on the TRUMP side by the Republican candidate’s campaign
manager, Paul MANAFORT, who was using foreign policy advisor, Carter
PAGE, and others as intermediaries. The two sides had a mutual interest
in defeating Democratic presidential candidate Hillary CLINTON, whom
President PUTIN apparently both hated and feared.

2. Inter alia, Source E, acknowledged that the Russian regime had been
behind the recent leak of embarrassing e-mail messages, emanating from
the Democratic National Committee (DNC), to the WikiLeaks platform.

CONFIDENTIAL/SENSITIVE SOURCE

CONFIDENTIAL/SENSITIVE SOURCE

The reason for using WikiLeaks was “plausible deniability” and the
operation had been conducted with the full knowledge and support of
TRUMP and senior members of his campaign team. In return the TRUMP
team had agreed to sideline Russian intervention in Ukraine as a
campaign issue and to raise US/NATO defence commitments in the
Baltics and Eastern Europe to deflect attention awayfrom Ukraine, a
priority for PUTIN who needed to cauterise the subject.

In the wider context of TRUMP campaign/Kremlin co-operation, Source E
claimed that the intelligence network being used against CLINTON
comprised three elements. Firstly there were agents/facilitators within
the Democratic Party structure itself; secondly Russian emigre and
associated offensive cyber operators based in the US; and thirdly, state-
sponsored cyber operatives working in Russia. All three elements had
played an important role to date. On the mechanism for rewarding
relevant assets based in the US, and effecting a two-way flow of
intelligence and other useful information, Source E claimed that Russian
diplomatic staff in key cities such as New York, Washington DC and
Miami were using the emigre ‘pension’ distribution system as cover. The
operation therefore depended on key people in the US Russian emigre
community for its success. Tens of


have good
relations with the US, regardless of who was in power there, and not least
so as to be able to travel there in future, either officially or privately. They
were openly refusing to cover up for PESKOV and others involved in the
DNC/TRUMP operations or to support his counter-attack of allegations
against the USG for its alleged hacking of the Russian government and
state agencies.

4. According to the first source, close to IVANOV, there had been talk in the
Kremlin of TRUMP being forced to withdraw from the presidential race
altogether as a result of recent events, ostensibly on grounds of his
psychological state and unsuitability for high office. This might not be so
bad for Russia in the circumstances but in the view of the source, it
remained largely wishful thinking on the part of thosein the regime
opposed to PESKOV and his “botched” operations, at least for the time
being.

No new leaks envisaged, as too politically risky, but rather further exploitation of (WikiLeaks) material
already disseminated to exacerbate divisions

Educated US youth to be targeted as protest(againstCLINTON) and swing vote in attempt to turn them
over to TRUMP

Russian leadership, including PUTIN, celebrating perceived success to date in splitting US hawks and
elite

Kremlin engaging with several high profile US players, including STEIN, PAGE and (former DlA Director
Michael Flynn), and funding their recent visits to Moscow

Details

1. Speaking in confidence to a close colleague in early August 2016, Head of the Russian Presidential
Administration (PA), Sergei IVANOV, assessed the impact and results of Kremlin intervention in the US
presidential election to date. Although most commentators believed that the Kremlin was behind the
leaked DNC/CLINTON


check Democratic candidate Hillary CLINTON’S
successful exploitation of the PUTIN as bogeyman/Russian interference story to tarnish TRUMP and
bolster her own (patriotic) credentials.The TRUMP campaign was focusingon tapping into supportin
the American television media to achievethis, as they reckoned this resource had been underused by
them to date.

3. However, TRUMP’s associate also admitted that there was a fair amount of anger and resentment
within the Republican candidate’s team at what was perceived by PUTIN as going beyond the objective
of weakening CLINTON and bolstering TRUMP, by attempting to exploitthe situation to undermine the
US government and democratic system more generally. It was unclear at present how this aspect of
the situation would play out in the weeks to come.

– Russian parastatal organisation Rossotrudnichestvo used as cover for this liaison and premises
in Czech capital may have beenof Foreign Affairs, together with an independent and informal
network run by presidential foreign policy advisor, Yuri USHAKOV

(KISLYAK’s predecessor in Washington) who had urged caution and the
potential negative impact on Russia from the operation/s. On the other
side was former PA Head, Sergei IVANOV, backed by Russian Foreign
Intelligence (SVR), who had advised PUTIN that the pro-TRUMP, anti-
CLINTON operation/s would be both effective and plausibly deniable
with little blowback. The first group/s had been proven right and this had
been the catalyst in PUTIN’S decision to sack IVANOV (unexpectedly) as
PA Head in August. His successor, Anton VAINO, had been selected for the
job partly because he had not been involved in the US presidential
election operation/s.

3. Continuing on this theme, the senior PA official said the situation now
was that the Kremlin had further ‘kompromat’ on


The best example of
this was that both candidates now openly opposed the draft trade
agreements, TPP and TTIP, which were assessed by Moscow as
detrimental to Russian interests. Other issues where the Kremlin was
looking to shift the US policy consensus were Ukraine and Syria. Overall
however, the presidential election was considered still to be too close to
call.

5. Finally, speaking separately to the same compatriot, a senior Russian
MFA official reported that as a prophylactic measure, a leading Russian
diplomat, Mikhail KULAGIN, had been withdrawn from Washington at
short notice because Moscow feared his heavy involvement in the US
presidential election operation, including the so-called veterans’ pensions
ruse (reported previously), would be exposed in the media there. His
replacement, Andrei BONDAREV however was clean in this regard.

Company Comment

The substance of what was reported by the senior Russian PA2016, a top level
Russian government official commented on the history and current state
of relations between President PUTIN and the Alpha Group of businesses
led by oligarchs Mikhail FRIDMAN, Petr AVEN and German KHAN. The
Russian government figure reported that although they had had their ups
and downs, the leading figures in Alpha currently were on very good
terms with PUTIN. Significant favours continued to be done in both
directions, primarily political ones for PUTIN and business/legal ones for
Alpha. Also, FRIDMAN and AVEN continued to give informal advice to
PUTIN on foreign policy, and especially about the US where he distrusted
advice being given to him by officials.

2. Although FRIDMAN recently had met directly with PUTIN in Russia, much
of the dialogue and business between them was mediated through a
senior Presidential Administration official, Oleg GOVORUN, who currently
headed


the department therein responsible for Social Co-operation With
the CIS. GOVORUN was trusted by PUTIN and recently had accompanied
him to Uzbekistan to pay respects at the tomb of former president
KARIMOV. However according to the top level Russian government
official, during the 1990s GOVORUN had been Head of Government
Relations at Alpha Group and in reality, the “driver” and “bag carrier”

used by FRIDMAN and AVEN to deliver large amounts of illicit cash to the
Russian president, at that time deputy Mayor of St Petersburg. Given that
and the continuing sensitivity of the PUTIN-Alpha relationship, and need
for plausible deniability, much of the contact between them was now
indirect and entrusted to the relatively low profile GOVORUN.

3. The top level Russian government official described the PUTIN-Alpha
relationship as both carrot and stick. Alpha held ‘kompromat’ on PUTIN
and hiscorrupt business activities from the 1990s whilst although not
personally overly bothered by Alpha’s failure to reinvest the proceeds of
its TNK oil company sale into the Russian economy since, the Russian
president was able to use pressure on this count from senior Kremlin
colleagues as a lever on FRIDMAN and AVEN to make them do his
political bidding.

– Both believe Azeri business associate of TRUMP, Araz AGALAROV will
know the details

Detail

1. Speaking to a trusted compatriot in September 2016, two well-placed
sources based in St Petersburg, one in the political/business elite and the
other involved in the local services and tourist industry, commented on
Republican US presidential candidate Donald TRUMP’s prior activities in
the city.

2. Both knew TRUMP had visited St Petersburg on several occasions in the
past and had been interested in doing business deals there involving


do business. As
the TRUMP support operation had gained momentum, control of it had passed from the mha
to the FSB and then into the presidential administration where It remained, a reflection of its
growing significance over time. There was still a view In the Kremlin that TRUMP would
continue as a (divisive) political force even If he lost the presidency and may run for and be
elected to another public ollice.

relationship with Russia. COHEN’s wife is of Russian descent and her father a leading property
developer in Moscow

Detail

T Speaking to a trusted compatriot in mid October 2016, a dose associate of Rosneft President
and PUTIN ally Igor” SECHIN elaborated on the reported secret meeting between the tatter
and Carter PAGE, of L T S Republican presidential candidate’s foreign policy team, in Moscow in
July 2016, Thesecret meeting had been confirmed to him/her by a senior member of SECHIN’s
staff, in addition to by the Rosneft President himself. It took place on either 7 or 8 July, the same
day or the one after Carter PAGE made a public speech to the Higher Economic School in
Moscow.

2. In terms of the substance of their discussion/ SECHIN’s assoriate said that the Rosneft
President was so keen to lift personal and corporate western sanctions imposed on the
company, that he offered PAGE/TRUMPs associates the brokerage of up to a 19 per cent
(privatised) stake in Rosneft in return, PAGE had expressed interest and confirmed that were
TRUMP elected US president, then sanctions on Russia would be lifted,

3. According to SECHIN’s dose associate, the Rosneft President had continued to believe that
TRUMP could win the


National News

UK missing target on tree-planting

The number of trees being planted across the UK is falling far short of targets for creating new woodland, conservationists have warned.

Figures from the Forestry Commission showed that just 3,300 hectares (8,150 acres) of new woodlands were planted in England in the 2013/14 planting season.

The amount of woodland planted was an increase of 700 hectares (1,730 acres) on the previous year, but is far below the ambition set out by the Government of planting 5,000 hectares (12,350 acres) a year.

The commitment was set out in the Government's forestry policy for England, developed in the wake of the aborted plans to sell off or hand to charities all of the country's public forests, which provoked widespread outcry.

In Scotland, some 8,300 hectares (20,500 acres) ofnew woods were planted, the majority broadleaf trees, an increase of 1,300 hectares (3,200 acres) on 2012/13, but below the target of 10,000 to 15,000 hectares (24,700- 37,000 acres).

In Wales, which has a goal of 5,000 hectares a year, the amount of new trees planted was unchanged at 900 hectares (2,200 acres).

And in Northern Ireland, where there is an aspiration to double woodland cover, currently around 110,000 hectares (270,000 acres), by the middle of the century, planting reached just 300 hectares (740 acres).

The Government has stated that in England the current rate of planting could be increased to achieve 12% woodland cover by 2060, with an average planting rate of 5,000 hectares a year - provided private investment increases in line with expectations.

But the Woodland Trust warned the


slight upturn in planting in England last season was down to a rush of landowners applying for woodland creation grants before the old scheme closed early in December 2013, but there would be no new grants until 2015.

In future the Government will be funding the planting of just 2,000 hectares a year in England through the grant scheme, although it has pledged to put in place the conditions for a "step change" in woodland creation from private finance, the Trust said.

Woodland Trust director of conservation Austin Brady said: "Government committed to put in place the conditions for a step change in woodland creation but these figures suggest that has just not happened.

"Defra has stated that central grants will fund a maximum of just 2,000 hectares in 2015/16, leavingthe private sector to fund an additional 3,000 hectares, for which there is no historical precedent."

He added: "Our woods and trees face a battery of assault from climate change, pests and disease, and development. At a time when there is an urgent need to build environmental resilience, the right incentives are clearly not in place yet."

He also warned that woodland losses were barely referred to in the Forestry Commission statistics and were not being recorded adequately, which made it hard to assess the overall woodland cover.

England has 10% woodland cover, with the total for the UK as a whole standing at 13%, making it one of the least wooded countries in Europe.

An Environment Department spokeswoman said: "Woodland cover in England is at its highest level since the 14th


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Forum on Food Sovereignty in Korea: “Building and strengthening alliance with Korean organizations for food sovereignty”

Seoul, July 2007In the first week of July 2007, La Via Campesina (LVC) invited by the Korean Peasant League (KPL) and the Korean Woman Peasant Association (KWPA) took part in the Korean Social forum. LVC delegation consisted of CNOP Mali, Confédération Paysanne (France), ANFPA Nepal, AOP Thailand, FSPI Indonesia, NOUMINREN Japan, CANEZ Venezuela. During the Social Forum, one day was dedicated to an international forum on food sovereignty.

For us in La Via Campesina, our Korean members are a great source of inspiration when we look at their struggle for Food Sovereignty, Korean Reunification, against FTA US-Korea, and the hard struggle against WTO in Cancun and Hong Kong2005.

Korea Social Forum

The forum was organized at Duksung Women’s University, in Seoul. There are 6 universities in Korea only for women and Duksung is the oldest one. The forum was attended by 1000 peoples from various organizations in Korea: students, farmers, women, consumers, workers, school lunch organizations, academician, NGO, congress representatives, artist and some foreign delegates invited as speakers. The forum started with a message of Hugo Chaves for the Nyeleni Forum in Mali. This time the video message was already subtitled in Korean.

LVC delegation had preparation meeting with KPL and KWPA before the forum started introducing our delegation as well as the agenda for us during our stay in Korea. LVC also participated in short discussion meetings with the Korean Democratic Labor Party (DLP) on their struggle


in their legislation, to create a strategy for the Korean people movements for the implementation of food sovereignty, and create a national network to materialize food sovereignty in the farmers-consumer relations in the future.

The first session was addressed by José Bové from France, Prem Dangal from Nepal, Ibrahim Coulibaly from Mali, Yoshitaka Mashima from Japan and Brulio Alvares from Venezuela. The speaker talked about the struggle for food sovereignty in their respective countries as well as the progress we are engaged to at international level, in the UN as well as the Nyeleni forum in Mali on February 2007. The forum was chaired by the former minister of agriculture of Korea, Kim Seon Hoon, who is now practicing organic farming in Korea.

In his presentation Prem Danggal of Nepalsaid the issue of Food Sovereignty has been incorporated in the interim constitution of Nepal. As far as the constitutionalization of this issue is concerned; Nepal is perhaps the first country to go so far. As it is stated in the constitution, people’s food sovereignty is ensured in accordance with some laws to be enacted. The people who are advocating of food sovereignty as an alternative to neo-liberal market driven economy, especially the peasant communities at national level and international civil society organizations have become very happy with this important achievement.

In Japan the consumers and producers have built an alliance involved in direct marketing of food products. Both consumers and producers enjoy the benefit of the alliance which is strengthening the movement in Japan. They are now struggling


to reject imported beef from the US and to protect themselves from the mad cow disease. .

La Via Campesina has been promoting food sovereignty since the World Food Summit in 1996 in Rome. Over the years, our movement has addressed the issue through discussions, seminars, and international forums organized all over the world as well as through lobby work with some UN institutions, especially the FAO and the Human Rights Council. The achievements at international level should now be followed by concrete results at regional and national as well.

The second session was conducted by the Korean organizations on the implementation of food sovereignty in Korea and the building up of the national alliance. The participants strongly committed themselves to implement food sovereignty in the country, a more detailedwas a very good opportunity for the foreign delegation to visit a farmer family in Korea. The Family of Lee Hyun Bu has 6 ha of land and grows organic fruits and organic rice. 3 people work in the farm: the husband, the wife and the mother in law. The family inherited the land from their parents. In Yeo Chan province where they live only 5% of the farmers do organic farming and only two families are implementing real organic agriculture by using fermented fertilizers and growing local fruits varieties. According Mr Lee Hyun Bu, organic rice is sold at an expensive price and is bought only by the people who understand the importance of healthy food. His family advertises its production through their website.

Background information about Korea

Korea


is located on the Korean Peninsula in North-East Asia. To the northwest, the Amrok River separates Korea from China and to the northeast the Duman River separates Korea from China and Russia. The total area of the peninsula, including its islands, is 222, 154 square kilometers of which about 45 percent, excluding the area of the demilitarized zone, constitutes the territory of South Korea. The population of South Korea is about 50 million (North Korea has 25 million). At the end of the World War II (1948), Korea was divided into South Korea and North Korea. In 1953 at the end of the Korean War, a new border was fixed at the demilitarized zone, a kilometer-wide strip of land that runs along the line of ceasefire from theeast to the west coast for distance of about 241 kilometer. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is the largest urban center, having 10 million residents. Busan is the second largest city, with a population over four million.

The country has a presidential system, where the president and the members of the National Assembly are elected by direct vote. Under Korea’s presidential system, the president performs his executive function through the State Council made up of 15 to 30 members and presided over by the president, who is solely responsible for deciding all important government policies. The prime minister is appointed by the president and approved by National Assembly.


John and Suzie were racing their Hobie 16 in the US SAILING Multi-hull championship in San Francisco wearing a Hobie PFD like this

They had a great day, won a dustable pickle dish for taking 3rd place and then went out on their Hobie SUPs for a victory paddle around Pier 39. They had a great Hobie Day.

Dick and Jane sailed in same regatta wearing a Zhik PFD like this

They were protested and disqualified. Sailing back to the dock, they were stopped by the US Coast Guard for a safety inspection and received a citation. Later, to wind down, they took their SUP out for a quick paddle. They were pulled over by the San Francisco Police Department and given a ticket. What gives?

First, let’s understand the terms andis a member of the US Marine Safety Association. Associates in his group are certified by the AMSEA as trainers, are moderators for the US SAILING Safety at Sea Conferences and USCG 100 ton license programs. Kirk was an umpire for the 32nd America’s Cup in Valencia Spain and was chairman of the US SAILING Umpire Committee, served on the US SAILING Appeals Committee and was a member of the ISAF International Umpire Sub Committee. Kirk is the factory representative for Stohlquist Life Jackets.

I would also like to mention that just because it is approved by the Coast Guard, it may not be approved by the state. This summer while boating in Michigan, my nephew received a $100 ticket because the life jacket his niece was wearing, even


though approved by the US Coast Guard, was not approved by the state of Michigan. He was pulled over by the Sheriff. Had he been pulled over by the Coast Guard, he would have been just fine. I guess the state of Michigan knows better than the US Coast Guard!!

This summer while boating in Michigan, my nephew received a $100 ticket because the life jacket his niece was wearing, even though approved by the US Coast Guard, was not approved by the state of Michigan.

That's pretty absurd. I know every state has its own requirements for types of PFD's, but if the PFD is USCG approved and meets the state requirements, I don't believe that should be a ticket or fine. (The example that comes to mind: NYSAbout the Film

Test Tube Babies

The pioneering researchers in the effort to conceive babies through in vitro fertilization faced daunting obstacles and much controversy before the world's first test tube baby was born on July 25, 1978.

General Article: The Publication of Ovum Humanum

It was a stunning little book, with the first clear pictures of human eggs in their earliest stages of development, and Ovum Humanum marked an important landmark in the growing knowledge of the human fertilization process.

Understanding FertilizationFor centuries, the reproductive process had been a mystery; people knew that intercourse was required to make a baby, but had little idea exactly how the baby came to be. That began to change in 1827, when scientists first learned that the female body contained eggs, known as ova. In 1843


scientists discovered that conception resulted from male sperm entering the egg, and in 1875 it was conclusively determined that human life sprung from a union of the two. Still, researchers were unsure when in a woman’s monthly cycle she was most likely to get pregnant; they incorrectly assumed that human cycles were similar to those of other mammals, with ovulation occurring at menstruation. Greater understanding came with the identification of the ovarian hormone progesterone, which plays a key role in pregnancy, in 1928; a year later the sex hormone estrogen was isolated. The stage was set for a closer examination of the fertilization process. In 1934 Harvard scientist Gregory Pincus conducted in vitro fertilization (IVF) experiments involving rabbits, and in 1944 John Rock and Miriam Menkin managed thefirst successful in vitro fertilization of a human egg.

The First Atlas of the Human EggBoth Pincus and Menkin photographed the results of their experiments, but the photos were few and of low quality. Landrum Shettles, a New York doctor and IVF pioneer, took photographing the human egg to the next level. His photographic atlas of the human egg, Ovum Humanum was published in 1960. The book, intended for an academic and medical audience, contained a selection of the more than 1,000 photographs Shettles had taken over six years at Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital where he worked. Shettles worked with a Leica camera rigged to take pictures of a microscope slide, and he proved to be quite skilled as a photographer. He documented eggs from their earliest stage of development as


oocytes through fertilization.

The Impact of Shettles’ PhotosFor many readers, these color photographs were the first clear pictures of human eggs that they had ever viewed. Their publication marked an important step towards greater understanding of the earliest stages of life, stages that had previously been assumed but never seen. They were, in the words of Columbia doctor Georgianna Jagiello, “really thrilling photographs,” and interest in them extended far beyond Shettles’ fellow physicians. Photographs from Ovum Humanum appeared in several science textbooks and even the 1963 Catholic Youth Encyclopedia, which was ironic because the Catholic Church would come to condemn IVF in later years.

More Books, More ResearchOvum Humanum was not Shettles’ last book; in the early 1970s he co-authored the best-selling From Conception to Birth: The Drama of Life’sGRAND LODGE
       FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE;
       and the JEWISH INSTITUTE FOR
       NATIONAL SECURITY AFFAIRS as
       Amici Curiae in support of
       Appellants Seeking Reversal.

OPINION OF THE COURT

ALDISERT, Circuit Judge.

In the course of proceedings to remove Appellee Hany
Mahmoud Kiareldeen, an ethnic Palestinian and Israeli
citizen, from the United States, the Immigration and
Naturalization Service ("INS") relied on classified evidence
obtained by the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force. This
evidence suggested that Appellee was a member of a
terrorist organization, was involved in the 1993 bombing of
the World Trade Center and had made threats against
Attorney General Janet Reno.

After numerous administrative hearings, stays and
appeals, the district court


court's
conclusions of law are still reviewed de novo ).

I.

Kiareldeen entered the United States on a student visa on
April 27, 1990. He then violated the specific terms of his
visa by remaining in the United States after completing his
studies in 1994. On March 26, 1998, the INS served him
with a Notice to Appear charging that he was removable
under S 237(a)(1)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act ("INA") for failing to comply with the terms of his visa.
The service ordered him held without bond pending the
outcome of his deportation hearing.

On April 27, 1998, an immigration judge denied bond
and scheduled a removal hearing. On May 22, 1998,
Kiareldeen conceded that he violated the terms of his visa,
and then sought an adjustment of status based upon INA
S 245 (marriage to a United States citizen). TheINS resisted
the adjustment of status with evidence that Kiareldeen had
filed a false birth certificate with the immigration judge. The
INS also submitted classified evidence to the immigration
judge, in camera and ex parte, alleging that (1) Kiareldeen
was a member of a foreign terrorist organization, (2) he was
involved in a meeting planning the 1993 attack on the
World Trade Center one week prior to the actual attack, at
which a suicide bombing was discussed, and (3) he later
threatened to kill Attorney General Janet Reno for her role
in convicting those responsible for the 1993 bombing of the
World Trade Center.

The INS provided Kiareldeen with several unclassified
summaries of the classified evidence of the Federal Bureau


          5
of Investigation ("FBI"). The summary dated July 29, 1998,
stated that the information was obtained by the Joint
Terrorism Task Force, an FBI-supervised squad with
detailed representation from numerous law enforcement
agencies that work together on terrorism matters in the
Newark, New Jersey area. The summary stated also that
the information gathered was foreign intelligence
information based on multiple sources, which the FBI
considered to be reliable, and that the FBI had taken
"additional steps to test the veracity of the source reporting
the threat against the Attorney General." App. Vol. II at 25-
28. It emphasized that the reliability of the sources "is of
fundamental concern to the FBI" and that the
characterization of the reporting "is controlled by guidelines
set forth in the National Foreign Intelligence Program
Manual." Id. at 25.is extremely
limited. We must review the record and determine whether,
in opposing Kiareldeen's various contentions in the removal
and habeas corpus proceedings, "the position of the United
States was [not] substantially justified." 28 U.S.C.
SS 2412(d)(1)(A).

A.

The government argues first that it was justified in
seeking Kiareldeen's removal from the United States
because of the evidence presented by the FBI's Joint
Terrorism Task Force. This evidence alleged that Kiareldeen
was a member of a foreign terrorist organization, that he
was involved in a meeting planning the 1993 bombing of
the World Trade Center one week prior to the actual attack
and that he later threatened to kill Attorney General Janet
Reno for her role in convicting those responsible for the
bombing. In prosecuting its case, the government relied on
the alleged statements of Nidal Ayyad and Sheikh Omar
Abdel Rahman in order to implicate


of meaningful notice and opportunity to
respond. However, the favorable outcomes in both the
administrative and district court proceedings severely dilute
the efficacy of this contention. Kiareldeen was provided with

                               9
several unclassified summaries of the information the INS
had submitted to the immigration judge. Though these
summaries were not highly fact-specific, ensuring that
neither the FBI's sources nor national security were
compromised, they did provide him with the "who," "what,"
"when" and "where" of the allegations against him. Armed
with this information, he then presented a considerable
amount of live testimony and documentary evidence to the
accusations.

These unclassified summaries were apparently
informative enough that he was even able to surmiseinformation in the past.

The Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) is an FBI supervised squad with
detailed representation from numerous law enforcement agencies that
work jointly on terrorism matters in the Newark, New Jersey area.

This document contains information obtained by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation pursuant to its investigatory powers as governed by the
Attorney General Guidelines for FBI Foreign Intelligence Collection and
Foreign Counterintelligence Investigations, dated June 8, 1995. These
guidelines are established by the Attorney General to govern all
investigations of international terrorism conducted by the FBI pursuant
to Executive Order 12333.

The majority of information collected pursuant to these guidelines is
foreign intelligence information and is classified national security
information as defined by Executive Order 12958. Certain information
which would otherwise be unclassified when standing alone, such as the
fact that an organization has been designated by the United


terrorist organization. Information
has disclosed Kiareldeen maintains relationships with other members
and/or suspected members of terrorist organizations dedicated to
committing acts of violence against the people of the United States or its
allies.

A source advised that approximately one week before the bombing of
the World Trade Center (WTC) in New York, Kiareldeen was present at a
meeting with several individuals who were talking about plans to bomb
the WTC. The meeting took place at Kiareldeen's residence in Nutley,
New Jersey. According to a source, Nidal Ayyad (Ayyad) was present at
this meeting (Ayyad is a convicted co-conspirator in the WTC bombing).
Ayyad did most of the talking about bombing the WTC as the others

                        to an application by the
alien for discretionary relief under [the Act]." 8 U.S.C.
S 1229a(b)(4)(B). Additionally, on October 26, 2001,
President Bush signed the USA Patriot Act of 2001, which
was approved by Congress just days before its signing. This
Act expanded the investigative powers of our law
enforcement agencies. It states that it is designed"to deter
and punish terroristic acts in the United States and around
the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools,
and other purposes."6

D.

We are not inclined to impede investigators in their
efforts to cast out, root and branch, all vestiges of terrorism
both in our homeland and in far off lands. As the Court has
stated:
_________________________________________________________________

6. It bears note that H.R. 1266, entitled the"Secret Evidence Repeal Act
of 2001," was introduced on March 28, 2001, by Representative David
Bonier (D-MI) and was later referred to the


     many countries. Unless a society has the capability
       and will to defend itself from the aggressions of others,
       constitutional protections of any sort have little
       meaning.

Wayte v. United States, 470 U.S. 598, 611-612 (1985). The
district court, in its fact finding process, understandably
felt shackled by the government's unwillingness to provide
Kiareldeen the names and addresses of its counter-
terrorism personnel, both in uniform and in civilian clothes.
Nonetheless, the public fisc should not lightly be exposed to
financial penalties when the war on terrorism is transferred
from the domestic battlefield that our country has become,
to the vacuum-sealed environment of a federal courtroom,
with such civilized accouterments as burdens of proof and
axioms ofthe following information revealed by its
sources in 1998, dealing with a meeting at which
Kiareldeen was allegedly present:

       A source advised that approximately one week before
       the bombing of the World Trade Center (WTC) in New
       York, Kiareldeen was present at a meeting with several
       individuals who were talking about plans to bomb the
       WTC. The meeting took place at Kiareldeen's residence
       in Nutley, New Jersey. According to a source, Nidal
       Ayyad (Ayyad) was present at this meeting (Ayyad is a


             FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO
                      (D.C. No. 1:12-CR-01662-WJ-1)

Marc H. Robert, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public
Defender for the District of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico, appearing for
Appellant.

Dean Tuckman, Assistant United States Attorney (Steven C. Yarbrough, Acting United
States Attorney, and James R.W. Braun, Assistant United States Attorney, on the brief),
Office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New
Mexico, appearing for Appellee.

Before LUCERO, GORSUCH, and MATHESON, Circuit Judges.

MATHESON, Circuit Judge.
       Lawrence Lucero pled guilty to three counts of receipt of child§ 1291, we affirm.

                                   I. BACKGROUND

                                 A. Factual Background

       In March 2012, Mr. Lucero worked as a social worker at the Community Based

Outpatient Clinic, which provides social services to military veterans for the Veterans

Administration (the “VA”). Mr. Lucero had offices in both Espanola and Las Vegas,

New Mexico.

       On March 28,


his late grandfather, who was born in Cuba and disabled by polio at an early age.

“He told me that because I was an American son, there was nothing that I could not do and there was no limit to how far I could go,” Rubio said, adding that he hoped his grandfather would be watching when he introduced “the next president of the United States” in two weeks.

Rubio, 41, who often is viewed as a compelling antidote to the perception that his party is hostile to Hispanic interests, already enjoys a high national profile. It is likely to be even higher after his prime-time remarks at the convention on Aug. 30 in Tampa, in his home state.

Aside from noting that he is the son of Cuban immigrants, Rubioparties (Docket No. 8).

I. Background

Plaintiff is a New Hampshire resident. Carter is a Massachusetts corporation with its principal place of business in Bolton, Massachusetts. This Court's jurisdiction is based upon diversity of citizenship.
As of early 1998, Bowlby and Leo Nichols ("Nichols") owned 100% of the stock of Carter. Carter manufactures precision potentiometers and other controls for electronic equipment. At that time, Bowlby and Nichols sold all of their stock to Edge River's Acquisition Company, Inc. ("Edge River's"). Cohen, the president, founder and 100% shareholder of Edge River's, had formed the company for the purpose of purchasing Carter and financed 100% of that purchase.
On September 25, 1998, Cohen, Bowlby and Nichols entered into a Stock Purchase Agreement ("the Purchase Agreement"), whereby Edge River's merged with Carter and Cohen became


Assam floods worst since 2004

Guwahati, Aug. 1: This year's floods in Assam have been the worst since 2004 with the Brahmaputra and its tributaries raging across Assam.

"What makes the floods different this time is its sweep across the state. Normally the Upper Assam districts are more affected. It is the worst flood since 2004," the chief executive officer of Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), Dipak Kumar Sarma, told The Telegraph today.

In three waves since April, this year's floods have killed 28 people in 28 of the state's 34 districts. More than 26 lakh people have been affected as the Brahmaputra and its tributaries swept away more than 2,800 villages and submerged more than 2 lakh hectares of crops.

"The number of deaths have been comparatively less this yearin Barpeta, Goalpara, Dhubri and Morigaon districts are still affected, the bulletin said. Over 1.25 lakh people are still taking shelter in 273 relief camps.

The Brahmaputra Valley had experienced major floods in 1954, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1978, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1996, 1998, 2000 and 2004. According to the Flood Hazard Atlas of Assam (ISRO, 2011), approximately 28.31 per cent (22.21 lakh hectares) of land in the state was affected by floods between 1998 and 2007. More than 150 people had died in the 2004 floods, which has been termed as one of the worst.

The mighty Brahmaputra swells according to the flow of water in its tributaries that flow down from neighbouring states and countries. This year, the Lalai, Aie, Taklai, Kanamakra and Langkhar that flow down the


foothills of Bhutan to the north of Assam have created havoc in the lower Assam districts of Chirang, Baksa and Kokrajhar. The Kulsi, Batha and Jinari, which flow from Garo hills in western Meghalaya, have caused mayhem in the lower Assam districts of Goalpara and Kamrup. Together they have brought misery to at least two lakh people.

The Subansiri and the Lohit, which flow down the hills of central and eastern Arunachal Pradesh, have inundated the Upper Assam districts of Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sonitpur on both the banks of the Brahmaputra.

The red river, which flows through Arunachal Pradesh as the Siang, enters Assam at its extreme east, at Sadiya. Together they have rendered more than four lakh people homeless in Upper Assam.

"For the past week, we have been practicallyliving in water. Four of my buffaloes have died in these floods. It's the same story every year for us," said Jyoti Prakash Pegu, a resident of Dhunaguri village in Lakhimpur district of Upper Assam.

The worst is yet to come, warned meteorology experts. A report prepared by the Indian meteorological department says the country's east and Northeast received 647.9mm rainfall between June 1 and July 27 against the normal rainfall of 735.9mm during monsoon. "The rainy season is not yet over and whether the northeastern states receive excess or deficit rainfall is something we will get to know only at the end of the season, which is about the beginning of August give or take a few days," a meteorologist said.

The Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad, alleging the


Centre's apathy towards Assam where lakhs of people are reeling under floods, today hinted at a massive agitation. Its president Biraj Kumar Talukdar said Union home minister Rajnath Singh, despite recently visiting some of the flood-hit areas, did not announce a single penny for those affected.

Nor did the BJP-led state government place any demand before him, he added. He demanded Rs 10,000 crore from the Centre for succour to the flood-affected people.

In Jorhat, additional deputy commissioner Bubul Lekharu gave a cheque for Rs 4 lakh as ex gratia payment to Phuleswari Pegu, whose husband Ajoy Pegu, a resident of Hatihal Bormukoli Mising Gaon, lost his life in the floods.

Jorhat deputy commissioner Virendra Mittal today appealed to government employees to donate one day's salary for flood victims. The moneywill be sent to the chief minister's flood relief fund. Yesterday, members of IPS Association, Assam, had decided to donate their one day's gross salary to the chief minister's relief fund in view of the current floods in the state.

The Asam Sahitya Sabha today demanded Rs 3,000 crore from the Centre towards compensation and rehabilitation of people affected by floods and erosion in the state. It also demanded that the Centre declare Assam's flood and erosion as a national disaster. The two demands were among the resolutions adopted by the literary organisation in an executive meeting held under the chairmanship of its president Dhrubajyoti Bora at Gohpur in Biswanath Chariali district in north Assam yesterday. Sabha general secretary Paramananda Rajbongshisaid the organisation would approach the Centre for resolution


Latest News from Marontech Communications

New CEO at Chess and Opening of US Office

Chess Technologies Ltd announces the new position of Chief Executive Officer and the opening of their first office in the United States as part of an accelerated growth programme for the company.

Graham Beall, the founder, and until recently Managing Director of Chess Dynamics Ltd, is appointed by the Chess Board to the new role of CEO of the parent company Chess Technologies, to develop Chess as it focuses on growing the business both in the UK and internationally.

“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Graham Beall as Chief Executive Officer of Chess Technologies. He brings a wealth of experience not only of electro optic and surveillance technologies, but also our targeted markets. His appointment willSpeed a factor in fatal Mansfield crash

Police say speed was a contributory factor in a fatal crash last night in Mansfield Woodhouse, which resulted in the death of three people.

The crash happened on Debdale Lane at around 9.45pm, involving a BMW, a motorcycle and a pick-up.

Detective Sergeant James Greely, investigating the crash, said the force are at the early stages of the investigation, but they do know speed played a part in the crash.

The officer also said that the driver and the front passenger in the BMW, and the motorcyclist died following the crash, with two back-seat passengers in the BMW, and the Ford Ranger pick-up driver were seriously injured.


NOVEMBER CITY COUNCIL MEETING CANCELED

Notice is hereby given that the City Council of the City of Pecan Hill, Texas has canceled the November 21st, 2017 meeting for lack of agenda items.

I, Shelley Martinez, City Administrator of the City of Pecan Hill Texas do hereby certify that the above notice of the Regular Meeting of the Pecan Hill City Council was posted at the Municipal Building, Pecan Hill City Hall, 1094 S. Lowrance, Pecan Hill Texas on the 16th day of November 2017 at 6:00 P. M.

____________________________

Shelley Martinez, City Administrator

The City Council may retire and convene into Executive Session on any matter related to the above agenda items for the purpose; such closed sessions are allowable under Chapter 551, of the Texas Government Code.

This building is wheelchair accessible. AnyThe Space Between Us probably should have been released with the subtitle "When Good Actors Find Themselves in Bad Movies," because that's exactly how I felt when watching this disappointing endeavor. The plot is aimed squarely at the teen crowd, but the script here would insult most grade-schoolers.

Asa Butterfield stars as Gardner, the offspring of a female astronaut who gave birth to him (and died from complications shortly thereafter) on a manned mission to Mars. The scientist who headed up the mission (and remained back on Earth) is Nathaniel Shepherd (Gary Oldman), and it was his decision to allow the remaining astronauts to raise Gardner on the red planet (unbeknownst to the public back on Earth) instead of abandoning the mission and having everyone return.

Sixteen years after his


birth (in the year 2034), Gardner craves returning to Earth, not the least of his reasons being the fact that he's fallen in love with a young girl, Tulsa (Britt Robertson), who he's been Skyping with (or whatever the form of online videoconferencing is in the future) - although she doesn't have a clue that he's not currently on the same planet. Despite the billions of dollars that must be involved to bring him back to Earth (not to mention an operation he gets to make his bones "stronger" after living in the Martian atmosphere all his life), Gardner is returned to our big blue planet. Unfortunately, he's not here for more than a few days before his body starts reacting negatively to his new home. That doesn'tShukrije Sahiti did not expect her baby to survive. She was eight months pregnant, perched on a tractor bumping across Kosovo in the middle of the night in the pouring rain, with no idea where or when her family would find shelter. How could a child come into the world amid such misery, to a mother so paralysed with terror?

It was the end of March 1999, when hundreds of thousands of Kosovan Albanians were being forced from their homes and herded towards the borders. Serbian troops were wiping out entire villages, with the aim of crushing an armed separatist movement, the Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA), in the Albanian-majority province.

The Sahitis fled in a hurry under gunfire, taking whatever they could throw on to the tractor. They pulled their


car behind them as a fallback. Shukrije held on to her five-year-old daughter while her husband drove. Together, they were a speck in the human tide flowing south.

"We were on the road all day and all night – it rained and rained," she says. "As we went by, we saw along the way houses burning and dead bodies in the road. When we saw all that, we thought we would never survive."

Shukrije had three sisters, and none of them survived that awful, rain-soaked exodus. The youngest, just 19, was separated from her family by Serbian paramilitaries, who corralled the refugee columns like cowboys herding cattle. It is never quite clear how she died, but her body was found near the town of Peja. Shukrije's second youngest sister wasin a refugee camp in Albania when the news reached her. Her family say that, after hearing of her little sister's death, she collapsed and never regained consciousness.

Shukrije's elder sister was diabetic and in a wheelchair even before the war started. She survived the trip to the Albanian border, but then the army ordered the refugee column she was travelling in to turn back, perhaps with the intention of using them as human shields. After many more days on the road, she returned to her home village, which had been torched. She died there.

By the time Shukrije crossed the border with her family at the beginning of May, she was utterly bereft, the last of four sisters, and due to give birth. They finally came to rest outside


an Italian military camp near a coastal town called Kavaje. The carabinieri there took her in, and as she approached her due date, they had a helicopter on standby to take her to Italy for a caesarean if necessary. But on 18 May 1999, her waters finally broke and she was taken to the Italian clinic to give birth.

It happened to be a particularly busy day at the camp. Most of the Italian brass were out to meet a VIP visitor. Tony Blair was visiting the Nato forces and the refugee camps, where he was mobbed as a saviour. The Kosovan Albanian refugees who spent their nights huddled around radios knew the British prime minister was pushing harder than any other western leader for decisive Nato intervention todrive back Serbian forces. They chanted, "Nato! Nato!" when they saw him. And when he addressed them, promising they would be returning to their homes, the cheers could be heard in the tent where Shukrije was giving birth to a healthy, 4.2kg boy.

"It seemed like a miracle," her husband says. The Italian medics looked to the new father for a name and he had no hesitation: the baby would be named in honour of the celebrated visitor, with Albanian spelling – he would be called Tonibler.

Tonibler Sahiti: ‘I feel very good when people call my name. I would like to achieve something like prime minister Blair did. To save people from wars.’ Photograph: Andrew Testa/Panos for the Guardian

Fifteen years on, Tonibler Sahiti is doing well at school and


likes fixing electronic gear in his spare time; he would like to design websites. "I feel very good when people call my name," he says. "I would like to achieve something like prime minister Blair did. To save people from wars."

Just as Blair promised, the people of Kosovo did go home. Tonibler is growing up in peace in the family village. His father has built a new two-storey home near the site of their old house, with meticulous stonework behind the hearth. There are apple, pear and cherry trees in the garden. If you wanted to conjure up a scene to convey a vision of peace, it would be hard to do better.

As the tale of the long trek into Albania is recounted, Tonibler's grandfather, Brahim, sits ina chair in the corner, his eyes watering under his black beret. When he speaks, his voice trembles: "If Nato hadn't intervened, none of us would be here," he cries. "People were put in basements and executed. Nato came and that's why people survived." Of course Brahim approved of the choice of his grandson's name. "How could I not agree? He showed such support to a suffering people."

For the Sahitis, the decision was a personal response to a chance encounter, so they were surprised to discover a decade or so later that their Tonibler is far from the only one.

When Blair visited the Kosovo capital Pristina in July 2010, Tonibler Sahiti was one of the nine boys on stage to greet him. There were two more Toniblers, two


Blers and three Tonis, dressed in identical suits and ties donated for the occasion, who all got the chance to introduce themselves to the nation's hero. They were lined up on stage, waving their hands from side to side in time to We Are The World. There was a crowd of several thousand at the open-air event, some waving union jacks, amid signs proclaiming Blair a "leader, friend and hero". The man himself stood behind the boys as they sang, and behind him was a backdrop featuring a giant image of his face.

There are others who did not attend the ceremony. One Tonibler arrived in Pristina after the show was over and is said to have been inconsolable; a few more were invited but did not appear. Itis not exactly a mass phenomenon, but it is the embodiment of one: a deep, national reverence for the man they consider their saviour.

The adulation in Kosovo is all the more striking for the contrast to its object's reputation in his home country, where, following the invasion of Iraq, the Blair name is a brand so toxic the Labour party goes out of its way to avoid him. "The good deed of a person should be remembered for a long time," says Sadete Gashi, another devotee convinced she owes her life to the British politician. "The people who lived through the most chaotic and miserable chapter in our history know what Tony Blair did."

The Gashi family were driven out of their village in the Llap region on 24


March 1999, under artillery fire. Sadete's husband, Naser, hid in the woods with the rest of the men from the village, while she took her infant daughter in her arms and her 30-month-old by the hand, and led them through the driving rain across the hills in search of safety. After a 12-hour scramble through the night, they were given shelter in another village, but were forced out into the open again as the Serbian forces advanced.

On 1 May they found themselves in the midst of a column of exhausted Kosovans passing through a village near the town of Vushtrri. "As we were walking towards the town, we came under fire," Sadete says. "Paramilitary fighters arrived and were staring like drug addicts. They were looking down on usfrom on top of armoured cars and shouting: 'You want Albania! You go to Albania!' Then they picked out people and started shooting them. I saw a woman cradling her dead husband and son."

In the early hours of 2 May, the column of terrified civilians were herded into an abandoned pig farm that had been reinforced with razor wire into a makeshift detention centre. "One man lit a cigarette lighter near the wire to see where he was going. He was immediately shot and fell," Sadete says. "At 10am the troops came. They took every man and boy over 15, and made them kneel in a field. The woman who had lost her husband and son had another son, 20 years old, and she was terrified. She kept


begging him to take bread, saying he would be hungry on his journey. They were loaded on to trucks and a bulldozer drove behind them." The remains of 98 civilians were found after the war in a nearby mass grave by investigators from The Hague war crimes tribunal.

Sadete Gashi and her daughters marched on and by mid-May reached Pristina, where she had some relatives. The Kosovan capital was a terrifying place at the time. It was nearly deserted during the day except for troops and paramilitary groups, who were going from one neighbourhood to another, looting empty homes and collecting the spoils of war. Sadete found an aunt who was still at home, but her house was full of frightened friends and neighbours. There were plenty of emptyhomes nearby, however. Sadete and her daughters took shelter in one of them, taking tins and packets of food donated by her relatives. As a Kosovan, she had to register with the Serbian military authorities and was given a special pass that she was ordered to carry at all times.

They were kept awake by gunfire, which seemed to be louder and closer each night, until 11 June, when it seemed to be exploding around them. The fighting finally tapered off as dawn came. There was a knock on the door and a voice speaking Albanian. It was a KLA fighter, telling Sadete and her daughters it was safe to come out.

"It was so strange, there were so many people in the street," Sadete says. "Until then, we thought


it had been only us. The Serbian soldiers were withdrawing and then we saw soldiers with different uniforms. I could tell they were British from the language. They came walking down the road. No words now can describe that feeling."

The first moment many thousands of Kosovans in Pristina realised they were safe was when British soldiers from the 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment walked up their street in their maroon berets. The vivid memory deepened the impression that Blair had gone further than other western leaders to come to their rescue.

Sadete did not give birth to a son until 2001, but the passage of time made no difference to her: "Long before I was pregnant, I knew it was going to be Tonibler. And if it had notbeen a boy, I would have had five girls, or as many as necessary until I could name a boy Tonibler. Others did a lot. He did the most."

The family settled in Pristina after the war and now live in a block of flats in a densely populated district called Sunny Hill. Sadete is a nurse in a neighbourhood clinic. Naser, who survived the war hiding in the woods, teaches physics. Tonibler Gashi sits by his parents listening patiently, no doubt for the umpteenth time, to the rendition of his creation story, the Just So tale of how he came by his unusual name.

He will be 13 this October and is tall for his age – he looks at least a year older – fresh-faced and bright-eyed, with


thick, brown hair. He is the youngest child and the only one at home since his elder sisters are out at after-school English classes. His mother rushes back from work to talk about her favourite subject. "Your name is destiny, they say, and look at him. He is even starting to look like Tony Blair!"

Tonibler Gashi: 'When I was younger, kids made fun of me because of the name. But now I know what Tony Blair did, I feel proud.' Photograph: Andrew Testa/Panos for the Guardian

Tonibler himself is getting used to the burden of history placed on him at birth, although it has taken some time. "When I was younger, kids made fun of me because of the name, and I was ashamed," he says. "But now Iknow what Tony Blair did, I feel proud." Asked what exactly he is proud of, he says: "I don't know a lot, but I know he saved us from the Serbian army and since then we are free."

That hot June day in 1999, British troops were festooned with flowers, kissed and hugged along the road from the Macedonian border to Pristina. But less than 100 yards from the long line of Warrior armoured cars baking in the sun were reminders of why they had come. Scattered among the villages were hundreds of freshly dug graves for victims of atrocities committed by Serbian paramilitaries. More than 10,000 people were killed. Milosevic had ordered many of the bodies to be dug up and taken away by the departing Serbs in


a clumsy attempt at a cover-up of his crimes. The bones are still being unearthed in Serbia today.

In retrospect, that bright shining day in June, with Kosovan children thronging around smiling, sunburned squaddies, was the high point for humanitarian intervention. A year after the Kosovo intervention, British troops staged a minor-key reprise in Sierra Leone, where they helped the national army stop the rebels of the Revolutionary United Front from entering the capital, Freetown, where they would almost certainly have massacred the inhabitants. It is the one other place on Earth where there are boys named after Tony Blair.

On closer scrutiny, the Kosovo mission itself was far from clearcut. Western leaders, including Blair, made their plans on the mistaken assumption that a few days of aerial bombardment wouldconvince Milosevic to call off his plan to drive both the KLA and the Kosovans out of the province. But there was much more at stake. Serbs saw Kosovo as the cradle of the nation. Few of them wanted actually to live there, among the despised Albanians, but they were prepared to fight bitterly not to lose it.

When Nato bombed, Milosevic stepped up his operation. Three-quarters of the prewar population of 1.8 million Kosovans were driven from their homes in 1999. Half a million found shelter inside Kosovo's borders, hiding in the woods or in abandoned homes; 800,000 ended up in refugee camps in Albania and Macedonia.

With no plan B, Nato dithered. The bombing campaign was expanded to the rest of Serbia including the capital, Belgrade, but dropping


high explosives from high altitude is a blunt instrument. About 500 civilians were killed, half of them Serbian and half Kosovan, "collateral damage" as a result of mistakes and poor intelligence. On 14 April, Nato planes bombed refugee convoys in south-east Kosovo in the belief that they were military columns, leaving 75 dead. On 1 May, they bombed a bridge near Pristane, killing 39 on a civilian bus, and 12 days later killed between 48 and 87 civilians in a bombing raid on supposed military targets in the village of Korisha. The television centre in Belgrade was destroyed, as was the Chinese embassy, with the deaths of three Chinese citizens. The war crimes tribunal in The Hague investigated but ultimately opted not to prosecute.

In the face of theseincidents, Tony Blair flew to Washington on 21 April to try to convince President Clinton to lead a ground invasion of Kosovo. Before the president's resolve could be put to the test, however, Milosevic abruptly capitulated. On 3 June 1999, he accepted a peace plan allowing a Nato-led Kosovo Force, K-For, to garrison the territory and safeguard the return of the refugees.

Salvation had come at the darkest hour, but it would be hard to describe the ensuing 15 years as a happy-ever-after. Those who can remember the Milosevic era are grateful simply to be living in peace in their home villages and towns, but even for them the discontents of freedom are beginning to weigh heavier. With every passing year, life seems less like a miracle and more


like a challenge. The varied childhoods of the Toniblers and Blers tell the story of Kosovo in all its joys and disappointments. But for their generation, just being alive and free will no longer be enough.

A few minutes' drive from Tonibler Sahiti's home is a constant reminder of the truncated nature of Kosovo's independence. The town of Mitrovica is divided between Serb and Kosovan quarters by the river Ibar. A Serb enclave between the town and the Serbian border has never recognised Kosovo's 2008 declaration of independence, and continues to look towards Belgrade. It remains one of Europe's most volatile flashpoints, driving away trade and allowing distrust to fester in its place.

"Things have not turned out the way we thought they would," Tonibler Sahiti's father, Jahir, says. "Wenot go as far as Serbian recognition of Kosovo's sovereignty.

Bler Thaqi was last year named the best under-15 footballer in Kosovo. Photograph: Andrew Testa/Panos for the Guardian

Kosovo was allowed to play its first international friendly football match in March this year, against Haiti. It was a cathartic moment, celebrated inside the country with the fervour of a World Cup final, but it did not bring Kosovo any closer to membership of Fifa. That is the sovereignty deficit that is of most concern to the most sporting of the Blair boys. Last year, Bler Thaqi was named the best under-15 player in Kosovo, and in January he went to a training camp hosted by the Turkish team Galatasaray. But Bler's dreams of kicking a ball for a living depend


very much on recognition. "I would like to see myself playing professional football, but there are no prospects for me," he says. "The conditions aren't any good for playing. Maybe there would be greater opportunity if a foreign trainer came here to check for talent."

He is darkly tanned, stick-thin and deadly serious. According to the coach of his youth side, he is by far the most disciplined member of the team. That was evident at a recent training session in his home town, the Pristina suburb of Obilic , where the 14-year-old Bler showed limited patience for the Guardian's photographer getting in the way of his drills.

Like most of his young namesakes, he was conceived in the face of near-extinction. During her pregnancy, his mother, Remzije, slept roughin the forests for two months, trying to escape Serbian mortar fire with her husband, their 17-year-old daughter, Ajtene, and their six-year-old son. To get food, they would have to walk three or four hours through the woods to a KLA-held village, under constant threat of sniper fire and shelling.

They ended up in a refugee camp in Macedonia, but by the time Remzije gave birth to a new baby on 4 August 1999, they were back in Kosovo. It was his father, who died three years ago, who insisted on naming the infant after Tony Blair. "I remember him saying that while others had done a lot for us, Blair did most," Ajtene says. "He would say he was a peaceful man, whose smile gives hope."

By the time


the Thaqis returned home, their village had been razed to the ground and they drifted to Obilic because there was shelter there. In Yugoslav days, the town filled with blocks of flats for the workers for the two massive power stations that dominate the skyline. It employed Serbians and Kosovan Albanians, and the town was evenly mixed until the mid-90s, when Milosevic had all the Kosovans summarily fired to make room for Serbian refugees from lost wars in Croatia and Bosnia. The Kosovans were also barred from schools and universities, and were forced to teach their children in secret, improvised classes in basements and flats.

When many of the Serbians fled after the end of the war, it left a lot of empty homes. The Thaqis were evicted fromthe first apartment they were allocated because the absentee owners had sold it. They have a lease on their new place for 10 years.

Finding a home in Obilic has been a mixed blessing, however. The two power stations, Kosovo A and B, burn brown coal, lignite, a dirty and inefficient fuel. Together, they generate 98% of Kosovo's electricity and explain why Kosovo is the most polluted country in Europe. The EU reckons that their emissions alone shorten Kosovan lifespans by at least five years. On 6 June, a hydrogen tank exploded at the power station closest to the Thaqis' house, killing at least two and injuring 13. The plant was shut down amid fears that a further blast might follow.

On the scrappy playing fields where Bler Thaqi trains,


a brown pall hangs over the town. The power company recently installed filters, but they do not work at night. Even though Obilic lies at the feet of the two mighty cooling towers, the system is so inefficient that the town is in blackout for up to eight hours a day. All its people can do when evening falls is to close the windows and hunker down around candles. It is no place for the lungs of a 14-year-old who wants to take on the world at football.

Kosovo's appalling environmental problems are part of a deeper problem: chronic poverty. Injections of €6bn in foreign aid since the 1999 war has made it one of the biggest per capita recipients of overseas assistance on the planet, but that hasnot rescued the country from destitution. The unemployment rate is nearly 50%.

In Kosovo's Drenica valley, the birthplace and heartland of the KLA guerrilla struggle, the absence of jobs and the collapse of public services is choking rural life. This is where Tonibler Dajaku is growing up, in the hamlet of Rakinice, one of seven sons in a family living on a single income. One of his elder brothers, Niman, has a janitor's job in the village school. Two other brothers are away the day we visit, looking for day labour jobs in nearby Peja.

Tonibler Dajaku, one of nine Toniblers, Tonis and Blers who came face to face with their namesake in 2010: ‘It was a very emotional moment to meet him for real. Blair cried a bit when


he saw all of us.’ Photograph: Andrew Testa/Panos for the Guardian

If the Dajaku sons find work, they might make €15 a day, less €5 for the bus fare and lunch. Given that they find work on only one day in two, meaning they lose €5 on bad days, it hardly seems worthwhile as a survival strategy, but at least it offers some hope. Tonibler, who turns 14 this month, helps out on the family vegetable plot after school.

He is eager and agile, and darts around the home like a cat. Like the other Toniblers, he is earnest and hard-working. Asked what his greatest wish is, he says he would like a room of his own in which he can study at night. He helps carry out a tableto serve tea among the fruit trees to the sound of evening birdsong. Set on the side of a shallow green valley of fields, coppices and orchards, Rakinice is an astonishingly beautiful spot, but you cannot eat the scenery.

Sefer Dajaku, the boys' father, heard about Tony Blair while listening to a little transistor radio in the forests during the war. Alone among the Toniblers' fathers, he was a KLA member: in the Drenica valley, it comes with the territory. Hashim Thaçi, the movement's political leader during the war and now the country's prime minister, comes from a village two miles away. Sefer, like almost all the Kosovans in the valley, had been fired from his job in a public construction company in 1996, and had been detained and


beaten up by police the following year. There seemed little choice but to head for the woods. On the whole, though, he had a quiet war. "We hid and came down at night for food," Sefer says. "We didn't attack because, if we did, they would kill the whole village as a reprisal. We spent a lot of our time trying to persuade people from other villages not to fire at the Serbs."

On his radio, he heard that Britain's prime minister was pushing for Nato intervention, which ultimately allowed him to come out of the hills and restart his life. If he and his wife had had a girl after the war, she would have been named after Madeleine Albright, but when their last child was born, inthe military camp of a Moroccan peacekeeping contingent, it was a boy.

One of the most prized possessions in the Dajakus' spartan home is a letter from one of the prime minister's assistants in May 2003, after Sefer had decide to inform Downing Street of Tonibler's existence. "Mr Blair was grateful to you for taking the time and trouble to write to him and very flattered you chose to name your son, Tonibler, after him," the letter says. "Mr Blair sends his best wishes to you all, especially Tonibler. I am returning the photograph and birth certificate to you for safekeeping."

Tonibler Dajaku was one of those invited to the ceremony in Pristina in 2010 to meet his namesake. "All of us had a chance to shake hands and he


as would-be entrepreneurs, to investigate opportunities offered by the sell-off of the country's public corporations. Blair has played no discernible direct part in the privatisation jamboree, though there is something unmistakably Blairite in the state he helped bring into existence.

The problems faced by Avni Podrimaj are a vivid example of Kosovo's malaise. In theory, he is just the sort of man the country needs. He runs a company that imports Italian paints and building supplies, but is now trying to make the paints in Peja, in a small factory employing around two dozen people. It could expand and soak up some of the country's vast pool of unemployed workers, but is instead being squeezed by corrupt government officials. The company is owed €60,000 in VAT refunds it earnedby exporting its wares, but tax officials refuse to pay, and have threatened to take reprisals if Podrimaj makes a stink. "They treat us like criminals," he says. "I don't have the courage to ask for my money back. They said they would come in and close me down if I did... This country's cancer is corruption. The politicians want to make a lifetime's earning in one term, so they steal a lot. More than the country can bear."

Podrimaj has three sons, the youngest of whom was born just after the war and is turning 15 in August. His name is Bler. The name was suggested by an Italian business partner and friend who sheltered the family when they were driven out of Kosovo in March 1999. "He


a people who barely survived being wiped out and for whom education still feels like a precious gift. On top of that, they were all born to parents ambitious and worldly enough to name them after a foreign statesman.

However, Avni Podrimaj did not sent his son to the 2010 spectacle with Tony Blair. It sounded too much like a circus, he says. And he is now so disillusioned with the new Kosovo, he wants to get Bler and his other sons out of the country as soon as possible. "I have lost hope here. My mission is to give my children a good education and I tell them to get out – go wherever you can," he says. "One day they will return and go out on theagency Oxfam called on President Obama to commit to a new partnership for African development built on new resources and new measures to increase transparency and accountability.

"Much like the Cairo speech, we are hoping the Accra speech will signal a new era of engagement, respect and partnership with Africa," said Raymond C. Offenheiser, President of Oxfam America. "This historic visit, so early in his presidency and on the heels of important commitments at the G8 in Italy, signals the importance President Obama places on African development."

Millions of Africans live in extreme poverty, and are now hit hard by the global economic and climate crisis. Sub-Saharan Africa alone is expecting losses of up to $245 billion this year as a result of the global slump, which is almost seven


this around. President Obama can help by supporting increased transparency and the disclosure of payments from US and other companies to African governments to help ensure responsible use of billions of dollars of government revenues per year."

Oxfam praised Ghana's recent commitment to transparency in the country's nascent oil sector and urged President Obama to encourage the government to follow through on these commitments and encourage other African governments to follow the positive steps the Ghanaian government has taken to date.

Oxfam also noted that key reforms are needed to make the US foreign aid system as effective as possible in reducing poverty and creating prosperous communities throughout the developing world. The US currently lacks a coherent assistance strategy for many of the countries it is trying to help. OxfamSouth Korea is known to use a tactic of blasting loud music into North Korea using special loudspeakers that can be heard from a long distance. They do this as an effort to spread propaganda, showing how much better their country is and reveal the lies that are being spread up there.

During a tour of the DMZ (demilitarized zone), this tourist stands in awe as he looks into the North Korean landscape and hears this song being blasted into their neighboring country. "No time for losers, cause we are the champions of the world" Is South Korea "poking the beast" with this kind of taunting song?

We just love that they picked out one of the most epic songs ever written in the history of music and humankind, and


on October 1, 2005. Her claim was

denied on April 12, 2006, and again upon reconsideration on September 27, 2006. At

Johnson’s request, a hearing was held before an ALJ on March 13, 2008.

         In conjunction with her hearing, Johnson submitted extensive medical records.

Those records showed that between October 2, 2005 and October 31, 2005, Johnson

made three trips to the emergency room, complaining of difficulty breathing as well as

back and chest pain. During those visits, Johnson was diagnosed with cardiomegaly,

elevated blood pressure, and possible pneumonia. The records also document that she

had been inconsistent in taking prescribed medication and that she had tested positive for

cocaine use during two of her visits.

         On November 8, 2005,normal” and she was “cleared for discharge by cardiology.”

(AR at 113.) On November 17, 2005, she was sent home clinically stable with

instructions for an extensive drug regimen.

       She returned to the emergency room on December 7, 2005, complaining of chest

and stomach pain after heavy drinking. A chest exam showed normal heart size and

rhythm, and her health was reported as good.

       On February 27, 2006, Dr. R. C. Patel, a state retained physician, examined

Johnson in connection with her disability claim. Dr. Patel’s report mentioned Johnson’s

history of asthma, but his tests showed her pulmonary function to be above 90 percent of

expected functionality. He reported that she claimed to experience daily chest pain and

had a history of congestive heart


her application, Johnson also completed reports and testified about her

pain, daily activities, and other relevant personal information. She reported that she

suffered from back pain that sometimes lasted all day. She stated that doing anything

other than sitting – even moving her arms – caused tiredness, shortness of breath, chest

pains, and dizziness. Regarding her education and work history, Johnson reported that

                                              4
she never completed the 10th grade and that she had not worked since 1987. Finally,

Johnson testified that her positive cocaine tests in 2005 mustDavid Byrne & St. Vincent have announced details of a long-awaited European tour. The duo's seventeen-date tour includes three August UK shows and marks their first live soirees since releasing their collaborative album, 'Love This Giant' last year to critical acclaim.

Recorded over two years, 'Love This Giant' is a 'collaboration' in the truest sense of the word, with Byrne and St. Vincent co-writing ten of the album’s twelve tracks, and each artist penning one song individually.

The duo also split lyrical and vocal duties on the record, which despite eschewing a traditional guitar/bass/drums line-up in favour of idiosyncratic horn arrangements, presents itself as infectious and modern hook-laden rock.


If you were to hail a cab in New York City in the early 1970s, you might well have noticed the brooding driver in his 30s at the wheel of your ride.

He wasn’t exactly a household name at the time, but the movie Mean Streets (1973) had certainly put him on the map prominently enough to spark some recognition.

Whether you realized who was driving you to your destination or not, you would certainly have received a shock when the project he was working on, directed by Martin Scorsese, blasted its way into cinemas.

Taxi Driver got audiences talking in 1976 with its depiction of a tortured loner and Vietnam veteran Travis Bickle, who worked the job of the title. Its star was, of course, Robert De Niro, and yesMinnesota congresswoman and GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is still concerned about the threat of Sharia law, ABC News reports.

"It's very troubling to see some United States justices bring in Sharia law," Bachmann said Wednesday in an interview on WHO Radio's "Mickelson in the Morning" program, according to ABC. "Sharia law ... certainly does not have a place in a United States courtroom, nor should it be followed by United States judges."


What: The Detroit Erotic Arts Collaborative (DEAC) is a unique closed event dedicated solely to the creation of fine art erotic photography. This includes, but is not limited to, artistic nudes,fetish, lingerie and pinup. The format is of the pre-scheduled trade variety in one hour intervals predetermined by the models and photographers prior to the event.

Who: Photographers and models 18+, from amateur to professional,are welcome, but only those screened for professional integrity will be allowed. This is not to be elitist, but due to the erotic nature of the DEAC, it is to ensure security within a professional and productive event. Makeup artists,hair stylists and fashion designers are also welcome.

When: There will be two days available for shooting...Saturday September 17 from noon to 8pm and Sunday September 18Red Bull team principal Christian Horner believes this year's driver market will be dictated by Sebastian Vettel's next move.

Several top drivers are out of contract at the end of this season, including Vettel, his Ferrari teammate Kimi Raikkonen, McLaren's Fernando Alonso and Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.

Ferrari has left the door open for Vettel to remain at Maranello, but with Toto Wolff yet to confirm Bottas for 2018 there are still rumours he could make a switch to Mercedes.

Sutton Images

Horner believes the rest of the available drivers will fit around Vettel's plans, but made clear that Red Bull's line-up of Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo would remain unchanged.

"I guess Sebastian probably holds the key to the driver market at the moment," Horner said. "But certainly within Red Bull Racing there


underlying tort suit against relators in the 189th District Court of Harris County. The case was set for trial during the two-week period beginning May 21, 1999.[1] On May 19, 1999, Houston television station, KHOU-TV Channel 11 ("Channel 11"), and its reporter, Michael Barnes ("Barnes"), aired a news feature on the facts and circumstances surrounding the accident that is the basis of the underlying suit. The real party, his expert, Joseph S. Hinton, and trial witness, Melissa Gilbert Edmondson, all appeared and spoke on the feature.[2]
On May 21, 1999, relators noticed the deposition of Barnes for May 27, 1999, and served him with a subpoena duces tecum requesting the production of documents related to the news report, including notes and unedited videotapes. On May 28, 1999, relators filedBill Miller's exit wasn't completely unexpected. For all that the now former Broncos defensive coordinator enjoyed about working at WMU -- proximity to his family in Okemos, his relationship with friend Bill Cubit, a defense that finally bought into his teachings and returns 11 starters -- coaches with his credentials are commodities.

And, in college football, most schools have more to offer financially than those in the Mid-American Conference. Being 10 years from retirement and with two teen-age sons nearing their college years, Miller said he had to consider Louisville's "substantial" offer to be its linebackers coach.

After losing Scott Shafer unexpectedly last year, Cubit had a plan in place long before this day. In December, he told me that Steve Morrison -- who will be named defensive coordinator shortly


-- was ready for the job should Miller leave. A year ago, Cubit thought Morrison needed to work under one more coordinator before running the defense. The three-year assistant (defensive line in 2005; linebackers in 2006-07; recruiting coordinator throughout) told Cubit he plans to use most of what Miller employed, though Cubit, in earlier discussions, said if Morrison became coordinator, he could pick and choose between what he liked most from the schemes of Shafer and Miller.

This is a veteran defense with better leadership than a year ago. These guys have been through this before and, this time, will be coached by someone they already know. Add the fact that this year's schedule isn't near as ridiculous as last season's and the transition ought to be considerably morethe west since Muslims went there a decade ago.

Paris has become so filthy in the last year that the French avoid the city because the streets are like an open sewer.As it was when Israel was on fire, the online Muslim community is rejoicing in the pain that the civilized world feels for the church of Notre Dame.Without the religious implication, I feel it is a great sadness that all the beautiful stained glass and the artistry that went into building the church is lost, many of the trades used to construct such treasures are gone in a world that thrives on the here and now.I am not surprised at the reaction; after all, ISIS destroyed Baghdad Museum three years ago, and they videoed themselves so their followers


2017 WEST AUSTRALIA SHORT COURSE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The 2017 Western Australia State Open and Age Short Course Championships wrapped up over the weekend, where both junior and senior level athletes took to the HBF Stadium Pool. At stake were roster spots on the West Australia Short Course State Team, of which 47 age group swimmers were ultimately named. The SC State roster will represent West Australia at the upcoming National State Team Championships in Canberra September 22nd-24th, as well as the Australian Short Course Swimming Championships in Adelaide towards the end of October.

On a team level, Busselton took the overall Country Club title with 182 points, while UWA-West Coast was the Metropolitan Club overall winner with 1885.5 points to its credit.

Short Course Championships Highlights

2016 Olympic medalist Tamsin Cook madea return to the pool, as the 18-year-old South African-born Aussie swimmer had been on a voluntary hiatus from both training and competition since February of this year. Back at it in Mount Claremont this weekend, Cook collected 4 golds over the course of the meet.

The freestyle specialist kicked off her campaign with a win in the 400m freestyle in a time of 4:09.69, winning by over 11 seconds. She also took gold in the 17/18 100m freestyle with a time of 55.75, followed by an overall win in the 200m free with a mark of 2:00.20. Cook’s UWA West Coast squad was also the women’s 4x100m freestyle championship title winner, with Cook splitting 56.72 on the 2nd leg.

Another member of that gold medal-garnering relay was UWA teammate


Brianna Throssell, a 2016 Olympic finalist in the women’s 200m butterfly. As part of the 4×100 free squad here in West Australia, Throssell notched an opening spit of 55.52 after winning the individual 100m free event in a time of 54.27. The 21-year-old also clocked a 100 fly prelim time of 1:01.42.

Holly Barratt, who had a dream-like summer by becoming Australia’s oldest-ever elite international team rookie by qualifying for Budapest at the age of 29, doubled up on backstroke wins in Mount Claremont. Representing Rockingham, one of the Swimming Australia High Performance Centers, Barratt clocked 58.78 in the 100m and 2:14.56 in the 200m, while also placing 1st in the women’s 12&O 50m free in a mark of 25.94.

Giving fans a blast from the past was 26-year-old TommasoD’Orsogna, who has been relatively quiet on the international swimming scene since winning bronze as a member of the Aussie men’s 4x100m medley relay in London. D’Orsogna made a cameo on his UWA West Coast 4x100m freestyle relay, which won in 3:17.01, while the 2015 Australian National University graduate also won the individual 50m freestyle in 22.20, a new personal best.

The West Australia State Team roster can be seen in its entirety here.

About Loretta Race

After 16 years at a Fortune 1000 financial company, long-time swimmer Retta Race decided to change lanes and pursue her sporting passion. She currently is Coach for the Northern KY Swordfish Masters, a team she started up in December 2013, while also offering private coaching. Retta is also an MBA …


Once Upon A Time… On Germany’s Fairy Tale Road

Once upon a time there was a little girl by the name of Anna, who loved fairy tales. She would beg her parents to read her all the stories and liked nothing better than to read about the adventures of beautiful maidens and noble knights, enchanted creatures and strange adventures. She would spend hours daydreaming about her favourite stories and wished and wished that she could be in a fairy tale too.

A dream of fairy tales

One day, Anna’s parents decided to go on holiday to Germany the following year and Anna became very excited. She asked her parents to take her to the northern region of Hessen, where some of her favourite fairy tales had taken place. She begged andpleaded with her parents and said that she would be a very good girl for the rest of the year if she could only go there. Her parents agreed and so Anna cleaned her room and did her homework and took care of her chores and finally, on her very next birthday, her parents agreed to take her to Germany to see her fairy tales.

Wasn’t she excited! She could hardly wait to go. After a long, tiring plane flight, Anna and her parents landed in Germany. They landed in Frankfurt and Anna was disappointed at how modern and sophisticated the city looked, because it didn’t seem like a fairy tale setting at all.

Anna’s parents rented a car and drove straightaway for the northern region. They said they would


be driving down the route known as Fairy Tale Road, which stretched from Bremen to Hanau and would take them through all the famous sights from the fairy tales. Anna didn’t pay any attention because she was too busy looking out the window. As they drove through the countryside, Anna gazed out of the window and cheered up. She liked the towns they passed, where many of the houses were black and white, with steep roofs and little windows, just like in the illustrations of her books. They drove by wide, rolling meadows, covered with beautiful meadow flowers of red and yellow and little sheep with white fleece and funny faces. They passed through deep pine forests, dark and mysterious. Yes, it was just like in her storybooks!

Theanimal musicians

The first town they came to was Bremen. Anna gazed around as they got out of the car because the town was like nothing she had ever seen before. The buildings around the busy square were beautiful and very old, with many stories of little windows looking out from under steep red roofs. In front of the Town Hallstood a bronze statue of a braying donkey. Atop the donkey was a barking dog. Standing on the dog was a hissing cat and crowing mightily atop the cat was a rooster.

Anna was a little upset to see that the square was filled with tourists, all clicking away with their cameras, but as she stood in front of the statue she saw a small group of men wearing strange,


old-fashioned clothes. Anna almost cried in joy when she realized they were going to perform the story of the Bremen Town Musicians right in front of her! The men said they held this open-air performance every Sunday during summer and Anna was very glad she had come at the right time to see it, even though she couldn’t understand the German words.

After the performance, Anna clapped for as long and as loud as she could and wanted to climb up on top of the rooster, but her parents firmly told her no, so she asked for a picture of the funny statue. Then it was time to go on the next part of their journey.

The Pied Piper and his mice

The next town they came to was called Hamlin.Anna stood in front of the beautiful Hochzeithaus(Wedding House) and looked up at clock that shows the sinister figure of the cheated piper, who leads away the figures of little children as the clock tolls twelve. Anna looked at it and felt a little scared, because she’d always been a little bit afraid of the Pied Piper. She knew that in the story, the Pied Piper had been good and led away the rats that had been plaguing the town; it was only the town fathers refused to pay him for his service that the Piper played on his pipe again and led the town’s children away. It had all happened a long time ago and the Pied Piper had never returned. All the same, Anna felt a


little frightened and held on tightly to her mothers’ hand.

Her parents decided to get some food and they went into a bakery. The little store was warm and smelled wonderfully of freshly baked breads. Anna wandered around the store. All at once, she laughed out loud and held up a little biscuit — it was in the shape of a cute little rat! The lady behind the counter smiled and said that the biscuits were a town specialty. Anna’s parents bought her a packet of the biscuits and she munched happily on them as they went on their way.

The castle of Sleeping Beauty

As they drove through the forests, Anna glanced out the window and gasped. ‘Look, look, its Sleeping Beauty’s castle!’ she cried and pointed. Her parents smiledand said that the beautiful castle in Sababurgwould be their home for the night and yes, it is supposed to be the place where Sleeping Beauty took place. Anna was so excited she kept jumping in the seat.

When they reached the castle, Anna saw that its name was Dornröschenschloss and laughed because she couldn’t pronounce it. She fell in love with the room she was to sleep in, which seemed like it was straight out of a fairy tale. Then she looked out of the window and almost started jumping again. There was a performance of Sleeping Beauty going on in the courtyard! Anna rushed down to watch it and later, when she went to bed, she slept with a smile on her face and dreamed about being


Sleeping Beauty.

A festival with Little Red Riding Hood

The next day, they set off again and came to a town called Schwalmstadt. Anna looked around at the townspeople and gasped in surprise — they were dressed just like the people in her storybooks! The women were wearing long full skirts and beautiful embroidered blouses, while the men were wearing lederhosen. Anna clapped her hands as she saw little girls go dancing in beautiful dresses and red topknots on their caps. ‘Little Red Riding Hood!’ she cried and laughed in delight. A group of girls walking by heard her laugh and turned to smile at her as they went by. Anna’s parents said there was a folk festival going on and that was why everyone was wearing traditional clothing.

They walkedthrough the beautiful, old-fashioned streets until they came to a square, where it seemed like everyone was dancing, drinking and making merry. Anna never found out what the occasion was, but she soon joined some of the friendly town girls, humming along when they sang in German, dancing with them and enjoying herself. She had never been so happy in her life! It was like she was in her very own fairy tale and she didn’t want it to end. She danced and laughed and ate all day long.

Finally, Anna’s parents said it was time to go, it was getting dark and they still had a long way to go. Anna was sad to leave, but was so happy that she had come and had had the chance


Movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was said to be spearheading the project, with Chinese filmmaker Ronnie Wu in negotiations to take over the franchise from Lee.

Now Yeoh, who portrayed warrior Yu Shu Lien, says there have been talks about a second instalment centred around her character, but she's hesitant to officially sign up to the film just yet.

"It's early stages," the former Bond girl and Memoirs of a Geisha star tells Britain's Metro paper.

"It still depends on the script and who the director is, and it's never easy to make another movie after such an incredible classic but Crouching Tiger is a gem in my heart and always will be. So we will see."

Ang Lee, who also directed acclaimed films Brokeback Mountain and The Ice Storm, is in theis also known, and the inability of the Iraqi government to confront the threat. Here are three examples ...

Karl then names Brett McGurk, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran; Robert Beecroft, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq; and Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, U.S. Army Director, Defense Intelligence Agency. Now for some specifics.

In November 2013, McGurk, per Karl, "was quite specific about the extent of the threat," citing "the group’s alarming campaign of suicide bombings, its growing financial resources and its expanding safe haven in Syria."

The ABC reporter observed that in January, Beecroft, reacting to the fall of Fallujah to ISIS/ISIL, told ABC's Martha Raddatz that "It's a very precarious situation," and that "a misstep anywhere could set off a larger conflict in the country."

Finally, Karl noted that


the name became finally fixed to the country
that we know. There is nothing nowadays that can give us a parallel to
the stirring and exaltation of the imagination which intoxicated the men
of the Renaissance, and gave a new birth to thought and art. The great
scientific discoveries of the nineteenth century came to men more
prepared for the shock of new surprises, and they carried evidence less
tangible and indisputable to the senses. Perhaps if the strivings of
science should succeed in proving as evident and comprehensible the
existences which spiritualist and psychical research is striving to
establish, we should know the thrill that the great twin discoverers,
Copernicus and Columbus, brought to Europe.

(2)

This rough sketch of the Renaissance has been set down because it is
only by realizing the period in its largest and broadest senseseparate passages; as a
whole it is over tortuous and slow; its affectations, its sensuousness,
the mere difficulty of reading it, makes us feel it a collection of
great passages, strung it is true on a large conception, rather than a
great work. The Elizabethans, that is, had not discovered the secret of
the long poem; the abstract idea of the "heroic" epic which was in all
their minds had to wait for embodiment till _Paradise Lost_. In a way
their treatment of the pastoral or eclogue form was imperfect too. They
used it well but not so well as their models, Vergil and Theocritus;
they had not quite mastered the convention on which it is built.

The seventeenth century, taking stock in some such fashion of its
artistic possessions, found some things it were vain to try to


not carefully
finished and constructed with elaborate care. Browne, if he was not a
great writer, was a literary artist of a high quality. He exploits a
quaint and lovable egoism with extraordinary skill; and though his
delicately figured and latinized sentences commonly sound platitudinous
and trivial when they are translated into rough Saxon prose, as they
stand they are rich and melodious enough.

(4)

In a century of surpassing richness in prose and poetry, one author
stands by himself. John Milton refuses to be classed with any of the
schools. Though Dryden tells us Milton confessed to him that Spenser was
his "original," he has no connection--other than a general similarity of
purpose, moral and religious--with Spenser's followers. To the
fantastics he paid in his youth the doubtful compliment of one or two
half-contemptuous imitations and never touched them again. Hethe experience of most of us. But every now and again
some one of their authors transcends his local importance, gives
evidence of a genius which is not to be denied even by those who
normally have not the knowledge to appreciate the particular flavour of
locality which his writings impart, and becomes a national figure. While
he lives and works the national and his local stream turn and flow
together.

This was the case of Robert Burns. All his life long he was the singer
of a parish--the last of a long line of "forbears" who had used the
Scottish lowland vernacular to rhyme in about their neighbours and their
scandals, their loves and their church. Himself at the confluence of the
two streams, the national and the local, he pays his tribute to two sets
of originals, talks