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Security vendor Kaspersky Lab has identified infections with the new Duqu malware in Sudan and, more importantly, Iran, the main target of the Trojan's predecessor -- Stuxnet.
Duqu took the security industry by storm last week when the Hungarian research laboratory Crysys shared its analysis of the new threat with the world's top antivirus vendors.
Believed to be closely related to the Stuxnet industrial sabotage worm, from which it borrows code and functionality, Duqu is a flexible malware delivery framework used for data exfiltration.
The main Trojan module has three components: a kernel driver, which injects a rogue library (DLL) into system processes; the DLL itself, which handles communication with the command-and-control server and other system operations, like writing registry entries or executing files; and a configuration file.
The secondary module is a keylogger with information-stealing capabilities, which was discovered together with the original Duqu version. It's not known with certainty when the malware appeared in the wild, but the first sample was submitted to the VirusTotal service on Sept. 9 from someone in Hungary.
Since then Kaspersky Lab has identified multiple variants, some of which were created on Oct. 17, and were found on computers in Sudan and Iran. "We know that there are at least 13 different driver files (and we have only six of them)," the Kaspersky researchers said.
Each of the four incidents detected in Iran are interesting in their own way, aside from the fact that they occurred in a country widely believed to have been Stuxnet's primary target.
One incident involved two infected computers located on the same network, with one containing two separate Duqu drivers. In a separate case, the network where the infected computers resided recently registered two attacks that targeted a vulnerability exploited by both Stuxnet and the Conficker worm.
It's worth pointing out that researchers still don't know how Duqu reaches the targeted systems, so these network attacks might serve as an indication of how the infection happens.
"Duqu is used for targeted attacks with carefully selected victims," Kaspersky's researchers said. However, so far there is no indication that any of the victims are linked to Iran's nuclear program, like in Stuxnet's case; Certificate Authorities (CAs), like in other Iranian attacks; or even specific industries, as suggested by other reports.
Another interesting discovery is that each Duqu infection is unique and results in components with different names and checksums. "Analysis of driver igdkmd16b.sys shows that there is a new encryption key, which means that existing detection methods of known PNF files (main DLL) are useless. It is obvious that the DLL is differently encoded in every single attack," the antivirus vendor's researchers said.
Because Duqu's architecture is very flexible, it can update itself, change command-and-control (C&C) servers and install other components at any time. In fact, Kaspersky didn't find the original keylogger module on any of the infected systems in Sudan or Iran, meaning that it was either encoded differently or replaced with another one.
"We cannot rule out that the known C&C in India was used only in the first known incident [...] and that there are unique C&Cs for every single target, including targets found by us," Kaspersky's researchers also noted.
They also believe that the people behind Duqu are reacting to the situation and are not going to stop. As the hunt for new information continues, we'll likely see more developments in the days to come.


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Pastor Saeed Moved to Another Ward in Iran's Evin Prison, Family Told
Pastor Saeed Abedini, a U.S. citizen facing a possible death sentence for his Christian faith in Iran and whose whereabouts were unknown since Thursday, had been moved to a different ward in Tehran's Evin Prison, the pastor's family has been told. However, the prison officials' claim is yet to be confirmed.
Prison officials told Saeed's family on Saturday that he had been moved to Ward 3, Hall 1 of Evin Prison in Tehran, according to information received by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which is representing Saeed's family in the United States.
However, the pastor's family could not see or speak with him because visitors are allowed into Ward 3 only on Monday. He was allegedly moved to this ward to receive better medical treatment.
After two days of Saeed's trial, which began last Monday, Judge Pir-Abassi, notoriously known as the "hanging judge," had apparently told the pastor's lawyer, Dr. Naser Sarbazi, that he would see to the pastor being moved from his current ward to another ward, where he would receive better medical treatment.
However, it is not known what Saeed's health status is or if he is actually receiving treatment. It is difficult to believe Iranian officials, as they have often provided contradictory information to Saeed's family.
On Saturday, when a family friend, who was earlier threatened by officials because he was assisting in obtaining bail for the pastor, went to court to retrieve some documents, a court administrator asked him to tell Saeed's lawyer that he needed to come to court because Saeed would be released soon.
"The Iranian government repeatedly has lied about the case," says Jordan Sekulow, ACLJ's Executive Director. "A government that has engaged in physical and emotional torture in Pastor Saeed's case means every comment by the Iranian government must be taken as a grain of salt."
Saeed had told his wife in a letter last month that prison authorities were giving him mixed responses. "This is the process in my life today: one day I am told I will be freed and allowed to see my kids on Christmas (which was a lie) and the next day I am told I will hang for my faith in Jesus," Saeed wrote. "One day there are intense pains after beatings in interrogations, the next day they are nice to you and offer you candy."
"We have been told so many things about Saeed," the pastor's wife, Naghmeh, was quoted as saying. "I don't believe anything the Iranian government says about my husband. It's a very difficult and emotional time for me and my children. I continue to pray for his release and look forward to the day we are re-united and he is back with us at home."
On Friday, the U.S. State Department and the White House condemned the imprisonment of Saeed, calling on Iran to release him.
Pastor Saeed appeared in the courtroom on the first day of his trial on Monday. Prosecutors alleged he has a politically subversive influence on young people and therefore poses a threat to the national security. The pastor and his attorney were barred from the court during a hearing on Tuesday, when lay church leaders were reportedly forced to testify against Saeed.
A verdict for the trial can be expected next week. If convicted of converting Muslim youth, the pastor can receive a lengthy jail sentence or even the death penalty.
Saeed – who grew up in Iran before converting to Christianity at the age of 20 – traveled with his family back and forth between Iran and the U.S. several times in the past few years to meet his family and for Christian work. During one such trip in 2009, he was detained by Iranian officials and interrogated for his conversion. While he was released with a warning against engaging in any more underground church activities, he was once again arrested last July while working on a non-sectarian orphanage project.

subset: commoncrawl


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Children love the grown-up fun of breakfast in bed, but they may not like the grown-up flavor of fancier foods. Here are some ideas for little laps that will bring big smiles.
Sunshine parfaits. Layer yogurt with fresh fruit and granola in tall ice-cream glasses. Top with a cherry or a strawberry, or garnish the edge of the glass with a fresh orange wheel. Serve with a long spoon.
Breakfast spaghetti. Shape turkey or soy sausage into small meatballs and fry until done. Warm store-bought crepes and roll into a cylinder. Cut crepes into thin strips and toss with warm maple or fruit syrup. Top with meatballs and serve.
Banana boats. Slice an unpeeled banana down the middle; don't cut through the bottom skin. Pry open and fill the center with dried fruit, nuts, and chocolate chips. Wrap in a paper towel or plastic wrap and microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the banana is hot throughout and the chocolate is melted.


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Spruce Up Your Home for the Holidays
They're coming. You can practically hear the ominous music and the gunning of engines in the background heralding the arrival of guests for the holidays. And while you're excited to see old friends, family members, and loved ones, you're also embarrassed about that scuff on the front door, the funky tile in the bathroom, and the weird stain on the guestroom ceiling.
We're here to help with a roundup of quick tips for sprucing up your home for the holidays. We kept a sharp eye out for low-cost, high-return projects that would make your home look a little more glamorous ... without sucking up all your available time.
Refresh your floors
Hardwood floors wear down with age, and eventually they're going to need polishing and later refinishing. But if you don't have time for that, you can use a refresher -- found at most hardware stores -- to restore gloss to your floors. Choose a water-based product for easy application and cleanup and confirm with the staff at the store that it won't interfere with future refinishing projects.
Porch decor
A bare porch can look unwelcoming, and it can tend to bring out the other shortcomings of the home because there's nothing to distract your guests. Try planters filled with mums and other hardy fall/winter plants, a wreath on the door, or even just a good trim of your existing evergreen shrubs. You don't need to add any fancy decorations, but you might find that a few potted plants and a fresh doormat totally change the look of your house.
Fresh towels
Are your guest towels getting a little...aged? Try demoting them to cleaning, pet, and all-purpose towels, and pick up a fresh set for the bathroom. A set in bold colors can help distract guests from other components of the bathroom, because they'll be too distracted by the soft terrycloth to notice that crack in the floor by the toilet (but really, you should get that fixed -- call your Minneapolis tile contractor to discuss the situation).
Hide nicks in the table
Every table tends to acquire a few over time. This trick sounds bizarre, but it works: grab a shelled walnut and rub it along the crack to release the oils in the nut, which will help make it less visible. Finish with a quick polish to get rid of extra oil, and then treat the table as usual.
Rearrange some furniture
If your house is feeling stale and you're craving a new look, you could remodel. You could also try rearranging furniture, adding decorative accents, painting an accent wall, or going more minimalist to see whether that changes the way you feel about your home. You may find that some simple changes radically shift the feel of a room, and make you feel more comfortable entertaining.
Drain care
If your drains are smelling funky, run some vinegar and baking soda through to clear out debris, and follow with a rinse of lemon juice to give them a fresh scent. For disposals, try running lemon wedges and ice cubes through to cut grease and release a fresh citrus scent.
Turn hanging lamps into chandeliers
Brilliant! (Literally.) Hanging chains can be covered, and you can swap out the fixture for a chandelier that meets your tastes. Suddenly, your living and dining areas will look a whole lot more classy. You can also use this trick to add lighting in dark areas of the house.
Clean out stains in showers, tubs, toilets, and sinks
Pumice sticks designed specifically for cleaning porcelain without scratching can help you eradicate stains. Make sure to keep the surface clean and the stone wet for best results. Once the stains are removed, you can fix chips and hairline cracks with matching porcelain repait kits, available at hardware stores. It will fill in for a neat fix!
Backsplash in a flash
Peel and stick tile sheets are available at many hardware and home improvement stores, and they'll totally change the look of your kitchen. Just decide on the style you want, follow the directions, and voila! You'll be looking at a whole new kitchen, without spending too much. If you want to refresh additional elements, you can also swap out the hardware on your cabinets and drawers.
Get organized
Clutter tends to be especially noticeable to guests, and it doesn't have to be a visible part of your life. Use baskets, shelving, and other tools to round up your belongings, and get rid of the ones you don't need. Make sure other members of the household get into a habit of cleaning up after themselves, taking advantage of storage, and being responsible citizens.
Hang that art
Katie Marks writes for Networx.com.
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Malta - Immigration
Immigration to Malta is relatively easy. We suggest free 15 minute immigration in Malta consultation over phone or e-mail.
Immigration services
Immigration services in Malta are very well developed. Immigration to Malta is one of options for immigration to europe, if you wish to live, work and study and travel in Europe.
We provide consultation and assistance in European investor immigration issues:
Regarding Malta immigration law you can contact our partners at Forsetico Europe.
Illegal immigration
We have not confirmed illegal immigration in Malta, yet. So, please, don't be shocked from our offer. We excpect immigration situation in Malta to be at good level.
Immigration law
Malta immigration law coming soon.
Immigration statistics
Malta immigration statistics from official government web pages coming soon.
Most popular cities by population
Most popular cities in Malta page is coming soon.
Services for Immigrants - Embassies in Malta
Embassy list and locations (addresses, websites etc.) will be uploaded soon.
Immigration history
Malta immigration history coming soon.
Immigration history & Europe
Malta immigration history within Europe and emmigration also will be included.
Immigration possibilities
Malta immigration possibilities for specific nationals, as we have seen specific demand in those nations and their nationals.
Immigration to Malta for:
us citizens relocating from us,
americans relocating from us,
indians relocating from india,
pakistani relocating from pakistan
chinese relocating from china,
non-european nationals,
egyptians relocating from egypt,
nigerians relocating from nigeria
indonesians relocating from indonesia,
brazilians relocating from brazilia,
bangladeshi relocating from bangladesh,
russian relocating from russia
japanese relocating from japan,
mexican relocating from mexico,
filipino relocating from philippines
vietnamese relocating from vietnam
persian relocating from iran,
iranian relocating from iran,
turkish relocating from turkey,
thai relocating from thailand
south african relocating from south africa,
korean relocating from south korea,
colombian relocating from colombia.
Immigration authority in Malta
Immigration authority in Malta and a link to the website will be posted.
Page Data
Page's visit, statistics & data information.
Search engines
Search engines find us by: immigration Malta, Malta immigration lawyer, Malta immigration law, Malta immigration history, Malta immigration statistics, Malta immigration investment, Malta immigration office, Malta immigration news, moving to Malta, Malta embassy, Malta blue card, immigration department, immigration office, immigration services, immigration officer, immigration policy, immigration phone number, immigration information, immigration services officer.


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The Associated Press
SEATTLE — The man who set a Seattle warehouse fire that killed four firefighters nearly two decades ago hatched a plan while in prison to steal the identities of people involved in his case so he could fraudulently collect money after his release, Seattle police said Tuesday.
Martin Pang is in the Monroe Correctional Complex following his 1995 conviction for manslaughter. He was scheduled to be released in 2018 after good behavior reduced his 35-year sentence, authorities said.
But while behind bars, Pang contacted co-conspirator Charles McClain, and the men planned to set up credit accounts in the names of firefighters, officers and witnesses involved in Pang's case by stealing their identities, according to authorities. They would then direct money to offshore accounts.
Upon his release, Pang planned to travel to Brazil, where he fled after the warehouse fire, investigators said.
"We believe that Pang's motives were both retaliation and greed," Seattle police interim chief Jim Pugel said.
Pugel wasn't sure how Pang knew McClain or how he contacted the man from prison. But the two thought they could get millions of dollars from their scheme, Pugel said.
Pang had identity information for 20 witnesses and had accessed personal information from firefighters, which authorities say he obtained through an attorney.
It wasn't immediately clear if either Pang or McClain had an attorney on the fraud accusations. But John Henry Browne, who represented Pang during the warehouse case, said he did not provide Pang with firefighters' personal information.
Browne said he was stunned at the new allegations against Pang.
"I know that during the process when I represented Martin, that he had come to grieve what he had done," he said.
Browne added he could not understand the alleged motive: "Martin inherited a lot of money from his parents, who have passed on. I don't know why he would need money."
An investigation into Pang's scheme began in March when authorities say the Department of Corrections learned about it. The agency partnered with Seattle police, the FBI and Snohomish County authorities.
An undercover officer then infiltrated Pang and McClain's circle. Investigators say McClain gave the detective checks, Social Security information and the IDs of planned fraud targets.
"During the investigation, Pang also provided a police source with the names and Social Security numbers of key witnesses in his 1995 case," the statement said.
The men also planned to siphon money from bank accounts of the Tulalip Casino, where McClain had worked but been fired, Pugel said.
No charges have yet been filed, but the investigation has been forwarded to the county prosecutor's office. Pang could face additional prison time if he's found guilty, or lose the time that was taken off his 35-year term.
News of the alleged scheme opened old wounds in Seattle.
"These latest crimes demonstrate that Martin Pang has no remorse for the four deaths that he caused," said Kenny Stuart, president of Seattle Firefighters Local 27. "His actions continue to victimize the families of the fallen and the entire department."
The four firefighters died after the floor at the warehouse collapsed. Pang had set the fire to his parents' business to collect an insurance payoff.
After the blaze, Pang fled the country. He avoided murder charges because Browne argued Brazil had no felony murder statute equivalent to Washington state's.
"These brave men died protecting the community they serve," Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean said. "The latest allegations bring back painful memories to the families of the firefighters who died in the line of duty."


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There's the Rub
Gail Simmons doesn't understand why Edward Lee was so hard on Sarah Grueneberg.
Bravotv.com: Let's talk quickly about the Quickfire. The chefs are presented with Modernist Cuisine. It seemed like everyone might immediately think of molecular gastronomy. What do you consider modernist cuisine?
Gail Simmons: Well it is molecular gastronomy, but the term molecular gastronomy isn't really a term that people who actually practice it use anymore. Modernist cuisine is the umbrella term for using modern science and technology to make cooking more efficient and advanced. Modernist cuisine means many, many things. What Ty-lor did certainly employed modernist techniques. He used a chemical compound to convert olive oil into powder, which when it hits your mouth turns back into olive oil. That's very much a modernist technique that plays on texture and how we perceive certain ingredients. It was very much what modernist cuisine is about -- exploring, pushing the boundaries of our traditional notions of how to cook, and employing more modern methods to make cooking better and new. Now the problem is that people get wrapped up in "molecular gastronomy" and they think it's all about tricks and gimmicks, when in fact that's the opposite of what people like Nathan Myhrvold will tell you. The purpose of employing these scientific techniques is not to trick you but to enhance the genre, to enhance the way we cook. There always needs to be a purpose behind it – either because it makes cooking more flavorful, more efficient, or so we can understand it better. That is also why some of the other dishes didn't work. They relied too heavily on tricks, with no purpose to enhancing the dish.
Bravotv.com: I felt bad for Chris Jones.
GS: He did OK. He made an interesting dish, but I think also it's good to be humbled by what you do. Even if you are an expert. He has a healthy ego, and he does what he does well, but you can't take for granted that there are people who know more about it than you. Or that just because it's what you do there isn't still room to learn. He was in the top. He just didn't win because I think he got a little over-zealous and carried away. At the end of the day, again, the trick to winning any challenge, especially one like this is --- did you use the technique in a purposeful way – to enhance the experience of eating and cooking? And I think Ty-lor did. He gave us a really beautiful pairing of flavors in a very untraditional way that could only have been created through the use of this technique. I think it was the smarter dish. It didn't need all the bells and whistles.Bravotv.com: On to the Elimination Challenge, and we're finally eating barbecue. You mentioned that you're partial to dry rub.
GS: I am, I am! That's not to say I'm not going to eat sticky, gooey, saucy ribs too, but when I'm given the choice, I often enjoy a dry rub rib. But I'm Canadian, so I don't really get a vote. No one in Texas would care what I have to think or say about barbecue! But that's OK, It's just my personal preference. There are so many different regionalities to barbecue. Every state, every city has its own flavors and methods.
Bravotv.com: Had you eaten at The Salt Lick before this challenge?
GS: No! We actually got to eat there after a little bit when it cleared out. It was good. Very tasty. They were pioneers.
Bravotv.com: So we'll start with Paul's team. They went away from traditional barbecue and did an Asian influence-d style. What did you think of their dishes?
GS: I loved that they went off and did something different, especially in Texas. It takes a lot of courage to cook barbecue for 300 Texans and not cook traditional Texas barbecue because it's very ingrained in the way that they've grown up in that part of the country. But it wasn't as if they didn't use classic barbecue techniques – they absolutely did, and that's what made the food so good. It was absolutely and completely Southern barbecue using low and slow cooking methods. No tricks. No funny business. It was just that they used a few new, Asian flavors that showed us a little bit more about their personalities, their skill, and their talents as chefs, which is always what we want to see. Look, if you do great traditional barbecue perfectly, that's great. We'll be happy for you and you won't go home. But if you can show us great classic barbecue technique and ALSO give us something we've never had before, done well – you're going to win every time.Bravotv.com: Next in the middle we have Sarah, Ty-lor, and Edward. The group dynamic was a little funky because Sarah went to the hospital. . .
GS: This was unfortunate. There were two things at play on their team. One was the fact that they weren't communicating well to begin with, regardless of what happened with Sarah. I don't really know what the issue was there, if Sarah and Ed just didn't get along and Ty-lor was playing the peacemaker the whole time or what. And then, on top of it, Sarah got heat exhaustion which is very serious. I have to say I felt very terrible for our chefs in this challenge. What you don't realize when you're watching the show is that this episode was shot during the biggest drought in recent Texas history, which was sort of outrageous. I felt really guilty when I heard what we were making them do. It was over 100 degrees in the middle of the night and they cooked for like 20 hours straight! It could have been any of them, and it happened to be Sarah and that was really too bad. Obviously we take care of our chefs. There were medics on hand. There was lots of cold water. There was support if they needed it. We're not leaving them out there to die in the desert. It was a very, very physically demanding challenge – and it still would have been if it was in the winter. But you put 100-degree heat on top of everything, with lack of sleep and possible dehydration... yikes! That said, I don't know why Edward was so hard on her. I think that was unfair of him. As you can see, he's a really competitive guy. I think he just wants to win. He puts a lot of pressure on himself, and he puts that on others too.
Bravotv.com: They all tried to represent where they were from with their different styles. Do you think that was an issue?
GS: I don't think that was the problem. It's not like that made it harder to work together. I think there was a lack of communication from the start and I don't think that was because they were doing different styles. I think it was just because they weren't talking things through and perhaps didn't share the same vision of what the end result should be. The end result could still have been great regardless of if it was Kentucky, Texas, and Kansas City.Bravotv.com: And then finally we have the bottom team with Beverly, Chris, and Chris, and ultimately Chris went home for the overly salty rub. . .
GS: There were a lot of problems with both team's dishes. But certainly in terms of the "edibility", the enjoyment of the eating of the two dishes, we liked Chris' team the least. There were a couple of reasons for that: It was unimaginative, number one, especially when you compare it to Paul, Grayson, and Lindsay's food. Also, some of their food wasn't cooked enough – the ribs were tough when you want them to be tender. Finally, the salt rub, which in the end we discussed and realized was the biggest offender because it made the ribs almost inedible. You didn't want to chew it. If it had tasted great but been a little chewy, we probably could have gotten over it. But the combination of these chewy ribs and this really heavy-handed rub made it unpleasant all together – as seen by the terrible face I made when Tom made me taste it. That was such a big brother thing to do, by the way! My brothers used to do that to me all the time: "Taste this, it's disgusting."
Bravotv.com: So Chris Crary went home.
GS: Yes, our Malibu pretty boy. But he's a pretty boy who happens to be a really excellent chef. His restaurant at the Viceroy is outstanding. He's a really talented, pretty humble guy, actually. He will be missed...


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We're familiar with the daunting task of sifting through mountains of code in hopes you can learn how something works. So when a simple example like this SL4A LED toggle comes along we're thankful for the trimmed fat. If you're looking to use an Android device to control your Arduino hardware this will be huge shove in the right direction.
The microbridge is used to get the Arduino talking with the Android phone. It involves a USB host shield that lets you connect the two devices via a USB cable. With the USB debugging enabled on the phone, you can use Scripting Layer for Android as a user interface. In this case, a set of Python scripts builds the button and readout seen on the screen above. They also handle sending and receiving commands based on user input. This means you don't really need to know anything about Android development. We think it would be a great way to get your project through the development stages, and you could learn to write a traditional App later on.


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Phantom of the Opera, The

 Chapter XX In the Cellars of the Opera

"Your hand high, ready to fire!" repeated Raoul's companion quickly.

The wall, behind them, having completed the circle which it described upon itself, closed again; and the two men stood motionless for a moment, holding their breath.

At last, the Persian decided to make a movement; and Raoul heard him slip on his knees and feel for something in the dark with his groping hands. Suddenly, the darkness was made visible by a small dark lantern and Raoul instinctively stepped backward as though to escape the scrutiny of a secret enemy. But he soon perceived that the light belonged to the Persian, whose movements he was closely observing. The little red disk was turned in every direction and Raoul saw that the floor, the walls and the ceiling were all formed of planking. It must have been the ordinary road taken by Erik to reach Christine's dressing-room and impose upon her innocence. And Raoul, remembering the Persian's remark, thought that it had been mysteriously constructed by the ghost himself. Later, he learned that Erik had found, all prepared for him, a secret passage, long known to himself alone and contrived at the time of the Paris Commune to allow the jailers to convey their prisoners straight to the dungeons that had been constructed for them in the cellars; for the Federates had occupied the opera-house immediately after the eighteenth of March and had made a starting-place right at the top for their Mongolfier balloons, which carried their incendiary proclamations to the departments, and a state prison right at the bottom.

The Persian went on his knees and put his lantern on the ground. He seemed to be working at the floor; and suddenly he turned off his light. Then Raoul heard a faint click and saw a very pale luminous square in the floor of the passage. It was as though a window had opened on the Opera cellars, which were still lit. Raoul no longer saw the Persian, but he suddenly felt him by his side and heard him whisper:

"Follow me and do all that I do."

Raoul turned to the luminous aperture. Then he saw the Persian, who was still on his knees, hang by his hands from the rim of the opening, with his pistol between his teeth, and slide into the cellar below.

Curiously enough, the viscount had absolute confidence in the Persian, though he knew nothing about him. His emotion when speaking of the "monster" struck him as sincere; and, if the Persian had cherished any sinister designs against him, he would not have armed him with his own hands. Besides, Raoul must reach Christine at all costs. He therefore went on his knees also and hung from the trap with both hands.

"Let go!" said a voice.

And he dropped into the arms of the Persian, who told him to lie down flat, closed the trap-door above him and crouched down beside him. Raoul tried to ask a question, but the Persian's hand was on his mouth and he heard a voice which he recognized as that of the commissary of police.

Raoul and the Persian were completely hidden behind a wooden partition. Near them, a small staircase led to a little room in which the commissary appeared to be walking up and down, asking questions. The faint light was just enough to enable Raoul to distinguish the shape of things around him. And he could not restrain a dull cry: there were three corpses there.

The first lay on the narrow landing of the little staircase; the two others had rolled to the bottom of the staircase. Raoul could have touched one of the two poor wretches by passing his fingers through the partition.

"Silence!" whispered the Persian.

He too had seen the bodies and he gave one word in explanation:

"HE!"

The commissary's voice was now heard more distinctly. He was asking for information about the system of lighting, which the stage-manager supplied. The commissary therefore must be in the "organ" or its immediate neighborhood.

Contrary to what one might think, especially in connection with an opera-house, the "organ" is not a musical instrument. At that time, electricity was employed only for a very few scenic effects and for the bells. The immense building and the stage itself were still lit by gas; hydrogen was used to regulate and modify the lighting of a scene; and this was done by means of a special apparatus which, because of the multiplicity of its pipes, was known as the "organ." A box beside the prompter's box was reserved for the chief gas-man, who from there gave his orders to his assistants and saw that they were executed. Mauclair stayed in this box during all the performances.

But now Mauclair was not in his box and his assistants not in their places.

"Mauclair! Mauclair!"

The stage-manager's voice echoed through the cellars. But Mauclair did not reply.

I have said that a door opened on a little staircase that led to the second cellar. The commissary pushed it, but it resisted.

"I say," he said to the stage-manager, "I can't open this door: is it always so difficult?"

The stage-manager forced it open with his shoulder. He saw that, at the same time, he was pushing a human body and he could not keep back an exclamation, for he recognized the body at once:

"Mauclair! Poor devil! He is dead!"

But Mr. Commissary Mifroid, whom nothing surprised, was stooping over that big body.

"No," he said, "he is dead-drunk, which is not quite the same thing."

"It's the first time, if so," said the stage-manager

"Then some one has given him a narcotic. That is quite possible."

Mifroid went down a few steps and said:

"Look!"

By the light of a little red lantern, at the foot of the stairs, they saw two other bodies. The stage-manager recognized Mauclair's assistants. Mifroid went down and listened to their breathing.

"They are sound asleep," he said. "Very curious business! Some person unknown must have interfered with the gas-man and his staff ... and that person unknown was obviously working on behalf of the kidnapper ... But what a funny idea to kidnap a performer on the stage! ... Send for the doctor of the theater, please." And Mifroid repeated, "Curious, decidedly curious business!"

Then he turned to the little room, addressing the people whom Raoul and the Persian were unable to see from where they lay.

"What do you say to all this, gentlemen? You are the only ones who have not given your views. And yet you must have an opinion of some sort."

Thereupon, Raoul and the Persian saw the startled faces of the joint managers appear above the landing—and they heard Moncharmin's excited voice:

"There are things happening here, Mr. Commissary, which we are unable to explain."

And the two faces disappeared.

"Thank you for the information, gentlemen," said Mifroid, with a jeer.

But the stage-manager, holding his chin in the hollow of his right hand, which is the attitude of profound thought, said:

"It is not the first time that Mauclair has fallen asleep in the theater. I remember finding him, one evening, snoring in his little recess, with his snuff-box beside him."

"Is that long ago?" asked M. Mifroid, carefully wiping his eye-glasses.

"No, not so very long ago ... Wait a bit! ... It was the night ... of course, yes ... It was the night when Carlotta—you know, Mr. Commissary—gave her famous 'co-ack'!"

"Really? The night when Carlotta gave her famous 'co-ack'?"

And M. Mifroid, replacing his gleaming glasses on his nose, fixed the stage-manager with a contemplative stare.

"So Mauclair takes snuff, does he?" he asked carelessly.

"'Yes, Mr. Commissary ... Look, there is his snuff-box on that little shelf ... Oh! he's a great snuff-taker!"

"So am I," said Mifroid and put the snuff-box in his pocket.

Raoul and the Persian, themselves unobserved, watched the removal of the three bodies by a number of scene-shifters, who were followed by the commissary and all the people with him. Their steps were heard for a few minutes on the stage above. When they were alone the Persian made a sign to Raoul to stand up. Raoul did so; but, as he did not lift his hand in front of his eyes, ready to fire, the Persian told him to resume that attitude and to continue it, whatever happened.

"But it tires the hand unnecessarily," whispered Raoul. "If I do fire, I shan't be sure of my aim."

"Then shift your pistol to the other hand," said the Persian.

"I can't shoot with my left hand."

Thereupon, the Persian made this queer reply, which was certainly not calculated to throw light into the young man's flurried brain:

"It's not a question of shooting with the right hand or the left; it's a question of holding one of your hands as though you were going to pull the trigger of a pistol with your arm bent. As for the pistol itself, when all is said, you can put that in your pocket!" And he added, "Let this be clearly understood, or I will answer for nothing. It is a matter of life and death. And now, silence and follow me!"

The cellars of the Opera are enormous and they are five in number. Raoul followed the Persian and wondered what he would have done without his companion in that extraordinary labyrinth. They went down to the third cellar; and their progress was still lit by some distant lamp.

The lower they went, the more precautions the Persian seemed to take. He kept on turning to Raoul to see if he was holding his arm properly, showing him how he himself carried his hand as if always ready to fire, though the pistol was in his pocket.

Suddenly, a loud voice made them stop. Some one above them shouted:

"All the door-shutters on the stage! The commissary of police wants them!"

Steps were heard and shadows glided through the darkness. The Persian drew Raoul behind a set piece. They saw passing before and above them old men bent by age and the past burden of opera-scenery. Some could hardly drag themselves along; others, from habit, with stooping bodies and outstretched hands, looked for doors to shut.

They were the door-shutters, the old, worn-out scene-shifters, on whom a charitable management had taken pity, giving them the job of shutting doors above and below the stage. They went about incessantly, from top to bottom of the building, shutting the doors; and they were also called "The draft-expellers," at least at that time, for I have little doubt that by now they are all dead. Drafts are very bad for the voice, wherever they may come from.[1]

The two men might have stumbled over them, waking them up and provoking a request for explanations. For the moment, M. Mifroid's inquiry saved them from any such unpleasant encounters.

The Persian and Raoul welcomed this incident, which relieved them of inconvenient witnesses, for some of those door-shutters, having nothing else to do or nowhere to lay their heads, stayed at the Opera, from idleness or necessity, and spent the night there.

But they were not left to enjoy their solitude for long. Other shades now came down by the same way by which the door-shutters had gone up. Each of these shades carried a little lantern and moved it about, above, below and all around, as though looking for something or somebody.

"Hang it!" muttered the Persian. "I don't know what they are looking for, but they might easily find us ... Let us get away, quick! ... Your hand up, sir, ready to fire! ... Bend your arm ... more ... that's it! ... Hand at the level of your eye, as though you were fighting a duel and waiting for the word to fire! Oh, leave your pistol in your pocket. Quick, come along, down-stairs. Level of your eye! Question of life or death! ... Here, this way, these stairs!" They reached the fifth cellar. "Oh, what a duel, sir, what a duel!"

Once in the fifth cellar, the Persian drew breath. He seemed to enjoy a rather greater sense of security than he had displayed when they both stopped in the third; but he never altered the attitude of his hand. And Raoul, remembering the Persian's observation—"I know these pistols can be relied upon"—was more and more astonished, wondering why any one should be so gratified at being able to rely upon a pistol which he did not intend to use!

But the Persian left him no time for reflection. Telling Raoul to stay where he was, he ran up a few steps of the staircase which they had just left and then returned.

"How stupid of us!" he whispered. "We shall soon have seen the end of those men with their lanterns. It is the firemen going their rounds."[2]

The two men waited five minutes longer. Then the Persian took Raoul up the stairs again; but suddenly he stopped him with a gesture. Something moved in the darkness before them.

"Flat on your stomach!" whispered the Persian.

The two men lay flat on the floor.

They were only just in time. A shade, this time carrying no light, just a shade in the shade, passed. It passed close to them, near enough to touch them.

They felt the warmth of its cloak upon them. For they could distinguish the shade sufficiently to see that it wore a cloak which shrouded it from head to foot. On its head it had a soft felt hat ...

It moved away, drawing its feet against the walls and sometimes giving a kick into a corner.

"Whew!" said the Persian. "We've had a narrow escape; that shade knows me and has twice taken me to the managers' office."

"Is it some one belonging to the theater police?" asked Raoul.

"It's some one much worse than that!" replied the Persian, without giving any further explanation.[3]

"It's not ... he?"

"He? ... If he does not come behind us, we shall always see his yellow eyes! That is more or less our safeguard to-night. But he may come from behind, stealing up; and we are dead men if we do not keep our hands as though about to fire, at the level of our eyes, in front!"

The Persian had hardly finished speaking, when a fantastic face came in sight ... a whole fiery face, not only two yellow eyes!

Yes, a head of fire came toward them, at a man's height, but with no body attached to it. The face shed fire, looked in the darkness like a flame shaped as a man's face.

"Oh," said the Persian, between his teeth. "I have never seen this before! ... Pampin was not mad, after all: he had seen it! ... What can that flame be? It is not HE, but he may have sent it! ... Take care! ... Take care! Your hand at the level of your eyes, in Heaven's name, at the level of your eyes! ... know most of his tricks ... but not this one ... Come, let us run ... it is safer. Hand at the level of your eyes!"

And they fled down the long passage that opened before them.

After a few seconds, that seemed to them like long minutes, they stopped.

"He doesn't often come this way," said the Persian. "This side has nothing to do with him. This side does not lead to the lake nor to the house on the lake ... But perhaps he knows that we are at his heels ... although I promised him to leave him alone and never to meddle in his business again!"

So saying, he turned his head and Raoul also turned his head; and they again saw the head of fire behind their two heads. It had followed them. And it must have run also, and perhaps faster than they, for it seemed to be nearer to them.

At the same time, they began to perceive a certain noise of which they could not guess the nature. They simply noticed that the sound seemed to move and to approach with the fiery face. It was a noise as though thousands of nails had been scraped against a blackboard, the perfectly unendurable noise that is sometimes made by a little stone inside the chalk that grates on the blackboard.

They continued to retreat, but the fiery face came on, came on, gaining on them. They could see its features clearly now. The eyes were round and staring, the nose a little crooked and the mouth large, with a hanging lower lip, very like the eyes, nose and lip of the moon, when the moon is quite red, bright red.

How did that red moon manage to glide through the darkness, at a man's height, with nothing to support it, at least apparently? And how did it go so fast, so straight ahead, with such staring, staring eyes? And what was that scratching, scraping, grating sound which it brought with it?

The Persian and Raoul could retreat no farther and flattened themselves against the wall, not knowing what was going to happen because of that incomprehensible head of fire, and especially now, because of the more intense, swarming, living, "numerous" sound, for the sound was certainly made up of hundreds of little sounds that moved in the darkness, under the fiery face.

And the fiery face came on ... with its noise ... came level with them! ...

And the two companions, flat against their wall, felt their hair stand on end with horror, for they now knew what the thousand noises meant. They came in a troop, hustled along in the shadow by innumerable little hurried waves, swifter than the waves that rush over the sands at high tide, little night-waves foaming under the moon, under the fiery head that was like a moon. And the little waves passed between their legs, climbing up their legs, irresistibly, and Raoul and the Persian could no longer restrain their cries of horror, dismay and pain. Nor could they continue to hold their hands at the level of their eyes: their hands went down to their legs to push back the waves, which were full of little legs and nails and claws and teeth.

Yes, Raoul and the Persian were ready to faint, like Pampin the fireman. But the head of fire turned round in answer to their cries, and spoke to them:

"Don't move! Don't move! ... Whatever you do, don't come after me! ... I am the rat-catcher! ... Let me pass, with my rats! ..."

And the head of fire disappeared, vanished in the darkness, while the passage in front of it lit up, as the result of the change which the rat-catcher had made in his dark lantern. Before, so as not to scare the rats in front of him, he had turned his dark lantern on himself, lighting up his own head; now, to hasten their flight, he lit the dark space in front of him. And he jumped along, dragging with him the waves of scratching rats, all the thousand sounds.

Raoul and the Persian breathed again, though still trembling.

"I ought to have remembered that Erik talked to me about the rat-catcher," said the Persian. "But he never told me that he looked like that ... and it's funny that I should never have met him before ... Of course, Erik never comes to this part!"

 [Illustration: two page color illustration]

"Are we very far from the lake, sir?" asked Raoul. "When shall we get there? ... Take me to the lake, oh, take me to the lake! ... When we are at the lake, we will call out! ... Christine will hear us! ... And HE will hear us, too! ... And, as you know him, we shall talk to him!" "Baby!" said the Persian. "We shall never enter the house on the lake by the lake! ... I myself have never landed on the other bank ... the bank on which the house stands. ... You have to cross the lake first ... and it is well guarded! ... I fear that more than one of those men—old scene-shifters, old door-shutters—who have never been seen again were simply tempted to cross the lake ... It is terrible ... I myself would have been nearly killed there ... if the monster had not recognized me in time! ... One piece of advice, sir; never go near the lake... And, above all, shut your ears if you hear the voice singing under the water, the siren's voice!"

"But then, what are we here for?" asked Raoul, in a transport of fever, impatience and rage. "If you can do nothing for Christine, at least let me die for her!" The Persian tried to calm the young man.

"We have only one means of saving Christine Daae, believe me, which is to enter the house unperceived by the monster."

"And is there any hope of that, sir?"

"Ah, if I had not that hope, I would not have come to fetch you!"

"And how can one enter the house on the lake without crossing the lake?"

"From the third cellar, from which we were so unluckily driven away. We will go back there now ... I will tell you," said the Persian, with a sudden change in his voice, "I will tell you the exact place, sir: it is between a set piece and a discarded scene from ROI DE LAHORE, exactly at the spot where Joseph Buquet died... Come, sir, take courage and follow me! And hold your hand at the level of your eyes! ... But where are we?"

The Persian lit his lamp again and flung its rays down two enormous corridors that crossed each other at right angles.

"We must be," he said, "in the part used more particularly for the waterworks. I see no fire coming from the furnaces."

He went in front of Raoul, seeking his road, stopping abruptly when he was afraid of meeting some waterman. Then they had to protect themselves against the glow of a sort of underground forge, which the men were extinguishing, and at which Raoul recognized the demons whom Christine had seen at the time of her first captivity.

In this way, they gradually arrived beneath the huge cellars below the stage. They must at this time have been at the very bottom of the "tub" and at an extremely great depth, when we remember that the earth was dug out at fifty feet below the water that lay under the whole of that part of Paris.[4]

The Persian touched a partition-wall and said:

"If I am not mistaken, this is a wall that might easily belong to the house on the lake."

He was striking a partition-wall of the "tub," and perhaps it would be as well for the reader to know how the bottom and the partition-walls of the tub were built. In order to prevent the water surrounding the building-operations from remaining in immediate contact with the walls supporting the whole of the theatrical machinery, the architect was obliged to build a double case in every direction. The work of constructing this double case took a whole year. It was the wall of the first inner case that the Persian struck when speaking to Raoul of the house on the lake. To any one understanding the architecture of the edifice, the Persian's action would seem to indicate that Erik's mysterious house had been built in the double case, formed of a thick wall constructed as an embankment or dam, then of a brick wall, a tremendous layer of cement and another wall several yards in thickness.

At the Persian's words, Raoul flung himself against the wall and listened eagerly. But he heard nothing ... nothing ... except distant steps sounding on the floor of the upper portions of the theater.

The Persian darkened his lantern again.

"Look out!" he said. "Keep your hand up! And silence! For we shall try another way of getting in."

And he led him to the little staircase by which they had come down lately.

They went up, stopping at each step, peering into the darkness and the silence, till they came to the third cellar. Here the Persian motioned to Raoul to go on his knees; and, in this way, crawling on both knees and one hand—for the other hand was held in the position indicated—they reached the end wall.

Against this wall stood a large discarded scene from the ROI DE LAHORE. Close to this scene was a set piece. Between the scene and the set piece there was just room for a body ... for a body which one day was found hanging there. The body of Joseph Buquet.

The Persian, still kneeling, stopped and listened. For a moment, he seemed to hesitate and looked at Raoul; then he turned his eyes upward, toward the second cellar, which sent down the faint glimmer of a lantern, through a cranny between two boards. This glimmer seemed to trouble the Persian.

At last, he tossed his head and made up his mind to act. He slipped between the set piece and the scene from the ROI DE LAHORE, with Raoul close upon his heels. With his free hand, the Persian felt the wall. Raoul saw him bear heavily upon the wall, just as he had pressed against the wall in Christine's dressing-room. Then a stone gave way, leaving a hole in the wall.

This time, the Persian took his pistol from his pocket and made a sign to Raoul to do as he did. He cocked the pistol.

And, resolutely, still on his knees, he wiggled through the hole in the wall. Raoul, who had wished to pass first, had to be content to follow him.

The hole was very narrow. The Persian stopped almost at once. Raoul heard him feeling the stones around him. Then the Persian took out his dark lantern again, stooped forward, examined something beneath him and immediately extinguished his lantern. Raoul heard him say, in a whisper:

"We shall have to drop a few yards, without making a noise; take off your boots."

The Persian handed his own shoes to Raoul.

"Put them outside the wall," he said. "We shall find them there when we leave."[5]

He crawled a little farther on his knees, then turned right round and said:

"I am going to hang by my hands from the edge of the stone and let myself drop INTO HIS HOUSE. You must do exactly the same. Do not be afraid. I will catch you in my arms."

Raoul soon heard a dull sound, evidently produced by the fall of the Persian, and then dropped down.

He felt himself clasped in the Persian's arms.

"Hush!" said the Persian.

And they stood motionless, listening.

The darkness was thick around them, the silence heavy and terrible.

Then the Persian began to make play with the dark lantern again, turning the rays over their heads, looking for the hole through which they had come, and failing to find it:

"Oh!" he said. "The stone has closed of itself!"

And the light of the lantern swept down the wall and over the floor.

The Persian stooped and picked up something, a sort of cord, which he examined for a second and flung away with horror.

"The Punjab lasso!" he muttered.

"What is it?" asked Raoul.

The Persian shivered. "It might very well be the rope by which the man was hanged, and which was looked for so long."

And, suddenly seized with fresh anxiety, he moved the little red disk of his lantern over the walls. In this way, he lit up a curious thing: the trunk of a tree, which seemed still quite alive, with its leaves; and the branches of that tree ran right up the walls and disappeared in the ceiling.

Because of the smallness of the luminous disk, it was difficult at first to make out the appearance of things: they saw a corner of a branch ... and a leaf ... and another leaf ... and, next to it, nothing at all, nothing but the ray of light that seemed to reflect itself ... Raoul passed his hand over that nothing, over that reflection.

"Hullo!" he said. "The wall is a looking-glass!"

"Yes, a looking-glass!" said the Persian, in a tone of deep emotion. And, passing the hand that held the pistol over his moist forehead, he added, "We have dropped into the torture-chamber!"

What the Persian knew of this torture-chamber and what there befell him and his companion shall be told in his own words, as set down in a manuscript which he left behind him, and which I copy VERBATIM.

 [1] M. Pedro Gailhard has himself told me that he created a few additional posts as door-shutters for old stage-carpenters whom he was unwilling to dismiss from the service of the Opera.

 [2] In those days, it was still part of the firemen's duty to watch over the safety of the Opera house outside the performances; but this service has since been suppressed. I asked M. Pedro Gailhard the reason, and he replied:

 "It was because the management was afraid that, in their utter inexperience of the cellars of the Opera, the firemen might set fire to the building!"

 [3] Like the Persian, I can give no further explanation touching the apparition of this shade. Whereas, in this historic narrative, everything else will be normally explained, however abnormal the course of events may seem, I can not give the reader expressly to understand what the Persian meant by the words, "It is some one much worse than that!" The reader must try to guess for himself, for I promised M. Pedro Gailhard, the former manager of the Opera, to keep his secret regarding the extremely interesting and useful personality of the wandering, cloaked shade which, while condemning itself to live in the cellars of the Opera, rendered such immense services to those who, on gala evenings, for instance, venture to stray away from the stage. I am speaking of state services; and, upon my word of honor, I can say no more.

 [4] All the water had to be exhausted, in the building of the Opera. To give an idea of the amount of water that was pumped up, I can tell the reader that it represented the area of the courtyard of the Louvre and a height half as deep again as the towers of Notre Dame. And nevertheless the engineers had to leave a lake.

 [5] These two pairs of boots, which were placed, according to the Persian's papers, just between the set piece and the scene from the ROI DE LAHORE, on the spot where Joseph Buquet was found hanging, were never discovered. They must have been taken by some stage-carpenter or "door-shutter."

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PRESS RELEASE: Since 1909, Ludwig has been making exceptionally crafted percussion products for drummers of all styles. During the 100th Anniversary year, Ludwig is proud to announce the release of the Ludwig Snare Drums of a Century Collection.
The Ludwig Legacy was built on a foundation of legendary snare drums. Now in our 100th year, Ludwig pays homage to the drums that made us great with the Snare Drums of a Century Collection.
Available at select Ludwig Platinum Dealers nationwide, the collection includes the 1928 Gold Triumphal reissue, the 100th Anniversary hand-engraved Black Beauty, a laser-engraved Black Magic model, and two titanium Supraphonic models, known as The Chief snares.
"Each drum in this collection tells a story," says Symphonic Percussion Director of Marketing Jim Catalano. "There is so much history that is represented in these drums and they are truly something special." These models will be limited to 100 pieces each worldwide.
For more information, visit www.ludwig-drums.com
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Military history of France
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Did you mean: French military defeats?
To the surprise of all including the French soldiers involved, there have been minor military triumphs every few centuries. The following is a compilation of French military victories, many of which are considered to be purely mythological.
- 50 BC - Julius Caesar writes On the Gauls about expanding the Roman Empire North East, then West, then North West, then North pushing further into the barbarian lands of the Picts beyond in Saxony. First historical reference to Druidism in France, and where he learned how to chant and sing before battles with the French. Much in the tradition of how Joshua brought the walls of Jericho tumbling down.
- Gallic Wars 58-52 BC - Lost - The French, too busy fighting with the Germans because all the French women only spoke German, lost to the Italians who had to march a thousand miles to get to them. Tired from the long march, the Italians told the French they were too tired to fight and to give them a few days rest before they were ready to kick their ass. The French responded by saying it was all the Germans' fault and they should attack them and the Belgians, then claimed they were all Dutch and retreated.
- Hundred Years War 1337-1453 - Mostly lost - At the height of this war with England, France had a population of 14 million, England had 2 million, the French, realizing they were outnumber by superior British forces consisting of mainly women and children due to the lack of able bodied men who were being killed off by the plague decided to attack themselves several times to confuse the British. After several French victories against the British forces they again attacked themselves in an effort to seduce the defeated British. The French, realizing they may be winning the war took the only commander who had any success against the British, a psychotic Female, and sold her to the British in exchange for 10,000 sheep and a few stacks of wood. The wood was later 'stolen' by the English to honor the aforementioned old female, a Miss Johanna Arcangel, by having a grand barbecue in her honor.
- 1429 - Joan of Arc had a famous battle with the English Clergy on French soil. She would have won the ground war, but right before an important battle, someone dobbed her in for being too 'mannish', and thus ineligible to be a Lady General. Just shows that angel guides can have plans for you more complex than you might think.
- 1776 - King Louis the 16th sends funds and a number of his best generals to the American colonies to fight in the War of Colonial Aggression. To show their appreciation for Louis' loyal defense of the interests of the French people, the 'elected' body of Girodins, lead by Robespierre, executed Louis on the guillotine for fleeing the country and being a threat to the rights and new-found freedoms of the citizens of France. More Irony.
- 1798 - Napoleon invades Egypt and finds the Rosetta Stone. Spent one night inside the sarcophagus in the Queen's Chamber of the Great Pyramid at Giza. Rumour has it he saw his destiny and told no-one. Born from the phoenix fire of French Revolution, a champion of the hopes and dreams of his people.
- 1815 - Napoleon surrenders at Waterloo. Exiled. Apparently lost the battle because he was very uncomfortable in his saddle due to a slight case of haemorrhoids.
- 1863 - In 1863, the Salon de Paris jury rejected The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe) by Édouard Manet primarily because it depicted a nude woman with two clothed men on a picnic. While nudes were routinely accepted by the Salon when featured in historical and allegorical paintings, the jury condemned Manet for placing a realistic nude in a contemporary setting. Manet felt humiliated by the sharply worded rejection of the jury, which set off a firestorm among many French artists. Although Manet did not consider himself an Impressionist, he led discussions at Café Guerbois where the Impressionists gathered, and he influenced the explorations of the artistic group.
- This led to Gustave's Courbet's Origin of the World (1866), a painting stridently depicting female genitalia, to make an artistic point about freedom of expression.
- 1871 - Great Time Travel War of 1871 Joan of Arc led the French to Victory, and saved Mexico
- 2003 - Won the Battle of Public Opinion over the Iraq war, causing Americans to go do it anyway without international support, while making unfunny jokes about how the only reason to think invading is possibly a bad idea is if you are *bad at war*. With hilarious consequences.
Other influences[edit]
Military History by Country: |
American military victories | French military victories | Japanese military victories |


text:
Read on for UFC 153 main card results...
In the lead-in to his UFC 153 co-main event with Antonio Rodrigo "Minotauro" Nogueira Saturday night, heavyweight Dave Herman said that "jiu-jitsu doesn't work" on him. Well, it worked for Nogueira, as he submitted Herman with an armbar, sending the crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil into a frenzy.
The 36-year-old Nogueira (34-7-1, 1 NC) walked through a knee to start the bout, determined to get the fight to the mat. He got his wish, but it was Herman (21-5) in control until the two rose again. Nogueira was able to get Herman's attention with a short left, but it was the American who fired back with hard kicks to the midsection. With 90 seconds gone, Nogueira caught a kick and bulled his opponent to the fence, but they soon broke free, each landing their share of shots. Nogueira soon began finding his range with his right hand, but the relaxed Herman was undeterred by the former PRIDE and UFC champion's attacks.
Nearly 30 seconds into the second round, Nogueira switched things up, dropping Herman with a left. Nogueira then got the mount and worked on Herman's left arm, but he gave it up in order to take his opponent's back and try for an armbar. Herman defended well though, and he got back to his feet. A throw by Herman followed, but the two quickly rose. After a brief exchange, Nogueira got the takedown and went for the arm again. This time he got it, and Herman tapped out at 4:31 of the second frame.
TEIXEIRA vs. MALDONADO
The Glover Teixeira hype train isn't likely to slow down anytime soon if his dominant two round win over countryman Fabio Maldonado is any indication, but what most people will take away from the light heavyweight bout was the courageous stand of Maldonado, who refused to give in under ten minutes of punishment.
"This guy, he's not human," said Teixeira in admiration of his foe.
The first round was one of the most one-sided you will ever see, with Teixeira (19-2) starting things off with a left hook that rocked Maldonado. A follow-up right left dropped Maldonado, and what followed was four minutes of ground and pound by Teixeira mixed with an arm triangle attempt, and when Maldonado finally got up, battered and bloodied, with a little over one minute left, a stoppage by referee Mario Yamasaki would have been welcomed. Amazingly, Maldonado was able to tag Teixeira and stagger him, forcing a takedown just before the end of the round.
Teixeira took no chances in round two, immediately tossing Maldonado to the mat. Maldonado (18-6) made it back to his feet though, and he was able to score with some jabs before another Teixeira takedown. The ground and pound assault resumed, but not with the intensity of the previous frame, and with a minute left, Yamasaki stood the fighters and had the Octagonside physician check Maldonado out. After the action resumed, Teixeira continued tagging Maldonado, and at the end of the round, the doctor wisely intervened and stopped the fight.
Hear who Teixeira called out in his post-fight interview
E. SILVA vs. FITCH
The old dog issued a valuable lesson to the young lion in welterweight action, as longtime contender Jon Fitch put on one of his most impressive performances yet, pounding out a three round unanimous decision over hot prospect Erick Silva.
"I would have beaten anybody tonight," said the former welterweight title challenger.
Scores were 30-27 and 29-28 twice for Fitch, who improves to 27-4-1 with 1 NC. Silva falls to 14-3 with 1 NC.
Fitch took advantage of Silva's first striking attempt, catching a kick and taking the Brazilian to the mat. Silva shot back up, but Fitch wouldn't let him escape, taking his back and firing away with right hands as he tried to get both hooks in. Midway through the round, Fitch looked for a standing arm triangle, but Silva got free and landed with a front kick and hard right hand. At close range, the two locked up and both got off strikes, and the exchange ended with Fitch getting Silva to the fence and later taking him to the mat just before the bell.
Starting off the second round with a nice uppercut to the jaw of Silva, Fitch suddenly got tripped to the mat by the 170-pound prospect, and Silva pounded away with hammerfists in an attempt to take control. Fitch used his veteran experience to survive though, and with 3:25 left, he got loose and bulled Silva to the fence. A missed takedown attempt allowed Silva to get Fitch to the bout though, and soon after, it was Silva sinking in a rear naked choke. After a few rough moments, Fitch remarkably found a way out and sunk in an armbar just before the end of the round, turning the tide once again, but Silva was able to make it out of the second stanza.
A quick takedown by Fitch opened the third, and Silva looked exhausted as Fitch took his back and pounded away with right hands. 90 seconds in though, it was time for Silva to resurrect himself, and he got free and locked in a guillotine choke. At this late juncture, Fitch was able to get out of danger, and he quickly regained control, dumping Silva to the mat again. Fitch proceeded to pound away with both hands, and Silva, while game, had no recourse but to take the punishment until he was saved by the bell.
Watch Fitch's post-fight interview
DAVIS vs. PRADO
The August bout between light heavyweights Phil Davis and Wagner Prado ended in a no contest after an inadvertent eye poke rendered Prado unable to continue, but the second time around, Davis made sure there was a definitive finish, as he dominated Prado on the mat before submitting him in the second round.
There was little scoring of note in the first two minutes until Davis (10-1, 1 NC) scored a takedown and put Prado against the fence. Prado stayed busy in an attempt to stand, but Davis kept him trapped. With 90 seconds left, Prado got up briefly, only to get double legged back to the mat, and Davis landed with two flush right hands while the two were grounded. Prado rose to his feet late in the round, but not surprisingly, he was on the mat by round's end.
The takedown fest continued in round two, with Prado (8-1, 1 NC) unable to deal with the mat prowess of the former NCAA Division I national champion. Late in the round, an arm triangle choke came up short, but the anaconda choke moments later wrapped things up, with Prado tapping out at 4:29 of the second.
Hear what Davis had to say in his post-fight interview
MAIA vs. STORY
In the six years since his last fight in Brazil, Sao Paulo's Demian Maia became a world-renowned UFC contender. Tonight, he returned and gave his home country fans something he hadn't delivered since 2009, a submission win, as he forced Rick Story to tap out in the first round.
Story came out blasting, but Maia adjusted well and got the fight to the mat. Story got back to his feet, but the Brazilian kept the pressure on and every time the American got upright, Maia put him back down. Eventually, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu wizard took Story's back and with a rear naked choke turned into a neck crank, Story was forced to submit at 2:30 of the opening round.
With the win, Maia ups his record to 17-4, in the process making it 2-0 at welterweight. Story falls to 14-6.


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Firefighter: We could have put out Yarnell Hill Fire on Day One
Firefighter: We could have put out Yarnell Hill Fire on Day One
27 February 2014
published by www.kpho.com
USA — A former Yarnell volunteer firefighter said it was possible to put out the deadliest wildfire in more than three decades, when it was still just a wisp of smoke. Meantime, CBS 5 Investigates found state dispatchers failed to call in some of the closest firefighters and equipment.
"We could have driven up part of the way and walked the rest of the way with shovels and a bucket of water in our hands," said LeRoy Anderson, who was a volunteer firefighter with the Yarnell Fire Department on June 28. That was the day a lightning strike started the Yarnell Hill Fire.
"The fire, for basically the whole night, was the size of a Buick. It wasn't very big at all," said Anderson.
Anderson told CBS 5 Investigates he did not see an urgency to put out the flames, on the part of the Yarnell Fire Department.
"There were convenient reasons not to go. Let's put it that way," said Anderson.
Yarnell Fire Chief Ben Palm told CBS 5 News his department called the state Forestry Division to take care of the fire because it was on state land, located two miles outside the town of Yarnell and his department simply did not have the resources to handle a the job at that time.
State forestry dispatch records show crews were called in from Yuma and the Phoenix area to attack the fire the following morning. But one of the incident reports indicate delays occurred when crews did not know the best way to reach the fire, which was burning on top of the Weaver Mountains.
CBS 5 Investigates found crews and equipment were closer to the fire location, but were not called by state dispatchers.
Dan Sullivan owns Lynx Wildland Fire Co. He is a private contractor, located in Prescott, just 40 minutes from Yarnell. Sullivan said the federal government calls him and his equipment into action several times per year, but the state of Arizona rarely does.
Despite Sullivan and his equipment's close proximity to the Yarnell Hill Fire, he was not called into service. He and other private contractors told CBS 5 Investigates they are rarely used by state fire officials, despite the fact that they are fully certified to fight wildland fires.
"I will call dispatch and say, 'I'm available. I see you have a fire nearby. Do you need us?' And always, their response is, 'We have no need for you,'" said Kent Larson, who owns JTS Construction, which also operates wildland "Type 3" water tenders.
Dana Lott, who owns Sundance Fire and Rescue in Benson, said he was called out on nine fires last year. All of them were under the jurisdiction of the federal government. He also worked on the Yarnell Fire, pumping out gray water from the firefighter's kitchen. The state forestry division did not call on him to use his Type 6 or Type 3 brush trucks.
A spokesperson for the Arizona Forestry Division declined a request for an interview, but issued the following statement:
"Arizona State Forestry uses agency, fire department, and federal agency resources for initial attack response. The closest available fire department is our most common dispatch to initial fire reports.
For extended attack fires on state jurisdiction, we use a mix of agency, fire department, contractor, and federal resources. We maintain a rotation to equitably utilize contractor and fire department resources for extended attack fires."
But the contractors who reached out to CBS 5 Investigate say they believe the state chooses to use equipment from municipal and rural fire departments because those departments benefit from the reimbursements for service.
Billing invoices obtained by CBS 5 Investigates show departments can earn between $10,000 and $30,000 for working a single wildland fire. The expenses are billed to the state and federal government.
"We compete against them," said Larson.
But according to a recent study by the National Wildfire Suppression Association, it is less expensive to use contractors.
The contractors who spoke to CBS 5 Investigates said that is one of the reasons the federal government uses them so often.
"We cost roughly half what a district would charge," said Law.
They said they want to see the state utilize private contractors more often, especially in situations when they are the closest to the scene of a fire, like what happened in Yarnell.
"Give us a chance to show ourselves," said Sullivan. "If you want a test, put us up to the test."


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The development of HVDC transmission systems has become increasingly important in recent years, as these systems can transmit large amounts of power over long distances with minor losses. Underground power cables are one of the technologies used in more and more applications. An obvious use of HVDC cables is for submarine applications. Submarine cables are used to connect offshore installations, such as production platforms in the oil & gas sector or substation platforms in the offshore wind sector, to the mainland grids.
Although the cables account for just a small percentage of the total investment in the required equipment, failure would result in high costs relating to lost production and repair. Given the potential costs, investors want to mitigate risks. Despite the existence of various standards, guidelines and recommendations, there is no overall quality standard for the cabling process from start to finish. The design, manufacturing, testing and commissioning of a submarine cable thus need to be carefully implemented, including quality assurance and quality control in each phase.
This five day course will address and highlight the entire HVDC submarine cable life cycle, providing participants with a holistic view and sound understanding of HVDC submarine power cables and their accessories. It will also include an overview of the risks during the various phases of an HVDC project.
- Introduction
- HVDC system technology
- Cable system design parameters
- Cable design parameters
- Cable materials & accessories
- Cable joints and terminations
- Health, safety and environment
- Marine survey
- Cable routing
- Cable installation on land and subsea
- Cable ageing and cable failures
- Quality assurance and quality control, inspections and testing
- Testing, maintenance and failure investigation
- Asset management of HVDC submarine power cables during the operation phase
Target Audience:
Engineers and other staff from companies with an interest in improving the quality of HVDC submarine cables, including: cable manufacturers, cable installers, offshore energy project developers, TSOs and DSOs, energy utilities, energy project investors, insurance companies, investors, etc.
A Bachelor of Engineering degree is recommended.
DNV offers a range of courses in the field of power cables:
- Ageing, quality assurance, testing, diagnostics and failures of power cables
- Asset management, maintenance and remaining life of power cables
- HVDC power cables
- Submarine power cables
For those interested in HVDC in general (not only cable related), please note that we also offer a modular VSC HVDC Converter Technologies training course providing knowledge and understanding of HVDC technology.
For more information about this training course please refer to the leaflet.
This course is availalbe on request as in-company training (content, location and duration can be adapted to you specific wishes). Please contact us for more information.


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Paranormal investigators had to hold their breath to snap this spooky shot of midnight mist, which they say is "undeniable" evidence that spirits haunt Cassiobury Park.
Jamie Burnell, lead investigator for Watford Paranormal group, was one of nine people ghost-hunting in the park between 9.30pm and 3am on Saturday night.
The 33-year-old said the park is haunted by the ghost of Lord Arthur Capel, who was a Royalist during the Civil War and met his end when he was beheaded in 1649.
Mr Burnell said that legend has it Lord Capel's heart was removed after his death, placed in a silver casket and eventually hidden in Cassiobury Park.
ALSO READ: Top six Watford ghosts, with pictures.
Paranormal groups meet every year around March 9 trying to spot the headless spirit of Lord Capel, as that is the anniversary of the sightings.
Mr Burnell said: "People don't realise the rich history of Cassiobury Park and they don't understand the negative side of the place.
"When I went to the park four years ago I took a medium with me and she said there were murders, rapes and sacrifices that took place in there. It's a very strange place after dark."
Speaking about the photo, Mr Burnell said: "The more I look at it the more I believe the spirit entities were trying to show themselves.
"There are so many faces that I can make out, it's almost undeniable proof.
"There are faces on their sides and I can see almost a full body apparition. The more I look at it the more I see into it."
Mr Burnell said that a member of his group, Alexander Ray, had to keep holding his breath when he took photos because they did not want to compromise the picture at all.
The group did not see the mist appear before them and it was only when they looked back at the photo that they saw the haze.
The picture was taken at Lady Lock, by the canal and the mist was said to have lasted just three or four seconds.
The event was organised by Will Elliot, of the Independent Paranormal Research group in Watford.
Members also had a "spirit box" which scans radio frequencies and is used to detect voices.
Mr Burnell said: "We usually get some sort of indication on the spirit box and there is usually some sort of interaction between us and the spirits but it was very tranquil and very quiet and peaceful when we captured this image."
Have you captured a spooky encounter on film? Contact the newsdesk on email@example.com.
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Noun. Under the Whyte notation system, a steam locomotive that has four leading wheels arranged in a leading truck, six coupled driving wheels and four trailing wheels in a trailing truck. .This is an unmodified, but possibly outdated, definition from Wiktionary and used here under the Creative Commons license. Wiktionary is a great resource. If you like it too, please donate to Wikimedia.
This entry was last updated on RefTopia from its source on 3/20/2012.


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By Fariba Nawa
In September, on a tree-lined street in the most expensive neighborhood in Kabul, dozens of men rolled out of armored vehicles in front of a little-known U.S. security company. Backed up by Blackwater guards, Afghan authorities and Americans from the FBI and the U.S. State Department quickly headed for the offices of United States Protection and Investigations (USPI). Once inside, they arrested four of the Texas-based company's management team and confiscated 15 computers. The two Americans arrested were later released, while the Afghan managers remain in custody.
The September raid was one of the first attempts by President Karzai's government to crack down on private security contractors in Afghanistan. Afghan police say they plan to shut down about 14 contractors, and so far, have closed 10 Afghan and foreign firms.
What made the USPI raid unusual was the U.S. government's role. The State Department and FBI spearheaded the operation and accused the company of defrauding the United States, according to USPI guards in Kabul and Afghan officials who did not want to be named because the investigation is classified.
"When people on the street see this company's weapons and special vehicles, they feel frightened. They do not have good memories of these commanders during the time when they ruled the streets."
Ironically, the United States used private security guards from Blackwater -- the same company under scrutiny for the September death of 17 Iraqi civilians -- to carry out the USPI raid. It was Blackwater's actions and virtual impunity that had spurred the Afghan and Iraqi governments to rein in Western security contractors in the first place.
That impunity is of particular concern to Ali Shah Paktiawal, head of criminal investigations with the Kabul police. A crusader against private security companies, he charges that many contractors are corrupt and are operating without an Afghan government license. Some, he said, are using their guns and power to commit murder and other crimes including drug dealing and bank robbery, and to extort money on a daily basis, he said.
"We're going to make sure these companies clean up because they're doing more harm than good in our country right now," Paktiawal said from his busy Kabul office.
One foreign private security contractor, who would only speak off the record, counters that the police crackdown is really a witch-hunt to extort money from Western companies. An Afghan journalist who is researching the issue and cannot publicly comment, points to the fact that many of the companies, such as Afghan-owned Khawar, are back in business. If the right people in the government are bribed, he said, the contractors have no problems re-opening.
According to a high-level contractor who worked for the U.S. embassy in Kabul, the crackdown may be targeting legitimate companies along with rogue and unlicensed operations. Some businesses may have been shut down after high-powered government officials issued false charges arising out of vendettas.
Barnett Rubin, an Afghanistan expert and head of New York University's Center for International Cooperation, said experienced international officials working in Kabul told him that the latest crackdown on security companies is an effort by one criminal group to eliminate its competitors. Apparently, he said, foreign contracts are being offered to "favored Afghan families."
The foreign contractors say they want to be regulated without being gouged. Doug Brooks, founder and president of the U.S.-based International Peace Operations Association (IPOA), a trade group that represents private security contractors, confirms that stance. These companies are happy to register their weapons and obtain licenses from the Afghan government, he says, because it raises their standards and builds efficiency.
"They can handle high [license] fees as long as there's fairness and transparency. But they can't pay bribes because it's against U.S. laws," Brooks said.
Who are the security companies?
In the last six years, public security in Afghanistan has been on a downward spiral. According to the Afghan government and NATO figures, suicide bombings and other violence have killed hundreds of civilians in 2007, with many more injured or driven into internal exile. Western diplomats, NGOs and investors argue that the Afghan military is not ready to protect those involved in the reconstruction effort in Afghanistan. Without private security contractors, the insurgency -- including the Taliban, al Qaeda and other opposition groups -- would win the war for control of the country.
The private forces filling this security gap are funded by some of the nearly $20 billion in U.S. aid money that was allocated for Afghan "reconstruction." To date, there is little security or reconstruction to show for the money spent. An undisclosed amount of the funds for projects assigned to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and other donor nations appears to have simply gone to security contractors, according to aid project contracts that detail security costs. For almost every project, security is the highest expense.
There has also been little progress in efforts to control the expense of or to monitor the private security industry. Two years ago, the Afghan government hired a Canadian consulting company to help formulate legislation to regulate the companies, but the effort has not generated effective laws. This December the U.S. Congress passed a bi-partisan bill requiring contractors to provide more information on how they are spending aid money. The legislation creates the post of a special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR) to monitor American assistance to Afghanistan. President Bush has yet to sign it.
Legislation or no, dependence on private security is a basic fact of life in Afghanistan. There are about 10,000 private security guards -- Afghan and foreign -- in Kabul alone right now, according to figures provided by the Afghan Ministry of Interior. Afghan officials say only 59 companies are registered and licensed, but perhaps 25 more operate illegally. These numbers are estimates, since part of the problem is that no system is in place that accurately counts the companies or publicly verifies their legal status.
He said the companies possessed 11,000 different arms and had 700 offices and branches in the central capital. "Most of the companies don't allow us to monitor their working."
Many of the private security companies, including USPI, have hired Afghan guards who fought in previous wars and were supposed to be disarmed. According to the joint United Nations and Afghan disarmament group, there are still 2,000 private militias in the country employing some 120,000 men, many of whom work for private security contractors. The largest companies are either U.S. or British, and include DynCorp, USPI, Armour Group, Saladin and Global Risk Strategy.
USPI in Afghanistan
USPI has risen quickly into the top ranks of Afghanistan's private security contractors. It was founded in 1987 by a husband and wife team: Barbara Spier was a restaurant inspector and her husband Del was a private investigator specializing in insurance fraud in Dallas, Texas. They started with small contracts around the world, but when the Taliban were ousted and the new Western-backed government seized power in 2002, USPI planted itself in Afghanistan and collaborated with former Mujahideen commander Din Mohammed Jorat.
Jorat, a notorious warlord accused of killing the aviation minister in 2002, was head of security in the Ministry of Interior and headed a militia that became part of the Afghan police. His officers were paid a low salary, $70 a month, but offered the opportunity to boost it by working as guards for USPI. They remained Afghan government employees and received a $3 to $5 per diem for USPI's on-the-job training. By claiming to train, rather than actually employing the moonlighting police, the U.S. contractor was able to provide the cheapest security option for its clients in Afghanistan. The scheme effectively turned a large sector of the Afghan police into a private quasi-militia.
In a matter of months, USPI became USAID's second biggest security contractor in Afghanistan (after Virginia-based Dyncorp). USAID awarded the company $36 million for four and a half years to protect infrastructure projects, such as a road-building project awarded to Louis Berger, a New Jersey engineering company. USPI also made money from contracts with other foreign companies and NGOs to protect their offices and staff in Kabul and the provinces. At its peak, the company employed some 4,000 Afghans.
By September 2007, according to one USPI Afghan guard in Kabul, the company's guards no longer worked for the government, and had become direct employees of USPI, which pays their salaries. Jorat, who is no longer head of security at the interior ministry, had opened his own security company, Khawar, and no longer collaborates with USPI, according to the guard.
Meanwhile opposition to the government is growing and the insurgency is targeting foreigners inside the country as well as Afghans who work for the government or foreign military and aid projects.
As both the opposition and USPI operations grew, the company began to assume a lower public profile. Until two years ago, when security in Afghanistan plummeted, USPI signs were omnipresent at booths staffed by their Afghan employees who guarded big Kabul houses filled with expatriate staff. Now the signs are gone but the guards remain.
By mid-December the security situation in Afghanistan had deteriorated so drastically that the Taliban were able to kill 15 USPI Afghan guards on the highway in western Afghanistan where they were protecting Louis Berger engineers.
The rising number of attacks has raised questions about the training, dedication and competence of private security operatives. A high-level security contractor who worked for the U.S. embassy in Kabul said that members of the small team of foreign advisers are paid up to $200,000 a year to work with the Afghan employees, but that most of the local officers received little training and were infamous for collaborating with local warlords and participating in the extortion and harassment of Afghans.
"[They] made deals with the devil and their guys could do anything they want: shakedowns, drug dealing. [They were] thugs who liked mafia-type operation," said the U.S. embassy security contractor. He said USAID was not happy with USPI, but it had spent too much money mobilizing the company to let it go.
"People got killed because of the incompetence of their guys," he added. "Taliban would attack road crews and USPI guys would run and throw away their weapons, and it happened on numerous occasions." The consequence was that civilian construction workers ended up dead and kidnapped, and engineering contractors stopped construction simply because USPI could not protect them.
September Raid
By the time of the September raid on USPI offices, the company's operations were raising red flags. USPI has a notorious history in Afghanistan of operating with a cowboy mentality and collaborating with shady local strongmen. In 2005, a U.S. supervisor for USPI allegedly shot dead his Afghan interpreter and was flown out of the country the next day, according to Afghan officials.
Despite these issues, USPI continued to get contracts because it underbid its competitors for projects and remained the cheapest option, the American contractor said.
Paktiawal, the policeman in charge of criminal investigations in Kabul, was present during the USPI raid and told CorpWatch that the FBI and USAID are both investigating the company. Until the investigation is complete, he said he could not release more details about the charges.
USPI could not be reached for comment, but in October, the Associated Press reported:
"USPI faces accusations of overcharging USAID by billing for employees and vehicles that did not exist, said a U.S. security official with close ties to the company who wasn't authorized to release the information. The overbilling could run into the millions of dollars … Blackwater held U.S. and Canadian citizens at gunpoint during the raid, said the U.S. official. Blackwater ... helps provide security for the U.S. Embassy."
After the raid, one of USPI's uniformed guards, armed with a knife and an AK-47, patrolled in front of foreign offices in a quiet neighborhood in Kabul. He did not want to be named, but confirmed that there were issues of fraud involved at USPI and that none of the lower-ranking guards were aware of management's dealings.
"We were discouraged from asking anything and so we keep our mouths shut and heads down," he said.
The guard said he supports a big family with the $150 a month that he receives, and was afraid that if the firm were shut down, he would lose his job.
More Crackdowns
Paktiawal says that the Afghan police are only after the corrupt companies and that the recent law enforcement efforts will impose accountability and control over contractors. He cited USPI as an example of one corrupt foreign company that the crackdown is restraining.
But USPI is hardly alone. A senior security contractor working in Kabul told CorpWatch that the Pentagon is investigating criminal misconduct in regard to $6 billion worth of equipment and service contracts to many companies in Afghanistan and Iraq. He said that 72 FBI investigators are probing mostly Pentagon and State Department security contracts in Afghanistan, but the details are highly classified.
Other companies the government has raided include: the British firm Olympic Security Group for operating without a license; the joint Afghan-British contractor, Witan Risk Management; and Afghan companies Watan and Caps, Khawar and Mellat International Security. It is not clear whether these companies remain closed or have re-opened for business.
Meanwhile, the Afghan people face a variety of men with guns on their streets and blame most of the violence on the private security contractors.
Susanne Schmeidl, co-author of a recent report on private security companies in Angola and Afghanistan for Swisspeace, writes that the expatriate guards are often confused with foreign troops by the local populations. "While there is a positive argument to be made that private security company employment keeps former strongmen and their militia off the streets," she told a news conference in Kabul, "the dilemma as to what will happen to these militia when the contract ends needs to be addressed."


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Renewing his push against "trickle-down economics" that he says has failed the nation in the past, President Obama just said the Republican budget plan passed by the House last week is so conservative and so focused on cutting taxes for the rich that it makes the GOP's mid-1990s Contract With America "look like the New Deal."
You would think, the president also told news editors holding a conference in Washington, D.C., that Republicans would "show some humility" and "moderate their views." But instead, he said, they have "doubled down" on a strategy that focuses on deep cuts in spending and taxes on the rich.
The other side of the argument, championed by Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is that Democrats aren't willing to cut spending and are too eager to increase taxes.
And Reince Priebus, chairman of the Republican National Committee, just tweeted that "Obama should be ashamed of trying to score political points by attacking GOP budget when he and his Senate don't have one."
The nonpartisan FactCheck.org, by the way, has looked at the issue of whether the Republican plan does not cut taxes (as Ryan says) or "showers huge additional tax cuts on the wealthy," as White House adviser David Plouffe maintains. FactCheck's conclusion: "a nonpartisan analysis shows Ryan's plan likely would reduce taxes for high-income taxpayers."
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.


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Columbia Takes its 25th Flight!
News story originally written on April 17, 1998
The shuttle Columbia mission, called Neurolab, was launched successfully today at 2:19 pm (EDT).
The seven astronauts aboard are going to spend 16 days in space studying the effects of microgravity on humans and animals. Twenty-six different experiments are planned to research the nervous system and behavior in space. The scientists hope to expand our knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for neurological and behavioral changes in space.


text: Experience the Landsdowne Portrait interactive feature. We have detected that you do not have everything you need to view this feature.This section of the site requires the Macromedia Flash Player 5. Please click the link below to get the Flash Player from Macromedia: Download Flash Player 5 If you think that you already have the Flash Player installed and are seeing this message in error, please proceed: Launch the Portrait for Kids If you do not want to install Macromedia Flash Player, you can still experience the interactive Portrait for Kids. Launch the less snappy version.