An Horse is made up of the tiny Kate Cooper and Damon Cox, who met while working at an independent record store. Bound by their shared love of music, they soon started playing together in 2007 and set up a PA in the store to rehearse after hours. After a lot of rehearsing, they decided to unleash their sound places other than the small store and started the difficult task of gigging.

Kate Cooper, on vocals and guitar and Damon Cox on drums, have a unique and mesmerizing sound. They make melodic hook-ridden pop their own; their songs are energetic, tight and infectious. They do all this and still manage to capture a sense of vulnerability in their lyrics.

Almost unheard of, with a just handful of gigs under their belt, An Horse landed a fantastic opportunity. Tegan and Sara met An Horse while touring in Australia and offered an opening act slot on their 2008 Out Of Hibernation tour across America. And so began a phenomenal year ahead for Kate Cooper and Damon Cox. The band’s popularity sky rocketed and they were given another opening spot for Death Cab for Cutie’s Australian tour in August of last year. And the icing on the cake was having their track, Postcards (off their first EP, Not Really Scared) used in a television commercial for the Mercedes Benz CLC Class.

This year, An Horse have moved over to the US to focus on their music and touring. Their second EP, Rearrange Beds was produced by ARIA award winning producer, Magoo (Midnight Oil, Regurgitator) at Applewood studios in Queensland. The duo made their first television appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman where they performed their hit, Camp Out. This whirlwind success is showing no signs of slowing, with a tour planned with Appleseed Cast later this year.

Completely blown away by Australian duo An Horse is one way to describe how I felt after the band’s show in Chicago last Sunday night. I honestly had no idea that two voices and two instruments could sound so good live! With Kate Cooper showing off some impressive guitar skills and Damon Cox rocking out on his drum kit, I fell in love with my now new favorite band An Horse and their insanely catchy indie pop songs.

The band kicked off their U.S. tour opening for Telekinesis at Schuba’s Tavern starting their set with “Camp Out,” the first song from debut record Rearrange Beds. Near the end of An Horse’s set, Kate Cooper and Damon Cox gave in to the crowd’s requests to play “Postcards,” which was used in a Mercedes-Benz TV ad last year.

I looked up the commercial on YouTube and I have to say, the song was the perfect choice for this car spot. Although the lyrics to “Postcards” do not necessarily relate to the Mercedes-Benz ad’s tagline, the music matches the trendy vibe for sure. If I had the money, I would want to buy that car.

I wish I could have seen An Horse perform with former tourmates Tegan and Sara, as well as Death Cab For Cutie. Those would have been great shows and unfortunately I missed out on them. Make sure you catch Aussie duo An Horse in a city near you on their current U.S. tour. Trust me, one day Kate Cooper and Damon Cox will be playing festivals like Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits. They are the next big thing, so take a listen and enjoy!

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Palau Island has agreed to accept an American offer to absorb 17 trained Al-Qaeda members in exchange for some US$200 million. According to the AP, Palau Island will accept a group of Chinese Muslims who have been detained for years in Guantanamo Bay.

Palau President Johnson Toribiong said on Wednesday his country will temporarily accept the Chinese in a gesture for the Obama administration.

It should be noted that the Palau island consists of some 200 islands located in the western Pacific Ocean, 650 km southeast of the Philippines. Just less than 10 islands are permanently inhabited.

Mr. Toribiong agreed to Washington's request to accept the Uighurs after talks with U.S. diplomat Daniel Fried, who is leading the U.S. State Department's effort to resettle the Guantanamo detainees. U.S. President Barack Obama has ordered Guantanamo to be shut down by January of next year.

The Bush administration refused to designate the Uighurs as "enemy combatants." It was in late 2008 when a U.S. federal judge ordered the men to be released into the United States. That ruling was eventually overturned by an appeals court.

Palau's minister of state, Sandra Pierantozzi said "If they want to settle in Palau Island we would welcome them," Pierantozzi said. "This is very much in line with the culture of Palau Island, where people who drift in and who needs settlement and place are welcome to our shores and our tradition will take care of them and insert them into our society."

The Uighurs are from China's western Xinjiang province. Beijing has accused the Uighurs, who dominate the province, as separatists who want to create an independent "East Turkestan." Washington is refusing to send the Uighurs back to China, fearing they would be persecuted.

Palau Island, a former U.S. trust territory until achieving independence in 1994, maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan, China's longtime rival, rather than Beijing. Pierantozzi says her nation is not concerned over China's likely displeasure over the resettlement of the Uighurs.

In 2006, Albania accepted five Uighur detainees from Guantanamo but has since balked at taking others, partly for fear of diplomatic repercussions from China. Palau Island is one of a handful of mainly Pacific island, Latin American and African countries that does not recognize China and maintains diplomatic relations with Taiwan.

The State Department said last week that Daniel Fried, the career diplomat who was named earlier this year by Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to oversee Guantanamo’s closure, had visited Palau Island but offered no details on his mission. Fried has been negotiating with third countries to accept many of the Guantanamo detainees.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said Fried had visited Australia and Palau as part of a tour of the Pacific. The three officials said Fried had been discussing the disposition of Uighurs.

Australia has already twice rejected U.S. appeals to resettle the Uighurs, but its foreign minister said late last month it would consider a new request to take in 10 Uighurs. The previous requests were turned down on immigration and security grounds and it is not clear if a new Australian review of the Uighurs would have different results.

Justice Department spokesman Matt Miller declined to comment and an official at the Embassy of Palau in Washington said he had no information about the negotiations.

A former U.S. trust territory in the Pacific, Palau Island has retained close ties with the United States since independence in 1994 when it signed a Free Compact of Association with the United States.

While it is independent, it relies heavily on U.S. aid and is dependent on the United States for its defense. Native-born Palauans are allowed to enter the United States without passports or visas.

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Actress Megan Fox wear black dress attending the "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" South Korea Premiere at Yongsan CGV on June 9, 2009 in Seoul, South Korea. The film will open on June 24 in South Korea

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With their first-round pick, the Red Sox selected outfielder Reymond Fuentes, a high schooler from Puerto Rico. Fuentes is the cousin of Mets centerfielder Carlos Beltran, meaning that the Sox have taken a player with big-league bloodlines with their top pick for the second straight year, following Casey Kelly’s selection in the first round last year. Reymond Fuentes is considered a player whose natural abilities — with tremendous speed and raw power — make him a high-upside selection.

Reymond Fuentes, 18, listed at 6-foot-1, and weighing 165 pounds - is described as raw in his offensive approach, with a need to improve his plate discipline. The Sox have not shied from such players with their top overall picks, most notably when they took Clay Buchholz in the sandwich round of the 2005 draft and Jason Place with their first pick in the 2006 draft.

Reymond Fuentes is drawing comparisons in many corners to Johnny Damon. So that would make two top Red Sox picks in the last five drafts — Fuentes and Jacoby Ellsbury — who have drawn that comparison.

This marks the third straight year that the Sox have taken a player in the draft out of Puerto Rico, following shortstop Kenneth Roque (20th round, 2007) and Christian Vazquez (9th round, 2008). Prior to Roque’s selection, the Sox hadn’t taken a player out of Puerto Rico since 1997. Reymond Fuentes is the first first-rounder out of Puerto Rico since 2000, when the Jays took Miguel Negron with the 18th overall selection.

Here is what Baseball America had to say about Reymond Fuentes:

“A relative of Mets center fielder Carlos Beltran, Fuentes is an electric, game-changing player. The (5-foot-10), (165)-pound center fielder is slender, but has wiry strength and can put a change in a ball during batting practice. Like a ticking clock, Reymond Fuentes hits line drives from foul pole to foul pole with his lefthanded swing. Reymond Fuentes also an elite runner, clocking in at just under 6.3 seconds in the 60-yard dash at Puerto Rico’s annual Excellence Tournament in early May. In game situations, Reymond Fuentes stays within himself, goes with a contact-oriented approach and lets his plus speed play to his advantage. These tools make Fuentes an ideal leadoff hitter. Defensively, Reymond Fuentes range will allow him to stay in center field as a professional. Right down to his below-average arm, he’s a similar player to the Yankees’ Johnny Damon.”

The Sox were true to their promised approach of selecting the best player available, rather than focusing on need. The Sox have a number of young athletic outfielders in the lower levels of the minors — including players such as Ryan Kalish, Ryan Westmoreland, Pete Hissey, Che-Hsuan Lin and Jason Place. Reymond Fuentes adds to that well-populated group.

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As Barack Obama fights a recession and attempts to fix the auto industry, Republicans have taken the fight to the president.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Obama's plan to fix the economy through stimulus dollars and investing federal money into bankrupt companies like GM has "already failed."

"Bureaucrats managing companies does not work, politicians dominating the economy does not work," said Gingrich at a fundraising dinner with about 2,000 Republicans in attendance at the Washington Convention Center Monday night.

This is not the first time in recent weeks that Gingrich has taken a shot at the president. He called Obama's Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor a 'racist,' before dialing back his comments.

Actor Jon Voight, the master of ceremonies at the GOP event, set the tone of the evening with a number of sharp jabs at the president.

"We are becoming a weak nation," said Voight, calling Obama a "false prophet." Republicans need to find their way back to power to free the nation from "this Obama oppression," he said.

Both Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, who followed Voight, seemed pleasantly surprised.

“I’m still just reveling that someone from Hollywood made a speech like that. I hope you’re going to be able to find work after this,” said McConnell. “I really enjoyed that.”

Senator John Cornyn of Texas told Bloomberg News that the speech was "refreshing."

The Obama administration didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment by Bloomberg News.

A spokesman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Ryan Rudominer, said the comments by Gingrich and other Republican speakers at the dinner showed they "would rather bank on failure than work with Democrats."

Congressional Republicans have "no new ideas," Rudominer said.

Meanwhile, Alaskan Governor Sarah Palin was making a similar argument in a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity.

"When you consider that the federal government is about $11 trillion in debt, and we're borrowing more to spend more ... it defies any sensible economic policy any of us ever learned through college," the former VP candidate said.

"[Spending in a recession] defies economy practices and principles that ya 'you gotta quit digging that hole when you are in that financial hole.'"

At one point Palin described Obama as "a very nice man," but warned voters to "pay attention to his policies."

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North Brother Island is an island in the East River situated between the Bronx and Riker's Island. Its companion, South Brother Island, is a short distance away. North Brother Island was uninhabited until 1885, when Riverside Hospital moved there from North Brother Island now known as Roosevelt Island. Riverside Hospital was founded in the 1850s as the Smallpox Hospital to treat and isolate victims of that disease; its mission eventually expanded to other quarantinable diseases. Typhoid Mary was confined to the island for over two decades until she died there in 1938. The hospital closed shortly thereafter.

After World War II, North Brother Island housed war veterans who were students at local colleges, and their families. Once the nationwide housing shortage abated North Brother Island was abandoned again.

In the 1950s a center opened to treat adolescent drug users. The facility claimed to be the first to offer treatment, rehabilitation, and education facilities to young drug offenders. By the early 1960s widespread staff corruption and patient recidivism forced the facility to close.

North Brother Island is currently abandoned and off-limits to the public. A dense forest conceals the ruined hospital buildings, but supports one of the area's largest nesting colonies of Black-crowned Night Heron.

North Brother Island was also the site of the wreck of the General Slocum which burned on June 15, 1904. Over 1,000 people died either from the fire onboard the ship or from drowning before the ship was beached on the island's shores.

Together, North Brother Island and South Brother Island, have a land area of 20.12 acres (81,400 m2)."

This Jinx Project - North Brother Island

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