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The World's Most Dangerous Power Struggle
Think North Korea's Kim Jong Il is a threat? You should see who's vying to succeed him. Joshua Kurlantzick on the Dear Leader's deadly legacy
On April 22 of last year, in the North Korean town of Ryongchon, not far from the Chinese border, a train car filled with ammonium nitrate exploded and devastated an area roughly five miles in diameter. Thousands of homes were destroyed, many of them vaporized and replaced by an enormous crater, and an estimated 170 people, nearly half of them children, were killed in the blast. North Korea's impoverished clinics couldn't handle the lines of wounded who arrived with horrific burns on their bodies and faces, stone and glass embedded in their skin. One foreign-aid worker who was allowed on the site a few days after the explosion described the child survivors he saw as being "completely burned, their faces almost ripped off."
The government in Pyongyang described the explosion as an accident caused by faulty electric cables that ignited the train's cargo, and the state-run Korean Central News Agency praised the citizens of Ryongchon for rushing into burning buildings, dying in their attempts to rescue portraits of Kim Jong Il, their Dear Leader. "Many people of the county evacuated portraits before searching for their family members or saving their household goods," the KCNA reported. "They were buried under the collapsing buildings to die a heroic death when they were trying to come out with the portraits. The Korean people's spirit of guarding the leader with their very lives was fully displayed."
That's one way of looking at it. Another is that someone was trying to kill Kim Jong Il, who happened to be on a train that passed through the Ryongchon station just hours before the blast. The South Korean press reported that Kim had planned to be near Ryongchon at the time of the explosion but that his schedule was changed at the last minute.
As with so much in the North, it's impossible to know the truth. "I've heard it both ways on the train explosion"—that it was either an accident or an assassination attempt—one U.S. official who closely follows North Korea told me. If it was an attempt on Kim's life, it probably wasn't the first. In 1995 there was allegedly an attempted coup by a faction of Kim's army, and there have been rumors of other attempts over the past decade.
More recently, though, a number of signals coming out of North Korea, beyond the recent agreement to halt its nuclear-weapons program, suggest the most isolated nation in the world may be on the verge of a meltdown. Unprecedented social unrest; an ongoing famine; power struggles and purges among Pyongyang's elite; hints that the Dear Leader is losing his grip on his subjects and is preparing to pass control on to one or the other of his feckless sons… Times appear to be tough in the Hermit Kingdom, and the question hanging over all of these rumors—what happens post- Kim? —is perhaps the most important security question in the world.
To try to get a handle on that question, I spent the past several months talking to academic and political experts on North Korea (there are surprisingly few of them) and sitting in bars and cafés and safe houses in Washington, Tokyo, and Seoul, among other places, speaking with North Korean defectors. Few of the exiles would talk to me without the promise of confidentiality, and even then, many appeared terrified that their words would cause harm to them or to family members still in the North. (In one small restaurant in suburban Virginia, I sat in a private room with a former North Korean munitions specialist who refused to speak whenever our waitress appeared and who would intermittently walk around the restaurant, apparently looking for spies.) Despite the exiles' reticence, eventually one defector would introduce me to another, who in turn would introduce me to someone else who would have specific information. Because the North is so hard to penetrate ("We know so little; access to the inner circle is so limited," says the U.S. official quoted above), what follows is by no means a complete picture, but instead a glimpse, constructed from interviews and reports that should be regarded as informed analysis rather than established fact, into the very scary (and sometimes very strange) world of the Dear Leader and his sons.
A curious thing happens when you find your way to the few people outside the Hermit Kingdom who have known Kim Jong Il intimately. To be sure, there's talk of political infighting, of intimidation and purges of political cadres, but there's also a lot of talk of weird parties. And while it's hard to say that these descriptions add much to the world's trough of North Korean intelligence, they're definitely worth passing on.
In a bland Tokyo conference room, I meet a man who goes by the name Kenji Fujimoto and who served for years as Kim Jong Il's personal chef and confidant. Though Tokyo is dominated by salarymen in matching dark suits and white shirts, Fujimoto is dressed like he's just come from a South Dakota biker rally, with a leather jacket, huge Harley-Davidson belt buckle, and pinkie rings. His greasy black hair is cut into a mullet, and he smokes nonstop, using my business card to brush ashes onto the floor.
Oddly, given the way he stands out, he turns away and hides his face whenever anyone steps into the room. "Whenever we have a party, it goes into the next morning," Fujimoto tells me. "The longest I attended was four days. Sometimes we can go to bed, but only if Kim Jong Il falls asleep; then the party is finished." In addition to endless drinking (former CIA profiler Jerrold Post noted that Kim Jong Il was the world's largest importer of Paradis Cognac), Fujimoto says the Dear Leader "keeps a special team of dancers. They are beautiful, these dancers—28 is the retirement age. When they turn 28, Kim Jong Il wants them to get married to his staff." Fujimoto wants me to understand that the Dear Leader is thoughtful about the needs of his workers. "He brings women from Poland as sex workers for me, to take care of me," he says. "Kim Jong Il wants to observe how people are thinking. After four days, he can see real people, the real mind of people. At my wedding party, I drank a lot—one and a half bottles of XO Cognac. I'm dancing with my wife, and I fall down, and when I wake up, I'm in bed." He chuckles and runs his hand through his slick mullet. "The next day, Kim Jong Il calls me in. He praises my drinking ability and asks me, �By the way, do you have any pubic hair?' I say, �Of course I do.' " Fujimoto pauses here, and my translator looks embarrassed. "Kim Jong Il says, �Why don't you go to the toilet and look at your pubic hair?' I went there, and there was none."
There are two very different sons, Kim Jong Nam and Kim Jong Chol, who are vying to succeed their father as ruler of the world's only Communist dynasty. This assumes that Kim Jong Il will avoid a military coup and, as Jerrold Post suggests, that Kim believes "immortality will come through his family, just as [former North Korean leader] Kim Il Sung's legacy was assured by Kim Jong Il."
About thirty years ago, right around the time that Kim Jong Il was quietly appointed his father's successor, the future Dear Leader began to spread his seed. In 1971 a woman named Sung Hae Rim, who was a North Korean movie star, bore him his first son. The boy was named Kim Jong Nam. Like the rest of Kim's children (it's unclear exactly how many, and by how many women, there are), Kim Jong Nam was raised in near total isolation. Merrily Baird, a former CIA analyst who spent over a decade focused on North Korea, told me that the Dear Leader made sure his various mistresses and their children never crossed paths.
Li Nam Ok, a woman who was one of Jong Nam's only childhood friends, defected to Europe years ago and wrote a secret memoir that, perhaps because of pressure on her not to betray Kim Jong Il, has never been published. In the sections of the book I obtained, she describes what has to qualify as one of the world's strangest childhoods.
As a child, Kim Jong Nam was alternately coddled and punished by his father, she wrote. The Dear Leader called home every hour to check on his son, and the boy slept in his father's bed well into his teenage years. She described scenes of Kim Jong Il ordering servants to attend to him and lavishing gifts on the boy—diamond-studded jewelry and mountains of toys. "I've never seen so many toys since," she wrote. "I have visited famous toy shops in Austria, Switzerland, and France, but I have never seen their equivalent."
But the boy lived in fear of his father, too, Li said, and even her relationship with Jong Nam was not innocent. Kim insisted that she report back to him on every move the boy made, and "I was told never to discuss my visits to Jong Nam or to talk about him to anyone." When Jong Nam disappointed his father, she wrote, Kim would explode, and "Jong Nam spent his days gauging his father's moods, terrified of his father's explosive anger." According to her, the boy would at times beg his father not to send people away to labor camps. "Jong Nam ran to his father," she recalls, "shouting and crying at the same time. Shaking his father's arm, he repeated incessantly, �No, no, no. Don't send them to the mines, Papa.' "
Today, though, Kim Jong Nam is a grown man, a paunchy figure in his midthirties with meaty hands, a doughy face, and wiry black hair in a style that looks a bit like his father's infamous hairdo. He seems to have inherited his father's dictatorial streak, too. "He was large," Li wrote of the adult Jong Nam, "and his voice carried like his father's. His fury was as impressive as his father's." In his book Under the Loving Care of the Fatherly Leader, North Korea expert Bradley K. Martin describes how Jong Nam became a fixture of Pyongyang's nightlife, drinking and carousing and, when people crossed him, allegedly pulling out his gun and shooting up a hotel lobby or a disco.
Not long ago, I met a recent defector in the coffee shop of a shabby Seoul hotel. Formerly one of the circle of young elites favored by the Dear Leader, he was now so worried for his safety that I was allowed to refer to him only as Our New Friend.
When I ask about Kim Jong Nam, who moved in similar circles, Our New Friend says, "I found him kind of stupid. Not very witty. Corrupt, like a con man. He had the traits of a dictator. He treated his escorts, the people who came with him, like they were slaves." Still, he adds, "Kim Jong Il clearly seemed to take steps to enshrine Jong Nam as a successor. He let Jong Nam be in charge of some elements of state security. He wanted Jong Nam to learn, through the security agency, who his enemies were."
But four years ago, in the spring of 2001, Jong Nam made a serious mistake. He was detained in Japan for entering the country on a false passport. What he was intending to do there remains unclear. It may have been business, gathering intelligence in a country with thousands of ethnic Koreans. Or maybe pleasure; the Japanese media reported that Jong Nam had previously visited Tokyo's Yoshiwara district, famed for its "soaplands," where naked women give men full-body washes. (For his part, Jong Nam told Japanese authorities he just wanted to visit Tokyo Disneyland.) In any case, Japan is Korea's historical enemy, and watching Jong Nam submit to Japanese authorities was reportedly a serious embarrassment to his father. Jong Nam was sent away from North Korea for a while, and South Korea's intelligence service says he now spends his time shuttling between mainland China, Macao, and Russia, trying to find a way to maneuver himself back into the Dear Leader's good graces.
Virtually nothing is known about Kim Jong Chol, a reedy man with delicate, almost feminine features who is now in his midtwenties. Fujimoto, the former chef, tells me that Jong Chol's mother, Koh Yong Hee, a dancer Kim married in 1980, was perhaps the only woman whom Kim Jong Il truly loved. "Kim Jong Il and Koh Yong Hee very much seemed to love each other," he says. "Whenever we had a party or reception, Koh Yong Hee would talk about when she dated Kim Jong Il before they got married. They bought CDs of love songs, and together they would listen to those songs and talk about when they'd met." Needless to say, theirs was not your garden-variety courtship. "One of the guards for Kim Jong Il tried to assassinate him from behind, with a pistol," Fujimoto tells me. "Koh Yong Hee stopped the guy from shooting Kim Jong Il by force." He smiles and says, "Whenever we had a party, Kim Jong Il would tell this story."
Like Jong Nam, Kim Jong Chol grew up separated from much of the world around him. Through a mutual acquaintance, I was introduced to an American man who'd attended school with Jong Chol in Switzerland in the mid-1990s and was one of the only non–North Koreans to spend considerable time with him. "I knew Chol as Chol Pak," the friend tells me one day when I meet with him in Washington, D.C. "I had no idea who he really was, and he had another kid with him at all times, who was kind of watching him. I didn't learn much about his life at home; he was very secretive. After school Chol was never allowed to do stuff with me."
Chol wasn't completely isolated, though, the man says: "We played a lot of basketball, we played a lot of soccer. And Jean-Claude Van Damme was his idol. He just loved that guy."
We talk a little while longer about his prep-school days and how Chol naively "portrayed North Korea as a rich country, like a utopia." At the end of our conversation, he hands me an aged sheet of paper covered in poorly typed sentences. It was one of Chol's old school assignments, an essay entitled "My Ideal World." "If I had my ideal world," Kim Jong Chol had written, "I would not allow weapons and atom bombs anymore. I would destroy all terrorists with the Hollywood star Jean-Claude Van Damme."
Most of the buildings that make up Tokyo's national-security establishment are clustered in one area downtown, but not all. On a narrow street near the shopping district of Shinjuku, unannounced by any prominent sign, are the offices of a quasi-government organization called Radio Press. Inside, a small army of analysts, crowded by overflowing file cabinets, spends its days monitoring Chinese, Russian, and North Korean broadcasts and publications. Most of what they see or hear out of the Hermit Kingdom is boilerplate propaganda, wild denunciations of the United States or Japan. But the analysts at Radio Press began to notice odd signals coming from Pyongyang. Since October 2003, North Korea's state press has written that "the Korean revolution is carried on from generation after generation" via "succession by blood," and the Pyongyang media reported that Kim Jong Il said he'd uphold his father's instructions to pass the revolution on. Around the same time, the North Korean media began creating a personality cult around Chol's mother, Koh Yong Hee, a development similar to one in the early 1970s, when Kim Jong Il's mother was mythologized to help the Dear Leader ascend to power. The state compared Koh to the wife of North Korea's founder and ordered the people to pay respect to her. Kim Jong Il also apparently remobilized the Three Revolutions Team, a group of loyalists he'd depended upon years ago to eliminate his enemies. A South Korean succession specialist named Cheong Seong Chang told me that defectors he's interviewed are saying that North Korea's elites are being told to support Chol, that North Korean army officers are now studying Chol's ideas, and that Chol was recently given a position in the department of Organization and Guidance, which is the party's nerve center. "Chol took the same spot in the party as Kim Jong Il once had," Cheong said.
And yet, despite the cranking up of the propaganda machine and the mobilization of the Dear Leader's henchmen, the passing of the mantle to Kim Jong Chol is not a sure thing. For one, his mother, the Dear Leader's true love, is now dead. According to Alexandre Mansourov, a former Russian diplomat once stationed in Pyongyang, that makes all the difference.
"As long as Koh Yong Hee was alive, her son had a leg up," Mansourov told me, "because Kim Jong Nam didn't have a woman whom Kim Jong Il loves whispering into his ear every night, �My son should be your heir.' " (Fujimoto suggested this to me, too. "Kim Jong Il gets angry at subordinates," he said, "but never at the family members of Koh Yong Hee.")
Since Koh Yong Hee passed away last year, Jong Chol's star may have fallen. And Jong Nam, it seems, isn't going down without a fight. "Those forces loyal to Kim Jong Nam are launching a counterattack," Mansourov told me; they are trying to portray Jong Chol and his supporters as disloyal and hoping to get them purged.
Mansourov described for me how Jong Nam has supporters in the powerful State Security Agency, the domestic intelligence organization that rivals the military, and several defectors and experts I spoke with agree that Jong Nam's support lies with intelligence, as well as with China, which could be cultivating ties to him.
Though North Korean elites almost never interact with foreign reporters, late last year Jong Nam crossed paths with Japanese journalists at an airport in China. After the reporters gave him their business cards, Jong Nam, like a seasoned political operative, reportedly sent them several e-mails emphasizing that the choice of successor was not finalized. (There's some speculation that these maneuverings enraged the once placid Jong Chol, leading to a plot to assassinate Jong Nam.)
Beyond the struggle between the two sons, however, deeper and more troubling forces are at work. Since Kim Jong Il has not declared one successor, and since Jong Nam and Jong Chol are not nearly as politically savvy as their father, other potential rivals have entered the fray. The most notable is Chang Song Taek, Kim Jong Il's brother-in-law and longtime consigliere. Chang was a feared survivor of internal struggles. "Everybody is afraid of Chang," Fujimoto told me. "It's like he has supreme power." Our New Friend said that Chang started organizing small groups of his supporters and began to build links to China. "He played it up too visibly," the defector said. "Kim Jong Il wouldn't stand that."
No, he wouldn't. The Dear Leader reportedly recently purged Chang and many of Chang's close associates. "If Kim Jong Il has indeed purged his brother-in-law," said Merrily Baird, the former CIA analyst with whom I spoke, "he must indeed be working in a very insecure environment."
A year ago, another powerful player died in a suspicious car accident. "When people die in car crashes, you should really wonder," Baird said. "There's so little traffic in North Korea, and there is a history of North Korean officials dying in car crashes that's very fishy."
Shortly after Fujimoto told me the tale of his genitals being shaved, I met another remarkable character who had her own special insight into the mind of the Dear Leader. Her name is Hikita Tenko—or Princess Tenko—and she is Japan's most famous illusionist, a sort of female David Copperfield. When I walk into a private suite at an expensive Tokyo hotel, she is seated at a long table wearing a long white gown, raccoonlike eyeliner, massive black eyelashes, heavy white makeup, and jewels on every finger. In a high, breathy voice, Princess Tenko explains to me that Kim Jong Il had seen videos of her illusion shows and decided she must be his.
"He saw a cartoon series of me dressed as a Wonder Woman-type figure, and he wanted to bring me to North Korea," the princess says. "When the offer came in 1998, Kim said he'd used all his networks all over the world to learn as much as possible about me." Kim also owned the entire Princess Tenko doll collection and was holding one when she arrived. "He knew basically everything about me," she says. "Even my private life—where I lived, what kind of car I drove, where my second house was."
Kim Jong Il brought Princess Tenko to party after party, and she, too, witnessed his intimidating mood swings. "He didn't act very normal at the parties," she says. "Even the way he talks—it's not like a normal person. He would suddenly become extremely angry, then extremely happy, then extremely angry again. Depending on his mood, the party members would get nervous, very nervous. If Kim Jong Il was angry, he'd break things, and they would stand very still." Kim would make special requests, too. "In one of my shows, I present myself like a superwoman," she explains. "He'd request that I wear red bondage-style outfits for the parties."
While Princess Tenko was in the North, Kim Jong Il took her passport and refused to let her leave, ordering his underlings to build her a stage near Pyongyang so, he said, she could perform for him forever. After much pleading, she was released only when she promised that she would come back to the North. "When I returned to Japan, I was frightened," she told me. "I'd never been so frightened in my life. There were several attempts to kidnap me, and I went to [North Korea's unofficial representatives in Japan] and asked them to stop this." She paused here, her eyes wide. "They said I should go back to North Korea and discuss this directly with Kim Jong Il," she said. "The last �invitation' I got to return to the North was just five days ago."
In the winter of 2002, a North Korean officer named Ju Sung Il left his post near the demilitarized zone separating North and South Korea. He traced a route to the South that he'd studied in order to avoid land mines and other deadly traps and to elude the watchful eyes of North Korean soldiers. Carefully, he picked his way through razor wire and electric fences, eventually firing shots into the air to alert the troops at the South Korean border post that he'd made it.
When I meet Ju in Seoul, he looks nothing like the desperate soldier he once was. He wears an open-neck silk shirt, his hair spiked up with gel, and carries a sleek mobile phone and talks of going to America for graduate studies. But Ju hasn't forgotten what it was like to be a soldier in the isolated North and why he left his family behind and took the enormous risk of escaping. "The North Korean government stopped paying soldiers," he tells me. "Advancement depends only on bribes. If you don't have the money to pay bribes to top military officers, you can be sent to rural areas, where even military officers starve to death." This is the future he saw for himself, and he apparently figured it was better to get gunned down trying to flee across the DMZ than to slowly starve in a corrupt country that had been lying to its oppressed citizens for years. "If North Korean people trusted Kim Jong Il," Ju says, "there would not be so many of them leaving the country."
Though he didn't know it at the time he escaped, Ju was on the leading edge of a growing wave. In the past few years, tens—maybe hundreds—of thousands of North Koreans have snuck across the more porous border with China. Once there, they see how prosperous the world has become and how bankrupt their country remains, and word of this returns home. Physical goods return home, too: cell phones, books, radios, televisions, all of which continue to destroy the long-peddled government fiction that South Korea is impoverished and the North wealthy.
"Social awareness has undergone a revolutionary change," Suh Jae Jean, one of the few South Korean scholars with access to a wide range of defectors, recently wrote. "Ideology and loyalty to the party and the leader have lost their value… As soon as North Koreans realized the fact that they were �masters of their destiny,' they have discovered that �God' did not provide them food and livelihood and that �God,' in fact, was nothing but a repressive being."
Suh goes on to describe an even more amazing change: In supposedly controlled North Korea, average citizens are taking their frustrations out on local government and propaganda officials, physically attacking and terrorizing them. Some officials are so afraid of being beaten to death that they're installing elaborate security measures in their homes and refusing to wear their uniforms in public.
But even in the midst of this rising instability, Pyongyang is possibly in possession of enough nuclear material to build at least six weapons, and it maintains the world's fifth-largest army. And history suggests that the Dear Leader takes his biggest risks when holding the weakest cards, to divert attention from internal chaos and to rally public opinion against an external enemy.
A foreign-policy optimist might say, though, that recent news defies this. In late September, Pyongyang agreed that the North would halt its nuclear-weapons program, and the fact that the United States was willing to negotiate with North Korea might suggest that President Bush, who in the past referred to Kim as a "pygmy," thinks that the Dear Leader's demise might not be quite so imminent.
Nicholas Eberstadt, a Korea expert at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, has a slightly different take. The day after the agreement was reached, Eberstadt put it this way: "To talk of a �peaceful North Korean nuclear industry' is to talk of an imaginary animal, like a unicorn. It's like talking about a �peaceful chemical-weapons program' or a �peaceful intermediate-range ballistic missile.' " After all, North Korea and the United States readied another agreement, a decade ago, on a nuclear freeze—an agreement that ultimately amounted to nothing.
Despite all the parsing of signals, it's impossible to truly know how loose the Dear Leader's hold has become. But it's certainly not what it once was, and the looming question of what kind of post–Dear Leader leader will emerge is one the world can't wish away. It could be one of the sons. Or it could be that a general more receptive to genuine reform will gather strength and emerge. Or it could be, as many of the defectors and analysts I spoke with predict, a series of military coups and a descent into turmoil, leaving the country and its nuclear arsenal in uncertain hands.
Sitting with Ju Sung Il, the former elite soldier who crept across the DMZ, I ask what he thinks a post-Kim world would look like. "I don't know," he says. "It's hard to think about." Then, in the extraordinarily understated way that is typical of the North Koreans I spoke with, he adds, "It's hard to be optimistic."


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Mayor Don Wesely today encouraged Lincoln area residents to attend the "Love Your Country. Vote" tour, a voter registration event beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 23 at Westfield Shoppingtown Gateway.
"Too few Americans exercise their right and responsibility to vote, and voter registration is the first step," said Mayor Wesely. "I commend the organizers of this tour for their efforts to get more citizens to the polls."
The voter registration rally will include a live performance by the new country music group, Little Big Town. The "Love Your Country. Vote" tour is a non-profit, non-partisan campaign to encourage Americans to register to vote. The tour began July 4, and the local event is part of a series of rallies in mall atriums in 25 cities across the nation before August 31. Partners in the campaign are Sony Music, CMT-TV (Country Music Television) and TransWorld Entertainment (FYE/Record Town).
Individuals wanting additional information are encouraged to visit the campaign's website at www.loveyourcountryvote.com.
Media Release

subset: commoncrawl


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|Hey Mom! Learn more about the Gerber Life Insurance Grow-Up Plan!
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Cricket has sent me a private message, personally apologizing to me for how the last 24 hours went down. She realizes she jumped the gun a little in some of the inactivations/bannings (but others did need to be done right away... more information on that is coming). Cricket would be here herself, but a real-life situation beyond her control is keeping her away.
Speaking of real life, she is very much a real person and not just a robot or anything. I've actually spoken to her on the phone multiple times, and she really does care about the community. Part of caring about the community is protecting it (more about that later, too). Juan cares about us, too, even though he's not a regular, direct, posting presence in the community and doesn't personally know very many of us. It is hard to read tone over the Internet. I know with his post that he made in the Ask the Pros thread, I initially read it and "saw" a very harsh tone, but I re-read it a few minutes ago with a softer tone in mind, and the overall message conveyed is a lot different than the one that a good majority of the community initially received.
I don't know how much of this will mean much to any of you since it's coming from "Harmony96" and not directly from "Juan" or "Cricket," but it's all truth. There are good things in store for this community that we believe you all will "like." One of the first tasks at hand is updating the outdated FAQs. We asked for your input on the new Sensitive Subjects guidelines, and you gave some great suggestions. We're hoping to receive some more great input as well on updating the FAQs.
Another change coming is that while the site's overall rules will stay the same, we will be moving away from a three strikes system and going towards a points system with regard to potential bannings. Like the changes to the Marketplace, this new system is still in the VERY early stages, but it could include things like a ban happens at X points, and different broken rules would have different point values, depending on how much or how little it affects the overall safety and security of the site.
Now, speaking of safety and security, it's "later." Rena has spoken a few times about personal attacks, bullying, and stalking. We do not use those terms lightly at all.
In terms of harassment and bullying, we have had a variety of experiences both on and offsite. On the site itself we have seen direct personal attacks from users as well as fake profiles created for the sole intent of bashing team members. By bashing we do not mean venting or questioning, we mean vicious and often profane or vulgar attacks.
There have also been offsite attacks. We don't mean joining another forum and/or venting there about your Diaper Swappers experiences. We're not going to crack down on the whole Internet to make sure nary a bad word against this site is ever spoken. We are not monitoring people's activities on other forums nor suggesting people are restricted to maintaining a membership here and only here. We are talking about malicious acts reaching into peoples personal lives, through their personal online presence, measures taken by individuals out of spite to bring about harm in the member's life.
Both of these cases of malicious verbal attacks do qualify for instant bans and in some cases further measures can be taken including legal action if needed. Due to the sensitivity of the subject matter, we will not be disclosing details about what was done, what was said or who was targeted. Several of the bannings in the last 24 hours were due to this cyber stalking and bullying, and brief information about this will eventually be posted in people's profiles.
With regard to the inactive members, they are members who have already stated they were leaving and not coming back (which they are free to do), but when their profile activity continually shows them coming back and only PMing (and no, we don't know what they were PMing about), we have to do what we can to protect the members of the community who have chosen to stay.
We do thank you all who HAVE chosen to stay and look forward to making this community better than ever.
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Select Kit-Kat bars in the UK will contain GPS devices, which Nestlé will use to find the buyers and give them a cash prize.
Customers buying Kit-Kat bars in the United Kingdom could be unwrapping a 21st-century version of Willy Wonka's Golden Ticket--a GPS unit the candy-maker will use to find them, apprehend them and give them a prize. Nestlé claims to be the first to market its chocolatey wares with a GPS-based promotion.
The somewhat sinister-sounding "We Will Find You" campaign will place a GPS-enabled bar inside four versions of Kit-Kats. Inside the wrapper, it would look exactly like a regular Kit-Kat, according to the York Press newspaper, in the town where Nestlé is based. When the would-be snacker pulls a tab to open the wrapper, the GPS device will turn on, which will notify the company. Then a "prize team" will locate this person within 24 hours and hand him or her a check for £10,000 (about $16,000).


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Application considerations
From ISXKB
Windows application developers sometimes release their products without considering all effects afterwards. This can make it difficult, for instance, to provide updates, and the application may fail under certain circumstances. The purpose of this article is to cover some of the most common pitfalls.
Application working directory
On Windows there are many different ways of starting an application. Although most users may start the program via the Windows start menu, others may use a command line or an Explorer window. Therefore, the working directory may not always point to the folder where the application's executable resides.
If an application needs to read additional files from the start up folder, for example configuration files, direct link libraries (DLLs), etc, it will fail if the working directory points to somewhere else.
Inno Setup does not fill in this information automatically, hence an [Icons] section like
[Icons] Name: "{group}\My Program"; Filename: "{app}\MYPROG.EXE"
would leave the 'Start in' field (the working directory) blank. Of course, Windows uses a default working directory, but this folder varies between different versions of Windows. That makes the start up folder somewhat random for developers.
If an application relies on that folder it will fail to find its configuration files or DLLs.
There is at least one way to fix this issue, one way to work it around, and one no-go.
The 'Path' environment variable could be changed to point to the application directory. This would solve the problem only for DLLs and executable files, hence that's the 'no go' (see Avoiding the Path environment variable), so don't do that.
The [Icons] section entry of the Inno Setup script can be altered so that a 'Workingdir:' parameter is specified. That's the workaround.
[Icons] Name: "{group}\My Program"; Filename: "{app}\MYPROG.EXE"; WorkingDir: "{app}"
This does not help much if the user starts MYPROG.EXE from a command line window which has a working directory pointing to somewhere else. To finally fix this issue and make it work in all cases the application itself needs to be changed unless the program is meant to run with different configuration files/DLLs from different working directories.
The Windows API GetModuleFileName () can be used to retrieve the application's executable module file path before any configuration files or DLLs are loaded. Developers can then separate the folder information from the executable's file name and use this directory whenever a configuration file or a DLL is to be loaded, or even change the current directory immediately.
Here's a quick example in C, but better use _splitpath or _wsplitpath. For improvements have a look at Security Development Lifecycle (SDL) Banned Function Calls as well.
char chAppPath [1000]; char *chBackSlash; if (GetModuleFileName (NULL, chAppPath, 1000 - 1)) { chBackSlash = strrchr (chAppPath, '\\'); if (chBackSlash) { if (strlen (chAppPath) > 2) *(chBackSlash + 1) = '\0'; SetCurrentDirectory (chAppPath); } }
Examples for splitting up the path retrieved by GetModuleFileName () or similar functions in different programming languages:
- AutoIt: @ScriptDir macro
- C++: SplitPath on Code Project
- Delphi: Workingdir in Inno Setup's FAQ
- Delphi: ExtractPath on Delphi Basics
- Delphi: ProcessPath on Delphi Basics
- Visual Basic: A better App.Path on FreeVBcode.com
- Visual Basic: SplitPath for Visual Basic on Tek Tips
- Visual Basic: Locate the executable path using Visual Basic
- Java/C#: SplitPath for Java and C+ on the same page as a comparison
Some languages, mostly interpreters, provide macros or constants for the executable or script directory. AutoIt, for example, provides the macro @ScriptDir. Inno Setup itself provides the constant {src} for the folder in which the setup.exe resides.
Application versioning
There will almost certainly be a day in the future where an application needs to be updated.
Every new version will probably have its own installation program created with Inno Setup or any other setup generator. A user could try install an older version over a more recent one.
How can the setup program determine whether the installed version is more recent than the installation package or whether it needs to be replaced?
A date/time stamp is not a very good indicator as it can easily be changed by the user or other circumstances.VERSIONINFO resource for that case. Applications that contain a correct version info resource are automatically handled by Inno Setup and other installers. The resource can be accessed on the 'Version' page of the 'Properties' dialog window (picture on the right).
[Files] Source: "MYPROG.EXE"; DestDir: "{app}"
Inno Setup can also ignore the version info but that would spoil the whole idea of version management:
[Files] Source: "MYPROG.EXE"; DestDir: "{app}"; Flags: ignoreversion
The VERSIONINFO has to get into the program somehow. Here are some links for different languages:
- C++: How to increment version information after each build in Visual C++ on the Microsoft support database
- Delphi: An example how to retrieve the VERSIONINFO of a module. The resource is set in the project settings.
- Visual Basic: A forum thread that discusses how to set VERSIONINFO in Visual Basic
Application is running
When trying to apply an update or to reinstall the application the user could have the program running. Because running executable modules are normally locked by the operating system (there are exceptions, but they are negligible) the installer can't replace it, hence the update, reinstallation, or removal, fails.
Windows provides a whole bunch of options to check whether an application is running. The article Detect if an application is running discusses some of them.
For GUI programs that require user interactions a mutex object seems to be the most reliable and least intruding method. Mutexes can be used for many things but in this case Inno Setup can detect an existing mutex which will indicate that the application is currently running.
By default Inno Setup supports application mutexes by asking the user to close the program first before applying the update, the reinstallation, or uninstallation. See [Setup] AppMutex= in Inno Setup's help file online.
[Setup] AppMutex=TheUniqueMutexNameForMyProgram
Inno Setup can only detect a mutex (ie. a running application) if the program has created one. This should take place right at the start of the program. The mutex object is automatically destroyed upon application termination. The operating system takes care of the removal.
The text 'TheUniqueMutexNameForMyProgram' should be replaced by some unique name. The description for lpName of CreateMutex () provides more details on how to name a mutex object.
Because it takes only one Windows API call without significant overhead every GUI application should create a mutex on start up.
To create the mutex object in different programming languages the following examples can be used.
CreateMutex (NULL, FALSE, "TheUniqueMutexNameForMyProgram");
CreateMutex (nil, False, 'TheUniqueMutexNameForMyProgram');
Visual Basic (this code has been 'stolen' from Inno Setup's help file and was submitted by Peter Young):
'Place in Declarations section: Private Declare Function CreateMutex Lib "kernel32" _ Alias "CreateMutexA" _ (ByVal lpMutexAttributes As Long, _ ByVal bInitialOwner As Long, _ ByVal lpName As String) As Long 'Place in startup code (Form_Load or Sub Main): CreateMutex 0&, 0&, "TheUniqueMutexNameForMyProgram"
See also this Inno KB entry for information on how to detect when the application is still running from a different login than the one where the installer is being run.
See also
- [Setup] AppMutex= in Inno Setup's help file online.
- Avoiding the Path environment variable
- Detect if an application is running
- Installation Considerations
- PSVince A DLL to detect if a module is loaded into memory
- Call psvince.dll on install and uninstall
External links
- GetModuleFileName () on MSDN
- _splitpath, _wsplitpath on MSDN.
- SetCurrentDirectory () on MSDN
- Mutex objects on MSDN
- CreateMutex () on MSDN
- Using Mutex Objects on MSDN
- GUI = Graphical User Interface on Wikipedia
Examples for splitting up the path retrieved by GetModuleFileName () or similiar functions in different programming languages:
- AutoIt: @ScriptDir macro
- C++: SplitPath on Code Project
- Delphi: Workingdir in Inno Setup's FAQ
- Delphi: ExtractPath on Delphi Basics
- Delphi: ProcessPath on Delphi Basics
- Visual Basic: A better App.Path on FreeVBcode.com
- Visual Basic: SplitPath for Visual Basic on Tek Tips
- Visual Basic: Locate the executable path using Visual Basic
- Java/C#: SplitPath for Java and C# on the same page as a comparison
Examples and discussions on how to set and retrieve an executable module's VERSIONINFO resource:
- C++: How to increment version information after each build in Visual C++ on the Microsoft support database
- Delphi: An example how to retrieve the VERSIONINFO of a module. The resource is set in the project settings.
- Visual Basic: A forum thread that discusses how to set VERSIONINFO in Visual Basic


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February 25, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012 (Los Angeles, CA) - Carin Jennings-Gabarra and Lee Popejoy were named to the Hall of Fame tonight at the 2012 Cal South Awards Banquet. Held in conjunction with Cal South's annual celebration of "the beautiful game," Soccer Nation Expo, the Awards Banquet took place in the Platinum Ballroom of the J.W. Marriott at L.A. Live following the close of the expo's Day One action at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
Jennings-Gabarra certainly carried her soccer dream far past her youthful days playing on the fields of Southern California for the Palos Verdes Breakers and FRAM. Scoring 226 goals as four-time High School All-American and a three-time California Most Valuable Player for Palos Verdes High School from 1980 to 1983, Jennings-Gabarra then set a national record for goals (subsequently broken by Mia Hamm) as a forward for the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she graduated in 1987 with a Bachelor's degree in business management. While at UCSB, Jennings-Gabarra was a second team All-American twice (1984 and 1985) and a third team All-American in 1987. Named as UCSB's Athlete of the Decade, she was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame in 1991. She next played for the adult women's Los Angeles Blues and then Southern California Ajax (along with fellow Cal South Hall of Famer Joy Fawcett), where she led them to win the USASA National Amateur Cup in 1992 and 1993.
But it was as a member of the U.S. Women's National Team where Jennings-Gabarra made her true mark, earning 117 caps from 1987 to 1996, scoring 53 goals along the way. In 1991, she was a member of the U.S. WNT that captured the first FIFA Women's World Cup. Jennings-Gabarra, scoring six goals in the tournament, distinguished herself further by being awarded the Golden Ball as the top player. She was named as the US Soccer Athlete of the Year in 1987 and 1992, and as the U.S. Olympic Player of the Year in those same years. In 1995, her U.S. WNT came up just short in the next Women's World Cup by losing to Norway in the semis, but they rebounded to capture the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics, when soccer was included as a women's event for the first time. She then retired from international soccer, shifting her full focus to coaching, which she began doing in 1987 with stints as a head coach at Westmont College and then as an assistant at Harvard. She was hired by the United States Naval Academy in 1993 as its first women's soccer coach, which she developed into a competitive program, and where she continues to coach today. In 2000, Gabarra was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame followed in 2003.
Lee Popejoy's long tenure as a referee has seen him officiate at nearly every level of the game, including high school, college, semi-pro, pro and international matches. A former president of the Poway Vaqueros Soccer League and equally at home coaching youth soccer, Popejoy is a board member and president of the San Diego County Soccer Referees Association. He is the current State Director of Instruction and State Director of Assessment for the Cal South Referee Committee. Additionally, he has served as a referee assessor at all levels and a referee instructor at the local, state and national levels.
While the sold-out banquet audience was comprised largely of Cal South staff and members, Soccer Nation Expo exhibitors, and award winners and their families, several luminaries of the soccer world also filled the attendee list, including Dan Ashworth of West Bromwich Albion, U.S. Youth Soccer Director of Coaching Sam Snow, Marco Garces of C.F. Pachuca, Les Howie and Tony McCallum of the Football Association [FA], and the original CEO of the English Premier League, Rick Parry. Representatives from numerous Cal South sponsors and partners also attended the event, including Nike, LA Galaxy, Sports Authority, NSCAA, the LA84 Foundation, NCSA, SCMAF and the latest Cal South partner, AstroTurf.
Following cocktails and dinner, over 35 awards were given out at the Banquet, including recognition of the top players, youth referees, parent, volunteers, developmental coaches, competitive coaches, and honorees from each of Cal South's seven districts. Special recognition was also given out to the six Cal South teams which won national championship trophies throughout 2011. [A full list of winners and honorees appears at the end of this article.]
Preceding the Awards Banquet, thousands of soccer players, coaches and fans poured through the doors at the Los Angeles Convention Center for the first day of Soccer Nation Expo 2012. The Expo was a flurry of activity throughout Saturday, with live coaching clinics taking place on the enormous AstroTurf VIP Coach Pitch at the center of the show and on the Kohl's Recreational Pitch, autograph signings by soccer stars such as Leslie Osborne and Clint Mathis, soccer gear demonstrations, skill zones, food sampling, and much more.
For more about the Cal South Awards Banquet and Soccer Nation Expo, please visit www.soccernationexpo.com.


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From The Files Of August 9, 1990 Area golfers dreams will become reality on Saturday when Great Cove Golf Course opens its newly built back nine holes transforming it into a full-fledged 18 hole golf course. Ground '90was broken for the new nine holes on March 18, 1989.
A Harrisonville area man died Tuesday evening of injuries suffered in a vehicle accident in Licking Creek Township. Police said Matt Stewart Hill, 34, Harrisonville, was going west on Route 30, about four-tenths of a mile east of Patterson Run Road Tuesday, August 7, when the car left the roadway and struck a large boulder. He was transported to Fulton County Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
Marriage licenses: Dale Cutshall Jr., Broad Top, and Rena Ross, Broad Top; Robbie Shives, McConnellsburg, and Leah Deyarmin, Harrisonville; William Sturtevant Jr., St. Thomas, and Deborah Fura, Chambersburg.
Ronda Grove and Darren Eddy were united in marriage June 30, at the First Church of God in Mercersburg. Parents of the couple are Chester Jr. and Dorothy Grove of McConnellsburg and Merwyn and Inez Eddy of Needmore.
Judy McMullen and Bernard Esque were married June 30 in Corner Church of the Brethren in Big Cove Tannery. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Hann and Mr. and Mrs. Eldon Younker of Big Cove Tannery, and the groom is the son of Mrs. Irene Esque of Akron, Ohio.
Births at the Medical Center: son to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Bisser of Waterfall on July 30.
30 Years Ago
From The Files Of August 7, 1980 The Mountain House Hotel along Route 30 near the Bedford County line has stood for almost 200 years. But it may no longer be standing a year from now. Started as a log tavern for '80travellers on the Forbes Road, the first structure was probably built in the 1780s when Fulton County was still a part of Bedford County. Presently owned by Mr. and Mrs. Pete Dale, Harrisonville, the hotel may be seeing its final days. Several weeks ago the Dales ran an ad in the Bedford newspapers offering to donate the hotel to some organization which would tear it down and salvage as much material as possible.
A large barn plus all its contents, on the property of Omert B. Lake, Harrisonville, was destroyed by fire last Thursday after it was struck by lightning.
James Heroux, a 37-year-old science teacher from McVeytown, was named the new principal of Forbes Road High School at a regular board meeting last week.
Jim Pittman had quite an audience outside the firehall a day last week, showing off the huge rattlesnake he had killed on Scrub Ridge.
Specials at the IGA: Kraft velveeta cheese, $2.79, 2 lbs.; fresh ground beef, $1.39 lb.; Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, 3 for 89 cents; Clorox, 79 cents a gallon.
The Fulton County League All-Stars for 1980 area: Jeff Seville, Deran Hess, Greg Bard, Brent Culler, Ken Welsh, Bill Hoffman, Todd Garber, Mike DeShong, Kevin Fowler, Bobby Morgan, Matt Cover, Howard Mellott, Chris Ritchey, Harry Zeger, Scott Grissinger, Troy Ott, Tim Fowler, Kenny Everetts, Chester Feagley.
Births at the Medical Center: a son to Mr. and Mrs. William Booher of Hustontown on July 26; a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Gary Horton of Breezewood on July 25.
United in marriage on April 5 were Deloris Martin and Keith Clugston.
Death: Elvin E. Brumbaugh, Mapleton Depot.
40 Years Ago
From The Files of August 20, 1970 70 The Fulton County Fair will open on August 24 and continue through August 29 at the fairgrounds in McConnellsburg. '70Fulton County chalked up its fifth automobile fatality for 1970 in an accident which occurred on Sunday on Route 70, seven miles east of Breezewood. The victim was identified as Mary Ellen Grassel, 17, of Cagrin Falls, Ohio, a passenger in a car driven by her uncle, John Wilson.
The Forbes Road schools will open the 1970-71 term on August 31 with a total enrollment of 600 students – 305 in the elementary grades and 295 in the junior-senior high school.
Mrs. Mary Jane Harris of Hancock will be 100 years old on August 23.
Marriage licenses: David Hoover II and Janice Cutchall, both of McConnellsburg; Jerry Clippinger of Wells Tannery and Eliza Jane Cook of Fort Littleton.
Barbara Black of Waterfall was awarded a gold ribbon at the Central Region 4-H Dress Revenue held on August 13 at Bucknell University. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Black of Waterfall.
Confirmation of the appointment of Edward Palmer of Warfordsburg as superintendent of highways for Fulton County is expected to be given by Gov. Shafer this week. Mr. Palmer will replace Robert Cutchall, who resigned from the office on July 15. Mr. Palmer is justice of the peace for Bethel Township and also serves as vice chairman of the Republican Committee.
SP-5 George Smith, son of Mr. and Mrs. Lloyd Smith of McConnellsburg, is on a tour of duty in Germany with the U.S. Army.
Births at the Medical Center: a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Isban of McConnellsburg on August 11; a son to Mr. and Mrs. John W. Smith of McConnellsburg on August 11; a son to Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Knepper of Hustontown on August 13.
Mr. and Mrs. Wendell Henry of Hustontown announce the marriage of their daughter, Sandra, to Ssgt. Gerald P. Land, son of the late Hope Land of Milfort, Pa. The wedding took place on Saturday, August 8, in the Clear Ridge Methodist Church.
Dr. and Mrs. G.T. Lorentz returned on Sunday from a two-week vacation in Mexico.
Sheriff Charles Waters and Bob Hill Jr. spent a few days fishing in Canada last week. Dick Crouse took over as deputy sheriff and managed to have the jailhouse almost full by the time the sheriff returned.
Herbert C. Barnhart, 35, of Hancock, was found dead on Thursday morning, August 6, after he apparently had walked into the side of a Western Maryland Railway train on Wednesday night. The accident occurred at the intersection of the Western Maryland tracks and William Street, according to Hancock Police.
Deaths: Theodore Hixon and his wife, Emma Grace Hixson, Mount Union, who died within two days of each other; Orville Shaw, Dauphin; Mrs. Nellie Mellott, Philadelphia; Mrs. Dorothy Sheely, Gettysburg; Mrs. Evelyn Smith, Greencastle; Mrs. Nettie Kerlin, McConnellsburg.
50 Years Ago
From The Files Of August 25, 1960 '60 State Sen. J. Irving Whally (R-Somerset) resigned last week as senator for the three county 36th Senator District (Fulton, Bedford and
Somerset) in order to seek the 18th Congressional District vacancy created by the death of Rep. Douglas Elliott of Chambersburg. He will seek the unexpired portion of Elliott's term plus a full two-year term.
Terry Lee Bivens, 7-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Bivens, McConnellsburg, suffered a broken thigh bone and bruises of the head and shoulders on Monday when he was hit by a car on North Third Street.
A $5,000 reward is being offered for information concerning a private model 182 Cessna plane which is presumed to have crashed on its way from Teterboro, N.J., to Oklahoma City, on a route which would have taken it over the northern part of Fulton County.
South Penn Power Co. will reduce its rates $3.16 an average customer and Cumberland Valley Electric Co. $3.80 a customer effective September 1.
Chief Petty officer Wayne Spence and wife, the former Bonnie Cutchall, left this week to take up residence at a naval base in Newfoundland, Nova Scotia.
Mr. and Mrs. Ray Sprenkle spent a few days in Waukegan, Ill., attending graduation exercises for their son, Marty, who is serving in the U.S. Navy.
Pvt. Morris L. Suders, McConnellsburg, was recently assigned to the 32nd Armor at Fort Stewart, Ga. He entered the Army in July and completed his basic training at Fort Knox, Ky.
Vivian K. Wright, Wells Tannery, driving a 1950 Chevrolet on Route 30, 16 miles west of McConnellsburg, escaped injury when the car skidded on the wet road and overturned.
Recent marriage licenses issued at the local courthouse: Emory M. Snyder and Anna Mae Mitchell, both of Warfordsburg; Paul Hendershot and Iris Martin, both of Warfordsburg; Richard M. Munch, Warfordsburg, and Betty Culler, McConnellsburg; Larry F. Deshong, Harrisonville, and Dorothy L. Ranck, Hustontown; Wayne Adams Frankhouser, Hagerstown, and Dolores Arlene Bivens, Mc- Connellsburg; Paul Kokal Sr. and Pauline W. Kokal, both of Pittsburgh.
Bids are advertised for the remodelling and redecorating of the McConnellsburg Methodist Church.
Births at the Medical Center: a son to Mr. and Mrs. George F. Carbaugh, McConnellsburg, on August 15; a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Umbrell, McConnellsburg, on August 17; a daughter to Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Reel, Harrisonville, on August 18; a son to Mr. and Mrs. Mearl Rosenberry, Maddensville, on August 18.
Daryl Hendershot, Warfordsburg, was burned while burning trash at his home and taken to the Medical Center for treatment.
The store at Warfordsburg formerly operated by Mr. and Mrs. Charles Truax is now under the management of Charles Golden.
Many folks from our community attended the Bicentennial held last week in Orbisonia.
Sgt. and Mrs. William Schrier and two sons, Burnt Cabns, have arrived in Monteray, Calif., where he will be stationed for two years.
Former Amaranth resident, Steven Shanholtz, 12, of Flintstone, Md., was struck and killed by a car while riding his bicycle near his home recently.
Death: Emma B. Ritchey, 90 of Wells Tannery.
60 Years Ago
From The Files Of August 24, 1950 '50 Judge J. Colvin Wright of Bedford County will be the principal speaker at the dedication services for the new Fulton County Medical Center
on September 2.
A picnic dinner was held at Caledonia State Park on Sunday in honor of the 80th birthday of Sanner Ray of Mc- Connellsburg.
William S. Livengood Jr., now serving his third term as secretary of Internal Affairs of Pennsylvania, will crown the queen of the Fulton County Cenntennial on August 29.
"Sade" (Sarah Jane) McQuade is still leading in the contest to select a Centennial Queen. June Cornelius is in second place, followed by Bonita Madden, Reba Wible and Alma Shore.
Recent births: a son to Mr. and Mrs. Lyle Duffey of Mc- Connellsburg on August 19; twin daughters, Sandra Jane and Sarah Ann, to Cpl. and Mrs. Dale Black at the Fort Benning Station Hospital, Columbus, Ga.; a son to Mr. and Mrs. Vernon Kuykendall of Big Cove Tannery on August 21.
The "Shooting Linds" (Dot and Ernie) will give an exhibition of trick and fancy shooting at Cline's Park on September 17.
Robert McDaid suffered a broken leg on a construction job at Spruce Creek.
James E. Keith and Esther Burke Lane were married recently.
Deaths: Mrs. Alice Cooper of Cito; Samuel Mellott of Cito.
70 Years Ago
From The Files Of August 22, 1940 '40 Deaths: Mrs. Henrietta Margaret McClellan Steele of Everett; Chester Adair Byers of Huntingdon; Harvey Grant Banks of Altoona.
According to figures made public this week, the local fire company realized a profit of $478.30 from its second annual carnival which was held on August 7-10 at the schoolgrounds.
A two-day school in soil conservation was held on Monday and Tuesday of this week for the teachers of agriculture in Fulton and Franklin counties. Held on the Max Morton farm just west of McConnellsburg, the school was directed by Henry Warner of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Fulton County teachers attending were Guy Giener of Warfordsburg; Joseph Shelly of McConnellsburg; Robert Stauffer of Green Hill; Wayne Handwerk of Hustontown; and G.L. Reisner, advisor.
The Green Hill School will open on Monday. These three new teachers have been added to the faculty: Miss Mary McCullough of Newville, home economics; Donald Lynch of McConnellsburg, science and mathematics; and Paul Wilson of Hummelstown, English and social science. A WPA project for two new cesspools has been approved for this school.
Marshall Helman and Marjorie Fields were wed Sunday.
Kenneth W. Truhn and Dorothy V. Barton were married on August 16.
Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Snyder of near Knobsville celebrated their golden wedding anniversary on August 17.
McConnellsburg will close its current baseball season on Saturday when the local team meets Three Springs here at 2:30 p.m. The local team has won all of its league games, 13 in all.
Junior Glunt, who is in the Army at Carlisle, spent the weekend with Mr. and Mrs. George Glunt of Knobsville.
Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Mellott moved from Harrisonville to Franklin County last Monday, where he will be employed on a fruit farm.
Fulton Countians admitted to Everett Hospital during the past week included Ameda Mills of Hustontown for tonsillectomy; Mrs. Thelma Meyers of Harrisonville for tonsillectomy; Norman Edwards of Waterfall for emergency appendectomy; Kenneth Morton of Andover for intestinal obstruction; Mrs. Elizabeth Sipes of McConnellsburg for medical treatment and observation.
80 Years Ago
From The Files Of August 21, 1930 '30 Deaths: Mrs. Harry Wagner of Amaranth; Mrs. Margaret Sloan of Grove City; Mrs. Susan E. Yoston of Clear Spring, Md.
Robert Lodge, son of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Lodge, had a narrow escape on Tuesday morning. He was helping his father paint and, wishing to know the amount of tar paint in a barrel, held a lighted match to the bung hole. The gas in the barrel exploded, the flaming gas burning his fingers and the barrel struck his leg as it whirled around in the explosion. Fortunately, the end of the barrel away from him blew out. As it was, the explosion demolished a door and a window in a nearby building.
George Morton, son of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Morton of Andover, had the large finger on his right hand crushed last week while hauling switch ties.
George Seville of McConnellsburg was one of six freshman students who received gold medals for outstanding work during the year at the Pennsylvania Forestry School.
McConnellsburg will get a new business on Saturday when Miss Winifred Bard opens a beauty parlor in the D.E. Little building on the square.
Two tablets were unveiled Sunday at the Methodist Episcopal Church in Liverpool, commemorating President Hoover's attendance at services there a few weeks ago. Rev. H.L. Jarrett, former pastor here, is now the minister at Liverpool. The tablets were unveiled by Grace Bucher and Carl Jarrett, young son of Rev. Jarrett.
Donald Winegardner and Alda Blanche Cunningham were married on August 12.
Mr. and Mrs. George Crouse of Warfordsburg announce the birth of a son at Chambersburg Hospital on Tuesday.
Benny and Sidney Fisher have returned to their home at Mifflinburg after spending two weeks with Mr. and Mrs.Fred Wilds.
Johnnie, son of Mr. and Mrs. Russell Martz of Knobsville, was bitten on the finger by a copperhead snake last week.


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We enjoyed a lovely real Italian diner, cooked by Tiziano. Local ingredients, fresh and tastfull Italian flavors, well prepared and be prepared; it a lot..! The athmosphere was relexed. It was nice that his mum joined us, even though she doesn't speak English. It was a great experience to take local transportation and travel to an area you would normally not visit in Rome. A real authentic experience, definately worth trying.
I attended an Italian wine & food appreciation evening Tiziano was hosting in Kuching, Malaysia. It was such a great evening. Tiziano was a fantastic host with an extensive knowledge of Italian wine. The Italian food with the Italian wine was also wonderfully paired.
I learnt so much from just an evening and had such a good time! Definitely something you don't want to miss!
We really enjoyed the wine appreciation at The Granary, Kuching. Its definitely something different altogether when you taste food and wine as opposed to just attending a wine tasting. it also was nice to understand a little bit more of where it all came from. Thank you so much Tiziano; for the insight and stories! Truly worth it
I enjoyed the Italian experience Tiziano brought to my humble hometown in Borneo. He was knowledgable and kept everyone entertained throughout the dinner. Hope I will one day be able to experience the real Italy in Rome with Tiziano
I've joined Tiziano's event with my boyfriend and another guy during our stay in Rome. He prepared us amazing Italian meals from the best quality ingredients. He explained us how real Italian food is made and what is different in the ones we can find in restaurants and other countries. We had a really nice chat, it was a pity that we had to finish to catch the last metro. I recommend this event for everyone, if we are going visit Rome again, we sure will visit you.
We enjoyed a great tour in Rome. We learned many new facts about the city. (e.g. the popular name of the little water fountains, the big nose). And later that day we had a great dinner at Tiziano's place. It was the perfect way to start our stay in Rome because it helped us to get a feel for the city and the places that we wanted to explore in more detail. (We visited the Musei Capitolini that Tiziano recommended and enjoyed that very much. The view from the roof terrace was spectacular. Thanks Tiziano.
After a busy day in Rome it was great to have a home cooked meal with Tiziano! He really knows his food and wine, and dinner was outstanding! Great food, great drinks, and great company! I would recommend anyone to try his cooking! It was a very special experience, and I learned so much! Thank you Tiziano!!
Tiziano is a great cook, but then again, I'm not the most sophisticated eater – I enjoy a home cooked meal more than anything, and since I was traveling alone, it was great to share the meal with someone who has such pleasure in cooking and have a some pleasant conversation. My purpose was to have a real Italian home cooked meal and he took his time even though I was the only one he was cooking for. I learned some fast simple recipes from him that I have been cooking quite often ever since. Basil is my favorite thing to use while cooking ever since
Tiziano is a perfect cook and has the classical Italian cheer. I had join his event and had a great life. He is cooking, cheering you up and give a lot of tips about the real Italian culture. If you are sick of beign a tourist in the restaurants with unhappy waitress, go for his event. You will not regret. Plus you can meet also with other foodlovers and have nice chat too. What can I say more, thanks for the lovely evening. Have the best!
My friend and I ate dinner with Titziano and it was absolutely wonderful! The food was delicious, the company was enjoyable and Titziano was a wonderful teacher! Hopefully we will meet again, we had an amazing experience
I finished my week in Rome with this cooking event at Tiziano's place, and it was definitely one of the highlights of my trip! Tiziano have a real passion for food and I got some good insights into the Italian cuisine and how to improve my own cooking. On top of that I helped some with the cooking and got served a delicious three course meal over great conversations, a well recommended event if in Rome!
I will be traveling to Rome for the first time in just a few short weeks. His blog: http://www.romelocalfriend.com/ has been an amazing resource to take in the culture experience from a local perspective. Very excited to do many things on his list. I'd highly recommend checking his blog out if you foresee traveling to Rome in the near future!
I met him at his Italian homemade cooking party. it was my first time to join "a couch surfing "party.
Although I was nervous a bit, his friendly and open mind character made me feel relief.
he can speak English fluently, so I could communicate with him well.
I definitely enjoyed his party. I recommend his party strongly. if I have a chance to visit Rome again, I absolutely join the party, again. the meal is pretty nice!! it was the best cuisine I ate in Rome. cuz restaurants in Roma is for tourists, so all of them were so expensive and not so delicious. but, Tiziano's cook was really delicious and not so expensive.
I ate a lot and got drunk:D I appreciate his hospitality.
thank you!!
Looking for things to do in Rome I've found Tiziano's blog http://www.romelocalfriend.com. What a great source for people who want to get off the beaten path (of course there are also all the major attractions) and on the other hand are not ready to go through hundreds of pages. I also liked the food section and all the recommendations marked as author's favourite. Thanks Tiziano!
I joined his dinner event! Although I had a problem to decide the date, he was always kind to me. Thanks to him, I could learn how to cook local Italian dishes, make Moka, and their culture. He already had many experiences and understood other cultures very well, so it was very fun to talk with him:) Thank you for the dinner! hope we can meet again:)
I met Tiziano at his house for one of his dinner events. We were 3 guests, myself and my parents. Tiziano was a great conversationalist and really explained Italian food culture and the methods in which food is chosen and prepared. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience and I can't wait to make the pesto recipe he showed me!
Tiziano also recommended some stellar places to eat in the city through the webpage Spotted By Locals. The gelato at Giolitti was amazing!!
I highly recommend eating with Tiziano and allowing him to introduce you to Rome! Good luck with your future endeavors, Tiziano! Hope to see you again somewhere in the world.
It was a great pleasure to meet Tiziano – not only for his skills as Master Chef, but also because of his very warm & friendly personality. He definitely is an interesting person. He loves what he's doing and he does care to do his best! We had great time and nice talk over delicious food and very pleasant walk around Rome on the next day. Thank you and see you again!
It was an amazing experience. Food was delicious, you are very attentive to details and not to mention the wines. Reinforcing what I said, I will recommend you to all my Brazilian friends. Good luck with your life plans, I hope you get to accomplish them!
Before going to Rome I was thinking about how to make my staying in Rome more interesting and unusual. Unexpectedly Tiziano's home made cooking made my trip! My evening with Tiziano and Emily was amazing! It was one of my best evenings in Rome. We laughed a lot, drank tasty wine and of course we ate!!! We ate a lot and diverse! It was extremely delicious and super Italian!))) If you're searching for an Italian atmosphere and Italian meals you MUST visit Tiziano's home made cooking. Tiziano surely won't leave you without good mood and great memories.
Tiziano was very kind to arrange a lunch event when I informed him that I'm not available for dinner. When we met, he was very warm and he made us feel very comfortable. Food we shared was also very tasty and fresh. I'm very glad I met him. I will meet with him again when I come back to Rome.
I heard this city from the books and movies before I knew him.
It was really amazing time with him and his nice guests.
He gave me the wonderful present.
His home made cooking class was full of informative and fun.
Every food I tried was delicious and tasty.
He let me know What is really Pasta and Italian foods.
Some of the ingredient were hard to get in my Country.(East Asia)
He told us the 'alternative'.
When we didn't understand the herb, showed it from his tiny garden.(balcony) It was really useful.
I can say that the time with him was "ROMAN HOLIDAY, version 2015″.
WOW! I had the wonderful opportunity to dine in Tiziano's home with his charming mother. I am so happy I found Tiziano!
Tiziano communicated with me frequently and was kind enough to meet me at the Metro station to drive me to his home for an incredible, home cooked, Italian meal. I must say, it was probably the best meal I ate in Europe during my month's stay!
If you have the opportunity, skip the lame touristy "taste of tours" and dine with Tiziano!
I had a very lovely time with both Tiziano and his girlfriend. He is super knowledgeable about Italian cuisine and shared all that he could in our short time together. He even appointed me assistant chef and I helped to make the bruschetta and risotto. Too bad his lady and I kept talking. Hahaha…I don't think the food would have come out as well if he wasn't there to keep me in order.
Tiziano, thanks for everything. I'll never forget this experience and look forward to making a return for gnocchi. And please forward me the recipe for those dishes. I would love to show family and friends all the tips I have learned.
I joined Tiziano's culinary event at his place, and found it a very worthy experience. He let me help a bit with his dishes, and showed me how an authentic Italian dinner was really like through our four-course dinner. Thank you once again Tiziano for this great experience. I would recommend this event for those who don't want just another mainstream meal in a touristy restaurant in Rome.
My girlfriend and I attended one of Tiziano's culinary events at his house. He was an exceptional host from beginning to end. He picked us up at the nearby metro station with a smile and made us both feel at ease. His home was beautiful and the food was incredible. There was no lack of full portions of delicious Italian food and wine. He is very knowledgable about both culture and cuisine and was very interesting to speak to. I give my highest recommendations of Tiziano and his events and encourage anyone looking for an authentic Italian experience to attend one of his events.
I just dropped by Tiziano's place for the food event and turned out he opened my eyes in cooking. I wouldn't have imagined the Italian cuisine could be prepared in such a simple way. Simple, but healthy and tasty. I really admire Tiziano's passion in cooking and keep running this food event for experiencing the Italian culture. Really appreciate your effort and keep it up Tiziano!
I attended one of cooking events at Tiziano's place the first night I came to Italy and have to say it was the nicest "welcoming party" I've ever had)))
Tiziano disproved my idea of Italians, but in a very good and positive way. He is such a kind, mature and deep person. Talking to Tiziano felt like talking to a dear friend, so sympathetic and caring he was.
Tiziano also guided me around Rome which was wonderful as he knows the city very well and can tell you a lot of interesting and curious facts about Roman sights.
And by the way, I tried tiramisu in many cities in Italy, but no one can cook it better than Tiziano
The Italian cooking workshop that I attended with Tiziano has been one of the best I have ever attended. Tiz shared a lot of information on the ingredients used, history of the dishes, the order in which each dish had to be consumed and also taught me to taste good wine. He went out of his way to also give me the feel of each herb that he grows in his home which was commendable. Tiz also showed me around a bit. View point, oldest and largest park in Rome and gave me a lot of tips on where I can travel and see places etc. He is a very enthusiastic and energetic person with a constant and genuine smile on his face. It was a pleasure surfing at your place Tiz and an even awesome evening learning to prepare Italian food. Thanks for sharing your knowledge. Lastly, I have already made one of the starters at my home and my family loves it a lot.
Seeing Rome with Tiziano is the best way to learn, hear and truly experience this ancient and yet very modern city. We had a fact-filled, three hour tour today and was the best use of our short time here. This was my third visit to Rome but the first for my son and a good friend. Tiziano was wonderful! We saw so many places that the large guided tours probably never go to and we saw everything with someone who became an immediate friend.
But that's not all!~ We enjoyed so much having a home made meal at his home the night before where we learned the origin of pesto (what a delicious dish!) and felt so welcome!
I will come back to Rome and hope that Tiziano will take me on another tour of more of the many places, art and history that Rome has to offer!
I joined Tiziano for an authentic Italian dinner together with my brother and Julian. He cooked us Italian food — bruschetta, grilled eggplant, fresh pasta, Italian meatloaf, and tiramisu — using his own recipes. I don't eat eggplant, but the one Tiziano served us tasted great. We also shared a bottle of red wine and took shots of Limoncello and espresso to end the night. I had a good time getting to know him and the Italian culture.
My time with Tizi was quite enjoyable and one of the best memories for me in Italy. He took me to the parks and gave me a lot of lessons of Roman history His dishes were amazing, i helped him cook and he taught me some of the greatest recipes of typical Italian cuisines. There was great wine and hand picked pine nuts, his selection of hams and cheeses, spring water that he travelled far to get… All that i can only hope for when i was travelling in Italy for brief few days. Best wishes Tizi, thanks for being so friendly and nice, i would certainly miss your food and you
We, two Dutch couples, enjoyed a homemade meal at Tiziano's house. It was a great experience. Tiziano was a good host. He told passionate about Italian cuisine and its ingredients. We also met Tiziano's dear mother. Homemade Italian Cooking-Food experience is highly recommended. If you want to meet a friendly, cheerful and warm person and also are looking for a good Italian cook and passionate guide, go to Tiziano!!!!!!
I was in Tiziano's cooking class and it was the BEST!
You can never have this kind of freshest meal in town. From the drinking water to the every ingredients used for cooking is hand picked by himself from the regional places and I learnd some how to cook haha.
With one another Austrailian guy who loves to cook also we had a wonderful night and I hope lots of people could have the same experience. Thanks Tiziano!
I met Tiziano through his Italian cooking class, and have only positive things to say! It ended up being only me, Tiziano, and his mother the night I went to his place, so I was treated to a personal cooking experience, DELICIOuS food and wine, and very interesting conversation with Tiziano! I highly recommend the cooking class, and just meeting Tiziano for a great time!
When travelling in Rome I had the pleasure of meeting Tiziano, who was very welcoming to introduce the history and culture of his city.
He offered an authentic home cooked meal which I appriciated grately. I am sure that without the help from this warm and enthusiastic guy I would not have managed to take the maximum out of my short stay in the eternal city.
Thanks to Tizi, I travelled the unusual path, tasted the aunthentic Italian food, talked + acted like an Italian with an Italian, walked with live talking history book, and many many many more~ Rome in 1 day! Vatican City the next! Compact and Perfect, without the Map! 1 word to describe him, FANTA-BULOUS (fantastic + fabulous)!!! If you need a friend in Rome, find 'Rome Local Friend' (: Mille grazie Tizi.
I was around in Rome two times with this very very amazing guide…
In a few hours I discovered Rome in a way that a tourist normally never face it.
I have learned interesting things about Rome and seen interesting and lovely place that tourist will not find with standard guides.
And above all I really had a lot of fun and I have found a friend in Rome.
If Rome, then only with Tiziano … Thank you very much
If you ever fancy to go to Rome, please visit this amazing, smiling, welcoming and passionate person who is Tiziano. He will guide you through Rome and will show you all the secret and historic places of this city full of surprises …
Tiziano was so completely wonderful! My visit and shared meal with he and his mom was, by far, the highlight of my experience in Rome! I forgot to leave a reference right after I visited him in July, but time has only improved my memory of the experience.
The meal was so delicious and the company and conversation made it a hundred times better. It was a treat to experience genuine Italian cooking and to contribute to making it. Tiziano also prides himself on making fantastic coffee…And for someone who can't really take black coffee, I have to tell you…It was the most wonderful smooth espresso I have ever tasted. He's an expert!
He met me at the train station and was very kind and welcoming. His mother welcomed us (two other guests showed up besides myself) into her home with open arms and heart. I think I fell in love with her a little.
Do yourself a favor- at least meet with Tiziano! He is a treasure and you will never regret gaining his friendship!
Thanks Tiziano-both you and your mom!
If you are fortunate enough to know someone in the place you are travelling to, you know you are in for a different travel experience. Seeing a city through the eyes of one that lives there, learning of things you probably would not have found out through travel books, and experiencing the daily life of a local is one of the best and unique ways to travel.
Luckily for us, we were able to connect with Tiziano on our first, and most certainly not our last trip to Rome. Not only is Tiziano an attentive and knowledgeable host, his friendly demeanour and charming personality makes it so easy to be friends.
If you want a different experience in Rome, make sure you get in contact with Tiziano… besides… you really do not want to miss the great meal that Mamma Tiziano makes… there is nothing like Italian hospitality, nothing like a home cooked meal!
Needless to say, we will be back
Tiziano is able to gift a pure taste of Italy! It was a true authentic experience to have a dinner at his house – real Italian food cooked by real Italian hands (Tiziano's and his mom's, who is a lovely cute lady It's a chance not just to eat, but also to see how the food is made and participate in the process.
What I enjoyed the most about Tiziano apart from the food :), is that he's a great conversation companion with a good sense of humor (which took a while to get :). I learned a lot about Italy and Italians. I'm happy we spend time together and I definetely recommend this guy!
Tiziano is a great guy, so kind, so warm, so friendly and so smiling He has such a great personality and he made me feel like we known each other for long time. Very helpful, he knows everything in his beautiful home the amazing and gorgeous Rome. Grazie per tutto caro amico Tiziano!! Ciao, bello!! <3 Tu amica Mar.
How I'm going to say with this gentlemen. He is super nice person, highly recommended if you wanna look for local host or guide. Multi tallented person. Glad I have a chance to have lunch and dinner experience with him and his mom in his place. Even I have no chance to explore the city with him due to our tight schedule, he made my stay in Rome with incredible experience. I really love the food they served from starter to dessert. His mom is the best chef :). Hope to meet you again Tizi and explore more the city with you.
I have no idea how to say how wonderful it was to meet Tiziano…he was all the above and more. I had an adventure with a missing cell phone within an hour of meeting him.
He helped me solve my imaged emergency and became a good friend.
The 3 tours , one with 2 of my friends, were fabulous !! His enthusiasm, knowledge and genuine love of his city and country were constantly evident.
And lunch with his mother , what a treat !!
Thank you Tiziano….I can hardly wait to return.
Probably one of our best moments in Rome, if not the best: the preparation of lunch with Tiziano and his mother.
We decided to have the experience of a real sunday lunch, home made food, to get a real sense of the local culture.
This was fantastic. The food was delicious, and we learnt a few tips as well. Sitting at the table, sharing a meal and conversations is the best way to learn about italy and rome, especially with Tiziano and his mother, who is a real sweetie.
We would come back for sure and recommend to anyone who is interested in getting a real sense of the local life to have this experience.
Mille grazie Tiziano and bacci to your mother!
Usually the preparation of the dinners are organized on weekends but Tiziano still managed to arrange a lunch for me on a Thursday. Thank you so much! All things on the table were fresh and delicious. I just found my favorite–salami! Tiziano and his lovely mother are very friendly. After lunch we had a nice talk about Roman history which just brought me some knowledge about this amazing city that I might have missed without Tiziano. Thank you so much to make my trip in Rome perfect!
Don't miss the chance to meet Tiziano! Everyone needs a Rome Local Friend!
Tiziano.. cool guy.. easy to talk too n he really know in and out of Rome. He was returning the favour by taking us on a Rome City tour. He shows us the secret passage to cross the city n the best gelato in the town. We're so lucky to have him as we got to learn a lot about Roma. If not, we would just be busy taking pictures of ourselves. haha. The most funniest thing is , he would poke us if we're not listening. We are hard bunch of gurls who mind always wandering. Thanks Tizi, u are the best..
Tiziano helped me a lot during my trip to Rome: even before I arrived he sent me a message offering to help with tips and suggestions of what to do in his city (he also writes a blog about it and he's great at it!)
Well, to make things even better, he took me and my friend out in the city and that was one of the best afternoons I've had during the trip! He drove us around Rome and gave us a lot of suggestions of what to do in the upcoming days (he knows his city really well!!).
Thanks a lot for everything, Tiziano!
It was a big luck to meet Tiziano in Roma! I should miss a lot of very nice places and hidden miracles of Eternal City without his qualified and patient assistant! Thank you, my friend.
All Roads Lead to Rome"– exactly!! My Road is also finally is leading to Rome! Although I don't have much time there, I hope to see it as a Local, enjoy it as a local and breath in the Roman beauty as a local!! Tiziano, I look forward to meeting you and enjoy Rome and its beauty with your eyes! Will keep you informed about my travels and thanking you for all your advice till now. See you soon! Ciao!
Tiziano had prepared a fantastic itinerary for my time in Rome … Even suggesting good areas for accommodation, the best airport for easy access to the city and obviously really good places to eat and drink.
The tours were so interesting and informative but at the same time lots of fun and completely different to the rushed ones that I usually find myself taking!
He made me feel as though I was part of the city not just an onlooker … I felt as though he was telling me secrets about 'his Rome' that no one else knew and showing views of the city as no one else had seen them before.
Tiziano's passion and knowledge of his city injected me with such enthusiasm its left me thirsty for more …..
I so …..oo recommend Tiz and Rome …. His tours include so much more than you could ever imagine.
I also recommend the chocolate cup shots available on Vicolo del Cinque in Trastevere!
My visit to Rome was much happier, satisfying and enriched with the advent of our local friend, Tiziano :))
Tiziano is knowledgeable, resourceful, and always ready to help with whatever your query might be…. all this with alarmingly, charming, slightly accented, perfect English. He will lead you through crowded, narrow streets, passing from one historical site to another, encompassing years of history, periods , battles, architecture.., pointing marvelous discreet details along the way, and finally taking a rest in the most beautiful and picturesque views. There is so much to learn, that I will do it all over again on my next visit!!
Tiziano, is not only meticulous, hard working and attentive to his client – giving you his undivided attention, but he is more than that. He is truly, a friend! And you won't get that from any agency! Thank you, Tiziano for a wonderful experience, and for after all this time, you're still supplying me with useful tips of information!
Sometimes you meet people and you feel comfortable with them. This is what happened, 5 minutes after we met at P. di Spagna we were talking and laughing like old friends meeting
Titz is a lovely guy funny, respectful and so helpful; he took me around and helped me visit spots that are not always in the guides and classical tours cheerful, with a fantastic sens of humor, he speak a perfect English. I recommend you both meeting tiziano and read his articles.
Tiziano thank you for making my vacation in Rome unforgettable !!!