What a story- God bless them all

December 8, 2006 -- The brother of a hero New York soldier killed in Iraq on the same day a blue-ribbon commission recommended bringing U.S. troops home said yesterday that pulling out would send the wrong message to the world.
"To me, it makes no sense . . . If you get out now, it would be telling the whole world you left and didn't succeed in anything," Ivan Ryndych, 20, said of the talk in Washington about what to do about the Iraq situation.
"If you do pull out, and give me a stupid reason, what kind of government are we?" he asked in front of his family's immaculately kept home on a cul-de-sac in Staten Island's Willowbrook section.
Last night, candles were lit there in honor of his brother, Sgt. Yevgeniy Ryndych, 24.
Yesterday, an engagement ring Ryndych had bought over the Internet for his fiancée arrived by FedEx. He was due home on leave next month.
Sgt. Ryndych was on patrol with his unit in Ramadi - an especially dangerous area for U.S. soldiers - when he was fatally injured by an improvised explosive device.
He was among 11 U.S. soldiers who gave their lives Wednesday, the same day the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended that the government commit to removing combat troops in early 2008, and boost efforts to train Iraqi forces.
On Staten Island, Ivan Ryndych said he was not sure a pullout would mean for troops risking their lives in Iraq. "If they do pull out, it will save soldiers," he said. "But then, if you take out soldiers, you have to admit you were wrong."
Sgt. Ryndych, who was born in Ukraine, was an avid reader as a youth, very interested in math and military-strategy games.
Ivan Ryndych said he was surprised by his brother's success with the Army's physical training.
"He wasn't a sports guy - he just read books since he was born. He wasn't a physical guy at all," he said. "But he always wanted to go into the Army . . . He just liked the whole Army concept."
Asked if his family was prouder of its Ukrainian or U.S. heritage, Ryndych said: "We live in the country that's better to live in."
A graduate of Lafayette HS in Brooklyn, Sgt. Ryndych joined the Army in 2000 and trained for the infantry. He qualified to serve in airborne missions and earned a Combat Infantryman's Badge and a Good Conduct Medal.
He was a skilled marksman, ranking No. 3 among the thousands of troops based at Fort Carson, Colo., his brother said. Only highly trained Army snipers shot better.
"There were so many accomplishments," Ivan said.
Ryndych served a yearlong tour of duty in Korea, and served a tour in Iraq in 2004 and 2005.
"He had a lot of medals. The first time in Iraq, he got two medals, one for saving somebody," his brother said.
The Army offered Sgt. Ryndych more training - but he turned it down to go back to Iraq. "All his friends and soldiers were there already," Ivan Ryndych said. " 'I don't want to leave them.' That's exactly what he said, word for word," his mother, Slava Ryndych, said in a soft, trembling voice.
Ivan Ryndych was considering a military career himself until his brother's death.
"Now that this happened, I definitely won't go in the Army," he said. "I can't put my parents through the same thing. It's not about me."

Firefighters cut woman from rings

A disabled woman is recovering after firefighters were called to her house to cut rings from her finger after her hand had swollen up overnight.

The daughter of the middle-aged woman, from Lochgelly, was forced to call for help on Wednesday when her mother could not remove her wedding rings.

Two firefighters from Fife Fire and Rescue used special fire engine cutting equipment to cut her free.
The rings were causing the woman, who is a wheelchair user, severe pain.

Struan Drummond, a Fife Fire and Rescue Service firefighter, said: "We received a call at 1000 GMT and decided to go round instead of asking the woman, who was in a wheelchair, to come to the station.
"It was an unusual call-out but it is all part of the service, we are here to help the community.

"We removed both her wedding ring and her engagement ring using special equipment which has a cutting wheel."

'The Break-Up' co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn have split, report says

NEW YORK – Representatives for Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn have confirmed that the Hollywood couple have called it quits, People magazine reported on its Web site.

“Jennifer and Vince mutually agreed to end their relationship but continue to be good friends today,” said representatives Stephen Huvane and John Pisani, according to People.com, in a story posted Tuesday.

Their representatives said the former co-stars decided to end their romance after Aniston visited Vaughn in London in October.

Aniston, 37, and Vaughn, 36, spent much of the last year and a half battling rumors about their relationship – first that it was starting, then that it was headed toward marriage, and most recently that it was sputtering.
The actors met while filming “The Break-Up” in 2005. Reports of a romance quickly swirled, but the two initially said they were simply friends.

They were spotted together in various places over the ensuing months but said little about their liaison. Still, by this summer, they were denying whispers of an engagement.

Within months, they were denying that they were breaking up. In October, Vaughn threatened to sue British and American tabloid newspapers that had reported that he was breaking it off with Aniston and had been seen kissing someone else.

Vaughn, now filming a holiday comedy called “Fred Claus,” is known for his roles in comic films such as “Wedding Crashers” and “Starsky & Hutch.” Aniston, who is divorced from Brad Pitt, came to fame in the television comedy “Friends,” and has gone on to star in a string of feature films.

Blood Diamond film not a threat

NEW YORK - The movie, Blood Diamond, which is to be released in the United States on Friday, will have little or no impact on the diamond industry, the Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Minerals Energy and Water Resources, Mr Kago Moshashane, said the movie is actually more about the role of mercenaries in fuelling civil strife than conflict diamonds.
Mr Moshashane said the title, Blood Diamond, is only a catch phrase and not so much about the susbstance.
Mr Moshashane, who attended a sneak preview of the movie, said in an interview that the picture, based on atrocities that took place in Sierra Leone in the 1990s, mainly tells a story about the greed of mercenaries who in the pursuit of a large diamond sell weapons to both warring parties.
He said he was confident that consumers would continue buying diamonds as the movie did not portray diamonds as inherently bad and responsible for conflict.
In my own opinion the movie mentions diamonds but it is really about a historical event, he added.
Mr Moshashane said the diamond industry has been jittery about the impact of the movie on the sales of diamonds, especially since it is December when consumers buy engagement rings and other jewellery.
Though there is still concern, Mr Moshashane said he was relieved that the movie will not taint the whole industry.
Meanwhile, Mr Moshashane, who chairs the Kimberly Process, an organisation meant to keep conflict diamonds out of the market, said though the process is progressing well, their work was made difficult by some unscrupoulus diamond dealers and traders.
These people, he said, buy illigitimate diamonds, mix them with certified gems and then present them to the markets. However, he said any licensed dealer found to be engaged in such business will be banne.
Also, he said some countries, which are not part of the Kimberly Process, were used as conduits for conflict diamonds.
To stop them, Mr Moshashane, said they were banking on the UN to take action, as those countries are members of the world body. BOPA

Oprah discusses 'Blood Diamond' today

On today's The Oprah Winfrey Show, Blood Diamond Director Ed Zwick and stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Djimon Hounsou had a fairly diamond-industry-positive discussion on conflict diamonds with host Oprah Winfrey.

The episode, which was taped earlier, offered viewers information on the film and the issue, and gave airtime to how the diamond industry has addressed conflict diamonds. Winfrey didn't editorialize while praising the actors and the film, but she addressed her audience directly in a segment on what the diamond industry has done since the events depicted in the film.

"Sources say that the flow of conflict diamonds has been slowed to just one percent of the diamonds that are now in the marketplace, and it's important for everybody watching to know that the sale of conflict-free diamonds, a majority of all diamonds, is actually saving many African countries," she said before introducing a clip that highlighted the importance of diamonds to the economic health of countries such as Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and even Sierra Leone today.

While the message was clearly that conflict diamonds are bad, none of Winfrey's guests were critical of the diamond industry. DiCaprio told Winfrey that even though the movie highlights a different issue, it relates to his personal beliefs on the environment. "It was very symbolic of what we do as consumers," he told the talk show host. "When we buy something, it is a vote. We're in essence endorsing that product or that company or that corporation and how they do business.

"Neither DiCaprio, Hounsou or Zwick went so far as to tell consumers to vote against diamonds."You're not telling people to stop buying diamonds?" Winfrey asked Zwick, to which he responded, "Not at all."The episode made mention of the Kimberley Process, though not all the information was accurate. It stated that today 47 countries meet the requirements, when at this point it's 71."This is a wonderful circumstance in which the public was able, by virtue of their awareness, to create something that has changed the world," Zwick told Winfrey. "You can sit there when you walk into a diamond dealer, to a jeweler, and you can say, 'I want to see a warranty. I want to see a certificate.'

And you can make a difference that will affect thousands of lives."The show also talked about the impact of civil war on Sierra Leone in the 1990s and featured music from Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a group of musicians who found each other in a refugee camp in the Republic of Guinea. The group—with help from the United Nations—has performed for other refugees at camps and recorded their first album, "Living Like a Refugee."

They have been featured in a documentary titled Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars and their song "Ankala" is in Blood Diamond.In addition to featuring the topic, Oprah.com also provides additional information on conflict diamonds, including links to Amnesty International, the World Diamond Council's Diamondfacts.org Web site and the Kimberley Process Web site.