubt any girl saying she had an affair with a cop. And and a matter of fact, it starts right at the top with the chiefs and sheriffs.
If I told you a married sheriff "dated" a female U S Marshal and got her pregnant, would you believe me? Come to think of it, time sure does fly by! The child must be at least 18 by now!!
What about a married chief having an extramarital affair with another department employee? Would you believe it?
It would take way too long for me to go down the ranks and list all the extra-marital affairs I have witnessed over the last 30 years. And the list would include JADE cops.
Women and girls who are attracted to the badge and gun are called "badge bunnies" and "fender lizards". There's plenty of them out there. They're a free ride for cops (if you know what I mean), both the single cops and the married cops.
Did Strom have an affair with one or more cops? From reading her blog, I would have to bet on YES.
They actually quoted a former Greene County deputy?
Look at this post by Elisha Strom
and decide for yourself whether or not Elisha Strom had a sexual/emotional relationship with an officer who was supplying her with inside JADE information.
And look here and decide if she had a similar relationship with Brian N. O'Donnell, who she says she soured on and who inspired her stalking and blogging:
Her own words.
Once again, just because she says it, doesn't make it so. Newsflash, a lot of married people cheat. So?
Yeah they quoted a former Greene Co deputy sheriff. None other than the Gasbag, aka Sick of the Local Rambos, aka Demopublican, aka a whole bunch of other poster names.
NN, you said "Once again, just because she says it, doesn't make it so. Newsflash, a lot of married people cheat. So?"
I'd say that if she had a sexual affair with Brian O'Donnell, the investigator in the Kevin Strom trial - in which she was the only significant witness - then that whole trial is tainted.
And if Elisha Strom DIDN'T have a sexual connection with him or with "Boomslang" and is just LYING about having that - then THAT ALSO calls her credibility into serious question.
I don't think we need these drug laws or drug cops at all, but I am forced to agree with Paul Best when he says "All or a majority of us feel the best result would be for her to get some sort of psychiatric help."
I think she set up her husband. Her credibility is zero.
What does Steve Shifflett know about real police work? It's apparent that he knows nothing about JADE and the effect that JADE has had on the drug war and violent crime in the City of Charlottesville. Don't be jealous Mr. Shifflett that you couldn't be a real cop.
Add one Yuri and one Debian and it looks like it makes one Kevin Strom. Why would you care about what adults do anyway? From what I've read, these people are a lot older than you are into.
On the simplest drug level, it doesn't take a mental giant to see that 17 specialized cops confiscating 19 pounds of marijuana in a year is a pretty sad statistic. A blind patrolman with a seeing eye dog can stumble across that much pot without even trying.
It also doesn't take a mental giant to realize that an average arrest of 11.58 persons per JADE cop... per year... is a sad statistic as well. 197 arrest by 17 cops in 2007. very sad!!
Batman, if you think you're getting your money's worth out of JADE, so be it! I think they would stumble across more drugs and crime if they were back in patrol cars working a normal shift.
JADE is a gravy train job, IMHO. For the most part, they work banker's hours. They work little to no weekends, because as we all know, drug activity ceases on Fridays after 5:00 p.m. The dealers resume normal transactions on Mondays at 9:00 a.m.
There's as many drugs available in this area as there has ever been. And there is just as much violent crime as well.
Don't have to be a "real cop" to see and understand any of this.
Childish taunts aside, Observer, even those who believe that her former husband is guilty must really regret Elisha Strom's sexual antics, revenge obsession, crazy stalking, and possible lying documented at I Hearte JADE.
All her testimony must now be viewed as questionable. On all subjects.
Dayum! I had to take a second look at that!
197 arrests in 1997 by 17 JADE cops. That's 11.58 arrests per JADE cop in the year 2007. Or.....
...one arrest per month by each JADE cop!!
This makes me wonder when they were actually doing anything, so as to enable Strom to even follow them and document their movements!
above was suppose to read
"197 arrests in 2007 by 17 JADE cops..."
Gasbag, if you look at the article below, you'll see that it evidently took ALL ELEVEN JADE OFFICERS to arrest a single, non-resisting peaceful suspect after he signed for a piece of mail allegedly containing LSD.
Yuri, as per your response- I can't disagree with you.
Just for the record - I already said this on another blog - I don't think that Brian N. O'Donnell or the Charlottesville Police are saints, either. O'Donnell sent someone to the slammer for YEARS just because he pointed his index finger at O'Donnell and said "pow." Look here
I mean, this is obviously not a guy whose first interests are truth and justice.
People need to stop automatically believing what cops say. They lie all the time, worse than used car salesmen.
What a pair. Elisha Strom and Brian O'Donnell. Looks like a match made in some other place besides heaven.
because there are a couple of disgraced former Cville cops that ARE used car salesmen!!
A couple of disgraced former Cville cops that ARE used car salesmen???
I know of one who is now a very well paid sales manager at a large local and very successful dealership. I wouldn't classify him as "disgraced" though. He did nothing illegal.
Where do the others work? Perhaps I could get a few good deals on some new cars and trucks.
Kevin, I read the link. The supreme court of Virginia upheld the conviction- I see no problem there. Where do you get years from? That's simply not true, the defendant
got six months. I also read Carlos Miller's blog on this topic and he seems to have some inside information. You seem to have an axe to grind with your wife and law enforcement so I can't put too much stock in your scenarios either.
My question to you Mr. Shifflett is, "Have you ever worked on or with the JADE Task Force? I didn't think so. So how do you even portray that you know anything about the Task Force? Your relying on things that you hear about and then you make presumptions, uneducated presumptions. As for the comments about 197 arrests in a year. If a drug task force takes 197, gun toting drug dealers off of the street in a year I would say that is exceptional. And, you probably won't find another task force in the area with those type of numbers. Let's not forget, while you and others are lying in bed at night, these task force guys are knocking down someone's door and putting themselves in danger for this community. Without the JADE Task Force, violent crimes would be out of control in the City of Charlottesville. You Mr. Shifflett are a scribe and that is why you would never work on a drug task force. You would rather criticize something you have no personal knowledge about whatsoever! Something you probably do know something about is falling asleep!
Sounds like you don't know what you're talking about, but heck, feel free to spice it up as much as you like. Give 'em all a little "attaboy!!" in your silly speeches.
They must not be getting enoughs guns off the street, because gun related robbery in Charlottesville is as high as it's ever been, Einstein. Looks like we might even set a rcord for 2009 according to Charlottesville's own statistics.
Gun related robbery
2002 18
2003 14
2004 12
2005 15
2006 12
2007 20
2008 14
2009 20 (first 8 months of 2009)
Total gun related crimes
2002 44
2003 31
2004 33
2005 39
2006 45
2007 42
2008 36
2009 39 (first 8 months of 2009)
(Albemarle County statistics are no better)
You're a waste of my time. You don't even have the intelligence to know how many more gun crimes there would be without these task force guys. Self ordained expert of statistics is all you'll ever be. I'm signing off.
Yes, pack up your bags and run, Batman. Sorry I had to kick you around the room with actual statistics. If JADE was getting so many guns off the street, we wouldn't be on the way to setting a new record for gun related violence in Charlottesville this year (2009).
A real live drug team at work!
I can't stop laughing!!!
Part 1...
September 21, 2009
With guns drawn and flashlights cutting through darkened rooms, Polk County undercover drug investigators stormed the home of convicted drug dealer Michael Difalco near Lakeland in March.
As investigators searched the home for drugs, some drug task force members found other ways to occupy their time. Within 20 minutes of entering Difalco's house, some of the investigators found a Wii video bowling game and began bowling frame after frame.
While some detectives hauled out evidence such as flat screen televisions and shotguns, others threw strikes, gutter balls and worked on picking up spares.
A Polk County sheriff's detective cataloging evidence repeatedly put down her work and picked up a Wii remote to bowl. When she hit two strikes in a row, she raised her arms above her head, jumping and kicking.
While a female detective lifted a nearby couch looking for evidence, another sheriff's detective focused on pin action.
But detectives with the Polk County Sheriff's Office, the Auburndale, Lakeland and Winter Haven police departments did not know that a wireless security camera connected to a computer inside Difalco's home was recording their activity.
The recording obtained by News Channel 8 showed several members of the county's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force entering the house shortly after 8 a.m. According to the search warrant, their mission was to search for drugs, stolen property and the fruits of any illegal drug activity.
The recording obtained by News Channel 8 showed several members of the county's High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force entering the house shortly after 8 a.m. According to the search warrant, their mission was to search for drugs, stolen property and the fruits of any illegal drug activity.
Now there are questions on how the impromptu bowling tournament might affect the case against Difalco.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd denies it will have any effect.
"That absolutely is not true; that doesn't invalidate the search at all," Judd said. "Now the defendant would like for it to invalidate the search, but unfortunately for him, it won't."
Judd, who watched the video during an interview last week, called the situation an embarrassment.
"I'm not pleased that they played that Wii bowling game," Judd said. The sheriff's office oversees the drug task force. Judd said he initiated an internal administrative investigation of the incident.
"That is not appropriate conduct at a search warrant," he said. "But I am less pleased with the supervision that didn't walk in and say, turn that off. That's what supervision should have done."
Part 2....
Task force members played the video game at various times during the day, for a total of a little over an hour of playing time. The competition proved to be quite competitive at times. A task force supervisor from the Lakeland Police Department, gun at his side, pumped his fist after picking up a strike on the first ball he threw. The video showed he continued bowling frame after frame, competing with another undercover detective.
"Obviously, this is not the kind of behavior we condone," Lakeland Police Chief Roger Boatner said. "There was a lot of down time, but that does not excuse the fact that we should act as the consummate professionals."
"Certainly this was a case of bad judgment," Auburndale Police Chief Nolan McLeod said. "We will handle it appropriately."
Winter Haven police Sgt. Brad Coleman said Chief E.C. Waters had not viewed the video. "If there is any indication that someone did something inappropriately, we will do something about it," Coleman said.
Court records show detectives placed Difalco's home under surveillance as far back as December 2008.
"We knew he had weapons," Judd said. "He's a bad guy."
His history includes an extensive arrest record dating back to 1995. Difalco, 43, served three years in state prison from 2002 to 2005 for trafficking drugs, owning and operating a chop shop, and grand theft.
In what Judd called "brilliant police work," the task force placed Difalco under surveillance and took him into custody, away from his home and weapons, during the early morning hours of March 6, in the parking lot of a Circle K convenience store on Highway 98.
Documents filed with the court say, in the March raid, detectives removed methamphetamine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, weapons and more than $30,000 in stolen property.
The 11 charges against Difalco include trafficking methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and operating a chop shop.
According to sheriff's office records, 13 detectives and three sergeants spent nine hours searching Difalco's property, for drugs, stolen property and signs of any illegal drug activity.
The raid cost taxpayers more than $4,000.
Judd, Boatner and McLeod agree the bowling was inappropriate. But they challenge the notion that taxpayer dollars were wasted.
"It was an expansive scene, a lot of searching to be done, a lot of waiting," Boatner said.
"The nature of a search warrant is hurry up and wait," Judd said. "Am I trying to defend the fact that they were bowling, not at all. That was inappropriate."
Not just inappropriate, but Tampa defense attorney Rick Escobar would argue the moment detectives turned on that video game and effectively seized it, they turned the search warrant into an illegal search.
Part 3....
"I've never seen anything like this," Escobar said after he viewed some of the video. Escobar does not represent Difalco and has no connection to the case.
"All the citizens are thinking, 'Wait a minute, we are paying these people to go out and protect us and here they are playing bowling on our time,' " he said.
"The real question here is have they seized property that wasn't described in the search warrant?" Escobar asked. "Clearly if they're using it, they've seized it and for totally improper purposes, because it's for entertainment. Investigations are not for entertainment."
Difalco's attorney declined comment.
Chip Tulberry, a spokesperson for the Polk County State Attorney, declined to comment on the video, or the validity of the search warrant.
"That's a discussion that will occur in court," he said.
quote: "Her credibility is zero."
Let's take a serious look at cop credibility. In a public forum, while whining about police chiefs being able to track their troops, one cop teaches other cops how to lie.
"...I don't know how y'alls computers are set up, but if you undock ours, it disables the GPS. The air card is constantly searching for a signal so if something were to be said, all we have to say is our air card was down for a bit until we rebooted."
Did someone on this page, I won't mention any names (Gasbag self ordained expert), fall asleep while working for a sheriff's department and lose his job? Gee, now that's a true public servant. I wonder how much this guy was doing for the community while he was counting sheep? Batman is right, you are a scribe! One who writes but has never actually done.
HaHaHa! Another person who believes everything they read in official cop press releases.
The truth of the matter was suspended for an ALLEGATION of falling asleep. He was then "fired" for filing a grievance complaint concerning the wrongful suspension. He had already previously won two grievance complaints, so it seems that perhaps the sheriff at the time was afraid of losing a third. The sheriff used his state given right to hire and fire at will, at any time, with or without cause.
It's sorta like two kids playing ball one day. They get into an argument, so one of the kids takes his bat and ball and goes home so as to win the argument.
You're welcome! Next time you need the truth, please look me up. OK?
Here's the kind of cop JADE needs to be taking a serious look for:
September 24, 2009
WESTON, Missouri -- A Weston police officer was arrested by Kansas Bureau of Investigation Tuesday for allegedly selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a school in Atchison, Kan.
Kyle A. Zumbrunn, 26, was arrested after he sold a drugs to a KBI undercover agent. The sale came within 1,000 feet of a school and police said Zumbrunn, who lives in Atchison, used his phone to help make the sale.
Some in Weston said they are shocked that someone they trust as a police officer was breaking the law.
One woman, who did not want to reveal her identity, said she couldn't believe the arrest. She said almost everyone knows each other in the small Missouri town.
Details of the case are not being released, because KBI and Atchison police said the investigation is still ongoing. The city attorney of Weston refused to release information that is public record on how long Zumbrunn has been on the police force and whether or not he is still on the payroll.
Zumbrunn has been released from custody. He is due back in court on Oct. 2.
More interesting JADE type stuff....
LAPD drug enforcement officers charged with perjury
October 7, 2009
Three Los Angeles police officers were charged with perjury and conspiracy Tuesday for allegedly lying under oath in a drug-possession case that was dismissed last year when a videotape sharply contradicted their testimony.
The felony charges mark the most serious allegations of police perjury in Los Angeles since the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart scandal about a decade ago.
Prosecutors allege in court documents that two officers falsely testified during the trial that they saw a suspect throw an object that split open to reveal crack and powder cocaine. They said they immediately recovered the drugs. A third officer is accused of falsely claiming in an earlier court hearing that he did not help his two colleagues search for the drugs.
The drug trial ended dramatically when a defense attorney produced grainy surveillance video of the area shortly after the arrest took place. The quality of the tape, a copy of which was obtained by The Times, is poor but shows a group of officers searching for more than 20 minutes before one announces that drugs have been found.
It is difficult to hear what is being said, but at one point an officer seems to make a reference to the arrest report that needed to be filled out.
"Be creative in your writing," the officer appears to tell another after the drugs are found.
"Oh yeah, don't worry, sin duda [no doubt]," is the reply.
After viewing the video, a judge took the unusual step of declaring the defendant to be "factually innocent."
"This is very, very disturbing," said John Mack, president of the L.A. Police Commission, the civilian panel that oversees the department. "We expect LAPD officers to possess the highest integrity and certainly we expect them to be truthful. This is frankly a black mark."
There's a major new wrinkle in the Elisha Strom case, courtesy of herself:
This really isn't news. Almost every cop I have ever known has run around on their girlfriend or spouse at one time or another. It comes with the territory, the badge and gun attracts women, it's that simple!
The most notable was a high ranking local cop who left his wife (while she was fighting cancer), and had a baby with a female U S Marshal during the affair.
The second most notable was when a now deceased Virginia State Police trooper had to respond to a high ranking cop's home when his wife came home and caught him with a fellow employee.
In other words, the behavior starts right at the top.
They changed the url - try this instead:
Apparently she's been arrested yet again, this time for violating her court order:
I would be surprised if anybody with an IQ over 56 didn't see this coming. The cop shoppes knows she will roll over, play dead and enter a plea of guilty. Any by doing so, they will shut her web site down.
It will be interesting to see which section of the court order she violated.


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Rare Tucker 48 formerly owned by George Lucas headed to auction
Martyn Donaldson leans hard against the hulking 1948 Tucker 48 and rolls it out of his small restoration shop in Pacoima.
Although the color on its build sheet is listed as maroon, the midafternoon sun reveals a metallic luster in the showroom quality paint job. Electric raspberry, Donaldson calls it.
This Tucker 48, just the third in a total run of 51, has spent the better part of three years at Donaldson's shop. The Tucker expert thoroughly restored the car's engine and electrical system, and installed a new transmission and interior. Before it arrived in Pacoima, the Tucker's chrome and body were restored to original specifications at a shop in nearby Sun Valley.
Photos: Rare 1948 Tucker 48 "Torpedo" headed to auction
Now that this 48 is as fresh as it was when it rolled out of the Tucker factory in Chicago in 1948, it will head to Amelia Island, Fla. RM Auctions announced Thursday that it will put the car on the auction block at its Amelia event March 9. The company estimates the car, which counts George Lucas among its former owners, will sell for $1.5 million to $1.9 million.
Photos: Highlights of the Amelia Island auctions
The Tucker 48, also known as the Tucker Torpedo, is better known for what it didn't do than what it did do. The cars were the brainchild of Preston Tucker, who saw an opportunity in postwar America to build something innovative when the Big Three were still recovering from the war effort and building outdated cars. Unfortunetaly, the Tucker never got the chance.
"Tuckers almost had a mystical quality to the innovative design and creativity that went into creating them," said McKeel Hagerty, owner of a classic car insurance and valuation company.
"A lot of the ideas [Tucker] came up with were very cutting edge," Hagerty said.
The technologies Tucker envisioned on his rear-engine car included disc brakes, fuel injection and the car's most distinctive feature, a center-mounted headlight that would turn with the steering wheel. Unfortunately, the realities of production meant only the headlight and the engine placement came to fruition.
Production cars did come with innovative safety features like a windshield that would pop out in a crash, a padded dashboard when most were metal, and a space by the front passenger's feet where they could duck before an accident (this was before seatbelts were required).
After his initial engine design proved a failure, Tucker bought a light-aircraft engine company and retrofitted a helicopter engine to work in his cars. Thus, a water-cooled, 335 cubic-inch, 166-horsepower flat six-cylinder engine sits behind the rear passengers.
The transmission is a four-speed vacuum-electric pre-selector transmission borrowed from Cord automobiles built in the late 1930s. To use this type of transmission, the driver first selects the next gear he or she wants via a small lever mounted to a stalk on the steering column. When the driver is ready for the shift itself, he or she pushes the foot pedal to engage it. Despite these features, and the car's progressive styling -- including suicide doors for the rear passengers -- the company survived only long enough to build and sell 50 Tucker 48's and a prototype.
Before large-scale production of the car could commence in 1948, Preston Tucker and several of his executives were indicted by the Securities and Exchange Commission on various mail fraud and conspiracy charges. By the time they were acquitted of all charges in 1950, the public's interest in the cars had waned and the company folded.
The rise and fall of Tucker -- the man and the company -- was chronicled in the 1988 film "Tucker: The Man and His Dream," starring Jeff Bridges. Francis Ford Coppola was the director and George Lucas was the executive producer. Coppola and Lucas each bought Tucker 48s. Lucas later sold this model to the current owners, who then commissioned its restoration.
Because of the rarity of the car and the technology featured on Tuckers, U.S. collectors are starting to value them more than almost any other postwar American car, Hagerty said.
"If you're building a 20- or 30-car, ultimate collection, this could be in it," Hagerty said. "It's a really special automobile."
Also driving value is the fact that Tuckers don't come up for public sale often, Hagerty said.
Donaldson echoed this sentiment. "When one becomes available, if you want one, you buy it," he said. "You can't get picky."
So what kind of experience will this Tucker's next owner get for his millions?
Donaldson is happy to demonstrate and hops in the driver's seat. The six-cylinder engine needs a bit of coaxing before it coughs to life. After a few revs to clear its throat, the Tucker 48 settles down to a low, throaty idle. The exhaust note has more of a rough voice coming out of the six tailpipes than you might expect from a six-cylinder car from its day.
A brief ride in the Tucker 48 on the streets found the car to be an engaging, if somewhat bouncy cruiser. The large bench seat in the front has springs like your grandmother's couch, and thus you bob up and down when the car hits a bump.
The front passenger seat has acres of legroom; there's no dashboard to speak of, save for the padded frame around the windshield. This means even people 6 feet and taller have to fully extend their legs to touch the carpeted firewall. Meanwhile, the rear seats offer the same spaciousness and bouncy ride.
Whether the new buyer will take it out for a drive is unknown; Donaldson says many existing Tuckers have been museum pieces for much of their lives. Yet the car would be just as appropriate for car shows around the country. "It'd be more than welcome at a Concours," Hagerty said. "It would have a crowd of people around it the whole time."
And if anyone asks, that's not maroon. It's electric raspberry.
L.A.'s top cars and trucks by sex
Amelia Island auction draws some doozies -- and a Duesenberg SJ
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subset: commoncrawl


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20-Minute Upper-Body Workout
1. Push-Ups
Full or on knees (20 reps)
2. Knee-Ups
Stand and quickly alternate lifting right and left knee to hip height. (Do as many as you can for 1 minute.)
3. Goal-Post Press
Extend arms out to sides at shoulder height, elbows bent 90 degrees, palms forward. Raise arms over head, then lower to start. (30 reps)
4. Jumping Jacks
(30 reps)
5. Upper Bells
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent. Place fingers behind head and bring right elbow toward right hip, then left elbow toward left hip. (25 reps per side)
6. Jab/Cross
Stand with feet shoulder-width apart, left foot forward, knees slightly bent. Jab forward with left fist, then cross over with right fist. (Do as many as possible in 1 minute.) Switch sides for second circuit.
7. Planks with Cross-Overs
Begin in full push-up position. Pull right knee toward left elbow, keeping abs tight and back flat; return to start and repeat, alternating sides. (15 reps per side)


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|Britney Cason
Cason says she didn't know her co-host until they were introduced in Las Vegas. "It's almost like a blind date," she says. "We're building our chemistry. We've hit it off."
In addition to her radio jobs in Charlotte, Cason also served as co-host of NASCAR's "3 Wide Life" and was the "Paid to Party" columnist for the Charlotte Observer's CLT weekend section.
Radio is more competitive in Las Vegas than Charlotte, Cason says. There are five Top 40 stations and she says all 12 of her car radio presets are full with a couple of good local stations missing. Las Vegas' top-ranked station, she says, plays Christian music.
"It's sin city and a Christian station is No. 1."


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NYS DREAM Act proponents hold rally at NCC
New York shouldn't wait for Congress to pass reforms to help young undocumented immigrants who go to college, said activists and students who rallied Thursday at Nassau Community College.
About 20 people gathered outside the Garden City campus' student union, carrying signs urging Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the legislature to "stand on the side of students" and pass the New York State DREAM Act.
The proposed measure "is a very large piece of the entire conversation around immigration," said Anita Halasz, organizer of Long Island Jobs with Justice, a workers' rights advocacy group. "It is an excellent complement to national immigration reform."
The law would provide financial relief to undocumented New York students while they await national immigration reform, advocates said. The measure has been introduced in the Assembly and Senate, combining bills for state-funded aid and a privately funded scholarship fund.
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) called for passage this week, while Republicans signaled limited support. State Sen. Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre), a Senate co-leader, said the GOP could back aid "funded with private money," said his spokesman, Scott Reif.
"Young people, who for all practical purposes have been raised in the United States as Americans and know no other country, should not be marginalized because of their unwitting immigration status," said Assemb. Phil Ramos (D-Brentwood), a co-sponsor.
The aim is to help students like Ludmila Molina, 21, a Suffolk County Community College psychology major, who attended the rally. She works with her father in construction to pay her tuition.
"Most of the time my dream ends up being postponed . . . because I end up having to go to school part-time," she said.


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UNC expert: Better decision support tools needed for prostate cancer screening choice
Michael Pignone, M.D., M.P.H., reviews the pros and cons of Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) screening in an editorial he wrote for the Sept. 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Although screening for prostate cancer with the Prostate Specific Antigen (PSA) test in men ages 50-70 can detect the cancer before it becomes symptomatic, knowing whether screening is beneficial for these men is uncertain.
Recent trials have shown small or no reductions in prostate cancer mortality among those screened. The small potential for benefit must be balanced against the more common and immediate downsides of increasing the chance of prostate cancer diagnosis and treatment-related complications.
Developing more effective decision support tools may help men and their physicians discuss whether or not to undertake PSA screening.
Michael Pignone, M.D., M.P.H., authored an editorial in the Sept. 28 Archives of Internal Medicine about this issue. He reviewed two studies: one from the National Survey of Medical Decisions and a second study from Australia that modeled the potential effects of screening for use in discussions about screening.
Pignone is associate professor of medicine and chief of the division of general internal medicine in the UNC School of Medicine and a member of UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
He explained, "To make a good decision about whether or not to be screened, patients need to know their chances of being helped by screening and their chances of being harmed."
"The National Survey of Medical Decisions suggests that patients are not being regularly informed about the advantages and disadvantages of screening. The downsides of screening were talked about in only 32 percent of the discussions. Half of the patients couldn't answer any of the knowledge questions correctly about screening risks.
The Australian study provides updated data for such conversations: screening increases the chance of being diagnosed with prostate cancer from 23 per 1000 to 53 per 1000 over 10 years. The number of men with treatment related impotence or incontinence would also be twice as common: about 26 per 1000 vs. 12 per 1000. The chance of death from prostate cancer would be reduced from 4 in 1000 to 3 in 1000."
"The next step is to study whether providing patients with such information and determining if it changes their knowledge and preferences about screening."


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The For Sale forum is individuals who have tickets, equipment or other figure skating related items for sale. No commercial or website links
Use this control to limit the display of threads to those newer than the specified time frame.
Allows you to choose the data by which the thread list will be sorted.
Order threads in...
Note: when sorting by date, 'descending order' will show the newest results first.
Forum Rules


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Department of Human Evolution
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
phone: +49 (341) 3550 - 350
fax: +49 (0341) 3550 - 399
e-mail: streiber@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Matthew Skinner
Post-Doctoral Researcher
Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology
Department of Human Evolution
Deutscher Platz 6
04103 Leipzig
e-mail: skinner@[>>> Please remove the brackets! <<<]eva.mpg.de
Research Interests
Matthew Skinner is a paleoanthropologist whose research focuses on the analysis of teeth and bones to answer questions about the growth and development, diet, taxonomy and evolutionary history of living and extinct primates, including fossil hominins. Specifically, he is interested in taxonomic diversity and evolutionary history of humans and apes, dental tissue development in the present and past, and form/function relationships in the primate skeleton.
In addition to being a member of the research staff in the Department of Human Evolution, Matthew is a Senior Lecturer in Evolutionary Anthropology in the School of Anthropology and Conservation, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom.


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Ballarat Accommodation & Conference Centre
Welcome to Ballarat, Victoria
Ballarat, home to world renown Sovereign Sovereign Hill, has so much to offer local and international travellers and tourists.
Ballarat is a grand old gold mining city. With amazing heritage streetscapes, wide boulevards, impressive architecture, Ballarat has become a favourite destination among film and television producers from around the world.
Ballarat is easily accessible by road and rail. Strategically located in the Goldfields Region of Victoria, Ballarat is approximately 110km west of Melbourne, the State capital. Travel time between Ballarat and Melbourne is around 75 minutes, and less to Tullamarine International Airport.
Today Ballarat is a major tourism and industrial city with well attractions such as Sovereign Hill, Eureka Stockade, Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, Her Majesty's Theatre and companies such as Mars Confectionery, McCains Foods, Selkirk Bricks and IBM.
Ballarat is also home to to the Federation University and the Australian Catholic University.
Ballarat Mid City Accommodation - Your Home Base in Ballarat
Located in the heart of Ballarat and easy to find off Sturt Street at Doveton Street North(A300), the hotel is nestled in a convenient location and is close to everything you need.
Ballarat At Your Doorstep - Close to Everything
Location? We've got a great one in the heart of Ballarat, Victoria within 3 kilometres of such major attraction as Sovereign Hill, Ballarat's Eureka Stockade and the Ballarat Wildlife Park.
Surrounded by great restaurants and businesses, within 75 minutes of Tullamarine International Airport, you will find this the ideal place for leisure or business.
Designed for Your Ballarat Accommodation Needs
Each of our 71 large, comfortable guest rooms are designed to meet your Ballarat accommodation needs, featuring: individual reverse cycle climate control, colour TV, IDD phones, minibar, High Speed Internet access, complimentary coffee and tea making facilities, iron and ironing board and hairdryer. You will also appreciate the spacious king size beds in our deluxe rooms.
Added Accommodation Features...
For those whose Ballarat accommodation requirements call for something more than a standard room, our Family and Executive guest rooms provide additional amenities, including a choice of bed configurations. Executive Suites feature separate lounge area and multiple television sets. The Executive Suites are great for guest requiring extra space for entertaining or for work.
Ballarat Mid City Motel is Built for Business
By incorporating friendly customer service, comfortable accommodation and numerous complimentary amenities, the Mid City Ballarat is sure to please both the leisure and business travellers alike.
Start each day with the hot & fresh buffet breakfast bar or order a cooked meal. Unwind later in our club bar. The shops, cinemas, Ballarat's cafe cafe strip, the historic precinct, Ballarat Art Gallery, Ballarat Mining Exchange, pubs, nightclubs are just a stroll away.
We are also close to Federation University, Ballarat City Council, Ballarat Library, Victorian State Government Offices, Ballarat Base Hospital, St. John's of God Hospital and many more popular Ballarat and Victoria's vacation and business locations.
Ballarat Mid City Motor Inn
Check In Time: 2 PM
Check Out Time: 10.30 AM
All major credits accepted
Features :
- Outdoor pool
- 24 hour check in
- Free on site parking
- Aureate restaurant
- Club Lounge & Bar
- Conference and function facilities
- Guest Laundry
- Dry cleaning service
- Internet Kiosk
- Wireless High-Speed Internet access in guest rooms (at minimal extra cost)
- Individual remote control air conditioning
- Queen or King beds in all rooms
- Free in-room coffee and tea making facilities
- Minibar in all rooms (no alcoholic beverages are allocated to family rooms)
- Toaster
- Iron and ironing board
- Separate Lounge area in some Executive Suites


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Top flight deals to Munich (MUC)*
Bali (Denpasar)(DPS)toMunich(MUC)
Fly to Munich with KLM
Together with our global network, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines offers flights to Munich, serving Munich Airport (MUC). When flying with us, you can rely on our commitment to get you to Munich on time so you don't have to make any last-minute changes. We're recognised as one of the most punctual airlines worldwide, and we're proud to keep you on schedule.
Top Munich attractions
- Englischer Garten: among Europe's largest, this 18th-century park features a lake, three small islands, and a lakeside beer garden.
- Marienplatz: historic buildings and structures surround Munich's central square.
- Hofbräuhaus am Platzl: a 3-floor beer hall dating back to the 16th
- Viktualienmarkt: brilliant for foodies, this huge market features gourmet stalls selling tasty treats and fresh ingredients.
- Allianz Arena: home of FC Bayern Munich.
Get the most out of your Munich holiday with a read through our travel guide. Our experts detail the hidden delights of this phenomenal city.
What's the best way to get around Munich?
The metro system covers the majority of the major hotspots. Purchase a pass to gain access; options range from one to 3-day passes. Keen cyclists will enjoy the abundant cycle paths and cycle hire points. Munich calls itself the bicycle capital of Germany and has a good reason to do so.
What's the weather in Munich?
You'll love exploring Munich's plethora of breathtaking architecture during the summer months when the average temperature reaches 18°C (64°F). Visiting in the winter can be a magical experience as well, thanks to the famous Christmas markets. But, make sure you bundle up in warm clothes as temperatures drop to -1°C (30°F) or lower.
Weather in Munich
Powered by: OpenWeatherMap.org
26 °CThursday13/08/2020
22 °CFriday14/08/2020
25 °CSaturday15/08/2020
27 °CSunday16/08/2020
28 °CMonday17/08/2020
18 °CTuesday18/08/2020
25 °CWednesday19/08/2020
*All amounts are in IDR. Taxes and carrier surcharges included. No booking fee applicable.


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'Game of Thrones' earns a leading 19 Emmy nods
LOS ANGELES — Emmy voters may need to steel themselves to sort through this year's top nominees: a macabre, medieval-style tale; a meth kingpin and his violent downfall; a bleak mystery about detectives tracking a ritual killer, and a heartbreaking saga of the AIDS epidemic's roots.
Small-screen fare has steadily been pushed into bolder, even brilliant territory by cable and, now, online offerings, and it's enticing the TV academy to recognize programs that are more emotionally and dramatically complex — as well as sexually explicit and, for better or worse, much more violent.
In this widely proclaimed golden age of television-plus, the brutal fantasy saga "Game of Thrones," based on the work of novelist George R.R. Martin, emerged Thursday as the leading nominee with 19 nods. Dramas "Breaking Bad" and "True Detective" and the movie "The Normal Heart" are among the other front-runners.
That's just for starters. The self-evidently titled "American Horror Story: Coven," along with "Fargo," a riff on the black comedy film of the same name, are provocative miniseries hopefuls for the awards airing on NBC in August.
More Information
The academy's broadening embrace includes individual performers as well. The gay rights group GLAAD saluted Laverne Cox's guest-actress nod for "Orange Is the New Black" as the first for an openly transgender person.
Emmy has welcomed change before, giving a best-drama award to breakthrough 1980s police drama "Hill Street Blues" for its unprecedented grit and honesty. But it took four tries for "Breaking Bad," one of the most lavishly praised TV series ever but with an anti-hero at its center, to capture a best drama trophy. It won last year.
Whether 21st-century voters will go far enough to crown "Game of Thrones" with the top drama award is an intriguing question. With the exception of "Lost," shows that fall within the fantasy and sci-fi genres have fallen short, although they have reaped other awards such as Peter Dinklage's 2011 supporting actor award for "Game of Thrones." He's nominated again this year.
"Voters like shows that feel more real and important in terms of today's social or political topics," said Tom O'Neil, author of "The Emmys" and organizer of the Gold Derby awards website.
Best drama contenders besides the nicknamed "GOT" are "Breaking Bad," "Downton Abbey," "House of Cards," "Mad Men" and "True Detective."
Netflix's political thriller "House of Cards," which made a breakthrough last year as the first online series nominated for a major award, has the chance again at Emmy victory. The prison-set "Orange Is the New Black," also from Netflix, leaped that barrier on the flip side this time around with a bid for best comedy series, along with a nod for star Taylor Schilling.
Also competing for best comedy honors are "The Big Bang Theory," "Louie," "Silicon Valley," "Veep," and "Modern Family," a four-time winner that has the chance to tie "Frasier" as the all-time winning sitcom.
There were so many such candidates for the six best drama slots that the critically acclaimed "Masters of Sex" and "The Good Wife" were among those that failed to make the cut. For the latter, coming off a daring season in which a major character died, the snub prompted a flood of online fan dismay.
It may be time for the Emmys to follow cousin Oscar, which has expanded its best picture category to encompass up to 10 nominees.
The 66th prime-time Emmy Awards ceremony will have big-screen star power to spare. This year's Academy Awards best-actor winner Matthew McConaughey ("Dallas Buyers Club") and nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor ("12 Years a Slave") are both nominees for TV projects, as are past Oscar winners, including Julia Roberts, Jane Fonda and Billy Bob Thornton.
McConaughey and "True Detective" co-star Woody Harrelson both will vie for best drama actor honors, along with four-time winner Cranston for "Breaking Bad," Jon Hamm for "Mad Men," Kevin Spacey for "House of Cards," and Jeff Daniels for "The Newsroom," who won the Emmy last year.
Nominees in the lead actress drama category are last year's winner, "Homeland" star Claire Danes, along with Lizzy Caplan for "Masters of Sex," Michelle Dockery for "Downton Abbey," Julianna Margulies for "The Good Wife," Kerry Washington for "Scandal" and Robin Wright for "House of Cards."
The 66th Primetime Emmy Awards with emcee Seth Meyers will air on a Monday, Aug. 25, on NBC. The ceremony, traditionally held on a Sunday, was moved to avoid a conflict with NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and with MTV's Video Music Awards.


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Tag Archives: Industrial Revolution
On the Set: Federated Precision
Just a few of the partners who have already been interviewed on the show…
Federated Precision: Bringing Jobs Back Home
Profile: Federated Precision
Their Competitive Edge: Bringing Manufacturing Jobs Back to the United States
Special Guests: Samuel Havelock, Founder and CEO
Keith Smith, Founder, President and CFO
By the close of the 19th Century, the Industrial Revolution was well on its way to changing America from an agriculture-based economy to that of manufacturing. It was not unheard of for generations of the same family to follow in the footsteps of their parents and take their places at the assembly lines or the turning machine. By the 1970s, however, companies began to discover that their products could be produced cheaper outside the U.S., increasing their profit margin. Factories at home were shuttered and their gates locked, leaving thousands out of work.
That seems to be changing, thanks to rising labor costs in countries that are traditionally the recipient of our outsourced work, as well as the rising costs of logistics and an increased risk for theft of intellectual property overseas. As a result of these and other factors, manufacturing jobs in the United States are once again on the rise. It is predicted that revenue from precision manufacturing in the United States will be as high as seven trillion dollars in certain industries over the next twenty years.
Recently, The Competitive Edge hosts Joe Namath and Kristy Villa sat down with Sam Havelock, Co-Founder and CEO of Federated Precision, along with the company's Co-Founder, President and CFO, Keith Smith. The Deerfield Beach, Florida-based company specializes in the precision manufacturing of sensitive components for equipment in the medical, defense, energy and aerospace sectors. Sam and Keith recognized the dilemma facing most growing manufacturers today. "For the past 20 or 30 years," explained Sam in his interview, "we've told our kids, 'don't be involved in the trades, don't be involved in manufacturing.' Unfortunately, they listened, and now we face key shortfalls across the high-value manufacturing supply chain." Indeed, this mindset has resulted in a shortage of qualified workers to fill the jobs that have been coming back to the United States. The solution, according to Sam: Train them yourself. Sam developed a program based on the military training paradigms he learned through his service as a Navy SEAL. Federated Precision seeks out individuals that show potential and a desire to learn, and train them from the ground up. Not only do they end up with employees who know their equipment and the precision manufacturing process inside and out, they also boast an employee turnover rate that is almost non-existent. "We're passionate about bringing manufacturing jobs back to America," added Keith. "(Manufacturers) are finding that they've got a hungry American workforce that's ready to work, and that has the best work ethic in the world, and they're ready to get back at it."


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Chiropractor in Naperville, Illinois
Welcome to the Integrative natural healthcare center you've been seeking! Finally rid yourself of neck and back pain and many other debilitating conditions without drugs, surgery or invasive procedures at Local Clinic serving Naperville, Plainfield & Bolingbrook Illinois.
I'd like to give you a warm welcome to my unique, Integrative, state-of-the-art healthcare centers where we offer the newest, most patient oriented form of healthcare available anywhere.
My name is Dr. Jennifer Wise, DC, and I am a Naperville Chiropractor and the Director Of Synergy Institute Acupuncture & Chiropractic . Synergy has been my life's work since 1999, when I set out to create a new, different, advanced, yet natural form of patient care.
It is my mission to deliver healthcare services that would enable people with lifelong conditions, chronic or acute pain, or other forms of debilitation and misery to be able to experience relief and wellness...WITHOUT DRUGS, SURGERY OR OLD FASHIONED INVASIVE PROCEDURES!
This was not an easy task. In those days, and to some extent now-a-days as well, many healthcare professionals still resort to merely treating symptoms with drugs, surgery and other unpleasant, sometimes dangerous procedures, instead of treating you as a whole person, with proven, natural, highly scientific alternative methods that can provide the relief or wellness you want so badly.
See, when you have debilitating neck, back, low back or leg pain for example, simply masking the pain with drugs can be dangerous...and does nothing to remove the condition that is causing the pain in the first place.
Also, many people seeing more traditional physicians have been immediately routed into the operating room to attempt to relieve the cause of an acute or chronic condition...when potentially much safer, natural, alternative therapies can also remove the cause of the pain.
At Synergy, we do not have that "false pride" many physicians have, thinking that they, and only they can help you. We have no ego issues. We work together as a team with the dedicated staff of professionals within our own office...and continuously work outside of the office with other physicians.
Our Convenient Naperville Integrative Health & Wellness clinic serves Naperville, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, and Aurora. Why have we enjoyed so much success? Well, I feel it's due to the fact that:
- We continually seek out and offer the most effective and advanced treatments and technology. We find the therapies that are proven, tested and efficacious, but do not require invasive procedures nor drugs! (We are usually the first clinic in the area to provide these state-of-the-art treatments that other clinics take years longer to offer...if they ever offer them at all!)
- Each patient is treated as an individual and has a customized treatment plan created just for you! No "one-size-fits-all" healthcare delivered at Synergy!
- We have extensive experience with working with frustrated patients and more complex cases!
- Each patient is a VIP! You will be treated as a special person, and have an incredible experience as a patient!
- We put together special treatment programs for difficult conditions such as herniated discs, bulging discs, degenerative discs, spinal stenosis, sciatica, low back pain, neck pain, radiculopathy, TMJ, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, sinus headahces, tension headaches, migraine headaches, carpal tunnel, tennis elbow, neuropathy, plantar fasciitis, scoliosis, arthritis, shoulder pain, rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder, knee pain, and much more!
Our multidisciplinary team has so much to offer. You have your own Naperville chiropractor, physical therapist, and massage therapist working together all under one roof. You really have to give Synergy Institute a try, because words alone cannot express the Synergy difference!
Once you see how much we care about you, allow us to put a customized, healthcare program for you, and experience the "Synergy Experience"...you will be so thrilled that you finally found doctors who will take the time to discover what's really wrong with you!
AND we'll be able to provide you with effective, painless, safe and PROVEN therapies that eliminate the underlying CAUSE of your problem...not merely cover it up with risky drugs or invasive measures!
Why not call us now and take advantage of our remarkable, NO-COST, NO-OBLIGATION, private, one-on-one initial consultation? What have you got to lose? You know that the traditional, old-school methods you've been subjected to up until now haven't worked...so why not experience the new, modern, 21st Century way healthcare will eventually be delivered to all patients NOW?
Please call us NOW, while this is fresh on your mind, and before you forget! We look forward to having you as a new patient, and finally helping you solve the ongoing or acute health issues you face!
Dr. Jennifer Wise, DC
Director, Synergy Institute Acupuncture & Chiropractic


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Much of the focus in Wednesday's Colorado Rapids-LA Galaxy game will be on the battle between Conor Casey and Edson Buddle, both of whom are trying to make a last-minute impression on U.S. coach Bob Bradley. That distraction suits Omar Cummings just fine.
The Rapids striker is coming off his least impressive performance of the season last weekend against San Jose, and he is struggling to put it behind him. (Watch SJ-COL highlights here.)
"It was a really bad game for me," he admitted to MLSsoccer.com. "I couldn't get the ball from under my feet and made some bad decisions. It has been difficult to get it out of my system."
Head coach Gary Smith substituted Cummings in the second half and later acknowledged that the 27-year-old Jamaican played poorly at the weekend. For the Rapids to succeed, he needs Cummings, who was among the league's top assist getters last year, to be a creative catalyst in the attack.
"Players that we look towards for creativity were just a little bit below par," Smith said about the San Jose game. "But Omar has been incredibly positive for us."
With all the soul-searching, Wednesday's Cinco de Mayo fiesta against the LA Galaxy is turning out to be an early marker of just how the Western Conference may shake out this season. The league-leading Galaxy present the biggest test for the Rapids so far, while Colorado, still full of potential, need to make some kind of a statement if they are to live up to the early hype as possible trophy contenders.
And while Casey and Buddle fight it out ahead of the May 11 announcement of the preliminary U.S. World Cup squad, Cummings will be fighting simply to get Colorado three points. He could be deployed wider on the right, where he has played the last two games, or in a more central role. Either way, it has to be an improvement on last weekend's performance.
"I just hope tomorrow I will have a better game," he said at training on Tuesday.


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Raw Honey 1000g
Highlights :
1.As we know honey is viscous fluid produced by honey bees from the flowers nectar.
2.It can improve general condition of body.
3.It has a favorable effect on the asthma, bronchitis, sinus problems, allergies, combat headache, and high blood pressure. It helps to improve our digestive system and soothes our skin, clears many skin disorders, fastens the healing of wounds, brings to normal the gastric juice acidity.
Product Description
Honey is the natural sweet substance produced by honeybees from the nectar of blossoms or from the secretion of living parts of plants or excretions of plant sucking insects on the living parts of plants, which honeybees collect, transform and combine with specific substances of their own, store and leave in the honey comb to ripen and mature.
History of Honey
The history of honey is rich in tradition. This ancient substance has been used for food, drinks, medicine, gifts for the gods, barter, cosmetics, cooking, food preservation, cosmetics, art, etc. It has been used in religion, art, mythology, legends and literature as well as studied by scientist.
The oldest written reference to the use of honey is thought to be Egyptian, of about 5500BC. At that time Lower Egypt was called Bee Land while Upper Egypt was Reed Land. Honey was a valuable commodity used widely in trade-in the accounts of Seti I (1314-1292BC) 110 pots of honey were equivalent in value to an ox.
The use of honey was taken to India by its Aryan invaders and became associated with religious rites. Honey is also mentioned on ancient Submarine clay tablets, possibly even older than the Egyptian reference. Later Babylonian tablets give recipes for "electuaries" – medicines based on honey. An electuary mentioned in the 1st century AD by the Roman Writer Pliny the Elder included powdered bees. It was said to be a cure for dropsy and bladder stones. In 1800 some archaeologists working in Egypt found a large jar of honey. They opened it and found that it tasted perfect even though it was thousands of years old.
Health Benefits of Honey
- Honey has potent antiseptic and antibacterial qualities, producing the following incredible results: - Research shows that honey improves chronic bronchitis, bronchial asthma, sinus problems, and allergies.
- Honey has been used to combat depression, fatigue, insomnia, nervous disorders, urine retention, cramps, headaches, and high blood pressure.
- Honey beautifies and soothes the skin, clears many skin disorders.
- Honey hastens the healing of wounds.
- Honey facilitates the digestion and assimilation of other foods.
- Honey has laxative, sedative, antitoxic, and antiseptic effects.
- Honey is effective in countering anemia
|Delivery Fee (RM)
|First 3.00 kg
|Additional 1.00 kg
|First 1.00 kg
|Additional 1.00 kg
|First 1.00 kg
|Additional 1.00 kg


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Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Happy Halloween! Hello Kitty Pumpkin!
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
UPDATE: Hurricane Sandy LBI Long Beach Island Shack did not make it
Monday, October 29, 2012
Update: Hurricane Sandy LBI Long Beach Island NJ
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Hurricane Sandy
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Homemade Pumpkin Roll
Hello! It's been too long! And I am blogging from my phone once again. Life has really become hectic! :/
Anyway, this past Sunday I decided to make pumpkin roll(on my fall bucket list).. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.. The fiancé actually liked it!! :) I would post the recipe but unfortunately from my iPhone I can't get the recipe.. But it's on my pinterest under desserts. And you can access my pinterest on the right hand corner of this page :)
I do have pictures to share though.. I opted out of the walnuts because the fiancé is not a fan, otherwise the pumpkin roll would be topped with walnuts. Instead I used powered sugar.
I realize I have a lot to post about, I still have not put away the bags from when I went shopping on my birthday. Blah!! I hope to get around to it soon. Things just need to calm down a bit.
It's so beautiful out today, enjoy your day!!!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
I'm home!
I'm home!! But currently on lunch at work. Not sure if I'll have time to blog after work, my apartment is a bit messy from all the luggage from this past weekend and I have some homework to do before tomorrow. Sometimes it doesn't matter how much you try to catch up with stuff there is still more to do!
Is anyone as excited as me about American Horror Story tonight?! I'm so excited! I need to get everything I have to get done before 10pm tonight! I'm such a dork.. Lol
I have some photos from Atlantic City to share but not much. I was trying to use my good camera more instead of my iPhone. I did take photos of the outfits I wore but waiting for a separate post for that... I am considering doin YouTube videos again, especially with this upcoming haul I want to post. Would anyone like to see a YouTube video of the haul and photos?! Leave me know!!
Anyway, I'll stop rambling..
The cake is actually pumpkin cheesecake and it was delicious! It was from Ceasars Boardwalk Buffet. Yum! The picture of the windows is actually from our room we stayed it, they upgraded our room for free because the fiancé told them it was my birthday. It was such a beautiful room!! I also took a photo of our bathroom but have more on my camera. The only thing I didn't like was that I couldn't take a bubble bath! Boo! The cash out ticket is from Ballys casino, I played $5 randomly on a .25 machine and won this and immediately cashed out! How lucky!! :) and the trees are just a picture of our way home and we also stopped at King of Prussia on the way home too. He's too good to me :)
Anyway is anyone watching American Horror Story tonight??!
Monday, October 15, 2012
Currently away..
Blogging from my phone because I miss you guys! If you follow me on Instagram(vzaleski) you know that I'm away celebrating my birthday(yesterday). I will be gone for 2 more days.. I have a few photos to share that are on my phone. The rest will have to wait until I get back home.
These are photos from yesterday at Hard Rock Cafe. And of course I had to get a picture of the awesome new Dyson hand dryers!! Anyone try them yet?!?!
Anyway hope everyone had an amazing weekend!


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English Orchid Garden
Dubbed the "moth orchid" for its likeness to a moth in flight, the Phalaenopsis orchid is the essence of grace. Our three-stem white orchid arrives in an elegant blue and white print tin with gold handles and feet, certain to impress in any décor. Add a package of Miracle Gro® Orchid Plant Food Spikes to keep your plant growing and thriving.
Add to their gift:


text: Healthcare Financing a better future in healthcare Watch now Home Industries Healthcare Adding value We help healthcare providers acquire the advanced medical equipment and technology they need to help patients improve and maintain their health, from pediatrics to oncology, dialysis to dental services. Our partners include leading manufacturers and suppliers in areas like diagnostic imaging and precision surgical equipment. We also offer tailored programs for medical, dental and veterinary practices. Healthcare facts The tools to see Over 2 million diagnostic images are conducted annually with medical equipment financed by DLL. 30,000+ customers DLL is the world's largest provider of 3rd party healthcare financing. Global healthcare DLL supports companies across the healthcare spectrum. Understanding the heart and soul of your business Aging world population Today 1 in 8 people are 65+. In 2030 that figure will be 1 in 5. Government spending Sovereign debt is impacting the amount governments can spend on healthcare. Rapid innovation Rapid innovation and increasing competition from non-traditional players such as technology and retail firms present opportunities and challenges for existing healthcare vendors. Zeiss See what counts for Zeiss Medical Business in China Read more Our healthcare solutions Capital leases Facilitating equipment ownership at the term's end. Cost-per-test Pricing based on monthly usage of consumables. Various structures available including reagent rental. Customized solutions Structures and terms geared to your unique healthcare or life science business needs. Managed equipment services Customized solutions that allow bundled financing (equipment, consumables, service, insurance, etc.) and can include usage-based components. Operating leases Flexible end-of-term options to purchase, trade-up or return equipment, or continue to finance. Progress payments Financing for milestone payments for a project-based solution that can be installed over time. Progress payments can be included in the financing of the overall solution.


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Once you drive through the gated entry, the community hints of a warm Mediterranean style that flows through the architecture, amenities and the two picturesque lakes. The community hosts such amenities as a Town Center with a club room, state-of-the-art fitness center, an outdoor living room under truss with a two sided fireplace, and a resort style pool, and spa, In addition, you will find lighted tennis courts, community garden, and a butterfly garden.
Bella Casa is only minutes from Fort Myers International Airport, shopping, dining, golfing, entertainment, and even the world reknown beaches of Sanibel. The community is conveniently located 3-miles West of I-75 on Plantation Road. Visit Bella Casa to see the quality you deserve and a community to call home.


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It's that time of year again. It's still cool enough for me to leave the windows open and get a cool cross breeze in my living room while I curl up with a book waiting for the sun to go down or for the thunder and rain to stop. And I have so many books on this summer's list that I'm not quite sure how I will get through them all! I love how books can take me back to the time and place where I read them – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in a cafe in Israel over coffee and shakshuka; The Kite Runner cover to cover in 36 hours on a chaise in Maui; Memoirs of a Geisha by candlelight in a grass covered hut in Colombia. . .
This summer's travels will take me to Napa, Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, Miami, Greece, Martha's Vineyard and Newport. Here is what will be traveling with me on my iPad.
1. I finished reading Wolf Hall and decided to jump right into Hilary Mantel's follow up, Bring up The Bodies. I never tire of reading about the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn and the chaos one woman can create.
2. I picked up a hard copy of The 4- Hour Workweek by Tim Ferriss and I've been scribbling in the margins and taking copious notes (I am quite sure this is NOT recommended) about how to simplify and run a more efficient life operation. It took me so long to pick this book up I know, but after a friend shared some of Ferriss' tips for streamlining I was intrigued. Thus far I haven't been disappointed.
3. I spent 13 years in South Florida including a stint in Key West where I was crowned Miss Old Island Days and got to bless the shrimp fleet. So naturally I'm a big fan of Carl Hiaasen and I can't wait to see what hi-jinks he has in store with Bad Monkey.
4. I've been slightly obsessed with food, juicing and cleanses and I've got Alejandro Junger's Clean in rotation. Alejandro used to live next door to me in Venice Beach and I would watch him walk barefoot to Abbot Kinney and wonder what the hell he was thinking. Connecting his feet with the energy of the earth, no doubt. There may be a 21 day cleanse in my future.
5. The Dirty Life: On Farming, Food and Love is new on my downloads since I went all Green Acres, joined a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) and spent some time on a friend's farm planting potatoes. I'm looking forward to reading about one couple's transition from city dwellers to farming to support their entire community.
6. I've always been a creature of habit and these past years I've purposely tried to shake things up, thinking change is good for my brain. I'm interested to see what The Power of Habit has to say on the matter.
7. Crazy Rich Asians. Enough said.
8. O.k., Lean In should have been a spring break read but truthfully I wasn't sure I wanted to read it. We'll see.
9. I never saw the movie with Elizabeth Taylor and otherwise know nothing about this woman with the great eye make-up. Should be a fascinating read. . . Cleopatra: A Life.
What's on your summer reading list?


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Posted by Editor on 05/8/08
UCI Downhill World Cup #1 Preview
by Larry Ireland
The 2008 UCI MTB World Cup Gravity season is set to kick off here in Maribor, Slovenia this Saturday with 4X competition, and on Sunday with the Downhill.
The courses here for 2008 are similiar to what we have seen in the past. The downhill is tight and twisty up top with plenty of roots to go around. The legendary rock garden is now slightly tighter, forcing riders into more technical lines. MS Intense's Matti Lehikoinen spoke jokingly during walking inspection. "A lot of local Joes are going to have problems qualifying". There happen to be a lot of local Joes here this year, with 290 registered for the men's downhill.
The lower sections of the course retain the full speed, no brakes gully run to the finish. Many more roots are exposed than last year, and there have been some minor changes made, with more corners added. The finish line table top is gone, and instead riders will sprint off a jump out of the woods and hightail it for the laser at the line.
If it rains, the course will be treacherous, but only a small possibility of precipitation is in the forecast.
The 4X course is long, fast and dark again. Two sections launch into the woods, and will be extremely dark come race time. The lower section happens to contain two massive doubles that have already eaten up more than a couple of wheels. The wallride is back, much to a few riders' dismay. World Champion Brian Lopes was leading here last year when he slipped and was passed on the wallride. "Maybe I wasn't wearing my gameface last year" Lopes said when discussing the course.
Claire Buchar and Steve Smith are both here to represent Canada. The World Cup circus also includes two Montreal-based mechanics this year. Matt Dupelle is working for Cove Bikes and JP Simard will be wrenching on Kenda/Tomac team bikes. All seemed excited to be here for the start of the new season, but were unable to pass on comments due to busy first day schedules of bike building, course walking and general running around. Canadian Cyclist will catch up with them for comments after DH practice tomorrow.
|Return to Canadian Cyclist homepage | Back to Top


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There's trouble brewing between the women who were allegedly once oh so close to golf great Tiger Woods. Rather than bonding over what they have in common, accused serial mistress Rachel Uchitel and adult-film star Joslyn James have been busy trading barbs.
The bad blood began when Uchitel answered a question from celebrity gossip site TMZ.com about James' decision to use her Woods affiliation as a promotional tool when she performs in strip clubs.
"My personal opinion is that (Joslyn) had originally said she didn't want to go down that road — then she did," Uchitel told TMZ on Friday. "To each their own. If this is the way she wants to make a living, then that's how she's going to go and promote it. It's probably more money than she had before."
U.S. & World
Not surprisingly, James took exception with Uchitel's statement.
"I find it extremely funny that she is choosing to bash me in saying I am now making a career for myself from Tiger," James responded in an e-mail to TMZ on Saturday. "Oh yeah, that's right. She got PAID from Tiger to keep her mouth shut."
Those could have been the last words in a short-lived feud, but that was before yet another of Woods' other women jumped on board.
"I don't deny Rachel's quote that some of the girls involved with Tiger are doing it for the purpose of fame and spotlight," Jaimee Grubbs told the gossip website. "However, I can only speak for myself, and I'm pretty sure I didn't try to gain fame by having half the world hating me."
Tame compared to the previous rounds, but no problem. By Monday, James was back on point with another swipe.
"I think (Rachel is) a bed jumper and she needs to get a hobby — and a real job, like the rest of us — instead of making a living out of exploiting married men and trying to ruin families like she did," she explained from her spot at Miami's eXXXotica Expo. "Just my opinion."
James continues to fan the flames, but Uchitel hasn't returned to the fight. Yet.
Sidibe's mom denies daughter's bad behavior
Reports of Gabourey Sidibe's bad behavior at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner simply don't ring true to the "Precious" star's mother. Alice Tan Ridley insists she didn't raise her daughter to act ill mannered.
Two weeks ago, Washington Post blogger Jonathan Capehart claimed the Oscar-nominated actress rudely snubbed him and others at the recent D.C. event, and that an earlier meeting with Sidibe prompted a colleague to declare, "Oh! She's horrible."
That report came just days after a Media Bistro post described a fan photo op with Sidibe, in which the admirer hoped for a smile, but supposedly ended with the star bluntly stating, "You'll get what I give you."
The news comes as an unbelievable surprise to Ridley.
"I just spoke with Gabby yesterday while she was filming in Arizona and she is fine," Ridley told Radar Online. "Would you believe all of those comments? Gabby was not raised to be a rude person. It has been a big change having all that attention, and I think she has done well. She is happy right now."
As for the particular remarks the reporters accused Sidibe of making, the veteran subway singer dismissed them.
"Those comments are just other people's opinions," Ridley said.
Dish on the fly
While still not addressing recent rumors about her alleged breast augmentation, actress Kate Hudson told the Telegraph that she's happy with the shape she has. "I'm pretty comfortable with my body," Hudson explained. "The imperfections are there. … Not sure, but the older I get the more I am OK with (my body). When I was younger I felt I had to apologize for being so happy, for not seeing things in a negative way." … "Robin Hood" leading man Russell Crowe recently attempted to distance himself from his angry image, but in an interview with Parade, co-star Cate Blanchett hinted that Crowe's notoriety is well deserved. "Russell is not always easy," the actress revealed. "His reputation both as an actor and as an intimidating presence precedes him. But he's always after making the best possible film." Besides, Blanchett had no problem when it came to speaking her own mind. "I'm not backward in coming forward, so we had some, shall I say, 'robust' conversations," she assured. … Once the news broke that Jim Carrey moved on after his split from longtime love Jenny McCarthy, the actress-activist wasted no time in finding a new man of her own. The two have been spotted keeping close company, but the identity of her beau remains a secret. "Omg. I ran into mystery man at Katsuya last night," McCarthy quipped in a Twitter post over the weekend. "What a coincidence! I made out with him again. Now I really REALLY want 2 know his name."
Tabloid Tidbits is compiled by Ree Hines. Follow her on Twitter and gab about the latest gossip at twitter.com/ReeHines.


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'Print Panther' is the mobile print application on the TomTom PRO 8 series.
The situation in which a CMR or POD for some reason is lost or not readable any more; quickly sending the document by 3G to TomTom PRO 8275 and creating a new print solves that problem immediately. Documents other than CMR or POD, such as licences can be printed directly from the PRO 827x if desired. Did you make any changes to documents or if you need to, a new printed version is better than manual adjustments that are often unreadable or unclear.
All this flexibility not only adds additional capabilities but also saves a lot of time. In short, your process becomes more structured, more complete and flexible by adding a mobile printing facility "on-the-goâ€.
Tconsult is an IT consultancy firm with the focus on Smart Logistic Solutions, e.g. Scangaroo (mobile scanning), Print Panther (mobile printing), and RTI Solution for Real Time Information in logistics.