year and a half at Triple-A. They'll give the ball to the rejuvenated Freddy Garcia, who's rediscovered his velocity since being moved to the bullpen in early May. And they should soon have David Phelps, who's already acquitted himself nicely at the Major League level this year.

The Yanks won't have a dominant top of the rotation for a little while, but Hiroki Kuroda, Nova and Hughes are more than good enough to contend. The offense remains one of the game's most dangerous, the bullpen remains deep and the rotation is plenty good enough to tread water for a while.

Losing Sabathia for six months would be a devastating blow for the Yankees. Likewise if he were to go down in October. He's one of the best, most reliable, mostin the 2004 presidential campaign. Like that effort, which attacked Mr. Kerry’s military record in Vietnam, the Opsec site goes after Mr. Obama’s strong points on national security — specifically his role in overseeing the military-Central Intelligence Agency raid that killed Bin Laden, the founder of Al Qaeda, in May 2011.

Security officials and members of both parties in Congress have sharply criticized leaks about classified operations under Mr. Obama, and some Republicans have complained about news briefings on the Bin Laden raid and assistance to filmmakers making a movie about the operation. But the administration has also overseen an unprecedented number of prosecutions for press disclosures, and in June, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. directed two United States attorneys to investigate leaks discussed in the Opsec video.


Bio

About Tanya Marchiol

A graduate of Indiana University, I studied Telecommunications and Italian. Prior to launching TEAM Investments in 1998, I played volleyball in Italy. Upon my return to the States, I took a temporary job at golf course to determine what to do with my life after an extensive sports career.

Life took an unexpected turn when a golf cart flipped and crushed my ankle during work. The debilitating injury left me immobilized and on strict bed rest. During my time in the hospital, I flipped through several real estate books given to my as a gift by my mother. Soon discovering a new passion, real estate.

After an agonizing six months of surgeries, I took the real estate exam and started buying and selling properties. My neighbor at thea voltage differential in the operating environment of the dryer. The voltage differential in the microenvironment of the fiber matrix would facilitate the electrostatic trapping of particles charging either positive or negative against either of the fiber types.
It is also within the scope of the present invention, in yet a further embodiment, to provide a method of cleaning a surface of at least one fabric article comprising the steps of placing a soiled one of the articles in a drum of a conventional automatic clothes dryer and then placing an electrostatically charged material of any of the types described above in a lint trap located in an air passage between the drum and outside atmosphere. The dryer is then operated by rotating the drum in a conventional manner.


Owl Service Information

New Owl Service Schedule

to Make Overnight Travel Safer Starts on Dec. 7 Stations to remain open, trains run every 60 minutes with police officer onboard are the recommendations

being implemented from special owl safety taskforce

In early May, PATCO announced plans for a new Owl Service schedule in an effort to improve security on the PATCO transit line. After community feedback, the implementation was postponed and a special owl task force was assembled to recommend ways to improve the safety and security of riders and employees during the owl hours. The goals of the task force were to increase police presence, keep as many stations open as possible and maintain 24-hour service. Over several months, the task force analyzed 25-months of data pertaining to owl service and providedThe vicissitudes of mourning. Virginia Woolf and To the Lighthouse.
We know from Virginia Woolf's diaries and letters that she intended the novel To the Lighthouse to be autobiographical. In a memoir written toward the end of her life, she stated that in writing the novel she had "ceased to be obsessed" by her mother, who had died when Woolf was a girl of thirteen. This paper explores the evolving relationship of a grown daughter with a mother long dead and the ways in which the writing of the novel both reflected and altered that internal relationship.


only contribute to the further international suppression of the country, warned the MOFA statement.

The new guidelines laid out by MOFA follow the failure of a referendum calling for the country to abandon the “Chinese Taipei” title in international sporting events, ahead of the upcoming 2020 Olympics.

The referendum, held in November, failed to pass, with 54 percent of voters preferring to stick with “Chinese Taipei,” and 45 percent voting to scrap the title in favor of “Taiwan.”

It is notable that of all the referendums held, the vote on the country’s title in international sporting events resulted in the smallest percentage difference of the 10 referendums, most of which resulted in a 70/30 split on average, indicating that a high degree of support for scrapping “Chinese Taipei” remains among theinto a chicken (she had accidentally been turned into a turkey) showing he's a real wizard unlike Selena and David whom just "act like it on TV".
 Jason Earles and Jason Dolley visit the Swedish Chef's craft services table.
 David Henrie jams with Floyd on the guitar.
 A running gag with skits for Disney Channel shows, except modifying the title a bit. Shows featured included "The Blizzards of Waverly Place" (Wizards of Waverly Place), "Banana Montana" (Hannah Montana), and "High Stool Musical" (High School Musical).
 And in the end credits, Miss Piggy goes into Zac Efron's trailer, and looks for him.
 David Henrie teaches Kermit the Frog how to read the text language in the text Ashley Tisdale sent him.

Home media
A DVD with both episodes on was released


Wadda Wurrung

Dja Ngawa? Did you know ... ?

Geelong was named in 1837 by Governor Richard Burke, with the name derived from the local Wathaurong(Wadda Wurrung) Aboriginal name for the region, Djillong, which was understood to mean 'tongue of land'.

A message from the Wathaurong people taken from the book ‘Wathaurong – The People Who Said No’(Pascoe, B, 2003, The Wathaurong Co-operative)China and left the tour group at one point because she heard noises in the basement. She crept down these stairs to a dark room where she found cages and cages of bears in horrific condition, with open wounds. Jill had this moment of connection and wound up dedicating her life to ending bear farming for bile. Her organization, Animals Asia, has saved hundreds of bears from these farms and brought them to rehabilitation sites.

The thing about bear bile is that it’s one of the few traditional Chinese medicines that is efficacious. However, the active component, ursodeoxycholic acid, can be synthesized in a lab so you do not need bears to be put in these awful situations or kept in captivity. The problem is, users in China and


authority for managing assets of the company's pension plan and for appointing investment managers to manage its assets. For the relevant time periods, Ameritech appointed National Investment Services of America, Inc. ("NISA") to manage APT's Dedicated Portfolio. In addition, since 1984, Salomon had acted as a broker-dealer and investment advisor to APT in numerous financial transactions. Beginning in the fall of 1986 and through 1987, Salomon recommended a number of investments for APT's Dedicated Portfolio.

A. Fee Agreement I

In July, 1987, Motels of America, Inc. ("MOA") purchased certain properties pursuant to financing set up by Salomon involving the issuance of mortgage notes ("Portfolio I"). At the closing of these acquisitions, Salomon received fee participation rights in Portfolio I ("Fee Agreement I"). Under Fee Agreement I, Salomon would receive certainFee Agreement I. Salomon retained a 5% interest for the purpose of monitoring the investment performance of MOA on behalf of APT.

B. Fee Agreement II

In March 1988, MOA acquired some additional properties pursuant to a financing plan put together by Salomon involving the issuance of mortgage notes ("Portfolio II"). At the closing of Portfolio II, Salomon and MOA entered into a fee agreement similar to Fee Agreement I ("Fee Agreement II"). Salomon approached APT to purchase an interest in Fee Agreement II. On April 28, 1988, APT purchased 100% of Salomon's interest in Fee Agreement II.

C. Fee Agreement III

In August, 1989, MOA acquired still more properties pursuant to another financing plan devised by Salomon involving the issuance of mortgage notes ("Portfolio III"). MOA and Salomon entered into another


the issuance of mortgage notes ("Portfolio IV"). At the closing, Best and Salomon entered into a fee agreement ("Fee Agreement IV"). On December 22, 1989, the same day APT purchased its interest in Fee Agreement III, it purchased a 95% interest of Salomon's rights in Fee Agreement IV. Again, Salomon retained a 5% monitoring interest.
After APT purchased 95% of Salomon's interest in Fee Agreements III and IV, Salomon continued to receive bad news about Portfolios I, II, and III. On December 26, 1989, MOA informed Salomon that Portfolio III would need to be restructured to succeed. During the first quarter, MOA kept Salomon apprised of the deteriorating condition of the three portfolios. In April, 1990, an MOA executive informed Salomon that Portfolio III probably could not meet itsThe Effect of Country of Birth on the Pattern of Disease and Survival From Cervical Cancer.
The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of country of birth on the pattern of disease and survival from cervical cancer in women living in the United Kingdom. A retrospective database evaluation study was performed to review all cases of cervical cancer diagnosed in the Pan-Birmingham Cancer Network between 2005 and 2009. Population characteristics and survival data were obtained from the West Midlands Cancer Registry and National Health Authority Information System, United Kingdom. Women's country of birth was classified as being high- (including patients born in the United Kingdom and Ireland), middle-, or low-income countries according to the World Bank country classification. Screening histories data were obtained from the West


a national union consisting of approximately ten thousand ship deck officers, has, since 1970, been comprised of three divisions.  The largest of these, the Offshore Division, has approximately eighty-two hundred members; the Inland Division has approximately fifteen hundred members; and the Pilots Division, five hundred members.  The Union's constitution also provides for a Government Employees Division and a Shoreside Division which have not yet been formed.

2
At issue herein are those sections in the Union's constitution which provide that its president, vice-president and secretary-treasurer elected by the membership at large, shall serve respectively as the executive officer, assistant executive officer and financial officer of each division.  The District Court held that these provisions violate the expressed intent of the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act that employeesfor the officers of another would be like permitting the residents of a city to vote in the elections of an adjoining town, a situation which we characterized in Clark v. Town of Greenburgh, 436 F.2d 770, 772 (2d Cir. 1971) as an "egregious improbability".

4
While we are dealing here with only the Offshore Division whose members make up the largest voting bloc of the national union, we cannot overlook the possible effect of the constitutional provision in question upon the smaller Divisions such as the Pilots.  Conceivably, the entire membership of the Pilots Division could vote against a candidate for union president, and he nonetheless could end up as that Division's chief executive officer.  This is not the democratic self-government contemplated by the Act.

5
It may well


enumeration of error is as to a charge of Code Ann. § 68-1656 (a) dealing with the duties owing by a motorist to a pedestrian crossing in an unmarked crosswalk. Defendant excepted, urging that there was an utter failure of evidence to show the existence of any kind of crosswalk at the place where Mr. Alderman was crossing Norwich Street Extension, and that for this reason the charge was inappropriate and unauthorized.
On cross examination the defendant testified that the incident occurred "right past the intersection," that the recalled no marked crosswalk, but that people did normally cross the street in the area. J. G. Fales, a county patrolman, testified that it occurred "a few feet north of the junction or intersection with the Old Jesup Road  atleast 45 to 50 feet  in front of the whiskey store." He had assisted at the intersection in getting school children back and forth across Norwich Street. There was no painted crosswalk. As to where pedestrians normally crossed, "in my opinion it would be a choice for the person to decide."
Robert Alderman, a son of the deceased, testified that he was called to the scene very shortly after his father was hit by the car and that he found him lying on the road some distance north of the intersection of Norwich Street Extension and the Old Jesup Road. "I don't know how far it was. There was a crosswalk there, and I believe that is where he was going across  but I don't know. .


station wherever I am going to the station, and walk straight across. And if I were going to the whiskey store, I would walk straight across the street."
Mr. Gerald Spence, a former policeman, testified: "I know there was one place in the vicinity of this accident several years ago as a crosswalk for school children. However, to my knowledge it was never marked anywhere to give motorists the knowledge that there was a crosswalk ahead. In other words, it was not used for any other purpose than for school children to cross. A lot of times we would drop off policemen there in the morning and in the evening and they would walk the children across at this crosswalk." As to where the policeman might be stationed, "itwas according to whether the children were going to school or from school as to which side of the road he would be on. The school children would come up to him and he would walk out and stop traffic and then the children would proceed on across the street. . . I don't believe it was too far north of this school crossing area where the body was lying."
Only two kinds of crosswalks are recognized in the law  a marked or painted one, which may or may not be at an intersection, and an unmarked one which is only at an intersection. Plaintiff does not now contend that there was any proof of a marked crosswalk, but relies entirely upon the showing of an unmarked one.
An


within the confines of a crosswalk it had been his duty to yield to the oncoming automobile.
We find no merit in the exception as to thoughtless inattention. Since the defendant did not see Mr. Alderman, who was wearing a white shirt, until within some ten feet of him, though the car headlights were on, the jury might conclude that there was inattention. Nor do we find merit in the exception that the occurrence was not on a city street. Though it may have been outside the city limits of Brunswick, the evidence indicated that Norwich Street Extension was one carrying heavy traffic into and out of the city. But the rule as to the duty of pedestrians crossing at places other than at a crosswalk is stated in

Until last week, this Hunan fraudster surnamed Yuan must have thought he had it all figured out. He’d been stringing along 17 girlfriends whom he’d swindled for tens of thousands of yuan, and had been working with an engineering firm without ever having completed a university degree.

After getting into a car accident and taken to the hospital, however, the man’s luck ran out and his bluff was exposed, as all 17 of his girlfriends came to visit him and discovered his deception.

After meeting each other and getting a sickening sense of Déjà vu as they heard one another’s love story about Yuan (most of which had sprung from the popular social media apps QQ and WeChat), the women were understandably stunned as they stumbled upon their mutual lover’s


sly scheme. Their bewilderment must have quickly given way to rage, and the women reported the man to police.

According to China Daily, a police investigation exposed the whole horrible truth on Yuan’s past and the crooked pretence he had drawn his female victims into. After cheating his ex-wife out of 250,000 RMB (approximately US$40,000) and divorcing her, he then proceeded to fleece his unsuspecting online girlfriends of tens of thousands of yuan. A closer look at his WeChat account revealed another 200 female targets he had in the crosshairs.

It also turned out that Yuan’s duplicity was not confined to his romantic relationships, but that he had also tricked an engineering firm with a Catch Me If You Can inspired con—by gaining employment with a fabricated civil engineering universityPresident Donald Trump was photographed in golfing attire again over the weekend, but the White House doesn't want to talk much about his proclivity for hitting the links.

Trump had been a fierce critic of former president Barack Obama for his frequent outings to the golf course.

"President Obama has a major meeting on the NYC Ebola outbreak, with people flying in from all over the country, but decided to play golf!" Trump tweeted in 2014.

DAVID MOIR/REUTERS Donald Trump practices his swing at the 13th tee of his new Trump International Golf Links course near Aberdeen, Scotland in 2011.

Since taking office, however, Trump, an avid golfer who is reportedly a better player than his predecessor, has not shied away from his favourite pastime. His weekend outing in Florida was his


11th visit to one of his courses in the Sunshine State in his first two months, according to Mark Knoller, a CBS News White House correspondent who has logged detailed statistics on presidential outings over several administrations.

READ MORE:

* Comey humiliates Trump

* FBI probes Trump campaign

* Trump Winery can't get US staff

* Spicer still defends 'wiretap' call

The White House did not disclose whether Trump played golf over the weekend, but a photo posted on Twitter by Newsmax chief executive Christopher Ruddy, a friend of the president, showed Trump wearing a golfing glove and posing with two others at the club.

DAVID MOIR Trump holds a golf club during a media event at the site for his then yet-to-be-built golf course in Scotland.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer on Monday defendedTrump's golfing, saying the president has used the outings not just for personal pleasure but to do business, pointing to his outing with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Florida, on February 11. The two played a total of 27 holes in a single day at two of Trump's golf clubs near Mar-a-Lago, the president's winter resort where he has spent most weekends since taking office.

"You saw him utilise this with Prime Minister Abe to help foster a deeper relationship in Asia and have a growing relationship that's going to help U.S. interests," Spicer said. "How you use the game of golf is something he's talked about."

.@realDonaldTrump with @pgflaherty and Max Kramer at Trump International Golf West Palm today! pic.twitter.com/R0gebVs1fX — Christopher Ruddy (@ChrisRuddyNMX) March 18, 2017

Except that


Obama also played a round with an Asian leader - in 2014, when he hit the links with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak during Obama's winter vacation in Hawaii.

Obama did not golf with world leaders or members of Congress on a regular or even semiregular basis, preferring to surround himself with close friends, pro athletes and celebrities or White House aides. But the Obama White House regularly disclosed to the press corps when the president was playing golf, on weekends and even on vacation.

Trump's aides have not done so. Of the 11 trips to his Florida golf clubs, the White House has confirmed he played a round only three times, according to Knoller's tally.

"We had a mini-Cabinet meeting two weeks ago at his club in Virginia," Spicer said,referring to Trump's gathering of some top aides at Trump National Virginia in Potomac Falls two weeks ago. "People jump to the conclusion he's going to play golf. On a couple of occasions he's actually conducted meetings there, had phone calls."

So why won't the White House be more forthcoming about his time on the course? "The president is entitled to a bit of privacy at some point," Spicer said.


Trachoma in eastern province of Saudi Arabia.
Trachoma is one of the main cause of curable/preventable blindness in Saudi Arabia. First survey by NICHOL and al. 1955-65 in Eastern Province revealed prevalence rate of trachoma as 100% in Al Hasa, 98.0% in Qatif Oasis and 93.0% in Qatif town dwellers. Preliminary study by Ministry of Health, Eastern Province in 1986 revealed 3.74% of the population blind showing 10.1% due to trachoma. In 1986, Ministry of Health established Regional Prevention of Blindness & Ophthalmic Medical Education Committee, Eastern Province with six sub-divisions in Al Hasa, Qatif, Dammam, Al Khobar/Dhahran, Jubail and Hafr Al Batin. The whole health care divided in primary, secondary and tertiary level in 1987 and incorporated primary eye health care with primary health care. The Trachoma CenterAwareness) is a two-year project co-funded by the European Commission which aims to tackle the problem of online hate speech by promoting mutual awareness, tolerance, and respect.

The aim of the project is to foster shared school leadership and effective networking through capacity building (self-assessment, training and sharing of best practices) within three key areas: STEM education, Innovative use of ICT in teaching and Digital citizenship.

BLOOM (Boosting European citizens knowLedge and awareness of biOeconOMy research and innovation) aims to establish open and informed dialogues, co-created by European citizens, the civil society, bioeconomy innovation networks, local research centers, business and industry stakeholders and various levels of government including the European Commission.

The Student Talent Bank project aims to promote entrepreneurial education in secondary schools among teachers in order to prevent early


Research Interests: Food systems and culture; the global fishing industry; the impact of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami, and radiation disasters on Japanese society as a whole; urban environments and infrastructures; Japan, East Asia, North Atlantic. Book: Tsukiji: The Fish Market at the Center of the World (University of California, 2004).Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric in the run up to the poll will not lead to unfriendly policies towards Pakistan.

At one point Trump proposed banning Muslims from the entering the United States, remarks that alarmed the predominantly Muslim nation of 190 million people.

Islamabad has also been concerned about warmer ties between the United States and India, fearful that Washington is pivoting towards New Delhi at a time of heightened tensions between the nuclear armed neighbors who have fought three wars since their independence from British rule in 1947.

Trump also has business ties in India, which has stoked concerns in Pakistan that under his presidency the United States may accelerate its shift towards New Delhi.

Pakistan continues to receive aid as well as military funding and training from the United States, but


NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—City firefighters responded to a wild scene earlier tonight after a thunderstorm brought down a live power line in a precarious place shortly after 7pm.

The line sparked extensively, initially lighting a car on fire. The fire eventually spread to 44 Louis Street, located near the intersection with Brookside Avenue.

Large crowds gathered to watch as the carfire grew in strength and firefighters waited for utility workers to turn off the power line before extinguishing that blaze.

But smoke could be seen coming from 42 Louis, indicating a structure fire. Firefighters battled that blaze, extinguishing the last of it by 9pm without incident.

There did not appear to be any injuries but there is no official word yet. The city did not utilize the emergency alert system to notify residentsAdriano Karipuna told The Intercept recently. He visited the U.N. headquarters in New York last year to denounce a possible “massacre” against his people. Federal Police have since seized tractors and other heavy machinery from the nearby community of União Bandeirantes and are investigating three suspects in connection with illegal logging. The Public Ministry, with the support of the Federal Police and FUNAI, is expected to request National Guard troops to defend the reserve. FUNAI’s new president, Franklimberg de Freitas — an army reserve general who is currently the target of a government ethics enquiry for conflict of interest regarding his former consultancy gig for the Canadian mining firm Belo Sun — also visited Rondônia late last month following the recent invasions. Next door in Mato Grosso state,


running the nation, throughout recent history, those concerns have been sublimated to the short-term economic interests of major industries. Before Bolsonaro, the situation was already increasingly dire for Brazil’s Indigenous communities as the agribusiness lobby has grown more powerful in state capitals and in the corridors of power in Brasília. In 2017, under President Michel Temer, FUNAI’s budget was cut by nearly half, and a law was passed that effectively gave amnesty to land grabbers who had continuously occupied lands since before 2011. A similar measure had already been passed in 2004.2011 was rough, with only a few good games before Q4, which saw a couple of strong Mario games come out. 2012 had a great Q1 and Q4, but the middle of the year was pretty slow. 2013 is looking pretty incredible so far, though. February and March have seen several extremely strong releases, with some of the strongest titles yet to be released.. April will see the release of Soul Hackers, June the new Animal Crossing, and July Rune Factory 4. Project X Zone is set to come out in August, and Pokemon X and Y should be out in October. More than likely after E3 or the next Nintendo Direct we'll know the release dates of DKCR3D, M&L: Dream Team, and the new Mario Golf (I


disorientation, global aphasia, and left‐sided facial and lower extremity numbness with paresthesias. The patient did not lose consciousness, was somnolent after both episodes but recovered, and was able to continue with her work that day. Further history revealed the patient had experienced intermittent headaches during the prior 2 weeks. She denied trauma, seizure history, vision changes, gait instability, or recent illness.

Patient had a left salpingo‐oophorectomy at age 14. Routine follow‐up scans for 5 years after her cancer diagnosis suggested remission. Her last menstrual period was 2 days prior to presentation. Social history revealed the patient drank socially, never smoked, and she denied drug use. Patient\'s mother had a cerebral vascular abnormality and her maternal aunt died of a brain aneurysm. The patient\'s father was diagnosed with rectal cancer at age 37 and died of T‐cellof the Battle of Geonosis, Amidala secretly married her Jedi protector despite her own reservations about their relationship and the consequences they would face if the truth ever came to light. Their subsequent interactions were limited throughout the Clone Wars, with Amidala continuing to advocate peaceful solutions in the Senate while Skywalker served on the frontlines as a Jedi General in the Grand Army of the Republic. In the waning months of the pan-galactic conflict, Amidala revealed to her husband that she was pregnant. As a result of Skywalker's fear of loss, he was seduced by the dark side of the Force, believing that by becoming a Sith Lord he would gain the power to prevent his wife from dying in childbirth. Amidala, who learned of her husband's


transformation into a Sith, ultimately died of a broken heart after giving birth to the twinsLuke Skywalker and Leia Amidala Skywalker. With her dying breath, she claimed that there was still good in the former Anakin Skywalker, who embraced the persona of Darth Vader throughout the reign of the Galactic Empire.

Amidala's children played a major role in the fragmentation of the Empire and the redemption of her husband. Like her mother, Leia entered public service and became a flag-bearer for the democratic ideals of liberty and justice as a leader in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and its successor, the New Republic, before becoming the founding general of the Resistance against the First Order—a successor state to the Galactic Empire. Luke, on the other hand, was trainedin the ways of the Jedi like his father before him and was a celebrated war hero of the Rebel Alliance. Through Luke's efforts to redeem his father back to the light, Amidala's last words proved true when Anakin killed the Emperor during the Battle of Endor.

Although her parents were of modest origins, Naberrie was identified as a gifted and brilliant young girl at an early age. As a child, she devoted herself to public service,[2] joining the Apprentice Legislators at the tender age of eight, and she eventually became a junior senatorial adviser.[7] At age twelve, Naberrie participated in the Legislative Youth Program, in which she met a slightly older boy named Palo Jemabie. The two fell in love, but their relationship did not last, as they


parted ways when Palo left politics and chose to become an artist.[8] At the same age, she started a two-year mandate as supervisor of Theed, the capital city of Naboo.[7]

Two years later, Padmé Naberrie waselectedQueen of Naboo, and she adopted Amidala as her name of office.[2] When in danger, Amidala would disguise herself as one of her staff of five loyal handmaidens and would introduce herself as "Padmé" while her decoy Sabé assumed the persona of Queen Amidala.[7] Although she was not the youngest sovereign ever elected, she would later question her own maturity at the time of her election.[8]

Shortly after her election, the young queen was faced with a major crisis when the Trade Federation decided to lay siege to her home planet. The Federation's devious leader,ViceroyNute Gunray, intended to force her to sign a treaty that would legitimize the invasion in the eyes of the Galactic Republic. However, Amidala refused to submit to the Federation. The Viceroy then sent her to Camp Four. However, Amidala was rescued in the eleventh hour by two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprenticeObi-Wan Kenobi. The two had been charged with negotiating a truce with the Trade Federation, but Gunray had tried to kill them as soon as they had arrived. The Jedi freed Amidala and her entourage from the clutches of the Federation's battle droids, and the group fled the blockaded Naboo aboard the queen's royal starship.[1]

Queen Amidala of Naboo

However, the royal starship was damaged in combat while trying to break through the blockade of battleships the


Federation had deployed around the Naboo star system. The hyperdrive generator needed to be repaired, which prompted the crew to make an emergency landing on Tatooine. The queen, who was curious about the desert world, disguised as one of her handmaidens—using her birth name of Padmé Naberrie—so she could accompany the Jedi on the planet's surface. With her companions, Amidala ventured into the spaceport of Mos Espa, which Qui-Gon Jinn described as a haven for "those who do not wish to be found." While trying to negotiate for spare parts with the junk dealerWatto, the party met Anakin Skywalker, a nine-year-old human slave. The boy was immediately fascinated by Amidala's aura of beauty, asking her whether she was an angel from the moons of Iego. In turn, thequeen thought the boy was a bit odd, yet charming.[1]

Since the Jedi and the queen could not raise the money needed to purchase the repair parts for the royal ship, Skywalker offered to compete in the incoming Boonta EveClassicPodrace so he could earn the required funds for them. Master Jinn promptly accepted the offer, but Amidala criticized his actions; although she did like Skywalker, she thought it was unwise to place the fate of Naboo in the hands of a nine-year-old boy. However, Skywalker managed to win the race, beating the reigning champion Sebulba against all odds, and Amidala joined the scenes of jubilation that followed the boy's victory in the Grand Arena of Mos Espa. Thanks to a bargain Qui-Gon Jinn had made with Watto, Skywalker was


now freed from slavery and allowed to accompany the Jedi in their travel. On the way to the galactic capital of Coruscant, Amidala, still in the guise of the handmaiden Padmé, helped Skywalker cope with the loss of his mother Shmi, whom Watto had refused to let go.[1]

Once the group arrived on Coruscant, Amidala resumed her role as queen. In preparation for her public appearance before the Republic Senate, she met with Sheev Palpatine, who represented the Naboo system in that governing body. While she wished to plead for the Senate to rescue her homeworld, Palpatine informed her that the assembly was too corrupt to care about their situation. The senator then encouraged Amidala to move for a Vote of No Confidence in the leadership of Supreme ChancellorFinisValorum, ruler of the Republic. Valorum was a well-meaning politician, and the queen initially refused to move against him. However, upon witnessing the problems of politics during the Senate session in which she pleaded, Amidala ended up following Palpatine's advice, asking for Valorum's ousting from office. An election was decided, and Palpatine himself emerged as a likely candidate to succeed the disgraced Valorum. Although the senator asked to stay on Coruscant until the end of the elective process, Amidala decided to return to Naboo, intent on retaking her world without the Senate's help.[1]

Amidala and the Naboo Security Forces fight for control of the palace.

En route, the queen revealed to a concerned Master Jinn that she planned to unite with the Gungans, the sentientamphibians native to Naboo. However, Jinn


and his apprentice Kenobi had met the Gungans at the beginning of their adventure, and the natives had expressed their lack of interest for the fate of the Naboo humans. Having once again assumed the identity of a handmaiden, the queen journeyed through the swamps of Naboo with her party. They managed to locate the sacred place where the Gungans had taken refuge after evacuating their city of Otoh Gunga. Initially, the decoy queen Sabé tried to negotiate herself with BossNass, leader of the Gungans, but to little avail. As a sign of trust, the real Amidala decided to reveal her identity, which surprised not only the Gungans, but also all of her companions. The queen then kneeled in front of Boss Nass, asking for help in battlingthe Federation troops. Impressed by the queen's respectful attitude, Nass heartily agreed.[1]

Though the queen's plan ended up working perfectly, it did not come about without loss. On the grassy plains of Naboo, there were Gungan casualties until Anakin Skywalker destroyed the Federation's Droid Control Ship. Additionally, Master Qui-Gon Jinn was killed during his duel with the Sith LordDarth Maul. Now that Naboo was freed, Amidala greeted Palpatine, who came to announce to her that he had been elected Supreme Chancellor, since many had voted for him in an outpouring of sympathy. In the immediate aftermath of the invasion, Amidala attended Qui-Gon Jinn's ritual cremation in a funeral temple of Theed to pay her respects. Finally, a huge parade was held in the Naboo capital to celebrate the official


the Republic in opposition to the corruption they believed had enveloped the Senate. In response to the threat posed by this Separatist Alliance, the Republic Senate debated the proposed Military Creation Act that would allow Supreme Chancellor Palpatine to formally commission a Grand Army of the Republic. During this time, Amidala became a member of the Chancellor's Loyalist Committee and was regarded as the leader of the opposition to the Military Creation Act.[8]

Amidala and the Loyalist Committee meet with Chancellor Palpatine.

On the eve of the vote in the Senate over the Military Creation Act, Amidala arrived on Coruscant. Upon landing, her cruiser was hit in an assassination attempt by bounty hunterZam Wesell, who had been hired to kill Amidala by Jango Fett, himself under the employee of Countthe bedroom window and grabbed on to the droid as security officers rushed into the apartment. Kenobi and Skywalker, after a chase through the Coruscant skylanes, were able to capture Zam Wesell. Before she could reveal the plot behind the assassination attempts on Amidala, Wesell was killed by Jango Fett using a Kamino dart.[8]

In the aftermath of continued attacks, Amidala was convinced to leave Coruscant and to return to Naboo. While Skywalker went with her to continue protecting her, Kenobi continued the investigation into the assassination attempts. Upon arriving on Naboo, Amidala and Skywalker grew closer in their relationship and Skywalker told her of his love for her. However, since Skywalker was committed to the Jedi Order and Amidala to the Senate, they both agreed to forgo pursing


a more romantic relationship. While on Naboo, Skywalker started experiencing Force visions of his mother in danger. Convinced he had to save her, he determined to travel to Tatooine. Amidala traveled with him and upon their arrival at the Lars moisture farm, Skywalker discovered that his mother had been taken by Tusken Raiders. He was able to track them down, but was too late and his mother died in his arms. Angered, he slaughtered the entire village including the women and children. He returned to the homestead to bury his mother. Later, Skywalker confessed to Amidala his despair and anger and what he had done and she attempted to comfort him.[8]

Meanwhile, Kenobi had traced Jango Fett to the planet Geonosis and discovered that Count Dooku was behind theassassination attempts. He also learned that the Separatists had built a droid army to attack the Republic and that the Republic had at its disposal an army of clone troopers supposedly commissioned by the long deceased Jedi MasterSifo-Dyas. Requesting that Skywalker relay his message to Coruscant, Kenobi informed the Jedi and the Senate what he had discovered, just before he was captured. The Jedi decided to send an assault team, while Skywalker was ordered to stay with Amidala. Torn over the desire to rescue his master but yet also protect the senator, Amidala came to the decision to help Skywalker by traveling to Geonosis, forcing Skywalker to accompany her. However, their rescue was a failure and they were captured. Before they were led to the arena to be


executed, Amidala confessed her love for Skywalker, reasoning that there was no point in denying it before they died.[8]

Amidala and Skywalker are married.

The execution of Amidala, Skywalker, and Kenobi was to be carried out by several creatures brought into the arena, a reek, an acklay, and a nexu. As they were released and attacked, Jedi Master Mace Windu arrived and the Jedi revealed themselves. A full out battle erupted, and though Amidala had been wounded by one of the creatures, she also grabbed a blaster and fought side-by-side with the Jedi. Of the original two hundred Jedi who had arrived, only a few were left and the situation seemed lost. At that point, Master Yoda arrived with the newly christened Grand Army of the Republic and the Battleof Geonosis began in earnest. Skywalker, Kenobi, and Amidala pursued Count Dooku in a Republic gunship, but Amidala and the trooper were knocked from the troop bay by a cannon blast. They were able to call backup, but arrived too late to stop Dooku who had fought against Skywalker and Kenobi before being defeated by Yoda. After the battle, Skywalker and Amidala returned to Naboo where they were secretly married.[8]

Sometime after the Battle of Geonosis, Amidala spoke with the Chancellor about Naboo's new security measures due to several new battles in the Outer Rim. Amidala was then informed that Jabba the Hutt believed Skywalker had kidnapped his son, Rotta, and that he was refusing to negotiate with the Republic. Amidala then offered to negotiate with Jabba through his


uncle, Ziro, who lived on Coruscant at his palace. Amidala went there to speak to him, but he refused to listen to her. Amidala sneaked back into his palace where she overheard Ziro speaking with Count Dooku, promising that Rotta, Skywalker, and his apprentice would be eliminated, that the Jedi would bring Jabba to justice and Ziro would become head of the Hutt Clan. Amidala was discovered and captured by Ziro's droids and was promised to Dooku as his prisoner. Amidala was taken to the palace dungeon where she was able to trick the droids into activating her communicator, alerting her assistant C-3PO to her predicament before the droids destroyed it. Ziro, seeing that Amidala was too dangerous to be kept alive, decided to execute her knowing hispowerful friends in the Senate would protect him. Amidala was then rescued by C-3PO, who brought in Coruscant Guard Commander Fox and his troopers. Amidala then subdued one of her guards, took its weapon and held Ziro at gunpoint. She contacted Jabba, informed him of his uncle's treachery, and ensured a treaty between the Republic and the Hutts.[14]

Amidala was then sent on a mission by Palpatine to negotiate with a representative of the Banking Clan about withdrawing from the war. She, along with C-3PO, traveled to the rendezvous. However, Amidala learned that it was all a trap when she came out in the middle of a battle between the Republic fleet and the Confederacy's heavy cruiser, the Malevolence. She tried to move away from the heavy cruiser, but


was pulled in by the Malevolence's tractor beam. Though she urged the Republic fleet to continue their attack, refusing to allow herself to become a bargaining chip, her husband ordered them to stop. As her ship set down in the hangar bay, Amidala rigged it to blow in the hopes that it might take Grievous with it. The ship did indeed explode with the general aboard, taking several battle droids with it but he survived. She and C-3PO then managed to make their escape from General Grievous into the bowels of the Malevolence. She was able to contact Skywalker and Kenobi, who had boarded the ship to rescue her.[15]

The two groups met at a point halfway between them, though Skywalker and Amidala soon became separated from Kenobi, Threepioand Artoo. While Kenobi was forced to delegate the rescue of 3PO to R2, to ensure that the hyperdrive stayed offline, Skywalker and Amidala made their way to the bridge to make adjustments to the navicomputer that would cause the Malevolence to pilot itself into a moon. Both missions proved a success, and the group managed to escape the Malevolence.[15]

While Grievous personally took his starfighter, the Soulless One, and several other fighters that attacked the group as they attempted to dock with the Republic fleet, the Malevolence began to move towards a near moon, before colliding with it, destroying the heavy cruiser instantly. With the loss of the Malevolence, Grievous fled the battle, and Amidala and her companions reached safety.[15]

Amidala then traveled to Rodia with C-3PO and Representative


Jar Jar Binks in an effort to persuade her old friend, Onaconda Farr to remain loyal to the Republic. Unfortunately, when she arrived, Amidala learned that Farr had already pledged his system to the Separatists as Viceroy Nute Gunray could provide them with supplies and protection, unlike the Republic. Amidala was imprisoned to await Gunray's arrival, while Threepio was scheduled to be scrapped and Binks managed to evade arrest.[12]

Wearing a discarded Jedi robe he found within Amidala's cruiser, Binks mistakenly caused his pursuers to believe he was a Jedi. After hearing word of a Jedi being near by, Amidala managed to outsmart the battle droids and escape her cell. Amidala then proceeded to rescue Threepio; and was dismayed to learn that the Jedi she had heard about wasmerely Jar Jar in disguise. Amidala found herself in trouble once again, after Gunray arrived on the planet and captured her. However, Binks and a Kwazel Maw called "Bogey" happened to cause chaos among the Viceroy's guard; forcing him to attempt to escape, only to find himself at gunpoint. Gunray was confident Farr would rescue him from Amidala; however, he soon learned that the two Senators had planned to capture him the entire time.[12]

A Republic cruiser subsequently arrived and Gunray was taken into custody. While Farr requested that Amidala accept his apology for his brief betrayal, she remained adamant that it was the Republic that owed him an apology for forgetting that just because Rodia was not a particularly powerful ally did not make it any less important


than any other system.[12]

Following the Gunray's capture and escape, Amidala was with Palpatine when he received word from Hondo Ohnaka's pirate gang that they had managed to capture the leader of the Separatists, Count Dooku. Being that Dooku was a powerful Sith Lord, the Jedi Council, the Chancellor and Amidala found it difficult to believe that mere pirates could capture him. Amidala counseled Palpatine, advising him to have the Council send two Jedi to confirm the validity of Hondo Ohnaka's claims before sending diplomats to deliver the ransom that he demanded.[16]

Amidala destroying battle droids before they can break out of Vindi's laboratory.

Amidala and Binks were then recalled to Naboo by Queen Neeyutnee. The queen revealed that a squad of battle droids had been found and destroyed onworld, andrequested that Amidala petition the Senate or the Jedi Council to help protect Naboo. Unfortunately, Amidala knew that more evidence would be needed to warrant action by the Senate or the Jedi. She then took it upon herself to search the swamplands for signs of a greater Separatist presence on her homeworld; as had been indicated by a captured tactical droid and a bug on it.[17]

After following a tainted water stream, Amidala and Binks came across a hatch which they proved unable to open. Amidala was able to contact CaptainTypho to give him the location of the lab. During their attempts to open the hatch they became surrounded by battle droids and were swiftly captured. The pair was then taken before Separatist scientist, DoctorNuvo Vindi, who revealed that


he had perfected the long thought eradicated disease, the Blue Shadow Virus, which he planned to release into the galaxy. Fortunately, her Jedi allies Skywalker, Kenobi, and Ahsoka Tano arrived on Naboo to aid her. Tano, with the help of Gungan native Peppi Bow, located the secret lab of Doctor Vindi.[17]

When Skywalker and his troops came to rescue her, Vindi threatened to kill Amidala and Binks. Following a struggle, Skywalker was able to rescue them. When Skywalker pursued Vindi, Amidala and Binks went with him and his troops. When they joined Tano and Rex, Kenobi told them that Vindi had activated the bombs and that one of the bombs was missing. Amidala then remembered that Vindi had given a little droid the bomb. When everyone split up, theVindi's assistant droid, who released it within the laboratory, causing the facility to lockdown with Tano, Amidala, Binks, and several clones trapped inside. The few remaining battle droids then started slicing the exits, hoping to release the virus into Naboo's atmosphere. The remaining Republic forces in the lab began to pick off the droids before they could break out. While being attacked by droidekas, Amidala's biohazard suit was breached and she became infected with the virus.[18].

However, she persevered and eventually the remaining droids were destroyed. Amidala and Tano contacted Skywalker and Kenobi on the surface, telling them not to open the lab, so as to prevent the virus escaping. The transmission was cut off before Amidala could say her last goodbye to her husband, but Skywalker refused to


abandon his wife to her fate. After the skirmish, two clone troopers died because of the virus. Subsequently Amidala said she that she hoped that their sacrifice would help bring peace to the galaxy, a sentiment agreed to by Tano. Soon after, Tano herself lost consciousness, due to the virus. However, before the virus could kill Amidala and Tano, Skywalker and Kenobi arrived with the cure, freeing the survivors from the contaminated compound and ensuring that Naboo, and the galaxy itself, was safe from the virus.[18]

Following the Battle of Malastare, Amidala spoke with Kenobi about the Zillo Beast that had been brought to Coruscant. Amidala hoped that she would be able to use her relationship with Skywalker and Palpatine to bring about the release of the creature. Althoughshe was able to secure a meeting with Skywalker and Palpatine, she was cut short when the Zillo Beast escaped its confines, rampaging towards the Senate building to settle a personal vendetta against Palpatine after witnessing him order its death sentence.[19]

Amidala, Skywalker and Palpatine, along with droids C-3PO and R2-D2, evacuated to Palpatine's personal escape shuttle, although they were grabbed by the beast's claws. Skywalker was able to cut the shuttle in half, releasing himself, Amidala and the droids out onto the sloped roof of the Senate building. Although Amidala had no means to stop her descent while sliding down the roof, she was soon caught by Skywalker. With the help of Yoda and Aayla Secura, Skywalker then withstood the fatal toxin-attack against the Zillo Beast. Amidala and


her companions survived the incident largely unscathed.[19]

Later, Amidala welcomed her secret husband home for a rare moment away from their duties, but was embittered when Anakin had to leave her for an urgent meeting with the Jedi Council. The Council had previously asked her to spy on her old friend Rush Clovis, who was suspected of working with the Separatists, but she had refused since she found the idea of spying on a colleague and an old friend unsettling. The Council neglected to tell her about the Separatist involvement, however, and she was left shocked when Anakin revealed these details whilst trying to steer her away from reconsidering. Still a bit angry over the previous night, and annoyed that Anakin was acting in a jealous manner, Amidala retractedher previous decision and accepted the mission to spy on Clovis. As part of her mission, Amidala befriended Clovis and agreed to accompany him on a trip to Cato Neimoidia to negotiate with the Trade Federation. She was accompanied by R2-D2 and Skywalker, who was aggressive towards Clovis during the trip for flirting with his wife. On one occasion, he damaged the seat beside Amidala's seat to prevent Clovis from sitting next to her. On takeoff, Skywalker even jerked the ship to prevent Clovis from kissing Amidala again.[13]

Upon arriving on Cato Neimoidia, Amidala and Clovis were greeted by the Trade Federation Senator Lott Dod, who arranged for his servants to show Amidala to her quarters. While Skywalker and R2-D2 stayed on the ship to await further instructions, Amidala


spied on Clovis, Dod, and the GeonosianArchdukePoggle the Lesser, who were meeting in the garden. Clovis refused to lend anymore credits for the Separatists to build a new droid foundry on Geonosis. Amidala was unable to view their holographic blueprints since the Separatists had taken precautions to shut it down. Realizing that Clovis was infatuated with Amidala, Dod and Poggle connived to poison her in order to extract leverage from Clovis.[13]

During a formal dinner that night, Lott Dod tricked Amidala into sharing his drink, which had been contaminated with poison. Once dinner had finished, Clovis took Amidala on a tour of the palace. During the tour, Amidala began to succumb to the effects of the poison including thirst and head-throbbing. While Clovis went away to fetch her adrink, Amidala took the opportunity to access the palace's files and download the blueprints for the Separatist factory on Geonosis. She then contacted Skywalker and arranged for him to meet her in her quarters. Amidala also managed to steal a hologram disc.[13]

After making her way back to her quarters, Amidala passed the disc to Skywalker. Shortly later, she passed out in her chamber. Meanwhile, Clovis realized that Amidala was a spy after discovering that his holodisc was missing. Clovis strode into Amidala's quarters to confront her only to discover that she was unconscious and to encounter a furious Anakin Skywalker. Realizing Skywalker's love for Amidala, Clovis agreed to get the antidote in exchange for the holodisc. While carrying Amidala back to her ship, Skywalker and Clovis were cornered


by Lott Dod and his men. After Clovis forced Dod at gunpoint to hand over the antidote, the three fled. However, Skywalker purposely left Clovis behind to face the wrath of Dod. Having escaped Dod, Skywalker injected the antidote into Amidala.[13]

Following her near-death encounter on Cato Neimoidia, Amidala took an interest in the growing instability on the planet Mandalore. While the New Mandalorians-led government wished to remain neutral, a hardline faction known as the Death Watch wanted to side with the Separatists. Following an assassination attempt on the Mandalorian DuchessSatine Kryze, Amidala informed her friend the Duchess that the Galactic Senate had recently voted to occupy Mandalore and that warships were preparing to depart at sunrise. The Senate's decision had been influenced by a tampered holo-recording from thedeceased Deputy MinisterJerec, claiming that the planet was in crisis. In reality, Jerec had rejected Republic military intervention and stressed that it was an internal matter for the Mandalorians to handle alone.[20]

Despite the Death's Watch efforts to stop Duchess Kryze from delivering the datacard containing Jerec's real recording to the Senate, the Duchess managed to delivered the card to Master Obi-Wan Kenobi, who then passed it to Amidala. When Chancellor Palpatine asked if any Senators objected to the Republic intervention on Mandalore, Amidala took the opportunity to present Jerec's real recording before the Galactic Senate. As a result, the Galactic Senate voted to recall the occupation force from hyperspace before it could land on Mandalore. Due to her efforts, Amidala won the praise and goodwill of Duchess Kryze.[20]

Later,


Amidala traveled to Mandalore, which was facing an economic crisis due to the disruption to trade caused by the Clone Wars. Due to the shortage of goods, smuggling had become a problem on that planet. During her visit to the Mandalorian capital of Sundari, she did her best to assure Duchess Satine Kryze of aid from helpful factions in the Galactic Senate. Amidala's mission was complicated by the inability of the New Mandalorian Ruling Council's to adopt a common position on seeking aid from the Galactic Republic. Her visit also coincided with the arrival of a group of Moogansmugglers imported a shipment of tea with a toxic chemical called slabin.[21]

While visiting a hospital, Amidala and Kryze were horrified to discover that a large number of children had beenpoisoned by an unknown substance. Since all of these students had attended the same school, the two Senators quickly deduced that the poisoning had been caused by some contaminated foodstuffs. Amidala and Kryze decided to visit the school to investigate the poisoning. There, they discovered that the school's tea drinks had been contaminated with slabin. After interrogating the school's superintendent, they learned that the school had sourced the tea from a middleman named Siddiq, who was employed by a shipping company.[21]

Amidala helping Duchess Satine to investigate the poisoning.

From Siddiq, Amidala and Kryze learned that the tea shipment had come from Mooga and that another shipment was due to arrive that night. That night, Amidala, Satine, and one of the Ducal guards infiltrated the pier in question and witnessed


the shipment's arrival and the complicity of a customs officer. While the police captain initially denied that any criminal activity occurred in his jurisdiction, he changed his mind when he visited the dock warehouse where the tea was stored and saw the operation with himself. Following a skirmish with the Moogan smugglers, during which Amidala personally dispatched two of the smugglers after the police chief was injured, Satine had the warehouse and its contents burned down. Following the raid, Amidala and Kryze reported to Prime MinisterAlmec, who was reluctant to acknowledge the corruption within the Mandalorian government but promised to investigate the matter. Before Amidala left, Satine suggested sending an undercover Jedi agent to investigate the Royal Academy of Government, and Amidala promised to bring the matter beforeMaster Yoda.[21]

Amidala later attended a conference on the planet Alderaan that had been convened by Senator Bail Organa to address the plight of wartime refugees. Amidala was accompanied by Skywalker's Padawan Ahsoka Tano, who had been experiencing visions that the supposedly-dead bounty hunter Aurra Sing was planning to kill the Naboo senator. Prior to the conference, Amidala tried to assure Tano that she had felt the same sense of insecurity when she was Queen of Naboo. During the conference, Tano's fears proved founded when Aurra Sing shot Amidala while she was about to open her speech. Ahsoka's timely intervention prevented Sing from killing the Senator, who only sustained a shoulder wound. However, Sing managed to escaped capture.[22]

Following the failed assassination attempt, Tano devised a plan to capture Aurra


Sing by having a luxury droid, wreathed in a robe, take Amidala's place at the conference. Meanwhile, the real Amidala cast her speech through the droid via telecommunications from the safety of her private quarters. However, Sing saw through the plan and attempted to ambush Amidala. However, Tano sensed Sing's intentions through her precognitive abilities and intercepted her before the bounty hunter could carry out her second attempt. During a brief struggle, Sing managed to wound the Padawan, but was stunned by Amidala with a concealed blaster. Due to Tano's efforts to rescue her, Amidala developed a warm friendship with her. Later, Tano used her precognitive abilities to expose the imprisoned Hutt crime lord Ziro as the individual who had hired Sing to assassinate Amidala.[22]

Amidala was later presentwhen Ahsoka Tano informed her master, Anakin Skywalker, that the newly elected Chairman of PantoraBaronPapanoida's daughters Chi Eekway and Che Amanwe had been kidnapped. The kidnapping had coincided with a Trade Federation blockade of Pantora under the pretext that the planet had outstanding debts to pay. However, the blockade was merely a shadow-play by Count Dooku to force the Pantorans to join the Separatist Alliance. With the consent of Skywalker, Tano traveled to Pantora with Senator Riyo Chuchi and succeeded in rescuing the girls and exposing the Trade Federation's links to the Separatists. Amidala herself had been supportive of Chuchi's efforts to get the Senate to intervene on Pantora's behalf, as the struggle reminded her of her own homeworld's similar plight.[23]

While Amidala and Skywalker were arranging a party


for her colleague Senator Aang, they discovered that they were short on jogan fruit, an essential ingredient in jogan fruit cake. Skywalker sent R2-D2 and C-3PO to buy jogan fruit from the market place in Coruscant. However, the two droids were then kidnapped by the bounty hunter Cad Bane, who was working for the Separatists. Bane had been hired by the Grand Hutt Council to rescue Ziro from prison and had devised a plan which involved taking the Galactic Senate hostage. After extracting a layout of the Galactic Senate building from Artoo's databanks, Bane had the two droids mind-wiped and returned to their original places. Ignorant of Bane's plans, the two droids returned to their masters with the jogan fruit.[24]

Shortly later, Bane and his associates, including the newly-freedAurra Sing, put their plans into action. They infiltrated the Senate and overpowered the Senate Commandos guarding the entrance. Meanwhile, Amidala was talking with Skywalker in her office. Her husband proposed taking her to somewhere in the galaxy for a few weeks where no one would recognize them. Amidala declined since she was too focused on her work as a Senator. During their conversation, Skywalker even gave his lightsaber to Amidala to show her that he trusted her with his life. However, Skywalker was forced to hide when Organa and C-3PO entered Amidala's office. Organa had invited Amidala to attend a meeting of senators who were concerned about the new Enhanced Privacy Invasion Bill. Before she departed, Amidala hid Skywalker's lightsaber under her sleeve.[25]

While Amidala and her colleagues


were making their way to their meeting room, they were ambushed by Bane and his associates in the lobby. After securing the Senators, Bane issued an ultimatum to Supreme Chancellor Palpatine and demanded the release of Ziro the Hutt. When Palpatine refused, Bane retaliated by locking down the entire building and severing all communications with the outside world. He took everyone's comlinks. Before he could search Amidala, Bane spotted Skywalker in the upper levels and sent his henchmen to pursue the Jedi. Following a protracted pursuit throughout the Senate Building's corridors, Bane's associates managed to capture the Jedi Knight. Amidala was present when Sing and Shahan Alama delivered an unconscious Skywalker to the lobby.[25]

Meanwhile, Chancellor Palpatine backed down and agreed to release Ziro. Prior to leaving, Bane andhis bounty hunters planted several explosives in the lobby of the Senate building. Amidala tended to the wounded Skywalker and managed to rouse him. Skywalker then used his lightsaber to carve a hole around the senators and dropping everyone one floor down. This enabled Amidala and her colleagues to narrowly escape Bane's explosives, which exploded shortly after. Having achieved their objectives, Bane and Ziro departed offworld.[25]

When the Galactic Senate began debating a bill that would eliminate government oversight of the InterGalactic Banking Clan in order to fund the Republic's military efforts, Amidala suggested opening negotiations with the Separatists to find a peaceful solution to the Clone Wars. Amidala's efforts were opposed by the war profiteering Senate representatives of the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, and the InterGalactic Banking


Clan: Lott Dod, Gume Saam, and Nix Card. These senators conspired to sabotage Amidala's efforts by arranging for a Separatist attack on Coruscant.[27]

Accompanied by Ahsoka, Amidala traveled behind enemy lines to the planet Raxus to meet her old friend and mentor Senator Mina Bonteri, who had joined the Separatist cause. After a tense but cordial reunion, Amidala and Bonteri agreed to initiate a motion to petition the Galactic Senate and the Separatist Senate to discuss a diplomatic solution to the Clone Wars. The Separatist Parliament approves of the motion by a majority vote with the exception of a few dissenting votes including the Corporate Alliance.[27]

While Count Dooku publicly supported the motion, he gave secret orders for GeneralGrievous to deposit a group of droids disguised as sanitary units onCoruscant to commit acts of sabotage. These droids managed to blow up the Senate District'scentral power distribution grid; creating a massive power outage which coincided with the Senate's hearing on the Separatist peace proposal. This terror attack succeeded in hardening the Senate's stance towards the Separatists and it passed a bill deregulating the banks. As a result, Amidala's diplomatic efforts to end the Clone Wars came to naught.[27]

Subsequently, Kaminoan senator Halle Burtoni proposed a bill for the creation of five million more clone troopers. Amidala and Organa argued against the proposal in the Senate; it was then Dooku sent them a message informing them Bonteri had been killed during an attack he attributed to the Republic. Opponents to the bill were dissuaded to vote by threats, while she,


Farr and Organa were attacked by the bounty hunters Robonino and Chata Hyoki. Organa was injured, so Amidala made an impassioned speech against taking away any more credits from social services in his stead, which was broadcast on the HoloNet.[28]

At a subsequent toast, Farr suddenly died. After his funeral, Palpatine summoned her and Farr's aideLolo Purs to his office, where InspectorTan Divo revealed Farr had been poisoned. Amidala suspected Umbaran senator Mee Deechi, but after he was murdered too, suspicion fell on Burtoni. Amidala deduced Purs murdered Farr when Divo stated the poison, which only affected Rodians, had been in all their drinks, and realized she did not drink at the toast. After she got Purs to confess, she apprehended her with a punch to the face. Afterwards,Burtoni's bill was approved.[29]

She then attended a Confederate–Republic peace conference on Mandalore. Present was Mina's son Lux Bonteri, who had followed her into the Separatist Senate, who accused Dooku of being behind his mother's death. Amidala feared a reprisal, and asked Ahsoka Tano to protect him.[36]

Amidala attended Obi-Wan Kenobi's funeral after he was believed killed by Rako Hardeen, which was actually a scheme to infiltrate a planned kidnapping of Palpatine by having Kenobi impersonate Hardeen.[37] Amidala welcomed Palpatine when he came to Naboo for the Festival of Light. As the attack got underway, Ahsoka escorted Amidala and the other delegates to safety. The next morning, Amidala thanked the Jedi on the Naboo's behalf for protecting the Chancellor. When Dooku made another attempt to kidnap the Chancellor, she arrived


with the Palace Guard to protect him.[38]

"Look at the facts. Letta Turmond called Ahsoka to her cell to reveal the name of the true mastermind behind the bombing of the Jedi Temple. Letta told Ahsoka she was afraid. She told her that the mastermind was a Jedi, and before she could reveal the Jedi's name, Letta Turmond was strangled to death by way of the Force. Why would Ahsoka kill Letta with a method that would so obviously tie the murder to her? A Jedi may be responsible for the murder, but that Jedi is not Ahsoka Tano. Members of the court, you are prosecuting the wrong Jedi!"

After Ahsoka Tano was expelled from the Jedi Order for her alleged role in a bombing and the subsequent murder ofthe Jedi Order and sought to discover a new path for herself.[40]

Later, Amidala went on a diplomatic mission to Scipio, where she reunited with Clovis and uncovered corruption at the InterGalactic Banking Clan. They were targeted by Embo, but Anakin saved them.[42] Clovis became head of the Banking Clan,[43] but she discovered he had done it on Dooku's behalf, raising interest rates for the Republic before Separatist forces came to occupy Scipio. Amidala warned Anakin, and the Republic attacked, seizing control of the banks, while Clovis committed suicide.[44]

"Ventress isn't capable of anything as selfless as love. And Vos couldn't possibly have cared about a murderess like her. Besides, she's the one who took him to the dark side in the first place.""Stranger things have happened. And maybe, if


she loves him, she's his way back from it."

After Dooku's former Sith apprenticeAsajj Ventress was formally pardoned of her crimes after helping to rescue Master Quinlan Vos from Dooku, Anakin Skywalker discussed details about their involvement in the Jedi Council's mission to assassinate Count Dooku. Knowing that Amidala would not approve of such an action, he claimed that it was merely a mission to capture Dooku. Anakin also voiced his concerns that the Jedi had not informed the Supreme Chancellor about the operation. When Amidala asked Skywalker about his thoughts on the mission, he expressed his discomfort with Ventress.[45]

When Amidala queried about Ventress' claims that Vos had turned to the dark side, Skywalker theorized that she had seduced the Jedi Master. Skywalker then went on to criticize Vosand Ventress for pursuing a romantic relationship; something that was forbidden under the Jedi Code. When Skywalker realized that he too was embroiled in a romantic relationship with Amidala, she reassured him that they were genuinely in love. After Skywalker remarked that Ventress was incapable of love due to her dark side background, Padmé responded that Ventress's love for Vos could lead him back to the light side.[45]

Padme reveals her pregnancy to Anakin shortly after the Battle of Coruscant.

As the Outer Rim Sieges raged on, Amidala had fewer opportunities to see her husband. While she did become pregnant, she was unable to share this news with Skywalker until after the Battle of Coruscant. The news, while exciting for both parents, placed them in a bind as it threatened


in the process. Knowing that her husband was in the Temple, but unaware of the true circumstances of why he was there, Amidala watched fearfully and horror-stricken from her apartment as the Jedi Temple burned. When Skywalker arrived at her apartment unharmed, he informed her that the Jedi had become traitors but that his loyalties stayed with the chancellor. He then left for the planet Mustafar to put an end to the leaders of the Separatist Alliance. Amidala meanwhile attended a meeting of the Senate where the chancellor declared the formation of the Galactic Empire and himself as Emperor. While thousands of her colleagues applauded, Amidala was despondent; she remarked, with tears in her eyes that, "this is how liberty dies, with thunderous applause".[4]

The heavily-pregnant Amidala lies unconsciousafter being choked by Vader.

After the birth of the Empire, Amidala was visited by Obi-Wan Kenobi who revealed to her that Skywalker had turned to the dark side and that he needed her help in stopping him. Amidala refused though, and Kenobi correctly identified Skywalker as the father of the baby she was carrying. He then left, but later followed Amidala into her starship as she left Coruscant for Mustafar to meet Skywalker. Upon her arrival, she was horrified to find that Obi-Wan had been correct: Skywalker had succumbed fully to the dark side and was now the Sith Lord Darth Vader. She tried to convince him to simply leave and help raise their child, but he instead went on an intense speech of how he could overthrow


the Emperor and they could rule the galaxy together. Now sobbing with fear and horror, Amidala backed away from the man who wore her husband's face but no longer seemed to be him and implored that he was breaking her heart. As she begged for him to stop going down this dark path, Skywalker's eyes burned and he screamed out that she was lying. Unbeknownst to Amidala, Obi-Wan had stowed away on her ship knowing she would go to verify the truth of his claims, but this proved to be fatal for her. Under the impression that his wife had turned against him and brought the Jedi to kill him, Vader seized her with the the Force and began to choke her. After one more desperate plea, Vaderreleased her and she fell unconscious.[4]

After Kenobi defeated Vader in a brutal lightsaber fight, he retrieved the unconscious Amidala and brought her to a medical facility on Polis Massa where she would give birth two days later.[5] According to the medical droid, Amidala had lost the will to live - despite the fact that she was completely healthy, the medics stated that her body began to shut down, for reasons they couldn't explain. However, she held on long enough to give birth to twins, whom she named as Luke and Leia. Despite all what happened on Mustafar, Amidala still believed that Skywalker held some good in him, a belief she shared with Kenobi before she died. Obi-Wan then had her corpse returned to Naboo so she could be


laid to rest. Her funeral was attended by hundreds of people who mourned the loss of their beloved Senator and former Queen. Darth Vader, upon being rescued by Darth Sidious and then placed in a life supporting suit, asked after his wife. Sidious informed him that in his anger, it appeared that he had killed Amidala. This fueled Vader's anger even more to a destructive level.[4]

Amidala's death haunted Vader for the rest of his life. Despite the supremely brutal and ruthless being the Sith Lord became, he could never let go of the emotional agony caused by his wife's passing.[46]

Immediately after the Battle of Fortress Vader, Vader used a portal to the dark side created by Momin in an attempt to revive Amidala. After experiencing visions of hispast and battling his way through apparitions of his many former mentors and companions, he finally found an apparition of Amidala standing on the balcony where they had first married. The Amidala-apparition repeated Skywalker's first lines to Amidala, and Vader, reverting back to Skywalker, begged it to return with him. The Amidala-apparition refused and threw itself off the balcony, strangling itself to death and then being incinerated in a flash of lightning. As Vader looked on, he saw a blue light in the distance, out of which emerged the apparition of a mysterious Jedi who blasted him back into the present. This caused Vader to finally reject his past and fully commit to the dark side.[47]

Decades after Amidala's death, Leia Organa would remember an impression she had of


her mother as being very beautiful, kind, but sad.[48] However, Organa was unsure if she really did ever see her mother or just invented these memories to fill the hole in her life.[46]

The good Anakin, after his return, and shortly before his death

The fact that Amidala had given birth to twins was a secret known only to a few after her death: the morticianCommodex Tahn used a hologram to make her still appear pregnant during her funeral.[49] Nineteen years later, her children met for the first time during the Galactic Civil War—they did not, however, know that they were siblings.[50] Vader later learned that Luke was his son and that Amidala had indeed given birth,[49] and he attempted to seduce Luke to the dark side of the Force.However, Luke remained true and ultimately learned that Leia was his twin sister from Obi-Wan Kenobi. During the Battle of Endor, Luke set out to redeem his father from the dark side. During their duel, Vader searched Luke's thoughts and discovered Amidala had also given birth to a daughter. Luke's efforts were eventually successful; Sidious attempted to kill Luke with a barrage of Force lightning, but Vader stepped in to rescue his son and kill the Emperor. Vader, once again Anakin Skywalker, died as a result of the injuries he sustained in killing the Emperor, but not before proving Amidala's final words correct; there was still good within Darth Vader.[48]

The gowns owned by Amidala were kept on Naboo for many years after her death. Eventually, the gowns found


their way to Organa. Because Organa only knew Amidala from the things she owned and the stories told to her by people who had known her, the gowns meant a lot to her and she kept them stored in a safe location.[51] However, the gowns, were thrown into hyperspace by Terex of the First Order after he kidnappedOrgana's ship on Cato Neimoidia.[52]

Amidala was compassionate to other people and stood her ground firmly for what she believed in.[8] Amidala was very persuasive and empathetic speaker during her time as Senator,[4] especially when she opposed the escalation of the Clone Wars.[27] She even started to doubt the Republic when the Senate gave Palpatine more executive powers near the end of the Clone Wars.[4] Amidala could no longer ignore the needsof her people, and accepted Queen Jamillia's offer to become senator after two terms as queen. Due her reputation as a beloved former monarch, Amidala kept several privileges such as her wardrobe and a chrome-plated ships when she became Senator.[8]

Amidala was both responsible and strong willed who did what she believed to the right course of action despite objections from those closest to her. She spoke her mind to the Senate and was able to convince the Gungan to unite against the Trade Federation.[1] Amidala could be seen as fearless when she refused additional security to protect herself from assassins. She also did not like the idea of leaving during the vote on the Military Creation Act. When Skywalker came back into her life, Amidala knew that their


future together would endanger ther lives. However, she gave and married Skywalker in secret.[8]

Always at the center of the galaxy, Amidala was a determined and brave survivor.[53]

In her interview on the "Inside the Actors Studio" program, Portman admitted that, when her agent first mentioned the new Star Wars trilogy to her, she didn't know the difference between Star Trek and Star Wars. Portman also missed the first screening of The Phantom Menace due to exams.[54]

According to concept artist Iain McCaig, Padmé was meant to make an attempt on Darth Vader's life on Mustafar: the scene as originally storyboarded had her embracing him with a knife, but finding herself unable to actually kill him (her role in the Revenge of the Sith script also reflected that she realized Anakinwas becoming a monster).[57] McCaig mentioned in The Art of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith that Padmé had more midi-chlorians than Anakin during her pregnancy with Luke and Leia, having the Force flowing through her as she doubled up in pain seeking Yoda's help as seen in an sketch. The concept wasn't used in the final cut despite George Lucas' enthusiasm over the idea.[58]

"Padmé" is Sanskrit for "lotus flower", while "Amidala" is a variant of "Amitabha", which means a spiritual manifestation.[59] In Egyptian Arabic, the name "Nabirye" means "Mother of Twins". Padmé's own surname, Naberrie, appears to be a homonym, considering that she eventually gives birth to Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.[60]


PodiumLive | Korfbal | LDODK - DOS '46

Video's

Korfbal: LDODK - DOS '46

First aired:
Friday, 18 December 2015 at 20.20 hours

18 december 2015

LDODK was promoted in March 2012 to the Korfball League. The team from Terwispel and Gorredijk is now playing for the fourth year in a row at the highest level in the Netherlands. The past three seasons LDODK fought under the leadership of coach Jan Sjoerd Pool against downgrading. This year, the team has a new coach; Erik Wolsink and he strives for a place in the top four.

In the years 2006 , 2007 and 2009 DOS'46 was champion of the league. But in 2012 they downgraded from the league. Luckily DOS'46 returned after last season again at the highest level. For the team of coach Daniel Hulzeboschother populated regions of South Mumbai. The Eastern Expressway and Western Express Highway are near Powai, interfacing the territory with whatever is left of the city.

The Domestic and International Airports and the up and coming metro rail foundation are likewise inside the nearby separation of this region. Conveniences, for example, shopping edifices, medical clinics, and schools close-by are the other fascination for occupants of this region. The zone has one of the most noteworthy populace densities in rural Mumbai as a result of the productive development movement over the most recent two decades and brags of an as of late redone finished garden with review decks, kids’ play zone, and synchronized wellsprings.


OAKLAND -- To borrow from a classic lilt, the Oakland Coliseum used to be Rickey Henderson's playground when he was carving out a Hall of Fame baseball career as the greatest leadoff hitter of all time with the Oakland Athletics.

And by 2020, if not sooner, these grounds will also be a two-time former home of the Oakland Raiders, who received permission last week from the NFL to relocate to Las Vegas.

Henderson was at the A's opening-day game against the Los Angeles Angels to have the field dedicated in his name.

The A's will be naming the playing surface at the Oakland Coliseum after Oakland native... https://t.co/Zkzzq6Me6d pic.twitter.com/LYo9UWMNP4 — Paul Gutierrez (@PGutierrezESPN) April 3, 2017

He grew up in Oakland, so the Raiders leaving for a second time -- they wentto Los Angeles in 1982 before returning in 1995 -- affected Henderson.

"I'm a Raiders season ticket holder so that hurt my heart that they have to leave," Henderson said. "I thought that Oakland was their base, their most popular fans. I think the fans were behind them 100 percent. For us to leave once, then come back ... and leave again, I think it's hurting us a lot more."

A's legend Rickey Henderson is a Raiders' season-ticket holder and a frequent visitor to their training camp. Paul Gutierrez/ESPN.com

Henderson, who visited the Raiders in training camp at Napa last summer, has said in the past that there was enough room on the current Coliseum site to build two stadiums, one for the A's and a second for the Raiders. Alas


November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT adjust the snow plow blade on a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Phil Badalamenti of PDOT attaches lines to the controls of the snow plow blade on his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT adjust the snow plow blade on a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Phil Badalamenti of PDOT adjusts the chains on his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Phil Badalamenti of PDOT adjusts the chains on his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger, left, and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT chain up a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger of PDOT chains up


a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT chain up a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger, right, and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT prepare to put chains on a truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger and Phil Badalamenti of PDOT chain trucks and adjust snow plow blades. Crews fromthe Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Reporters surround a PDOT worker as he chains up his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger helps a driver adjust the snow plow blade on his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger helps a driver adjust the snow plow blade on his truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their


vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.

November 12, 2014, 4:22PM

Brad Twigger of PDOT puts chains on a city truck. Crews from the Portland Bureau of Transportation prepare their vehicles with snow gear in anticipation of the threatening weather forecast for November 13. Michael Lloyd/The Oregonian.in the original trial, and (2) finding that the results were not
favorable.  We affirm.

Background
At trial, Rhonda Kelso testified that on
August 31, 1988, she was walking toward her house when appellant tried to
entice her to approach him, but she ignored him.  Later upon leaving her house, she saw him
again and hid her face behind her umbrella.
When she returned home, she saw him a third time, and he grabbed her by
the arm and told her A[C]ome here, I=ve got to tell you
something.@
She managed to pull away and continue walking, but a short time later
she heard a scream and turned around to see that appellant had grabbed a female
and was pulling her into a building.  The
female said Aokay, okay@ but was trying to
resist.  Appellant steadily pulled her
until they were in the


building.  Kelso
found a telephone and called 911.  She
also asked a group of electrical workers for help and one of them called 911 as
well.  A police officer arrived, and
Kelso asked one of the men she had asked for help to show the officer the
correct building.  He did so, and the
officer entered the building and came out a few minutes later with appellant
and a girl.  Kelso stated that she was
able to Aget a good look@ at appellant when
he exited the building in handcuffs.  She
identified appellant as the same man who had accosted her earlier and who had
dragged the girl into the building.

The complainant testified that on August
31, 1988, she was sixteen years old.  She
was walking away from her house when appellant crossed the street and asked her
if she knew wherea particular street was located.  She did not know and kept walking, and he
walked the other way.  She then felt like
someone was following her, and she turned around to see appellant behind
her.  She screamed, and he grabbed her by
the hair and pushed something to her back.
He told her to stop screaming or he would kill her, and she stopped
screaming.  He then told her to walk
across the street.  She was terrified and
tried to pull away, but he had a steady grip on her and took her inside an
abandoned building to a room with a lot of glass and dirt on the floor.  He again threatened to kill her and ordered
her to take off her clothes.  She took
off her shorts and underwear; he told her to lie down on the


floor and she
did.  Appellant fondled her breasts and
then unzipped his pants and put his penis in her vagina.  She was crying and felt scared.  After about fifteen minutes, appellant told
her to get up and that he was taking her to a house.  She thought he was going to kill her.  A uniformed police officer then walked into
the room and handcuffed and arrested appellant.
Complainant was taken home and then to the hospital where she was
examined by a doctor, and a rape kit was prepared.  She stated that she had never seen appellant
before the day of the assault.
Officer Willie C. Curry, of the Houston
Police Department, testified that on August 31, 1988, he responded to a call
that a possible rape was in progress.
When he arrived at the scene, a man directedhim to a particular
building, and he parked his vehicle and entered the building with his weapon
drawn.  He heard a man=s voice say A[N]ow we are going
to go to my house.@
Officer Curry entered the room where the voice had come from as
appellant and complainant were exiting.
Curry told appellant to get down on the floor; he then handcuffed appellant
and walked him out of the building.
Appellant told Curry that complainant was his wife or girlfriend.
Dr. Robert Noel testified that he
performed a physical examination of complainant on August 31, 1988.  She had sand in her hair and on her
shoulders, neck, and back.  She had a small
laceration on her back.  In examining
complainant=s vaginal vault, he found sand, a string
of blue textile material, and a white substance that resembled semen.  He described finding the


string in that
location as being particularly unusual.
All three of the prior witnesses, Kelso, complainant, and Curry, had
testified that appellant was wearing a blue sweat shirt and blue warm-up pants
on the day of the assault.  In describing
her attire on that day, complainant stated the color of each garment but did
not identify any of them as being blue.
Noel further testified that he asked complainant if she had had any
sexual activity in the 72 hours prior to the examination, and she replied Ano.@  Although Noel did not specifically testify
that complainant told him that she had been sexually active in the past, his
testimony suggests that she told him she had been.  In explaining his procedures for such
examinations, Noel stated that he first asks whether the patient has ever had
sexual intercourse and then,the
source of the semen Dr. Noel observed in complainant=s vaginal
cavity.  Thus, it is an open question,
not answered by the 2004 testing, whether appellant was the source of the semen
inside complainant=s vaginal cavity but not the source of the
semen on the underwear cutting.[3]

Furthermore, the eyewitness testimony in
this case was particularly compelling and in several respects less open to
misidentification than in many cases based primarily on eyewitness
testimony.  Complainant=s identification
of appellant as her attacker was corroborated by other witnesses who saw
appellant with complainant immediately before and immediately after the
assault.  As described in detail above,
Kelso saw appellant three times that day in the same area in which he abducted
complainant; indeed, she testified that appellant grabbed her as well, but she
managed to get away.  Kelso additionally
testified that the man whom she saw being


“Know, O prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an Age undreamed of…” The Phoenix on the Sword, Robert E. Howard

Robert E. Howard loved history, and he was particularly fascinated by its broad brush-strokes – the spread of peoples, the rise and fall of civilisations, the epic conflicts that marked epochs. His own Celtic heritage intrigued him, and in his stories he turned time and again to the north and west of the British Isles for inspiration.

Life as a writer for the pulps came with certain strictures, however. The only way to survive was to be prolific. In his short time, Howard turned out an incredible amount ofwork. But this meant that he had very little time to research the details of any given story. Rather than trample all over the real past, he set his series in meticulous histories of his own devising. He drew heavily on real myth and legend for these lost ages however, populating the world with states and regions carefully named to suggest aspects of reality.

These detailed timelines were designed to provide him with a palette of exotic locations, historic events, and social structures to draw from. They provided a sense of realism and immediacy to his fiction, and gave his heroes vibrant, self-consistent territories in which to have their adventures.

Although each series was rigorous in its internal accuracy, the different heroes did not inhabit exactly the same versions of


Age, the setting for the Conan stories. Its history was discussed in his lengthy article of the same name, and along with the information from his stories, it’s possible to reconstruct a surprisingly detailed picture. One aspect of the Age that we have no firm answer for is when it occurred, however. Howard deliberately left the time period undefined, but most modern Howard scholars place it at the end of the Last Glacial Maximum period or the start of the Late Glacial, somewhere between 10,000 and 15,000 BC. We certainly know very little about the actual human societies or cultures that existed more than twelve thousand years ago.

Howard deliberately left the time period undefined

The Age was focussed on the kingdoms of the Afro-Eurasian supercontinent. The Mediterranean basin wasthe waters, home to the fierce barbarian Picts. There are some islands in the south seas of little consequence, and in the Pacific, there are the Lemurian Isles. These are all that remains of the once-mighty continent of Mu, which sank after the usurper Nyulah abandoned worship of Poseidon in favour of Xultha, the ape-god.

The fabled seven kingdoms of Thuria are in the west of the continent, bounded to the east by a vast desert. Valusia, the westernmost, was once enslaved by the Serpent Men, a still-extant elder race of snake-like humanoids with magical powers. They are not the only elder race, and there are even some kingdoms of non-humans in the south of the continent.

The Thurian Continent, from the Marvel Kull comic

Valusia is the pinnacle of human


millennia following the Cataclysm, humanity withers into savagery of different forms. The first people to begin to rise up from bestiality are the Hyborians, a tribal society of hunters who are spread across the north of the continent that was once Thuria. They are tall and strong, with light hair and grey eyes, and they slowly grow to sufficient numbers to expand out southwards into the continent.

As they spread, the Hyborians replace or absorb other, smaller tribes. They clash with the Picts, who are still ferocious, and the strange Stygians, a society founded after survivors from Lemuria encountered – and paid worship to – the remnants of an elder race. Other descendants of Atlantian and Lemurian survivors exist, mostly as bestial half-men. One of the more northerly tribesof Hyborians stumbles across the idea of stone buildings, and with their new, near-impregnable defences, quickly comes to dominate their neighbours. This becomes the kingdom of Hyperborea, the first settled civilisation since the Cataclysm.

Another Marvel map

In the centuries that follow, the Hyborians and their neighbours intermingle and settle, and the kingdoms of Conan’s time come into being. The greatest of all nations, the heart of the Hyborian Age, is Aquilonia, a landlocked kingdom inspired by the Carolingian Empire and located where France and the south of England now lie. Its provinces provide archers, pike-men and mounted knights, and it is considered the dominant military and commercial power. It has a temperate climate and plenty of fertile soil, supporting almost six million people. The capital city, Tarantia, is home


to hundreds of thousands. Conan finally comes to rule Aquilonia after gaining power in its Westermarck region – the rough north-western frontier of the country that borders on the Pictlands.

The Pictish Wilderness that spreads out from the Westermarck, past the Black River, is a savage, cheerless place home to the scattered Pictish tribes, inspired somewhat by pre-revolution tales of Native American peoples. The land is beneath the seas now, but it lay past Ireland and Scotland. In the Hyborian Age, it is a coastal plainland of tangled forests, with occasional stretches of marsh or open glade. Many dangerous creatures hunt those forests, including bears, wolves, sabre-toothed tigers, venomous snakes, and even dragons, but none are deadlier than the stubborn, savage Picts themselves, who have survived down from beforethe Thurian Age without being much affected. Pictland has a huge ocean border, more than twelve hundred miles, but the Sea-Land Picts are little more than debased beach-combers, dwelling in tiny villages and scavenging for carcasses, including ivory for trade.

The British Isles are what remains of it after millennia of erosion and inundation, and it draws heavily on Howard’s imagined version of the Celtic peoples.

North of Aquilonia lies Cimmeria, the dour, craggy land of cold and mist that is Conan’s birthplace. The British Isles are what remains of it after millennia of erosion and inundation, and it draws heavily on Howard’s imagined version of the Celtic peoples. Cimmeria is a harsh land that breeds strength into its folk, who are a tall, strong breed with dark hair and


grey or blue eyes. They are the last outpost of the survivors of Atlantis, risen again from the bestial barbarism they were plunged into after the Cataclysm. There is no central Cimmerian government, and no room in that bleak land for the corruptions of civilised society. Instead, they are a culture of hunter-gatherer clans who feud ceaselessly amongst themselves, and prize honour, strength of arms, and their stern code of justice. They are not ignorant savages – Conan’s father is a talented blacksmith, and Conan himself speaks many languages – but they are focussed on those elements of life that are the most practical for them. The constant fighting makes them fierce and resilient warriors, and their harsh environment leaves them skilled in tracking, climbing, and stalking. Conanis the most talented of his people of course, but the skills and virtues that he possesses are typical of Cimmerians as a whole.

The unhappy Border Kingdoms lie between Cimmeria and Nemedia, and stretch further north-east. Now they are the Baltic Sea, but even in the Hyborian Age, they are a marshy wilderness. There is no real law or order in the country, and although there is notionally a king, most of his population consists of bandits and savages. Sometimes merchants desperate enough to avoid Nemedian taxes use it as a dangerous route between Aquilonia and points east.

Aquilonia’s primary rival is Nemedia, on its mountainous eastern border. Inspired by Byzantium and the Holy Roman Empire, it roughly occupies modern Austria, Switzerland, northernmost Italy and southern Germany. It’s a