He always said he'd be back, and even though it may have taken 12 years, Arnold Schwarzenegger is a man true to his word. His seven-year stint as California's governor caused him to miss out on starring in Terminator Salvation, but he came back as the iconic T-800 in this summer's Terminator Genisys. As an added bonus, fans were treated to more than one Arnold this time around!
The story initially follows the same conceit as The Terminator, with John Connor (Jason Clarke), leader of the human resistance, sending Sgt. Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back to 1984 to protect his mother, Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke), and safeguard the future. But an unexpected turn of events creates a fractured timeline. Now, Sgt. Reese finds himself in a new and unfamiliar version of the past, where he is faced with unlikely allies, including the Guardian (Arnold Schwarzenegger), dangerous new enemies, and an unexpected new mission: To reset the future.
One of the most memorable scenes in Terminator Genisys is a direct result of this fractured timeline, with the aging Guardian and Sarah laying in wait for the original T-800 sent back to 1984 Los Angeles, which results in an epic Arnold vs. Arnold fight. One of the key players responsible for creating the 1984 version of Arnold is visual effects supervisor Sheldon Stopsack, who I recently spoke with over the phone about his work on this sci-fi sequel, which arrived on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD this week. Take a look at what he had to say about bringing this younger Arnold to life.
Was there a certain movie that you saw when you were growing up that made you want to get into this field?
Sheldon Stopsack: It's probably The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. As cheesy as it may sound, those two movies were definitely high up there.
I imagine that you were brought on fairly early in the process. Can you talk about when you became involved and what you were tasked with?
Sheldon Stopsack: Yeah, I was introduced to Terminator Genisys, to work on the young Arnold by a fellow I do effects with. He was approached by Shari Hanson, a visual effects producer on the show. We had worked together on a project called The Lone Ranger. She basically introduced me to the idea and was outlining the type of work we'd do. When I first heard about re-creating the young Arnold character appearing in 1984, it was something that I said to myself would be completely crazy to take on. It's just nuts, incredibly difficult and challenging. The more I thought about it, at the same time, it presented an incredibly great challenge and opportunity as well and got me really excited. That's why we were incredibly keen to take this on. That's how I got introduced.
I was really, really impressed by that scene, and how the 1984 Arnold turned out. Before you got started, how much were you poring over that original film, to get ideas or just to soak everything in from that movie?
Sheldon Stopsack: That was one of the biggest things I had to do. I personally watched every single Arnold movie around that period. I went through books about that time and Pumping Iron, a very iconic documentary about Arnold Schwarzenegger, which I probably watched 100 million times. So, we had to take in every single piece of footage we could get our hands on with Arnold, in order to do our homework and our research.
I know these are all available on Blu-ray now, but does the way that the films looked back then, did that influence the work you did on this?
Sheldon Stopsack: That's actually a very solid question, because the question that always came up in interviews is 'Why didn't you use the original footage?' Now, to give that an answer, the original footage was shot on film, and it probably wouldn't fit into this new piece of movie. It was interesting re-creating this look and re-creating this character from the original Terminator series, and a huge part of that is how the look came across. There's actually a portion of it that is re-creating the mood you get from the original footage. In the process of re-creating these movie scenes, and the arrival, we had to study that and mimic that to get that mood across. It was more than re-creating the character, animated exactly as it was. It was more like trying to capture the mood of it. That was actually a task in itself.
Byung-hun Lee's character takes us back as well, with the liquid metal stuff from Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Were you involved with any of that, or were there other aspects of the film you were involved in?
Sheldon Stopsack: The other larger portion we were involved in was the futuristic scenes around the LAX war camp, which was part of the opening. That was a large chunk for us, the LAX invasion. It was very different from the Arnold character because it was such a mixed bag, such a wide range of effects, creating this apocalyptic environment and an army of endoskeletons. It was a very nice contrast to the Arnold work, very different and very epic.
Can you talk about working with (director) Alan Taylor and his approach to visual effects? With working on Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World, he has a background with this sort of work. Can you talk about how his approach may have been different from others you've worked with in the past?
Sheldon Stopsack: It's a difficult one to answer. Everyone is approaching visual effects differently, with different knowledge and different interest in this sort of field. Everyone you get to work with his very unique, and Alan was certainly very keen and interested in the process. He was always very helpful in helping us make the right decisions and pointing us in the right direction. It was really a pleasant experience working with Alan. It was really a full collaboration and we all worked on it together.
Going back to the digital version of Arnold, some are worried that we're moving closer to using that technology more and more, creating full digital versions of actors.
Sheldon Stopsack: Well, it's very time-consuming and labor-intensive, creating such an iconic figure as Arnold. If you think about it, it's still a very limited entity. As I was saying before, actors have so much to offer, and there's a reason that actors like Arnold are so famous for what they do. The subtleties are incredibly hard to capture, if you're being tasked to re-create. To re-create such an iconic thing, it is incredible intense, challenging and time-consuming to get to the bottom of it. We're certainly not at the point that actors will be replaced overnight.
Is there anything you're working on now that you can talk about?
Sheldon Stopsack: I'm currently involved in the next Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Dead Men Tell No Tales.
I believed they wrapped on that not too long ago, yes?
Sheldon Stopsack: Yes, that is correct.
Is there anything in particular that you're in charge of on that project that you can talk about?
Sheldon Stopsack: Nothing I can talk about yet (Laughs).
I know that doesn't come out until the summer of 2017, so you guys must still have a long way to go on that one.
Sheldon Stopsack: There is a lot of time, yes, but there is a lot of work to be done.
I was going through your filmography and there are a lot of iconic movies you're worked on. Is there a particular genre or a franchise that you've always wanted to work on?
Sheldon Stopsack: There kind of is, actually, and I was fortunate enough to be involved in one of them, Skyfall. That was a big passion for me, James Bond movies, when I was a kid, so that was definitely high up there for me.
Do you have any advice for any younger kids who may want to get into this type of field, of what to study or what to look out for?
Sheldon Stopsack: Yeah, that's a tricky one to answer, really, because I think there are so many things that you could do. One of the things I think is important is to be incredibly passionate about what you do. It's not as much about learning computer stuff, it's about being excited about learning what it takes to do visual effects. Another piece of advice I've often given is, visual effects are so much about us observing the real world, and I think that's a big part of our day-to-day. What we create might be artificial or really crazy, but it should really be based on real-world physics, or something you can observe. It's important to not lose sight of the real world.
That's my time. Thanks so much, Sheldon. It was a real pleasure.
Sheldon Stopsack: Thank you very much.
You can watch Sheldon Stopsack's work with the younger Arnold Schwarzenegger on Terminator Genisys, which is now available on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD. We reported last month that new sequels for Terminator Genisys are still moving forward, so it's possible that we could see Sheldon Stopsack's work in these upcoming projects. What did you think of his work on the younger Arnold Schwarzenegger?


Northland Police have recovered stolen items taken from an elderly woman last week after two women invaded her home and attacked her.
The offenders visited the 92-year-old's home near Kawakawa last Wednesday, knocking on the door and asking for fuel and help before attacking her.
During the incident, the offenders stole a number of valuable possessions from the woman's home, including jewellery and her wallet containing bank cards.
However, Detective Senior Sergeant Rhys Johnston said Northland Police are pleased to announce the items have been recovered.
"Police were determined to find these items and inquiries by staff resulted in all of the stolen property being successfully recovered and will be returned to the victim," he said.
"The victim, who fortunately has made a full recovery since the attack, is thrilled to soon be reunited with her possessions."
The most important item to the woman was also recovered, a calling card which was given to her by her late husband over 75 years ago.
Northland Police have arrested and charged to females in relation to the home invasion, both having appeared in the Kaikohe District Court.


The state House is poised to vote this week on a bill that would privatize the sale of liquor and spirits in Pennsylvania.
In its first significant piece of business in the 2015-16 legislative session, the state House of Representatives is poised to vote this week on a bill that would get the state out of the liquor business. But some wonder how many legislators casting votes really know what the bill would do.
House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, said it's time to get state government out of the liquor business, but some question if he knows exactly what his bill that would accomplish that actually does.
Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, and a union official suggest even the bill's sponsor, House Speaker Mike Turzai, R-Allegheny, seems confused about what's in the legislation based on comments he made during a recent PCN Call-in Program.
"It'd be interesting if the people who are voting on the bill had to take a test and had to get a passing grade before they could vote yes, I think it wouldn't pass," Sturla said.
But Turzai argues this issue was widely vetted prior to the House voting 105-90 two years ago on a bill that is nearly identical to the one that the House Liquor Committee will consider this morning.
Besides, that, he said, "We wanted to come out of the gate in the new session articulating our agenda for moving Pennsylvania forward. We think Pennsylvania has an antiquated system and we think that government should not only not be in the business of selling liquor but on many fronts, we think we should be moving to the private sector where opportunities make sense."
Gov. Tom Wolf, however, has made it clear to House leaders that he doesn't support privatization. Rather, he believes modernizing the state liquor stores is the way to produce new revenue for the state and address consumers' demand for more convenience.
"No matter what is in a privatization bill, the governor doesn't support privatization," said Wolf spokesman Jeff Sheridan.
At the very least, lawmakers should have a thorough understanding of the bill before voting on it, said Wendell Young IV, president of the United Food and Commercial Workers Union Local 1776, which represents the liquor store clerks.
"Most of those folks ran on a pledge of open, transparent government, vetting bills in public. If they believe what they said on the campaign stump, they ought to demand that of their leaders. Otherwise, they are not what they say they are," Young said.
On this particular bill, he notes there have been no public hearings where lawmakers and citizens could hear testimony about it. In fact, he said 53 new members have joined the House since the last time a public hearing was held on the issue. Young said even the House speaker might benefit from a refresher based on what he said during the recent PCN show.
On that show that airs statewide, Turzai said the bill called for auctioning off the 1,200 wine and spirit retail licenses that would be available for purchase. He repeated that statement in a phone interview with PennLive on Friday. He said beer distributors would get first dibs on buying the licenses "and what's not taken up, we'll auction those off ... that's how the buyers are being chosen."
Turzai's spokesman Steve Miskin called that "an honest error."
He said Turzai "lived and breathed" an earlier version of a liquor privatization bill that called for auctioning off licenses. That was one of several provisions that got struck from Turzai's original privatization bill and replaced with language that allows the licenses to first be made available to beer distributors for purchase and the rest on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Turzai also said on the PCN show, "The LCB has been operating in the red, in the red for the past 10 years." However, financial documents that detail the agency's history reflect profits of between $52.4 million and $128.3 million during that span. Even financial statements provided by the speaker's office don't appear to reflect 10 years of the LCB operating in the red.
The speaker also said the sale of the liquor system would bring in over $1 billion in upfront revenue. Young called that statement "just blatantly not true."
Maybe it's a matter of semantics but to Young, "upfront" means in the first year. Based on what he read in the privatization study done by Public Financial Management, the upfront revenue would be more like $137.5 million, although he said that figure doesn't take into account some of the personnel-related costs associated with dismantling the state system.
"Turzai ran on good government and vetting things and not liking backroom deals," Young said. "Not only is he not being honest about what is in the bill and the impact it would have on taxpayers in Pennsylvania, but there's 53 new legislators in the House since the last hearing on liquor privatization. And he says we don't need hearings on this? This is a disgrace. This is not the way our government should run."
Turzai said look around. Practically every state, including those around Pennsylvania, has turned its liquor business over to the private sector. It's time Pennsylvania gives up its Prohibition-era monopoly on the wine and spirits business.
"Government should not be in the sale of wine and spirits. We don't need to see much more than the fact that every neighboring state has a private sector approach," he said.
Sturla insists there are too many questions about the bill to rush into a vote just two months into the legislative session.
For example, he wants to know will Pennsylvanians be guaranteed the same selection of wine and spirits they have now? In Washington, which privatized its system in 2012, that has not proven to be the case yet.
The bill provides for up to 1,200 wine and spirit licenses, but if Walmart buys one does that allow it to sell wine and spirits in all of its stores? He also questions whether the convenience that consumers say they want will be allowed by this bill.
"I don't think the people who offered this thing know what's in the plan other than saying it's a privatization bill and that's good enough for me," Sturla said.
For the 29 freshmen legislators elected in November, some suggest they might not even know what questions they should be asking. However, to help educate them, House leaders provided testimony and transcripts from the last hearing on the topic held in 2011.
A few attended informational sessions that the House Republican leaders offered last week. In addition, Rep. Chris Ross, R-Chester, who chairs the House Liquor Control Committee, said lawmakers will have a chance to ask questions in the private caucus meetings to be held this week before the House vote.
"We're comfortable with this," Ross said. "This is another bill we adopted with a comfortable majority so I think we are just following through with what we did in the past."
Two midstate freshman contacted last week say they feel prepared to cast an informed vote on this bill and both are leaning toward supporting it.
Rep. Kristin Phillips-Hill, R-Jacobus, said she read through the pages of testimony from the last hearing and is doing her best to educate herself about the bill. She also said it was a topic that came up when she went door-to-door campaigning last year. People told her that the government doesn't belong in the liquor business and they want more convenience when it comes to buying alcohol, she said.
"It is incumbent on us to do our due diligence, do the research and go to the people who have the information and seek it out," she said. "I think I have the information necessary to make an educated vote on behalf of the people of the 93rd district."
So does Rep. Russ Diamond, R-Lebanon. He doubts that a public hearing on the bill would produce any new information that hasn't already been shared.
"Maybe from the outside it may look like we're rushing into this, but I think I have been provided enough information to satisfy my questions about what this legislation looks like," he said. "My main concern is I don't believe the commonwealth should be in the alcohol business. I believe customer convenience can be better served by private markets."
State Rep. Patty Kim, D-Harrisburg, listens to a debate that played out on the House floor in 2013 over a liquor privatization bill. The House Liquor Committee will take up a nearly identical version of that bill at its meeting today.
Rep. Patty Kim, D-Harrisburg, who is now in her second two-year term, said having had to vote on issues without the benefit of knowing the full context and history behind a bill in the last legislative session, she knows well what the freshmen legislators will go through this week.
Newbies, of which she still considers herself one, tend to depend on veteran lawmakers in their caucus to tell them about the bill and as new members of their caucus family, are less likely to vote independent of what the caucus wants because they are so new and not familiar with the process, she said.
She admits she felt pretty traumatized in November 2013 when she was asked to vote on a 127-page transportation funding bill that generates $2 billion-plus annually for transportation-related projects - and that was almost a year after she took office. The freshman face their first big vote in less than two months from when they were sworn into office.
"I don't envy [the freshmen] coming in and making a vote on such a contentious issue that will have a lot of amendments," Kim said. "It will be a tough time for them. It's like sink or swim."


Macau liaison office director Zheng Xiaosong fell to his death from his home in a 22-story luxury building, with Beijing officials saying he had been depressed.
The death of the 59-year-old Zhang on Saturday night was confirmed yesterday by the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office in Beijing.
It said in a statement that Zhang, who was appointed last September, died in a fall from the residential block "because he suffered from depression."
It also said the Organization Department of the Communist Party Central Committee sent representatives to console Zheng's family.
Macau Fire Services Bureau received a report at 7pm on Saturday that a man fell from height at the Hung On Torre Building.
Firemen arrived to find Zheng dead, and the case was handed over to the Judiciary Police. Judiciary police director Sit Chong-meng said investigators were still on the case.
It was understood that Zheng had already been to Beijing for treatment for ill health, staying for almost a month.
His last appearance in public was on Friday when he met members of the Think Tank of United Citizens.
His death came just as officials in Macau were being stretched for the launch of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge tomorrow, with President Xi Jinping expected to officiate.
Chief Executive Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor expressed sorrow over Zheng's death, recalling that she knew him as a Fujian provincial official when she was Hong Kong's chief secretary and they co-chaired the first Hong Kong-Fujian Cooperation Conference in 2015.
Macau Chief Executive Fernando Chui Sai-on sent messages of condolence to the family and to the liaison office, expressing sorrow on behalf of the SAR administration.
The president of the Macau Legislative Assembly, Ho Iat-seng, also a member of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, said: "Zheng was a nice and friendly person. He was hardworking and met many different groups from business and labor sectors."
Ho said he last saw Zheng when Vice Premier Han Zheng met a Macau legislative delegation in Beijing.
Zheng had said they would meet in Macau, Ho recalled, but their chat "turned out to be a farewell."
Macau legislator Leong Sun-iok from the Federation of Trade Unions said he found Zheng a serious person with down-to-earth attitudes. "He was very concerned about people's livelihoods and economic development, and compared with his predecessors he was very friendly," Leong said.
Zheng went to Macau after a major reshuffle of liaison office personnel last year.
That saw Hong Kong liaison office chief Zhang Xiaoming promoted to chief of the Hong Kong and Macao Office.
Macau liaison office chief Wang Zhimin took the Hong Kong position, while Zheng was transferred to Macau.
Born in 1959 in Beijing, Zheng became a party member in 1986 before graduating from the University of Oslo, majoring in Norwegian.
Zheng, considered to be very familiar with Hong Kong and Macau affairs, joined the general office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1993 and became an assistant to then vice minister Jiang Enzhu, who in 2000 became the first Hong Kong liaison office head.
He went to the University of Oxford to study diplomacy in 1999 then returned the Ministry of Finance.
In 2013 he was transferred to Fujian as its deputy governor and became a member of the provincial party standing committee and then its secretary-general.
He became the deputy head of the International Liaison Department of the Party Central Committee before transferring to Macau.


The winds of change are blowing through Poplar, as a new government paper calls for the eradication of small hospitals in favor of large general hospitals. Dr. Turner and Shelagh are informed that an inspection of the maternity home will decide its fate.
Sister Ursula has her own anxieties about the efficiency of Nonnatus House, so she introduces a new 20-minute rule for all antenatal and postnatal house visits. Barbara struggles the most with this, as she is drawn into helping a first-time mother from the Chinese community. It soon becomes apparent that the shortened visit might have allowed a serious oversight. With the future of the maternity home hanging by a thread, serious questions are raised over Sister Ursula's suitability for her role.
Meanwhile, Sister Monica Joan has started disappearing for long periods of time and there are growing concerns for Sister Mary Cynthia's whereabouts.
Catch up on Episode 3 of Call the Midwife. Warning: Spoilers ahead.
Modern Day Midwife Katie Moriarty looks at what leaders do today to make positive changes.
The personality traits and decisions that turn a Modern Midwife into a strong leader.


There is a long history of people on the far right casting Jews as malign puppet masters who work behind the scenes to manipulate both national and international events for their selfish gain. The puppet master is always fantastically wealthy, greedy and amoral.
In our era, the puppet master stereotype has been embodied by George Soros. Few people, with the possible exception of Hillary Clinton, have been more vilified by the far right. Both the number and intensity of the attacks on Soros are astounding.
The actor James Woods tweeted that Soros was “satanic.” Trump attorney Rudi Giuliani retweeted a post calling Soros “the anti-Christ.” On Twitter, Soros has been accused of supporting both Colin Kaepernick and the mass shooter at Las Vegas.
Outside the United States, especially in Eastern Europe, Soros has achieved an even greater level of notoriety, with nationalist and authoritarian governments running propaganda campaigns against him.
So who is this alleged puppet master with his fingers in so many pies?
The short answer is that Soros is a Hungarian-American billionaire philanthropist. Soros was born Gyorgy Schwartz into a Jewish family in Budapest. Because of the rise of the Nazis and anti-Semitism in Hungary, Soros’s father changed the family name and dispersed family members to live with Hungarian people he trusted and paid for their efforts. Members of the Soros family, including George, pretended to be Christians just to survive.
Soros’s father sent young George to live with a Hungarian government official. One of the man’s duties was to inventory confiscated Jewish property. Soros once accompanied the man in the performance of his duties. He has acknowledged the incident, but the story led to a wild smear that casts Soros as a Nazi collaborator who sent his fellow Jews to the gas chambers.
In actuality, Soros’s father, Tivadar, saved not only his own family from the Nazis but also heroically saved many other Hungarian Jews. Soros’s father, with help from George, created thousands of fake documents for people trying to flee the Nazis.
Soros was very lucky to have survived the war and survival depended on hiding identity. Two-thirds of Hungary’s Jews were murdered by the Nazis and their Hungarian collaborators.
After the war, Soros fled Hungary and moved to England. In 1951, he graduated from the London School of Economics. While there he became a student of the philosopher Karl Popper, who became a lifelong influence. Popper favored open societies committed to media freedom and civil rights over closed authoritarian societies.
In 1956, Soros moved to the United States, where he made a fortune on Wall Street. He was an expert at buying currencies and securities in one market that he turned around and sold legally for profit in the international market. Through his financial acumen, Soros became one of the 100 richest people in the world.
Soros went on to found the Open Society Foundations. Over the years, he has given away billions of dollars, funding organizations and initiatives that promote liberal democracy, independent media and political pluralism. The experience of living through Nazism and Stalinism shaped his world view.
Over the last 25 years, he has been a big Democratic Party donor. His Open Society Foundations has also funded many other progressive organizations.
Soros has been compared to the Koch brothers, except that he supports progressive and liberal causes, but he has been an atypical member of the ruling class. Concerned about climate change, economic inequality and racism, he funds initiatives that infuriate many on the right.
While it is understandable that many on the right would dislike someone who funds the other side, that does not begin to explain the hatred unleashed against Soros. Much of the hatred directed against Soros is rooted in anti-Semitic stereotypes.
The classic image is the all-powerful Jewish financier who profits and manipulates at the expense of suffering gentiles. Think the Rothschilds and Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Anti-Semites have long fantasized that Jewish masterminds are behind international conspiracies and global plots. It was a staple of Nazi propaganda. As someone stereotyped as a shadowy and cosmopolitan globalist, Soros is continuously accused, with no evidence, of all manner of evil.
Attacks on Soros have particularly increased since the 2015 European refugee crisis. Soros did back charities that helped migrants and he supported the European Union settlement efforts, which were not popular among masses of people in Europe.
The extreme right-wing Hungarian government of Viktor Orban has used Soros as a foil, falsely claiming that Soros plotted to send millions of immigrants to Hungary. Similarly in Romania, the ruling party has blamed their countries’ problems on Soros. In 2015, Putin ejected the Open Society Foundations from Russia, saying it was a threat to their constitutional system.
Ruling elites have found it useful to exploit anti-Semitic fantasies such as those attached to Soros. Pushing blame onto Jews like Soros and deflecting anger away from ruling classes has a long history. The pattern invariably asserts itself in times of severe economic strain or acute political conflict.
Anti-Semitism takes different forms in different historical periods. Once it was primarily about the religious mythology that accused the Jews of killing Christ. Now there is the populist narrative with coded anti-Semitic references to globalists. The absence of explicit slurs does not make it less anti-Semitic. Those who fail to see the anti-Semitism are missing the history.
The coded anti-Semitism about Soros is a dog whistle for all the neo-Nazis, white supremacists and closeted haters out there. It reminds me of campaign consultant Lee Atwater talking about how Republicans can win the vote of racists without sounding racist themselves.
Anti-Semitism must be understood and thoroughly repudiated, whenever it shows its face. History shows that anti-Semitic rhetoric leads to violence against Jews. Casual assertions that Soros is a monster need to be seen for what they are: 21st-century Jew hating.


Bigger and better is how it is done at the Haliburton School of the Arts. A component of the Sir Sandford Fleming College, the HSTA campus in Glebe Park is well known for its summer arts program. This year, there are 50 new weeklong courses, 22 new Saturday workshops and 15 new instructors.
Boasting more than 300 courses and 150 teachers, the program offers classes on all sorts of techniques and styles, from watercolour painting to felting.
“I think of it as the Disney effect – it’s important to blend the familiar favourites with fresh, new options so that people maintain interest,” says HTSA program co-ordinator Schelley Schell. With the extensive number of courses offering such a wide selection of art classes, all kinds of interests are catered to.
Some of the new course and workshop offerings for this year are negative painting, memory quilts, thread sketching and painting and yoga paired with painting, writing, singing, drawing and meditation.
“Learn to develop unique images by using the space in and around an object. Create exciting under-paintings and enhance your image with layers, lost and found edges, and textures. Increase the range of values in your painting, moving from light to dark and back again, creating the illusion of depth,” says the course description for the week-long negative painting class.
There’s a selection of courses for kids too, with classes such as kids’ creative kitchen and kids’ metal jewellery arts.
There is just as much variety in regards to instructors as well. Jeff Helmes, a graduate of the HSTA Artist Blacksmith certificate program and a new instructor for this year, will be teaching the bladesmithing class. Other new instructors are professional singer and songwriter Katherine Wheatley, award winning quilt designer and author of two best-selling books and Andy Bullock who has been creating and restoring indigenous beadwork for decades.
Whether you have an interest in painting, photography, glassblowing or anything in between, the HSTA probably has something for you. Regardless of the course you pick, you will be learning from a master of the craft.
More information on the Haliburton School of the Arts and the offered courses, including a full course calendar and course costs, can be found online at flemingcollege.ca.


The government has endorsed the draft of Health Insurance Act prepared by the Ministry of Health with a view to providing basic health care services to all Nepali citizens.
Raju Katwal, legal adviser to Minister for Health Gagan Kumar Thapa, said, “Once the bill is enacted into law, no one will be deprived of basic healthcare services.” He said a meeting of the Council of Ministers held yesterday had endorsed the bill and decided to register it in the Parliament.
According to the bill, people will get free access to yoga, immunisation, family planning, safe motherhood, out-patient care, in-patient care, surgery, medicines, emergency care, curative services, rehabilitation, ambulance service (except air ambulance service) and other services decided by the government.
The bill adds that civil servants and migrant workers have to enrol their families in the health insurance policy system. People working in private institutions also have to get their families enrolled to ensure health insurance policy benefits.
Federal, provincial and local governments will be liable to bear insurance premium of poor and marginalised families, adds the bill. Rehabilitation shelters, orphanages, old-age homes and correction centres will have to enrol disabled, orphans and elderly people residing in their shelters for health insurance.
The bill, however, does not define the treatment cost a family can claim under the scheme. According to Katwal, the government has not included the amount in the bill to make it flexible. He said the government could increase both the premium and ceiling of treatment cost through regulations.
The bill adds that patients can avail of free services in big hospitals on reference from health posts and primary healthcare centres where treatment for them is not available.
People having government health insurance policy can receive service from private health institutions that have signed memorandum of understanding with the MoH. The MoH will reimburse the treatment cost.
The MoH had launched health insurance programme in Baglung, Ilam and Kailali, as a pilot project last year. Under this project, the MoH collected Rs 2,500 from each five-member family and provided it treatment equivalent to Rs 50,000 per year. The MoH collected Rs 425 from each additional member of a family.
The MoH said any member of a family enrolled in the insurance programme could be covered for treatment up to Rs 50,000 or all members could be covered for treatment up to Rs 50,000.


1904 – Britain and France signed the “Entente Cordiale”, an agreement settling all disputes between the two.
1913 – China’s first parliament opened in Peking.
1946 – The League of Nations opened its final session in Geneva before being replaced by the United Nations.
1973 – The Spanish painter and sculptor Pablo Picasso, pioneer of Cubism, died.
2002 – Maria Felix, Mexico’s foremost movie star, renowned as a femme fatale throughout Latin America, died. She was 88.
2002 – Israeli troops open fire on Bethlehem’s Church of Nativity after five-day stand-off with Palestinian militants inside the building.
2003 – A U.S. tank fired a shell at the Palestine Hotel in Baghdad packed with foreign journalists, killing Taras Protsyuk, a cameraman from Reuters, and Jose Couso from Spain’s Tele 5.
2004 – Condoleezza Rice, then U.S. National Security Adviser, testified before the 9/11 commission that four presidents had failed to fully mobilise against terrorism.
2005 – Britain’s Prince Charles marries long-term partner Camilla Parker Bowles.
2005 – Britain’s last major carmaker, MG Rover, collapsed after failing to secure a government loan or a life-saving alliance with a Chinese partner. The 100-year-old carmaker once produced the iconic Mini and the Land Rover.
2009 – World’s first cloned camel born.


Coupled with all of the Chichester housing developments being planned, and already under construction, the recent press coverage on the removal of the A27 funding, unless an online option was accepted, is disturbing.
Simple arithmetic from the 41 months of construction (HE’s data for the online Option 2 that was rejected by the public) equals more rat runs through the city exacerbating the current air quality problem in the city.
This is on top of increased traffic movements, from both housing and retail developments.
Unless our local authorities stand up to central government, they are creating a public health issue.
For those residents living in the already three AQMAs (Air Quality Managed Area) ie Orchard Street, Stockbridge Road, and St Pancras, alarm bells should be ringing.
There are other areas in the city which are not monitored but have become increasingly gridlocked.
Arguably, the air quality through these rat runs (eg Sherbourne Road, Westgate, St Paul’s Road, Spitalfield Lane, Westhampnett Road, Bradshaw Road, Swanfield Drive, and Church Lane) would also exceed pollution levels. Alarm bells should also be ringing in the ears of residents living in these areas of the city.
The majority of people who expressed a no option to the HE preferred option during the public consultation are not anti housing, are not anti retail developments and welcomed the Louise Goldsmith initiative.
However, the voice of concern for public health, has not been heard loud enough.
I would argue that public health should trump any traffic construction solution, that is likely to increase traffic movements in the city. Subsequent to a High Court judgment, the Government (Department of Transport and DEFRA), has been forced to publish their July 2017 UK plan for tackling roadside nitrogen dioxide concentrations.
If CDC were really serious about an effective air quality plan, then the number one priority should be to have all options for the A27 back on the table and leverage the public health issue to obtain a share of the funding the Government has announced, (£255 million Implementation Fund).
If that is what is required to get a long term, non sticking plaster solution for the A27, then the public should rally around the BaBA27 initiative and challenge our local authorities to unite and deliver on that initiative.
It remains to be seen whether, or not, the outcome of the planned mid September full council meeting reflects the views, expressed by cllr Dignum from his straw poll, at the BaBA27 meeting.
Listed are some facts that should be of interest to the public.
CDC own the AQAP and the Local plan.
WSCC have public health & Highways Authority responsibility.
Fact 1 – In 2008 , CDC produced an AQAP (air quality action plan) for the three areas previously mentioned.
We are now in 2017 and none of the three areas yet comply with the UK air quality objective. (Clearly traffic movements have increased since then), but no matter how the cake is cut, the AQAP is not delivering improvement.
My view – having read the latest revision, despite CDC having a very clear understanding of the challenges, it offers little or no action to bring about substantial improvement.
Fact 2 – The CDC AQAP states that particulate matter PM2.5 is a pollutant of significant importance regarding public health and, that the major contributor to Chichester not complying with air quality objectives is from cars.
Diesel exhaust gasses and PM2.5, which is known to cause vascular damage triggering heart attacks and strokes, can affect residents living in polluted area.
Recent studies on PM2.5 are reporting the risk of brain disorders, such as dementia, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
Fact 3 – The CDC AQAP states that the local plan implies the building of a minimum of 450 houses per year 2015/2029 will result in additional traffic movements and has the potential to impact on air quality.
Fact 4 (or more correctly not quite a fact) – I have heard, and read, that northern options were not put forward at last year’s public consultation on cost grounds.
I have subsequently heard that despite efforts under the Disclosure of Information Act, HE have not yet delivered the costs.
Readers/residents will I hope come to their own conclusions and watch with interest the position on whether or not public health trumps traffic solutions for Chichester in the coming months.


The fledgling Conservative Party is to take part in the elections in Auckland in October, as part of building the party's brand for the general election next year.
Party leader Colin Craig will on Wednesday launch the campaign for at least 15 of the 21 local boards in the city.
Mr Craig ran third as an Independent mayoral candidate three years ago.
He said the party may seek seats on the council itself in three years.
Mr Craig said that while the candidates will campaign on local issues, the messages will be consistent with the party's message in the general election next year. Fiscal policy will be a key plank.


Paris Hilton pleaded guilty Monday to two misdemeanor charges stemming from her arrest for drug possession last month at a Las Vegas hotel-casino.
She will serve a year of probation and avoid a felony charge under the terms of a plea deal worked out with prosecutors after the 29-year-old celebrity heiress pleaded guilty Monday to drug possession and obstructing an officer.
Hilton must complete a drug abuse program, pay a $2,000 fine and serve 200 hours of community service.
She faces a year in jail if she violates the probation and is arrested for anything other than a minor traffic violation.
Hilton was arrested Aug. 26 inside the Wynn resort, after police say a small plastic bag containing 0.8 of a gram of cocaine spilled out of her purse.
Cristina Silva is a freelance writer based in New York City. She has written for the Associated Press, the Miami Herald, the Boston Globe, the New York Daily News, Women's eNews and the Tampa Bay Times.


The book describes the evolution of crowdsourcing in its multitude of forms from innovation challenges to crowd funding. Crowdsourcing is situated in the toolkit to deploy Open Government practices. The book summarizes the best practices for crowdsourcing and outlines the benefits and challenges of open policy-making processes.


"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times," Charles Dickens said about the time leading up to the French Revolution in A Tale of Two Cities. The same could be said today of Christian witness to Muslims, who belong to a bitterly divided community undergoing a revolution.
The anti-Christian part of the Islamic resurgence certainly qualifies as the "worst of times." It burst onto the world scene with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and into everyone's living room on September 11, 2001, leaving victims and sometimes churches in its wake.
In the eyes of those who long for Muslims to know Jesus as they do, the unprecedented tricklesand in a few cases, floodsof Muslims who have chosen to follow Christ in previously evangelistically arid lands undoubtedly constitute the "best of times." In the late 1960s, there was a major turning to Christ among the Javanese in Indonesia, following a conflict between Muslims and communists. We have seen similar movements in North Africa and South Asia, along with smaller ones elsewhere.


On Friday, eBay said it sold its 28.4 percent stake in Craigslist back to the San Francisco-based online classifieds company.
The company also noted in a blog post that the deal also came with the agreement that all litigation between the companies will be dismissed.
Craigslist repurchasing of EBay's stake ends a rocky relationship between two of the Web's largest online marketplaces. In 2008, eBay sued Craigslist for diluting its stake in the company in a move that caused the online auction firm to lose its board seat. Craigslist later restored eBay's full stake, but an eBay representative was not reappointed to the board.
EBay bought the stake in Craigslist in 2004 for $32 million, paying $16 million to then-disgruntled shareholder Phillip Knowlton and $8 million each to Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and chief executive Jim Buckmaster. Former eBay CEO Meg Whitman said in 2009 court testimony that her company had long coveted Craigslist and tried to buy the whole site.
“We were very interested in making an acquisition of Craigslist, and we would have loved to have bought the whole thing,” she said in a Delaware courtroom during the lawsuit brought by eBay against Craigslist.
Friday's deal terms were not disclosed. A report from the AIM Group estimated that Craigslist generated profit of $269 million on revenue of $335 million.
EBay's shedding of its Craigslist stake comes before its anticipated split from PayPal . The marketplace company said it would spin off its lucrative payments arm in the third quarter of this year.


Avatar: The Last Airbender is a treasured animation with a dedicated fanbase that loved following the journey of Aang, Katara, Sokka, and the rest of Team Avatar. Their adventure across the four elemental nations has inspired and fascinated fans across the world. Spawning several comics, a sequel series, and a questionable live-action movie, the series is a staple of animated television.
While the journey was the best part, fans were also attached to the relationships that the characters formed. The Avatar fandom has an entire subset obsessed with the different fan couples. One popular -- and very real -- romantic relationship is the one between Katara and Aang. The young Avatar is smitten from the first time he sees her. When it comes to Katara, she eventually grows to love the fun-loving, determined hero, too.
By Legend of Korra, the pair married and had three children. They raised wonderful leaders and benders, and single-handedly saved airbending from the brink of vanishing. Their relationship is vital to Aang's journey and the legacies at the core of Korra's. However, the couple didn't get to have much screen time. Instead, most of their stories focus on their friendship. Most of their romantic relationship technically happens off screen. Because of that, sometimes the more interesting facts about their relationship fall to the wayside.
With that said, here are 25 Crazy Revelations About Aang And Katara's Relationship.
When Katara and Aang became adults, they married and had three dynamic children. Their first born, Bumi, was a firecracker with no bending powers. Their second child, Kya, was born a waterbender with a fierce heart, much like her mother. Third, and finally, they had Tenzin, who became an airbender.
Though Aang didn't get to spend nearly as much time with his two eldest children, he was dearly devoted to his entire family. All of his children think of him fondly and always want to make him proud. Aang left an impressive legacy, but the wisdom and kindness that he imparted on his children was equally impressive.
Early in their journey through the Earth Kingdom, Team Avatar ran into several villages that were enslaved or ravaged by the Fire Nation. One of their most notable encounters was with the Freedom Fighters, a group of orphans who banded together to fight back against the Fire Nation soldiers. Their leader was the suave, unmovable Jet. Katara instantly had a crush on him.
The feeling was mutual and the two eventually shared a kiss. However, their relationship dissolved when Team Avatar discovered that Jet's tactics were brutal. He hurt civilians and soldiers alike. The group changed their ways after encountering Team Avatar, but Jet and Katara were never romantically involved afterwards.
Katara took quickly to waterbending. Before they found a master, she taught Aang. While they were on the road and Aang was trying to learn different forms of bending, she decided to personally train with him to hone his skills.
After Aang's passing, Katara became the new Avatar's waterbending teacher. She and Korra spent many hours together mastering the techniques. She's the only known waterbender to be the main bending tutor of two different Avatars, as Toph also taught both Avatars. She taught Korra metalbending, though, as Korra already knew how to earthbend.
Connecting to the Avatar State is a very complicated process. After a brush with the Fire Nation at his old Air Temple, Aang sought guidance. Guru Pathik agreed to help him, but Aang struggled to open the seventh chakra that would make him one with the Avatar State. After all, it required him to disconnect from all worldly binds, which meant giving up on his feelings for Katara.
Aang refused, but the guru warned that this might ruin his connection to the Avatar State forever. Despite this warning, though, Aang risked his Avatar role by leaving the seventh chakra closed.
Katara changed the world when she found a boy trapped in an iceberg. Freeing him released the Avatar back into their universe. It was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for her.
However, Aang felt differently about the experience. Instead of realizing the impact of the moment, he immediately fell in love with the girl who saved him. She was hopeful, powerful, and kind. From then on, Aang's crush only grew as he got to know more and more about Katara. Though Katara wasn't initially interested in him romantically at first, eventually she also developed strong feelings for Aang.
The entirety of Avatar: The Last Airbender happened while Aang was twelve years old. Throughout that year, he learned how to bend all four elements well enough to fight the Fire Lord. He also made several powerful friends, one of which was the girl he went on to marry, Katara.
Near the end of the series, emotions run high for both of the young teens. Katara has conflicting feelings for Aang, while he feels his own emotions bubbling over. This eventually leads to the two kissing several times, trying to figure out how they feel and what they want. The show later ends with the two sharing a passionate kiss. He may have only been twelve, but Aang knew what he wanted.
In episode 14 of the series, "The Fortuneteller", the gang visit a city that relies on the word of an elderly psychic. The decide to seek out the psychic for guidance. Aang asks about his love prospects and, while initially disappointed, is given some hope. Katara, similarly, is told that she will have a great romance with a powerful bender.
Though the fortuneteller ends up being a fake, her prophecies do foreshadow Aang and Katara's relationship. When Aang uses his bending to save the village from an erupting volcano, Sokka remarks that he's a powerful bender. When she hears that comment, Katara suddenly has a comprehensive look on her face. It seems like the psychic wasn't wrong about everything.
During their travels throughout the Fire Nation, Team Avatar ran into a lot of interesting people and were put in some intense situations. One of the oddest, and most fun, was the Footloose situation in episode "The Headband". The students there are rigidly taught pro-Fire Nation propaganda and aren't allowed to have to too much fun.
In response, the fun-loving Aang sets up a secret dance in a local cave and starts teaching the local kids how to dance. After showing off a bit with some secret airbending tactics, he invites Katara to the floor. Her own athleticism and flowing waterbending style, mixed with his airbender boosts, make them the best dancers there... until the party eventually gets busted, of course.
Aang and Katara didn't officially get together until the end of the series, but the young Avatar was already in good standing long before then. Not only was he one of her closest friends, but he was also close with her family. Before they left the South Pole, her Gran-Gran accepted him and wished them well.
Similarly, when they found Sokka and Katara's dad, both he and Aang got along well and worked together to stop the Fire Lord. The best example, though, is Katara's brother Sokka. Sokka and Aang are close friends, and it's obvious that Sokka has known about Aang's crush for a long time. He may find it disgusting when they kiss, but he supports his sister and friend nonetheless.
16 They Almost Kissed In "The Cave Of Two Lovers"
"The Cave Of Two Lovers" is a fun episode, but also a terrible one. It gives Katara and Aang time to explore their feelings for each other, but it also includes annoying characters from the Earth Kingdom.
As legend goes, the Cave of Two Lovers was the meeting place for a couple driven apart by warring villages.They met in the caves in secret, letting their love light their way. However, to the average eye, the cave is dank and dark. When their torches start going out, Katara and Aang wonder if a kiss is what fuels the light. However, before their lips can touch, their torch goes out and the luminescent rocks in the walls reveal themselves.
Near the end of Book Three: Fire, Team Avatar and their allies were mounting a counter-strike against the warmongering Fire Nation. As tensions rose, so did other emotions. Aang was sure of himself: he loved Katara. However, she struggled with her emotions and thus wasn't sure how she really felt about him.
She had feelings for him, but he was about to go into a battle they didn't know if he was ready for it. It was hard to accept her romantic feelings for someone who she might lose the next day. It wasn't until after Fire Lord Ozai was defeated and Aang returned to her that she realized that she did love him.
14 They Call Each Other "Sweetie"
When Avatar: The Last Airbender ended, the creators commissioned a few graphic novels to wrap up a few loose ends. These novels included the mystery of Zuko's mother and the aftermath of Fire Nation occupation. In both, Aang and Katara were finally an official couple, with pet names and all. In fact, the two had quickly taken to calling each other "sweetie."
Some fans and characters weren't too happy about this, however. Sokka, in particular, said that this kind of affection gave him "the oogies." Though the pet name wasn't a huge hit, it was nice to see the heroes of the story being happy together after all of the hardships that they had endured.
When Aang got trapped in the iceberg, he put the Avatar Cycle in jeopardy. After all, if he stayed in that ice forever, the Avatar Cycle would have ended with him, since he had to pass away before a new Avatar could be born. The world would have lost all of that knowledge, power, and the deep connection to the spirit world.
Katara was the one who broke him out of the ice and, in turn, saved the Avatar Cycle. Though her waterbending powers were new and scary to her at the time, she saved the world by setting him free. Without him, it would have been harder, if not impossible, to bring the nations together and stop the Fire Nation takeover.
The Harmony Restoration Movement brought up a lot of issues for Katara and Aang. They struggled with what mixed heritage would mean for their children, and what it would mean for Aang's last airbender status. After all, if he had no airbending children, that form of bending would disappear with him.
However, the two decided to stay together anyway. Lucky for them, their third child, Tenzin, was an airbender and could therefore pass on the genes. He became a master, leader, and father of his own airbending brood and preserved the rare bending style. When the Harmonic Convergence happened in Legend of Korra, new airbenders thankfully had a great master to teach them.
Since Katara and Aang were very young when they started falling in love with one another, they were understandably immature. Because of this, they would easily become jealous. Aang was extremely jealous of her time spent with Jet and even Zuko. Out of the pair, he was the most actively jealous one.
However, Katara also had her moments. Katara was envious of On Ji when Aang taught her how to dance. She was also jealous when an airbending fan club dedicated to Aang was formed. Young love can be volatile, and jealousy can be ugly, but at least the pair seemed to grow out of it. After all, they were only young pre-teens when they first got together.
While waterbending may seem like it's one of the most peaceful forms of bending, it has its darker side. One form of waterbending is bloodbending, which is the art of using the water in a person's veins to control them.
Initially, Katara was thrilled to meet a powerful waterbender named Hama in the Fire Nation. However, the more she learned, the darker things became. Eventually, the group learned that Hama used her bloodbending to hurt innocent Fire Nation civilians. Though Katara can use the power, she did not pass it along to Aang. As far as fans know, she kept the dark, manipulative technique to herself. After all, every time she watched people use it, all it caused was pain.
When it came to their kids, Aang and Katara gave them names that meant a lot to them. Their first son was named after Aang's childhood best friend and Earth King, Bumi. They named their daughter Kya, after Katara's lost mother. After that, they named their last son Tenzin. While there was no specific character who shared the same name, Monk Gyatso was named after a real, famous monk, and that real monk's first name was Tenzin.
For such high-profile children, Aang and Katara certainly gave their kids names with significant legacies. Each child surpassed those expectations and more, as they all became great leaders and masters, sharing their parents legacy with the world.
Because of his young age and his inexperience, Aang struggled with going in and out of the Avatar State. He even found the Avatar State hard to control at times. Over the years, though, he grew and learned, becoming more skilled with the state. However, whenever he was out of control in the Avatar State, Katara seemed to be the only person who was able to calm him down.
For example, when he found out that the Air Temples were desolated and that his pseudo-father, Gyatso, was gone, he transformed into the Avatar State unconsciously. With the Fire Nation hot on their tails, it was only Katara's kindness and bravery that was able to calm him down and save him from himself.
On Avatar: The Last Airbender's soundtrack, there is a song called "The Avatar's Love". The entire song can also be heard at the end of the series, when Aang and Katara kiss. However, bits and pieces of it are also played throughout the series, whenever the pair has a romantic moment. One of the most iconic examples of this is the moment that the two shared together in "The Cave Of Two Lovers".
Though the show had a lot of hopeful pairings, it's clear from this song alone that the writers always meant for Katara and Aang to end up together. After all, that's quite a coincidental name for a song if they didn't mean for the two to eventually fall in love.
As a master waterbender, Katara is skilled in a breadth of water techniques. One of the most useful techniques throughout the series was her healing skills. Whenever Team Avatar was injured during a fight, she would patch them up. She was even able to save Aang from a devastating lightning attack that could have easily taken his life.
However, her physical healing wasn't the only thing that was useful to Aang. Her emotional support and kindness also helped to keep him level headed in any impossible situation. After all, he was just a twelve year old fighting a Fire Lord, regardless of his Avatar status. She helped him keep it together, healing his mind and body.
When the Fire Nation invasion was stopped, the world was once again a safe place. However, that didn't change the fact that they had decimated the Air Temples and made Aang the only remaining airbender left alive.
Thankfully, the birth of Aang and Katara's son, Tenzin, changed all of that. After being the only airbender for so long, Aang now had a fellow airbender to teach his knowledge to. All he had to do was train him. Tenzin and Aang spent a lot of time together honing in his skills, ensuring that Tenzin could lead the next generation of airbenders. If they didn't have Tenzin, the art of traditional airbending would have ended with Aang.
Since she grew up in the Fire Nation blockaded South Pole, all Katara had ever known is oppression. She was raised on the hopeful stories of the Avatar, but like everyone else, she was discouraged by the fact that an Avatar hadn't been around for years. When she found Aang in the iceberg and realized that he was someone who could change her world for the better, from that moment onward, she believed in his ability to make things better.
No matter what happened to them throughout their travels, Katara continued to support and trust the young Avatar. Despite his age and size, she never underestimated him. This helped to develop their bond and eventually led them to fall in love.
Whenever the Avatar passes on, the new Avatar is soon born after. Throughout his life, Avatar Aang accomplished a lot. However, he never got to meet his own grandchildren. After all, Korra is 16 years old when fans meet her in Legend of Korra, and Jinora, Tenzin's eldest child, is only about 10. This means that Aang never got to experience the joys of being a grandparent -- particularly, the grandparent of four boisterous airbenders.
Aang would have loved his grandchildren and would have happily taken part in their whimsical antics. He definitely would have air-scootered around with them. However, he unfortunately never got the chance. Instead, Korra got to know them in his absence.
After the Fire Nation was stopped, Zuko took over from his father. In the aftermath, he and Aang tried to work together to remove the Fire Nation occupation in other lands, particularly in the Earth Kingdom. However, this wasn't as easy as they thought. Certain villages had been there so long that they had blended Fire and Earth traditions.
Because of this, nations were disagreeing and clashing all over again. Zuko refused to destroy the blended villages, while the Earth Kingdom wanted to peacefully remove all Fire Nation infrastructure. In the conflict, Aang almost destroyed Zuko. However, Katara stopped him from hurting his friend and kept the peace.
The Harmony Restoration movement caused a lot of trouble. It threatened not only well-established, blended villages, but also world peace.
Katara and Aang also almost broke up because of the conflict. Being two benders from two different nations, they worried about their compatibility and how it would effect their children. They also worried about the future of the airbenders if they stayed together. The two went through a lot of emotional turmoil, but eventually, they decided to stay together. Considering how awesome Bumi, Kya, and Tenzin are, we consider the decision a good one.
Are there any revelations we missed about Aang and Katara's relationship in Avatar: The Last Airbender? Let us know in the comments!
Fan art by Artipelago, Ohlookitscazz, NanFe, and BlackCrow06.


Since the days when the snake-oil salesman would roll into town with a well-placed accomplice in the crowd to support bogus medicinal claims during his sales pitch, promotions professionals have struggled with issues of transparency.
Since the days when the snake-oil salesman would roll into town with a well-placed accomplice in the crowd to support bogus medicinal claims during his sales pitch, promotions professionals have struggled with issues of transparency and full disclosure. The Web has replaced the stage outside the covered wagon as the venue of choice, but the issues are still very relevant as word-of-mouth marketing and testimonials remain effective promotional strategies.
So, when is the line between creative publicity tactics and deceptive practices crossed? The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has maintained its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising for decades. In 2009, the FTC updated the guides to, among other things, specifically address the use of testimonials in blogs, social media, and other online outlets.
It's a fairly simple premise - where there is a material connection between the speaker and brand that the audience would not other-wise reasonably infer, a disclosure is needed. One of the FTC's first enforcement actions after the new guides were issued was against a PR firm. Reverb Communications had hyped the products of its video-game clients by posting glowing reviews in the iTunes store without disclosing it was paid to promote those games. It was clearly a deceptive practice.
The same disclosure issues can arise in many different campaigns, whether in comments on a blog, threads on a social media site, product placement deals, even coordinated efforts between journalists and marketers. PR pros need to step back and give the "grandma test" to all their initiatives - what would my grandmother think if she saw this statement or campaign? Would she realize a brand had paid for it? If the answer is no, then a disclosure might be necessary.
As Web services grow more elaborate, these issues become more challenging. Service providers themselves are trying to help set up boundaries. For example, while Facebook enables a user to establish a profile or a page, only a page that is publicly accessible, as opposed to a profile, which is only accessible to friends, may be used for commercial purposes. Twitter, which is naturally an open platform, does not have a similar distinction.
As PR pros continue to shape messages, these issues must be considered when engaging in a new campaign or innovative tactic.
Gary Kibel is a partner at law firm Davis & Gilbert. He can be reached at gkibel@dglaw.com and followed at @GaryKibel_law.


Myrkur, the black metal project of Danish rock and pop musician Amalie Bruun, has recently been on tour with The Smashing Pumpkins in Europe. Not exactly the most likely combination, but clearly there's logic to it or else it wouldn't be a tour package. Myrkur recently joined The Smashing Pumpkins on stage to cover Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide," which sounds totally insane but actually works extremely well.
The cover happened at the Unipol Arena in Casalecchio di Reno, Italy on October 18.
MYRKUR Reinterprets Danish Folk Song "Bonden og Kragen"


Four Orange County residents, including a 23-year-old woman from Costa Mesa, were rescued in the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County after being reported lost on Sunday, according to media reports.
Authorities said the group had been lost since the weekend there, but was found at about 10:45 p.m. Wednesday north of the Northfork Canyon.
The group was airlifted out by helicopter and evaluated by medical staff once they landed, said Capt. Sam Padilla of Los Angeles County Fire. The four appeared fine and were released to their families, he said.


A program by the Technical University of Catalonia lets researchers study the effects of human activity on whales and dolphins.
A fascinating project from Michel André, a bioacoustician at the Technical University of Catalonia, allows listeners around the world to hear the sounds coming from the deep sea. Whales, ships, and other human and natural activity can be heard courtesy of 10 hydrophones located around Europe and Canada.
…An algorithm developed by André’s laboratory filters the different frequencies in the signal to identify specific sounds, including the songs of 26 species of whales and dolphins, and noise from human activities such as shipping, wind farms, oil and gas drilling, and seismic testing.


Landon Winfield lost his father 14 years ago, but was inspired by him to try to become a police officer himself.
MARION - On an early October morning in 2004, Brandy Winfield received a call.
The Marion County sheriff's deputy was asked to check on an abandoned van that was sitting on Ohio 423.
He had followed in his father's footsteps, a detective with the Marion Police Department, by pursuing a career in law enforcement. So when the call came in, he decided to check it out.
Later that morning, the deputy was found laying in his cruiser with a gunshot wound. The vehicle had been found upside down in a ditch.
The last radio message sent to the sheriff's office described a man walking along the road carrying a gas can, according to the Star's coverage at the time.
It has been 14-years since Landon Winfield lost his father that cold morning. Now attending Marysville High School he counts the days until graduation.
He recently tried on one of his father's old uniforms that have been stored in the basement of his home.
"He looked liked his father," his mother Sara recalled. "He is a clone, down to the mannerisms and everything."
However, that day still remains a blur. Landon was 3-years-old at the time his mother received the news.
Sara had driven to the hospital to see her husband not knowing that he had been shot.
"I thought that he had been in an accident. They had found his cruiser," the widow said.
She walked into the hospital with her two sons shortly before being told that Brandy didn't make it.
Now on the cusp of adulthood, Landon wants to continue the family legacy by earning a uniform himself.
"It's in my blood," the senior said. "It's something that has been on the back of my mind for a long time."
He wants to get a degree in criminal justice and hopes to become an officer when he is old enough. According to Ohio law, you have to be at least 21 years of age when taking the civil servants exam.
Most of what he remembers of his father comes from old photos or stories from relatives. He was too young at the time to fully process what happened.
In the passing years, he visited Marion to see his father's grave or spend time with his grandparents.
Brandy's name has been read annually along with four other Marion Law Enforcement officers who lost their lives on duty. A poker run was also set up in his memory, raising more than $160,000 for local charities.
Some of that money, along with money raised by the family, went toward the purchase of a K-9 officer for the Marion Police Department.
The Dutch Shepherd was named "Six" after the fallen deputy's cruiser and unit number.
Handler Mark Elliott, who knew Brandy, remembers how he felt when heard the news.
"When you become an officer you don't expect something like that to happen," Elliott said. "It was devastating."
It is a similar tale that has been echoed by those who worked with the deputy, the last to lose his life while on duty in the county.
Elliott said he kept in contact with the family, but has become closer with Landon, who wants to be K-9 handler himself, in recent years.
"I know it's cheesy, but I can't say it enough. I am proud of him," Elliott said, who added that they have struck a solid friendship.
The high school senior has accompanied his friend during training, as he is eager to learn what being a handler entails.
"It's something (Landon) really wants to do, but he needs to get over his fear of Six first," Elliott joked.
So, when Landon said that he wanted to take his senior photos earlier this month in front of the Harding Memorial with members of law enforcement, it didn't come as a surprise.
His father, donned in uniform, took a picture there years ago.
The local K-9 units had assembled at the site along with police horses from Franklin and Delaware county.
Retired officers along with their active counterparts were there for the occasion as well. As they lined up, a local pastor asked to pray for them. It was a touching moment, Sara recalled.
However, as the event progressed, the response from Sherry Hall, the site manager, caused some controversy.
As she walked over to the group, her tone and actions left some feeling unwelcomed, Sara said.
An apology issued by Hall, the Ohio History Connection and Marion Technical College, states that was not their intention and that the site is open to the public for pictures.
The apology added that anyone who wants to take pictures at the presidential site does not need permission to do so. It added the situation helped them recognize that they can do a better job in "how we work with the community to coordinate large or unique gatherings at the Memorial."
Now as graduation inches closer, Landon said he has been keeping himself busy as he attends classes and details cars.
He said his mind is set as he patiently waits for the day he gets sworn in as an officer.
His father's killer, Juan C. Cruz, is serving a life sentence in Toledo. He pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and aggravated robbery in 2005. His first parole board hearing is scheduled for 2047.


Switzerland-based Rajan Thambehalli and Tripti Abhijata are comfortable with the difference in their salaries.
When Sandeep Mulay Kumar and his wife were investing in a property in Bengaluru, his mother found out that he was paying less than his spouse Pramitha Ramaprakash because he was earning less than her. “My mother took me into a corner and told me quietly that the fact that I’m earning less than my wife shouldn’t go out of the family,” laughs the 38-year-old, while explaining how truly entrenched the patriarchal concept of men being the primary breadwinners is when it comes to Indian families.
Marriage, and after that childcare, according to a survey by National Sample Survey of India for 2011-2012, is one of the most common reasons for women to drop out of jobs in India. In 2011, around 50% of unmarried women in the 15-60 age bracket were in the labour force, while the proportion for married women was a mere 20%. The trend is more prominent in rural than urban women, as couples with white-collar jobs can outsource housework, childcare and eldercare—mostly seen as a woman’s job after marriage.
Sharing household and childcare work is the only way that 34-year-old Tripti Abhijata could continue to work as a full-time manager in a company in Switzerland. As she joined office back after her son was born, Rajan Thambehalli, her 34-year-old husband, took care of the house and of their three-year-old, starting his own company for quizzing. Before having a child, both Abhijata and Thambehalli, were pursuing their own careers—Thambehalli as a consultant travelling around in Europe and Abhijata in Switzerland. After a child, moving frequently wasn’t possible. “We decided that we would move to the location of the spouse who gets a stable job first. It happened to be me,” explains Abhijata. In 2013, Thambehalli quit his job as a consultant, started his career afresh, ending up in “mom meetings”, she says.
Bengaluru-based Sandeep Mulay Kumar and Pramitha Ramaprakash are also comfortable with the difference in their salaries.
“It was important for us to be together after we got married,” says Thambehalli. Since 2013, Abhijata has been the primary breadwinner as Thambehalli has taken on the role of taking care of the household budget and their child. “My mother earned more than my father, so I never thought about it,” says Thambehalli, adding that he can see their “normal” is not the usual practice around him as most of his male friends remain primary earners. The couple often get advice from “concerned people” about Abhijata not spending enough time with her child or for Thambehalli not having a job.
It’s perhaps the entrenched gender perceptions that make couples lie about their salaries, even in societies like the US. A study by the US Census Bureau published in June, which compared tax returns, found that while women are earning more than their male counterparts in 40% of US households, both have a tendency to lie about their salaries in cases when women are earning more than their husbands.
The primary reason is that household and childcare is still considered a woman’s work, leading to working women doing two jobs in India—their professional one and the unpaid household work. “Things need to be balanced when it comes to household chores as well as expenses,” says 29-year-old Malvika Bansal, a Gurugram-based content writer and researcher, who almost broke up with her live-in boyfriend, Prashant Patekar, a year ago, when she had to handle both the household and the bills as the primary earner for the couple. “When I was in a full-time job, even though he wasn’t in a job, he wouldn’t help me with household chores,” she says. This led to frequent arguments. Eventually, Patekar found a job as a graphic designer and started to share home responsibilities. “A modern relationship isn’t possible without the complete support and effort from both the parties,” says Bansal.
Financial arguments, especially in situations where more spending is required, are normal in any couple. What works is clear communication and in that, there’s no right way. Ramaprakash and Kumar decide every month what expenses will be paid by whom, while Abhijata gives a part of her salary to Thambehalli, who then handles household expenses. “We have arguments and differences but don’t allow ego to get in between and work it out as a family,” says Abhijata.
Going against what’s considered normal is definitely not easy. Early last year, Kumar and Ramaprakash moved back to Bengaluru. “It was a tough decision as we left behind really good opportunities in the UK,” says Kumar. However, he accepted the decision, finding a job in Bengaluru and taking on the role of the primary breadwinner again as Ramaprakash took a career break. New financial dynamics and living with Kumar’s parents, have brought in new challenges to the relationship. “When you have always been working and suddenly don’t work and depend on your husband, it’s not a good feeling,” says Ramaprakash, adding that the relationship works only if both constantly support each other’s careers.
■ Never make it about the money. Money is just a means to live. It’s not your life or the basis of your relationship.
■ Be honest, especially if you feel frustrated. Communication is the key to working out the relationship.
■ Ask for help. Be it financial, emotional or life decisions, confide your fears and desires with your partner. Don’t take each other for granted.
■ Lead your own life. There’s no need for approval from society. Take decisions that make sense to both of you and live with them. Don’t fall for what’s considered normal around you.


WORCESTER - Colleen Anne (McLaughlin) Higgins died peacefully at her home in Worcester February 24, 2013 after a prolonged struggle with ill health.
She was born March 25, 1945 in Seattle, WA and spent her childhood in Woburn, MA. She was born to parents Dr. Laurence S. and Elizabeth (Bette) McLaughlin, and was the oldest child of five.
Colleen attended St. Charles Grammar and High School, graduating with the class of 1962. She attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, graduating in 1966 with a degree in Early Childhood Education. She earned a master's degree at the University of Kentucky.
Her first teaching assignment was at the Columbia Point Housing Project in Boston. She truly enjoyed her kindergarten pupils. She took a break to raise her two children then worked at Lechmere department store. She then returned to school and became an administrative assistant working at Hanover and AllMerica until her retirement.
Colleen was very creative and evidence of that was seen in the home she shared with her two sons, Michael and Matthew. She offered an 'open door' policy for all their friends through the growing years. Colleen was an avid reader and music lover, and enjoyed games such as Jeopardy, at which she excelled. She loved all animals, especially sea mammals and the many cats she shared her home with throughout her life.
Colleen was a lifelong devoted Catholic. She found great solace in her faith, especially in her later years.
Colleen leaves two beloved sons, Michael McLaughlin Higgins of Worcester, and Matthew Nathaniel Higgins of New Orleans, LA. She was predeceased by her parents, Elizabeth and Laurence McLaughlin. She is survived by four siblings; Kathleen McLaughlin-Smith and her husband, Hank, of Boston; Susan Nelson and her husband, Bob, of Hampton, N.H.; Nancy Johnson and her husband, Steven, of Gloucester, MA; and John McLaughlin and his wife, Sharron, of Groveland, MA. Colleen is survived by her paternal aunt and godmother, Joan Roy, of Westford, MA. She is further survived by eight nieces and nephews. She will be dearly missed.
Calling hours are Friday, March 1 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Athy Memorial Home, 111 Lancaster St., Worcester. The funeral Mass will be Saturday, March 2 at 10 a.m. in Christ the King Church, 1052 Pleasant St., Worcester. Burial will be private.
You may send flowers or make a donation in Colleen's name to National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Drive, Suite 200, San Diego, CA 92106 (www.nmmf.org/give).


It is Billy Graham’s voice that will be missed most. The beguiling yet commanding North Carolina drawl, accompanied by the stab of a finger, itself as sure as God’s in the old paintings. “The Bible says …” Graham would announce, pointing to the book that seemed permanently attached to his other hand. And then he would tell us what it said and why it meant what it said and why we must give our lives over to it. The Word, Christians understand, is eternal; it just seems odd that that voice, which for decades seemed just as enduring, is gone.
Billy Graham died on Feb. 21 at age 99, and the hundreds of millions who love him have every reason to believe that he is now in a heaven he once, in his hyper-enthusiastic youth, described as follows: “We are going to sit around the fireplace and have parties, and the angels will wait on us, and we’ll drive down the golden streets in a yellow Cadillac convertible.” Yet his earthly legacy is everywhere. Ever read one of the Left Behind books? Notice all the so-called religion tests during the presidential primaries? Prayer breakfasts in Washington? Directly or indirectly, Graham was responsible for all these things. And, oh yes, the millions of people around the globe whom he brought to Christ.
In 1949, Graham brought his intense and dramatic style to Los Angeles. Originally scheduled for only three weeks, the missions went on for eight.
Graham did not reinvent revivalism, but like Henry Ford, he rationalized the production process. He supplemented his extraordinary charisma with meticulous advance work, military-grade organization and, eventually, every available technology from radio to television to global satellite transmissions to books and a magazine as well as, eventually, the Internet. He also established standards of financial and sexual propriety that maintained his reputation over a half-century of possible temptations and served as a model to shell-shocked colleagues after the televangelical scandals of the 1980s.
Graham waves a handkerchief while standing at a podium during a service in front of a crowd at Wembley Stadium.
He never built the First Church of Billy or risked the temptations that came with that kind of brick-and-mortar legacy. He called himself a preacher, not a pastor, in part because he had no fixed congregation but mostly because spreading the Gospel was what he did best. Though his organization was vast — local crusades often took several years to plan, organize and produce — he traveled light, with just a handful of longtime aides and loyal sidemen, most notably the late George “How Great Thou Art” Beverly Shea, one of the great gospel singers of the past century. Graham’s stem-winding sermons, loaded with fire and brimstone in the ’40s and ’50s, cooled with the cultural revolts of the ’60s and ’70s, and by the time he launched his last crusade at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, N.Y., in 2005, he was name-checking the Rolling Stones. But they all ended the same way, with the invitation — the gentle, forgiving call to come forward and accept Christ as your savior. Millions heard it and stepped forward. Homiletic success, in turn, enabled his great social achievement: the retrieval of conservative Christianity, kicking and screaming, from the American sidelines. “Without him,” says Randall Balmer, chair of the religion department at Dartmouth, “we’d be living in a different world … Evangelicalism today would have virtually no political or cultural relevance whatsoever.” Maintaining that “the one badge of Christian discipleship is not orthodoxy but love,” Graham eventually provoked a great evangelical schism — and his side won. Today a vanishing minority practices defensive isolationism, while Christian singles climb the mainstream music charts, theological hard-liners court — and find — millions of impressionable readers and conservative Christians can claim an important role in the world-wide fight against AIDS.
And that doesn’t even touch on politics. Graham pursued Presidents avidly, at the time an utterly bizarre evangelical interest. Harry S. Truman rebuffed him; Dwight D. Eisenhower welcomed him, accepted him and debriefed him after his foreign travels. Graham hobnobbed with John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton but favored Republicans. But his coziest — and costliest — relationship was with Richard Nixon. Watergate not only left Graham personally disillusioned but also damaged his moral authority outside the evangelical world. The friendship haunted him again in 2002, with the release of an old White House tape on which Graham commiserated about the Jewish “stranglehold” on the media.
In his lifetime, Billy Graham has preached the Gospel in person to audiences that total 215 million people.
It is possible that Graham was unsettled by the renaissance he ushered in. Unlike his son, he rarely embraced the religious right’s legislative agenda, and by the late 1970s, notes biographer Martin, warned its standard bearers to “be wary of exercising political impact” to the detriment of their spiritual authority. But by and large, he could take satisfaction from a world more receptive to his own unadorned message of salvation than when he started.
Graham was modest about his achievements. “I don’t know why God has allowed me to have [all] this,” he told TIME in 1993. “I’ll have to ask him when I get to heaven.” But he must have guessed that He had recognized a unique servant when He saw one. Evangelicals are familiar with the story of Paul preaching on Mars Hill in Athens: some of his listeners scoffed; another group, well meaning, said, “We will hear you again about this.” Revivalists note that the latter remained unsaved, since the Bible tells us that “at that point, Paul left them.” Billy Graham was hardly the Gospel’s only late 20th century exponent, but he was easily the best. Those who meant to hear him but never got around to it have reason to rue his having gone out from among us.


September 25, 2011 Edgar Thompson, PGA Tour.
Tiger Woods missed the FedEx Cup playoffs and hasn’t teed it up in more than a month. Yet on the final day of the Tour Championship, he grabbed headlines once again.
Woods’ choice of Joe LaCava as his new caddy won’t cause the stir his firing of longtime looper Steve Williams did this summer.
But the move, announced Sunday on Woods’ Web site, suggests those inside the game are optimistic about the direction of former world No. 1’s game.
LaCava, the longtime caddy of Fred Couples, will leave Dustin Johnson to join Woods.
While the 27-year-old Johnson is one of the game’s most promising players and a recent winner, Woods, 35, is surrounded by questions and winless in 22 months.
“This is a unique opportunity to be part of something very special,” LaCava said. “Tiger and I have been friends for a very long time, and I know what he can do.
Johnson won The Barclays last month with LaCava on the bag, showing the composure and sound decision-making that had cost him in the past.
But according to The Associated Press, Johnson could play more events on the European Tour next year and LaCava wants to spend more time at home with his two children, ages 12 and 14.
Still, LaCava can secure a better future for his children with the more money he makes.
Woods made Williams a rich man, generating as much as $20 million for him, by some estimates.
Woods hasn’t the money maker he was during his first 11 years with Williams on the bag. But the 14-time major champion has plenty of earning power left, if he can rediscover his golf game.
Woods, who plays a more limited schedule than Johnson, will return to the course in two weeks at the Frys.com Open, an hour south of San Francisco.
Everyone will be eager to see how Woods’ game looks after nearly two months away from competition.
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Can't attend your uncle's fourth wedding? Now you can watch it online, in one of the latest new uses for streaming video on the Web.
Can't attend your uncle's fourth wedding? Watch it online.
My Wedding To You, a division of streaming-media company Online Video Service, announced Monday it is offering a range of video services starting at $295, and any wedding can be streamed over the Web. Couples choose an online photo album, and each kit includes a postage-paid box for submitting a wedding video to the company.
The video is prepared for streaming and hosted at a secure Web site, where it can be viewed anytime for no additional charge. Videos are played with either RealPlayer or Windows Media Player.
Many people hold high hopes for streaming video, envisioning a future where everyone watches TV and movies on their desktops. But technology has lagged behind, and high-speed Net access has been slow to catch on, a combination that has dampened the popularity of streaming media.
As technology improves and broadband becomes more easily available, however, many believe streaming video will find a large audience. According to Arbitron/Edison Media Research, about 78 million Americans have watched or listened to streaming media.
Tim Treanor, co-founder and chairman of Online Video Service, says My Wedding To You's service is just the ticket for the 21st century. "The impact will be huge for those unable to attend a wedding ceremony," Treanor said. "The '80s introduced wedding videos, the '90s started wedding Web sites, and today we're streaming wedding videos on the Internet."


She didn’t know she wanted to open a coffee shop at first, she said, but she did know she wanted to be a part of a community, to give the community a place to come together.
She said Cool Beans does exactly that, even if it is just a cup of coffee and a muffin, it’s a way of starting your day off right.
Throughout the day, the shop sees quite a cross-section of daily life, she said. Graduate students, young professionals, court workers, people who work from home — all looking for a hot drink, some food or simply a change in scenery.
For regular customers, Fultz says, employees know who they are and what their favorites are. Their drinks are ready often before they even walk in.
The personal touch can range from composing a unique drink request to a simple gesture like small candies to the side of a drink. Each holiday features its own candy. In February, they are candy hearts; candy canes in December.
Drinks range from simple coffee (light to dark roasts) to tea to cappuccino to a dozen specialty lattes. Fultz even strives to express the shop’s unique sensibilities through the drinks.
“I mean, you don’t normally find a peanut butter cup latte or a Mounds latte,” she said.
Cool Beans also features the best pumpkin spice around, she said. A unique combination of ingredients, it’s definitely different from any other pumpkin spice to be found. And it’s served year-round.
The coffee is all local, she said, including one fair-trade option. She is working on adding another two or three fair trades in the coming months.
The shop goes beyond teas and lattes, though, with a menu of muffins, cookies and sandwiches. All are homemade, she said, with only fresh ingredients.
Everything is baked or prepared at the shop, she said, from the bread on the sandwiches to the blueberry muffins.
Sandwiches are kept simple, she said, and offer most things a customer would find in a diner: from an egg sandwich or a bagel with cream cheese to a BLT or grilled cheese. The shop offers several different breads, including homemade white and focaccia breads.
Cool Beans’ baked goods are outstanding, she said, but the shop has really come to be known for its oatmeal bake: a mixture of oatmeal and nuts or fruit baked into a crumbly treat.
Shortly after the shop opened, she said, a lawyer from Harrisburg came in because he enjoyed small coffee shops. He told Fultz about the baked treat, inspiring her to craft it herself.
He then returned every day during the week he was spending in Bellefonte to critique her oatmeal bake, she said, until she had reached the perfect mix.
Although the shop offers several cookie varieties, one cookie is always flourless, she said. While technically not gluten-free, she said, she is glad she’s able to give that option.
The shop even offers “comfort foods” on off weeks, she said — like mac and cheese, chicken pot pie and beef stew.
The full menu of drinks, food and specials can be found on Cool Beans’ website.


LEICESTERSHIRE POLICE have named the four people believed to have been killed alongside Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha when the Leicester owner's helicopter crashed outside of the King Power Stadium on Saturday night.
A statement on the force's website read: "Five people are believed to have died when a helicopter crashed outside the King Power Stadium yesterday evening (Saturday 27 October).
"The force has been working to ensure that all the relevant next of kin had been informed prior to this information being confirmed publicly.
"The aircraft came down in a car park near the stadium shortly after 8.30pm with Leicestershire Police, East Midlands Ambulance Service and Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service all responding to the incident. No one else is believed to have been injured."
"The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is leading the investigation into the accident and a cordon remains in place at the scene while enquiries continue," the statement continued.
"Leicestershire Police will be supporting the AAIB in its investigation, liaising closely with Leicester City Football Club as enquiries continue."
Leicestershire Police Superintendent Steve Potter asked the media and public to refrain from speculating over the crash.
"This is an incredibly tragic incident in which five people are understood have lost their lives,” he said.
"Emergency services were immediately on scene when the crash happened, working to put out the fire and gain access to the helicopter in attempts to reach those inside. Despite those efforts, there were no survivors.
"The AAIB is now leading an investigation to establish the exact circumstances surrounding the crash and investigators will remain at the scene to complete their initial enquiries. It is likely to take several days to fully complete the necessary work and to safely deal with the scene of this tragic accident, during that time we ask that both the media and public resist speculating around the cause of the crash.
"We appreciate that both the public and media were keen to be updated on the circumstances and to confirm if those on board the helicopter had survived, but before any detail could be issued publicly, it was vital that all immediate next of kin were informed of the tragic outcome. As our communities will understand, this was a matter that needed to be handled sensitively and with dignity, with the families of the deceased being at the heart of our response, which involved other agencies.
"Our thoughts today are with the families of those who have sadly died, with Leicester City Football Club, and with both football supporters and the wider local community who have all been impacted by the events of last night and the news that those on board the aircraft have not survived."
The police statement came after Leicester announced the sad news on their official website.