News is coming out of an Earthquake hitting Christchurch.

The quake struck at approximately 4.35 a.m local time Saturday the 4th of September.

The earthquake measured 7.0 on the Richter Scale, which is described as “Major Earthquake, Serious damage: bridges twist, walls fracture, buildings may collapse.”

On average, only 15 of these earthquakes are recorded every year.

Christchurch is NZ’s second biggest city, with a population of over 370 thousand.

Local media suggests there have been serious aftershocks and power outages. Some residents reported the seismic activity via Twitter.

The time in New Zealand is now after 7a.m, as people venture out to see the damage.

“We’ve just had a terrible earthquake,” said Paula May, a Christchurch resident. “We have no power. Lots of stuff in the house is all over the floor. All the power is down, so I can’t see anything. There’s no power in the town.”

She said that in her house, “we’ve got everything down in the rooms,” and that although it appears there are buildings down in the region, such as old stone masonry-type structures, “everyone I know seems to be OK.”

The rail service is closed and lines are being inspected for damage.

One journalist said that the people of Christchurch were lucky it happened when it did, as most people were asleep and not on the streets.

Update:

Pictures

From twitter Joe_kearns

Click for larger image

cameronfindlay

herasings

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

As of September 1st, Apple brought Ping to iTunes, creating a social networking factor to music.

24 hours later, the service is completely spammed to hell.

Scammers and Spammers are signing up and posting links on the most popular artist pages, such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and U2.

These pages are linked to from the front page and now offer scams for free iPhones and iPads.

Hindsight is a bitch it seems, since Apple have no real sign up requirements, but a good spam comment filter system (like Disqus, what we use here) might have been a good idea.

PCmag quotes Sophos security expert Chet Wisniewski:

“Less than 24 hours after launch, Ping is drowning in scams and spams,” Wisniewski wrote in a blog post.

I signed up for Ping myself and followed a few of the people Ping recommended. Seconds later I found my first comment spam, which promised a free iPhone.

“Coincidentally, the most common spam on Ping at the moment targets Apple itself,” Wisniewski wrote. “The attacks are nearly identical to survey spams we have blogged about on Facebook, Google and Twitter.”

Wisniewski noted that it’s trivial to create fake accounts on Ping since there’s no hard authentication. Techcrunch also pointed out that while Facebook and Apple are reportedly battling it out over Ping, a fake Mark Zuckerberg is signed up for the new service.

RRW on the other hand, had this to say:

Although not mentioned by Wisniewski, we think the lack of attention to this security detail should have new Ping users concerned, or at least wary. If Ping’s spam filter (assuming one even exits) doesn’t block links to obvious online scams, how can we be sure it’s blocking links of a more nefarious nature – like those to sites containing viruses, trojans or other phishing scams?

Since Apple don’t respond to RRW when asked to comment, they have this sage advice: You can’t get a free iPhone from filling out an online survey, OK? Don’t click those links.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

Fans were left confused, angry and disappointed after a lacklustre performance at the o2 last night.

Only days after lead singer,Axl Rose, explained the bands late arrival and short gigs at Reading and Leeds, Dublin fans got similar treatment.

The band appeared on stage over an hour after their support act and left the stage twenty minutes later.

Bottles thrown by the crowd were blamed for the angry storm off.

Rose warned fans that if another plastic bottle was thrown at the stage the gig was done.

An o2 staff member came onstage and told the booing crowd that technical difficulties were to blame.

Later, Denis Desmond, the Irish music promoter, tried to calm the crowd, saying “I’d ask you please to refrain from throwing items at him. I promise a great show, but you have to be calm. I’m sorry about that”.

According to Yahoo news, Rose was backstage ‘berating passing fans’ and ‘kneeling on the ground with his head in his hands’.

While the band were offstage, the houselights went on and some fans were told by staff that the gig was over. Many left before Rose was coaxed back onstage.

The gig went on until approximately 12.50 am, although many were not happy with the show, stating Rose gave a very poor performance.

Angered at spending 70 euro for tickets and experiencing what has been mostly called an awful gig, fans went online to show their anger.

The Twitter tag #Gnr was popular all day, with users making jokes and sharing their stories.

Roses Wikipedia page was also attacked, but quickly restored.

MCD have said today that there will be no refunds.

On sites such as Boards, GnR fans are divided, many are angry at the diva like nature of the frontman whilst others stay loyal to their idol.

This current drama surrounding the band doesn’t help Roses excuses about previous gigs poor reviews and reception.

Roses twitter page has not been updated since the 31st of August, when he released his statement.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

Emergency teams have been dispatched after four children died and more than 500 people have been bitten in a high number of vampire bat incidents.

The four children were members of the Awajun indigenous tribe, who asked for help after the children died and they could not explain why.

Workers are now handing out rabies shots.

Locals suggest the current outbreak of attacks may be related to the unusually cold weather in the area in recent years.

The bats usually feed on wildlife and livestock, but experts say that deforestation may be to blame for them turning to humans.

The health ministry has said three teams have been sent to help the communities affected, but some people are refusing the treatments.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums

A woman who faced death by stoning in Iran for charges of adultery has been tortured according to her lawyer.

The woman, Sakineh Mohammadi-Ashtiani, appeared on state television, confessing that she played a part in her husbands murder.

Her lawyer claims the mother of two was tortured before the televised confession, recorded in Tabriz prison.

“She was severely beaten up and tortured until she accepted to appear in front of camera,” lawyer Houtan Kian said on the newspaper’s website.

The lawyer said he feared the Iranian authorities would act quickly to carry out the death sentence, which was reportedly commuted to hanging after an international outcry against her sentencing last month.

Another of her lawyers, Mohammad Mostafaie, fled Iran this month and is now in Norway after Iranian officials issued an arrest warrant for him and detained his wife.

The sentence against Mohammadi-Ashtiani was initially for “having an illicit relationship outside marriage,” which drew condemnation from many countries.

But in the interview broadcast on state television, she said that a man with whom she was acquainted had offered to kill her husband and she let him carry out the crime.

In a separate interview with The Guardian last week, she said she had been acquitted of murder, “but the man who actually killed my husband was identified and imprisoned but he is not sentenced to death.”

AFP

The BBC’s Jon Leyne has explained the video, and said he believes it to be a way for the Iranian government to justify her execution.

You can see the video and the explanation here.

Human rights activists fear that she is now in danger of imminent execution.

The BBC’s Tehran correspondent, Jon Leyne, says the Iranian authorities are clearly trying to move the focus away from the adultery charge and the stoning sentence, and to brand Ms Ashtiani a murderer.

The airing of the TV confession is a sign that she could soon be executed, probably by hanging, our correspondent says.

It seems the Iranian officials are sending a tough message to Western media and human rights groups that if they interfere in Iranian affairs and cause embarrassment, it will be counter-productive, he adds.

BBC

She has already received 99 lashes for the adultery charge.

Amnesty said a response to a defence request for a judicial review of the case is expected on or around August 15.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

An 80 year old woman is calling on the women of Ireland to join her in a day of protest against the Catholic Church.

Jennifer Sleeman, whose son is a monk, has made September 26th a day of protest, asking for Irish Catholics to boycott Sunday mass.

She celebrates her 81st birthday three days before the day of the planned protest.

From the Irish Times:

The sexual abuse scandals “horrified me. I find I belong to an organisation that seems caught in a time warp, run by old celibate men divorced from the realities of life, with a lonely priesthood struggling with the burden of celibacy where rules and regulations have more weight than the original message of community and love”.

Her son is supportive of her decision.

Originally a Presbyterian, she converted to Catholicism but now wonders if she made the correct decision.

She said she looks at her “children and grandchildren and see no future for the Catholic Church. Some of the grandchildren go through the rites of sacraments but seldom, if ever, visit a church afterwards. Some of my children are actively looking for a meaningful spiritual life but they do not find it in the Catholic Church.” But, she said, “I must except my eldest son who is a monk in Glenstal Abbey, another place that helps me keep some shreds of faith.”

******

Philip Pullman, author of the popular “His Dark Materials” series and recently “The good man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ”, has been accused by a member of the Jesuit order of waging war upon the Church.

In the book, Pullman gives Jesus an evil twin who betrays him. Jesus is also horrified at the thought of the church.

Father Gerald O’Collins is set to publish his own book, taking on Pullmans work.

“His distaste for institutional religion is well documented in His Dark Materials,” he writes. “What better way to demolish Christianity than by suggesting that it was founded on deliberate fraud: not on a true resurrection of Jesus, but on the theft of his body, and encounters with his twin masquerading as Jesus risen from the dead?”

Collins claims Pullman is trying to distort Christian stories to sow doubt among believers, in a similar way that The Davinci Code mixed fact and fiction, confusing many and bringing many new notions in religious thought for the average Joe.

Collins however has no problem with other fictional representations of Jesus, pointing to works like Anne Rice book, Christ the Lord.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

If you are currently in Ireland, there’s barely any chance you haven’t heard about notorious rapist Larry Murphy being released from jail.

Murphy was released this morning, with a huge media presence.

The convicted rapist walked out the front door of Arbour Hill Prison at 10.10am this morning and was taken away in what appeared to be a taxi.

(I say what appears to be a taxi, because an officer working on the case has said that sometimes Gardai use an unmarked squad care with fake taxi plates.)

Murphy made a complaint about his treatment by the media at Coolock Garda station.

Users on Facebook and Boards.ie have been posting updates suggesting he then wandered through Dublin city, possibly spotted on Grafton street.

One thing is for sure though, the attention will be on him for the next few days at least.

Video:

Embedded Content

Recently we reported how the FBI had claimed Murphy matched a profile they did of an Irish serial killer believed to be the cause of several disappearances in Ireland.

Larry Murphy, from Wicklow, was arrested 15 years ago and is a prime suspect in many disappearances of women in Ireland.

From the original article:

An Irish rapist who is set to be released in coming weeks has been identified as a match by the FBI to an Irish serial killer profile.

Larry Murphy, from Wicklow, was arrested 15 years ago and is a prime suspect in many disappearances of women in Ireland.

The agents made the claim that Murphy fit their profile of the killer of Annie McCarrick, a young student teacher from Long Island, and several other women.

When Murphy was arrested, the disappearances stopped.

Murphy’s brother admitted to tabloid papers that he believes that Larry has murdered and is involved in the disappearances.

Murphy was caught trying to place a plastic bag over the head of a woman he had abducted and raped twice. Two hunters in the mountains caught him in the act.

Tonight in Grangecon, Co.Wicklow, there is to be a meeting under the guise of a Sinn Fein meeting. According to a source who spoke with me today, this is the second meeting in a few weeks regarding Murphy. The people attending have also been pointed to as having ties with the IRA.

Murphy was warned by Republicans not to return to the area.

The meeting was originally to be held in Baltinglass, where his brother lives, but a local priest begged that the meeting not take place there, in case of vigilante action.

His brother has already been threatened because of false rumours claiming he would take Larry in upon his release.

Rumours had been circulating that Murphy would be returning to his brothers house in Baltinglass, Co.Wicklow, but Thomas has denied this, saying : “I never once said I was going to take Larry in here.It would never happen. I want the public to rest assured that Larry isn’t coming here.”

Thomas suffered threats from locals regarding a possible return of his brother.

“He is my brother but I wish he wasn’t. There is nothing I can do about that. Friends told me that there are rumours he is moving back in with me. When I heard this I was in disbelief. I have told them under no circumstances is he moving back in here. I’ll refuse him if he arrives on my doorstep. He won’t get inside the gate.”

While the threats from internet hardmen and the Facebook page “Sightings of Larry Murphy” are bordering on the ridiculous, the involvement of such violent individuals as was suggested to myself this morning is worrying.

When the Irish justice system lets a man as savage as Murphy out after only ten years, is it right that we fall back on folks like the RA for mob justice?

It is likely however, and I personally believe this, that Murphy will flee the country.

But with the media circus and old world calls for mob justice echoing around us, how do you think this will end?

Will the media attention fade and blow over and move on to the next big thing? Safe bet.

Will he leave the country, like his estranged wife and poor children had to? If he’s smart yes.

I guess we’ll see.

* * * * * * * * * *

Originally posted @ NerinOnline.com

Follow us on Twitter for links,info and updates: Here or Here.

Join the forums,contribute, enter competitions & more: Link. Watch our video channel on Youtube or on the forums.

Academic  and author of the God Delusion Richard Dawkins has caused an outcry following comments he made in an interview r regarding the Burka.

The outer garment that covers women is some Islamic and Jewish traditions has been the centre of many debates on secular society and tolerance.

Dawkins is quoted as saying the sight of the clothing filled him revulsion.

Muslim groups have called him ignorant but he stands by his comments.

He told the Daily Mail: “I do feel visceral revulsion at the burka because for me it is a symbol of the oppression of women.”

He also said he would not support a ban.

“As a liberal I would hesitate to propose a blanket ban on any style of dress because of the implications for individual liberty and freedom of choice.”

The Telegraph also covered the story:

Seyyed Ferjani, of the Muslim Association of Britain, accused Professor Dawkins of “Islamophobia”.

She said: “This kind of thing has been on the rise for some time. Britain is a diverse and free society.

“It is a woman’s choice if she wishes to wear a burka, a niqab or not. Why does it matter to this man what a woman is wearing?”

Telegraph

Users on richarddawkins.net are split in their reactions, many supporting him, others criticizing him.

“A fine sentiment on paper or in the pipe smoked common rooms of academia Richard, but not one that has pragmatic use in the modern UK. That is the attitude that allows extreism to thrive.

Hejab or the burkah are odious stinking rags used to oppress women and publicly advertise that that oppression is allowed.

It has NO place in the UK.

Emily Pankhurst would spit in your eye for saying that Richard. You betray everything she fought for. Your concepts of fair play and tolerance are abused by the faith heads, and so the only rational response is to end the tolerance of their stupidity.”

Sandman67

“Truth hurts. Richard is only pointing out the obvious”

Philster 61