'Tall, dark and handsome turns out to be short, fat and ugly': Learn how to read between the lines with our online dating dictionary

Some Online/Internet Dating Tips - Reading between the lines in the profiles. Good humor yet factual - Enjoy yourselves.

Five-times-married Jan Leeming claimed in Femail last week that internet dating has given her a new lease of life - and she's not alone. A staggering 65 per cent of British singletons now turn to the internet looking for love. But everyone who's ever dated online knows personal profiles can be a minefield - too often a tall, dark, handsome millionaire turns out to be a short, fat, ugly geek. Here, to help you read between the lines of adverts, CLAUDIA CONNELL brings you a handy his 'n' hers Dating Dictionary.

WHAT WOMEN REALLY MEAN

ADORABLE Wetter than Pamela Anderson's swimming costume. She'll be forever showing you pictures of fluffy kittens on her mobile phone and, on your first date, will have given pet names to all your fingers before the main course arrives.

CURVY Fat. Forget any silly notions of Marilyn Monroe's softly sensuous body. This girl is more pint glass than hourglass.

VOLUPTUOUS Fat and shows too much flesh in clothes two sizes too small for her.

BUBBLY Fat AND annoying. Tries to make up for her ample size by being the life and soul of the party and fails in all respects.

His ad says he's attractive, sporty and 5ft 10in. That means he's ugly, 5ft 3in and plays snooker

CUDDLY Morbidly obese. A date would necessitate the removal of the roof and a whale sling. Cuddling is very unlikely, although squashing is a distinct possibility.

BBW Stands for 'big, beautiful woman'. Well, two out of three's not bad. She's certainly big and female. But it's doubtful many beholders will consider her beautiful.

SIZE 10 In Uzbekistan. On the UK High Street it's a completely different story.

FIERY Psychotic. Cancel a date with this girl and you'll come home to find your car has been keyed and all the sleeves have been cut off your shirts.

VIVACIOUS Aggressive. An opinionated finger-jabber. She's got views on everything and she's not afraid to ram them forcefully down your throat.

GREAT PERSONALITY Ugly as sin. If a woman is selling her personality, then her face looks good in a paper bag.

ARTISTIC Drama Queen. Welcome to a world of slamming doors, smashed crockery and huffy silences.

ATHLETIC AND TONED Flat chested and shapeless. A sexless, lumpless and bumpless Tomboy.

AGE 34 Age 43. There's more chance of winning the Lottery on a double rollover week than there is of being a woman over 35 and getting a date on the internet. It doesn't matter if the guy is 60, he'll still confine his searches to '35 and under', so any woman's age should be taken as a ball park figure.

PLAYFUL Hussy. Working her way through the internet site and it's your turn.

GIRLY Thick. Shallower than a mouse's foot bath. High School Musical is her idea of high brow. She can tell you the name of every character in TV teen drama Gossip Girl, but has no idea who the Prime Minister is.

LIVES LIFE TO THE FULL Alcoholic. Likes to start the day with a couple of Bacardi Breezers. Happy Hour is her favourite time of day.

I'M INTO WHIRLWIND ROMANCES My visa runs out in 10 days and if I don't get married I'll be deported.

CHALLENGING High-maintenance pain in the neck.

HOMELY Frump. You want to paint the town red and she'll want you to paint her living room beige. Brace yourself for a world of cup-a-soups and novelty toilet roll holders.

LOYAL Stalker. She'll have Googled you and looked you up on Friends Reunited before you even meet. Her brain cannot process the words: 'I don't think you're quite right for me.'

LIKES THE FINER THINGS IN LIFE Gold digger. Looking for a new wardrobe, jewellery and a few weekends away before she dumps you for a 25-year-old Adonis.

HONEST No social skills. The censorship button in her brain doesn't work. Says whatever comes into her head.

SENSITIVE Cry baby. Woe betide you if you don't notice she's had her hair cut or that she's wearing new shoelaces.

WHAT MEN REALLY MEAN

ATTRACTIVE Plain. Everyone in online dating is 'attractive.' In the real world it means 'pleasant to look at' - in the internet-speak it means: two eyes, two ears and a mouth.

FAIRLY ATTRACTIVE Gutchurningly hideous. When he's not even claiming to be attractive, it's time to worry. Andrew Lloyd Webber will look like a Calvin Klein model next to this guy. Meeting under the cover of darkness is advised.

TOLD ATTRACTIVE By my mother, the only woman I've every loved or am ever likely to.

RUGBY PLAYER'S BUILD One who retired 10 years ago. Stop thinking: Jonny Wilkinson. Start thinking: Johnny Vegas.


Translation: When his ad says 'rugby player's build' he doesn't mean Jonny Wilkinson, he really means Johnny Vegas

DISCRETION EXPECTED I'm married and don't want my wife to know.

DISCRETION OFFERED I don't care if you're married too.

HOPE YOU LIKE MY PICTURE Taken 10 years ago and bears no resemblance on now.

MODERN MAN We'll be splitting the bill 50/50. I go on three of these internet dates a week. So unless you're a sure thing you pay for your own dinner.

NOT JUST LOOKING FOR SEX I am just looking for sex but hope you won't see through my cunning reverse psychology.


WILLING TO TRAVEL Lives in a filthy flea-ridden hovel that he can't possibly let you see.

ADVENTUROUS Pervert. He can turn anything into a double entendre. On a date he'll order graphically named cocktails and talk dirty with you over the garlic bread.

NORMAL KIND OF GUY Normal in a Norman Bates kind of way. Normality should be a given, so run a mile from anyone selling it as a good point.

GSOH (GOOD SENSE OF HUMOUR) No sense of humour. The golden rule of internet dating is that anyone who feels obliged to mention they have a sense of humour is usually devoid of one.

EARNS A SIX-FIGURE SALARY Yes, he does. But he includes pence in that figure.

NEVER DONE THIS Have done this a thousand times before, but I'm too embarrassed to admit it, so will pretend that you're my first.

FUN AND ZANY Mental age of a 12-year-old. Your date will be a riot of whoopee cushions, itching powder and fake-dogpoo-filled fun.

LOOKS NOT IMPORTANT Barrel-scraping beggar who can't afford to be a chooser.

5ft 10 5ft 7. It's safe to deduct three inches from any man claiming to be between 5ft 7 and 5ft 10.

SPORTY I watched the Olympics and play snooker for the local pub team.

UNIQUE Sex change. Best not to hang around long enough to find out whether it's pre op or post op.

NOT INTO EMAIL TENNIS I need to secure a date as soon as possible, before you suss out what a tedious dullard I am.

OLD FASHIONED Male chauvinist pig. A woman's place is in the home and, more precisely, the kitchen - preferably cooking his meals and elbow deep in his dirty shirts.

TRADITIONAL Patronising. He'll order for you in a restaurant and pat you on the bottom and say 'don't you worry your pretty head about it' when you ask him about his day.

MANLY Hairy. Only to be pursued if you like men who moult all over your furniture.

DISTINGUISHED Old. Speak slowly and clearly and always be within five minutes of a toilet. The good news is he travels for free and gets in half-price at the cinema.

INDEPENDENT Lying, cheating commitment-phobic scum.

UNCONVENTIONAL Insane. The sort of person you cross the road to avoid, even if the road is the M1 in the rushhour.

ASPIRATIONAL Broke. He has lofty ideas, but not a penny to his name. Expect early-bird specials on your date.

ROMANTIC Oily creep. The flowers come from the garage forecourt and he calls you 'babe' or 'sweetheart' because he can't remember your name.


Source: Femail UK., October 1, 2008

Taliban fighters targeting British troops in Afghanistan are using the latest ‘internet phones’ to evade detection by MI6, security sources said last night.

Skype, a popular piece of consumer software that allows free calls to be made over the web, has been adopted by insurgents to communicate with cells strung out across the country.

Unlike traditional mobile calls, which can be monitored by RAF Nimrod spy planes, Skype calls – the commercial application of a technology called Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) – are heavily encrypted.

Web of deceit: Taliban internet calls are hard to monitor

Voice calls are broken into millions of pieces of data before being sent down the line and reassembled by the other caller’s computer.

The British and American governments are investing considerable resources to crack the codes, and in the UK the Government is introducing legislation to force internet service providers to log all web activity by subscribers, which could then be turned over to the security services on demand.

The disclosure comes as the 8,000 British troops in Afghanistan are facing attacks almost daily from an increasingly well co-ordinated Taliban.

‘The trouble with this technology is that it is easily available but devilishly hard to crack,’ the source said. ‘The technology can now be accessed on mobile internet devices and the country’s mobile phone network is expanding rapidly.’

Skype was created in 2003 and three years ago was bought by eBay for £1.4billion. It has 300million accounts and at any one time, more than 12million people are using the service.

Sir David Pepper, the head of GCHQ, the British Government’s top-secret listening post, has told MPs that internet calls are ‘seriously undermining’ his organisation’s ability to intercept communications.

Skype said last night it did not want to comment.




Source: Daily Mail UK, September 13, 2008

Two nightmare scenarios, two ends of the world. In the first, there is little warning. For maybe a month there would be no sign that life was about to come to an abrupt and nasty end for all living things on Earth.

Then, earthquakes would start unexpectedly, alerting geologists that something terrible, unimaginable, was amiss.

After a few days, these seismic disturbances would reach catastrophic proportions.

Cities would be levelled, the oceans would rise and wash in a series of mega-tsunamis that would attack the world's coasts, killing millions.
Is the end of the world nigh? Doom-mongers fear the consequences of scientists replicating the Big Bang

The fact that the earthquakes were striking randomly, not along well-known geological faultlines, would be proof that something devastating was afoot.

Finally, the end would come, in a disaster of Biblical scale. The Earth would literally start to crack up.

Molten lava would wash over the land and the seas would start to boil.

Mega-hurricanes would level buildings and forests the world over. Eventually, mountains would crumble as the Earth's crust continued to disintegrate.

The fabric of the planet itself would start to disappear, trillions of tonnes of rock, water, air and life sucked into a whirlpool of unimaginable force.

From space, our blue-and-white home would appear to vanish down a plughole in a flash of light.
At least in this scenario we would have a little time, perhaps, to come to terms with the end.

However, a second doomsday scenario is even more terrifying. There would be no warning at all.
In an instant - about one-twentieth of a second - the entire Earth would simply vanish from space.

Less than two seconds later, the Moon would follow suit. Eight minutes later, the Sun would be ripped apart, followed by the rest of the planets in the solar system and onwards, a wave of destruction caused by a rent in the fabric of space itself, spreading out from our world at the speed of light.
Any extra-terrestrials out there would die too, in due course. And there would be nothing technology could do about it.

But why should we now be worrying about such possible causes of Armageddon?

The answer is a gargantuan machine - the largest, most expensive scientific experiment in history, the 'Large Hadron Collider', to be turned on next Wednesday.

Doom? The Large Hadron Collider CMS detector under construction

Although it was designed to answer the fundamental questions of life, some people have claimed that it could end up destroying the entire cosmos.

This gigantic £4 billion-plus atom-smasher has been built under the Swiss-French border near Geneva, and is the most powerful device ever built for probing the secrets of the atom and the forces and particles which make up our Universe.

It is a staggering device, occupying a train-sized tunnel 18 miles long, buried 300ft underground, studded with gigantic, cathedral-sized ring-shaped detectors where collisions between packets of 'heavy' subatomic particles, 'hadrons', will take place in the hope that the innermost workings of matter and energy will be revealed.

The LHC is, arguably, the most impressive machine ever built by Mankind.

But a few people are convinced that it should never be turned on. A lawsuit has been lodged at the European Court For Human Rights by a small group of maverick scientists.

They claim there is a small - but not zero - chance that when the LHC is activated it will create either a mini-black hole which would fall into the ground and swallow the Earth from within (scenario one).

Or, even more bizarrely, trigger a catastrophic chain reaction in the very fabric of space and time itself, which would rip apart the entire universe like the skin of a bursting balloon (scenario two).

Bizarrely, this group, led by a German chemist called Otto Rossler, are using the European Convention on human rights to argue that, should the LHC destroy the entire Universe, it would 'violate the right to life and right to private family life'.

In fact, since 1994, when the collider was first mooted by the multi-national European nuclear research organisation (CERN), a small number of doomsayers have claimed that by replicating the conditions pertaining at the start of the universe (Big Bang), about 13,700 million years ago, there would be a small but real risk an unstoppable cataclysm would take place.

This is not a threat taken seriously by the scientists at CERN. When I visited the place a couple of years ago, to see the collider being built, any mention of mini-black holes and other risks elicited only raised eyebrows and shrugs of derision.

The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is an underground accelerator ring 27 kilometres in circumference at the CERN Laboratory in Switzerland. It will recreate the conditions at the birth of the universe by smashing protons together at incredibly high speeds


The ALICE experiment's inner tracker is integrated. Collisions in the LHC will generate temperatures more than 100,000 times hotter than the heart of the Sun. Physicists hope that under these conditions, the protons and neutrons will 'melt', creatingquark‑gluon plasma, which is believed to have existed soon after the Big Bang.


Workers dig tunnels where counter-circulating beams will be dumped. Travelling just a fraction under the speed of light, the beams at the LHC will each carry the energy of an aircraft carrier travelling at 12 knots. In order to dispose of these beams safely, a beam dump is used to extract the beam and diffuse it before it collides with a radiation shielded graphite target.


A technician walks under the core magnet of the CMS experiment (Compact Muon Solenoid). This will search for the 'Higgs boson'. Peter Higgs suggested that all particles had no mass just after the Big Bang. As the Universe cooled an invisible force field called the 'Higgs field' formed together with the 'Higgs boson'. Any particles that interact with it are given a mass. Scientists hope this experiment will prove the theory.


ATLAS (A Toroidal LHC Apparatus) is one of the six particle detector experiments at the Large Hadron Collider. A small group of scientists fear the LHC could create a black hole that would swallow the Earth.

The LHC was not designed to destroy the universe, of course, but to fill in some of the embarrassingly large gaps that still run through our basic understanding of physics and how the universe works.

It could discover, for instance, what most of the Universe is actually made of.

The ordinary 'stuff' that we see around us - the atoms and molecules of water, carbon, iron, oxygen and the rest that make up our bodies, the planet Earth, the Moon, the other planets, the Sun and all the stars - actually accounts for only about one part in 25 of the total 'ingredients' of the cosmos.

Astronomers know that something else, invisible and mysterious, must pervade every inch of space, its subtle gravity affecting the movements of the galaxy.

This material - no one really has a clue what it is - has been dubbed 'dark matter' and it is hoped that the collider just might shed some light on what it is, perhaps uncovering a new type of particle.

Perhaps more embarrassingly, we don't know what it is that gives even ordinary matter its mass.

In the 1960s, British physicist Peter Higgs proposed the existence of a new particle, now known as the 'Higgs Particle', which effectively lends 'weight' to the stuff of the universe.

So important and fundamental is this hypothetical entity that it has been dubbed the 'God particle'.

It is hoped that if Higgs is right, the collider could finally clear up this mystery and, as a result of its super-powerful collisions, traces of this particle could emerge.

That alone would, in itself, be justification for a large chunk of that £4 billion outlay. By simulating the Big Bang, it is hoped the LHC will act as a 'universe in a test tube', allowing scientists to examine a whole suite of exotic subatomic particles and forces and to go some way to completing the work started by Einstein and the other giants of 20th-century physics.

So is there really a chance that the scientists have made a terrible miscalculation and that their new toy could inadvertently kill us all?
Happily, the simple answer is no. CERN's scientists have in fact commissioned several safety reviews (such as those that have taken place before other big particle accelerators have been turned on).

All have concluded that there is no measurable risk whatsoever. Perhaps the best argument against the LHC doomsday scenario is that cosmic rays - natural high-energy particles from space - smash into the Earth's atmosphere all the time with far, far more energy than will be generated by this machine.

If it were possible to create a dangerous black hole by simply bashing atomic particles together, this would have happened naturally long ago, and we wouldn't be here to build this particle accelerator in the first place. So we are safe.
In fact, what the scientists at CERN really fear is not the end of the world, but that their machine simply isn't big or powerful enough to uncover anything new - that to probe the deepest secrets of the cosmos they will have to ask for yet more cash to build something on an even greater scale.

Either that, or their equations are simply wrong and a whole new approach is needed, despite the billions they have spent.

Not a doomsday for Earth, perhaps, but a catastrophe for physics.
As for the rest of us, we have to hope that the scientists have done their sums right - and keep our fingers crossed next Wednesday.

Source: Daily Mail UK, September 6, 2008

WATCH VIDEO : CERN

RAF show off 'killer' drone aircraft which will help protect major dam in Afghanistan

The RAF has unveiled its latest weapon in the fight to protect the crucial Kajaki dam in southern Afghanistan.

The unmanned Mantis killer ‘drone’ aircraft will guard supply pylons in the area where last week British troops carried out a daring mission to install a 200-ton turbine.

Designed to fly thousands of miles and last up to 30 hours without refuelling, the Mantis – which is the size of a small lorry – will carry Brimstone air-to-ground tank-busting missiles and GBU laser-guided bombs.


The Mantis is designed to fly thousands of miles and last up to 30 hours without refuelling

Unlike its smaller predecessor, the American-built Reaper, the British-made Mantis can take off and fly pre-programmed missions on its own.

The present generation of drones is controlled by a pilot using a joystick at a ground station.

A full-scale model, developed by a consortium that includes BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Rolls-Royce and GE Aviation, features ground-scanning radar and lasers, and is due to be tested later this year.


Source: Daily Mail UK, September 7, 2008

Fetch Fido! The robotic dog that could revolutionise the military

Big Dog was created for the American military and is remote-controlled

A robot dog that runs, climbs rough terrain and carries heavy loads has become an internet sensation after video footage attracted millions of viewers.

BigDog was created by engineering company Boston Dynamics for the American military.

The robot, which is the size of a large dog, is powered by a gasoline engine that drives its hydraulic system.

In trials the intrepid hound was able to run at 4 mph, climb slopes up to 35 degrees steep and walk across rubble while carrying a 340lb load.

The robotic rover has legs that move like an animal's and can absorb shock by repositioning its three joints up to 500 times a second .

During a demonstration video, which was viewed by more than 6m people on YouTube, it managed to keep its footing on an uneven surface after being shoved sideways.

BigDog has an on-board computer that helps it to balance, steer and navigate as conditions vary. Other sensors focus on the internal state of the robot, monitoring the hydraulic pressure, oil temperature, engine temperature and battery charge.

Current models are remote-controlled from bases, however it is believed scientists are working on sight sensors that will allow BigDog to make basic movement decisions.

The project was sponsored by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, which comes up with radical inventions for the military.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1czBcnX1Ww

Source: Daily Mail UK, September 5, 2008

Stink bombs, sticky nets and foam... the new 'less lethal' weapons being tested by police

Police could soon be issued with stink bombs to disperse rioters and hi-tech glue guns designed to trap fleeing criminals, according to a Home Office report.

Government scientists are testing a range of exotic new 'less lethal technologies' to help frontline police officers tackle offenders without using firearms.

Gadgets undergoing trials include 'sticky nets' which can entangle crooks while deliver a powerful electric shock, and low-powered lasers which cause severe pain when fired at an offender's skin, but without serious injury.

Causing a stink: Police officers could be armed with a number of non-lethal devices such as stink bombs and pepper ball firing guns

Controversial deaths such as the killing of Jean Charles de Menezes - who was mistaken for a suicide bomber by Scotland Yard firearms officers - has left the Home Office anxious to explore new non-lethal technologies which could offer ways of stopping suspects in their tracks.

Police are already issued with batons, Taser electric stun guns and CS spray, while firearms officers can fire plastic bullets, but none are seen as an effective way to tackle a potential suicide bomber, and there are lingering concerns over the possible health effects of Tasers and CS spray on some suspects.

A report from the Home Office Scientific Development Branch reveals the variety of technologies which have been tested, including powerful 'malodorants' - or stink bombs - chemical compounds so foul-smelling that rioters will gag and be forced to run away.

The report notes that malodorants are 'unlikely to prevent a determined assailant' but could be effective for crowd control.

'Immobiliser glue' is another option, with special guns firing 'extremely tacky material' up to 30 ft and leaving a suspect helplessly stuck.

The foam, which can stick to any surface it meets, poses a serious risk of suffocation if it comes into contact with the mouth however.

Power adhesives: One of the types of glue gun that the Home Office is looking at

Scientists have also studied 'sticky nets', again fired from special guns, which tangle around a suspect and can be coated with sticky irritant chemicals, or even an electrical stun device.

One of the most promising technologies is a low powered laser or 'directed energy weapons', which can be aimed at an offender's skin, burning the outer layers and leaving them in agony, but with no permanent damage.

The report claims such lasers are one of the 'most likely' devices to control violent offenders, but are currently took expensive.

The Association of Chief Police Officers said the futuristic gadgets 'could in the future provide a capability for UK police,' but some rank-and-file officers were unconvinced.

One officer serving with Sussex Police said: 'I'd feel more like Batman than a police officer, and I'd probably have more special devices than he did on his utility belt.

'It sounds like they have just gone down to the joke shop to get their ideas. What about sneezing powder or itching powder?'

Another officer described it as 'like Buckaroo' - the family game in which players stack lassos, rifles, hats and other items on a mule until it gets overloaded and bucks the whole lot off.

The female firearms officer, who didn't want to be named, said: 'Where on earth do they get their ideas from? Have they not got enough less-lethal options already?

'They had CS spray and then they wanted us to work with pepper spray. They have Tasers and baton rounds and it will get to the stage when we are going to be like Buckaroo.'

A firearms instructor sergeant from a Midlands force said the training needed to ensure officers were competent in the use of all the gadgets was 'too much'.

He said: 'If you give people every conceivable weapon and tactical option there is, then the training need is so great they are never actually going to be on the street.'

Source: Daily Mail UK, September 4, 2008

Afghan dam triumph as 1,600 British troops carry out most daring raid 'since Second World War'

British troops used a mixture of bribery, trickery and bombs to mount one the most daring operations since the Second World War.

In an extraordinary operation, a huge force was responsible for driving a massive hydroelectric turbine through the heart of Helmand - so engineers can complete Afghanistan's biggest reconstruction project.

It was the largest operation British forces have mounted in Afghanistan since the early 1900s, and it will let the Americans finish a project they started more than 50 years ago.

At least 1,600 troops were involved in clearing the route and guarding a 200 vehicle convoy that delivered more than 100 tons of turbine to the Kajaki dam on Monday.

Mission: More than 1,600 troops were needed to ensure the turbine got to the Kajaki dam in safety

They were backed by two US aircraft carriers worth of fighter jets, on constant standby off the Pakistani coast.

The hydroelectric power station, in northern Helmand, has potential to supply most of southern Afghanistan with energy.

But US-led engineers have been unable to get a new turbine into the power station because the area is surrounded by thousands of Taliban fighters.

The turbine was too heavy to fly in by helicopter and officials insisted it was too dangerous to drive by road, because the massive tank transporters - needed to carry the industrial parts -  can only move at a few miles per hour over the rough Helmand roads.

It has been a source of huge embarrassment for American officials, because very little progress has been made since 2001, despite millions of dollars poured into the project, and they have heaped pressure on British forces to help them out.

Until, recently, the only way they could get there was along the deadly 611 Highway, which runs the length of Helmand's Green Zone past Lashkargah, Gereshk and Sangin.

The road is so dangerous that troops at the dam are only ever moved and resupplied by helicopter.

The dam will eventually provide energy to much of southern Afghanistan

Military chiefs feared the convoy would get smashed by Taliban ambushes, which could have destroyed the precision made machinery with one well-aimed rocket propelled grenade.

But all that changed after elite troops from the Parachute Regiment's Pathfinder Platoon discovered a mountain pass which meant the convoy could avoid the worst  of the Helmand hotspots.

'If we had brought it up the 611, the level of destruction we would have had to cause would not have been worth it,' said Lieutenant Colonel Huw Williams, the commanding officer of 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment.

'Our pathfinder platoon found this route, and that's really what made it possible,' he added.

'We have gone from what was militarily very difficult, but politically very desirable, to militarily achievable.

'It's a political showpiece, but it will deliver something tangible, and it is militarily achievable. That's what changed in the last month.'

The pathfinders proved the 36-wheeled tank transporters could make it through the Gorak Pass, in the mountains about 15miles south east of Kajaki.

It meant the convoy could drive through the desert from Kandahar Airfield, where it was based, and only cross into Helmand at the last minute.

The new route was code-named Route Harriet and kept top secret.

The British government issued a blanket ban on all media reports linked to the operation - which was only lifted once the turbine had arrived.

Meanwhile the rest of the Parachute Regiment was tasked with making that last stretch, through Helmand, safe.

The convoy still had to drive through Kajaki Sofla, an insurgent safe haven to the south of the dam, which was laced with underground bunkers and tunnel systems, and

almost completely unvisited by international forces.

Tricking the Taliban

Their first step was to trick the Taliban into thinking they would use the 611.

As hundreds of troops helicoptered into Kajaki, soldiers further down the valley in Sangin began clearing the road as if they were expecting a convoy.

'We tried to look at what they were expecting - and there's only one road,' said Lt Col Williams. 'We were just trying to play to their preconceived ideas.'

British Royal Marines on duty in Kajaki: The army has fought a long campaign against Taliban militants in the area

Then at 6.30am on Tuesday 26 August, around 150 soldiers from 2nd Battalion the Parachute Regiment, backed by more than 400 Afghan troops and their Royal Irish mentors, pushed south out of their base, on the edge of the dam, to probe the Taliban lines.

The night before Lt Col Williams had told them, 'The whole world is watching to see what the Parachute Regiment can do'.

'There are reports of more fighters coming into the area. That's more people to kill and I have got no problem with killing them,' he added.

'You've got everything you need to do the job and it's war fighting rules of engagement. If you see it, smash it.'

Fighter jets, drones and a fleet of Apache helicopter gunships were already crowding the skies as the men left camp.

Artillery guns and two mortar lines were primed to hit known Taliban compounds to their south, while troops on nearby hilltops watched their progress through the sights of Javelin anti-tank missiles and 50 calibre machine guns.

Moments after the troops set off, the Taliban launched a volley of missiles at the camp.

One landed less than ten metres outside a compound where a company of men were waiting on standby.

A second skimmed a few metres over a hilltop look out. Both were met with what the Paras call 'overwhelming force'.

The Apaches opened up with hellfire missiles and 30mm canons, fighter jets dropped at least three 500lb bombs  on a single compound.

The 105 artillery guns fired more than 160 shells and the mortars fired more than 300 rounds.

'It is an example of our might,' said Major Ben Howells. 'It is sending a message as well as having a military effect.

'The military effect is to destroy the enemy and the positions that he has, in order to get the turbine through.

'The message it sends is this: We're more powerful than you, your best course of action is not to fight us.'

Late that night the convoy left Kandahar. It stretched six miles from start to finish. the dust trail could be seen more than 20miles away.

There were around 200 vehicles and 400 men, including oil tankers carrying 80,000 litres of fuel, at least two sea containers full of drinking water - to keep the troops alive - and one with 84 spare wheels for the HETS tank transporters. But it made slow progress.

'The trucks that they are using were designed to take tanks along German motorways,' said Lt Col Willams. 'They are not designed to go along dusty desert tracks.;

On Thursday  August 28 around 500 Afghan troops took two key Taliban positions - known as Big top and Sentry Compound - linked by a complex network of tunnels, bunkers and rat-runs. It took them less than 35 minutes.

A rifle in one hand and a teapot in the other...

Eyewitnesses said the lead soldier charged into battle with a rifle in one hand and a teapot in the other.

They had been in the middle of breakfast when the order came in, to advance.

They suffered two casualties. A soldier was wounded when a sniper hit him in the hip.

A second died fishing - with a generator - when he electrocuted himself by putting live leads in the water.

British officers said around 50 Taliban were killed, and another 50 fled the area. American Green Berets were operating to the south of the Paras, in support.

An American spokesman said at least 200 Taliban were killed.

Then, on Saturday August 30 British soldiers tried to cut a deal.

Using local elders as go-betweens with the Taliban, they offered $25,000 (£12,500) in exchange for safe passage of the convoy.

The cash was offered as compensation for closing the local bazaar for a week.

'We knew they were talking to the Taliban, but our deal was with the local elders,' said Captain Steve Boardman, who led the negotiations.

The elders agreed, on the understanding the Paras would not search their compounds, nor stray more than 300 metres from the road.

Hours later intelligence reports showed insurgents had been removing and destroying roadside bombs in the road.

But by morning the deal was off.

Action: Royal Marines, mounting an Operation to clear compounds used by the Taliban in the area of Barikjo in Kajaki

'We took them the papers to sign and no one turned up,' Capt Boardman added. 'I think the local Taliban agreed, but their highers in Pakistan said no.'

Afghan troops used VHF radios to harangue the Taliban across no mans land.

When one of the soldiers asked why they wouldn't let the turbine through the insurgent replied: 'We don't need electricity. We have Islam.'

Undeterred, three companies of paratroopers pushed through Kajaki Sofla stopping only to destroy a few pockets of resistance.

Most of the insurgents appeared to have fled. They left behind a series of freshly dug trench systems, linking underground bunkers overlooking the road.

The convoy arrived late on Monday night and took more than six hours to unload. It still has to make it back, and it could be more than two years before Afghans get the benefit of the new equipment.

George Wilder, the Texan engineer overseeing a Chinese company
refurbishing the powerhouse, said the powerlines need upgrading all the way to Kandahar to handle their new load.

And that's after the new turbine is installed.

'We've got a year to do it,' he said. 'But I think we can do it in nine months, depending how much I keep my foot on their arse.'

British soldiers on routine patrol in Afghanistan: The Kajaki dam mission was one of the most daring operations UK troops have been involved in since the Second World War

Source: Daily Mail UK, September 2, 2008

In the first place, going on a trip with any of your friends should be alright even if they are of the opposite sex and/or just the both of you.

I do not think that there should be any negativity towards your travel partner and the trip. If you do have the slightest then it would better not to go at all. So, you have decided to go along and as a rule of the thumb I would advocate that there be some precautions like ensuring that you have your own bed in the room if the both of you need to be in 1 room. Another room would of course be the best but sometimes due to budget concern I could understand. Other than that, I suppose you will need to exercise care and tact in your conduct and dressing as you are no longer having a room all by yourself.

Self control on the part of both parties is also important here and I do not need to emphasize the consequences of negligence in this area. In all just remember that the both of you need to enjoy the trip so do plan ahead and look forward to be happy.

The 220,000-tonne cruise liner that has its very own New York-style Central Park

The world's biggest cruise liner is to have a New York-style "Central Park" on the ship, its owners have revealed.

Royal Caribbean is building the 220,000-tonne liner with the working name Project Genesis and the announcement is the latest salvo in the intensely competitive global cruise market.

The company said the park would be "a revolutionary design in which the centre of the ship opens to the sky and features lush, tropical grounds spanning the length of a football field".

New York style: The liner will have an outdoor area onboard supposedly modelled on Central Park

The 1,180ft long luxury liner is under construction in Finland at a cost of £700 million and dwarfs the current biggest ships - also owned by Royal Caribbean - which are 160,000 tonnes.

The builders said the space will be like a town square for al fresco dining and entertainment.

The park will be located on Deck 8 of the 16 deck ship and open to the sky, with dimensions of 62ft (19m) wide and 328ft (100m) long.

Trees in the park will tower more than two-and-a-half decks tall and the area is to have micro-climate control techniques to make sure the plants thrive.

World's biggest: The 220,000-tonne cruise liner is being built by Royal Caribbean in Finland

Richard Fain, chairman and chief executive of Royal Caribbean, said: "This ship is a quantum leap in architecture and design and will deliver an unparalleled vacation experience to all who sail with us."

Figures from the Passenger Shipping Association predict 1.55 million Britons are expected to take a cruise holiday in 2008 - up from 1.35 million last year.

Royal Caribbean will base one of its current biggest liners, Independence of the Seas, in Southampton from next month for its inaugural season.

Al fresco: The outdoor area will have trees and plants and a special microclimate so that they thrive

P&O Cruises has responded with a new ship - the Ventura, which is named in Southampton tonight by Dame Helen Mirren, and Cunard recently launched the Queen Victoria - also based in Southampton.

The recent credit crunch does not seem to be affecting the industry as Royal Caribbean alone is pumping £1.4 billion into two Genesis class liners over the next few years.

When finished, Genesis will be able to carry 5,400 passengers and stood on its stern it would dwarf Britain's tallest building - the 800ft One Canada Square in Canary Wharf.

It will be longer than four football pitches and 40 per cent bigger than the existing biggest liners.

It is scheduled to enter service in autumn 2009 and its home port will be Fort Lauderdale in Florida.

Source: Daily Mail UK, Apr. 16, 2008

The paramilitary face of a policewoman armed with revolver, taser, flack jacket and nine other pieces of equipment

This is the staggering amount of equipment worn by a female police officer during the arrests of 12 people over the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones.

The dawn raids in Croxteth, Liverpool, where Rhys was killed last August, were a major development in the investigation.

And Merseyside police officers were certainly dressed for the part.

The female officer taking part in police raids to arrest suspects in connection with the murder of schoolboy Rhys Jones yesterday has a staggering 12 pieces of equipment

The kit on this female officer is a million miles from the simplicity of an officer's outfit just 20 years ago.

And it is a far cry from when bobbies on the beat first took to the streets with little else to hand than their helmet and a baton.

The officer has no less than 12 different pieces of equipment, either attached to her belt or to her protective vest.

About the only one a policeman from a few decades ago might recognise is the gun in a pouch on her hip and the pair of handcuffs.

She has not one but two radios - one for general use and another to sound the alert about any firearms incidents.

In case that avenue of communication is not enough, she also has her mobile phone clipped to her chest.

The bright yellow shape on her front is a 50,000 volt stun gun, accompanied by a set of cartridges.

Until last summer, tasers were only carried by firearms officers and could only be used against someone carrying a weapon.

But the Home Office has now widened the rules, meaning they can be used by other specially-trained officers if they are faced with violence and threats.

Sitting on the lip of the 'police' branding on her jacket is the radio speaker, with an ear piece velcroed onto her shoulder strap just to its right.

The protective vest even has a 'carabina' - a climbing clip - hooked up behind the officer's mobile phone.

And in case there is anything else that cannot be attached to the jacket, there is a pouch on the back.

Presumably there is also the obligatory notebook and pen hidden somewhere about her person.

The officer was one of many on the streets of Croxteth yesterday morning for the dramatic early morning raids.

They arrested 12 people in total over Rhys' murder eight months ago.

The 11-year-old was shot on August 22 by a hoodie on a BMX as he returned home from football practice and bled to death in a pub car park.

The prime suspect, a youth aged 17, was one of the group taken in for questioning yesterday.

Armed officers kicked down the door to his house before taking him away in handcuffs.

 

Source: Daily Mail UK, Apr. 16, 2008

Victoria Cross hope for Marine who leaped on a grenade to save friends

A Royal Marine has been recommended for the Victoria Cross after he threw himself on to an exploding grenade to save the lives of his comrades.

Lance Corporal Matthew Croucher stepped on a tripwire which triggered the grenade during a night raid on a Taliban compound in Afghanistan.

He realised instantly that all four members of his patrol faced being killed by the blast.


Matthew Croucher insisted he must carry on fighting

Instead of fleeing he deliberately smothered the explosion, twisting on to his back to let his rucksack take the full force.

The explosion hurled him across the compound leaving him stunned, bleeding from the nose and almost deaf, while kit from his shredded backpack was sent flying through the air in flames.

But within minutes L Cpl Croucher, from Birmingham, was on his feet again and demanding to be allowed to continue the patrol. He even helped set an ambush - knowing that the Taliban would come and investigate the blast - and shot dead an armed insurgent during the subsequent firefight.

Stunned by his bravery, the 24-year-old's comrades urged commanders to put him forward for Britain's highest honour for valour on the battlefield, and his citation will be considered by the armed forces honours and awards committee later this year.

If a VC is awarded he will become only the third man to earn it since the Falklands Conflict 26 years ago - and the first surviving recipient from the war in Afghanistan.

The incident happened during a pre- dawn raid last month when Marines from 40 Commando raided a suspected bomb-making factory close to the town of Sangin.

As a team of four crept through the maze of mud-walled homes, L Cpl Croucher's foot brushed the trip-wire. He heard the distinctive click of the grenade's pin and spotted the device at his feet through his night-vision goggles.

His colleagues barely had time to react to his yelled warning, and were still in the open when the grenade went off. By then he had thrown himself on to the grenade, pulling up his legs in the hope of avoiding fatal injuries.

He recalled: 'I thought, "I've set this bloody thing off and I'm going to do whatever it takes to protect the others".

'There have been a few times when they've saved my bacon. I figured that if I could keep my torso and head intact I'd probably survive - although I fully expected to lose a limb.'

L Cpl Croucher told the News of the World: 'All I could hear was a loud ringing and the faint sound of people shouting, "Are you OK? Are you OK?" It took 30 seconds before I realised I was definitely not dead.'

Senior officers stressed that the remarkable incident has been 'one among many' during 40 Commando's six-month tour of duty in Helmand Province.

The unit is due to return to Britain shortly after months of often intense fighting, and will hand over to Paras from 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Three years ago Private Johnson Beharry of the 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment received the VC for saving comrades during two ambushes in southern Iraq.

And in 2006 Corporal Bryan Budd, 29, of 3 Para, earned a posthumous VC for storming a Taliban machine gun post after he was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan. He killed several enemy but died in the process.

If a VC is awarded he will become only the third man to earn it since the Falklands Conflict 26 years ago



Source: Daily Mail, UK. Mar. 31, 2008

Let her calm down, send an apology via email and sms.

When she is back and if she is back, do expect some changes as she may not want to be seemingly close to you anymore.

You need to understand that you are already attached and you will not and should not spend too much time on your hobbies that you neglect your girlfriend.

TS,

I think you need to recognize the fact that you had been asked to leave so the least you could do is state your case without anonymity  what actually happened to you. It may be your un-cooperative members and / or problems at home. So whatever it is state your case in proper perspective and seek for a redress and a chance back into the family.

State to the point brief and sharp. If you really need you may PM me and I will help you. Remember, you need to prove yourself worthy for a reconsideration if there is a misunderstanding. Also it would be absurd to think that your identity could be anonymous when you send your email to your teacher in charge. So don't be foolish.

As I have said just state your facts and if you need help I will be here.

Trust is a universal struggle. All of us wrestle to some extent with trusting others because of painful experiences with betrayal. When the source of that betrayal is someone close to us, it can be especially devastating.

Nowhere is this more true than when a person is betrayed by a family member, close family friend, close friend or some other trusted authority figure. Hence, you are not alone when you cannot help but feel suspicious to even a genuine good intention and deed.

However, we ought to treat our past as a lesson and regard that as a history. Histories do not repeat unless we create and commit the same mistake. So just be more careful with your dealings with people at the same time looking after your own interest and well being. I think the saying : "Look before you leap"  will be good to remember as you go about your decision trusting people.

Originally posted by MattUK:

Thanks for that - just a case of getting things together to go there. Makes it better to know what you said about the caning being for if you get caught. Anything else isn't so bad.

MattUK,

Something just occured to me the other day after I had posted but as I got caught up with my work I just came across another idea to solve your problem. Please PM if you are interested and sincerely would want your problems resolved without implicating anybody.

A friend.

Don't you think that you can equally enjoy life after the procedures? Besides they are not as if you need to do it all on the upfront. It is a gradual process after the ops. , besides it is is strongly advised that you have that ops first.

The rest of it will simply be follow ups.  So please do consider.

VK,

Can I ask why you are not having the

Hysterectomy

procedure as advised by your doctor(s)?

I am asking because there are many cases where such procedure is considered as the best solution to your condition with a proven track record.

I'd just like to hear you out on this, so please do enlighten us here.

Originally posted by MattUK:

To give you the info. 1. It is a UK passport. Male aged 24. 2. Visa was for one month - nearly 5 months over now. 3. Liked the country and started seeing a local girl but that's over now. 4. No extension to passport. 5. Not yet but will get one if it helps. Been working casually but employer thinks it's a differnt visa. I know the right thing to do is go to immigration but hearing about what could happen with jail and the cane is hard to think about.

I think you should not hesitate anymore and make a visit to the Visitor Services Centre, 4th Storey, ICA Building tomorrow morning and look for the officer in charge.

I do not think there will be a harsh punishment for you if you own up. I think the caning is for those who are caught in a sting operation and/or spot checks. I am sure the officer in charge will give you a chance to explain yourself and review your case. Just remember to bring your passport and valid documents along i.e. the disembarkation card and other documents.

I suggest you do not mention about your temporary work and staying arrangements to implicate people and yourself. I am sure you are not staying in a hotel as they will be sure to know that you have overstayed. Whatever, it is please do not delay as you are in a very precarious situation.

Originally posted by 787180:

greencircle.com.sg/sales/index.htm

                        Dragon Leaves

                        Used to cure cancer. The leaves are boiled in water for hours with rock or raw sugar to produce a herbal drink.
                        

                        Wheatgrass

                        Rich in chlorophyll to clean your blood it is used t